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.

1 Year Ago Today....

One year ago today I started this little blog. A little over 100 posts and here we are. I love looking back on the year to see everything we have done and all that we have accomplished.

Here is the first picture I posted on my blog:

And here are the kids now. Amazing the difference a year can make.

Thinking about this past year, not a lot has changed but here are a few things:

• Blake turned 2 and Kylie turned 1
• Aaron and I turned 29 and I am hoping this next year by goes by really slow because I am dreading the big 3-0
• I completed 9 more hours of my Masters - which means I have completed 15 total with 21 more to go :)
• We've gotten a lot closer as a family of four. Both of the kids have their moments, but they are really good kids.
• Blake started school (pre-preschool) and has grown so much. He had surgery in September to have tubes put in his ears which has helped his speech grow so much.
• Kylie learned to crawl, walk and somewhat run. Her sweet little face doesn't look like a baby any longer, more like a beautiful little girl.

My life is great and I have so much to be thankful for. I can't wait to see what this year brings!

Shutterfly Deal - Kylie Birthday Invite

How awesome is this. Shutterfly just keeps giving!

If you share a photo project on your blog, they will send a $25 gift certificate...how awesome! Here are the details:

"Help us spread the word. Embed project and receive a $25 gift certificate. Here’s how:

Embed your project on a blog or Web site you own. Email an active link (no screenshots, please) to the Web page containing your embedded project to: shareproject@shutterfly.com. We will confirm placement and reply to your email with a discount code.

Limit one per customer.

How to Get this Deal

1.Login to your Shutterfly account

2.View your projects

3.Choose one and click “Share Project”

4.Give it a name

5.Embed the code on your blog

6.Send the confirmation email to shareproject@shutterfly.com

So here is one of my most recent projects. It's Kylie's birthday invitation and I loved how it turned out.

Having Fun Girl Birthday

Shop hundreds of birthday invitations at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Card Time!

Is it really that time of year again? I LOVE Christmas time and being around family and getting some time off of work. I get so excited about the Christmas cards I send out as well. Ever since Aaron and I have been married I have sent out picture cards and each year I have ordered from Shutterfly. When I heard that they were offering 50 FREE cards to bloggers who blog about, I knew I was going to jump right on it!!

Since the kids were born, I have loved picking out pictures to put on the cards. I haven't chosen which pictures of the kids to use yet, but I have found a few cards on Shutterfly that LOVE!

I love the simplicity of this one.

I love this one, however I only have two kids :)

This may be our Christmas card this year! I love it!

I will keep you updated when I finally pick one!

ps...if you would like to find out more on how you can earn 50 FREE cards from Shutterfly, CLICK HERE.

CORN, CORN, CORN!

Tonight was my first experience freezing corn. Mom came over and we cleaned, cooked, bagged 15 bags of corn to hopefully use for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a few other times. It was a lot of fun and I hope to do it again every year and freeze even more next year!

If you freeze corn, you MUST get the tool I used below. It made the process SO easy. It is from Pampered Chef and worked great!

I had to document the night since it was a first of many more for us.

The Finished Product:

I can't wait to eat it!

Random Thoughts

So much on my mind! Here are just a few things....

-One of my good friends Jeanne just had another precious baby boy. I got to visit mom in the hospital but didn't get to cuddle with baby Maddox...at least not yet.

-I started my new job at work this week. I think I am really going to like it, but I haven't really gotten dirty yet. In dirty I mean writing lots of process documentation and project management....sounds boring but I love it!

-My brother turns 28 tomorrow and we are having a big family cookout...if the rains holds off!

-My baby girl turns 10 months old tomorrow, too :) (more to come!)

-Aaron is in class right now, the kiddos are in bed, and I am blogging, listening to my blog music, and watching Police Women of Memphis (I love this show!).

-T-minus 36 days until New York City!!!

-T-minus 32 days until I am 29....WOW that sounds old!

-I can grow zucchini the size of my head! (you can see it here)

-Blake has been doing great with his speech therapy lately. He has started to use more words and doesn't seem as frustrated as he use to be.

-I am loving life right now!

I know I have posted this picture before but it makes me smile.

Moment of Silence for Baby Cohen

(Click on the picture for Cohen's Story)

A Must See!

Check out this giveaway! She has so many cute things for kids, girls and boys! I will be getting Kylie's birthday dress from her in September. I think I could go broke in her store!



HERE is her blog where you can find the giveaway.

She also has an online store HERE.

Derby 2010

Since I am from the Louisville area, it is hard to ignore this time of year. This past Saturday was the running of the 136th Kentucky Derby. I have never been to the actual Derby, but I have been to Churchill Downs Derby week. Aaron and I are thinking about going to the Derby next year, so we will see (it is on my bucket list, which I will be writing about soon).

I went to the track last Thursday with my coworkers and we had an awesome time. At the end of the day I only lost $1, so I think I did pretty good! I actually wore a big hat! The weather was amazing too.



Aaron and I bet on some horses for the Derby and I actually won!! I never win big, but I won $80!! Super Saver was the winner and I chose him only because I liked his name. His jockey has won 3 out of the last 4 Derby's so he was kind of favored (8:1).