A wedding, a baby, and elephants...Oh My!

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. You know that lump in your throat....yea, mine is finally gone now that my class is over. I can just scream with joy right now :)

So for my catch-up from this past week and a half (be aware this is a long post with lots of pictures):

This past weekend Aaron's cousin got married so we traveled to West Virginia for the big celebration. Blake was a ring bearer, but unfortunately didn't walk down the aisle. Oh well, maybe next time? It was so good to see family we don't get to see too often. The kids didn't sleep too good because they thought it was play time. I slept in a bed with Blake and I still have bruises on my arms and ribs from him rolling around in bed. Overall, it was a good weekend and I think the kids had a blast at the reception. Here are a few pictures and of course an awesome 'must see' video of the kids dancing at the reception. You must watch it! Blake gets his dancing skills from his daddy :)

Kids Dancing...Priceless! from Kaelin Thacker on Vimeo.

 This past week there were terrible storms that ripped through this area and hit pretty hard in Alabama. I can't image if a tornado took out my entire town, or even a larger city like Louisville. The kids were pretty mesmerized by the rain and wind one evening and I captured a picture of them yelling at the door.

Here is a picture I captured on my way home from work one day. The sky was amazing!

Also, one of my best friends had her precious baby boy this week! I was so excited to get her text that Jax entered this world weighing a whopping 9lbs, 11.3 ozs! I am so happy for Jasper and Amanda!

Aaron picked up the kids and when I got home, I walked into this:

It was pretty funny because they were having a blast. I am pretty crazy about keeping my house clean but I rolled around in it with them for a little bit. They were loving it!

We celebrated Easter a little early this year since we were out of town for Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny brought the kids a Beta fish and they love him! They have named him Nemo :)

Tonight we went to the circus which came to our little town. I was so excited for Blake to see all of the animals. We spent $60 for about an hour of entertainment. Amazing. At least the kids got to see elephants. The look on their faces when they first saw them was priceless.

And lastly, I started the Jillian Michaels 'Shred' program (I have linked to Amazon but I know Target has it too and it's only $9) and I LOVE it. I really don't have a lot of time to work out and I really don't like to just run on the treadmill. So I thought I would give it a try and I am really glad that I did. I love that it's only 20 mins (with about 5 mins of warm-up and cool down). It's really hard but I definitely recommend if you don't have a lot of time but want to do something. I can already tell a difference with just doing it 4 times already!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will since I will NOT be studying at all!

Today was....

MY LAST DAY OF SPRING CLASSES!!!!

I cannot express how happy I am to be done!

Whooo Hoooo!

Yee Haa!!!

Whoop, Whoop!!! (There it is!)

I finally have some time for my kids and hubby! At least until May 9th when Summer classes start. I have a lot to catch up on this blog. For now, I am going to catch up on my 84 new items in Google Reader, catch up on my DVR, and write some blog posts of my own!

Point B

I had to repost this from my friend Sara. I love it.

Point B by Sarah Kay


If I should have a daughter…Instead of 'Mom', she’s gonna call me “Point B." Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. And I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say, “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand."


She’s gonna learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder-Woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.


And “Baby,” I’ll tell her, “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that trick. You’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.”

But I know that she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, ‘cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for, because rain will wash away everything if you let it.


I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pin point of a human mind. Because that’s how my mom taught me. That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this my momma said” when you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say “thank you,” ‘cause there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.


You will put the “wind” in win some lose some, you will put the “star” in starting over and over, and no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.


And yes, on a scale of one to over-trusting I am pretty [] naive but I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.


“Baby,” I’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier but your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”


Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.


Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing and when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep, and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother


Here's a link to the author reciting it. She's good.


Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ...

To my amazing, loving daughter, Kylie.

Our Life and a Party!

This past week has been a crazy one. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great week, but busy and eventful.
I want to remember how busy and crazy our lives are 10 years down the road so I am going to walk through a normal week in the Thacker house.

Monday – Usually no set schedule. I try to leave for work at 7ish and Aaron leaves at 7:15 to take both kids to daycare (this is typical during the week). I get off around 4ish and run any quick errands then pick up Kylie by 5:30 and Blake by 6.

Tuesday – Aaron has class from 6-8:45 pm so I am on my own for the night. I usually pick up the kids and head home to fix a quick dinner and play with them outside if the weather permits – hopefully we can be outside more often now that it is getting warmer (with the exception of the April showers).

Wednesday – I have class from 6-8:45 pm so I usually don’t get to see the kids in the evening L Aaron usually picks them up and grabs something to go for dinner for them. I get home around 9:15 from class and get to catch up with Aaron, unless he is doing homework.

Thursday – Same as Tuesday – Aaron has class from 6-8:45pm so the kids and I are on our own.

Friday – No set schedule unless we are going out of town. Aaron works later and gets home around 6:30pm but we usually stay home and hang out as a family.

Saturday and Sunday – Aaron and I usually have to take turns doing homework unless our parents take the kids or come over to watch them. This past weekend both of our parents (and Grandmom) came to watch the kids so we could work on papers that are due this week. Thank goodness!! We usually have other stuff going on as well like Birthday parties, baby showers, guests from out of town, etc. I LOVE Saturdays because I know I still have Sunday to hang out with the family and catch up on things.

So there you go. A normal week for us. Can you see why I cannot wait for us to be done with school!? We hardly have any time together as a family of four. I know I need to take advantage of every second I have with my babies because I know they won’t be this little for long.

This past week was a typical week for us (like above). On Saturday my niece Katie had her 3rd Birthday Party so we went to Kristin and Jeremy’s for her party. It was a princess party so Kylie wore Katie’s Snow White dress. She looked so old in it. I cannot believe that Katie is 3!! Happy Birthday Pretty Princess!!

Saturday was also Thunder Over Louisville which I will not brave with the kids until they are at least 6 or 7 years old. I think they will be scared to death if I took them down there now! At least it was pretty to watch on TV. Blake enjoyed watching them with a Capri Sun tonight.

Going to Katie’ party reminded me that I need to get on the ball for Blake’s birthday, too. I CANNOT believe I am going to have a 3 year old! Has it really been 3 years?!? This year the theme will be……..CARS! It was really a toss-up between Cars and Toy Store because he is really starting to like Toy Story. But since he has loved Cars for so long, we knew we couldn’t go wrong with Lightening McQueen.

I am so excited because we decided that we wanted to go ahead and make the investment of a bouncy house for the kids’ birthday parties. We thought it would end up saving us money in the long run if we don’t have to rent one or go to an actual bouncy house facility. I think the kids will love it!!

This week one of my best friends Amanda will be having her baby! I cannot wait to meet the little guy. I know her and her husband are very anxious to meet him too!

Weekly Catch-Up

I have been falling behind with my posts this year and I promised myself I wouldn't. I am really trying to be better about updating it but things have been crazy busy with the kids, school, the house, baby showers, birthday parties, family, etc, etc....the list is never ending. It seems as though at the end of each week I usually post any happenings from the week into one long post so here it goes.

• I have been updating One Frame a Day which I am happy about. I may not update it each day but I take the daily pictures usually 5 or 6 days a week.

• School is finally starting to wind down. Actually let me take that back....it is getting pretty busy since it is the end of the semester, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for this class. T-minus 3 more classes!!

• Tomorrow I am throwing a baby 'sprinkle' for my bestie Emily. I am super excited to see everyone and it is going to be 82 degrees! They didn't find what they are having but I am going to predict now that it's a boy! Her first little girl just had her first birthday. How cute is she!!!

• Two weeks ago I start Weight Watchers. This will be my 4th or 5th time I have done it and now that the entire system has changed, I think that this is not only going to be a diet, but a complete lifestyle change. I really like the new program and I am looking forward to the next couple of months and watching the weight come off. For week #1, I lost 9.2 lbs and I weigh in tomorrow for week #2. This baby weight needs to be gone!

• These past few months I have had some skin issues that I haven't talked about at all on the blog. I have been very self-conscious about it and it has been pretty painful. It is mainly on the legs and arms and just recently made its way to my face. My doctor realized that the treatment I have been on for the past 7 weeks is not working so he finally put me on steroids. I wasn't too happy about this since I am trying to lose weight and one side effect of steroids is hunger...ugh! It never fails. However I have been on them for 3 days now and I am seeing an enormous difference! I am so excited that now I may be able to wear dresses this summer! Thing is, if the condition comes back, we will need to do more extensive tests to try to find out what it really is. Please say a little prayer that they never return (please and thanks)!

• The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous. The kids and I went on a walk on Thursday and also got to experience the first day this summer of popsicles and sidewalk chalk. I can't wait for many more of these days!!

• My niece had her tonsils out last Friday and has done fantastic. She was so funny before surgery and so sweet after. She has pretty much made a full recovery!

• RANDOM ALERT: I love Chinese food so I was SO excited when I found a Weight Watcher recipe for Chicken Fried Rice. I made it on Tuesday when Aaron was in class and it was amazing so I wanted to share.

-Cooking Spray

-4 large egg whites

-1/2 cup scallions

-2 garlic cloves (I used minced garlic)

-12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-1/2 cup carrots

-2 cups cooked brown rice

-1/2 cup frozen green peas

-3 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

And yes I took a picture :) Only 4 points for 1 cup!

• These two little people are still the light of my life.

Here are a couple of updates on Blake:

• His new favorite response for any question we ask him: "Yep"
• He LOVES to be outside. Everyday when we get home, he runs to the backdoor yelling 'outside'!
• Last night he ate three bananas before bed. Yep I said 3.

Here are a few updates on Kylie:

• She is getting over a nasty ear infection this week. Weird since she has tubes (is this normal?)
• She loves wearing flip flops. When I put them on her, she cries if they fall off or if I take them off of her.
• She hums and sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It makes my heart smile to hear her little voice.

Have a great weekend!!