My little monster

The only speed my little belle knows these days is FAST! If I thought she fell alot when she was learning to walk...ho ho no...she falls at least 50 times a day. Just SPLAT on the floor. I assume it is because she gets going and can't find the brakes? Also this climbing business is out of hand! We are climbing on EVERYTHING! In one morning she fell off the back off the couch onto the floor and from the front of the couch onto the floor. The back of the couch fall really freaked me out because that is a good 2+ feet backwards!

Also if you don't want something lost you better keep your eyes like a hawk. "Supposedly" Carsyn has lost her father's truck keys and cell phone 2 weeks ago that we have yet to find. Now granted her father needs NO help in losing things as he is quite good at this on his own, but she does tote things away never to be seen again. It takes me forever to find my shoes these days as she has them scattered all over the house.

And I sure do wish I got a dime for every "UH OH" I hear in a day. We say "UH OH" to everything!

This past Sunday while at Grandparent Smith's you would have thought she was a mad woman...running non-stop through their home exploring all of the new places. And outside in the pool...the child who HATES to have her hair washed...wanted me to take her down the slide..in the pool! Not once BUT twice! Oh yeah she went under all right but seemed to find it intriguing nonetheless! Unfortunately I have no pics from the day as I forgot my camera and video camera with all of the other 50 bags I had to bring...okay maybe just 5 extra bags. It is amazing what all you have to pack for a day trip much less a 2 day trip which we embark on tomorrow.

We are headed down to the Coast to visit my dad and family. Say a prayer that I don't have 2 nights of complete non-sleep. Hopefully I will remember the camera this time!

We did not have luck on our side this week...

PHEW this week has not been the best for me. I think there is a black cloud on our street.
I averaged about 5 hrs of sleep each night either due to Carsyn waking or some other random act that caused me to not get my 10-6 sleep.

1st- My neighbor had to go to the ER so I went to watch her baby from 10-12AM, of course my child still woke up at 6AM.
2nd- On Sunday night my child woke up and stayed up from 2-4 and then up again at 6AM! I called my mother to come over to help as I was a zombie and felt awful anyway.
3rd- My child woke up at 10:30 and was up until 11:30 screaming bloody murder that only God knows why because she seemed fine otherwise. I SERIOUSLY think she has sleep apnea. Then was back up at 6AM on the dot.
4th- Then the next night my child woke up from 1:30-3. Also this same night I discovered my eye was throbbing and swollen shut. When my child woke me at 6AM on the dot my eye was still shut- Pink eye Are you serious? So off to the Stat Care Dr I went to get $65 eye drops!

Thankfully my child has slept through the night the following 2 nights.

In the midst of all this nonsense we have been trying to enjoy ourselves at the pool, although when it is 100 degrees outside it pretty much is like a hot tub not a pool! I did get to go on Mother's Night Out even though my eye was still swollen and I couldn't put make-up on. And Carsyn got to have a play date with her other BFF Hannah all day yesterday at the pool and then at their church which was having a water play day with inflatable slides and sprinklers. Sorry no pics to show.

Today is chill, literally with the ac on lower than my husband would like, at the house day. Tomorrow we ride over to Clinton to see Grandfather Smith for Father's Day.

Have a nice Father's Day everyone!

Time is flying...Carsyn at 18months

OK TIME needs to SLOWWWW down!

Since I last blogged as I was departing for my mama's beach get-a-way time has seemed to be in fast-forward! Getting away and only having to take care of myself was beyond fabulous. (Hopefully I can post pics taken by fellow mama soon *hint hint girls!)

Sure I missed my family but I definitely had no problems relaxing. Although since I have returned my Carsyn Belle has seemed to want UNDIVIDED attention and once bedtime arrives I am too tired to blog plus the extensive photo editing I am having to do. She has not helped me out lately by barely napping! So Alas her 18 month blog is 5 days late.

At this point in time I believe 18 months is my favorite age so far. Carsyn is so affectionate and loves to act the Barney song "With a great big HUG and a kiss from me to you." I think she tries to mimic me when I say "I love you...you love me." She even gave our dinner guest last week, a furniture rep, a goodnight kiss.

Discipline- Our tantrums are still not THAT bad in my opinion. She does throw her arms up and scream but usually a quick "Do you want to go to your room?" will stop it. As far as time-out, I have used that threat for several months now the only problem is that I don't really have a "time-out spot." If I just make her sit in her room she will get up and leave. I don't want to put her in the crib because HEAVEN knows we do not need ANY negative association although I know people say it is not perceived that way but you don't know my child! So at the moment I am still up in the air as to where time-out should be.

Sleep- For the most part Carsyn's sleep has been okay. She usually sleeps through the night atleast 5 nights out of the week. If she gets off schedule or is not put to bed on time it is Hell to pay. This is something that I don't think people understand about my child. While some children can bounce right back mine takes days and days to get back to sleeping well. I will truely jump for joy the day she outgrows this although I am sure it will not be for about 8 more years!

We still struggle with naps- she will go down for them but staying asleep is the problem. She usually naps for an hour-to two but that is it.

Food- Carsyn is not a big eater. I have not concerned myself too much with this as she obviously is healthy. She mostly grazes during the day never really eating much at one sitting. Luckily my child does not want juice often so milk and water are her main beverages during the day. I do have to battle with her wanting sweets often. She is not a big fan of many fruits but I think she will outgrow this.

Potty- Carsyn has been interested in the potty for several months. She sometimes will tell you when she needs a new diaper. Her Mother's Morning Out instructor was blown away that she came and told her to change her. My thoughts on potty-training at the moment are just to introduce her to the potty and pull-ups. She LOVES wearing pull-ups and HATES diapers but I just don't think she is able to understand the concept yet. I am not going to try to do a whirl-wind potty-training effort and expect her to be trained in 2 weeks. I do however intend and think that she will be trained by the end of the year. As of now I am just letting her lead me. It seems when it is my idea she does not want to participate but if she does it on her own she will. ( A personality trait I think will probably last the rest of our lives.)

Summertime- It seems we were waiting forever and a day for school to get out so Nonny and playmates would be able to play but now it seems Summer is FLYING by! We have joined the country club and have been swimming several times but just last week was the first time she interacted in the pool with the other children. Also with summer fun comes bugbites....they love my child and she is covered in them within minutes. Then she itches and itches all day and night- it also has caused a new sleep disruption. Benadryl has become part of our bedtime ritual most nights! I guess I am going to have to tuck a dryersheet in her pants everytime she leaves because I hear they ward of the bugs. It is really out-of-hand and she scratchs to the point of scabs.

Two Firsts- we did have 2 firsts this month. Her first wasp sting which I was not present for so I do not know how she handled it although she seemed to be fine a few hours later. AND pigtails! Carsyn has never allowed me to put them in her hair but at the furniture store she was distracted long enough for one of the saleslady's to put them in. It was THE CUTEST thing I ever did see! AND she kept them in for several hours! I only got a quick snapshot but maybe we can get them in again.

Photos- you would think that one of the benefits of having expensive photo equipment and the knowledge to use it would be fabulous photos of your child. NOT! Carsyn HATES my camera and refuses to look at it. There were 3 photo looks I wanted to do for her 18month photos. The frist one was in her tutu- the next was in a field- and then finally at Mynelle Gardens in Jackson. It is an absolutely beautiful location for photography but of course Carsyn did not want to cooperate. I did manage to get a few only with serious looks of course- tons of back and side views! Here are my faves from the collection.

Okay so that is a wrap up for now...hopefully I will be able to post more frequently next time!

Beach Mama

This weekend starting tomorrow is my beach weekend get-a-away with some girlfriends from High school. Up until today I have been half excited/half nervous. It is the first time I will be away from my baby for more than one night. My mom will be here to help take care of Carsyn while Danny works. However, that in itself causes its own anxiety...son-n-law and mother-n-law together for 4 days! I am sure they will be fine! :)

Anywho as I said up until this morning I was apprehensive about my departure...that is until my baby awoke at 5:30- whined all morning- we got locked INSIDE the house- the pest man woke her up as I was putting her down for nap- my sister-n-law dropped by and stepped on a half-dead bat in my yard! All before 12:30! I had almost put in a full days work and the day wasn't even half over!

I am sure I will miss this drama while I twiddle my thumbs at the beach trying to remind myself how to relax and do "Me" things. Some things I am looking forward to at the beach....

• Reading several mindless novels
• Basking in the sun-perhaps even sleeping in the sun
• Sleeping past sunrise- however I will probably be up by 7 at the latest
• Eating in Peace without an 18month old picking food off of my plate
• Going to the bathroom by myself
• Taking a bath/shower by myself
• Enjoying adult conversations 24hrs a day
• Spending time on the Internet learning about new photography skills and choosing my new photoshop program
• Seeing Mobile peeps and taking their precious family portraits on the beach

I am sure I will still wish my family was with me though despite the aggravation that they cause me from time to time!

Off to pack my bags! Email me if you need me! :)

Mother/ Daughter trip to Global Wildlife

We made it to Global Wildlife this past weekend. Only about an hour from Mccomb so a great activity for the chilin' around here! Myself, Carsyn, Allison, and Gracie took off in the AM on Saturday. Hoping to get Carsyn to nap for the way down, however, she fought it with all she had finally caving in 20 minutes before we "thought" we would arrive. Luckily we drove around for another 20 minutes looking for a restaurant *note if you plan to go to Global Wildlife there is really only ONE restaurant in Folsom, LA! So we finally decided to stop at this "hole in the wall" for lack of better description that advertised that they served pizza. Actually the sign said Pizza Poboys and Daiquiris (how very Louisianian ;)). Once inside we found a quaint little pizzeria and bar that served much more than the sign described. Only after noticing the P.O. Boxes under the bar did we discover that the name of our little hideaway was the Ole Post Office...how very fitting, no? Anyway the owner was extremely nice and even turned the flat screen to iCarly on Nickelodeon for the girls! Secretly Allison and I enjoyed watching it too! :)

So after our bellies were full we headed down the road to Global Wildlife. I will let the pictures and link to the website explain in more detail. The ride on the caravan through the "terrain" was supposed to be 1hr and 1/2 and it ended up being about 2. A little too long for my Carsyn belle as she was done after the first hour. Surprisingly we had a nice breeze so the heat and humidity could have been worse!

Here are the pics of our adventure...btw please do not judge my photography skills by the unedited snapshots. Do you know how difficult it is to take pictures in a moving caravan, holding on to a moving 18month old, taking pictures of moving animals, holding a very heavy zoom lens? I was so afraid Carsyn was going to topple over the side of the cart! Or get bitten by a zebra...which btw they caution against feeding as they are known to be biters! Depending on your child's attention span and maturity I would say it is best for those over 2-3 but Carsyn still did enjoy it.

Awww sweet Cousin love...

Showing off her shades

Getting ready to feed the animals

Gracie and the camel have the same expression!

HA HA!

The caravan in front of us

Observing the animals

Blurry but still cute!

Mommy-daughter love!

Giraffe #1

Giraffe #2

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!