Vacation Days 5&6

I'm finally getting around to finished our vacation posts. I'm hoping as I look at pictures it will help me remember what we did lol, During the day we did our normal playing in the water. We started out at Aqualand and ended up going on the beach for a little bit. Maddy wanted to try going out to the water again, so we stood in the water until it splashed us in the face. I was amazed at just how strong the waves were. There was no way I could have taken her out further. She enjoyed just watching the water and feeling it get her legs.  Thursday morning she had to make sure baby was dressed. The video is a bit long but she works on dressing baby until she suceeded.

There were storms brewing out at sea and I was able to capture what I think is a neat picture.

I was surprised at how far away the storm looked from the radar compared to how close it looked in real person. Maddy was asleep when I took this picture.

As you can see she really enjoyed her naps lol. She woke up around 4 p.m. so we just went straight to dinner. We ate at Scampy's again and got the exact same thing we did the first time, but added an order of fried pickles...yum yum! After dinner we went back to the hotel and chilled out. We got to bed around 11 p.m. I can't remember what time we woke up Friday morning. I want to say around 6:50 or 7:00 a.m. By this point in the trip I think Maddy was beyond ready to be home as well as just plum exhausted. It was very frustrating at the pool because all the kids would try to "play" with her toys. She did not like that and I really didn't either because they wouldn't play with her, they took her toys and played with other people. Maddy doesn't like a lot of water so she was already limited in what she could play with.

We did take advantage of her eating free and ate at the poolside grill. I went ahead and got a fruit bowl so hers would be free. She loved the fruit.

We also had a little visitor come visit us.

After a few hours of playing it was time to go lay down. Maddy actually told me she was ready to lay down which shocked the pants off of me. We carried our food to the room to save for later. As usual we took her wet bathing suit off and left her in just a diaper to curl up in the bed with. She LOVED sleeping like that.

For dinner I tried taking us to Pineapple Willy's. I love to eat there because of the atmosphere. It is an outdoor restaurant on a pier and it's just a nice view. I wasn't thinking about it being Friday, which meant even the locals would be going there because of the bar and other activities they hold. The first parking lot was full so I decided to try the additional parking lot and IT was full. I decided it just wasn't worth it so I had to figure out something else. Luckily I had my GPS and had some restaurants plugged in. We ended up at Deadeye Dick's Steakhouse. It's a rather odd restaurant with odd food. The feel was like a Texas Roadhouse, but the menu is just weird. Maddy ordered her first cocktail and it was called Shark Attack. It was real neat because they bring this cup out with a shark sticking out of the drink with a cherry in it's mouth. They have the kids pull the cherry out and then turn the shark over and this red juice stuff comes out to make it look like blood. Maddy actually did a little of it and seemed to enjoy it. She got to keep the shark.

This is an odd picture I know, but the shark attack description is on the very bottom and you can kind of see the picture beside it. All the other kids around us got the same drink so it must be popular with the kids.

Maddy had pizza and I had a 12 oz ribeye. I wanted to look around in their gift shop when we were done but we still had to buy gifts for everybody and Maddy was already having some issues during dinner. I figured I better save the shopping for a little later. We went to Alvin's Island. It was a 3 story store and I wished I had known because I kept her in her stroller. I knew there was no way she would survive without the stroller. We started the shopping off with a rough start. I was trying to find a visor my mom wanted and in the mean time Maddy managed to get herself out of her stroller and took off running. She was running so fast that even with me running I could not see her. The store is on the main road and it honestly scared me to death. I finally caught up to her and she thought it was funny. This mommy did NOT think it was funny and actually received her very first spanking. I know the issue of spanking is a huge topic/debate and I will admit that I am against spanking. I don't think it should be the first option and it needs to be done a certain way and you have to make sure it's not abuse. I understand all of that. I did not publicly spank her because I don't believe in humiliating them. It was one pop and she didn't even cry. After that her attitude did an about face. She was getting restless and I understood because it was taking me forever to find what I needed/wanted. On our way back to the hotel I was in tears because I did have to spank her and just wanted to grab her up and tell her sorry. I did explain why she got the spanking and told her I loved her. When we got back to the hotel she was a completely different child. I had to call my mom because I was about to lose it. That has been her only spanking. Once we got back to the hotel she watched the polynesian dance and fire show and I packed. I was sad our time was coming to an end but at the same time I was ready to get back home. On our way home on Saturday I stopped at a rest area and thought the scenery was beautiful. 

As always Maddy did exceptionally well in the car. We were so glad to be home. I am already thinking about next year and really hope I can figure out a way to squeeze in a vacation for us. I am going to try to save most of my tax money for two years in a row to try to save for a newer car, but that means giving up vacation and I don't know if I can lol. I'm praying the Lord will allow me to do both.

Work In Progress

Sorry for all the posts about our new house lol. I've worked my behind off trying to turn it into our home. I look around and wonder why it doesn't look like I've done a whole lot to it, but yet in reality I've spent so many hours working on this and that. This post is primarily a picture post and it's to show the pictures I've been able to hang so far...should I say my mom has hung for me lol. I do know how to hang pictures, but she has a good eye for where they need to go and getting it on the first try. I tend to put many holes in the wall before getting it where it needs to be. I am no where near done hanging pictures, but I've got a pretty good start....for now. When you first walk in our house you walk into the living room. On the wall where the door is I have a picture hanging and I love this picture being there because it's a good reminder that the Lord knows the plans He has for us, we just simply have to trust and follow Him.

To the right of this picture is another wall that has our closet on it, and it's also the wall the tv is placed. I really need a bigger tv for the living room but like everything else it is going to have to wait. Above my tv are pictures of my nieces.

Again, I need more frames but something is better than nothing. For me personally I have always said I would decorate my house in family pictures instead of "art." I'm not a fan of art from someone I don't really know personally. I do like some art but I would rather my home be 100% personal. I'm going to take some of Maddy's artwork that she has done at school and put in frames and hang it up as well.
I only have one other picture hanging in the living room and it's above Maddy's toy organizer. It's a gift that was given to me when I worked for a local magnet school and I love the colors in it.

Oops, I must have had the camera crooked when I took it. It's an awkward angle because the couch is in the way. Speaking of couch, Maddy has her own little couch that she used to love to sit in.

It fits perfectly in front of the chest that we are using for a coffee table. You can see where Manny chewed on it as a puppy, but oh well lol.

This is Maddy's "home living." She loves playing in there and usually alternates from home living to her bedroom. She has really been acting out "mommy" things with her baby. She loves to pretend to put baby night night. When it's time to eat she has to have baby right beside her. When it's bath time she has to have baby in the tub. She also loves to change baby' diaper. Her baby poops a lot and if she poops she makes me change her lol.

This picture was super hard to get and this is the best I could do. This is the start of the hall. I love this picture of Maddy because of her smile.
I only have one picture in my kitchen/dining area and it's what Maddy made me at school for mother's day.

Last but not least is my bedroom.

 This beautiful picture of Maddy is above my bookcase. Eventually there will be a collage of pictures.

My mom had a really good point. When I first walk in my room you see the above big picture of Maddy. She thought putting this smaller picture here was a great idea because then as I leave the last thing I see is the picture. It may sound silly to some of you, but I loved the idea/thought process.
I actually forgot two pictures that are right beside my hall closet. They are canvas' and I would really like to get two more, but I am waiting for them to be free again. I know the pictures I took are not that great and the walls need some serious color but I am very pleased with how things are coming along. I couldn't have done any of it without the help of my mom and I am so thankful she is so willing to help out. Today we spent about two and a half hours or so trying to put the wall decals back up in Maddy's room. It took forever but between the two of us we got it done and I'm pleased with how it turned out. I still have some pictures to hang, but we ran out of time and nails. On a different note, Manny has really been enjoying being in his new house. It felt like within the first two hours I took him out 20 times. He did use the bathroom every single time, but with me being on production I can't spend my day taking him out all the time. I'm hoping in time he will learn to hold it more and dwindle the amount of times we go outside. He settled down on the couch two times today for about an hour or so.

Weekend Recap

It's officially one week since Maddy and I have been in our new house. We had a lot of fun this weekend. Maddy has looked forward to no school all week I think. Saturday morning I asked her if she knew what day it was and she said, "What?" I told her it was Saturday and her face lit up and said, "No school?" On top of no school/work we also had planned on going to my mom's for the day. Maddy actually slept in until 9:40 a.m. and I was forever thankful because I stayed up too late trying to get stuff done around the house. We woke up, got dressed, cooked biscuits, and got ready to go to my mom's. My mom is turning Maddy's old bedroom into a playroom for all the grandkids. She showed Maddy where all her toys were and Maddy's reaction was, "What?!" It was hilarious and I wish I had been videoing. I still need a few things around the house so my mom took us to the store to get started on this long list I have going. My priorities might be a tad off because I need a new vacuum cleaner, but instead of getting the vacuum I got a router so I could have my personal computer back. Maddy was getting real tired and hungry so we were only able to get my router the first go round. We stopped by Baskin Robbins to get blasts and ice cream for Maddy. Speaking of Maddy, we are officially passy free. Before we moved out we have lost passy several times at my mom's house. I searched every where for it and had to tell her it was lost. To my surprise she went ahead and went to bed when she heard I didn't know where it was. I should have just never given it back to her when I finally did find it, but I didn't. Thursday morning when she woke up she told me she couldn't find her passy. I looked under her bed, behind her bed, in her covers and it was no where to be found. She went to bed that night with no passy...she did ask for it but I told her I couldn't find it. I ended up finding it Friday morning hidden under her bed, but decided to just let passy be lost. She has been taking her naps at school without now and she hasn't even asked for it. I haven't thrown it away just yet, but I think I will be soon. Okay back to our weekend. After we got ice cream we went back to my mom's to get my step dad. We ate at the Chop House. Maddy got pizza and I got grilled chicken garden alfredo. After dinner we did the rest of our shopping. We headed to Wal-Mart. My step dad took Maddy to the toy section while my mom and I got my groceries. I did get me a new crock pot, which is my third one now because my other two got thrown away. I found a cute red one by Hamilton Beach that was a real good price, but they weren't in stock. I just went with the silver and black one but will probably be getting a different one down the road. I love crock pots! Once we were done shopping we went back to my mom's and Maddy got to play outside. It was after 8, but that was a perfect time to play because it wasn't hot at all and there was a nice breeze blowing. Maddy had a blast with her car and playing with my mom and step dad. We didn't get home till 9:30 p.m. or maybe it was closer to 10 I can't really remember. We brought my dog Manny home and bless his heart he was scared to death. He did NOT want to walk up the steps to get in the house. I think he thought I was leaving him. Once he found my room he seemed happier. He could smell his scent on my bed so he wanted to stay in there. He did really well staying out with Maddy. He didn't try to jump on her and he wasn't rambunctious. Maddy also did a very good job of not pestering him. She loves to hug on him and it is just so sweet. I should have gotten pictures of them together, but I didn't. Sunday morning me, Maddy, my mom, and my step dad decided to try our old church. I have missed church so much and going back to our old church was just what I needed. I tried to prepare Maddy for when we left her in the nursery, but there isn't much that can help. They were all nice in helping me get her settled in. As they were telling us what was going to happen Maddy's nose started to turn red and she had tears forming in her eyes. Once it was time to hand her off she did let them take her, but she just buried her head and cried. It was so hard leaving her. I really hope to get into a routine of going to church because I desperately need it. After church was over she said she liked it.  After church we went back to my mom's house for some pizza and homemade ice cream. We had a really fun weekend and we can't wait for this coming weekend. We are going to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday. It will be a party filled weekend :) I'm going to post the pictures I have from this week.

This was Monday morning...her first morning waking up in her new house. She was sleeping so good.

Nana brought her ice cream throughout the week...as you can see she was thrilled :)

This is ranch chicken. It was still cooking when I took this picture. I got this recipe from one of my cook books and it is pretty good. Maddy ate some of it, but was more worried about her ice cream lol.

I sent this to my mom Sunday after church. I'm so happy Manny can be left out while Maddy is awake. I was so afraid he would be too wild or try to jump on her or that she would just annoy him but they love each other :)
I have a few pictures on my camera to add to this, but will have to do so later. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

One Week

Tomorrow will mark the one week mark since Maddy and I have been in our new house. It's been easier in some ways and harder in others. My day got started off wrong on Monday when my work computer would not work. I was so stressed out over trying to get that fixed on top of the emotions I was dealing with with moving away from home..again. I was worried about Maddy and how she felt and tried my best to create as much "normalcy" as I could in our new house. I took advantage of the unexpected time off work and tried to clean and organize around the house. I really wanted to have it all done for when Maddy got home, but that just did not happen. Maddy was happy to see me when I picked her up from school and she asked if we were going to our new house. She seemed excited, which made me feel better but little did I know. Our first dinner was nothing amazing. We had a hot dog with a banana. After dinner we played until it was time for Maddy to go to bed. Her bed time got stretched a little to 8:30. Tuesday rolled around and I realized I would once again be out of work because they thought the storms we had fried my computer (turns out all it was is the IP settings needed to be changed so they wasted money on shipping me a new computer). My mom came over Tuesday to help me try to get my house manageable. She accomplished a lot and I was very thankful for her help. Tuesday was probably the hardest day emotionally for me. When Maddy woke up she asked if we were going to come back to her new house. I told her yes. She said, "But I don't want to go to Maddy's new house, I want to go home." Honestly I have no idea how I managed not to burst into tears, but somehow I managed to stay strong and I told her her new house was her home. She proceeded to tell me that she wanted to go to Nana's. I felt so horrible. I was missing "home" too and the transition was a bit rough. After Tuesday morning she started to seem better. Tuesday was our first dinner I cooked. I made london broil, mashed potatoes, and peas. I was very pleased with how everything turned out. I marinaded the meat in A-1 sauce and put some Nature's Blend all over it and some garlic and salt. I marinaded it overnight. I used A-1 because I am still in need of some basic supplies and did not have Worcestershire sauce. I actually really liked the A-1 marinade and will def use it again. Maddy enjoyed dinner as well, but didn't like the meat. Wednesday morning my work computer was up and running and I started feeling a little more normal. My mom came over again for a little while. We were supposed to do some more cleaning/organizing but we ended up working and talking. By this point Maddy was excited to hear we were going to her new house when I picked her up from school. The only thing missing was Manny. I left him at my mom's while we got a little more settled first. I missed him terribly but knew my mom was taking good care of him. I won't recap Thursday and Friday as I'm sure it's a bit boring, but I did want to document some of our "firsts" in our new house. I have a few pictures to go with this post, but I will have to add them later. Maddy is adjusting very well and seems to really like her new house.

Freak Storm

Last Thursday was a really weird day. We were supposed to get some pretty strong storms, and that we did. What made it so weird, is it was just wind...no rain. The wind was real strong. It was taking tops of trees plum off and carrying them down the road. We lost power pretty much as soon as it hit. The house got hot fast so we were staying outside as much as possible. I am fascinated with weather so I took a couple of pictures of the clouds.

I had a little bit of battery left on my phone so I started looking for our news to post updates as to what happened. They finally posted the winds were straight line winds and with one power company there over 26,000 people without power. We didn't get power back until 12:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. Friday was also a weird day for us. With no power I obviously could not work. I was sitting at the table writing when my mom's outside dogs just started going crazy. They have a fox that likes to go back there and also a cat that likes to tease them. I just figured it was one of the two. After a few minutes I decided to try to get them to be quiet. They did hush up and looked at me. I sat back down and here they go again just going to town. I got back up and looked and I happened to notice that they were all barking at something that was not just outside of their fence. I went to look out a different window and was mortified at what I thought I was seeing. I instantly thought there was a snake in one of the pens, but it was huge. I decided I was just being silly and it had to be a cat or a bird or something. I am the only person in the house mind you and my phone battery was dead. I run to my car to use my car charger to charge it up and decide to go take one more look to make sure I wasn't crazy. Whatever it was had moved and it had moved to a stump. I thought I saw blue so I decided there was no way it could be a snake. I go back to my car and sit...it feels like forever to boot back up. I called my mom who was taking Maddy to school for me. She had just gotten to daycare so I had to wait for her to call me back. I told her there was a snake or cat or bird in with two of the dogs. Me being the silly person that I was just had to go back inside to get a better look at what exactly it was. Let me first say that I am just beyond terrified of snakes. It's not just a fear it's beyond that. I can have nightmares JUST from saying the word "snake" so why I had to know what was in the fence is beyond me. I'm on the phone with my mom and see it had moved again it this time I could see the head and it was indeed a snake. It was a big one and I just started crying because I saw it myself and then I was worried about the dogs getting bit. When I was pregnant with Maddy there was a diamond back rattlesnake in our backyard that my mom's dog and Manny were trying to scare off. Last week there was a black snake on our neighbor's sidewalk so they stay around lol. I had a freak out moment and needed someone there immediately. My mom decided to call my uncle who lives 5 min. away but I tell you I think it took like 20 min for him to get there lol. I ran out to him when he got there. Once he got back there he thought it looked poisonous. He said it was something you would see on National Geographic and he wasn't going to try to throw it back in the woods. He told my mom he needed a gun that it looked mean and he didn't feel comfortable trying to get it out. My step dad got home just in time to get his shot gun and well you know the rest. My mom got a picture of it before my step dad got there. 

My mom googled it and she thinks it is a chicken snake. By the time it was gone I was just done for the day. Luckily once the power came on our internet was still down so I didn't have to work that day and I could just try to calm down a bit lol. The storm actually fried my work computer so I haven't been to work at all this week either. I just received the part I have to swap, but I have to wait for them to call me. I'm hoping they don't call me till later today lol. I really don't mind having one more day off.

Settling In

I still need to write about our last two days of vacation, but so much is happening it will just have to wait. I finally got my business internet installed, which meant I was pretty much free to move whenever I wanted. This Saturday was my Nephew's first birthday as well as his party. The plan was to get mine and Maddy's bed/dresser moved after the party. The party started at 3:00 p.m. I would love to share pictures of him and show off all his adorable smiles, but his parents do not want his pictures posted online. He was very quiet during his party and just stared at all the people and all the toys and flirted with the girls lol. He didn't really dig all in his cake. He mainly just got the icing, which was red by the way, and smeared it all over his face. It was cute. We left around 5:30 ish and headed straight to get some food. We were all starving. We ate at Golden Corral and the food was delicious, but the air wasn't really working so I think we burned off our food as we ate it because it was pretty hot in there. After dinner we went back to my mom's house. When we got to my mom's we decided to just wait until Sunday to move because we were already so tired and I was having a bit of an emotional moment. Moving on a Sunday is no easy task for anybody involved, but I am really glad we stayed one extra night :) Sunday came and I started the day off feeling very overwhelmed. We took Maddy's bed down, got my work computer unhooked, got my bed out, and Maddy's dresser. We loaded up two trucks and a car and we still had lots of stuff at my mom's. The idea was to just get what had to go right then moved over and then throughout the weeks I can go through the stuff at my mom's and throw away what I don't want and slowly move the rest over. I felt so bad for my step dad, uncle, and grandfather because they were lifting heavy stuff in 90 degree weather, but it felt more like 100. My mom helped me coordinate the move because I've never had to deal with this big a move before. It really is amazing all the stuff you can collect, especially with a kid, in just three short years. Long story short me and Maddy are officially moved into our new house, but we are not quite settled yet. Maddy's room is pretty much done but the rest of the house will take some time. I originally wanted to decorate in pink and brown because that was Maddy's nursery theme and it's special to me. Things I found a year ago are not in style anymore and pink and brown is no longer popular. I did see a lot of blue and brown, so those are the colors I am using to decorate with. It's going to take some time to really get our house the way I want it, but I'm doing a little at a time as I can. I found a rug for the living room at Wal-Mart that was just perfect...

I took a picture of Maddy's room, but it looks much better in person. She seems to really like her room. I love her room and find myself going in there throughout the day to just sit, rock, and listen to her music. It feels very calm in there and I'm very thankful for that. Here is the pic I took from my phone.

For all you home decorator's out there I know her rug doesn't exactly "go" with her curtains, but I am just not ready to get rid of it or replace it. I would love to paint her walls to bring some more color to the room, but since we are renting I don't want to go through the trouble or the money to paint it only to have to paint it again once we moved out. I do have a goal of owning my own house within the next few years or so. I have her glider on the left in front of the window, and her closet is also on the left. The green curtains were extra's my sister gave me and they really work perfect. I bought her toddler bedding set a while back that is purple with green and pink. The room really works together even though this picture doesn't do it justice. My mom spent half a day with me yesterday and helped me get it manageable to where I could just go through boxes a little at a time as I could instead of just having stuff piled every where. I've seen a change in Maddy when I take her to school in the mornings. She will talk while I'm there instead of just acting shy. I'm hoping after this week she will be feeling a lot more settled and sure about our move. For now I have left my dog Manny with my mom. I plan on getting him this weekend...I am really missing him! I just needed to get me and Maddy situated first before trying to get him.

Fourth Of July 2012

I hope everybody had a wonderful fourth of july! Most of the day was just like a Saturday for Maddy and I. We played, watched movies, and ate food lol. I'm so close to moving into our new place so I decided to do a little shopping. We went to a few stores and finally made a purchase. I got part of our bathroom set, which is called Butterfly Blessings. I really wanted to do pink and brown, but those colors aren't in anymore. My second choice was blue and brown and butterfly blessings incorporates both colors with a touch of green and yellow. I also got a small bookshelf...I don't really like to read but do have some books. We also had to make a stop at LifeWay Christian stores to buy a couple more Bob (VeggieTales) CD for the car. Ours had melted gummies on it and made it skip...was real annoying after a while. Maddy was very pleased with those purchases lol. We headed back to my mom's to get ready to go to Lake Winnie. This is a tradition we started a few years ago and it's just so much fun. We picked up my nieces and ate at subway. I got a veggie on 9 grain honey oat bread. I was surprised it actually tasted good lol. Oh...I forgot I hadn't posted about my latest adventure. I'm currently trying out the Biggest Loser plan and white breads are not allowed lol. Maddy had a cheese pizza although she was too excited to even eat. I have lots of pictures thanks to my mom...I accidentally left my memory card in my computer...oops.

 I really wasn't growling...I was just starting to say cheese and this is the only pic there is lol

 We were waiting for my oldest niece to get done riding her ride

 on the carousel...it almost put her to sleep. 

 Her first ever roller coaster. Being a mommy is hard work...as soon as I saw her on there I instantly teared up and started shaking. I was so worried she would hate it. She is a real thrill rider and just loved it.

 She was such a big girl! I think you can kind of see her walking around as if she's just all grown up lol

 This was the first year on these cars as well and she rode them at least six times. Luckily we had my nieces to help her get on and off since parents can't ride.

 I really did ride rides with her lol. We sang the elephant song from Barney once we got up in the air.

This year was the best year we've had! Maddy did not pitch a fit one time and I was so worried she would. She had a nap, but she was real tired on the way there and was ornery. She had so much fun on the rides I don't think she stopped to think about pitching a fit. We got to ride a lot more rides too. The fireworks went off at 10:00 and it was an overall great time.