Austin Stay-Cation...Part I

Last weekend my dear old Mother offered to keep my little darlings so Hubby and I could have the weekend to oureslves for a late anniversary get-away.  Alone.  As in NO-KIDS-IN-SIGHT.  It was a stay up as late as you want because you can sleep in the next morning, eat out 3 meals a day in peace (like without milk getting spilled, cries for more food, gags because a certain little someone HATES the delicious broccoli you just cooked) just because you can, stroll 6th street and go in tattoo parlors,  and do whatever the heck you want until you check back in on Sunday with Mammy kind of weekend!  And that is just what we did.  We were indulgent (with-in reason), we were lazy, we were spontanious, we enjoyed each others company, without any distractions.  Let's be perfectly honest - I love my kids more that life itself.  I think they are the cutest little beings on the planet.  I love being a stay-at-home Mommy to them and spending coutless hours with them.  I love the good, the bad and the just-plain-ugly moments with them.  But let's also get real: I love my husband. I love spending quality, adult time with my husband.  I love to do things together, just the two of us.  I love being lazy and self-indulgent with him.  Call me crazy but I think in order for us to be good parents, we NEED time to ourselves and time for each other.  And with that said, I am sooooooo beyond lucky that I have a mom of my own who knows just how necessary spending alone time is.  And since we didn't have time or $$ to go on a "real" vacation, we decided on a nice little stay-cation in Austin.  And I'm so glad we did.  We had a blast.  We got to spend one very late evening dowtown with my brother and his awesome wife, who were also celebrating thier 10th anniversary.  We get along great, and I love spending time with them, and because they live in Ft. Worth, it's rare that we get to.  We slept in the next day and didn't leave the hotel room till noon.  We dined on some fabulous, melt-in-your-mouth food, looked at tattoos (which I DID NOT end up getting, more on that later), and lounged by the pool, followed by another fabolous meal that night.  All-in-all, a fantastic, much needed weekend!  And in case your wondering why the title of this post is Austin Stay-cation part one, it's because there most definitley will be a part two....hopefully not too far away =} 

Vince Young Steakhouse....YUM!

Happy 7 Years! 

With Cody &7 Jennifer

Love My Sister-in-law

Our amazing view of Lady Bird Lake & Downtown

Love this man...

Happy Birthday Kinley!

Kinley's one....
Can't belive my sweet girl is a year old.  4th of July has always been a super fun holiday, especially since for us, it's ALWAYS spent on Lake Travis.  And this year was no exception, but even more special because we got to celebrate our sweet girl's birthday.  I thought I would dislike Kinley having to share her day with the festivities of the 4th, but here are the reasons it's a great day:
-Daddy is ALWAYS going to be off to share her big day with us
-For a long long time she will believe that those impressive, beautiful fireworks are just for HER birthday =}
-All our friends and family get together for the day, so she will always get 2 parties (what girl doesn't like having numerous parties in honor of her?)  And one party can be red, white and blue, the other pink of course =)
-There will always be a parade and other fun things going on
-She will always be "Little Miss Fourth of July", litterally
So we had a great day on the lake, celebrating our sweet Kinley...

And the party didn't stop there.  We had her real birthday party that next Saturday.  The watermelon theme was so much fun.  I worked my butt off in the kitchen and was pretty happy with the way it all turned out, but I also learned a big lesson - trying to prepare everything took SOOO much more time than I had anticipated (especially having 2 kids to work around!)  Next time, I'll allow much more time to cook (like more than the day before and the day of).  I  had a brief moment of "oh &$#!" though, when it began to POUR 30 minutes before the party was supposed to start and we had plans for slip n' slides, and pools.  It stopped just in time and was hot and humid but the kids still had a blast.  Kinley was a perfectly cute little Watermelon princess and really hammed it up when opening her presents.  She threw on her new pink shades and would laugh and clap.  Too cute! 

Love my girl.  It's been a wonderfully blessed year for us.  I knew I needed a girl...I got her, and now I know why. I love all things girl, I love painting those precious little piggies, I love that she is a senitive little thing, I love her sweet hugs around my neck and that precious, infectious giggle, I love that her big brother is protective over her, I just love being HER Mommy.   I  love my little Kinley to pieces and I thank God every day for giving me her.  I am so looking forward to the years to come =}

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of her birthday party:

And a few of her actual birthday:

Little Miss 4th of July =}

With her BFF

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KINLEY MORGAN!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!

Last week I had a gender reveal party for some of our very best friends, Natalie and Mark.  We had so much fun.  I asked guests to wear either pink or blue to guess what they were having...we had fun taking pics as "Team Blue" and "Team Pink".  Then after a billion pictures, Mark and Natalie FINALLY got to bite into a baby decorated cake pop to reveal the gender---- another GIRL =}  3 Girls, wow!  I think they are pretty lucky myself =} Anyway, it was a highly anticipated evening and hopefully one they won't soon forget!  Love you guys and can't wait to meet sweet baby "G"!

Too many ideas in my head...

Okay.  I admit it.  I'm officially obsessed with all things relating to my new house.  Maybe because I'm living in someone elses...maybe because I'm DYING to start seeing my house go up...maybe because I'm feeling crafty and need something useful to put my time (yeah right, what is time?  I mean my very few hours at night or the rare occasion that I get BOTH kids to take a nap at the same time) into...WHATEVER it is, I'm obsessed.  I'm searching Pinterest, Etsy, and other design websites (my favorite is www.houzz.com, it's basicaly Pinterest for homes)  like a mad woman.  I  want to come up with an awesome playroom...I want the perfect mantle...the list goes on.  Seriously, I need to stop.  Just because I see all these great ideas, and think I have great ideas, does NOT mean my house will look the same.  I have champagne taste on a beer budget =}  And I know my dear old hubby would agree.  He says we're not buying anything till we get into the new house.  Yeah right.  A girl has to plan!  SO, I am out to design/create something cute and original while being on a budget at the same time.  What I'm NOT looking for is my whole house coming from Hobby Lobby or Target and looking like everyone elses.  Not that there is anything wrong with those places at all, in fact I'm sure I will have plenty of things from both, but I want something different. Kind of shabby chic/vintage-y/rustic.  Now don't hold me to that if my house is none of those things =}  I'm going to a Country Living Affair this weekend downtown and  I'm super excited.  I'm also dying to get to Canton first trade days (http://www.firstmondaycanton.com/).  It's been way too long since I've been and I LOVE that place.  Okay, that is all....  

Surgery & Lack of Sleep. Zzzzzz

Kinley went in for tubes on Tuesday morning. Everything went well, and it was a quick procedure with no problems. The nurses and Dr.'s were litterally ooohing and ahhhing over how cute she was. One would walk out and another would come look b/c someone told them to go look at the cute baby down the hall. She was all smiles and she did look pretty darn cute in that little Looney Toones baby hospital gown at 6 am. It's always a little scary to put your baby under anesthesia, especially for the first time, so we were relieved to have this behind us. Dr. Brown said she currently had an ear infection at the time of the surgery, and this was just a few days after stopping a 30 day antibiotic she had been on! Geez! I sure hope this helps, and it's good to know she can probably hear us clearly now. Everyone says they see a difference almost overnight with this surgery. Not here. She has been fussy and irritable and overly clingy ever since it. Hope we see some changes soon!

Sleep deprivation is another issue we are currently deealing with. We had a few nights once we moved of good sleep, but it has been mostly downhill in the sleep department lately. I am so TIRED of being TIRED all the time. Kinley wakes up anywhere from 1-3 times a night, and will not go back to sleep unless she is patted or rubbed. I swear you can do it for 30 minutes, and just when you think she's finally asleep, you walk away, and she starts crying. Then as soon as you place a hand on her fat little thigh, she shuts up. DIVA BABY! For real! It's so exhausting. And lately all she wants is me...she won't even take a bottle from Daddy or Neena. She's rotten. Dowright spoiled rotten. But oh so cute at the same time. Baby bootcamp began today of *attempting to let her cry it out. Man is that hard, listening to your baby cry. And cry isn't even a good word for what Kinley does. She wails. She hollers. She is FIRED up! Her cry is not like a little baby whine. It's like a death wail. It honestly sounds like baby cursing. So say a prayer for me that this is a short thing we can overcome b/c it's really tiring.

Random Photo Dump =}

Here are just a few random pictures of the past month or so! Baseball games with Grandpa, playdates with friends and Kinley growing before my eyes...

This and That

LIFE....
has been busy, busy, busy lately! We're all moved in and slowly getting settled into our new "home away from home" in Lago Vista. The whole thing has gone much smooter than I expected. The kids have adjusted well, they're sleeping good (for the most part) and we've almost upacked all our belongings. Jackson tells me every day "I just want to go home Mom...to Jackson's house." I then tell him that Neena's house is where we live now, while we wait for the workers to build us a new house. Every time his respose is "Our house is broken Mom, we're getting a new house." Haha, even though he's prefectly happy here, he just doesn't get why we need a new house. The other one must be broken if we need a new one =} So cute.
KINLEY.....
has a dr. apt. on Monday with the ENT to look at and discuss getting tubes. We're actually already on the schedule for the following Tuesday for surgery. Poor baby girl is going into a 30 day stretch of being on antibiotics for double ear infections. She just can't catch a break with her ears. The dr. told us it's most likely anatomy, which makes perfect sense because I had several sets of tubes after constant ear infections as a kid. Hopefully all the infections will soon be a distant memory for her (and us!) She's been irritable, not sleeping well and fussier than her usual happy-go-lucky self, so I know this is what's best for her! She still continues to amaze me. She is just a smily little ball of chub! She's 22.7 lbs (whoa Nelly!!!), crawling (military style), and has 2 1/2 teeth. She's got the cutest little personality and seriously brings me so much JOY! Love this little girl so much, I've decided I need one more.....in about 2 more years =}
JACKSON...
is just his same silly little energetic self. He cracks me up daily. He's still going to his Mother's Day out twice a week and really enjoys going to church on Thursday mornings while I go to a bible study. He's started asking me, "What day is it Mom?" and then proceeds to tell me what we have going that day (It's a stay-at-home and play day, Mom," etc. He's a smart little cookie. He loves to sing, and of course still loves his cars and trains and books. He loves his baby sister (until she takes his toy away) and is starting to understand more when we tell him she's just a baby and she's still learning. He is fully potty trained! Pretty much even night trained too, which is so great! He's such a big boy and I'm so proud of him. It's nice to only buy diapers for one kid and I'm already thinking about how nice it will be to only have one kid in swim diapers this summer. Those things are expensive! My favorite thing about him at this age is how every night (before I even tell him), he tells me, "Mommy, I love you abigwholebunchdeeperthantheocean!" And yes, it's strung together, exactly like that...so dang cute! Love my boy!
PATRICK...
still loves his job got a promotion and a nice big bonus as well. I am so proud of him and all his hard work...and it came just in time for all those lovely little upgrades on our new house! Way to go Daddy!
I...
am just trucking along. Nothing new or exciting, just trying to lose weight....a never ending battle it seems. And I'm dreading the thought that bathing suit season is just aaround the corner, and I am So. Not. Ready. Ug! I wasn't blessed with good genes in the weight department, and I also wasn't blessed with the ability to somehow "forget to eat." I hate when people say, "I am just so busy I forget to eat!" Why, oh why, as busy as I am, do I not just forget to eat? Nope, somehow I always remember that I'm hungry. In the meantime, I'm trying really hard to tell myself that a salad for almost every meal isn't that bad. Yeah right =} Anyway, life is good...hopefully the next time I blog I'll be able to say that I've hit a ten mile mark. Fingers crossed!

We're Moving!

On Friday we finished up with our last design center appointment to put the finishing touches on OUR NEW HOUSE! I am SOOOO excited. This past year of renting has been fine, but I am so ready to finally have our own space and more room for the kids. When we sold our house in Driftwood and moved last March (man it's been a year exactly today) I was pregnant and we didn't really know where we wanted to be, etc., so we decided to rent. It's been nice living one street over from my parents, and it we will miss not being able to walk right over, but we aren't moving far. My final decision in neighborhoods was based on the school that the kids will be going to and I pretty much think it's totally awesome! I love the neighborhood, I love the lot we chose, and am overall just so excited to begin building. Designing the tile and picking every last detail was so much fun. And so dang expensive, geez!!! Every little thing is considered an upgrade. I can't wait to see the final product, and my family in it =} The only dowside is that we are moving in with Patrick's mom. I love her dearly and we are fortunate that she is okay with us crashing with her for a few months to save up some extra cash, but let's face it, it's not going to be easy. Living with 2 active kids, in someone elses house, in Lago Vista, with our stuff in storage, celebrating Kinley's first birthday (amongst many other "firsts"...crawling, probably walking, etc.) not in our own house will be trying. BUT, I'm going with it, and am just going to look at it as a really long vacation. In the meantime, we have a crazy amount of stuff to do, packing/cleaning the current house, moving it all, and re-setting up in Lago. I hope the kids adjust...I'm sure they'll be just fine. So cheers a new house...is it August yet?

Last week, the kids and I took a little road trip to visit one of my dearest friends, Tara, and her two girls, Emma & Kate. I cannot believe it has been almost 8 months since we've seen each other! Not cool! But, life has a way of sneaking up on you. And with the birth of Kinley, followed by Kate a few months later, this was the best/quickest we could do! We had a great time, and even though our adult time was very (as in pretty much non-existant) limited, it was still fun and soooo good to catch up! We spent a lot of time outside (it was the most beautiful winter-warm weather ever!), took the kids to the park, ate pizza till we were sick, went shopping at Target, and stayed up late (ok, late for old, tired mommies) chatting. I can't wait till we get to do this again (next time hopefully with the husbands around to give us a night out)! And, yes, it's sad we don't have a single picture of us!

I know it's sounds so cliché' to say it but the time is passing much too quickly...you're growing up too fast. I wish I could press pause and keep you this way just a bit longer. This is my absolute favorite age and yet I feel it slipping away as each days passes and you do something new. In fact just today, I heard a comment about how with young kids it seems that we experience the longest days, yet the shortest years. It's so true! I swear I blinked and you've turned into a bubbly, chunky, smiley little 7 month old...and a very cute one at that! I am loving every minute with you. I am so lucky that I get to spend my days being your Mommy and watching you grow. You are an amazing little girl and I love you so...

Some things I want to remember about you at this time:

-You are a chunk! You were relatively small (at least compared to your brother) a few months ago but boy you are catching up. You weighed in at 20 pounds today! And you are super long too. You wear 9 month clothes, and even on those, some of the pants are short. -You are a cuddler. You love to be held, nuzzled, rocked, have your hand rubbed, etc.

-You are a Momma's girl. You keep an eye on me at all times, and you don't like when I leave the room. You'd ride around all day in my carrier, attached to me if I'd let you. You're happiest when you're with me...and who can blame you, I'm a pretty cool chick ;}
-You love to watch your big brother and notice everything he does too. He loves you. Even though he's a busy body, and often wrapped up in his own toys, when he does stop to focus on you, hold you, or talk to you, you grin from ear to ear. Jackson is very protective over you. In fact just today at your check-up, he got very upset when the Dr. looked in your ears because he's afraid of that, and he thought they were hurting you...so sweet. When your Mammy or Neena babysit you, you are a bit fussy but seem to be more calm in the presence of your Bubba.
-You light up for your Daddy and give him the BEST smiles. I think someday you will have him wrapped around your little finger. And he loves you dearly!
-You look like a Carrejo to me. You have my little pug nose (I think) but everything else seems to resemble your Daddy's side. We shall see...
-Your hair is crazy. It always has been. Sticks up in many different directions, can't tell which way to part it, etc. And it's getting more straight the longer it gets. We have to have a headband or a clip in, or it's in your eyes (and that's not just because your Mommy is obsessed with bows and having you be as girly as possible. Okay well maybe a little ;-) And it's many different colors...brown, auburn, and blonde underneath. I'll be curious to see how it looks in a few years.
-You're NOT a great sleeper, but I am SO hoping you will be someday. You slept through the night early on, and did so for several months. Then around Thanksgiving time, you got your first ear infection and then got two more after that. Ever since then, your sleeping has gone downhill. Most nights you wake up at least once and have trouble going back to sleep....sorry honey but baby boot camp is coming soon!
- You eat three times a day (fruit & cereal for breakfast, a yogurt for lunch, and a veggie & cereal for dinner, as well as four 8 oz. bottles a day). You hate green beans and make the most awful faces. It's hilarious actually.

-You can say Momma and Baba, and I'm pretty sure it's intentional.
-You love to play with your feet and I call you "hurkey girl" because you always pull your leg to the side like a hurkey while drinking your bottle...Maybe you'll follow in my footsteps and be a cheerleader.
-You are my little Kin Kin, Cupcake, K-Love, Angel Baby, Sissy, Sister Bear.

I love you more than anything in the world and thank God every day for you...You have brought so much joy to our lives and I am blessed to be your Momma.

Worry

I hate worrying. Especially about my kids. Other stuff is fine, but when it comes to your kids, it just sucks. I hate seeing my sweet babies hurting...So Jackson developed this strage rash. It started on Tuesday. I noticed it when I picked him up from Mother's Day Out. It looked like he got bit by tons of mosquitos...then when I bathed him that night, I noticed they were all over his trunk and legs, but still thought maybe with all the rain we got Monday night it was bug bites. Then on Tuesday when I picked him up, I noticed it had spread to his arms. Big, whelps/hive looking splotches all over his body, many of the areas swollen and warm to the touch. So then today (Thursday) he wakes up and it has moved to his face/behind his ears, around his mouth, etc. I took him to the Dr., which wasn't much fun because he is going through this weird phase where he's scared of everything (haircuts/scissors, cleaning his ears (probably because he's had 3 ear infections in the past 2 months and they hurt), clipping his nails, etc.) It took one nurse to hold Kinley, then another nurse, the Dr. and me to hold him down while they checked his ears and did a strep culture. No ear infection, no strep, a long list of things it's NOT, but not a clear answer as to what it IS. Great! It's most likely a viral infection and not contagious, but they also said it could be HSP, which makes me worry. Then after his nap today I noticed his hands and feet were even more swollen. They look like fluid-filled, puffed up sausages. I'm continuing the Benedryl and Ibuprofin, and praying that things are better in the morning...my mind starts wandering and telling me it could be all these horrible things, which I'm sure it's not, but I just don't like it. And he's such a sport....as I write this, I am listening to him singing Jingle Bells on the monitor. I thought Benedryl was supposed to knock you out???

Goals for 2012

I love making lists, I love setting goals, and I love having things to look forward to. Every January, I vow to come up with a new years resolution. This has 99% of the time always involved weight loss. And it has 99% of the time NOT happened. So this year, my plan is a little different. I'm not setting one goal, but rather a list of several, broken down by category...A friend on facebook posted an article on things that successful people do differently, and I really, really liked it. It got me thinking... It talked about how succesful people set S.M.A.R.T. goals (that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Timely.) And here were some key points that stuck with me:
"The acquisition of knowledge doesn't mean you're growing. Growing happens when what you know changes how you live." Powerful stuff! I love this...
*And my favorite tips were:
~ Focus on being PRODUCTIVE, not busy. There's a BIG difference, and let's be honest, I can tend to always be busy, but not really productive.
~ Focus on making small, continuous improvements.
~ Maintaining a positive outlook as you learn from your mistakes.
~ Spend time with the RIGHT people (So true...you tend to become like those you spend most of your time with...which reminds me of one of my mother's constant reminders growing up: "Birds of a feather flock together." I hated always hearing that as a teenager, but how true she was =}
~ Maintain balance in your life.

So here goes, my personal list of goals for 2012:
PERSONAL:
-Become the most positive person I know
-Spend more quality time with my husband (this is hard with kids, but a must!)
-Read at least 1 book per month
-Run a 10K
-Lose another 20-25 lbs/continue eating healther through the week
-Make at least 1 craft/idea from Pinterest per month (not because I have to but because I WANT to)
-Do something significantly nice for someone else every month
-Plan at least 2-3 outings/fun time with friends per month (this is healthy for ME!)

PARENTAL:
-Kids in bed by 7:45-8:00 every night so we have more time for each other
-Jackson: Recognize AND recite all letters and sounds in random order, Learn 10 sight words, Count to 20 as well as recognize numbers to 10 (big difference just reciting vs. actually identifying, and not in order)
-Continue reading daily to both kids
-One activity per week for each kid that is one-on-one with me
-Have FUN making memories with my kids =}

SPIRITUAL:
- 30 minutes per day set aside for reading the bible/and or other literature that will strengthen my relationship with GOD
-Mealtime prayer/bedtime prayer for kids
-Continue Biblical Wowmanhood and small group

Now lets put this plan into action, and please, friends, hold me accountable!!!

My Baby Girl

So anyone that really knows me knows 2 things:

1. My biggest dream was to be a mom. After dealing with heartache, loss and a lot of ups and downs prior to becomming a mom, the day I finally held my baby boy in my arms was THE best day of my life. I vowed to be the best mom ever, or MY persoanl best anyway, whatever that might be. And what a joy it has been!

2. I needed a baby girl at some point in my life. I think God just knew this, and He gave me the desire of my heart in my sweet Kinley Morgan. My little princess....born on her own will on the 4th of July; my little firecracker. I was supposed to induce early but at the last minute decided that didn't feel right, and I'm so glad I didn't. I think she knew she was supposed to come on the 4th, with a bang. She is (along with her adorable big brother) the light of my life. And what fun it has been having a GIRL! I couldn't believe for the longest time that I was actually having a girl. The tutus, bows, the frills, ruffles, sparkles, jewelry and PINK! Oh I am in heaven. Now let's just hope she isn't a tom-boy. Of course that would be okay - I want her to be 'her' whatever that entails, but I seriously doubt I'll give her any chance of hating girly things =} Anyway, I love you Kinley Morgan...

Better Late Than Never

Wow! It has been a LOOOONG time since I've blogged. I won't spare you all the wonderful details that life has delt us in the past year and a half since I've posted. Let's just say things are wonderful...life is good....we are blessed beyond measure. We are happliy married, we have two beautiful children who mean everything to us, and we have a pretty awesome extended family. A few biggies that happened in the past year: We sold our house in Driftwood and moved to Round Rock. Patrick took a new job with Samsung that he loves. Our precious Kinley was born on the fourth of July, and Jackson turned 2 in August....never a dull moment around our house, and I wouldn't want it any other way =} I promise this time I will stick around. I want to document all the sweet moments of our life, well mostly our childrens lives, so the memories are forever in print.