Tales from the ABM

12 Week Belly Shot

2012-02-03T06:46:00.002-05:00

Who was it that said they were "HAPPY" to see I was gaining weight? (Tracy!) YIPES! Babies after #1 DO pop out sooner... granted this IS after dinner and those that have gone before me KNOW that for some reason the belly shrinks a bit over-night, but STILL... YIPES.

Ok, the PG "Catch-Up" Post

2012-02-02T04:13:00.000-05:00

SHOCKED was the reaction when I took a "dollar store" test in the MIDDLE of the afternoon on December 12th and came up IMMEDIATELY positive :) Of course once Minnie woke up we ran out to the local drug store to buy a REAL test because surely the $$ store couldn't be right!?!? :)

We are thrilled ~ albeit one of us is VERY sick... but all par for the course if I remember...and I assure you all... I do. I HATE being nausea sick... HATE it... looking forward to feeling BETTER.SOON. (Lord? Do you hear me??)

Got some meds, as I did last time, right in the first few weeks to help... which... doesn't really. But I think it turns into mind over matter? Anyway... Zofran to the rescue a few days (less than a week) and now we just suffer through because the side effect, is worse than the sick. I know, right? Introducing Mouse House Baby ~ Version 2.0 :)

And for all those weeks you missed along the way.... :)

How far along: 7 Weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up ½ LB comparing SIL L’s scale and the Doc’s
Maternity clothes: Not yet, thank goodness, BUT the pooch is sticking out
Stretch marks: no more than before
Belly button: In
Sleep: Yes please. When I sleep I’m not sick.
Baby movement: Too early
Food cravings: BLECK. FOOD. YECK.
Food aversions: All food.
What I miss: Not feeling carsick 24/7
Looking forward to: Making sure the heart rate is above 100 BPM ~ At 6 weeks it was only 93
Best moment this week: Christmas and telling family
Milestones: Baby’s heart rate is now up to 144 BPM! A “skippy” little heartbeat according to our RN and our U/S was done by my FAVORITE tech Janet!

How far along: 10 Weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 4lbs ~ Hello my name is CountryMouse and I’m a carb-aholic
Maternity clothes: Not yet, thank goodness, BUT the pooch is sticking out
Stretch marks: no more than before
Belly button: In
Sleep: Yes please. When I sleep I’m not sick.
Baby movement: Too early
Food cravings: BLECK. FOOD. YECK. (Except white, refined flour and sugar)
Food aversions: All food.
What I miss: Not feeling carsick 24/7
Looking forward to: My 10 week U/S and seeing the bean on the screen again
Best moment this week: Finding out that a friend is due 5 days before me :)
Milestones: Baby has eyelids! :)

How far along: 12 Weeks
Net weight gain/loss: up 6lbs ~ We are gonna be IN TROUUUBBLLEEE
Maternity clothes: Couple pairs of pants… most shirts are not…
Stretch marks: no more than before
Belly button: In
Sleep: Yes please. When I sleep I’m not sick…the sleep is not as deep as I’d like and I’m pretty much awake for the day by 5:30ish… ACK.
Baby movement: Too early
Food cravings: Depends on what I see on TV. I have made myself an amazing tuna sandwich on a croissant thanks to a D&D commercial, and the CountryRents have brought over Pizza Hut because I HAD TO HAVE IT. (not to mention two batches of Dad's beef stew)
Food aversions: I have been able to eat most everything this go-round… but still queasy 24/7 What I miss: Feeling good
Looking forward to: Feeling better
Best moment this week: Being able to FINALLY tell everyone!!! I hate keeping secrets from my friends! :)
Milestones: Placenta is starting to kick in… praying those sickies away!

Well... how do you like....

2012-02-01T04:07:00.001-05:00

Wednesdays in the Womb?? :) At least until August 10th-ish? :)

*pictures taken 12/12/11

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T07:09:00.000-05:00

REAL guys can wear pink... :)

Sweet and Silly

2012-01-23T05:17:00.000-05:00

Watching her favorite show Super WHY with one of her favorite girls!

Helping?? Mom with laundry...

silly days stuck inside... :)

Instead...

2012-01-22T05:06:00.000-05:00

Instead of THIS... It IS winter in Northern New England and it IS beautiful....

and we just made the BEST of it...

because once you freeze yourself and EXHAUST yourself after sledding and hiking through the snow drifts at least you get to treat yourself with 1/2 a pack of hot cocoa :)

a GREAT snow day with my girl... :)

Our "taste" of famous...

2012-01-21T09:03:00.003-05:00

100 fake points to whomever can tell me why this is famous?? :)

I could use a little....

2012-01-19T15:37:00.004-05:00

beach laundry drying on the deck... time at the ocean in this crunchy, hippy town...

and sun-kissed shoulders...

and Husband is getting all geeked up to spend a weekend on frozen water... and IS EXCITED about it!?! :)

PATRIOTS!

2012-01-15T19:15:00.003-05:00

We LOVE us some sports in this house!!! Well, ok... Husband does and Minnie and I just go along with it :) but we DO get jazzed up when our HOME TEAM is in a playoff position and we HAVE to show our support!

I think she's the cutest fan out there!

Even though she was fast asleep by kickoff! :)

*Hand-Me-Down jersey from Sky :) Love that our team has had the same GREAT QB for THAT long! :)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2012-01-10T12:28:00.005-05:00

The GOOD is that last week ~ lookie who made HIS appearance!! :) It was so fun to wait for this little one and we are all so excited HE'S A HE! :) Weighing in at 9lbs 15oz I say you just round UP,Perfect, sweet and charming just like his parents! :) Can't WAIT to see this little one grow up along side his big sister and strong community of friends! :) What a little LOVE!

The BAD and the UGLY are both in this picture... a girl with her FIRST ear infection and her FIRST time on amoxicillin. :( Sad sad state for the Mouse House.

Sorry things have been quiet round these parts but we are mending and spending a LOT of time at home, no real use for the camera... sounding like snow later in the week... maybe that will inspire :)

Wordless Wednesday: Sweet Girls

2012-01-04T07:53:00.002-05:00

"New" Bike!

2011-12-30T05:03:00.001-05:00

We were BLESSED by some sweet friends giving us their not-used anymore bike from their girls! Minnie has no idea it needs a couple of new tires and she doesn't care :) I love that she thinks it is Pheebs :) hee hee hee

Thanks O' Family for making my girl's Christmas special! :) Made mine special too :)

Other fun parts of va-ca-tion!

2011-12-29T14:56:00.002-05:00

Christmas EXTRAvaGANza!!!

2011-12-28T14:16:00.004-05:00

Whoa. We have been party-city-central!! With Christmas on a Sunday this year we knew we wouldn't be able to do EVERYTHING in one day like we normally do... so we started celebrating on Christmas Eve Morning. Checking out the presents at Nana and Papa's house :) She was so good not to touch them :) I mean SERIOUSLY look how close I am :) They are ALMOST all looking and ALMOST all smiling :)

I know we can't really see CJ's face but I couldn't resist the other two faces :) They crack me up :)

My girl LOVES her some Auntie Jen!!

A bit of the chaos....they all want to "help" :)

We had a great breakfast and visit and even made it home for 2 out of 3 of us to take a nice nap :) A good day :)

This was NEW for us and I can't say that I minded... we spent the whole AM at HOME on Christmas before heading off to church. Minnie was able to open her presents, Husband and I could relax and we all enjoyed cinnamon rolls after presents :) FUN FUN TIMES! :)

Minnie was a HUGE fan of opening all these gifts! She had a blast :) She also got a bike which I have on video and will have to share in a seperate post :) Too cute!

After church we headed over to MIL's for lunch and YET MORE GIFTS :) These guys are psyched! :)

Disclaimer on the pics... I had NO idea what was taken, only that Brando had snagged my camera off the top of the TV :) hee hee hee... always fun to go back and see what other people capture :)

At MIL's, it is ALL about the wrapping paper with buttons. If the paper has buttons... you can ALMOST guaruntee there is something homemade in the box. She did not disappoint :) These PJ pants are PERFECT!!!!!! :) Sooooo comfy!

Lil' Miss Who Needs a nap on Christmas?

Thanks for the pics Brando :)

A fantastic weekend spent with family and friends!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2011-12-24T08:13:00.001-05:00

From the Mouse House to yours... :)

*picture courtesy of CountryMum

Polar Express at the Library!!

2011-12-22T07:01:00.003-05:00

We'll take any excuse to wear our JAMMIES :) Even the special guests from FAR FAR away participated!!! :) Pheebs Nana is here all the way from "Down Under"!!!! :) What a special TREAT!

Some of the chaos that happens when the big girls see the baby boys :) they just can't help themselves those boys are SO cute!

Caught in the act! Baby B pulling his sister's hair for not the first nor the LAST time I'm sure :)

Me and my girl LOVE THE LIBRARY and we especially LOVE it when we can be in our snuggly jammies!!! :)

More fun from the season!!! :)

What's Been Goin' On??

2011-12-17T13:03:00.004-05:00

The girl has been SICK... SICK SICK SICK. "Just" a cold but it is def. knocking her for a loop. You KNOW she doesn't feel well when she snuggles like THIS with her Daddy! (yes, I know how GIGANTIC she looks :) Lil' Miss Bugger McGee...

ThankFULLY for the most part her mood has been pretty decent. She HAS wanted a lot of "moo-mies" aka movies and to snuggle with her bink and bear more than she EVER does...

She started with it on Tuesday and we did not leave the house for DAYS!!! Friday MIL stayed at our house so that Husband and I could *try* to finish up our Christmas shopping. We decided to take Minnie out for a couple of hours to see BriBri play some BASKETBALL!! Back in the gym we go :) Good thing we like us some sports! :)

and we REALLY like number 32!!! :)

AUNNIE!!!! :)

Cheering for BriBri or yelling "DEFENSE" not sure which :)

Lookie who showed up early to watch his sister cheer at the next game? :) Minnie was THRILLED to see E and Tricky...

Great game BriBri, sorry we couldn't hang out any longer... girlfriend was ASKING for her bed.

Back home we stay... TiTi thinks Minnie is on the downward slide of the cold but we are missing our annual family party today because we just can't expose Uncle K... :( Tis the season of joy, parties, stretching yourself too thin and SICKIES right? :) ESPECIALLY when you have kids!?!?

Sweet Girls...

2011-12-15T07:20:00.000-05:00

All of them...

Yiz ~ Baby "Sprinkle"

2011-12-10T11:09:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't have been NEARLY as pretty without THIS guy :) hee hee hee!!! CountryDad helped me gather some "materials" for the shower so that I could complete a VISION that Heather O' and I had dreamed up months before :) and it started like this....someone had to run a chainsaw down at J.T.'s wood lot and hike through the woods at the CountryRents to gather birch bark and someone had to do the crazy thing of hot gluing bark TO bark!?!? Crazy :)

but all worth it when it ended up LIKE THIS :) We successfully surprised Liz with a little blessing party FOR her upcoming blessing :)

It was a cozy evening with some of her closest friends and significant life-women to lay on the love :)

Sweet treats...mini-fruit kabobs

Mini-cupcakes with sparkly sugar...

Individual tiramisu, lemon bars, pretzels covered in chocolate and gold/silver sanding sugar, and mini-apple and cherry pies! :)

and the anticipation of her arrival (which was delayed since she was busy chatting it up with her hubby on the phone in my driveway... something along the lines of HOW'D YOU LET ME GO OUT OF THE HOUSE IN MY JAMMIES!!!)

There was LOADS of giggling and laughing to the point of tears :)

Stories shared and love poured out....

An amazing night of fellowship with AMAZING women to celebrate an AMAZING WOMAN!

Best wishes for the next little baby D ~ We can't WAIT to meet him/her!!! :) Love you lots "Yiz" :)

Dani's 2nd B-day Pah-ty!

2011-12-09T10:31:00.006-05:00

Dani's 2nd birthday last Saturday was a SMASHING success ~ at least for MY girl who as we all know LOVES her some pony rides AND loves her FRIENDS :) Dani shared her pony, Ladd, with her friends and Minnie was psyched... just not quite as psyched about Dani's Grampa giving the rides :) Ah well...

Birthday Diva with her best tomboy friend :)

A fun time on the SWINGS!!!! I think everyone in the back is having MORE fun :)

this one ALWAYS has fun!!! :)

CountryDad sharing his food with the birthday girl. Lucky birthday girl. CountryDad doesn't TYPICALLY share food well :) Course I'm kinda scared of the harry eyeball he's getting... I'd share too :)

Great cake made by Dani's Daddy!!! :) Yummy!!!Sweet girls :) (and baby B :)

The highlight of the party favors!!!! :) Once Minnie figured this out... she was GIDDY with excitement :)

I think my FAVORITE picture of the whole party! :) Minnie had just shown Pheebs her new found trick and Pheebs looks AMAZED :) (CLICK TO ENLARGE!)

110% COWGIRL!

Sharing cake :)

all the friends :) Look at Dani's face in this one! :) Priceless!

"helping" open presents :)

I'd say based on these two critics... the party was a

SMASHING success!!! :)

Annual Hunt for the Christmas Tree

2011-12-09T07:06:00.008-05:00

It didn't start off "GREAT" and actually kinda started out just like LAST year... truck wasn't working...

So instead of going RIGHT after church, we came home, put the girl down for a nap and Husband worked on getting it fixed. The kids and I made the best of the quiet time by making a little project I saw in my Martha Stewart Living magazine :) They treked through the woods, cut down the branches and even used the hot glue gun...

for about 15 min. and then I was left to my own devices :)

THANKFULLY Husband was able to get the truck working and we headed out to hunt and gather our tree!!!

We didn't have a long time so we made a quick WISE decision and we are all thrilled with the option this year!

...JUST in the nick of time... sunset was fast approaching!

and then look who we bumped into (planned) on the way OUT :) Fun to meet up with our friends again this year!

And THANKFULLY "Tricky" was able to show up and do the heavy lifting so that Husband and I are able to AVOID the annual Christmas tree FIGHT :)

Meanwhile...

When L&L showed up to pick up the kiddies we put them to work too, much to BIL L's chagrin :)

good thing he's SUCH a good sport!

No pics of the tree YET but here are the finished wreaths! :) Didn't they do a GREAT job? :)

Another great time of making memories with family and friends... Merry Christmas!!!!

Sneak Peek

2011-12-05T19:49:00.002-05:00

I'm busy decorating and recovering from the weekend... here's a sneak peek at some of our fun... more pics to follow...

FRIENDS!

2011-12-02T12:15:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday Minnie and I hosted our every other week play group. I think this picture does it the most justice because it IS out of focus and it WAS chaos! :) Fun, "semi"-organized CHAOS! :) That's what happens with 10 Moms and 17 kids! Oh yeah...

you read that right... 27 people in my home PLAYING...

Chatting and crafting! :)

And Minnie and I wouldn't have it any OTHER way :) What a blast!

She went down for a nap as soon as I cleaned up the house and fed her lunch ~ and I started hauling out the Christmas decorations :) I'm so happy I did too because lookie who made a quick visit over to give Minnie yet ANOTHER Birthday present... no we don't get to keep Shi-Whoa... but can you guess what it was :)

Such a special day with friends! We are blessed beyond blessed and I think my friend, Lil's Mom said it best in an email to me after play group "I took a look around and thought how lucky I am to be here with such wonderful women- who are such great mothers! "

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY version of "Cake Wrecks"

2011-12-01T07:16:00.008-05:00

The inspiration ~ THIS is the trouble with Pinterest*!!!! It all started well enough on Friday AM...and I worked on coloring all the homemade fondant. Friday night I cut out and added detail to all the feathers that I planned to use... Took me about an hour and 1/2 for just the details I did on Friday night. Frozen cakes Saturday AM...

Husband came out of the woods to do the constructing... with his little sous chef... :)

In his words "there is enough wood in here to light a FIRE"...

BUT the cake WAS upright!!!

Saturday while Minnie was sleeping CountryMum helped by working on the kid's favor bags while I spent about 2+ hours cutting out and assembling all the paisley pieces. CountryMum also distracted Minnie and helped by keeping her out of the kitchen :) Right after Minnie went to bed Husband and I tackled the fondant assembly. We had already noticed at that point that the cake was starting to "lean" a bit...I worked quickly to roll out the fondant so we could try to hold the whole cake together AND UPRIGHT with the frosting...

Making sure we get the right size piece of fondant for the head. You don't want to mess with this stuff too much...

Didn't seem to matter though because as Liz said... the head was TOO heavy for the body and the owl had to be decorated "asleep" instead of standing up like I had wanted. I tried not to be too disappointed because REALLY at that point... WHAT am I going to do?

Couldha, shouldha, wouldha....didn't matter at this point...

Finished product when I went to bed that night... I guess it didn't matter too much that it was LAYING down instead of standing up :)

*img source

What ELSE has been going on....

2011-11-30T04:11:00.001-05:00

Yes we have been a bit obsessed (ok, I HAVE BEEN) with Minnie's pah-ty but only because I also knew that family was coming from out of town and we also had a MAJOR holiday which happens to be MY FAVORITE all in and around the same time frame!!! Craziness I tell yah! The birthday girl in her birthday outfit!! Thanks Nana!! :) Speaking of birthday girls! :) This one turned 2 just a mere week before... :)

Minnie suckered some of Daddy's friends into reading with her while they took a break from hunting for "yum-yum"... his little girl is a college graduate so I don't think he minded taking a little break and rewinding a bit :)

Turkey day!!!! Speaking of turkeys... (at least the one on the top of the pile!)

I am SO close to getting a GOOD picture of the three of them... SO close I can TASTE IT! :)

Black Friday special... Tricky shot a deer and Minnie was PSYCHED! :)

she does love "yum-yum"... I fear for the day when someone buys her Bambi and we have to have THAT conversation :) I like this part where she still doesn't "get" it...

We spent LOTS of time with cousin T and Minnie LOVES that. He is one of her FAVORITE PEOPLE!!!!

J.T. came with her kiddos to spend the AM with Minnie on her b-day so that Husband and I could go and celebrate the life of Auntie... I think Minnie had fun. When I sat down on the couch next to her she told me to get off :)

When she woke up from her nap AUNNIE was there to say Happy BIRTHDAY in PERSON!!! :) Minnie loves to talk on the phone (as seen here with Mimi) but to have Aunnie here with Brando was a SPECIAL TREAT!!!

Husband and I sang to our baby girl after dinner and she light up just like her birthday candle one more time. I think she LOVES her birthday! (just like her Mommy!! :)

We had SUCH a fun Thanksgiving break!! Now bring on CHRISTMAS!!! :)

Minnie's 2nd Birthday Celebration!!!

2011-11-29T05:28:00.000-05:00

Whoo's Turning Two??? Can you guess the "theme"? :) Minnie's one year timeline in pics...

The littlest friends in the bunch...

they are becoming FAST friends... so cute!

I asked Minnie after her party if she had fun... she told me right away "I read Nana!!" :) She was pretty psyched about that. Of course any chance she gets with Wha-Gee is a GREAT time in her book!

I think this was her face when I asked if she wanted to open her PILE 'O PRESENTS!?! Really Mom?? Really??

It was OVERWHELMING! Our family and friends are OVER the top for our girl and she was blessed beyond blessed! :)

She got about 800 dress-up (aka Halloween costumes on clearance :) outfits from Gammie and she (ok, Mom!) was PSYCHED :) I think she and her friends will have so much fun with this stuff over the next few years :)

Speaking of having fun! This is what happens when you hand your camera off to someone else (Doe-Doe) and you find what he took pics of :)

The cake... ready to light the candles....

Everyone singing her favorite song was by FAR her favorite part of the afternoon. She was grinning from ear to ear! She LOVED it :)

Next year we might even get to skip the cake all together. She LOVES ice cream and TiTi just kept giving her more and more :) who needs cake when there is ice cream? :)

and who needs ice cream when there is DRESS-UP?

the sign of a good cake?

The sign of a good party and a HAPPY girl :) We love you Minnie and I hope you could feel how EVERYONE that was in this home loves you too! You are blessed baby!!!

Minnie ~ Two Years OLD

2011-11-28T14:05:00.002-05:00

Dear Sweet Sweet Girl,
This has been the FASTEST two years of my LIFE. You have gone from a teenie tiny...to a big sassy TODDLER! :) You are quickly forgetting all things "baby" and we are seeing more and more that you ARE your OWN person and we are READY! (well, kinda. :) (pictures below showing your "muscles")

Minnie you bring us SUCH joy everyday.

There is not a day that goes by without Daddy and I giggling at something you've said, tried to say or acted out so that we can try to FIGURE it out.

You are working on complete sentences and just this past weekend said "I, go help Tod" when your cousin was putting his boots on. You can count to 11, you know your WHOLE name and your address including the town and state you live in. :) You LOVE to sing praise and worship songs, your ABC's, Happy Birthday and Twinkle Twinkle (that comes out tinkle tinkle and makes us laugh every time :)

You know EVERYONE'S names and will ask complete strangers in Wal*Mart "How 'ah You?" :)

If Papa asks you "did anyone tell you today?" you will respond with "I cute" :) You are VERY curious and interested in "What doin'" and "Where goin'?"

You have the CUTEST tone of voice for "Why" and I can't even get annoyed with it because it is so adorable :)

Bink and Bear are your go-to's when you are tired, sad or just need some comfort but you have recently come out with an adoration for, who you refer to as, "I-Yah" the bush monkey from Aunnie Becker. Nana also just bought you a little plastic chicken, whom you refer to as 'Mabel' and you LOVE her.

You are STILL not a great eater but we are getting there. Mom just has to get creative and you need to spend more time with Pheebs because "Yiz" told me you ate CHICKEN! :) THAT was a first and I'm sooooo proud of you!

You LOVE to stand at the counter and "Help Mumma" with whatever I happen to be cooking or doing at the counter. You just got a whole bunch of kitchen things for your birthday and you were THRILLED!

A typical week for us is Monday, catch up from the weekend day. Laundry, cleaning and any grocery gathering we need to do. Tuesday is the library which you LOVE and we try to hit the park if it is nice and the post office. Wednesday is either play group or Moms in Touch where you get to play with your friends while Mommy prays for the public school kiddos. Thursday and Fridays we try to leave open for appointments, hanging out at home, and getting things ready for whatever is coming for the weekend.

You also LOVE to take a "walk the driveway" and see if any of the neighbor girls are home. You like to check things out at Headders and Meagan's :) Throwing rocks in the stream we can see now that the leaves have fallen will keep you busy for 20 minutes or more :)

You have been sleeping in until about 6:45-7ish, have a nap around 12ish, and bed for the night around 7ish. The "schedule" seems to be working well for all and we are hoping this one sticks for a bit :)

Minnie, Daddy and I could NOT imagine loving ANYONE more than we love you baby girl. You have made us a family and we ADORE all the time we have with you. Your spunk, sass and personality making you ~ YOU, are a treasure. We can believe we get to be the ones to enjoy you and call you our own!

We love you Minnie,

Mommy & Daddy

Where have I been?

2011-11-27T20:17:00.002-05:00

Only up to my eyeballs in OWL cake :) Someone is turning two! :)

"Yiz" was right... the head WILL be too heavy for the body and it WILL tip over... more on this later...

Sweet Moments with Friends

2011-11-18T19:25:00.007-05:00

We had a few impromptu moments with friends this week... and I took a few impromptu photos... :) sweet...

Silly

sweet....

twinsies :) I LOVE that Pheebs keeps a pony aka piggy in her hair for ME :) I love love LOVE it :) She arrived at my house around 8:30, had a piggy by 8:45 and it was STILL in her hair at 1PM when she left :) she NEVER made a PEEP about it. :)

Sorry? (not really, it's MY blog :) about the picture overload. I couldn't pick in the following and I know "Yiz" would LOVE to see all of them so put them all in :) When you are not allowed to jump on the couch because your Mom is scared of you bouncing your head off the coffee table... it is good to have a Mom that will haul the cushions off so you can jump on the FLOOR right??

I think these gals thought so :)

I caught they both doing their own thing...

and then Pheebs got SILLY :) I was referring to "Sally" from Cat in the Hat and she would say "No... blah blah blah" (I have no idea what she was trying to tell me) but then she'd get a SERIOUS case of the giggles...I couldn't resist all these pics :) she laughs SO easily and so full. I love her :)

I was blessed this week with some spontaneous visits, some truth being spoken into my life at Bible Study and for time spent with friends and the Lord in prayer. I needed it.

Catching Up...

2011-11-14T05:34:00.001-05:00

Finishing up the harvest... the potatoes did well... :) watching the turkeys on a misty afternoon...hanging with cousins that had cancelled school....

and workin' on projects before dinner...

YUM!

YUM!!

playing dress-up....

while snuggling with Lu-Lu

and FREAKING OUT when cousins played dress-up too....

lest you think she didn't get over it...

Funny stories of my girl this weekend... she LOVES Lu-Lu but Laura Jane and I are a little worried she might love Laura Jane's BF MORE... When I told Minnie that Lu-Lu was coming for the day and said it in my excited voice...she came right back with HER excited voice... "AND DON?????!!??!!?" :)

We went to "you should have bought it when you saw it..." and I pushed her past a display that had a cardboard cut out of "Chewie" advertising Slim Jims. I stopped the cart made a "eewww" face at her, she looked over at it... looked back at me, kinda shrugged and smirked and said... "scwary" :)

She was NONE too impressed with Brando dressed as the local basketball mascot. She cried, freaked and was genuinely afraid even after he TALKED to her (which is a BIG no/no when you are dressed as a mascot). Once he went to change and come back though... she went to him immediately and said... "All done the bathing suit?" :) Yes... yes... all done with the bathing suit.

*image source

Ecuador

2011-11-13T20:08:00.003-05:00

Husband and I sponsor a little girl through Compassion International... Yadira... from Ecuador. We have for almost 10 years. We save every letter and look forward to those we write to her.

I went to a concert and heard about Compassion. Came home, looked on the internet and picked the only little girl who was smiling.

We have no money. I'm not saying that flip but just as a fact....but here in the great AMAZING country we live in... we have MORE than "nothing" and we LOVE supporting this little girl in the meager way we can. This past week, some of my favorite bloggers were there with Compassion International. Meeting some of their sponsored kids and telling stories about what Compassion is doing along the way.

Catch up... won't you? And at the least... read Ann's Blog. Especially you book club gals... Really... a 15 year old boy who has NOTHING and yet he saves every letter from his sponsor and pictures from his family are the ONLY thing on his wall.

And you think YOU can't make a difference....

Love...

2011-11-10T19:28:00.002-05:00

This girl in her sassy... SASSY...

Outfit...

and I LOVE how much these two LOVE each other....

Wordless Wednesday: Just another "normal" day round here

2011-11-09T13:39:00.002-05:00

Silly Sunday

2011-11-06T03:32:00.000-05:00

I think it is safe to say she misses her TiTi's pool UNCLE YE-IN! :)

Translation: Bathing Suit

Back to the Farm

2011-11-05T03:57:00.000-04:00

On Thursday Ali was nice enough to host a play date for ALL the friends at her farm. My girl was BESIDE herself that morning that she was going to get ANOTHER chance to ride Hickory! :) A little friend that I failed to mention in the last post I did about the farm was a real LIVE Jack. :) He just roams around the yard nibbling on grass and hangin' out. Ali put him on a cross tie so there would be another four legged friend to brush and Dani jumped right in! :) Little Lil trying to figure out if her feet or Hickory's are bigger :) Trust me Lil... it's Hickory! :) You have THE.SMALLEST.FEET! :)

sweet Pheebs!!! Doesn't want anything to do with getting ON the horses but a barn FULL of her friends... yes PLEASE!!

ah the little livestock lover! She just thinks she is ALL THAT up there on Hickory! She LOVES him to pieces!

"Don't you even HINT about me getting off Mom. I RIDE THE HICKORY!"

First pony-ride for Lil!!!

Veteran cowgirl! This one has her OWN pony :) Riding like a champ alREADY!

Sweet "Yiz"... not much time now before she'll be pushing TWO swings :)

At least they are all semi-looking...you should see the outtakes.

A GREAT day with our friends, getting dirty, playing with horses, tractors and the bouncy house! Fun FUN times! :)

Fun Friday: Just me and my Redneck

2011-11-04T04:29:00.000-04:00

Picked the hat out of the basket all on her own. Mental note to self: Must make stickers for her back that say "I DRESSED MYSELF TODAY" :)

*picture courtesty of "Yiz"

IK3A!!!!!

2011-11-03T04:14:00.000-04:00

On Saturday I had the thrill of my WEEK :) (I lead a pretty GREAT life so it's hard to say thrill of my LIFE :) BUT I was able to ride along in Heather O's mom-mobile (come on...it's a minivan I HAVE to call it that :) for a trip south of Boston to IK3A :) (I'm misspelling it so it doesn't get picked up on a G0OGL3 search.) I had heard amazing things about this place from H.B. and I couldn't WAIT!!! L & L graciously watched Minnie for us (Husband was in the woods... opening day of hunting season) and I knew she was in good hands. I enjoyed every single SECOND with H.O. :) Driving up... Here she is giving me the veteran's run down. Grab your pencil, map and measuring tape. No kidding. :) Hop on the escalator and away we went!

It's unfortunate how serious we stayed ALL day :) bahahahahaha

Overwhelmed by the warehouse that HAD I written anything down on my paper I would have had to pick up here. GiGANtic! So fun!!!

We enjoyed each other, the yummy restaurant for lunch that was IN THE STORE and went home with some great gifts. I altered the picture so that certain people wouldn't see what I may or may NOT have purchased for them.

I had SUCH a great time with this girl ~ 2 1/2 HOURS in a car with no one in the backseat hollering to us about getting them a drink, "nack" or changing the music. I loved getting to know her better and experiencing something so FUN! :) Please don't mind the SHOCKED look on her face. I don't think she was expecting me to ask a stranger to take our picture as we exited the building :) hee hee hee... FUN FUN FUN!!!!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T05:22:00.000-04:00

Who do you hunker-down with when you are havin' a bad day? Life's gettin' yah down? Times are tough? You know what I'm sayin'....

These two have my heart.

Pony Ride ~ How we spent her 23 month birthday

2011-10-31T19:38:00.006-04:00

The general consensus is that I LOVE my blog, my pictures are "safe" (it's the Internet, NOTHING is safe) and I love documenting my life this way. The $5 was paid and we blog again... bring on the pictures!!!

On Friday last week Minnie had the THRILL of the week. When we went to the fair with the CountryRents Minnie REALLY wanted to "ride a pony" just like her big cousins. As some of you may remember it didn't go down so well the LAST time she rode a pony so at the fair I made the executive decision to not pay for the pony ride. 1) I didn't want to waste the $$ 2) I didn't want her crying and freaking out after only 15 seconds on said pony and 3) I knew that our friend from the library had offered Hickory ANYTIME. (I also didn't think she REALLY cared ~ whoopsie)

She talked about riding a pony FOR THE REST OF THAT DAY. I got home to Husband and said "I have NEVER felt like our girl wants for anything. I feel like she has MORE than we deserve but that day... I was SO sad that I didn't pay the $$ and get the girl a pony ride." Thankfully I did check in with our friend who owns Hickory and she DID say "come ON OVER!!!" and Minnie had her pony riding day. One that didn't cost us $5 and lasted about 10 times as long as the one at the fair :) Oh yeah... and here's how it went down...

Starting with the "fake" horsey ride ~ and THRILLED to be on Hickory. The other GREAT thing about waiting until Hickory the pony was that DADDY got to be there! :) I think Minnie almost loved that part best! :)

There were NO tears and she LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!

Hickory's littlest owner :)

Walkin' and talkin' with Nana

Our sweet, generous, lovely hosts ~ please note that baby B is SLEEPING there on his Mama....

The big guy ~ Boone ~ that had to get left behind...

After the pony ride the girl just ran around and had A BLAST in the yard

with the toy tractors

and then there was the JUMPY HOUSE!!!! :)

I think this is my favorite pic of all of them. Two girls, barefoot in cold weather ~ one chasing chickens and one riding a tractor in late afternoon sun. :)

The little B man that woke up and had all kinds of smiles for the nice lady Minnie calls Nana :)

Pa-Pa!!!! :) come on now...

The final highlight of the afternoon for Minnie was actually TOUCHING one of the chickens she had spent so much time chasing. :) She even got to gather an egg from the chicken coop. My girl left her new friend's home with a heart full of memories and dirty feet and clothes. In my book, that's success!

Thank you B family for sharing your home, animals and fun things!!! We had an AMAZING afternoon! What a GREAT way to celebrate Minnie turning 23 months old! :)

EXCEEDED MY LIMIT!!!

2011-10-30T20:02:00.001-04:00

Ok, sorry for the quietness... I am in the midst of trying to figure out if it is worth it to me to spend $$ in order to keep up with my blog. I've exceeded the limit of pictures and Husband and I are discussing what makes sense...

The "trouble" I speak of...

2011-10-26T04:53:00.000-04:00

it makes me laugh... every time.

They fill me UP

2011-10-25T06:45:00.004-04:00

Last night I had the chance to sneak away from the house ALONE as soon as Husband got home from school, to meet up with "the redheads". What a blessing these two are to me. They build me up, they listen intently when I share things from deep down and they are right there to offer encouragement, hugs and love NO.MATTER.WHAT. I am so blessed to have two girls that can speak truth into my life and make me feel like I am OK after spending a few hours with them...

I needed them last night and they were THERE.... :) Thanks girls! I love you!

The Weekend Report

2011-10-24T04:09:00.000-04:00

Busy weekend this weekend... started off the right way with a PAH-TY though! Nothin' like a party on a Friday night!!! Nothin' like celebrating THIS young-stah :) It was a big one for her... but she handled it with grace. Just like she always does :) I tried to snag a pic of all the kids...

I said... ALL...

I mean, ALL THE KIDS...

it got a little more silly when we added in the dessert...

and the slide show of pictures on the TV of her friend Pheebs :) Man she loves that girl :)

On Saturday we got dressed up warm and headed over to an old co-workers house for his annual chili-fest... a great night spent outside eating yummy food and playing together as a family...

Fun times makin' memories :)

On Sunday afternoon, Husband and Tricky tackled the kitchen door project. For those that have been here in the last two years you may remember having to, or listening to one of us... KICK the door closed. Well....

thanks to these two strapping guys...

WE have a new door!

in. :)

We ended the weekend with book club and finished our discussion on What Women Fear. What do women fear? Boys who will inevitably grow up and be Men that watch football :)

Pictures Only...

2011-10-21T07:05:00.002-04:00

Because I'm at a loss for words... (I know huh!??)

Lest I forget...

2011-10-19T19:29:00.003-04:00

What has been going on... I think I used to be MUCH better about sharing the "good, the bad, and the UGLY" before Minnie... I don't want you all thinking I have had a kid and now live in the land of bliss... HA!

We have definitely been having a rough-go of it with the Min-ster aka Pushy-Pants, aka Screechy-Pants, aka FREAKY-Pants! For about a year and 1/2 we have been able to put Minnie down for both naps and bedtime by walking upstairs, pulling her shade, turning on her sound machine, giving her a bink and putting her in her bed. We walk out. She sometimes chit chats to herself but she does her thing quietly and ALONE and goes to sleep. For the past week or so it has gotten progressively WORSE. She has started crying and SCREAMING in her bed. Because she really hasn't done this in FOR-EVER I of course would go in to rub her back or make sure she was OK. She.WAS.Fine.

Last night we listened to her at bedtime SCREAM in her bed, blood shrilling "MAMA!!! DAAADDDDYYYY" for about 40 minutes. FORTY MINUTES!!! Brutal!!! Husband thankfully just sat quietly next to me on the couch and then said... "if she's hurt or scared... I'm THERE for her... but this screaming out in temper... yeah. No." :) I love that guy. He's right. She was having a full on temper tantrum in her crib. AAAHHHH....

She's also REALLY come into pushing her friends. It is almost her way of "greeting" except not quite as nice as that. She just walks up to those she loves, her age, and two hands on the shoulders... PUSHES them. I am at a LOSS. I reprimand, I correct, I instruct and I even ask other Mom's to please tell THEIR child to manhandle her... but so far nothing has worked. :( I don't want her thinking that it is "fun" to get a reaction of TEARS out of her friends. This makes me SO sad.

Any sort of meal time is typically met with "I, no YIKE IT!" aka she doesn't like whatever it is I'm putting in front of her. Most of the time mind you it is something like a PB and J or pasta. The girl doesn't EAT! It's not like I'm serving liver and onions!!!

I am definitely seeing that this girl is coming in hard and fast to TWO YEARS OLD and that Husband and I had better get our ducks in a row in order to stay 3-4 steps ahead of this one. She is asserting the things which she *thinks* she can control (thinks being the key word :) Looks like I'll have to get creative in giving her some choices that she CAN control. Cucumbers or Tomatoes? Rain boots or Party Boots? Skirt or Jeans? You know... the BIG decisions.

In other updates... Husband's soccer season has come to an end... I am happy to get him back after school for a week... until I become a hunting widow :) I guess he's entitled since he *thinks* he's bringing home meat for his family. ACK! :) He HAS done a great job getting our wood together for this winter to keep his little ladies nice and toasty warm! :)

As you have seen I've been busy with Minnie during the day at the park, play group and with our community, family and friends. I've also had the privilege of being a part of a new Moms In Touch group started by a friend. What a BLESSING this has been. We meet every other Wednesday to as they say "bathe a child in prayer". I've never been comfortable praying out loud in a group and this is SUCH a step for me and it is AMAZING. I am loving the gals and really taking the time to dedicate to praying over a particular child. It is also a great encouragment to me just being with these other Mom's of young children who are ALSO in the thick of it, ALSO have kids that aren't sleeping well and ALSO want to run for the hills somedays but who ALSO see the amazing gift that we have in staying home with our kiddos. Who remind me that we are gifted these precious little people from God.

Bri Bri's B-day Pah-ty

2011-10-18T05:11:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we headed to the "big city" to celebrate a certain gal turning the "sweet 16". THANKFULLY it wasn't THIS girl... Seriously one of my current fav. pics... I love these kids and I LOVE this pic!

I think this could get titled "hey... Aunnie! WATCH!" :) (her face is PRICELESS, click to enlarge)

Always time for math...who cares if it's your b-day pah-ty right?? :)

Did someone say "math?" Yeah. I tune out and get silly instead. :)

A great time celebrating a GREAT girl with amazing family. Almost makes the girl crying ALL.THE.WAY.HOME. worth it... almost. :) Kidding. :) Kinda.

Wednesday Play Group

2011-10-17T05:55:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday these two lovely ladies picked up Minnie and I and took us to our every other Wed play group at Pheeb's house. We had a special project planned for the day and there was a HUGE turn out! Speaking of special projects...gotta love Mama H's borrowed outfit. Ask her about it sometime... hee hee hee Shhhh.... don't tell what we were working on...

Do you think little E there on the end wants to share? :)

ssshhhh....

We were also celebrating a little man who turned TWO that VERY day! We all enjoyed treats provided by his Mom!!!

My girl was LOVIN' LIFE!!! Pheebs, Yiz, "wings" (swings), toys, treats... yeah. She loves life.

Speaking of lovin' life... how SERIOUSLY cute is this kid? He was SO ready for my camera any time I pointed it at him :)

I mean...

EVERY time :)

What a GREAT day!

Shun-Shnides

2011-10-13T04:57:00.000-04:00

We love us some Kschnides!!! Or as Minnie calls her... Shunshnides which really sounds like...SHUN-SHINE :) Hysterical! She is just a few weeks into her first year of college and is in a nursing program. I love girls in nursing. They always seem so gentle, nurturing, loving, kind and sweet. At least all the girls I know that are RNs or going to be :) This one is no different. I aspire for Minnie to be just like her :) She goes to bed by 10PM, loves hanging out with her Mama and prefers hangin' out to GOIN' out :) Easy girl to please that is FOR SURE! We LOVE this girl!

Clearly Minnie does too :)

Thanks for coming to hang Kschnides! We love yah!!! (ALL of us! :)

Word?less? Wednesday: Should I be concerned?

2011-10-12T06:50:00.004-04:00

Untitled from Country Mouse on Vimeo.

Fair Vs. 2.0

2011-10-07T12:34:00.010-04:00

We made the most of the rainy day at the Fay-yah last week... and spent a lot of time inSIDE :)

or under cover ~ (you try getting 3 kids, 3 and under to look AND smile at the camera at the SAME time)

Thankfully Nana spoiled the kiddies with a special surprise from one of the vendors. Brand new toy buses to play with while they were all in their strollers. THANKS NANA!

this little guy was surprising us ALL over the place that day... climbing in with the animals and wait until you see what he did further down the page...

Unlike the fair we went to only two days before, Minnie had the chance to go on some rides thanks to Aunnie J and Uncle JJ ~ She def. didn't want to be the only one watching the big boys but the first ride they picked was SUPER fast and really kinda big for her... (holding back tears) but she pitched a FIT when it was time to GET OFF~ :)

On the next ride I thought Minnie would be OK since she was sitting with the "big boys"...

but not so much when the ride took off...Good thing for Nana racing along side... the giggles came back...

By far the SLOWEST and her most FAVORITE ride :) She's been talking about the yellow truck ever since.

CJ wasn't TOO sure about this but we were all encouraging him to enjoy it... and JUMP...

AND HE DID!!!

Thanks CountryRents for another LONG, wonderful day at the fay-yah! The tradition continues...

and I can't TELL you how happy I am that my girl is going to grow up with these amazing memories just like I have :)
THANK YOU!!!

Inspired ~ Before and After

2011-10-06T13:43:00.006-04:00

I think when you are inspired by people who are smaller....who are younger...

and who are so beautiful INSIDE and OUT....It's a great reflection on their parents. Clearly you are raising kids who care for other, want to do something bigger than themselves and are selfless.

I was challenged by these three GORGEOUS girls who have all recently (Chloe was a couple years ago) cut all their hair for a program called Locks of Love who take hair donations and make wigs for kids with cancer.

So I decided several months ago I was going to make the big cut. Today was the BIG DAY!!! I was soooo excited. I typically get a little ancy about my hair in the fall and try to do something different but this year I knew it was going to be REALLY different :)

You have to have at least 10 inches in order to donate to Locks of Love.

Good thing for ME it can be wet and straight when you cut it :)

My faithful hairdresser and good friend encouraging me the entire time :) I def. did not expect the emotions that I felt when I felt the scissors go through my hair. I got sick to my stomach and I started to cry. I was NOT expecting that!?!? I was completely caught off guard!

But we laughed it up and we even went a little crazy by straightening it. (don't worry as SOON as a STITCH of water touches it we are all back to curly and I'll post another pic then)

Goodbye hair and hello DIFFERENT :)

(a pic for Mama H while I was on the phone with her :)

I can't believe how SHORT my ponytail is!!! Then I start to think... my hair WILL grow back. I'm not a parent who has to worry about picking out a wig for my little girl. I am thankful and blessed.

Thank you Chloe, Millie and Lil'Bit for your inspiration, your challenge and your selflessness. You are all amazing.

Wordless Wednesday: A Fair Post for Pa-Pa

2011-10-05T04:32:00.000-04:00

(click to enlarge)

Sit Down and Relax...It's FAIR Season

2011-10-04T04:22:00.000-04:00

Minnie was a bit bigger in the backpack this year...but such a great way to maneuver the fay-yah! I'll be the annoying woman with the stroller tomorrow (at the Fair vs. 2.0) but when Daddy is there... the ride is supreme! and clearly she loves it. ;)

Ok, maybe she liked THESE BETTER...

yep... she DEFINITELY likes those better...

Ah the annual picture... I think we did pretty good this year :) (or rather TiTi behind the camera and Sky and Doe-Doe jumping around making Minnie giggle did well :)

This one is just for Tracy... Husband holding EVERYTHING :)

Minnie was pretty smitten with the baby calf... she wanted someone to hold her hand to get a little closer...

and then she cried after we left :) poor thing. Someone get that girl a COW! :)

Somebody get this girl a TARGET! :)

I much prefer to be the one BEHIND the camera snapping the eating pics of my SIL's but it was a smaller group this year so someone had to step up. Bets, please promise me you'll be there next year?!?! :)

Happy kiddos!

2.5 minutes down the road, happy parents :)

From the fair we headed to Sky's 10TH!!!!! Birthday party! HOW DID WE GET HERE SO FAST!?!?!? SOMEONE STOP THE TIME. SOMEONE LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY STOP THE TIME!!! :)One of the BEST parts of the party! :) Awwww sweet Shi-whoa! :)

Minnie is ALL about helping Aunnie Becker with ANYTHING she needs if it has to do with Shi... she LOVES to "old her" aka hold her... and she got an opportunity to even FEED her :)

By far the most coveted gift of the night :) One of "Mimi's Quilts" :)

A picture for Momma S... her eyes DO open!!! :)

but only for a minute :) I was SO excited to capture the beginning of the babe's dimples... she has two, one is def. going to be deeper than the other but I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some dimples :) she is SOOOO cute! :)

Speaking of cute :) Headed out the door to church. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this girl!

I finished off the weekend with book club. We are currently reading What Women Fear but let's be honest... we mostly get together for the grub :) Appetizers and sweet treats for dinner? Yes please :)

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes, White Queso, fruit, cookies, veggies, and the most AMAZING veggie chowder.... mmm.... I love book club :)

The weekend was jam packed full of FUN and I loved every minute of it! :)

An afternoon with Pheebs!

2011-10-03T04:47:00.000-04:00

Minnie: Come on Pheebs!!! Come this way and watch my Daddy coach some soccer girls!!! Pheebs: Some WHAT?

Pheebs: I don't think this feels right Minnie, I think you are taking me on a wild goose chase...

Pheebs: Whoa. Look at all those girls dressed in green Minnie!!!

Minnie: CHEEEEEEZZZEEEEEEE!!!!

Minnie: See Pheebs. This is what I meant. My Daddy coaches these big girls to play soccer. Or in our house my Mommy just says "you wanna go watch Daddy's socc-ah game?" :) Isn't it fun!?!?!

Pheebs: My Daddy calls this FOOTBALL!

Minnie: Pheebs I'm so glad that you came in my car with me to my Daddy's soccer game!

Pheebs: I'm so glad that your Mom finally talked you off that hill back there and you stopped freaking out!

Pheebs: Seriously Minnie. I patted your back and told you to stop. Why didn't you just listen to me? :)

Pheebs: It's so much MORE fun when we're TOGETHER!

Minnie: I LOVE having you in my "tar" Pheebs! Don't you love Mac!? You are SUCH a great clapper to "Funky Jesus Music" it made us giggle so hard!! I sure loved sharing my water back and forth too. My Mom said we were SUCH good share-ers! You had a drink, I had a drink, you had a drink...

Both: I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon and evening than with good friends. Sure did have fun!

Minnie's 1st Apple Picking

2011-10-02T04:30:00.000-04:00

Thursday was Minnie's first apple picking experience. Good thing for her fair weather isn't one of her prerequisites for having a GREAT time :) Some of her best friends were there, animals were to be seen and boots were worn :) All things that make for a great day!

Pheebs and "Yiz" :) Please note the VERY grey sky but the GORGEOUS farm behind Pheebs. I like to pretend in some of these pics...

that maybe we were in Ireland or some other very wet country... course I'm not sure if they grow apples like us but can't you just imagine with all that fog in front of us... (also please note all the cutesy gals with their hoods on :)

You gotta grab one to munch on while you are "working"

We made it back into the barn just in time... the rain really started coming down while we were walking in so we took a bit of time to dry off and look at the pumpkins.

and throw them all into an apple crate :)

Thanks to "Yiz" for planning such a fun morning, in spite of the weather, with our friends. Sometimes it's kinda nice to just get OUT and enjoy whatever weather God is throwing our way. Teaches you to just make the best of it :)

Fun with the neighbors!

2011-10-01T04:20:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday the sun was shining, the girl wasn't sleeping (more than an hour) and the neighbor girls were all outside releasing their just hatched?? monarch butterflies... Minnie and I pulled over to check them out... the butterflies, not the girls :) and ask if they might like to come to the park with us!!!

They decided to cage up the butterflies and take them down to the park to release. What a GREAT experience!! Minnie even got a chance to have one on her shirt and she was THRILLED! I tried to capture some pics of the gals and I thought the little one was going to be tough...but trying to get these three to all look and smile at the camera at the SAME TIME... tough! :)

We had great giggles trying to catch this one pose though so in my book... it's all worth it :)

Thanks for sharing your butterflies with us girls and we are SO thankful for you as friendly neighbors! :)

Minnie: 22 Months

2011-09-28T14:05:00.000-04:00

Dear Minnie,

I wish I could remember, catch on video and/or snap every single adorable thing you do for the blog. I LOVE that I get to see most of it and I try to make a little note to tell Daddy when he gets home so that he doesn't feel like he misses anything but you are doing SO much SO often that it's just not possible anymore.

LONG gone are the days of eat, sleep and potty. :) Here are the days of a little GIRL who sleeps in her bed with her OWN "pi-wollow". Mimi made you a few pillow cases for it and you like to "watch". (until you take your hands out of your lap and miraculously the sewing machine just STOPS? :) Ah... that Mimi with her tricky feet under the table. :) Our days have stayed much the same as far as a schedule with waking up around 6:45 AM, having breakfast, going to do something FUN, home for lunch around 11:30 and a nap around noon. You sleep anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours and then it is more FUN for the afternoon, dinner around 5:30 and in bed by 7ish. Eating is still a challenge but I do see the more we work (I keep offering) on it the better you seem to get. You now ACTUALLY eat 1/4 of a PB and Jelly (Mimi's jelly) sandwich, MOST of the time without taking the "cover" off and smearing the insides all over your tray and through your sweet fine baby hair. (click the pictures below to enlarge)

You LOVE LOVE LOVE people. You love strangers, you LOVE your friends and you LOVE your family. You went to Daddy and Doe-Doe's soccer games and when TiTi told you to cross the field to go and see him you thought NOTHING of heading off all on your own to find him. That scares me AND makes me proud. I want you to be an independent leader but 22 months seems a LITTLE young for that. :) You'll talk to ANYONE in the grocery store and even go so far as to call them by name if you think they look like someone you know... in fact in the past couple of days you think you've seen "Un-Mike" at Marshall's and "Judy" (Tricky's wife, Julie) at the grocery store. The STRANGERS you were actually calling by these names tried to deter you but you would hear none of it. :)

We are starting to grasp that your favorite color seems to be blue and we are pretty sure that Aunnie has been brainwashing you :) At the library story hour this week you started to pitch a fit because another little boy was sitting in the BLUE chair and you REFUSED to sit in the red chair that was the EXACT same thing, just apparently the WRONG color. :) Lucky for everyone he gave up and moved over to the red chair. :) We are working through sharing and it IS a tough thing to grasp but truth be told, Mommy still has a hard time with it sometimes :)

You chatter NON-STOP but when you are in the car it is REALLY non-stop :) You're starting to put sentences together. You are constantly telling us about "Big Truck, Trac-tahs, BOX trucks, wello bus, ice ceam shop, apples, Mimi's house, Nana's Jeep, Papa's truck, TiTi's tar," and who you want to listen to on the radio and call on my cell phone. "Wanna tall...." I LOVE it.

You are wearing size 5 diapers, 2T bottoms and 2t-3T tops. These rain boots you LOVE are a size 6 but your sneakers are a size 8. You know when we talk about the day during breakfast (that you call supp-ah) that we go in the "tar" aka car and that you need a BOW in your hair :) I LOVE that. Reminds me of Auntie Heidi's Mom who says, "NEVER leave the house without lipstick."

Sweet Minnie, I am already planning and scheming about your 2nd B-day party and it is already in my calendar. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. You are so much more of a little girl now than a baby. I so LOVE having you as my little sidekick and enjoy every single SECOND that we are together. You are the BEST thing that has ever happened to Daddy and I. I pray you know how much you are treasured, loved and prayed for.

We love you sweet girl. XOXOXOXO Daddy and Mommy

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T04:00:00.000-04:00

What happens when your whole family goes shopping for your upcoming b-day and YOU get "stuck" with your "Ant" and Uncle? :)and HOW is this girl almost 10 YEARS OLD?? :(

Love...

2011-09-26T07:03:00.002-04:00

I love this girl... I love all her attitude, spunk, sassy, strong personality, passion, creativeness, smarts and gorgeousness (is that a word? :)

She is perfect to ME and I am so blessed that I GET to be her Mom...

and try to stay ONE step AHEAD of her... :)

Song for a Sunday

2011-09-25T08:20:00.001-04:00

Lyrics Courtesy

I’m lost in her there holdin’ that pink rod and reel
She’s doin’ almost everything but sittin’ still
Talkin’ ‘bout her ballet shoes and training wheels
And her kittens
And she thinks we’re just fishin’

I say, “Daddy loves you, baby” one more time
She says, “I know. I think I got a bite.”
And all this laughin’, cryin, smilin’ dyin’ here inside’s
What I call, livin’

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ on the riverside
Throwin’ back what we could fry
Drownin’ worms and killin’ time
Nothin’ too ambitious
She ain’t even thinkin’ ‘bout
What’s really goin’ on right now
But I guarantee this memory’s a big’in
And she thinks we’re just fishin’

She’s already pretty, like her mama is
Gonna drive the boys all crazy
Give her daddy fits
And I better do this every chance I get
‘Cause time is tickin’
(Yeah it is)

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ on the riverside
Throwin’ back what we could fry
Drownin’ worms and killin’ time
Nothin’ too ambitious
She ain’t even thinkin’ ‘bout
What’s really goin’ on right now
But I guarantee this memory’s a big’in
And she thinks we’re just fishin’

She ain’t even thinkin’ ‘bout
What’s really goin’ on right now
But I guarantee this memory’s a big’in
And she thinks we’re just fishin’
Yeah, aww, she thinks we’re just fishin’
We ain’t only fishin’
(This ain’t about fishin’)

Sweet Friends

2011-09-24T14:06:00.006-04:00

This week was busy busy. Minnie and I had BLAST playing and visiting with a bunch of friends. Some that we don't get to see that often... So we took advantage :) We met up with HB and An-REW to make a return and get some wiggles out...

There were a LOT of wiggles...

Her Daddy is pretty proud of this "form". He only wishes she was pitched forward a bit more. Her Mom is pretty proud that she ISN'T pitched forward so she doesn't fall and smack her face on the wood or cement :)

This little man gave her a run for her money! :)

Sweet sharing...

Yeah right. :)So just to torture them a bit more we dressed them "old hollywood" style...

and made 'em say CHEESE :) Seriously how CUTE are they!?!? :)

On Friday, Minnie got the THRILL of her lifetime*. She loves this little girl just as much as the rest of us I think :) and the fact that Aunnie B let her HOLD the little love...

Minnie COULDN'T have been MORE proud. She hollered for Pa-Pa to come in from outside to see her and she bossed Nana to get the camera and take more pictures...

She was THRILLED.

Good thing for Sugar....she slept through the WHOLE thing :)

I LOVE spending days with my girl, exposing her to new things and letting her build memories with friends and family. My life is a dream.

*Sugar/Minnie pics courtesy of CountryMUM

Sometimes...

2011-09-22T20:35:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I'll let you see pictures of REAL life... Sometimes we get in trouble for doing naughty things...

Sometimes we wear boots with jammies at 8AM...(and we even get them on the right feet)

Sometimes we meet up with our friends...

Sometimes we wear those said rain boots multiple days in a row....Sometimes we are forced to do things we might not WANT to do....

and Sometimes we just have to put on our rain gear and make the most of the weather....

Because SOMETIMES it's just real LIFE....

The WEEKEND Report ~ A whole bunch of 1sts!

2011-09-19T05:21:00.000-04:00

Been awhile since I've done one of THESE huh?? We had a TON of 1sts and a BUNCH of family which makes for a GREAT weekend! Course it ALSO helps when your Aunnie and your TiTi let you use their phones and text and call whomever you choose...

also a great start when your hair is SO cute and you are dressed to the NINES at a field hockey game to support your Bri Bri :)

Cousin "Toh" came down and Minnie was BEGGING to go with him when he left early Saturday AM to head to the CountryRents...

kisses all around :)

Little did she know (We told her but obviously she didn't get it :) she had a RACE TO RUN!!! It was the annual road race that Husband and I help out with so we were REALLY glad that MiMi decided to come down and support Minnie in her VERY FIRST athletic event!!

please note the coerceion by MiMi with a lollipop provided by ME... :) MiMi thought that raspberries would have worked as well and I agree... I need to start thinking of those HEALTHY options for my

came in LAST... HAD NO idea what was going on...

walk across the finish line...

studette :) Liz's Mick pointed out to me the photo below is the classic... JUST TAKE MY PICTURE MOM photo... (even though I didn't take the pic! :) I expect many more of these as she gets older huh? :)

we were SO proud of our girl for finishing the race and SO THANKFUL for MiMi for walking the ENTIRE track WITH her (even after all the race stuff was getting packed up and put away :)

After the race Husband left for a golf tournement with Doe-Doe and BIL L so the R girls came to hang until a VERY SPECIAL girl came home from the airport... my girl woke up JUST IN time to head out and meet....

Baby Shi-WHOA! :)

Baby GIRL H is home with her Mama, Papa and big bro PQ and we are all THRILLED! I snuck in on the coat tails of the family since I am family except not REALLY :)

and we all just soaked her up....

Minnie soaked up the fact that her Aunnie Bet-ah was home...

right where she belongs.

I even soaked up some baby lovin'... ooooo I love me some babies... ESPECIALLY when they are wearing my girl's hand-me-downs.

My girl was much more interested in what sort of a ruckus she could cause at "Gammie's House" :) She wasn't a HUGE fan of her TiTi holding new baby "Shi-Whoa" but give the girl a distraction and it goes a long way :)

We came home just in time to play and hang with PEE-BEEEEEEEEEEE!!! :)

Her parent's day of LOVE was Sunday so they were able to go out for a yummy meal... Pheebs hung wout with the R gals, Minnie and I until I took her home to go to bed... Per the norm... the girls had A BLAST!!!

Having fun, makin' memories and loving on people. Afterall, that's what it's all about right?

Daddy Version 2.0 ~ Papa H

2011-09-18T04:48:00.002-04:00

So happy for yah Papa H ~ and what a lucky little girl!

"How Deep the Father's Love for us...."

You know who you are....

2011-09-15T08:45:00.002-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T05:30:00.003-04:00

Silly Goose...

Sunday Best

2011-09-13T14:39:00.002-04:00

and ready for worship...

Daddy's GaH-Din

2011-09-10T04:03:00.001-04:00

When the corn first came on we could NOT get Minnie to try it... we did the whole courtesy bite and she was not psyched... UNTIL.... Monday night at TiTi's house... I told Minnie that "Pheebs ate her corn off the cob" and TOTALLY did the positive peer pressure route... (ack! :) Minnie got all excited, took a bite ~ Doe-Doe and Kyla FREAKED, Clapped and Screamed which of course only encouraged Minnie to keep eating it... PERFECT. Wednesday night we had it at home again and Minnie was ALL ABOUT IT :) She gobbled it down and I think really enjoyed it!!

Success!! This is a BIG deal in the Mouse House with the girl who is dare I say... "picky" :)

Back at the Play Dates

2011-09-09T04:25:00.000-04:00

Thursday the weather was still dreary and our plan to play at the park was put on hold. Thankfully Liz offered to host and Pheebs shared all her toys with her friends :) She also let me put in "piggies" as they are called at her house AND she left them in until I took them out :) My girl modeling her "CHEESE" face... daughter of a blogger much? :)

Pheebs showing off her hair-do

Sweet ~ Lil, this girl went home with a bag 'o shoes since she has the TEENIEST feet in the bunch :) she makes out GREAT when it comes to foot wear! My girl is TWO SIZES bigger than her already in her feet :)

Who has a bigger smile? Minnie or T-MRA?

I couldn't resist posting this picture... click to enlarge. How SWEET is Pheebs smiling at her Mama? :)

I LOVE this girl... well... BOTH of them really... and who knows... maybe in December I'll be saying I love all THREE of these girls? :)

Making sure it is still rainin'

the infamous "couch" shot. We are of course missing our Dani girl who was having some fun with another friend...but we tried to make the most of it... or at least one of us did....

Trying to give Lil' some love :) Sorry Pheebs!

A GREAT time of fun with our friends... Minnie just can't get enough! :) Thanks Liz and Pheebs!

Stand-In

2011-09-08T07:54:00.002-04:00

Last week I committed to watching Pheebs so that Liz could work on a birthday cake for a client...and then I remember... I had physical therapy!! WHOOPSIE! Good thing Husband was willing to step up on his day off and hang with the little ladies! :) They had a BLAST hanging out in the sandbox with him, going down the slide and of course...

spending time on the "Wing" trying to knock him over! :)

When I arrived to "relieve" (in quotes because I think he was having JUST as much fun as the girls) I had two little girls who were not so sure they wanted him to go...

a "nack" always helps to distract though doesn't it? :)

A great time spent in Liz's yard and SPECIAL shout out to Husband for standing in :) Thanks baby!

Puppy Love

2011-09-06T06:39:00.004-04:00

On Friday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet a VERY special new friend :) This is little lady Z :) We went over to the Walk-ah's so that Minnie could meet their new grandpuppy Z ~ she comes into a family with Beauty and Beast, her Grammie's black labs and Minnie could not have been MORE thrilled to be surrounded by "puppies" :) She wasn't all about them all up and in her face but...

she LOVED the dogs and pointing them out to everyone!

So much activity for this little sweet girl she had to have a rest...

My girl making sure she is ok and trying to get some kisses :)

and Miss BossyPants didn't miss a chance to holler "SIT" at Z... :)

While Husband just enjoyed the dogs and introducing his girl into how to play "catch"

Thank you Walk-ahs for allowing MY family to get our "fix" ~ Jenn, you have a princess for SURE with the new addition to YOUR family! :)

EDITED WITH ANSWERS: Oldies but GOODies!

2011-09-03T04:38:00.002-04:00

Let's play a little "game" shall we? (CountryMum you are EXCLUDED since these are YOUR pictures :) ~ let's try and figure out who's who in the following pics... starting with below... I'm interested in the girl in the white dress with the pretty purple ribbon.... any guesses on who that is?? IF YOU GUESSED SIL L ~ YOU ARE RIGHT ON! :) DONTCHA ALL SEE DOE-DOE IN THOSE EYES?? :) How about the two gals next to me? Any guesses on those Tales from the ABM celebs? THE ONE RIGHT NEXT TO ME IS J.T AND THEN THERE IS ~Laurie WITH HER SISTER NEXT TO HER :)

This one is just for kicks and giggles... it is J.T.'s little brother and one of my all time fav. pics... he was one of the CUTEST little boys and I always LOVED this picture... :) how much do you want to squeeze that belly and look at those little shorts! (and I mean LITTLE! :)

ok, last two... girl in the pink dress (and for extra credit the one in the white in the middle) IF YOU DIDN'T GET IT IN THIS PICTURE...

does this picture help with those smiley shiney cheeks? (I think you should be able to click to enlarge) YOU HAD TO SEE PHEEBS IN HER MAMA'S SMILE!?!? THAT IS LIZ (J.T. WAS THE GIRL IN THE PIC ABOVE BETWEEN US!)

IT WAS FUN GOING THROUGH ALL OF COUNTRYMUM'S ALBUMS! HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LITTLE TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE!
back tomorrow with the answers!!! :)

Daddy's Back to Work...

2011-09-02T04:40:00.000-04:00

and some of us are having a REALLY hard time with it... poor girl turned into this puddle when I walked her by the PC and Husband's picture was on it... she LOST it wanting her Daddy to take her... poor thing...

good thing for her today starts a long 4 day weekend :)

A Sweet Night of C-yah Later

2011-09-01T07:54:00.005-04:00

It ALWAYS stinks having to say "c-yah later" to Uncle M and Aunt C... CountryDad made it MUCH easier by taking us all out to eat seafood at the ocean though :) As soon as Minnie spied Un-Mike she was all over it... she LOVES these guys just as much as we do....not that we can blame her :)

It was a BLAST with the CountryRents and clearly Minnie doesn't mind being the "baby" or all the attention! :)

Un-Mike got his favorite part of the lobster and he barely had to do any work for them. Not that putting on a plastic bib can really be called "work" :)

Spoiled girl...Pa-Pa gave her plateS full of raspberries and whipped cream... she didn't mind ONE BIT!

~love~

We look forward to next summer ~ or sooner :) So much fun when the fam is in town!!!

FenWAY!

2011-08-30T05:51:00.001-04:00

Signs of a GREAT time to come... Saturday was our annual trip to Fenway. Our game time was moved from 1PM to 12PM due to the impending hurricane ~ we were hopeful we'd get the game in. We started on Yawkey Way where Doe-Doe tried his arm in a speed pitch game. Free for kids under 14...this was his first and last year I guess :)

not too shabby considering we figured the laser was about 20+ points off :)

Ah... the ANNUAL picture I can't believe I have four YEARS of these on here... :)

The R clan had to "settle" for a field shot this year because we couldn't manage to find their chair with Wally...?? Must have been moved but we didn't see it anywhere? s'ok they look good in green (turf)

Love these girls! Can't wait (or rather I can wait because that means she'd be at LEAST 5) for my girl to be in the shot too :) She spent a GREAT day with Mimi therefore the MouseRents spent a GREAT day in Fenway :)

Sky's shot of Lester...he did us right with a win!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE my guy!

Cotton candy anyone?

Ok! :)

So please note the sunglasses in the above pics... it was a little warm for the first couple of innings. SIL L had the NERVE to say OUTLOUD "I wish it would rain a little". During the 5th inning... it rained... a LOT.

We all got drenched and left during the first rain delay (of two) the Sox managed to play the 2nd game of their double header and even WON BOTH games!!! I love Fenway!

My Girls

2011-08-28T04:22:00.000-04:00

Friday night the girls of "Girl Talk" got together to say good-bye to one of our own... the one that lives FAR FAR AWAY in the land of bull....well... nevermind. You'd have had to be there... thankfully we were HERE...missing Mama H (who was home with sick boys) but enjoying the last bits of summer...

and the last days before Tracy has to go home... *sniff, sniff* We laughed and we ate, we prayed and we talked. It was a perfect night with my girls...

oh yeah... and then there was the near mis-hap trying to get a group photo. Click to enlarge. I hope you giggle as much as we did...

all worth it in the end though... all worth it :)

Safe travels my friend... it just feels more "right" when you are "home". Come back soon!

for REAL the LAST DAY of Summer Va-Ca :)

2011-08-27T04:05:00.000-04:00

I talked with the kids towards the end of last week and said I thought we should end the summer like we started it... with ice cream for LUNCH :) When I picked them up on the last day of school Liz had called me to see if we were available for an impromptu ice cream trip (love it when my girls are PG and I can aid in their cravings :) and we skipped nap to hang out :) You saw how that worked out HERE :) So we met up with the friends at the park to play and be silly...

Minnie? On the swings? No.

I love a 13 year old boy that still has fun on the swings... :)

and kiddos that will smile any.time.I.ask. :)

At "lunch time" we headed over and splurged on the sweet treat...at the beginning of the summer these gals shared with their moms...

now they each get their own, especially since Minnie's favorite phrase these days is "Old It" aka "hold it"

a GREAT way to end the last day with the kiddos... a GREAT way.

Last Days of Summ-AH

2011-08-26T04:25:00.005-04:00

This past Wednesday was our last day at the lake with "Yiz and P-Bee" ALL the friends showed up and it was a BLAST!!! a CREW of Moms and kiddos ranging in ages...(the kids that is) from teenie tiny Baby T Vs. 2.0 that is only a MONTH old to the 13 year old I brought (Daws :)

Liz had planned and organized for all of us to TIE DYE!!! We had a BLAST!!! It was total and complete CONTROLLED chaos! :)

jobs for everyone and everyone had a job :)

sweet hostess with Momma Sunshine!

Mama H stealing some snuggles with 2.0 and the nephew we share :)

ah... the gals... the only reason that my girl is IN this shot is because it was P-Bee's turn on the "wing" aka swing. :) Minnie is OBSESSED with swings right now...

Concentration...

The mess-makers... or mess-avoiders with our gloves on :)

Such a FANTASTIC way to end our Wednesdays at the lake. We have had SO much fun enjoying the water at Liz's and making the t-shirts was such a FUN way to end... especially since they all came out so GREAT!!! :)

I just told Husband the other day how BLESSED beyond BLESSED I am with the community of like-minded women I have to support me. They are all going through similiar situations in their lives and in raising their babies. I never have to feel alone and I truely feel like my "village" steps up anytime I need them. I'm a blessed woman.

Happy 10 Years Baby!

2011-08-25T05:09:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrate 10 years of wedded BLISS... ok... maybe it wasn't ALL bliss... but it was WAY more than I ever could have anticipated and you continue to love me right where I am every single day. Thank you for making my dreams come true and for never wavering in your love and adoration for me. You are my rock, my world and my HUSBAND :) I look forward to decades more baby. (Turn up the volume ~ the music IS the best part :)

Untitled from Country Mouse on Vimeo.

Happy 30th "Little" Brother

2011-08-24T05:37:00.000-04:00

It was nice growing up with someone like you - someone to lean on, someone to count on... someone to tell on! ~Author Unknown

The mildest, drowsiest sister has been known to turn tiger if her sibling is in trouble. ~Clara Ortega

Sibling relationships - and 80 percent of Americans have at least one - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust. ~Erica E. Goode, "The Secret World of Siblings," U.S. News & World Report, 10 January 1994

If you want to know how your girl will treat you after marriage, just listen to her talking to her little brother. ~Sam Levenson

It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. ~Dylan Thomas

I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at. ~Maya Angelou

Happy Birthday JJ....NOW I feel old.

Saying Good-Bye

2011-08-22T19:42:00.004-04:00

Today was the last day of summer va-ca for some....*sniff, sniff* Thankfully it WASN'T these three since I can't lose them ALL at once... I just am NOT.READY.We took the boat out today to celebrate the last day of the summer for Husband and GiGi... the kiddos wanted to go fishing and we just wanted to hang with GiGi before she flew back to college...

It was a chilly day on the water but the sun was shining and the girl was smiling (after waking up GRUMPY!!!) so all was right with the world-ish.

Plus we had the stud-muffins with us :)

and there was even FISH caught!!!

Could these two look MORE alike?

I didn't think so... :) Minnie is holding a very "ALL WET" bee-yah (bear) She thought maybe he was hot and wanted to go SWIMMING... totally threw him overboard... Good think "Kyla" saw it go down and GiGi with her monkey arms was there to swoop him out of the lake...

Last good-byes...until December...

and the first day of school for more than ONE tomorrow.... *sniff, sniff*

good thing I still have the crazy kids for a couple more days to ease me into the fall....

What do YOU do with the beaters?

2011-08-20T04:26:00.000-04:00

Family from away...

2011-08-19T19:28:00.008-04:00

I am a lake kinda gal.... I make no bones about it and I flaunt it all over my home... HOWEVER, I do NOT take for granted the blessing that I have living where I do to have ACCESS to the ocean within 30 minutes and all the fresh water I can get my little toes in whenever I want. I LOVE the water in summer.... So does THIS girl... She and I had a 1 on 1 day Thursday where we spent a TON of it in my car but we had a BLAST :) I took her to a consignment sale Tracy put on and in a goodie bag we got there we got a FREE ice cream and a G.C. to get some flowers

Cousin Toh :) met us at the ocean where we anxiously awaited the arrival of his parents (and the CountryRents too! :)

He LOVES this girl :) who doesn't?

At last.... the four parental units together... all the way from GA here in northern New England and ready for a week of FUN at the ocean....

fun... or SOMETHING for a week together... :)

speaking of fun... isn't there a slogan about never having too much? :)

The school bell will be ringing sooner than I'd like so I'm soaking up every SECOND left of this SUMM-AH...