Continued Ramblings

I was originally going to make this an all out Christmas post. I know, it's not even Halloween yet lol. This is definitely been the earliest I have been in the Christmas spirit. I was listening to Christmas music towards the end of July and into August. This morning on my way home I was listening to Way-FM as I always do. The host, Wally, was doing the normal routine and they do something called a blog report. This morning they gave previews of the new Christmas music coming out. They played Francesca Battistelli, Jeremy Camp, Group 1 Crew, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Y'all I am so excited about it all!! The songs they played were REALLY good and ever since I have just been in full force Christmas spirit. I'm not a big Halloween person. I mean I like dressing up and taking Maddy trick-or-treating and all, but the holiday itself I do not like. I have listened to Christmas music on Pandora all day today and I think it will be from here on out Christmas music in my house lol. I don't want to overload this post with thousands of songs I like during the Christmas season,  so I am only going to do a few now and then maybe start back the song of the week posts. There are so many artists and songs to choose from that this is going to be a bit hard for me. I guess I will start with one of my most favorite albums. It's Point of Grace...A Christmas Story. I also really love their second Christmas album they did.

This is called When Love Came Down. It's a REALLY great song.

The next song of choice is Amy Grant's Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. I love this song because it brings that Christmas feel. I envision sitting by the fire, hearing it crackle, sipping hot chocolate, and admiring the Christmas tree or just talking with family.

I will end with Bing Crosby, Santa Clause is Coming to Town. What can I say...I'm a sucker for the older Christmas songs lol. I mean Bing just screams Christmas!!!

I will most definitely be posting a weekly song post again because there are so many Christmas songs I want to share lol. I know you all probably don't care, but it's fun so I'm going with it!

Apart from my Christmas mood, I have had kind of a rough day. It wasn't 100% one of those days where everything I did was wrong, but in a way it felt like every turn I made I was getting a slap in the face. That devil is just never ending. I did receive a wonderful surprise today though. My mom offered to pick up anything I needed at the store today and bring to me. When she got here she came bearing gifts.

They are beautiful! The top one is Jesus Calling. It's a 365 day devotional and it's written as if Jesus Himself were talking to you. I have already read tonight's and it is JUST what I needed to hear. Having it written this way just seems so much more personal and I feel like Jesus is sitting right next to me saying the words to me. It's gonna be a great way to start the day or in some cases end the day. The second book is called My Daily. It's a devotional prayer book. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's kind of like Beth Moore's Praying God's Word.

I curled my hair yesterday for the first time in a long time. The curls had started to relax by this point because I changed shirts a few times and then my hair kept getting pulled on things. My hair hasn't been this long in forever. Here is the pic I took right after I finished curling:

The fact that my hair holds curls at all is amazing. I'm still loving my herstyler flat iron. I would never be able to do this with a curling iron.

We only have one more day until the weekend...THANK GOODNESS!!!! I think this is the last of my random ramblings. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Midweek Ramblings

I'm finally starting to get back to "normal" after preparing for Maddy's birthday and then having a little time after to try to get everything back in order. My house is still decorated in her decorations. I had every intention of taking them down this past weekend, but I'm having a hard time parting with them lol. My mom and I took a lot of time in placing everything just so. I'm also using them as reminders of how Maddy reacted and how she kept telling me over and over she liked her birthday. I am also wanting them to stay for Maddy's sake because she just loves it. I think I may have to take baby steps and start with the living room and take down the balloons and swirly decorations, then another week take down the birthday banner, and then last the huge wall decal. A lot of love went into planning her party. Ok, I'm done reminiscing lol.

Maddy starts her dance class at school on Friday. I am super excited for her and hope she really enjoys it. I found the facebook page of the company that is teaching it love that it is God centered. The name of the program is Angela's Angels and Athletes. It's not a traditional dance class, but it looks like Maddy will have lots of fun.

Teen Mom is really starting to come to a close now. I don't know a lot of people who watch it, but oh well.

My schedule is really starting to fill up fast. I feel like I barely have time to grab on to the chair to hold on before it just takes off. I am officially back in our church orchestra. We are having a Christmas program on December 2. We got our Christmas music last week. Our normal rehearsal time is 5:30-7. Some of us have to stay till 8 anyways because we have kids in Awana's, so we are having Christmas music rehearsal after our normal rehearsal. We have a Saturday practice on November 3 and then the dress rehearsal is December 1. We have crunch week the week of November 26. I love the end of the year because it's so close to Christmas. I started watching some Christmas movies this week on Netflix and really starting to feel that Christmas spirit. It will be fun decorating our home this year for Christmas. I will find ways to include Maddy in the decorating :)

I seem to have made 1:00 a.m. my new bed time throughout the week. Why I do this to myself I have yet to figure out.

I ordered me not one but TWO mom planners lol. One I can take with me wherever I go and the other hangs on the fridge. I also downloaded a free app called mom's planet or something like that. It will kinda do for now until my real ones get here. I really hope they help get me on track lol. I failed miserably as a friend. One of my friend's birthday is two days after Maddy's. I thought I had time the Saturday before to get him a card in the mail, but no. Can you believe I am JUST NOW getting the card in the mail??? I am hoping this little shout out on here will help make up for my losing my mind in Maddy's party :)

Apparently even dogs love Elmo lol. Never really noticed how much Manny blends in with the couch. Poor buddy needs to go to the vet :(

This video is how I am ending things tonight. I feel so attacked by the devil, but with Jesus' help I'm gonna fight another day :)

Maddy Turns 3!

Maddy turned three this past Sunday. I seriously cannot believe how fast she is growing. It was a crazy week last week, but everything got accomplished and her party turned out pretty good. I decided to decorate the night before, Saturday, because I didn't want her to have to watch as we decorated...I wanted to be a more magical moment for her. My mom came over after she went to bed and helped me accomplish this mission. The decorations couldn't have been any more perfect. We hung balloons and little swirly things on the ceiling in the living room and kitchen. On the kitchen wall was a 6 foot decal of all the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters. I think Maddy was a little overwhelmed when she saw all the decorations. I did film her on my phone because I wanted my mom to be able to see her reaction since she worked so hard to help me. On the video there isn't a lot of reaction...she was processing. As soon as I turned the camera off she got excited and kept telling me she liked her birthday. I don't think she knew what to think of the wall decal at first lol.

After she soaked in all the decorations it was time for church. She was just so excited it was finally her birthday. She kept asking me if it was her birthday yet, which really meant...is it time for my party. After church we ran home to finish tidying up the last few things. The party started at two and from there it was a whirlwind.

 singing happy birthday...despite her shy look all week she kept asking if people were going to sing happy birthday to her...i think it made her feel good :)

 This was the first year that SHE actually blew out her candles. She really surprised me when she blew lol.

While everybody was eating cake and ice cream I had a slide show of Maddy's journey to three. I plan on making one for every year, I just may choose not to share it with at parties in the future. I'm just so proud of who Maddy is and what she is becoming and of coarse all of our accomplishments throughout the year that I want to show everybody. Once the slideshow was done it was present time.

 In the box was a picture of her swing set and playhouse in her back yard. She didn't understand and I knew she wouldn't so I tried to help her piece it together. I asked her what it was and she said, "Slide." She then tried looking for more presents, but I asked her where she thinks a slide would be. She said, "My house." I asked her if she thought we should go look outside to try to find it and buddy she was up ready to go lol. I had my mom run around back so she could capture the moment.

I've learned that Maddy is a lot like me and it takes her some time to really process what is happening. After she lets it soak for a little bit then her reaction starts to come out. She was beyond excited to have a slide at her house. I think she would stay out there forever if I'd let her. It was a great third birthday for her and a great first party at our new house :) Sorry for all the pictures in this post ;)

From Baby to Three

We have officially made it to Maddy's birthday week. In exactly one week she will be turning three! It seems just like yesterday I was in labor with her. I will never forget her birthday story and the emotions I was feeling that day. I will never forget the ride to the hospital wondering if we would ever get there. I remember when we did get there I just started crying...some emotions from labor some being scared to death of the IV I was fixing to get. I will never forget how God answered every single one of my prayers I had been praying for nine months, one which included the nurse getting the IV tech to numb me before putting the IV in. I will never forget the moment Maddy was born and how scared I was she wasn't going to make it. I don't know how long it really was, but it seems like they had to work on her forever before they finally got her to cry. Like most moms, I think back to the day she was born and all the events that transpired on her birthday. I find myself quite emotional the closer it gets to her birthday. Here's a look back...

 newborn

 one

 two

almost three!!!

MIA

I have been missing in action lately. I have been trying to get everything ready for Maddy's birthday party that is next weekend. She is so excited her birthday is very soon. She became a little more interested in her countdown to birthday calender this week.

I haven't really had a chance to put stuff away since we've moved in, so we had things laying everywhere. With company coming next weekend I knew it was time to get busy and get our house presentable. I have a wonderful mom who has taken time out of her schedule to help me accomplish this task. It's not quite finished, but it will be by next weekend. Above my cabinets in the kitchen are some fall foliage with lights intertwined in them. It's really pretty...especially at night with the lights off.

 The pumpkin is not really spikey lol. Zip ties hold it together and I just hadn't tucked them in at this point. Maddy LOVES her pumpkin. She asks me everyday if that is her pumpkin. I'm so glad I got it because seeing her excited over it is worth just about anything.

This candle has really brought that "homey" feel to me personally. It's pumpkin spice and the first day I lit it, I about melted. I had no idea a candle is what would make me feel like I was "home" but it sure has.

From here on out I will be taking advantage of the "end of season" sales stores hold. I've got a great start to my decoration collection, but there is always room for more :)

Another reason I have been MIA is because I've been working on Maddy's slideshow. I got it done last Saturday and was trying to burn it to a dvd. Sunday went by and it still wasn't done, then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I had decided if it wasn't done by this weekend I would have to stop the process and try to condense the slideshow down. Do you know how hard it is to get a year's worth of pictures and video into the allotted space they give??? My computer helped me out because I woke up Wednesday morning to find my computer had installed updates over night and shut down. That wasn't the worst part. The worst part is the changes I had made prior to starting the burn process apparently didn't get saved. I spent 4 hours trying to fix it on Thursday. I did finally get it to work out and now have it on a dvd. I'm making a "party" dvd that still needs some work, but it'll get there :) I have missed blogging a lot and will be very excited to share her birthday party.

I told myself I wouldn't really take a "big" vacation this coming summer, but I found myself talking about planning a Disney cruise with my mom for next year. I really don't know what we will be doing vacation wise this coming summer, but it's fun to think about. I would have loved to be able to give Maddy a disney cruise this year for her birthday, but even if I could financially...I still haven't recovered from last year's cruise lol. I would definitely go on a cruise again right now if it were handed to me, but I might hesitate a bit because there were some really rough patches with Maddy last year. Don't get me wrong...she did do a great job on that trip, but her age was NOT the best age to go lol.

Me and a friend got to talking this week about weddings and it got me thinking again about what my dream ring would be. I'm not worried about the dream dress...but the ring is a different story lol. A while back I had told my mom that whoever marries me has to get my ring from New York. At that time I said it didn't have to be Tiffany's, but just some store in New York. I had decided to not have such high standards as far as the ring goes and just had a certain look I wanted. Well, after looking up rings yesterday I decided to go back to my original statement lol. It must come from New York City and preferably Tiffany's, but I don't want a $30,000 ring. I want this ring.

Yes, I was laying in bed trying to find the ring they used in Sweet Home Alabama and finally figured out it was the Tiffany Lucida ring. Ta da!!! I may buy this for myself :) Ok...back to reality lol.

This weekend I will be finishing up Maddy's party shopping...I need to finish getting the party favors and shoes for her Minnie Mouse outfit and then the weekend of her party I need to get the food and stuff for punch. We are having Minnie's Punch :) I hope it tastes good...maybe I should make some first to be sure. I think these are pretty much my thoughts for now...I'm going to go play around with her slideshow and if I can figure out a way to break it down to fit on youtube I will post it.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

A Very Mickey Birthday

It's that time of year again. Most people are talking football come September, but in my household we are talking birthday. Maddy is trying to patiently wait for her birthday to get here, but bless her heart it's a bit hard on her. It seems to be everybody's birthday but hers lol. I made a countdown calender for her so she could see when we were really close to her birthday, but it's a bit too plain and boring to her. I know I've mentioned her party in this post, but I've been in full party planning mode. Here are the invitations that are being sent out and the shirt she will be wearing.

I find myself thinking of party things as I attempt to put my house in order. One thing for sure...by September 23 I should have at least a clean living room and kitchen :) Next time I move I will definitely plan for a week off so I can put everything away instead of trying to balance everything while working overtime. I still have quite a lot of work to do to get ready. I need to finalize her slideshow, clean house, order balloons, get the fruit, napkins, plates, eating utensils, drinks, and a card. I only have 17 days to accomplish this. In the words of The Little Engine That Could, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

I don't want her to hurry and grow up, but for her sake I'm ready for her birthday to get here so she can have some cake. She associates the word birthday with cake. It's so cute because whoever's birthday it is, I will use my step dad's as an example since his was the last birthday, she will say, "I gon have some of his birfday?" She is really asking if she is going to eat some of the cake. This year Maddy will be 3 and I seriously wonder where the time went. I am so very proud of her and love her more than words can say.

I think it's time I get some sleep lol. Good night :)

Midweek Rambles

Yay!!! We made it to midweek! This week has been a breath of fresh air for me. This is the first week that I haven't had overtime in a year. Ok, so the week of July 4th we didn't have overtime, but besides that we have been on constant overtime. This week I have been able to really enjoy Maddy and I find myself not wanting the week to end. Don't get me wrong, I'm very much looking forward to the weekend but I have really enjoyed getting to have this time with Maddy.

I am so proud of Maddy! I'm proud of her all the time, but it's like she keeps adding proudness to my pride or however that should be worded lol. I have been able to work with her on her memory verse that she had to say tonight...she is a fast learner! Every day we would recite her verse and this evening she told her teachers the verse and got her first patch/badge. What made me so proud is to see her eyes sparkle when I came to get her. She seemed to really be very proud of herself and she was such a big girl carrying her bag on her shoulder and walking to the car. It may just be one of my mom moments I was having but I really was just very proud of her.

I can't believe how grown up she looks :(

This week we have really been working on her listening to me or any other adult. She seems to think she is the head of the household and I knew I had to get that under control before it was too late. Having two extra hours a day to devote to her may not sound like a lot but it has done wonders. It took one night for her to realize that what mommy said went and that was that. Sure, she has her moments that she doesn't listen...I don't expect her to be perfect, but she really has done a very good job this week.

At night she likes for me to come check on her. Here lately I have always checked on her after she had already fallen asleep. Last night I decided to take a picture of her for two reasons, one she just looked so peaceful asleep on her bee pillow and two I wanted to be able to show her that I really did check on her.

She is just such a blessing and I am so thankful to be able to be her mom!

I didn't do a meal plan this week since it's kind of a crazy week. I still have tons of left overs from last week so I'm eating those for my lunches and fixing Maddy something quick. She's been wanting mashed potatoes lately so I cooked her some last night after I got done with work. Most of our meals this week include mashed potatoes because I cooked a little more than I normally do. There also wasn't a lot of items on sale last week that could be turned into a meal so it just all worked out to have left overs.  I'm hoping this week there will be more useful things on sale.

God is so good!! I had been having a bad feeling my mom was going to get plastered one day pulling out of my driveway. I kind of saw the wreck as she left my house Monday night, but luckily she turned to the right instead of to the left so I knew she wouldn't be wrecking that night. I dismissed that bad feeling until today. She picks Maddy up on Wednesday's so I can get my time in at work and go to church. She is usually here a little before 8 a.m. but never past. This morning I was sitting with Maddy waiting on her to get here. I heard this loud noise that sounded like somebody just dropped a load of metal. I looked at the clock and it was 8:02. I decided to go look out my window and I saw a car stopped in the middle of the road. I was confused until I looked to my left and saw this black vehicle laying on it's roof. I panicked because my mom drives a black car and my bad feeling just came straight to me. I ran to get my phone and I was begging her to pick up....she did. I was so relieved I just cried because I just knew that was going to be her. She was two cars behind the wreck and had she been here when she usually gets here she probably would have hit the other car head on. Talk about making ya feel sick.

Tonight's orchestra practice is something I really needed. At first I just felt so lost and confused because I couldn't get the music, but after the music minister prayed his prayer I was actually able to worship in practice. I needed his prayer and I feel like I actually went to church and heard a message. God has been so good to me and I am just so thankful for everything He has done. Last month was really tough on me but there is a reason for that whether I find that reason out now or later. I'm so thankful He has a plan for my life and all I have to do is trust and follow Him. I'm trying my best to do so without question or complaining, but sometimes I slip.

I hope you all are enjoying your week! Only two more days to go and we get to have another weekend :)