Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Day at the Park

After a week of cold and rainy weather we decided to take advantage of the warmer temperatures today! Even though we were dealing with wind gusts strong enough to knock the kids over, we still had a fun day at Settler's park.




Frosty the Snowman and Attitude...

Are the two things I am so sick of right now in my house! During the month of December we tivo'd the original Frosty the Snowman cartoon when it came on television one night. Usually I love that show and I have watched it every year since I was a kid, but I must say that these days I would be happy to never see that show ever again. Peyton loves it and insists on watching it everyday sometimes several times a day even though Christmas is long gone. Several times I have been tempted to hit YES, Delete Now when the show is over and I am prompted by the tivo system, but I can't bring myself to get rid of the one sure distraction I have for Peyton. That is the only way I can have any kind of conversation on the phone these days since she usually starts a temper tantrum the minute I get a call. So, my friends, if I havn't phoned you lately it is not because I don't love you and have plenty to tell you. I just can't talk over the pterodactyl cries that begin with Peyton and then Ryan feels the need to try and trump.
Peyton is almost 3, going on 13 these days as far as our attitude goes too. I know she looks so sweet in all the pictures you see on this blog but don't let those fool you! Poor girl had to have a 2nd set of tubes put in her ears again about a week ago. I hated to put her through the surgery again, but we had about 6 ear infections in a 4 month time frame and we were strongly advised to go ahead and repeat the procedure since her first tubes fell out around this time last year. Anyhow...the nurse brought us back in the recovery room where Peyton was waking up and was saying how beautiful and sweet she looked as she was cuddling her pillow. I was just thinking to myself that Peyton hasn't yet realized where she is at this point or what just happened to her because she wouldn't have those nurses thinking she was a little angel. About 5 minutes later, I'm sure those nice ladies thought otherwise! We were trying to get her dressed to go home and all hell broke loose. She didn't want anyone touching her and was flailing around so much that it took a couple of us to get her shirt on. She is yelling and screaming so loud that I was trying to get her out of there as fast as we could. We were in the recovery room where about 10 other people were coming out of anesthesia and I was just thinking what a horrible sound that would be to wake up too. I think it would actually freak me out to wake up from surgery hearing so much crazy shouting. So Peyton is hitting anyone she can reach and Brandon tucks her up under his arm and heads for the door. Peyton is kicking so hard that she sends her shoes flying off her feet and I'm scrambling to grab all our stuff and Ryan before we create any bigger scene leaving the hospital. The nurse comes up behind me and tells me that I should call the doctor if Peyton doesn't calm down and is behaving like this later in the day. REALLY? Well he would be on my speed dial if I had to call him for this kind of behavior because it happens almost everyday! I assured the nurse that she was fine. "She's two" was the explaination I gave her as we left. That poor lady still called me the next day to see if Peyton had finally calmed down and was feeling o.k. Anyhow...we are going through the hitting stage and saying no to everything mommy asks her to do. If any of you have advice as how to deal with this until we outgrow it I would definately appreciate it! Spanking and time out is not working with this stubborn girl. I dread the teenage years already. I know she is at the normal age to test her independence but I am needing a lot more patience these day. We are also dealing with our newfound freedom from being in a big girl bed but that is for another blog! I'm too exhausted to talk about it right now!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Just a reminder!

Someone sent me an email this weekend with the following message and even though it is very brief, it was a great reminder that God can use me if I just allow him to!

The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember...

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer..AND

Lazarus was dead!

And Don't forget

Jesus Helped them all!!!!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Catching Up

Well, I completely intended to blog during the holidays but just got too busy with family and playing Rock Band. We've had a lot going on the past few weeks and I can't believe Christmas is already over. I feel like it just totally passed me by this year and I'm still a little sad about that! We had a good Christmas. Our church, Resonate Community, helped head up a very successful Orange Santa program here in Hutto and we were able to give toys to about 220 kids. That was extremely rewarding and I'm looking forward to doing that again next year. All of my family came and stayed with us for several days during Christmas. My mom and dad bought a house here in Hutto, just 2 miles away from us, and they will be moving here from Abilene in 2 weeks. I am so excited to have grandparents so close! Maybe Brandon and I can start dating again and have some time for sanity to return!
Ryan just turned 10 months old and has FINALLY gotten his first tooth. I think Peyton had 5 or 6 by the time she was this old. He started crawling at 9 months and he is into everything right now. He's also pulling up on anything he can get a steady grip on. He has quite the personality and is so much fun to play with. Peyton is in the midst of the terrible two's. Hitting is our newest thing these days and time out isn't working much. She doesn't listen at all and I'm having trouble with her eating habits these days too. You may see us on an episode of Super Nanny here soon if things don't improve! She is a smart girl though and she is talking a ton now. Her favorite friend is Kylie who she calls Kyie and she is always wanting her to come over and play. We just moved Peyton into a big girl bed this past weekend and so far it is going great. Much to my surprise she actually stays in bed when you put her down. I don't think she realizes how free she is now...I"m sure that battle will start soon enough! Who knows, maybe she'll surprise me again like she did with the potty training and things will stay great in the bed department. She is completely potty trained now...has been for several months...and she 9 out of 10 times holds it through the night as well. We sleep with pull ups on but usually they are completely dry.
Well, enough about the kids! Brandon's job finally slowed down just before the holidays and it has been nice having him home. He still goes to Dallas usually once a week and that is just part of a new role he has at TI. We are going to try out the South Beach diet starting next week. Unfortunately we have both put on the pounds. I still have baby weight to get rid of from my pregnancy with Peyton. Ryan of course added several belly rolls as well so I've got some work to do. I did get motivated enough yesterday to do one of my Firm workouts! Of course I havn't been able to move much today since I rolled out of bed feeling like I got hit by a car. But, for me it is usually all or nothing. Maybe I need to work on moderation this year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!