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InstaFriday

2012-01-27T13:20:00.001-06:00

I finally got with the times and officially have a smart phone. Woo-hoo!! I literally opened the box, went straight to the App store, and downloaded Instagram within the first 10 seconds of picking up my new phone. I knew it would be love at first sight - and it was. I promised myself I would never replace my DSLR with phone snaps but it sure is fun (and handy!) to have. I'm joining up with Life Rearranged today to share some of the "sweet, silly, simple, and fun" moments of our week.

1. My current read.
2. Tylee and her 3rd best friend, Rainbow.
3. Toms
4. The park
5. I make myself forget about the germs - she loves these cars at the grocery store.
6. Barbies on a Friday Night

1. Boone-diggity
2. Homeade Pizza Night
3. Making Bracelets
4. Visiting Gma Ann's
5. Tylee and Buterscotch
6. "Excitibality may occur, especially in children." True Story.

1. Snowman from Preschool

2. Sunrise

3. Merle never gets far from Mama.

4. Princess Tylee

5. Merle and Mama, again

6. The mall.

The Park in January

2012-01-25T08:53:00.001-06:00

Last year we went to the park in January and ended up being snowed in 2 days later! Let's hope that doesn't happen this year. However, its been such a mild winter than I can't say I would mind a little snow. I only want it on a Saturday morning though, and then it needs to warm up to above freezing so we can go out and play in it. I only like snow on my terms.

Letter Sounds

2012-01-24T10:17:00.001-06:00

Tylee doesn't have the slightest clue what the ABC's even are. I know...Parent of the Year Award, right? She couldnt' even begin to hum the tune if you asked her too. This is definitely my our fault - we have never tried to teach her the ABC's. Part of this stems from my sister...you know she is a Kindergarden teacher, right? She said that the ABC's aren't overly important and actually confuse kids because they really just need to know letter sounds. Perfect!! Thats why we never taught her! (Insert sarcasm here) But for real, if they know the letter name for G, then they want to say the sound is /J/ instead of /G/.

Well, Tylee has started learning her letters in Preschool and she doesn't have a clue. The other night in the car she was saying, "She - She - Sheep. Kit - Kit - Kitty. Bre - Bre - Brecca. Chip - Chip - Chipmunk." I was like, "Tylee, what are you doing?" And she said, "Mom! I'm practicing my letters. Stop listening!" Obviously, we have a loooong ways to go. I think I'll buy some Flashcards at Wal-mart this week.

Makeup

2012-01-16T10:54:00.001-06:00

Good thing we have 13 years to practice.

Mess

2012-01-15T12:54:00.002-06:00

How many times a day can I pick up the same mess?

Imagination

2012-01-15T10:07:00.001-06:00

If you are wondering what we are going do with a 4 foot tall horse in our living room, wonder no more! I was actually a little concerned as well when Lindsey offered to give us Butterscotch for a Santa present. She got it on sale on Black Friday for Brynna but when she realized how big it was, she thought maybe we would want it for Tylee. Tylee said something different every time you asked her what she wanted from Santa but had settled on "one of those puppies that walked and had a leash." (A Furr Real puppy.) All I had to do was ask her if she knew they made a horse that was like that puppy and she was sold.

I watched some videos of Butterscotch on YouTube and the kids looked bored with him after the initial excitment wore off. That is where Tylee's imagination comes into play. This girl...I don't even know how to describe it. She can play with the smallest thing for HOURS. She makes up the most elaborate stories and has every detail thought out. For instance, she'll run into the living room and tell me that Ken and Ariel were going to get married and the Taylor Swift song was on and the wedding was about to start but Jasmine was mad because she wanted to marry Ken so she hit Ariel and made Ariel cry so the Beast came and gave Ariel a hug and now the wedding was about to begin! Come on, Mom! come watch the wedding! Then when I get in there, Ariel decided she doesn't like the shoes she has on and wants the purple shoes that Jasmine has on. So we find the right shoes, start the song over, and the wedding finally begins. This goes on for hours.

A lot of times her animals talk to her when we are away from the house too. We'll be at Wal-mart and she'll say, "Tylee! When are you going to come home? I am hungry!" And then she'll say, "That was Butterscotch. He is silly." Then she'll say, "We are hungry too Tylee! We want some Chicken!" Then she will clarify, "That was Racoony and Owl. We better get home Mom." Needless to say, Butterscotch is played with plenty - even when we aren't home.

Lately, she has been putting on shows in her room with her "Stylish Ponies." She is Taylor Swift and the ponies are the band. Sometimes she wants you to come watch but lots of times she is fine in there by herself. If I am watching, she'll tell me to say, "Oh, look how beautiful Taylor is. Look at those sparkly shoes!" Then she struts out of her closet and plays her guitar, sings, and dances around to the music in her Tutu and glitter shoes. I am amazed by her creativity and I often think how it will affect her in the future. Will she be an artist? A performer? Or just some weird lady that talks to her stuffed animals?

Survey 2011

2012-01-10T14:16:00.087-06:00

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? It was a pretty low-key year. Nothing major comes to mind except parenting a 2.5 - 3.5 year old. Same story, different year.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? My resolution last year was to spend more time focusing on myself. I think that happened, but not intentionally. With each passing day, Tylee is one step closer to gaining her independence. I am to the point now that I could curl up on the couch and read a book while she played in her room - if I just took the time to do it! So I halfway kept my resolution.

I guess this year I'll make the same old boring resolution as everyone else - I HAVE to get this extra weight off. And I'll make an "easy" one too. I got a Nook Color for Christmas and I would like to get into reading again. I loved reading in Highschool and enjoyed reading the Twilight books a few years ago - I think all this goes back to carving out some "me" time.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? We had a couple of friends that had babies but no one that I've gotten to snuggle and spend any amount of quality time with.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Yes, Tj's Uncle Terry passed away last January and he lost yet another friend in November. I have been to 10 or more funerals with him in the past 8 years. Not fun.

5. What countries did you visit? Nada.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? This has definitely been one of the best years of my life. I know, I will probably say this every year. Or at least until Tylee hits the snotty-I-know-more-than-you-and-have-a-major-attitude stage. So far, so good. I have a great husband, a beautiful daughter, a new home, a new car, a wonderful job, healthy relationships, great friends, and a great family. I would be selfish to ask for anything more.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 22nd, the day of the Joplin tornado and the tornado at the lake. Unfortunately, that day changed so many lives and will be a date that is etched in the minds of many.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Last year I said it was "finding a balance" but I would have to say the same thing again this year. I feel like I finally am "me" again. Obviously I am different - I mean, how can you have a child and truly be the same person you were before their birth? I don't even want to think of my life before/without Tylee. But Tj and I are back to where we were before we had her, I have social relationships again that were put on the back burner while she was a baby, and I feel like I can ship her off to Gmas and truly be "me" without worrying about her. Don't get me wrong, my happiest times are 100% when the 3 of us are together but it is nice to have some parts of my other life back.

9. What was your biggest failure? I guess I would say "letting myself go". I went to an "event" this summer that was very fun, but really made me realize how much I don't take care of myself. I am sure this realization was a combination of being insecure about my weight and the group of people that I was with - but it still made me feel pretty crappy. 1) I am overweight. 2) I don't have a skin-care regimen, nor do I care one bit about make-up. 3) I don't even own a nice pair of jeans. 4) I am in desperate need of a trip to Victoria Secret. However, I went on another trip with a different group and came home feeling like a rockstar. Its all a matter of perception but I think I need to find a balance that works for me.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing that is worthy enough to even note.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Our new Jeep, I guess.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

14. Where did most of your money go? Groceries! I don't know if I've just started paying attention or if prices really have gone up - but I swear I can't leave Wal-mart without spending $200 or more. And that is twice a month!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Christmas! I remember Brecca being old enough to understand "Santa" and that was fun, but its a whole different ball game with your own little one.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Happier, Same, Same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Went camping. We went 5-6 times but the Spring and Summer is just SO busy! It seems like there was always one obligation holding us back. I think this year we just need to say sorry, we can't make it to everything.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Spent less time putting Tylee on the back burner. She always wants to play make-believe with characters and I am so bored with it. It seems like I always tell her no. I know this time is going to fly by and I need to cherish all the little moments. I know in 6 or 7 years she won't want to give me the time of day.

20. How did you spend Christmas? I think I have 6 Christmas posts? I think that is more info than I need to remember. :-D

21. Did you fall in love in 2011? Yes!! I fell in love with a couple 4-legged creatures. I really wasn't sure that I could care about a dog after Dutch died. We've had Boone 2 years now and I did like him - but he is Tj's dog and was just kinda "there". Something about getting Merle put a spark in Boone and he is a whole different dog. He wants pets, wants to play, comes over and leans on you, wrestles - just a whole different dog. Then, there is Merle! I love having a little dog in the house again. He isn't near as cool as Dutch (he is lacking in the "trick" department) but he has such a great personality. He is very laid back but has just enough spunk in him. He doesn't like to cuddle - which I miss, but I definitely love him.

22. What was your favorite TV program? Survivor and Greys Anatomy

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No.

24. What was the best book you read? I didn't read any books. (Actually, I got hooked on The Hunger Games series - which is why I am 10 days late publishing this dang post! But truth be told, I started reading them in 2012.)

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Same 'ol thing.

26. What did you want and get? A new vehicle. And since we are recapping, I guess I should mention that I had a GREAT Christmas. I always have a nice Christmas but for some reason this year, I was so wrapped up in Tylee that I didn't give much thought about me getting presents! Tj got me almost everything I mentioned and his Mom and my Mom totally suprised me! (Uggs and a Nook Color)

27. What did you want and not get? Carat diamond earrings, I think these will be on my list for a long time.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Hm. I was really excited for The Lion King to come out. It was my favorite Disney movie and I couldn't wait for Tylee to watch it. She wasn't impressed as I was but my favorite part is the music (right, Jayci?) and she isn't into that yet. I guess my favorite adult movie was The Hangover 2.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Well, I only remember this because I felt horrible about it. My friends kept asking me what I wanted to do and I was kind waiting on Tj to plan something. 10 hours into my birthday, not a word had been said about doing anything so I made plans with my friends to go to dinner. I let Tj know I wasn't too happy and got a text back with a picture of a cake, icecream, and the corner of a present. Apparently him and Tylee had been busy! I felt horrible. I turned 28.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I don't know if it can get much better than this right now.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010? Comfortable

32. What kept you sane? Oddly enough, work. Tylee is at a very fun age but she is also very trying. She is pushing limits like never before and has a very short attention span. Unless we are doing something (camping, going to Chanute, shopping, ect) I am always ready for Monday to come. Although by Tuesday or Wednesday, I am ready to be at home again.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I'm not gonna lie, I was totally wrapped up on all the Kardashian drama. What can I say? We like thoughtless television.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? I have absolutely no interest in politics what-so-ever. Maybe one of these days I'll care.

35. Who did you miss? My family in Chanute.

36. Who was the best new person you met? My friend Kerri introduced me to a whole new group of ladies that I adore. I can't wait to see them all again!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. I have a quote I read somewhere that I jotted down on my checkbook that says, "Life is too precious to let the days go by unnoticed." I think I wrote it down in terms of photography but I think its a good life lesson.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. Hmmm...

*Sorry I left some blank...I'm not just gonna make something up just so I have an answer.

Merle says...

2012-01-01T14:15:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

Year in Review 2011

2011-12-31T08:53:00.001-06:00

We experienced our 1st snow of the year shortly after Christmas

to be followed up by an 80 degree day in January

and another BIG snow storm the 1st of February.

We re-did your nursery and gave you a big girl room.

And watched you grow into a Toddler.

We went camping

and Potty-Trained.

We celebrated Easter

and got you a big girl bed.

We experienced the tornado at the lake

and celebrated Mother's Day with family.

We went to North Dakota for Mommy's work

and went camping again.

We went to Branson with Grandma Ann and your cousins

and celebrated you turning 3!!

We really enjoyed 4th of July

and camped some more.

We went to the "swim-park" in Chanute

and got Merle.

More camping...

and then you started school.

We made it to the lake for the 1st and last time this summer on Labor Day

and made our annual trip to the fair.

We went to the pumpkin patch with your cousins

and took some Halloween photos.

We went camping for Poppy's 80th birthday

and had a very low-key Thanksgiving (without any pictures.)

We started off the Christmas season with a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm

and ended it with lot of family time and even more toys.

What a wonderful year.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T20:09:00.000-06:00

*I am sorry I am still blogging about Christmas but I love to go back and look at what we did. One more recap and then I'm done. (And the OCD in me will go change all the dates to get the blogs in the order they actually happened.)

Whew! What a whirlwind! I am actually relieved that it is all over. Is that sad to say? I hate that I feel that way because I love Christmas. Love it. But it just kept going and going and going! I don't think we could've squeezed one more thing into 2 days. Thank goodness that I took Tuesday off work to unpack, re-group, and relax a little. I was able to manuever everything this year so that Christmas morning at home was Tylee's 1st Christmas of the season. I'm not sure if that made things better or worse. If she would've gotten the mountains of toys before our Christmas at home, she wouldn't have cared one bit about what we bought for her. In hindsight though, arranging it that way left everything else to be crammed into Sunday afternoon and Monday, which made for a long couple of days. Oh well. Opening that many presents in that short of time is every kids dream. And I guess the fact that Tylee had fun was all that really matttered.

With Christmas being over, I am looking forward to Spring and camping again. Thank god we live in Kansas and have all 4 seasons. I need the change. The tree is down, all the decor is put away, the totes are hidden in the shed, and we even got the lights down over New Years. The only remants of Christmas left in the house is all the new toys. And I know 3 people that are perfectly fine with that.

Finley Family Christmas

2011-12-26T19:00:00.000-06:00

After a loooong day on Christmas, we got up bright and early on Monday and went back to Chanute to have Christmas with Papa and Janis. I left my camera in the car but the highlight of that Christmas was that Tylee got an Easy Bake Oven! I just couldn't wait for Tylee to reach the 8+ age limit that it recommends. In hindsight, the "baking process" is a lot of waiting for a 3-year old but she does enjoy it and asks to bake something almost every day. Those cakes and cookies sure aren't what I remembered...they are TINY. And gross!

After we left my Dad's, we headed to the Pavilion for Christmas with my Grandma Katy and the Finley family. It was/is just as crazy as my Mom's but with way, way, way more room. I was really looking forward to the Finley Christmas this year because we haven't gotten to see my Aunts, Uncles and cousins like we normally do because of the tornado at the lake.

My Dad got a remote-control helicopter and had a lot of fun flying it around. The kids loved chasing it.

That wrapped up our big Christmas' for the year and I couldn't have been happier. Tj's Dad and girlfriend came out for one last low-key celebration and brought Tylee some more presents (just what she needed!) but I was happy to see the Christmas celebrations come to an end. I hate that I felt that way but cramming 7 Christmas' into 2 days was a tad much. Even Tylee was tired!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T18:55:00.000-06:00

After we had our little family Christmas at home, Grammy and Pom-Pom came out for lunch. We had just enough time to relax and play with our new stuff before they showed up. It was perfect. Unfortunately, this was the only picture I took. Really though, how many pictures can you see of Tylee opening presents before you get tired of looking at them?

That's why I'll only bore you with a few more...on this post. Christmas night we went to my Mom's to do Christmas with her and Nanny and Poppy. It was pure and total chaos - I have no other words to describe it. It seems that I was the only one that was taken back by this fact but then I realized, I am the only non-teacher in the group. My Mom, brother, and sister all 3 spend their day with classrooms full of kids. It was a crazy evening with lots (and lots and lots) of presents, lots of unwrapping, lots of trash, and a lot of well-spent time with my family. That is all that really matters.

Erin made these tags for the kids presents and I thought they were so cute! Of course, I have no idea where Tylee's went or I would've saved it. It was somewhere under all the trash but there was no way I was going to spend time digging for it.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T08:17:00.000-06:00

Santa came! And brought a 4 foot tall horse! That Santa, such a nice guy! And to top it off, Tylee didn't even want it when she walked into the living room. She said, "I didn't want a big horse, I wanted a baby horse." Tj said, "That is a baby horse...a real baby horse."

It took her awhile to warm up to Butterscotch but after she realized it moved, neighed, pretended to walk, blinked its eyes, moved its head, and ate a carrot - she was sold. Other than being huge, settling itself right in the middle of the living room, and scaring the crap out of you when you walk in the room, its a pretty neat ~~toy~~ horse.

We slowly switched our excitment away from Butterscotch and moved on to stockings and presents...

then spent the rest of the morning playing with our new gifts.

I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas morning.

Santa Came!

2011-12-25T00:05:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T15:07:00.000-06:00

I was so excited Christmas Eve was finally here but was highly disapointed when I could not get Tylee convinced that this was it! THIS was the day/night we've been waiting for! "Christmas is in 3 days, Mom!" No, actually it's not, Tylee. Look at your damn chain! Either way, the day had to go on and we continuted on with the first of our Christmas traditions. Making cookies for Santa with Grammy.

After the cookie making, it was time to track Santa on Norad. Tylee had no idea what any of it meant but was excited to see him on the map and watch the videos of him in the different countries. We had to drag her away to go look at lights.

I made the mistake of telling her about some dancing lights that we were going to see and that is all she talked about the entire trip. Even after we saw the lights that "danced" she kept asking when we were going to see them and if they twirled around like a ballerina. Guess she doesn't understand rhythm and that the lights just came on and off with the music on the radio. Our last stop in town was to go by the Santa that stands out on his roof. Tylee was thrilled and wanted to go straight home and get in bed. I have no idea how people pull this Santa stuff off with older kids. He was in China before we left for town and then in Parsons 10 minutes later?

Thankfully we made it home before Santa came and got the reindeer food, milk and cookies out. It wasn't even 8:00pm and Tylee was in bed and so excited!

Merry and Bright

2011-12-24T05:43:00.001-06:00

Before everything gets too busy, I wanted to be sure and wish my blog family a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-23T20:43:00.001-06:00

The festivities are about to begin and although I am excited, "the feeling" hasn't came over me yet. I'm really hoping it does but I've tried not to have overly high expections so that I'm not disapointed. I'm sure it will come tomorrow night as I watch Tylee become more and more excited for Santa. Watching her believe in something so whole-heartedly this year has been nothing short of amazing. I cannot believe that I have a daughter of my own and that our little family has something so special. I am truly the happiest I have ever, ever been in my whole life. There is so much to be thankful for this Holiday season and I'm trying so hard to be deliberate in my thinking, my actions, and prayers. I read something on Pinterest awhile back that said something to the sort of, "What if you only had tomorrow what you thanked Jesus for today?" There is so much that I take for granted.

I've really struggled trying to teach Tylee about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas this year. I've known in the past that she was really too young to understand but now that she is older, it is my duty as her Mother to share with her the story and importance of Jesus' birth. There was a period a few months ago where she would tell me, "I don't like Jesus and I don't want to talk about him!" I pushed through and continuted our conversations but was never sure we were getting anywhere. She goes to pre-school at the Christian Church and I know they say prayers and learn some about the Bible. The other day she asked me out of the blue what "Jesus Christ" looked like. That made my heart happy. I told her that he was tall, thin, and had long brown hair. Mary was next and when I hesitated she replied with, "Does she look like Belle?" Yah - she kinda does look like Belle. So I took the oppurtunity to tell her (what I know of) the Christmas Story and about Jesus' birth. She was NOT happy! "It is NOT Jesus' birthday! It is Christmas!" I stopped the conversation discouraged and hoped at least some of my words sunk in. The next morning she asked TJ if he knew why we celebrated Christmas. Her reply? Because it's Jesus' Birthday. She was listening.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Rudolf

2011-12-22T07:07:00.000-06:00

The whole family is feeling Christmas joy.

Santa Baby

2011-12-21T14:29:00.000-06:00

Going to see Santa this year was a complete success! Well, except for the fact that I was a tad disappointed in the actual Santa. He was what? 30 years old?

Tylee didn't care though and went right up to him, told him what she wanted, and sat on his lap. Yah for a great Santa picture! Now we just have to hope she was good enough for him to come visit her!

Christmas Program

2011-12-20T19:22:00.000-06:00

Someone came out of their shell!!

Holiday Homes Tour 2011

2011-12-18T17:33:00.005-06:00

I missed The Nester and Kelly's Korner Holiday Homes tour but I still wanted to share my Christmas stuff. Its fun to look back from year to year and see how things change. And, I spent several hours doing all this and I'm not sure a single person has been to my house.

My favorite decoration, Wistrom.

I finally gave in and ordered TJ and I stockings to match Tylee's. I just kept thinking I would do it after Christmas when they went on sale but by that time, I no longer care about stockings. Now that they are here, I find them kinda childish but I don't know what else to get us to match.

I finally found a spot for my Nativity. I love this but never had a spot to really display it until I found my $10 thrift-store bench. Perfect!

I got this on sale last year after Christmas. I think it was $10 but am not sure what to put in it. The Ornaments didn't do it for me but I never came across anything else so that will do for this year. I also got these reindeer after Christmas for $10 each. LOVE!

This chain has been a LIFE-SAVER! I got Tylee excited about Christmas a little too early. We were in desperate need of a visual to countdown the days.

A girl can never have too much pink, right?

(This tree has been decorated and undecorated several times. I should've taken a little time to spruce it up before I took the picture but oh well - this is real life.)

I am never, ever, ever making cake balls again. I don't care how cute they are.

(Our big tree has also seen better days. Between Tylee and Boones tail, most of the ornaments have been re-hung several times.)

It makes me sad to think in less than 10 days, all this will be back in the shed in tubs. Thankfully, I can come back to this post and enjoy it all year long.

Tylee's Christmas List

2011-12-11T07:47:00.000-06:00

Don't worry if you can't read it - she can tell you exactly what each line says.

Guess who is 1, already?

2011-12-09T06:38:00.000-06:00

This little guy! Can you believe its been a year? I can't either.

Starving for attention

2011-12-08T08:02:00.000-06:00

Of course you can't take a picture of Merle without Miss Bossy needing a picture of her and Owl as well.

But when I need a picture for Christmas cards? Forget it.

Oh, Christmas Tree

2011-12-06T18:19:00.001-06:00

We ventured to a new Christmas Tree farm this year because I had decided I wanted a tree like this:

but chickened out when we got there. I just haven't loved our tree the past couple years and cannot put my finger on why. This Christmas Tree Farm faired no better than the one in the past and I guess I realize now that its probably actually my problem of being a perfectionist vs. the tree farm itself. Chances are that no real tree is ever going to meet my expectations but the memories do - and that is really what matters, right?

We found ~~what looked like~~ a pretty dang good tree ~~when it was on the lot~~ and had fun doing it. Win-win.

Except...Tylee didn't really care one bit about the whole process and would rather have just played on the trailor. Oh well.

I didn't take a picture of the bare tree (I think I forget to do this every year) but to be honest, I was pretty nervous once we got the tree inside and had it set up. I mean, you saw the picture of the tree above - how can it look so, so, so much worse once its shaken out and placed in your home? You'll just have to believe me that it did. Thank goodness it all came together.

Tylee did have a great time decorating the tree this year. I let her do what she wanted and then fixed it when she went down for a nap. (Sorry Tylee!)

This wasn't posed! He likes to sit here!

Overall we had a great day as a family. I really treasure these memories and it makes me sad to think that someday they will end. This is truly the happiest time of my entire life and I just don't see how it can get better than this. Somehow it always does and I'm so thankful for that.

Secrets

2011-12-04T06:58:00.000-06:00

Telling Wistrom a secret...

The Halls are Decked!

2011-12-03T14:41:00.000-06:00

What?

2011-12-01T08:12:00.000-06:00

Colored wooden horses like baby Jesus, too!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

I suppose I should have a post about our Thanksgiving this year but the problem is that I really don't have anything to say about it. We had a great dinner at my Mom's house on Thursday (possibly one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had!) and didn't do squat for the rest of the weekend. Relaxing? Yes! Blogworthy? No. So, that about sums up that.

I do have one blogworthy tale-to-tell and to put it simply, anyone that thinks Tylee is photogenic - is WRONG. I knew Saturday was going to be the last nice day for awhile so I took Tylee outside for little photoshoot. Out of over 200 pictures, I literally got 2 that I could use. Here are some fun outtakes that will not be on the 2011 Trollope Christmas card.

"Great! Look right in Mommy's camera but put your finger down!"

"Please put the sticks down."

"Show me your mad face!" (In hopes of a smile afterwards...no luck.)

"Thank your for looking at my camera but you need to smile now."

"No, we are not done. This would seriously take 5 seconds if you would just look at this piece of glass right here and smile ONE TIME. I don't really care if you are annoyed. Don't you want to send Brecca a Christmas card?" Obviously she didn't.

The Elf on the Shelf

2011-11-26T01:55:00.001-06:00

I knew this Christmas season was going to be full of wonderful memories but I had no idea how much Tylee would truly understand. I assumed that she would be on board with the whole Santa thing (Jesus is another story) but I never thought she would understand this much.

Our Elf, Wistrom, showed up yesterday morning. He comes on Thanksgiving night and stays until Christmas Eve. ~~We placed him~~ He landed on the shelf next to the TV in the living room and then when Tylee woke up, we read her the book that he brought with him. She just kinda sat there and took it all in but I knew that her little mind was working overtime. Later, I heard her tell her Grandpa about Wistrom and knew it had all clicked.

Lucky for us, there was a cartoon on last night about The Elf on the Shelf that pulled the whole story together and totally got Tylee reeled in. She was mesmerized watching what the Elves do when they fly back to the North Pole. It answered all the questions (Thank God because some of them were hard!!) she had been casually asking throughout the day and definitely erased any doubt from her mind that Wistrom is real. This is 100% going to be my favorite holiday tradition.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T19:36:00.000-06:00

From my little Indian

and Pilgrim

to yours. Oh so much to be thankful for.

Quote

2011-11-22T20:31:00.000-06:00

I am not a quote person at all. Only one quote in my entire life has ever stood out to me. That is, until I saw this one. It literally made my heart sink.

Thankfully, my friend Amanda is a photoshop queen and just happened to see a tutorial on Pinterest about making Subway Art. Between her expertise and my vision, I now have a 16x20 print of my new favorite quote to hang in Tylee's room. As soon as my Christmas Subway Art (photos coming soon!) comes down, I'm jacking the frame and getting this up in Tylee's room ASAP. It couldn't be more true.

This weekend...

2011-11-20T13:57:00.001-06:00

we've been decorating for Christmas,

playing Tea Party,

putting on Puppet Shows,

and napping.

What a great weekend.

Friends

2011-11-19T13:21:00.000-06:00

Tylee didn't want to pose in front of the Christmas Tree in her room so she was trying to get Merle too. Suprisingly enough, he still likes her.

Ornament Wreath

2011-11-14T20:18:00.001-06:00

I have been eyeing one of these Christmas wreaths for a couple years now. They are selling on Etsy for about $70. Mine cost? $13

I would love to take credit for the idea but I totally copied it from here. $13 and 20 minutes later? I have a beautiful wreath for Tylee's room. I can't wait to make another one for my front door. And for my Mom, my Grandma, and for Tylee's teachers. Oh! And I may take one to an Ornament Exchange party. I'm pretty sure it would be the best ornament there!!

Haircut

2011-11-09T20:44:00.001-06:00

I had a fancy post planned in my head about Tylee's new haircut but with the ~~stupid~~ time change, all the precious daylight hours have disappeared before I even get home from work. No pictures = no blog post.

Anyways, we cut about 4 inches off Tylee's mane and to say it looks better is an understatement. I thought she had "true curls" but I've heard so many horror stories about losing those precious baby curls after the first major haircut. We've trimmed her hair several times but this is the first signifigant cut and voila! (Insert crappy "I-refuse-to-use-my-flash-but-should-know-better-by-now" pictures here.)

We still have curls!

To be honest, I wasn't distraught about losing the curls - I was distraught about ending up with semi-wavy hair that either needed lots of product or straightened everyday. Who has time to spend on their daughters semi-wavy hair when I have my own semi-wavy hair to deal with every morning? So thankfully, her curls are better than ever before and our bathtime routine of wash-and-go still remains the same. (P.S. - her hair was already cut in the camping pictures below but apparently its not that obvious unless I point it out. Either way, we needed a blog post for memory's sake on her 1st big hair cut.)

Happy Birthday, Poppy!

2011-11-07T19:46:00.002-06:00

My love for camping definitely stems from camping with my Grandparents when I was little. I have so many great memories camping with them. When Tj and I first bought our camper, I had all these "rules" in my head of things that we needed to do and how we needed to do them. One of the very first camping supplies I bought was a tablecloth and some clamps to hold it down. We didn't have sheets or pillows but we had those two necessities! When I went camping as a kid, my job was always to put the tablecloth on the picnic table and it is still one of the 1st things I do. Looking back, I am sure I was sent outside to deal with the tablecloth so that I wasn't inside bothering Nanny while she unpacked. Tricky.

This past weekend we all (14 of us!) loaded up and went camping in Farlington for Poppy's 80th birthday. We decided it would be easier to just rent a cabin so that we could all be together in the same spot. It was a beautiful, fun-filled weekend that I wouldn't have missed for the world.

Tylee and I were one of the 1st ones there Friday night and she was so excited to help Poppy build a fire. As I was sitting there watching her boss Poppy around, I couldn't help but to think back to all my camping trips with Poppy as a little girl doing the exact same thing. She is definitely my child.

Everyone else finally arrived and we started off the weekend with some good grub, game playing, book reading, and good 'ol fashioned quality time. No wonder the kids like going to Nanny's house so much - if they want to read a book, she reads a book. If they want to play Sorry! (again), she plays Sorry! (again).

It was a bit chilly out the next morning but the kids were getting restless inside the cabin so Nate and I took them on a Nature Walk. Nathan spent his time looking for fishing holes, the kids spent their time looking for deer tracks, and I spent my time taking pictures.

I was able to get plenty of cute pictures, the kids found lots of deer tracks, and Nathan was definitely successful finding a good fishing hole.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around the cabin enjoying the company and letting the cousins play.

Nanny promised each of the 4 big kids that they could put 20 candles a piece on Poppy's cake. They were SO excited about this. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas and all 80 candles never got lit at the same time.

Happy Birthday Popster and thanks for a great weekend!

Trick-or-Treat

2011-11-03T10:42:00.120-05:00

Last year, Trick-or-Treating was honestly one of my most fun parenting moments to date so obviously, I was really looking foward to this year. Tylee somehow remembered Halloween from last year and wanted to be that damn Unicorn from Pottery Barn Kids again. I decided to for-go paying $60 for a Halloween costume and had just about started to make it -when she changed her mind. Thank god. Now she wanted to be a fairy. YES! A mothers dream come true! (Okay, so my dream come true - I am sure some mothers don't care what their kids are for Halloween.) I had the perfect fairy costume picked out on Etsy but when I gave Tylee the, "I'm about to pay for it. Are you ssssuuuurreee?" She changed her mind and wanted to be Jesse. And she was ssssuuuuure - there was no changing her mind. Believe me, I tried.

All of my pictures from Trick or Treating look like this:

so I will only bore you with 3 of them. Although still fun, Trick-or-Treating was not near as fun as last year. As with everything that we do with Tylee these days, a signifigant amount of innocence has been lost and unfortunately replaced with twice the amount of attitude. Hold this. Carry me. Don't touch my hat. Stay back there. I don't need help. I don't like that candy. Open this. I have to potty. I want to touch that blow-up pumpkin. I'm tired. I don't want to go home yet. Where did he get that glowstick? I want a glow- stick. I want a glow-stick. I want a glow-stick. ENOUGH WITH THE GLOWSTICK.

Embarrasingly enough, Tylee actually told people that she didn't want the yellow bags of M&M's because she doesn't like peanuts. Thankfully, they laughed and replaced them with the brown bags but I have to admit it saddened me a little see my ~~snotty~~ opinionated 3-year old standing up at those doors rather than my thankful, appreciative 2-year old. I know every age will have its ups and downs and thankfully the good (usually) outweighs the bad. I hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

Pumpkin Carving with Papa

2011-11-02T17:31:00.000-05:00

We never got around to carving pumpkins as a family this year so after Neewollah, we went back to Chanute to carve some with Papa. Much like shooting fireworks, it is fun to carve pumpkins with my Dad because he ~~does all the work~~ thoroughly enjoys it.

Pull harder Tylee!

Look at that face. Tylee was less than amused.

And neither was I after poking all those dots.

But - the end result was worth it. Tylee was a happy little girl.

Neewollah

2011-11-01T10:29:00.005-05:00

Tj was pheasant hunting all last week so Tylee and I were solo for quite a few days. I had the entire weekend last weekend all to myself and was very torn as to what to do with it. I mentioned to my Dad that Tylee and I thought about going to Neewollah and he said that him and Janis had talked about going as well. Awesome. It ended up being the perfect way to spend our solo-Saturday. He brought the big girls with him and Tylee couldn't have been happier. Janis was also excited that she had someone to join her on the spinny rides. Win-win.

The Merry-go-round was more Tylee's speed. Although she looks less than thrilled.

After we rode a few rides, we decided we should find a spot for the parade. A girl at work goes to Neewollah annually and has even went over and put chairs out the night before. We, on the other hand, showed up 30 minutes before the parade started and hoped we could find a spot. Big difference! We definately didn't find anything on the front row but found a curb with open space to stand on that worked just fine.

Janis got crafty and found a trailor tongue to stand the little ones on so they could see better, although they eventually made their way up to the front anyways so they could get some candy. The parade was several hours long and we all got bored so we skipped out early to get some grub and do some line-free activities. I'm convinced that is the way to do it - watch a little of the parade and then go do your thing while the thousands of other people are still watching it.

Tylee would not get her face painted. I begged her too - it would've been so cute! But she wouldn't.

Comparing boots with Papa.

It was a fun day but I am glad Tylee and I didn't venture over there by ourself. The company definitely made the trip worth making. I can't see this coming an annual thing but if Papa and Janis want to go again, we would definitely go with.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:55:00.000-05:00

(These pictures are too cute not to share full size!)

Lasagna

2011-10-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

My love for cooking didn't start until Tj and I got married and we moved into our new house. I remember attempting Lasagna one other time but I boiled the noodles in advance and layed them on wax paper to cool. I remember that it took forever and was a big sticky mess. Then I started working at Twin Valley and met Jennifer. She would make Lasagna during the week and I kept wondering who in the world had that kind of time! Tricky, tricky! She didn't boil her noodles in advance - she just made sure there was enough liquid in the pan for the noodles to absorb when it bakes! I made Lasagna several times after she told me that trick but it was only recently that it was good enough to write down and actually replicate. I think this is a version of her recipe (the Spaghetti Sauce Mix is definitely hers) with a few things of my own added in. Delish! And more importantly, EASY!

Cast of Characters:

1 lb Hamburger

1 lb Sausage

Onion, diced

3-4 cloves fresh garlic or 1 Tbps from the jar

2 Cans Tomato Sauce

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

1 Package Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning

1 large container Cottage Cheese

3 cups Mozzarella Cheese, Divided

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

3 Eggs

Tomato Juice

Lasagna Noodles

In a large skillet, cook hamburger, sausage, and onion. Drain and rinse. Add mixture back to skillet and throw in the garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes and then add Tomatoes, Sauce, and Spaghetti Sauce Mix. Simmer over low heat 20 - 30 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, mix together Cottage Cheese, 2 cups of Mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 3 eggs. I threw in some Parsley for a little color but I've never thought Parsley really added any flavor to anything.

After the sauce is finished and the cheese mixture is made, pour enough Tomato Juice in the bottom of the pan to coat the bottom and place Lasagna Noodles on top.

Add a layer of Tomato Sauce and then a layer of the cheese mixture.

Add another layer of noodles.

Repeat with remaining sauce (leaving just enough left to cover the top), all of the remaining cheese mixture, and then one last layer of noodles.

Pour the remaining Tomato Sauce on top of noodles. Before you put on the cheese, pour the rest of the can of Tomato Juice (or just some more if you are using a big jug) into the pan, making sure you pour it down all 4 edges of the pan and filling any extra space with juice. You will need a lot of liquid in the pan since you are not cooking the noodles beforehand. Top lasagna with remainging cheese. *Bake at 350 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half.

*I really have no idea how long you cook it. I made this today but am not planning on cooking it until later in the week. Those were just my notes from last time. I assume that is close.

Black and White Day

2011-10-28T17:48:00.002-05:00

Tylee's preschool has been learning a color a week since the beginning of school. If I had to guess, I would assume that most preschoolers already know their colors but her teacher has been teaching at this same school for 26 years and I assume knows more about it than I do. Anyways, this week was Black and White week so guess who got to go?

Since I was taking the morning off to take Merle, I decided to stay for the day and see what pre-school was all about. The teachers encourage parents to visit but want you to wait a few weeks so that your child has time to get acclamated. I"m not sure I waited long enough.

It was neat to see how the classroom was ran, see the schedule, activities, and meet some of the other kids - especially since Tylee hasn't told me a single kids name. But I have to say I was a tad disapointed. I know that me being there probably messed with her routine a little but she was definitely not engaged socially at all. I mean, literally not at all.

I asked the teachers if she was normally this much of a loner and they said not usually but that sometimes she has bad days. I wish they would've elaborated but I guess we'll have conferences soon enough. (I hope anyways...?)

I stood in the corner during snack time and it seemed as though Tylee forgot I was there. I assumed this was close to her "normal" and I was definitely a little taken back. They passed out the cookies and candy to decorate them with. Tylee sat quietly and ate all her candy...then didn't have anything to decorate her pumpkin with. Before witnessing this first hand, if you would've asked me what Tylee would've done with a blank pumpkin and a candy face - I would have guessed that she would have made a face, named it, then role-played with the pumpkin and the little girl sitting next to her. Not even close.

I pray that today was just a bad day but the fact is more times than not - she tells me preschool wasn't fun. Now I know why. To say I'm suprised is an understatement and I would guess that anyone who knows Tylee would be a little suprised as well. I'm going to try not to stress about it and just hope it was a combination of her being one of the youngest in the class, that fact that she didn't go to daycare, and maybe throw in a little bit of "bad day" as well.

Also on the agenda for Thursday after class was the schools Fall Program. I had invited Nanny and Poppy down since they are the only ones that wouldn't have to use vacation to come watch a 15 minute program but warned Nanny that I had no idea what the program was or how Tylee would act. Well, unfortunately Nanny and Poppy got the flu but thankfully they didn't waste their fuel and time to come to Parsons. Tylee just stood there blank the entire time and looked at the crowd. She didn't say a single word, do a single action, or know a single song. She wasn't necessarily bashful - it was more like, "This is ridiculous. Why are we doing this again?" See video below.

So, I guess the positives in this are that we started her in preschool early and she has plenty of time to adapt. I wouldn't have initally sent her at 3-years old but knew it was a good idea since she hasn't ever done daycare or been around other kids. I thought being around Lindsey's kids was doing the trick but apparently its not even coming close.

Fall Program

2011-10-28T17:48:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-25T07:10:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. It seems like I can't make it through fall without taking Tylee to the Pumpkin Patch. She is going to be really, really mad at me when she is 15 years old and I'm still dragging her there. Heck, 3 years old was almost too old yet I still have plans to go back next year. It's one of my favorite things to do. Lindsey is apparently better than me at gaging age-appropriateness, as she was only planning on taking Brynna this year. However, Tylee begged for one of the big girls to go so Braylee got to tag along too.

I was suprised Tylee actually rode this train considering she was scared to death of the exact same thing at Artist Alley a few weeks ago. I am sure it had something to do with Braylee riding it with her. Either way, her and Racoony really enjoyed it. Thank goodness she didn't drop him in the field. (That thought didn't cross my mind until it was too late.)

The highlight of the trip and the sole reason I love this Pumkin Patch is because of the corn trough. It is definitely the kids favorite part and I usually like it for photo-ops...but we were there in 100% full sun and that is a very hard time of day to get good photos.

Tylee also really enjoyed "milking" the cow. She was soaking wet by the time we left.

Overall, it was a great day but I'm afraid Tylee is quickly outgrowing these activities. I think next year we may hit up a different pumpkin patch with a few more activities for older kids. Hopefully by then we won't still have a scaredy cat on our hands. I'm doubtful.

SOOC

2011-10-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

Can anyone edit-out chapped lips?

Lincoln, NE

2011-10-17T08:20:00.001-05:00

Tj and I headed North last weekend to my favorite place EVER. If Tj said we could move there I would start packing in the morning. I would probably be disapointed once we arrived and it was no longer game day but there is no place I would rather be on a Saturday morning than in Lincoln Nebraska.

My boss gave us his tickets this year and they are much, much better than the nosebleed section we usually sit in. We were on row 17 but were right over the tunnel so there wasn't 17 rows of people in front of us. Maybe 10?

I loved these balloons. I kept my eye on them most of pre-game and at some point I looked up and they were gone! The tradition is to let your balloons go when Nebraska scores their 1st points but this either got too heavy and dropped or someone accidently let go.

(That is the coach in grey)

I guess during kickoff people take off their shoes. I've never seen them do that before but after I saw this guy I looked around and saw several others...who knows. But it's a neat picture!!

The game started off pretty rocky but ended GREAT. It was by far my favorite game that we've been too. (You can read about the others here, here, here, and here.)

Nebraska 34 - Ohio State 27

Sunday morning we took a different route out of Lincoln and I was in awe most of the drive. It didn't occur to me to grab my camera until we were already past the prettiest part. Yet another awesome neighborhood to dream about.

Merle enjoyed the trip too. Can you tell?

Merle

2011-10-15T18:54:00.004-05:00

Tylee did NOT love this.

Tulsa State Fair 2011

2011-10-12T20:46:00.001-05:00

We has so much fun last year at the fair that there was never a question whether or not to go again this year. So we loaded up Tylee and Merle and hit the road!

We could have (and possibly should have) hit up some Fast Food on the way into town but what fun is the fair without food?! Its my favorite part - even if it costs an arm and a leg.

After lunch we hit up the petting zoo. The pony rides were a big hit last year so I was excited for Tylee to get to ride them again. Uhhhhh, no such luck. We have a super scared 3-year old and she didn't want anything to do with those horses.

She finally got brave enough to feed the goats!

After the petting zoo, we wandered around and enjoyed the beautiful day. When we first got to the clown Tylee wanted a dinosaur but I guess she caved under pressure and ended up with a pink kitty....that popped before I got a picture.

I was nervous about the carnival since she was afraid of everything at Artist Alley but she we did actually get her on a few rides. Last year when she was naive enough to ride them - she wasn't big enough. This year when she was actually tall enough, she was scared. That's life, huh? The games were a huge hit. It made the whole day worth it.

And finally, on the way out we gave her one last chance to ride the horses....

Success!!

Fall Decor

2011-10-08T06:24:00.000-05:00

I was going to wait until my Mums bloomed and take some more snaps of my fall decor...but Merle and the Mum had an incident and the Mum is no more. However, its probably not what you think. I had brought the Mum up to the porch to water it and Merle was sitting on a friends lap close by. He apparently thought the Mum was a stable place to jump and landed smack dab in the middle of the pot. Oops.

Grand Master Pointing Retriever

2011-10-05T19:54:00.000-05:00

As Tylee has mentioned before, (you have to go watch that video again) our Yellow Lab Boone has been at the trainer. He passed his APLA Certification last October, came home for awhile, and has been back and forth between the trainer and home ever since. He ran another test in the spring (to qualify as an Advanced Pointing Retriever) and most recently this fall (to be a Master Pointing Retriever). He successfully passed both of those but this past weekend was his biggest test yet. And to top it off, it was on his home turf.

I woke up early Saturday morning to birds, trucks, dogs, and hunters filling our pasture. Lets just say it was a little awkward when I walked outside in my PJ's to let Merle potty.

Go Boone! Go!

I am happy to report that Boone passed with flying colors on Sunday - and is officially home to stay!

He finally got his purple ribbon.

On the Menu: Shepards Pie

2011-10-04T06:32:00.000-05:00

I posted this recipe one other time but didn't post any pictures. What fun is that?

Cast of Characters:

1 cup Onion

1 cup Celery

1 cup Carrots

Veggie Oil

1 lb Hamburger

1 Tbls Flour

1 can Beef Broth (or Boullion Cubes and water)

Mashed Potatoes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop Onion, Celery, and Carrots. Saute over medium heat in Tbls of Oil for 5-6 minutes. Add hamburger and continue browning until no longer pink.

Add a heaping Tbls of Flour (or enough to soak up all the oil)

Stir mixture for a couple of minutes to cook flour. Add 1 can Beef broth (or 2 cups of water and boullion cubes). Stir continously until this makes a nice, thick gravy.

Pour in casserole dish.

Top with Mashed Potatoes and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pretend to eat Tylee's "Goop cake" that she made while you were making dinner.

Enjoy!

Life on the Homefront

2011-10-03T08:46:00.000-05:00

Life has been good but busy. Fall is my favorite time of year (and I'm not just saying that because its finally here) but it always seems to fill up fast with events and goes by way too quick. We have something going on every weekend until Thanksgiving. Although it is all super fun stuff, to think about having that full of a schedule until late November is not enticing. I need some down-time!

Tylee and I went to a little Pumpkin Patch outside of town the other day and bought all the stuff we needed to get our outside fall display set up. On the way there Tylee told me she had an idea and when I asked what it was she said, "Brecca is nice. She can go with us!" It was then that I realized that she thought we were going to the actual Pumpkin Patch rather than just the little Greenhouse that it actually was. She was highly disappointed when we arrived but was promised a trip back to the real pumpkin patch soon. With Brecca. Anyways, all our outside decor is up and I will have pictures coming soon.

Preschool has been going better. Tylee isn't always excited to go but walks right in when she gets there. When I ask her how it was her response is always, "Not fun. I don't like it." If I rephrase my questions and ask what she did, who she played with, what her snack was and if the teacher read a book that day, she normally gets excited telling me about her day and it is very obvious she had fun.

Merle is doing great and adjusting to being chased by a 3-year old non-stop. He is the best puppy that we could have ever asked for. He is very lazy and sleeps a lot yet plays just the right amount when we want him too. He sleeps in bed with TJ and I and doesn't make a peep all night. Sometimes I randomly wake up in the middle of the night (mothers intuition?) and he is patiently sitting on the edge of the bed waiting to go outside. He isn't catching on to Potty-training during the day as well as we would like but he is 100% crate-trained and does good if you keep him on a schedule. If you forget to take him out he has no problem squatting on the floor right in front of you but I have been noticing him going to the door off and on. Coincedence? Probably. But we'll get there - he is worth it.

Artist Alley

2011-09-27T14:13:00.004-05:00

When my sister asked, "How was it?" My reply was, "Well, if you didn't have anything else going on (which I didn't) then I guess it was fine, but I definitely wouldn't skip something else fun to come home for it next year."

I don't think I've been to Artist Alley since I graduated from highschool and in those 10 years, I lived in Chanute for 4 of them and Parsons (30 miles away) the past 6. I guess I wasn't ever overly interested until I had Tylee and apparently we've had something going on the past 3 years. It was a beautiful day and Tylee's 1st official parade but other than that, not much interested her. It may've been more fun if Tylee wasn't afraid of the Bouncy House. And the Train Ride. And the clowns. And the horses. Sooooo...maybe it wasn't Artist Alley's fault.

The big kids were in KC at the Taylor Swift concert so it was just Tylee and Brynna. Brynna loves Tylee and it doesn't hurt Tylee's feelings any that she gets to play the big sister role. She is quite the little Mama.

Overall it was a beautiful day spent with my Mom, my neice, and Tylee. How can you go wrong there?

Someone thinks they are tough!

2011-09-20T20:07:00.000-05:00

Welcome Fall

2011-09-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

Smooth Sailing

2011-09-14T06:12:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report -

preschool is going much better! She was actually excited to go yesterday!

Back to Normal

2011-09-11T15:28:00.001-05:00

It sure feels good to clean the house and spend 1/2 my time picking up puppy toys again.

I didn't realize how much I missed having a "pup" in the house. There isn't much better than walking in the door and hearing the pitter-patter of 4 little paws coming to greet you. The only thing better would be the pitter-patter of a certain 3-year old coming to greet me but she would rather, "Hide! Hide! Hide!"

Labor Day

2011-09-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Man, it sure feels good to be able to post this picture. Grandma Katy and Tylee at the lake!! Right where they belong! And of course, I took the picture so that means I was there too. I can't even tell you how good it was to be there again.

Don't forget Merle! He went too! (Yes, the dog finally has a name. Don't ask Tylee her opinion on that...Little Princess was not an option.)

And of course, Papa and Janis were there too.

My Dad has been to the lake every weekend (except for 2) since the tornado getting his place back in order. He was the ONLY person out of 15-or-so homes that didn't lose everything. And oddly enough, he is pretty much smack-dab in the middle of all of them. After weeks and weeks of cleaning, it was only this weekend that he felt it was safe enough for us to bring the kids down. And so we went!

Tylee and I went down on Friday night and it took her almost 15 hours before she asked a single question. She knew a tornado hit the lake yet was still not phased by the view outside the front door.

She was just happy to be there, as was I - but how can that view not take your breath away? Anyways, on our way to Grandma's Saturday morning Tylee pointed to what used to be Uncle Tim's trailor and said, "Mama! I see a broken house!" Then she asked, "Why are all the other houses broken but not Papa's?" That's a very good question Tylee. And no one knows the answer.

Lindsey, Nathan, and her kids came down for the day on Saturday and it was nice to have a semi-normal weekend.

There's Merle!

We headed home Sunday morning so we could get a few things done and relax at home before it was back to work on Tuesday. Hopefully this won't be our last trip down this summer but after seeing how much my cousin and Aunt got accomplished this weekend - I am thankful that things will be back to our new normal before we know it. I can't wait.

Day 2 - Preschool

2011-09-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

Don't let that smile fool ya!

Dropoff at preschool on Day 2 didn't go so well. Tylee and Mommy both left in tears. But -she was happy when we picked her up and is excited to go back tomorrow!! Please hope that is still the case in the morning.

Goop

2011-09-06T19:45:00.002-05:00

When we went to Branson earlier this summer, making Goop at Silver Dollar City was one of the "musts" on our list of things to do. Tylee hated White Water and didn't really like anything but the Merry-Go-Round at SDC - so making it to the Goop Station was pretty important. Thankfully, our trip was successful and Tylee made it home from Branson with a tub of purple Goop. I have to admit, it is some pretty cool stuff. Tylee plays with her Goop a lot. A LOT. Apparently it has been played with a few more times than it was made to withstand...and lately, it hasn't really been "Goop" anymore. So we made some new stuff this weekend. This must be the exact same recipe that Silver Dollar City uses - because it couldn't have turned out any closer to the same stuff.

Two Cups Glue

Food Coloring

Four tablespoons Borax

Warm water

In one bowl mix in 1 1/2 cups of warm water, glue, and food coloring.

In a separate bowl mix in Borax with 1 1/3 cup of warm water.

Pour the glue mixture into the borax mixture.

Squish together with your hands, then remove "Goop" from water and place in a plastic bag. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

I really don't know how to explain the way this feels but its well worth the glue and box of Borax to find out for yourself. Tylee loves to play with her Littlest Pet Shops and plastic princess' in it. Its also fun to cut with her Tea Party knives and Playdough scissors. Its some pretty neat stuff! Let me know if you try it!

1st Day of Preschool

2011-09-05T07:28:00.002-05:00

It's over! We did it! And there were no tears shed! We successfully made it through the day without a single tear...from Tylee or Mom! (But we did get in a fight about her outfit. I ended up compromising so she would be comfortable.)

We pulled up to the school and she just walked right in! We actually had to call her back out of her room to give Tj and I hugs. She hugged us, turned around, and walked away! That made me happy. She was happy to be there and perfectly independent. We did good.

When we went to pick her up, she got up, pushed in her chair, got her "mail" and we walked down the hall. It was a very uneventful but successful day!

I didn't expect to hear much about what she did but she actually told us quite a bit. Her favorite part was going down the slide. She played with the kitchen and made a friend named Emily, she thinks. She liked the snack but isn't sure what it was and can't wait to go back on Tuesday!

Pre-school Open House

2011-08-30T18:30:00.001-05:00

It's coming! Sooner than later...

She can write her name but apparently can't recognize it when its written on an apple. Figures.

Frenchton

2011-08-30T07:46:00.001-05:00

Okay, so where are all my wonderful commenters? Is anyone even reading this thing? I'm definitely not feeling any love...but I guess I'll give you the answer anyways. He is half French Bulldog and half Boston Terrier. I don't think we could've found a better mix!

French Bulldog: Prized for their affectionate natures and even dispositions, they are generally well behaved, adaptable, active and alert, but not unduly boisterous. While good at alerting their owners to danger, their main role is that of lap warmer.

Boston Terrier: Truly an "All-American" dog, the Boston Terrier is a lively and highly intelligent breed with an excellent disposition. The breed is easy to train and they are easy keepers, preferring to remain by their owner’s sides. The Boston Terrier is a friendly and lively dog, often boisterous. The breed has an excellent disposition and a high degree of intelligence, which makes the Boston Terrier an incomparable companion to other breeds.

To say he is loved is an understatement. I wasn't sure could feel this way about a dog again after Dutch. He is the coolest dog with tons of spunk and attitude but also wants to spend lots of time asleep in your lap. The perfect mix. Since he's been home he has also enjoyed Tea Party, coloring, playing dollhouse, and dress-up. Tylee loves him as much as we do.

More camping pictures...

2011-08-25T16:22:00.000-05:00

We went camping last weekend and suprisingly enough, I don't have much to say about it.

1) Look at those curls! That is what a fresh bath and humid air will do for ya.

2) These caterpillars entertained Tylee for hours. HOURS.

3) I am probably not a very good influence encouraging Tylee not to being afraid of bugs. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't hold the caterpillars.

4) Tylee loved fishing. Again, Mama doesn't like worms but you go right ahead babe.

Something about this camping trip really reminded me of the lake and it really made me sad. I guess its because if we went to the lake this summer like we normally would have, Tylee wouldn't be afraid of the water, she would have enjoyed going out on the boat rather than cry the whole time, she would have had plenty of oppurtunities to play with bugs, and I can bet that Papa probably would have taken her fishing for as many hours as she wanted to go. Soon enough.

Pup

2011-08-23T17:23:00.001-05:00

This little guy has some big shoes to fill. I doubt he even comes close but I can already tell that he is ready for the challenge. He's got a lot of spunk, a big bark, and lots of love to go around.

Just look at that cute little face!

I was going to go into more detail but I think I'll let my dear blog readers guess. He is a mix of the exact two breeds we've been looking at. Its pretty unreal that we found him - I knew it was meant to be as soon as we saw the ad. Any guesses? (And if you already know and comment then I'm not going to post it!) More details to come!

Easy-Peasy

2011-08-22T07:12:00.000-05:00

The weekend after I made our big Mexican Meal, I emailed my friends and asked them if they thought it was weird that I woke up bored, went to the store, and spent 4 hours that afternoon cooking. They didn't think it was weird, forsay, because they both know that I love to cook - but they did question how I had that much time to cook one meal. I don't normally have that much time and I was definitely multi-tasking (which is probably why it took me so long) but what better to do on a Sunday afternoon than cook a big meal? On Monday thru Friday, we have our fair share of easy, thrown together (and fattening) dinners. Microwaveable, even! Here are two of my favorites.

Hot Beef Sandwiches:

These hormel meals are so good. I honestly cannot tell the difference between a homeade roast that I make in the crockpot and these. The meat is REAL, the gravy is good, and it literally takes 4 minutes. Last time I bought the pre-sliced beef on accident (which is pictured here) and we didn't like it near as well. Normally I buy the whole roast or the Beef Tips and they are both delicious.

Anyways, the rest of the meal is simple. The only thing I actually cook for this meal is Mashed Potatoes. Then I throw the meat in the microwave, pull it out, mix a Brown Gravy packet with water and throw it in. Layer bread, potatoes, meat, and gravy and voila! A not-so-homeade but delicious Hot Beef Sandwich.

Salisbury Steak - Grade School Style:

Does anyone else remember Salisbury Steak day in Grade School? Those and the pork-riblets were my favorite!! And who didn't love Chicken and Noodle day? These salisbury steak are just like the ones they served for lunch. And I love them.

There is not a lot to this meal. Sometimes I make mashed potatoes to serve with these and sometimes we just eat some Lipton Noodles on the side. Depends on how much time and energy I have. Either way, they are tried and true delicious! Fattening? Yes. Processed junk that we probably shouldn't be eating? Yes. But sometimes your time and sanity count for something, right?

100% All Girl

2011-08-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

Tylee and I fight about clothes all the time. You would think with me being the adult, I would win. I normally don't. Its just easier that way. When we found out that we had a girl, I longed for the days where my life would revolve around pony tails, bows, dresses, and shopping. That's what Moms and Daughters do, right?

But this girl, my lovely beautiful sweet daughter, is opinionated. Opinionated to the point where it is not even fun! I spent way too much time the day of Josie's birthday party convincing Tylee that her khaki shorts and blue and white striped shirt matched. Does everyone agree?

Because Tylee did not. You would've thought we were getting dressed to go to the Oscars! With her strong opinion and love for clothes, I figured it would be fun to take her shopping and let her pick out some things of her own. 10 minutes into the trip, I text 2 of my friends a picture of this.

With a caption that read, "Maybe I shouldn't have brought Tylee shopping with me." She loves Unicorns and latched onto this shirt as soon as she saw it. I slowly made my way to the register and bought the ~~ugliest~~ shirt ~~I've ever seen~~. It was all worth it later when Tylee told me, "You are a nice Mom. I love my Unicorn shirt."

I was the most excited about letting her try stuff on because at home, she literally changes clothes 15 times a day. We'll be in the middle of making dinner and she'll disappear for 5 seconds and climb back up on the stool with a different shirt on. I used to walk in to her room full of clothes and get onto her for emptying her drawers and trashing it. Now, I've come to the conclusion that if it entertains her for hours at a time (which it does) - its not really hurting anything. No need to put a damper on her creative juices. Anyways, back to the shopping trip. We went to Old Navy and I let her run wild. "Pick out anything you want babe and we'll try it on and then go from there." She didn't like anything. Of course, she liked lots of stuff at Gymboree but when we got to the "cheap" store...nothing. I picked out some dresses and coaxed her into a couple things but she was not happy when she saw me throw something into the bag that she didn't want. We finally made it to the dressing room, she tried on what she wanted, and we left with one dress, one tank-top, one Graphic Tee, and a pair of jeans. Not quite what I imagined but hey, my checkbook was happy!

Since we got her clothes home, the new sack has been dragged around the house and opened and closed many times. Everything has been tried on dozens of times and she is in love with everything we bought. Nothing beats a day together with my girl but the fact that we ended up with the outcome I was hoping for, makes it that much sweeter.

Camping with Cousins

2011-08-18T17:30:00.003-05:00

I envisioned an afternoon filled with swimming and sun; an evening full of campfires, hot dogs, and marshmallows. Instead I got lots of rain, restless kids, and a muddy mess.

We still had fun, it was just different than I had imagined. Tj pulled the camper down to Parsons Lake for me last weekend so I could take the girls camping. I've been wanting to take them to Farlington but its been so dang hot and the weekends haven't worked out. We crammed this little trip in between a couple things so it was short but sweet! That actually ended up being a good thing because I was a tad stressed.

First, there was an issue with building our fire with 100% soaking wet wood. Said fire was definitely important, as that was how I was cooking dinner. Mission? Accomplished! All those years at the lake with my Dad paid off! I called him for a quick lesson and he warned me that the kids would try to throw sticks on that were too big. He was right!

Then we can add some mud in my already filled stress bucket. (Is that such a thing?)

Lots and lots of mud.

The mud was fine until I realized that (my brother in-law) Nathan let the girls pack themselves. They only packed 1 extra shirt and 1 extra pair of shorts.

Aaand I guess I can't really trash Nate because Tylee only had one outfit too...hence the tank and panties. That girl can rock anything.

Poppy, Nanny, and my Mom came over to ~~help~~ visit and were very much welcomed. Once they got there and I had some extra eyes on the kids, I was able to relax and enjoy the evening. It ended up being a great night.

All parties involved ageed.

3 Year Pictures

2011-08-18T07:23:00.000-05:00

And I think clicking here will take you to a slideshow on Facebook. I don't know a lot about Facebook.

Good Times

2011-08-17T07:06:00.000-05:00

I've put old pictures of me on the blog before (here and here) but never really saw a lot of resemblance between Tylee and I....until these.

Costly

2011-08-10T07:50:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday afternoon I made the Pioneer Woman's Beef Enchilada recipe, her Spanish Rice, and my Homemade Guacamole. It was the best meal I've made in a long time. I cannot even being to tell you how good those enchiladas were. Unfortunately, there is a downside. I hate to ruin the moment but the entire meal cost me $59. For enchiladas. For Tj, Tylee, and I. Now, I wouldn't normally know this because typically I would have just grabbed the ingredients on my normal bi-weekly shopping trip, then wondered how I spent $250 at Wal-mart? Because I spent $60 on ONE MEAL is why! But last Sunday, I woke up in the mood to cook and ran to Wal-mart for this special meal. $59 later I walked out of Wal-mart and sure hoped they would be good!

Now, if you compare my Grocery List to the recipes (which I doubt anyone will do), I actually already had quite a few of the ingredients! I had tortillas, I had Sour Cream, I had Green Onions, and I had both oil and flour. I can't imagine if I had to buy everything! Now, some good news is that she said this would only make 10-14 enchiladas and I was actually able to make 20. You use corn tortillas so they are a little smaller than your typical enchilada but I was able to make 2 trays and share the love.

I don't usually pay attention to how much necessities cost. Milk? No idea. Bread? No idea. Gas? I honestly have no clue if its $3.29 or $3.99. Not buying that stuff is not an option so no need to price-gage. I have, however, started paying attention to non-necessities and a $59 Mexican Meal on a Sunday Evening is definitely not a necessity. I am going on my normal every-other-week-shopping-spree this week and I'm going to really try to pay attention so I don't end up with another $60 dinner anytime soon.

Weekend

2011-08-08T20:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't just blogged about one of our normal weekends in a long time. I'm struggling between whether people actually care about our day-to-day lives or if I should just blog the fun stuff. Hopefully I can find a happy medium because I miss blogging "just because." We didn't have any major plans this weekend so I was really looking forward to it. I was off on Friday (we are working our 4/10's again for the summer) and I haven't had a day to just hang out with Tylee in awhile. We started our day with a Pancake on a Stick (she loved them!) and then got ready to go find a birthday present for Josie.

Tylee was so funny picking out presents. I saw a Melissa and Doug Princess puzzle at Dollar General awhile back (when I stopped to buy Tylee a T-ball and Bat set which she now refers to as "soccer" whenever she asks to go outside and play) and was thinking that may be something fun to get Josie. So we started off at Dollar General and although they didn't have the puzzle set, Tylee found lots of other things to buy. She kept saying, "I can play with it now, then I can give it to Josie at her birthday party." Thankfully Dollar General has some pretty cheap (and decent) toys so we ended up with several duplicates - one for Tylee and one for Josie.

After we finished the birthday shopping, we headed to the library to check out some books and rent The Little Mermaid. We looked at books for over an hour and when it was finally time to leave, Tylee didn't want to check anything out because "we have books at home." I snuck around and checked a couple out but they are still sitting on the counter, unread. Guess she really didn't want any books! We finished off the day Friday playing at home and enjoying our day with nothing to do! Can't beat quality time.

Saturday morning we had to be in Chanute early for a friends Wedding Shower. Tylee was confused as to where we were going but I explained that my friend was getting married and that we were going to her shower and she was going to open a bunch of presents. (Have you tried explaining a wedding shower to a 3-year old?) Tylee was excited and told me she wanted to see my friend get married. I told her we would go but that the wedding wasn't until October. After the shower Tylee asked, "Mom, is that girl going to get married?" And I said, "Yah, but remember today was just the shower, not the wedding." And Tylee asked, "But where was the prince?"

After the shower, some of my best friends from highschool went to the new Chanute Aquatic Center. I picked up Lindsey's kids so ~~they could babysit Tylee while I talked~~ they could go with us and we all enjoyed the day in the sun. I was shocked how well Tylee did. Who was this girl and what did she do with my 3-year old that is scared of the pool?! I think the key is being able to touch and also being able to see the bottom and know there are no fish. She loved it so much we might be going back this Friday!

Sunday was the day Tylee had been waiting for all weekend. It took her forever to go down for a nap because she was SO excited. I think it lived up to everything she was hoping it would! She had so much fun playing with the kids, eating cake, and helping Josie open presents.

I think Tylee was more excited about the book than Josie was!

Happy Birthday Josie! We look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you. What a great way to end a great weekend!

T-Y-L-E-E

2011-08-03T20:00:00.007-05:00

She is getting close!

And I forgot to post this the other day on my post about the funny things Tylee has been saying so I thought I would add it to this post. Tj was putting Tylee down for a nap the other day and as always, when he went to check on her she was still awake. He told her she needed to go to sleep and she said, "But Dad! Whenever I close my eyes I can't see the cartoons!"

Not So Starving Artist

2011-08-01T19:10:00.002-05:00

One of Tylee's favorite things to do is to color. I have always had a love for coloring (that stemmed from boredom at my brothers wrestling meets when I was little) and I cannot tell you how happy I am that Tylee has found this love too. We have every coloring book ever made (literally I haven't seen one that we don't already have or haven't had at some point) and almost all of them are completely colored in. We color a lot. I last documented Tylee's coloring skills here and I am pleased to say she has improved greatly.

(The cat was big and she kept asking me to color it for her because "her arm was soooo tired" but I wouldn't. I told her just to take a break and finish it later but she scribbled it instead. We are still working on patience.)

Tylee-isms

2011-07-31T14:28:00.005-05:00

I know I just did one of these but Tylee has been cracking us up lately. I figured I better document.

I just put Tylee down for a nap and about 20 minutes later, I could still hear her talking. I went in her room and she was sitting up in bed watching cartoons. I said, "Tylee - Lay down!" And she said, "Uh!! Why do you keep checking on me? Go sit down on the couch and watch TV."
Whenever you tell her to do something with a "stearn" voice she always says, "Why you so mad?" For instance I'll say, "Tylee, pick up your Goop so it doesn't dry out." And she'll reply, "Why you so mad?" while she stomps over to pick it up.
On our way home from camping a few weeks ago she had Racoony and Owl and they were talking in the backseat. Owl kept saying the same thing over and over and it was getting rather annoying. Tj yelled at Tylee to be quiet and she said, "It wasn't me Dad. It was Owl!" and continued talking in her high-pitched Owl voice.
I cannot even begin to count how many times a day Tylee changes clothes. Yesterday morning she took off her PJ's and came out with an outfit on. She asked if it was cute and I, of course, told her yes. Then she said, "Actually, I think I want an orange shirt" and off she went to change her clothes. This happens all throughout the day. But yesterday, literally no less than 6 outfits and one hour later, she comes out in a skirt and shirt. I told her it looked cute and she said, "Um, actually Mom, I want to wear this one on Saturday, during the daytime." She didn't believe me that it was Saturday, during the daytime.
Tj put Tylee down for a nap the other day and as always, when he went to check on her she was still awake. He told her she needed to go to sleep and she said, "But Dad! Whenever I close my eyes I can't see the cartoons!"

Spoiled Puppies

2011-07-27T20:45:00.002-05:00

SEK League Meet

2011-07-26T20:25:00.004-05:00

I'm a bad Aunt. My nieces and nephew were all 3 on the Chanute Sharks Swim Team this year and I never made it to a single meet. In my defense, I don't get off until 5:30 and they were all out of town (for me). Granted, there were a bunch in Chanute - I just never made it. Bad Aunt Chelse! But I pulled through when it mattered the most - the SEK League Meet.

Tylee was throughoughly confused as to where were were going and what we were doing. She kept crying, "I don't want to swim. No Mom, I don't want too." I told her over and over that we were just going to watch Brecca swim...then she asked if she could just sit on the edge and put her feet in. Well, actually, no you can't do that either. Thankfully my Dad and Janis took her home early and I got some uninterrupted time to take some snaps. Thanks Papa and Janis!

Although all 3 kids did fantastic, it amazes me that at 5 years old Brax can swim all 4 strokes across that pool without drowning. Not to mention the fact that he actually competes and has a competitive time. Aren't most 5-year olds supposed to be enrolling in their first set of swimming lessons? I think swim-team is an amazingly awesome thing and I hope it is something Tylee takes interest in. My hopes aren't high since she cries at the sight of a pool but a lot could change in 2 years.

Summer is not fun

2011-07-25T19:50:00.001-05:00

With a forecast like this

and a 3-year old that is scared of water

this is about as close to a pool as I have got this summer. I was hoping for a summer filled with weekends at the lake, camping, swimming, and just plain enjoying our sun-filled days. That has not been the case thus far. So far all I've gotten is a one-foot deep pool in the front yard, Tylee dipping her head in, spinning in circles, and playing with Barbies.

I have no idea what the deal is this summer. We swam in ND and I could tell she was timid but had no idea that that was only the beginning. The first few trips we swam we were solo at my Mom's and I really thought it would get better once the other kids were around. No suck luck! We are to the point now that she won't even put her swimsuit on if we are around a big pool. I guess she wants reassurance that there is no way whatsoever that we may put her in. I was able to get her in Stockton lake last weekend but she was gripping my neck as tight as she could with those little fingers! She eventually relaxed and let go with one arm (only to splash Dad!) but it was by no means enjoyable for either one of us. We aren't pressuring her at all but I'm kinda at a loss. I guess there is always next summer but I can't say that I'm not a little disapointed. Any tips? (We will be going back to swimming lessons in the fall but I'm nervous those may just be pure torture.)

Princess at Heart

2011-07-21T21:05:00.002-05:00

Within seconds, okay, maybe minutes of getting home from camping on Sunday Tylee had changed her entire outfit and wanted me to put on music so she could dance. Tj was not even in the house yet from getting the dogs situated outside. Apparently being away from her princess stuff for 2 days was more than she could handle. Take note of the clear high-heels as well as the moment at the very end when she spots a princess crown in her backpack and exchanges it for the headband.

Stockton Lake

2011-07-20T19:50:00.001-05:00

Man, oh man it is hot! It is not good when you see the forecast and there are 7 straight days of 100+ temps. So what did we decide to do right in the middle of the heat-wave? Go camping and spend 3 straight days right in the middle of it. Thank god for air-conditioning.

I had to document that curl! Tylee hasn't had pigtails in awhile and I didn't realize they would dry like that!

So far we've been camping all by our little lonesome with just a handful of visitors here and there. People can't believe we go alone and always ask, "So what did you do all day?" I think I'll let the pictures do the talking from here...but I promise, we do plenty!

This is Tylee's little ant that ~~crawled on her sticky hand when she was eating her popsicle~~ she caught and carried around for over an hour. It was dead in the first 5 minutes but she didn't realize it. She knew it wasn't crawling but kept telling me that it was tired so she would just carry it. Oh the innocence. Its too much sometimes.

It was so hot that we were sweating playing princess'! You couldn't pay me enough money to go sit on a picnic table right now and play princess' in the 100+ degree weather but for some reason its different when you are camping!!

This is the 6th time we've been camping in our camper and I finally feel like we have everything figured out. The first few times we were making trips to town to grab things (saran wrap, extension cords, ect) but we didn't need anything this past weekend. The only thing I forgot was a big knife...which I didn't even need.

We liked Stockton a lot but it wasn't any better than Farlington and it was another hour away. It is fun checking out new lakes but the farther away you get, the harder it is for someone to come visit. (After play "princess" non-stop for 3 days I really wished we would've brought a neice or nephew!)