Changes

If this is going to be my year of change, then I thought I may as well list out what I would like to change and who knows...maybe at the end of the year all these things will have changed :)

• Be a more active blogger
• Update the look of my blog to start trying to become a for real mommy blogger:)
• Become a stay at home mom, but still have income coming in lol...ok this is a wish that will never happen but hey...gotta dream big!
• Get my bills paid off
• My weight/body (been working on this one with the Insanity program and Dalis Connell's workout tips
• Move into our own place
• Help/work with children
• Scrapbook more
• I won't complete this this year by any means but I would really like to finish school so I can earn my degree. I want to have a bachelor's in early childhood education so bad I can't see straight

These are by no means everything in my life I want to change...just some of the things. It'll be interesting to see what has actually changed at the end of the year...aww...I really miss Christmas lol. Forgive my continuous postings...I've had ideas all week but absolutely no time to blog...LOVE the weekend!!! 

Stress Test

I can't begin to describe how very thankful it is the weekend. This week has been extremely hard on me and I still have at least one more stressful week to go before hopefully things calm down a bit. My 2012 has not been the best in the world and I have felt very overwhelmed and defeated. I know the devil is on me hot and heavy so I know something is going on. I mentioned here about my focus this year being devoted to Maddy. I know it's still the beginning of the year, at the very beginning of the year I felt so different. I cannot describe how I felt but I liked it. I started feeling like I was accomplishing tasks that may not seem so big or important to you all, but for me it was. I had some financial stress thrown in here and there but I was able to get through it and keep on keepin on. It seems like this week a bomb was dropped because I just felt like everytime I tried to get up I'd get kicked right back down and it was harder with each kick. I definitely think this year is going to be a year of change for me and Maddy. I could be completely wrong...in one sense I hope I am...in another sense I hope I'm not. If what I think is going to happen (which we all know where God is concerned if we have it figured out it is most likely not going to happen lol), then I am very excited to get there. In the mean time...all this stress can go away!!

Reviews

The first thing I want to talk about is Maddy's pink Barbie Ford Mustang

There isn't a whole lot to say about this product. Kids are going to be happy with just about any vehicle they can drive. I absolutely love the car, but I do wish the doors actually opened. I did a lot of reviews on the different kind of cars and for the money, this car was the best. Kids are able to go frontwards and backwards (Maddy found how to reverse it on her own lol). The radio has some pretty awesome sounds that play. I noticed on the reviews a lot of people complained about not being able to go on grass. So far I've only experieneced the wheels spin out when the grass is wet or if she stops on a hill. Other than that we have had no problems with the tires spinning out. The seat is adjustable and has plenty of room to grow with her. I can't speak to the battery just yet because we haven't really had a long time to play with it. I know it takes 18 hours for the battery to charge and so far we have not ran out of battery. There is no storage which is also somewhat of a bummer, but Maddy absolutely has a ball playing in her car. Bottom line would I buy this car again? Absolutely!!! Great buy for the price :)
Oh yeah, the putting it together part lol. Well, let's just say thank goodness for help lol. It's not that bad, but it was more time consuming than I had planned. The instructions are pretty clear, however, they seem to make you do extra work by putting something together and then the next step saying oh you should have put this on prior to putting that on so you have to take what you just put on off to put the part the instructions skipped. I would imagine all cars similar to this will have the same kind of preparation time.

Maddy Facts

Today is a day I want to remember for a while. I learned that Maddy would be transitioning into her new classroom at school. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it really is. This classroom she is going to begins the "preschool" phase of her daycare. They have actual centers and she will be doing lots of learning. On her sheet today it says she made a gingerbread man out of glue and stuck cinnamon on it and they talked about how it felt and smelled. I was in such shock to be picking her up from her new room today that it kinda made me do a flashback on her life lol. I know she is too young to be doing that already, but it helped me realize that her behavior has really changed...unless this is just a phase lol. I realized that her meltdowns are happening less frequently and when she has one 95% of the time it's because I have kept her up too long. Sure we have fits if she has to do something she doesn't want to or if I don't do something on her time, but they really are starting to diminish. This week she has allowed me to change her diaper and get her dressed and that in itself is amazing. She hasn't been running out the door at daycare when we leave...she simply walks out like a big girl. I feel like with her beginning her new classroom that she is no longer my toddler anymore, but becoming a little girl. I am amazed at things she has picked up on or just knows. The other day she wanted me to hand her one of her foam mats and it was the shape of a 9...she told me that was nine. I was amazed. Her vocabulary has just taken off and I get so tickled at her because she gets so excited about things and is trying to tell us but her brain is going much faster than her little mouth will go. Here is a video I made this past Sunday...don't be too surprised that she actually has pants on in this one lol

I know this post is pretty useless to most people, but it's something I wanted to document for myself. I've definitely been having mommy emotions and I really believe my little baby is turning into this beautiful little girl. 


Throughout the year I would like to work on organization within my blog. I am such a random person that I just start typing whatever comes to my mind and I'm sure it can be hard to follow. I've also decided to start doing some reviews on the toys Maddy has to share what I like and don't like about them. I hope you all are having a wonderful new year and thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!

2012

As we entered into 2012 I quickly realized what my focus of the year would be...Maddy of coarse. I know that sounds really strange because as her mom I should always be focused on Maddy no matter what year it is...and I assure you she has always been my focus. I am entering in a new journey as a parent and wanted to share. As I've posted before last year my mom got me this calender that had encouraging messages on it called Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On. This year she got me a daily calender called The Power of a Praying Parent. I am constantly questioning myself...did I make the right decision, did I handle the problem ok, etc. I question myself even more when people tell me I should have done this or I need to do that. I'll never forget when I first had her and took her to Babies R Us. I had her wrapped in a blanket and then put her in my coat and the cashier told me I was freezing her. Little did that cashier know Maddy is a hot natured child and she would just pour sweat and fuss if I dressed her too warm. There was plenty of body heat to keep her warm and it really upset me when the cashier said something. Another time was at the mall...Maddy would not keep socks on no matter what. I had her in her stroller and this woman comes up to me and said, "You need to get some socks on that poor baby...it's cold!" I just kinda laughed it off but there again...what right did she have to tell me what is best for my child? I've had several people try to tell me what I need to do with Maddy and it's quite frustrating. I began to wonder if this only happened to me but apparently once you become a parent it just gives the whole world the right to tell you how to raise your child. I've decided to tune out the rest of the world and listen to the only one that matters...Jesus. I hope that I can become a consistent praying parent and I am very excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this year. It's amazing watching Maddy grow and see her become her own person. She is so super smart and funny and of coarse she is just beautiful! She gave me a compliment the other day and it just made me want to cry.  Her exact words were, "Mama pretty" Talk about just wanting to cry lol. I am going to add some random pics of Maddy just because :)

Goodbye 2011

It is so hard for me to believe another year has come and gone. When I look back at 2011 it all seems to be a blur to me. I know I've had some lows...some of the newest ones on my mind is my transmission and IRS audit, but I can only remember most of the highs. I put on my facebook status that 2011 was a pretty good year and I quickly realized how insensitive that was of me. A lot of people in my area lost their homes and loved ones in the April 27 tornadoes. A lot of people have either lost their jobs or couldn't find a new one. I do realize the hardships 2011 has brought many people, but for me personally it hasn't really been that bad of a year. In February we celebrated my niece's 9th birthday, March we celebrated my 28th birthday, April we we saw all the damage from the tornado and I went back to school, May we celebrated Mother's Day and my sister's birthday as well as take a mini vacation down to Panama City Beach, FL., June we went to J-Fest, July we celebrated my mom's birthday and the fourth of July and went to Lake Winnie, August we celbrated my stepdad's birthday and my mom and step dad's 10th anniversary as well as go to Dollywood and Splash Country, September we went on our first cruise and celebrated Maddy's 2nd birthday, October was Halloween, November was Thanksgiving, and then there was December...lots of Christmas-y enjoyment the whole month.
As you can see from the video up above Maddy wanted to wish everybody a happy new year in her own way :) I am seeing more and more everyday just how smart she really is...and she's only two! Every New Years we have to get tiara's and necklaces to ring in the new year...is Maddy

Here is mine...

After we went out and bought our decorations we came back home to enjoy the nice weather while it was here...

How cute is she sportin her glasses lookin all grown up??? I am hoping 2012 is just as good as 2011 and would be ok if it were even better! Every year will have it's ups and downs but as long as you trust in God to take care of you, the lows are easier to deal with. Happy New Year everybody from Maddy and me :)

Christmastime Is Here

I'm a little late in posting this but I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things. This year all my Christmas traditions did not go as they normally do, but it was still a great Christmas. My stepbrother came over to spend the night with us and my mom sent him and my stepdad to their bedrooms for the night while me and her got everything ready for Christmas day. My mom finished cleaning the house up as well as start cooking all the food. We stayed up until close to 3 a.m. and then my mom took a quick (i mean like maybe 10-15 min.) nap on the couch and then I laid down for a little bit too. Maddy was having some bad dreams or something because she kept waking up crying saying "Mama" which is highly unusual for her. I went in there and she was sitting up in her bed and she wanted me to pick her up. I was able to get her back down, but she cried again around 5:40 a.m. and I decided to go ahead and go to bed then and sleep in her bed. We woke up around 7:40 a.m. and she seemed pretty rested. When I came out to finish getting everything ready for her to come out, her dad was here. There was no carrying her to her Christmas this year...she went flying into the living room just as she does every other morning. 

 This is what Maddy woke up to :)

 Maddy was so cute when she decorated her cookies for santa. Instead of putting the decorations on the cookie, she wanted to sort them out on the plate. She enjoyed eating the decorations and thought santa would prefer to just eat them as well

This was the picture of her running into the living room. When I was changing her diaper I asked her if she wanted to go see if santa ate his cookies and milk and as you can see she went straight to the plate. We left santa several cookies and he only left one. We also noticed he must have dipped his cookie in the milk cause there were crumbs in the milk.

 Before diving into the presents she had to sit back and take it all in

 It didn't take long before she was up and playing. There was a big difference in this Christmas verses last Christmas. Last Christmas she was really shy and didn't want to get out of my lap. This Christmas she was not shy at all and started playing pretty much right away. Amazing what a year's difference can bring.

 At Maddy's school they wear smock's to keep clean when painting. Santa thought she would enjoy wearing a smock at home and brought these really neat paints that only show up on the special paper. She really enjoyed painting at home and would ask to wear her smock before she did so...she's so smart!

She also really enjoyed playing with her kitchen. I'm hoping she has fun with it for a while:)


After playing the toys santa brought it was time to start opening the other presents.

She opened roughly two presents before she started saying no to presents. Her exact words were, "Nooooo....no presents" 

 This purple house is really neat. It's "The Little People" and Maddy absolutely loves it! She will make them walk up the steps, tell me they have to go potty, and that they are night night. She is really starting to use her imagination and it is really neat seeing it come out

After I realized she was just done with presents I decided it was time to do stockings.

She discovered there was lots of chocolate in there, but santa also left her a note...here is what it said:

She cracked me up because she would just push the petal down without steering and it was like she expected it to just ride her around lol. I didn't expect her to have the concept of the car by any means...it just looked funny to watch. She also had to have her chocolate with her at all times. She would start and stop her car. She really enjoyed playing in her car and it is murder trying to get her out of it. 

After finally getting her inside we decided to try to open a few more presents...

After Maddy was done with her presents and stocking it was mommy's turn to open her present

When I first opened it I wasn't sure if it was a dvd player or blu-ray. I was quickly trying to skim through and ended up just asking lol. I was completely surprised! I had no idea these things could hook up through the internet and play pandora and netflix and blockbuster and even facebook onn your tv! I also got a scrapbook storage tote. I have been trying to get one for a while now but they are so expensive and I wouldn't pay full price for it. My mom got a really good deal on this one and I am so very thankful she did because I absolutely love it! My other gift is she preordered the movie Courageous for me and it was the blu-ray/dvd combo. I have been anxiously awaiting this movie to come out on dvd since I couldn't go see it in theater's. In case you want to know it comes out on January 17th. I have learned a lot through their movie Facing the Giants and Fireproof and I'm sure I will learn something new through Courageous. Last but not least my mom got me a bottle of my favorite scent of lotion from bath and body works...sweet pea. I'm not one to just put lotion on throughout the day but i have been doing so multiple times throughout the day with it. My family does a chinese Christmas. What that is is instead of buying gifts for people we each buy a $20 gift and wrap it up. We still buy gifts for children but anybody 18 and up either does the chinese Christmas or they get nothing lol. Once everybody gets wherever Christmas is being held..this year it was our house...we eat and then count how many people are participating and make sure we have enough gifts to play. We then draw numbers and that is the order we go. Number 1 has it kinda bad because they are the first to go and don't have the option of stealing anything. The rest of the numbers can either pick a new present or steal from someone who has already opened a gift. When an item has been stolen three times it can no longer be stolen again. The rest of the pictures are of my family eating and playing and possibly some video I took on my phone of Maddy opening presents:

We all had a really fun time but we were all very exhausted. I think I am still recovering from Christmas Eve and Christmas :)