Everyday is something different..I never know what I am going to get

Lately Carsyn has been introducing me to several new phases of hers....everday is mundanely the same yet vastly different.

She has now learned to click her tongue against her teeth and the roof of her mouth and she does it all day! It is so cute. She loves for you to do it back.

She is OBSESSED with all of my shoes and pulls them all out everyday and trys to wear them around the house.

She was UNBELIEVABLY whiney and clingy from Sat-Wed but today my sweet little girl showed back up. I don't know where she went or why but today was a relief.

She has not had morning naps (unless traveling) in months but for the past several days she has fallen asleep in the late-morning and then taken another later afternon nap which has caused bedtime to be later. She has fallen asleep on her own not with my putting her to bed. This is after sleeping for a straight 10 hrs at night? Yeah for sleep...but it really messes up our schedule!

She never is really a big eater- but for the past week she has hardley eaten much of any meal?

Just today she dumped her bag of goldfish on the floor, poured the dog food on the floor, poured the dog water bowl on the floor, poured her yogurt melts on the floor of walmart...ahhh toddlers!

She now shakes her head NO NO NO to pretty much any questions you ask her. She doesn't say the word just shakes her head continuously NO. I can't help but laugh sometimes.

When I read her the book "Counting Kisses" immediately on the first page when it says "My sweet little baby do you need a kiss" she pulls whatever is in her mouth out and looks up and leans in for a big smooch. :)

She has begun climbing- thankfully I have not had to deal with this as I know other mother's who have children that have. She still shows no signs of climbing out of the crib but she is loving climbing on everything else- especially the back of the couch?

So this week has flown by and hopefully *fingers-crossed* we are going to make it Global Wildlife this weekend with Cousin Allie and Gracie.

We shall see what the future holds for us as we never know!

A blog post for mommies

I am hosting Bunko tonight at my house. I love to entertain and I thought I would share our menu in the event that a mommy out there needs some ideas for simple and inexpensive dishes to take to a party. If I could be Rachel Ray on $40 a day I think that would be my dream job (after my baby grows up of course I can't leave her now!). Or maybe I could be Sandra Lee with Semi-Homemade so I could stay home! *sigh*

I am serving 12 so I had to come up with a substantial easy dish that would serve that many.

Our main meal is Poppy Seed chicken- mix boiled seasoned chicken, with one can of cream of chicken soup, one carton of sour cream. Top with crushed Ritz crackers, melted butter to cover, and poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. YUMMO!

Then a new dish I am serving is Purple-Hull pea salsa. Love it!
I doubled the recipe for tonight, but the original is
Mix one can of purple hull peas (Bush's brand)
Mix one can of diced tomatoes
Mix one can of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano seasoned
Mix one can of Fiesta Corn
Cut in onions and jalapenos
Pour in Italian Dressing to taste
Let sit overnight

My tried and true party dip is Chicken Ranch
Mix together one large can of chicken
Mix one package of cream cheese
Mix one packet of Ranch dressing seasonings
Unbelievably delicious!

For dessert we are having blueberry crunch
Pour on the bottom of dish a can of crushed pineapple
Next pour a can of Lucky Leaf blueberry pie filling
Next sprinkle a box of dry yellow cake mix on top
Pour melted butter over top
Cover with nuts if you choose
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes


At $1.50 a carton an inexpensive, easy, and YUMMY addition is chocolate covered strawberries.
I also always include a box of the chocolate covered cream puffs in the frozen food aisle at $3.50 a carton.

So not for those dieting but VERY VERY yummy and easy! :)

Cheers!

Things that happened this week...

This week went much much quicker than last week. I am going to have to try to update this more frequently as I forget by the time the end of the week arrives.

Things that happened this week....

I somewhat started potty training Carsyn- not full-blown set a timer training. I believe I am going to wait until July to do that when she is 18 months and she is not going to Mother's Morning Out in the mornings.

She did poop in the potty for the first time but it was because I saw her about to do it and threw her on the potty. Not because she went to it.

She HATES her diapers though so I think she will catch on quickly. She even wanted to get on it first thing out of bed but nothing "happened."

We had a wonderful visit with Grandparent Smiths in Jackson on Wed. Carsyn slept all the way there and all the way home! BEAUIFUL! We ate at a yummy restaurant called Hamil's in Ridgland. I got my camera cleaned for the LOTS of sessions I have coming up!

At church on Wed they did not have the baby class so I asked if Carsyn could go to the 3-5 yr old class since she prefers older children and she did BEAUTIFULLY. It cracks me up how she likes to be with older kids.

Our gym closed that I just joined and paid in full so not only did I probably lose $150 I lost the swimming pool I planned to take Carsyn to this summer. :(

Friday was BORING BORING BORING.

My mom arrived on Saturday but it was nasty weather so we did not do anything. One of these days I am going to get to Global Wildlife in LA!

On Saturday afternoon Carsyn started getting irritable and woke up in the middle of the night and had vomited all in the crib. After getting her back to sleep she awoke Sun with an on again off again fever all day. And the rain continued...blah day! That evening Danny and I did get to run to some friends house for a couple of hours for Adult Converstation! It was nice!

Today Carsyn's fever was gone and she was back to normal except still EXTRA clingy. Weird how that happens, huh?

So that is what I remember from last week. Maybe I will update more frequently this week because I am sure I have left out critical details that my readers would love. :)

Aunt Mo

Aunt Mo graduated High School this past week. Now the little girl that everyone identifies as the baby is becoming an adult. I met Morgan when she was a Freshman in High School (I think?). Seeing as how she is 10 years younger than my husband it is no surprise to learn that she was an "oopsie" pregnancy! But the BEST "oopsie" I have ever known! You can tell that this family would not be the same if this missing link were not present. Always the calm mediator of the family and always there to listen if you need her to. I don't really have the same childhood nostalgia for Aunt Mo as the other family members because when I met her she was already a teenager and I tried to treat her as an adult rather than a child, but if I compare her age to say one of my cousins who is just graduating I can identify.




Morgan and I have had some fun times since I met her. My most favorite memory with her is when she came to stay with us in Mobile one summer and I ditched work to take her to Gulf Shores for the American Idol finale party. That was good fun. Or the Alaska family vacation will always be a fond memory climbing up 7 feet to the top of a cliff. Minus the FOREVER delay at the airport in the middle of the night sleeping on airport chairs or the seasick night we spent sleeping in bed together while everyone had fun without us.



It has been nice to know that Morgan is almost always readily available to help if needed, but alas I have to let her go to Starkvegas where she will get to have the TIME OF HER LIFE! (I'm kinda jealous)



Aunt Mo,
I will miss you and Carsyn will especially miss you (and your ipod). And your big brother will even miss you too even if he doesn't say it. Please visit home often. Enjoy these years as they go quickly! And don't study too much- there is more to college than education! :) Keep your blog updated so I can live vicariously through you!

z

Our week in review

This has been a LONG LONG week and I have been LAZY LAZY LAZY!

It has been so long I don't even remember the beginning of the week! Without our story-time and playmates we have been quite lost the past week or two. Carsyn and I have enjoyed a lot of time outside and in the pools!

On Thursday we hosted Aunto Morgan a senior get-together with some of her girls. It was a lot of fun and we played "old school" games like musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, dizzy bat, water balloons, and a Pinata. Carsyn loved playing with the big girls!

However that night she woke up numerous times and at 5 I got up with her to try to get her back to sleep. While rocking her I thought my ear drum was going to explode!!! I hardly EVER get sick and I was like "Do I have an ear infection?" So I headed to the Immediate Care clinic at 8 to discover I did in fact have fluid in my ear. I got to receive a nice little shot in my buttock. To which after I pulled up my pants the nurse said "Didn't you go to Co-lin?" Oh great just what I wanted that morning a Jr. College reunion with a girl who just looked at me A**! So the remainder of the day I was tired and sluggish. I felt horrible not being able to entertain Carsyn belle to my normal abilities. And to be honest my butt hurt for 2 days way worse than my ear ever did!

So on Saturday morning I continued my laziness and pretty much let Carsyn do whatever she wanted that would keep her content! Then after her nap I took her over to the grandparents for them to enjoy her company while I got a long awaited Pedicure!! That evening our dear friend, Miss. Marylou, came to watch the Belle while we went to the Caboose to attend Aunt Mo's family graduation dinner. YUM! So I know I enjoyed Saturday much more than Friday and I am sure Carsyn did as well having new company and entertainment! Every time Ms. Marylou keeps Carsyn she tell us that Carsyn let's her know when she is ready to go to bed and will go get her milk and cow and head to the room. That doesn't happen with us!!!

Well Saturday night was not a great night for Carsyn sleepwise as she awoke with a dirty diaper at 3 AM. And when I got back to bed by 4AM I was praying she would sleep past 6. Well at 7 I jumped up realizing she was still not awake. When I went to check on her I discovered she had another dirty diaper!! Apparently she slept with this one this time! So at 7:30 I woke her to change the diaper and to make sure we would have enough time for a nap before Aunt Mo's graduation that afternoon. I HATE waking a sleeping Carsyn! However she was in a great mood after waking and proceeded to dress herself in her rainboots, my watch, and a hairbow....looked something like this.....

(Don't you just love bedhead!)

So after church and lunch we headed home to put her down for nap. AGAIN I had to wake her at 2ish to go to graduation! Someone please tell me why the child sleeps well when we have somewhere to go and doesn't when I need her to sleep!

Aunt Mo will have a post dedicated in her honor tomorrow. Now I must go get in bed. I NEVER know what the night will hold for me!

:)A

Carsyn at 17months

Carsyn turned 17 months yesterday...almost a year and 1/2! These past 5 months have flown by quicker than any I can recount. Probably because she has been blowing and going! All day from the moment she wakes up she NEVER stops!



Currently we have taken a step back in sleep but not awful. She sleeps from 8-6 and naps from 12ish to 1:30ish. I can't seem to get these naps longer nor can I get her to wake later. The 8AM wakings that she spoiled me with for a week are long gone!



On Tuesday and Thursday she attends Mother's Morning Out and LOVES it! Me too! Today when I dropped her off she didn't even hug Ms. Jan she just took off running to the playroom and when I arrived to pick her up she didn't want to go! A little heartbreak for mama of scenes to come later in life! Seriously I think my child would rather be at preschool than home with me so I CAN'T wait for the fall when she starts preschool 3 mornings a week. I know she will love it! Ms. Jan always comments on how mature Carsyn is and how she likes to play with the older kids not the babies her age. This is no surprise...both of her parents are the same! My little Miss Independent!



She also is a BIG helper! She loves to help feed the cat, give the dog water, cook dinner, clean up spills. If she ever becomes a Big sister one day I know she will be a BIG help!

Teething is halfway done! THANK GOD!!!!!! As of now I think she has about 10 teeth with 4 of those molars! Yeah 4 molars came in AT THE SAME TIME! There may be a few other tiny ones but she won't keep her mouth open long enough for me to see them. Phew I will be happy when this is over as I am sure she will be!

Carsyn still does not speak many words but she babbles to you all day as if you know what she is saying. Sometimes something close to the actual word will come out. Neither myself or her father spoke many words until we turned 2 and then according to our parents you couldn't shut us up! I expect that with Carsyn and I can't wait to hear what she has to say!



Lately we have been dealing with frequent fits. The slightest aggrivation can cause her to throw her head down and begin shrieking. Luckily none of these have happened to us in public...YET. Usually if she starts down that path when we are in Walmart grocery shopping I simply ask her to be sweet to me and after a few requests she will give me a hug and stop. We do have to fight the urge to want to stand in the cart everytime we go to Walmart...not the back...the front! I really feel bad when I have to tell her No, Stop, Quit all day long!!! But I think she still loves me ;)



And the big new undertaking that we have embarked upon this month....Potty Training. For several months she has started showing interest. She understands what the potty is and where it is. Currently all she does is wipe and flush but nothing comes out. Since she is naked half of the time lately with it being summer and swimming I figured I might as well start. Problem is I don't know where to start?! I know the whole prize for going system but I have to figure out a system for us and I am not there yet.



Well this is my little Belle in a nutshell. She is such a little person that I sometimes forget she is still a baby!

Mother's Day

Boy or Boy I will probably say this every Mother's Day but you sure do not appreciate your mother as you should until you become one yourself! My little "Belle" is all of my heart but she sure is A LOT of work!!!! I greatly enjoyed my Mother's Day immensely and did not want the day to end and return to the monotony that is our normal schedule this week!

So what did we do these past few days? Well on Friday I took Carsyn to swim at the big pool at the local gym that we joined. She loved it! Mainly she kept getting in and out and jumping into my arms in the pool. It is amazing the trust an infant has to know that you won't drop them! Especially when she surprisingly jumped in my arms while I was treading water in the deep end! We made it back to shallow water safely though! Got me a good ab workout in! Anyway we made a new little buddy and can not wait to go back AGAIN and AGAIN this summer!

On Friday night we went to the Relay for Life fundraiser at the hospital to benefit American Cancer Society. The entire community comes out to raise money in various ways whether it be selling food, raffles, contests, etc. We stayed for a bit and ate some good and greasy food. My husband also walked away with a fish fryer he bid on at auction to give away to one of his buddies as a gift. Then Carsyn started getting overtired so we headed home. Unfortunately she fell asleep as soon as we hit the interstate (it was only a few minutes to 8) and then I had to get her back to sleep after her bath which woke her up. I HATE when that happens! So on Saturday we didn't have much planned that morning. After nap time my mom arrived and I went to do a prom photo shoot. We got a surprise invitation to go meet Grandparent Smiths for dinner who were in town for Cousin Hannah's piano recital. We didn't know we would get to visit with them for Mother's Day! Afterwards we were going to hear the Mississippi Symphony Pops in concert at the park but Carsyn once again was wearing down by 7:30 (our naps are back to NOT GOOD) so I got her to bed and we ended up not venturing out.

Next came Sunday morning. After breakfast, Carsyn and I gave Nonny her present which wasn't what I had initially planned which was a Mother/Daughter portrait by a fellow photographer in Hburg so we have to do a make up for that in a few weeks. Then I received a gift from my mom. I tell her that I am not her Mother and she is not supposed to give me gifts but she does anyway :) Well my gift was this

This is a drawing of this picture that I took of Carsyn and my grandmother's hand when Carsyn was about 3 weeks old. Mother's Day will always hold an extra special memory in my heart as this was the last visit I had with my Grandmother where she was aware of my presence before she passed away.

The next is a picture of the gift I gave Mamommy last Mother's Day. It is the Willow Tree Angel of Courage which stayed on her nightstand until she passed away 2 months later. It now rests on my sofa table next to the above picture. Today at church we sang

Victory in Jesus which made me think of her as it seems this was a hymn I remember her singing.

O victory in Jesus,My Savior, forever.He sought me and bought meWith His redeeming blood;He loved me ere I knew HimAnd all my love is due Him,He plunged me to victory,Beneath the cleansing flood.

Also my Magnolia trees began blooming this week which was perfect timing as they were her favorite. She always said "How can you not believe in God with beauty in nature like this." It made me feel as if she was present with us today.

So after church the Smith family and my mom and us had bbq ribs and sides and dessert. We ate and ate and laughed and laughed as Carsyn played in her inflatable pool and made bubbles. Lots of fun and relaxing. SOOOO much better than eating at a crowded restaurant with a sleepy toddler which was our initial plan. Oh btw Carsyn and Daddy got me a gift too- Circle E candle and new HOBO wallet! :) Pictures from our weekend are at the bottom.

SO for your mother's day gift I will leave you with this email that I shared a while back, but for those who missed it...here it is again:

Being a MOM... We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of 'starting a family.' 'We're taking a survey,' she says half-joking. 'Do you think I should have a baby?' 'It will change your life,' I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. 'I know,' she says, 'no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations.' But that is not what I mean t at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother w ill leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable. I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking, 'What if that had been MY child?' That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of 'Mom!' will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moments hesitat ion. I feel that I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right. I want my daughter to know that every day decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a chil d. That she would give herself up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromanti c. I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it actually hurts. My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. 'You'll never regret it,' I finally say. Then I reached across the table, squeezed my daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. Please share this with a Mom that you know or all of your girlfriends, or daughters, who may someday be Moms.May you always have in your arms the one who is in your heart

My child likes to climb in the dog crate?
Singing the mommy on the bus goes "shh shh shh"

Bff Maddy in her shades at Relay for Life

Carsyn eating a hamburger...the whole hamburger.....

Wedding bliss

This past weekend was my cousin Megan's wedding in Bassfield/Hattiesburg. I was very apprehensive about the weekend as there were several events we were to attend that were going to throw Carsyn's schedule into a tizzy.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner at Cowboy Jim's in Bassfield. We left the little "Belle" at home with a sitter to get her rest for the next day. Even though I and several other relatives was not in the wedding party(my choice as I am SURE she would have wanted me up there- right Meg?) we were invited to the dinner. Definitely in the middle of Mississippi backwoods but such a fun and unique atmosphere unlike nothing I have ever seen- alligators, geese, all kinds of critters, and flowers galor welcome you to the little restaurant on the swamp. Definitely stop by if you are in the Collins/Bassfield area. They even have an Elvis singer on the weekends and after serenading the Bride who did he choose as his next victim- why me of course? Maybe I reminded him of Priscilla?

Anyway as many rehearsal dinners are this one was a tearjerker- especially for our family as Megan had many tributes to our grandmother who passed away last summer. Megan even used the similar colors that were in my grandmother's wedding. My family is quite large by some respects. My mother has 5 sisters and there are 10 cousins total. What is unique about my family is how close we all are. Many times most people do not see their cousins but a few times a year but as a child, even growing up in Virginia for several years, I was always taught how important our family was. Danny remarked about his first meeting of my family on a Sunday afternoon for dinner. "There was nothing special about the day- just a Sunday- and people just kept showing up!" This was a regular occurrence in my life- Sunday dinner at Mamommy's. And when families are so close many times they also are the ones you fight with the most which is no different in our case, but evenings like this one remind you how truly lucky and special you are to have so many people who care about you. Hey- even my husband got teary-eyed and that seldom happens! Oh he is going to kill me for mentioning that!

So we did not get back to Mccomb until midnight after all of the toasts were made. And my little angel decided to awake at 6:15. We made it to the wedding at 4PM for pre-ceremony pictures and for me to grab my position as program attendant. Danny kept Carsyn back in the playroom because when she saw she would have to sit at the back away from me she wasn't having it. Then it was off to PARTAY in Hattiesburg at Southern Oaks. Also a unique venue which allowed for plenty of room indoors and out with birds and fish to entertain the youngins. Carsyn got to stay up WAY past her bedtime but guess who was the first on the dance floor...CARSYN! It was sooo hilarious and she was running around chasing this little girl and boy and would just run up and scream and laugh and grab there hands! Luckily we had planned for her to spend the night with my mom so Danny and I could stay at the hotel by ourselves (also I did not want a remake of the Mobile hotel stay). Even going to bed at 10 she still awoke at 6 since she was away from home.

After getting a good 8 hrs of sleep we had breakfast at the hotel, lunch at Olive Garden and then spent some time running a few places without a baby. What fun to be alone! It almost felt gluttonous! So we picked Carsyn up in the afternoon and she slept the entire way home. So all and all a pretty glorious weekend- expensive! BUT worth it!

Aww slow dance with hubby


Family doing the electric slide- I look goofy because Carsyn was in front of me!

And here she is cutting a rug!

Carsyn and the blushing bride

Carsyn and Cousin Jeremy while he holds Meg Meg's bouquet

Getting my serenade by Elvis
The bride and her mommy


Me and two of my beautiful cousins

The Smith family slow dancing- Carsyn never can keep those eyes open!

John Deere Green

We had a GREAT weekend at Cousin Megan's wedding in Hburg but I will post that tomorrow when I receive the pics from various family members. BUT to tide you over here are some pics I snapped on Friday of Carsyn. She is ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED with sitting in front seats of cars, riding the tractor with Daddy, and when she saw this "mini" tractor (lawnmower) daddy left in the yard she drove me CRAZY all morning wanting to go sit on it. So here she is - forget the BIGWHEEL- she is ready for the REAL DEAL. She climbed up there herself- and then tried to put the key in and move the gear shift!

I guess we can officially declare ourselves country now that we have been back in Mississippi a whole 9 months and my little Belle is on a John Deere Green!