Bowlers Paradise

Before Audrey was born we used to go bowling a few times a month, but we haven't been in probably a year.  We decided to try out bowling again and hoped that Audrey would enjoy it!  My dad was excited to join us (as he usually does) and we hit up Santa Ana Casino for some Sunday bowling.  Here's a look back at what times used to look like pre-baby.  July, 2010...a month before Audrey arrived.

Going for the "happy family" look.  Big gut, big boobs (oh how I miss you), dad, and Jeff bro.

Right before we were set to bowl, Elijah opened up his bowling bag only to find that his ball had completely split.  Since we are total professional bowlers, we keep our balls in the garage. You know, a total room temperature, out of the elements kind of place.  His poor "snot rocket" will now be backyard decor, so we can always look at "what was."

Sad Mr. Bowler and Snot Rocket

 After the bowling ball debacle, we included bumpers and 6 pound ball...almost half of Audrey's weight.  She knew which ball was her's and kept yelling, "baaa, baaa!" because she thought EVERY turn was her turn. We let "pampaw" go first so she could see what bowling was all about and then it was her turn.  Elijah thought that a good butt shot would be nice to include, so here you go.  Enjoy!  Audrey took her ball and pushed it down the aisle at a fast as lightning speed.  We're talking turtle speed here, folks.  The poor people on either side of us had to wait eons for us to complete Audrey's turn and all the paparazzi photos that went along with it.

First toss!

Watch the ball go down!!

Elijah also thinks that this shirt helps him bowl better, or look like an "official bowler."  He always dresses the part.

First go round...Audrey is tied with me for 2nd.  Poor Grandpa...only got 1.

Bowling with her daddy!

Now it's Grandpa's turn to help!

I love how she is pointing at her ball going down.

Close to the end of the first round Audrey started getting fussy and her bowling days were over.  She was asking for milk and being the super star mom that I am, I didn't bring any.  Elijah had to go to the buffet downstairs and ask for milk.  She was content after that, but ONLY if Elijah held her.  This was an "I hate mommy" outing.  The picture below depicts her feelings for bowling and that milk is WAAAAAAYYYY more important.

After the first round I won!  Woot woot! Audrey didn't do too bad for her first go round.  The second round was mostly played by my dad and I while Audrey nursed her milk attack and daddy doted on her.  The third round was completed by each one of us taking baby duty since Audrey found the game room and thought the car games were amazing and driving a fake steering wheel was way cooler than bowling.

 We finished up our bowling only to find that the city had been taken over by dirt, blowing 1000 miles an hour.  Really it was like 30, but microdermabrasion and teeth grit, were at an all time high. We made it over to Chili's and capped off our day with a yummy lunch!

Sharing is caring.

Cutie pa-tootie.

We will venture out bowling again, and maybe a tad earlier and with a stock pile of milk and treats that fancy this little lady!

Spring Break and we're at the Zoo!

This is my 100th post!! It doesn't seem that long ago that I jumped on the blogging bandwagon, but really it's been about a year and a half.  I started blogging right after Audrey was born and although I don't blog as much during the school year, I still try to keep up with a once a month posting.  We are now enjoying spring break and before I know it the end of the school year will be upon us.  Audrey and I decided to venture over to the zoo today with our good friends Melinda and Tanner.  It was such a beautiful day....70 degree weather!  Everyone else in Albuquerque thought so too and decided to join us.   I am some what perturbed at the computer because while I was uploading our fun photos, several got corrupted and either didn't show up or only half way transferred.  But these shots are the best of what was left.  It was so fun going and seeing the zoo through the eyes of 18 and 19 month olds.  Tanner didn't really enjoy the wagon, but that was fine because the kids spent most of their time running from exhibit to exhibit. 

                                              

Checking out the gorillas

     

Waiting for the train to start rolling...we're talking high speed freight train here!

Notice the similarity in their faces.  That's called "veggie straw lips."

Daddy giraffe.  Audrey was slightly scared of the giraffe, but I thought he was amazing.

Audrey could have stood here for days watching the mommy and her baby.  She takes after her  mom and just LOVES the elephants.

Having a conversation over the "cucks" and the noises they make.

 I think that this was by far Audrey's favorite place.  She kept referring to the seals as "B" meaning Bruno, our big black lab.  Every time they would go by she would squeal and scream.  She had to stop at every window to see them swim by. 

 We were on our way to see the polar bears when the zoo keepers walked the llamas over for a viewing.  Someone decided to take off after them.  No fear!  Audrey got to pet the llamas and luckily we didn't get spit on.

Sadly, my favorite picture of Audrey and Tanner hugging didn't make it through the corruption, nor did the photo of Audrey sleeping 12 seconds after we got in the car, so I will leave you with this video of our ladybug and her pure joy at seeing the seals.  *Remember to turn the music off by scrolling to the bottom of the blog.

We WILL be heading back to the zoo very soon!  4 hours of pure fun...my vote: yes!!

After the Storm...

...There will be a rainbow.  I just know it.  February was a some what awful month filled with heartache and pain, but I feel like good things are coming!  The month started off with the passing of my assistant's mother.  She was in her 80's and lived a lovely and long life that produced many children.  She went to Heaven to be with her husband, whom she longed to see for 17 months.

 The following week was the anniversary of my mother's passing.  This year we hit the big 1-0 mark. A whole decade.  It really doesn't seem that long because time has just flown by.  That same day I went to get my first ultrasound.  Yes, a pregnancy due date ultrasound.  You see, in January we were surprised to find out that we were pregnant.  It happened so fast this time! We were very excited because Audrey and the new baby would be 25/26 months apart.  How cool!  Elijah was out of town on the day of my ultrasound so my friend Melinda came for support and to help with Audrey.  We went in and Audrey was having a total fit!  You could tell that the ultrasound tech was a little flustered.  We were able to see our "smudge" and she told me that the baby was measuring at 6 weeks 1 day rather than 7 weeks 1 day.  This is fairly normal as ovulation could have happened later and our days were just off.  She also told me that I had a very small subchorionic bleed.  I was told that this is also considered very common and on a scale of 1 to 10 mine was a 1/2.  She tried to find a heartbeat and kept telling me to hold my breath.  The heart beat never showed up clearly on the monitor, but she said that she saw a flutter and that was good and because I was so early that could explain it.  The whole time my ultrasound was going on Audrey was sprawled across me after crying uncontrollably.  I left feeling uncertain and not quite right, but what could I do?

The first ultrasound

The next week I got a text from Elijah saying that my midwife called and said I should call her back. I started panicking.  I was at work, but needed to hear what she said.  I called her back and she told me that she wanted another ultrasound to see the heartbeat.  I was crying in the back of my classroom because I knew this just wasn't normal and she said that based on my calculations we should have seen a heartbeat.  It was a long 2 weeks and the day before my ultrasound I started to bleed.  Now I hoped that it was because of that subchorionic bleed which could be expelling, as most do, but deep down I knew what was happening.  My fears were confirmed at our appointment.  The baby hadn't grown. It was still showing  6 weeks and 1 day and I should have been 9.  I was heartbroken.  The ultrasound tech was so very sweet and she just said it was a matter of time and to let my body do it's job.

I continued to bleed after that appointment and knowing what it all meant.  At work on Wednesday of that week the majority of what was my pregnancy was gone.  It was horrible and something I would never wish upon anyone.  In my heart I feel like I knew that this pregnancy would never work out.  I never felt a connection and didn't feel right.  Maybe it was mother's intuition.  I thank God that this happened the second time around and not the first.  There was no way I could have been as strong if we had tried for four years like we did with Audrey only to have it end up in failure.  I am so thankful for her!  Through this whole situation I continued to look at her and say, "at least I have her.  Audrey is an amazing child, a ray of sunshine."  A friend told me that my mom just needed a baby to hold and she chose her grandchild.  Maybe she's right and my mom is keeping this little one safe for me until I get to see them! And to add to the heartache, my consolation prize was a bill I got in the mail for $139.28 for my failed pregnancy. Thanks for that.    But, I feel confident that when the timing is right it will happen again and from this I can only grow stronger!

She makes everything feel better in my heart!

Even after all that turmoil there was 1 more thing that just had to happen!  My best friend's 5 year old daughter got admitted to the hospital for 5 days.  She was battling what the doctors thought was a nasty viral infection, only to find out that she had Kawasaki Disease.  In a nutshell, this means that her body started to fight itself, rather than the infection.  This is very scary since it can have an effect on the coronary arteries and in a worst case scenario, a heart attack.  She ended up having a transfusion of sorts where they slow dripped antibodies into her blood stream so her body could fight the infection.  We are happy to say that she is now back at school and is happy and HEALTHY!! I love this little girl so much and was there just a short time after she was born.  I don't know what I would do if something horrible happened to her.

The bestie and her lovely...4 years ago!!  Boy has she grown!

As you can tell, this month really was hard, but in the end it made me believe that I can weather any storm and it made me appreciate the family that I do have here on Earth even more.  This month also showed me how supportive my friends at home AND at work are and without them I could not be as strong. So here is to that Rainbow that WILL appear after this storm is over!

Valentine's Day Chex Mix

I haven't posted in what seems like forever.  I've been a busy girl. Heading back to work after the winter break was a whirlwind.  I had to finish report cards, get ready for Groundhog's Day, the 100th Day of School, and being a mom!  My assistant also lost her mom last week and that was rough for everyone.  She's back now and we are working our way towards conferences and in a few weeks SPRING BREAK!  Here's a look at what I have been up to!  100 day Fruit Loop necklaces...and yes, they counted every last one!

 100 day sticker books!

 And of course, taking care of this one!  Well, at this moment she was helping daddy with "the other woman," but this past week I was a single mom since Elijah was in Pittsburgh.  During this time Audrey decided to take a flying leap off the couch and burn her face on the cat scratcher AND biting into her lip.  So the past few days she has looked like I gave her a good 1-2 into her jaw.  That's how I roll!

While Audrey took a nap I decided to take a crack at a Valentine's Day Chex Mix that I found via Pinterest.  It's been sitting on my board for a good 4 weeks now and I thought it would be great to make so Audrey can take it to her little friends at the babysitter's.  

I first started with the Rice Chex.

 Then you melt the peanut butter, vanilla chips, and butter

 Add it to the Chex and blend it all together.  Then you split it in half and add powder sugar to half (didn't take a picture of that process.  I'm sure you'll live.)

 Lay it out to cool for 15 minutes, while the monitor is on so if you hear screaming you have to stop what you're doing and rescue the baby.

 Let the dogs taste test the mix.  After all, some people call it puppy chow.  And yes, they approve.

 Mr. Helper himself.

 To the unpowdered sugar mix you add in M&M's and sprinkles.  I didn't have those fat ones on hand, so I used the ones that look like colored sugar.  If you use the hard candy coated ones the effect is better, but the store we went to didn't have just Valentine colors.

 Then you let that cool down.  We made two batches since the recipe was a 1/2 recipe.  It would be enough if it were just for a few people, though.

 You then blend it all together and bag it up and voila you have your fun Valentine Chex Mix...from Audrey and made by her parents while your highness beauty rested.  Super easy and super yummy!!

Audrey's First Haircut

Today Audrey went and got her first haircut!  We weren't too sure how she would react since she hates new situations and people being too close in her face.  We didn't do her hair today since she was going to get it done.  Here is what she looked like before we went.

 Elijah tried putting Audrey in the seat and she would have nothing to do with it so I had to sit with her, where she proceeded to scream and flail until they gave her a lollipop.

 Audrey's haircut lasted approximately 2.5 minutes and she hated every minute of it!  Here she is getting her hair parted and ready to be cut. Notice the sad eyes.

 Happy haircut?  This face tells it all.  Haircuts are stupid and I never want to get one again.  I hate you all.  But aren't they sooooo cute?????  Those bangs make her look like such a big girl!

 Audrey even got a baggie with her hair in it and a certificate that says she got her first haircut.  Maybe tomorrow she will like it better!

The Clothes Goal

For a couple of months now I have really been trying to reach out of my comfort zone (in the clothes department) and try some new fashions that are much more cuter and trendier.  I'm not going crazy trendy, like zebra neon pants or back to the 80's, but the basics of trendy.  I'm talking skinny jeans, tunic tops and boots.  Nothing crazy, but things I have not tried.  I am a traditionally very classic dresser who wears a t-shirt and jeans most of the time or a pair of black pants or khakis and a plain top.  I have been getting tired of these clothes and wanted to try something new.  This is where the skinny jeans come in.  Now, you might say, "what's wrong with skinny jeans?"  Well nothing, except I'm already skinny and the 'skinny' jean would just accentuate my already stick like legs.  Elijah always told me to just embrace being skinny, but I hate being judged or told by other people that I need to eat or that I am just so small.  Really?  I had no idea people!!! Everyone has their insecurities and mine is the skinny girl complex.  I was born this way, as Lady Gaga would say.  I eat and nothing happens.  I would love to tack on a few pounds, but I probably would have to eat pure lard in order to gain anything and that's just not happening.  To prove that I eat I will tell you what I ate for lunch today: a turkey wrap, 2 cuties, a personal sized cheese block thing, a bag of BBQ chips, and carrots with ranch. I drank water with my meal.  This is a typical lunch for me!  Anywho, I have really been trying to embrace the skinny and I really stepped out of my box today and wore something new!  I even stopped in with a co-worker and asked my assistant if I looked like a weirdo today.  It really made my day when another co-worker told me I looked really cute and that she liked my outfit!  I guess it does pay to step out of my comfort zone. I really will try to continue finding things that are cute and I may feel slightly self conscious, but a more stylish one!!  Here is a look at what I wore today!!  Pardon the mess of hair and lack of makeup...I just got off work!

Dress: c/o Target. Belt, tank, leggings: c/o Wet Seal.  Shoes: Fergalicious.  Cat: not included.