Shop Til We Drop!

And boy girl did we ever shop today. Zander, Sophia, and I all went to the mall today to shop. Gymboree was having a great sale, and I didn't want to miss it. I hate to shop, but couldn't pass up on this sale. I planned on meeting 2 girlfriends and their kids at the mall, but one ended up being sick, and the other friend's husband was sick. So I ventured to the mall by myself. I am pretty sure this was the first time at the mall by myself with 2 kids. And it was a sucess. We had a lot of fun. I am surprised I had fun shopping, but that is because we only went to 1 store. We shopped at Gymboree for quite a while. Zander stayed in the stroller the whole time. At Gymboree they have a little TV with cartoons on for the kids. I wheeled the stroller near that and let Zander watch a little TV, so I could shop. He also had his Thomas the Train book to read (which is becoming his new favorite book) and some matchbox cars to play with. After a while, a little girl around 4 years old came over and sat in one of the chairs by the TV. She was trying to convince Zander that he wanted to come out of the stroller. It was quite amusing. She was very sweet with Zander. After I decided what to get, which was a process in itself, I paid and then headed to the food court so the kids could eat. Poor Zander, I only bought him 2 items of clothing, and all the rest was for Sophia. I wasn't impressed with the clothing selection for Zander's size, it wasn't that cute. Zander had pizza, while at the food court and ate really well while I gave Sophia a bottle. Zander did not try to out of his chair once. I was really impressed with Zander the whole time we were at the mall, he was so well behaved. He did throw his cars and his book on the floor a few times while we were in Gymboree, but thankfully no one was in the store at the time but us. And in his defense we were in Gymboree a long time. Once the little girl sat down next to him, he was an angel, and just interacted with her. (I am not one to call my children angels, because believe me, they misbehave at times, as all kids do, but I was so impressed with how he acted.) After we ate, we headed to the play area in the mall. They have an area just for young kids to play at. It is really a nice clean area where kids can run around, climb on things, and slide down the slide. Zander had a blast.

Zander only went down the slide backwards. I am not sure why.

This was how I found Zander when we got home. And he couldn't let go of his Thomas the Train book.

Wow

I am soooooooo excited. I got to meet someone whom I just love. (okay this is a sidenote, but in the last sentence, is it supposed to be who or whom? I am too tired to figure that one out) I have been reading her blog for almost 2 years now. Right after Zander was born I started reading her blog, and I just love her. I have read her book and I love it. I want to go home and read it again now. I know she doesn't read my blog, but meeting her is almost like how she felt meeting Beth Moore. I should have told her that, but I forgot. Instead we talked about my little girl Sophia and her daughter Charlotte, and how I wanted to name my daughter Charlotte at the last minute, but my husband wouldn't let me switch her name from Sophia to Charlotte. She is just as sweet in person as she is in her blog.

It was so nice to meet you Angie Smith. And I can't wait to hear you talk at the Women of Faith Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I am having a blast at the Woman of Faith, All Access Conference, and I can't wait to share with you more about my trip. I will post more pictures and update more on my blog really soon. But for now I better get some sleep, because I am really typing this at 4:22 a.m. on Saturday morning. I don't want to leave these wonderful people I have met. And I sure as heck don't want to leave this gorgeous hotel. I actually said today (technically yesterday) that I am moving in here. But really, I can't wait to get back to Indiana to see my 2 cutie pie kids and my wonderful husband. I have missed all 3 of them soooooooo much, it is unbelievable. SO until I post again, or add to this post, bye, for now.

I am trying...

...to be a better blogger, but because I have a full time job and am a mom to 2, I am having a hard time.  I thought I would post some pictures while I have a few minutes. 

Da Bears

The BIG GAME was on today.  The Green Bay Packers vs THE CHICAGO BEARS!  If you can't already tell, we are Bears Fans.  And unfortunately they lost today.  To say I was disappointed would be the understatement of the year.  We had a party at our house.  And even though I am a Bears Fan, I have to admit I visited with friends more than I watched the game.  But the little I watched was dissapointing.  I don't think I would be as upset, but we lost to the Packers.  Our biggest rivals.  I am not a Packers Fan, and dislike Packers Fans.  I think they are over the top.  I am trying to get over this loss, but it may take a while!

Chicago Bears, I still love and will always love you.  But I wish you would have won! 

And as they say, There is always next year!

GO BEARS!!!!

I will post more pictures later of the party!

Pictures

I decided to post some pictures before I get ready for my first photo shoot.  I am photographing my little sister's friend and her family.  I am so excited, my first official photo shoot. 

Zander's sweater was a little big on him, and while on my bed, it somehow ended up like this.  And he did not mind at all.  He acted like it was supposed to be like that.  The new style!!!!

I'm Finally Blogging Again

Last year I wanted to be better at blogging, ,so I made it one of my resolutions. I was keeping up somewhat for a period of time, but then I had my precious little girl and it made blogging so hard to do. This year I decided not to make resolutions. Since having 2 children I have been in a tailspin. Some days I feel I barely have time to breathe. Working full time and being a mom to two makes for a busy life, but one I would not trade for the world. Except if I could I would probably be a stay at home mom, or at least cut back on my hours. One day I hope to at least work less hours. But until then I will try and enjoy every minute I have with my kids, even in the busyness. I will try and cherish every hug, every kiss, every laugh, every tear, and everything else. I love my kids with all my heart. And if I have to have a busy life to have them, well then that is okay with me. I don't remember much of life without my children. SO, in this post I am going to try to play catch up (or as I like to say Ketchup) with some of my blogging so I don't forget these precious moments. Danielle, this post is for you. Thank you for reminding me to post more, and if you see me slacking remind me again please. I want to blog to be able to remember these times in my life and my kids life and I want to blog to keep family and friends updated on my family. SO Danielle, even though I really want you to move back here, I will try and keep you posted more. I have found that I love to blog, but I tend to spend hours on one post trying to make it perfect. I am deciding now, that I will try less to make my posts "perfect," but instead post more often. Or at least post many short posts when I can. If you see more spelling errors, punctuation errors, run on sentences, or other imperfections in my posts, I apologize.  Here are some random pictures of Zander and Sophia.

Sophia after getting a bath

Zander on the way to church for Sophia's baby dedication

And this picture is for my sister Abby

 

She made the cake for Sophia's dedication.  She did an amazing job!!  She made Zander's cake for his dedication too!  I will have to put those pictures side by side on a post on of these days.  When I get less busy!

I've decided that I have spent wayyyyyy to long on this post, so I am going to end it here.  But here is to hoping I post more often, even if it is just pictures or a short post.  Here is to imperfect posts!

 

Look who...

Look who is smiling!

These are some of the first photographs of her smile that I captured. She was smiling a lot for my brother Ryan on December 26th, and that was actually the first time I actually captured it in a picture. I love her smile. And I love her sooooo much!

On another note, today I have been stressed out. Words cannot even describe how stressed out and overwhelmed I am. I explained how I was feeling to my husband tonight, and he stepped up to the plate and helped me with things tonight. I have learned that when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I have been handed a lot of lemons lately. So, I have been busy making lemonade. Some crazy things unfolded on December 23, 2010 that I may back post about. I am trusting and relying on God. I know he has the ultimate plan in all of this. I also know He will make good out of a bad situation. My God is an awesome God.

To make matters worse, Zander decided he did not want to sleep much tonight. He went to bed around 9:30 p.m., and had no nap today. Then just as Sophia was falling asleep around 12 :30 a.m. early Thursday morning, Zander woke up. He fussed, cried, and eventually started screaming. Nothing seemed to console him for very long. I tried everything. Brian decided to sleep on the couch downstairs to get a few hours of sleep since he drives for his job, and he did not want to fall asleep at the wheel. I was left to be up with Zander and figure out how to get him back to sleep. We brought Zander into our bed with us, which we never do unless he is sick. Sophia is still sleeping in our room in a bassinet, and surprising she did not wake up. After I tried all my tricks to get him back to sleep, out of desperation, I decided to ask him if he wanted to watch Sesame Street. He immediately stopped fussing and nodded his head yes. Well from then on he only wanted to watch Sesame Street. I was able to doze off for short periods of time while he sat in our bed and watched episode after episode of Sesame Street. When one hour episode was over he would fuss and I would turn another one on from our DVR. I have never done this before and hope I never have to again. It was probably not a smart move, but I did not know what else to do. I am not sure why he would not sleep. I was hoping watching Sesame Street would get him tired and he would fall asleep in our bed. But instead he got all kinds of energy and in the wee hours of the morning he started to jump on me. By 4:30 a.m. when our alarm went off, he was still awake. While we were getting ready for work, we got Zander ready to go to his Grandparents house. My in laws were watching them for the day since Jill and Jaylyn were sick. After getting dressed Zander insisted on having pancakes for breakfast. We got him all set up with pancakes in his high chair and Brian and I finished getting ready for work. After a few short minutes Zander seemed awfully quiet. And this is what I found.

The nice thing was Brian did not have to start work until 7 a.m. so he took the kids to his parents house and was able to help me get them ready. This is not usually the case.

Just remember, I am busy making lemonade if I don't post often.