Entering to win a Zak! Designs Giveaway!

My friend Jessica Jetter is doing a give away for Zak! Designs 6 piece dish set. I am entering to win it bc the kids love the designs and it is very durable. We already use Zak! Designs for the kids. My daughter has Tinker Bell's plate, bowl, cup, fork, and spoon. My son has the Cars design of the same dish set. The only thing that I don't like about it is, that on the cups the designs have faded and worn away. Other than that I have nothing to complain about it. I love the cute little designs and my kids are always fighting me when we go to the store to get new dish sets for them. I hope I win this give away. It's my first time entering something like this, and trust me it's not been easy for me lol! I've been getting lot of advice lol!

Courtney is 3

Wow... Where has the time gone???  On June 13, 2007 I was admitted to Anderson Hospital for induction due to my high blood pressure. She put me through absolute torture til June 15, 2007. Early that Friday morning I was finally told that they will be performing a c-section for delivery. She certainly was determined to come on her own time. Courtney Anne Thomas was born June 15, 2007 at 9:56 am. She is my angel!

Three years later and she still has the attitude where she does things on her own terms. I joke saying she is turning 3 going on 16! We celebrated her 3rd birthday June 12, 2010. She had a wonderful time. It looked like Christmas for her once again. Most of her family and all of her little friends all came to celebrate with us.

It does not seem at all possible that she should be three already. I remember her birth like it was just yesterday. I can still remember the sounds and the smell and all the emotions like I just lived it recently...
She may be more than a hand full sometimes, but I am so proud of her. She is such a smart, bright, determined, independent little girl. Soon enough she will be starting school and will no longer be able to stay home with me. I will enjoy the next year with her home while I still can :)

No More Markers for Courtney

I'm pretty sure no explanation needed!

My Little Boy is Growin Up

I can not believe how big my little boy is getting on me.  Eli was born on November 6, 2008. He was 10lbs. 2oz. and 21.5 in. long. Today he had his 18 month check up, and boy has he grown. He now weighs 36lbs. 2oz. and he is 35.5 inches long. His head is 20 inches (which is bigger than my soon to be 3 year old daughter Courtney). I am astonished how time flies. I feel like I had just had Eli's 1st birthday, and now he is 18 months old. I'll be planning his 2nd birthday before I'm ready for it.  He is such an amazing little guy. He keeps up with his big sister with no problem at all. He can now say nine words. He walks perfectly, runs like crazy, and let me tell you he is such a boy's boy lol! It makes me sad to think that he isn't going to be my little "Sugar Butt" much longer. But at the same time I am so excited to watch him grow. I can't wait til we get to watch him go off to school, watch him play sports ( everyone swears he's going to be our linebacker in the family), and I can not wait to watch him grow into a handsome, wonderful, bright, strong, kind young man. My life is pretty perfect with my husband and children :)

Featured Mom Article- Hope We Win!

(click letter to make larger)

This is for my very best friend Jessica Jetter. You are truly an amazing person. You do deserve all this praise and recognition and so much more. If it wasn't for you, your sister would probably never see her kids again. I love you and I hope we win this. Your the best so quit acting like your not!!!

Stuff

It has been a busy weekend and it's not over yet.

Yesterday Eli had his 15 month check up at 17 months old. Got some disturbing news and I am not happy about it. At Eli's 12 month check up they tested his blood for lead and his lead level was high. Five months later I find this out. No one thought to call me to let me know that his lead levels were high. He has to have a venous done. If his lead level comes back high again, someone will be coming out to search the property and the buildings. I am still so mad that I was not made aware of this. This is something a parent should know pronto. High lead levels is very serious and could cause brain damage. Ugh... STUPID Doctor's!!! Other wise he is doing fine. He now weighs 33 lbs and 10 oz. He is 34 inches long. His eczema has spread to just about every where. He needs to use his antibiotic cream again for 10 days. They prescribed him a medicated lotion finally as well. Hoping his skin clears up soon. It looks horrible and can't be comfortable.

This is day 3 of no bottles and no pacifiers. Courtney asks for her sassy everyday but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. She no longer cries for it at night time. Taking Eli's bottle away wasn't too big of a deal either. He drinks out of a sippy cup just fine. He really doesn't even seem to notice. I am so glad Courtney is doing good with her sassy disappearing though. That thing was definitely her best friend. Her security blanket. She was so attached to her sassy. I think she loved that thing more than me sometimes. I am so proud of how well she is doing. She is most certainly my brave big girl!

We fixed my car and now we think my transmission is going out.... Yippy! Just my luck as usual. Once that goes, I'm junking that POS! New car for me next year anyways...

It's Been Quite Some Time!

Figured I would give some updates since it has been quite a while since the last time I had blogged. We are all doing really great. Since the warmer weather the kids have been enjoying going outside to play. I have been enjoying watching them play outside as well. They are growing up so fast. It is just crazy to think of how big they are getting.

I think we are pretty much finished with the apartment for now. We have one bedroom left to paint. We re did the floor in the kitchen, got our new furniture, hung up new pictures, got my new dishware, finished the kids bedroom, fixed the holes that were left in the walls, screened in our patio, and finished our dining room as well. Well, we still have to re stain the dining room furniture because Hollis bought two different tones by accident. We are still waiting on our bedroom doors. We were supposed to have them days and days ago. As usual the landlord proves how worthless they are...

Hollis has been a lot happier since everything has been finished and that we are finally caught up on bills. He has certainly become Mr. Fix it lately lol! He has been doing a lot more with the kids lately and we have been getting out a lot more lately as well. Which is really nice. We used to never do anything because Hollis always wanted to stay home. Not stressing out about finances and everything else has really been a blessing.

Our baby girl, Courtney Anne, is about to turn 3 on us. It is absolutely astonishing how fast time flies by. I miss her being my little baby girl. She is growing up so fast and talks way too much for her own good. She has one attitude like no other. I love her to death. She was 7 lbs and 2 oz when she was born. Now she is 37 lbs and 38 in. She is definitely mommy's big girl. She is so smart. Joanne, from Help Me Grow, has been talking about her starting pre school this year. At 3 years old I am just not ready for her to leave me yet. I am going to go through the Hippa program that way she is still doing pre school work but I am the one working with her. I will send her to pre school next year and she will start kindergarten in 2012. A couple month ago, I was talking to Courtney. I asked her,"What kind of party do you want for your birthday?" Courtney answers me," I want presents." lol! How hilarious. At least she knows what she wants. She is obsessed with the movie Monsters Inc. So we are going to throw her a cute Monsters bday party. I have been looking at different places. My grandmother offered her house for the party, so I think that is our plan. I can't believe I am already planning her third birthday. Seems as though she was just my newborn baby weeks ago...

Eli is growing fast on us too. He is starting to talk so much more. He says hi, bye, no, sissy, mama, daddy, I love you, and are you OK? lol! He wasn't a small baby by any means. He was a 10 lb 2 oz and 21.5 in baby boy. He is now 34 lbs and 32 in. Not far behind Courtney at all. He is definitely 100% boy. He loves to get dirty, run around all day and play with his trucks, he loves to sword fight (foam swords), he is just an absolute blast to be around. He for sure keeps me busy all day long. He is a bit of a movie lover. Some days he can play all day and sometimes he can be one heck of a couch potato. He has been dealing with eczema pretty much his whole life. He has always had it on one spot of his left arm... Now it is every where. I called the Dr and I will be taking him for an appt. tomorrow. He is still my little cuddle bug. He loves to cuddle with mommy and daddy. I'm so glad because Courtney definitely does not like to cuddle anymore unless she's sleepy.

Being the mother of my two little one's is so amazing. They are my pride and joy. There is never a dull moment with them. Wouldn't change anything about them for the world.

As for me, I have been very busy lately with them and trying to keep this place in order. Living in such a smaller place is certainly difficult to keep it always spotless. Certainly not how we live lol! With two toddlers, there is bound to always be some kind of mess here. I have put going back to school on hold. I need to look into some more info. I don't know what I want to do about school. I know I do want to go back to school, its just deciding where, when, and for what.
We had thought we fixed my car. It runs a little better. It's not fixed though. We now believe my transmission is going out. So, it won't be long till I am without a car again. We have already decided that we are buying a new car next year. Thank God!

So, life is good. I have nothing much to complain about. I have wonderful friends and family. I have recently found who my true friends are, who I can count on, and who I can care less for anymore. All I need is my family. Doesn't matter where we are, or what is going on.... As long as we are all together. Life is amazing!!!