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Spring is Upon Us!

This week has definitely had it's ups and downs! Some ups: Monday I took Annabel to the kiddie consignment shop and found a few really cute things for summer. Score! I found a two-piece tank top/skirt outfit from Children's place, some Old Navy tank tops and jean shorts. I also found the Little People's barnyard set that I've been looking for for awhile! I probably shouldn't have bought it (i.e. no money!) but hey- what's life without a few new toys every now and then? ;) And I was right- she LOVES it. Little People are great gift ideas for this little person! (hint hint)

And yesterday, we got to watch our friend Haylee (a friend's daughter) for a couple hours- they had so much fun! I don't get to see Annabel with other kids too often so this was fun for me, too. They played so well together, and it was so sweet. As you can see from the pictures, they held hands, pushed each other on the scooter, ate cookies and shared juice boxes (blech!).

(Haylee was convinced we were hiding a little pink horse in the shed!) 

(On another note- I think this is the year to repaint the shed!)

Everything's better with a friend by your side!

Haylee sure enjoyed Annabel's cut-able food! (Doesn't she have a birthday coming up, Paige?!)

After Paige came to get Haylee, we all trekked over to the college cafeteria to eat lunch (Paige and I have a wonderful system for getting free food there, haha- don't ask). It was interesting trying to feed our three little ones- all under the age of three, but fun, too. Afterwords we went outside and let them run around in the grass and flirt with college boys. It really was a fun time. 

 Here she is playing with her new barnyard! It makes cow/pig/sheep noises too!

Some other "ups" from the week included class being cancelled next week, walking to the library and checking out some new books, getting our garden completely tilled up and ready to plant. Oh- also, my friend Lindsay finally had her baby!! I haven't met little Eden yet, but I'm very excited. Lindsay was brave and had the new little one at home! Another fun thing- my bulbs out front are coming up! I think they are daffodils, crocuses and something else. It is wonderful to finally see some color out there!

Some yucky things that happened this week.... well Thursday on my way to work I almost got into a wreck. Some jerk in a yellow XTerra pulled out in front of me, and I would have t-boned him had I not swerved into a yard to my right. And he kept on going! Ugh. 

Then, yesterday I was carrying Annabel down the stairs (not a good idea, I know) and I fell, all the way from the top to the bottom. That was really rough. I really hurt my hip, plus it was very scary! I dropped Annabel about halfway down, but she didn't really hit anything and wasn't hurt, thank goodness! So that was the second time I called Derek crying in two days! :) I'm still a little sore, but I think I'll be okay.

And the worst thing- POISON IVY! I must have got it clearing out the yard last Sunday. It is all over my arms, hands, thighs, belly and neck. And it is continuing to spread. This is no fun at all.

But all in all, I really have nothing to complain about. This semester is almost over, It's almost summer, and my baby(ies) are healthy and safe. Life is good:) Here's one last picture from this morning when Annabel discovered she could get under her highchair:)

Monkeys, Sunshine and Hairbows

Its hard to remember exactly what we've been up to around here lately! Probably not a whole lot if I can't remember it! Annabel's taken a liking to monkeys lately:

   

 And here we are doing the nighttime story routine:

 (Look how long she is! She's so tall!)

I took this picture because I wanted to show off my recycling abilities. This jumper is a size 6-mo and was a dress last year! I loved it and couldn't bear to put it away just yet...

 We've been loving this nice weather! Last weekend daddy took Annabel on a wagon ride around the neighborhood. She thought that was pretty fun:)

 My mom and dad came to visit this weekend. Here's my mom feeding her some chocolate ice cream! She doesn't look too thrilled in this picture...

 While my mom was here I talked her into helping me out with some hairbows for Annabel. We stayed up until 11:30 Saturday night working on them! They were so fun to make! Here is what we came up with. I know the picture quality's not great, so I added some close up of my favorites underneath... 

  And of course, the little model:

Monday Menu Plan? TeeHee.

Okay, it's Tuesday. Actually it's Wednesday because its 2:30am. Oh well. Here goes.

Monday- leftover quiche. Half an english muffin with peanut butter. Chips and Salsa. 

Tuesday- Derek surprised me and finally cooked up the tilapia in the freezer! (Yes, the same tilapia I've blogged about several weeks in a row). Alfredo pasta. Questionable steamed broccoli.

Wednesday- Who knows? Working till 9. 

Thursday- Who knows? Class till 9.

Friday- maybe Papa Murphey's! 

What a plan. Mom of the year, right here. 

I'm getting a little burnt out on school. This semester of being gone 4 nights a week is really starting to catch up with me. I only have about 5 weeks left, which is nice, but then I will start immediately into a new internship. Which I don't have lined up yet, of course. I'm starting to feel super-stressed and now I'm not sleeping. Awesome. 

Anyway, I know I probably shouldn't blog when I'm sleep-deprived and cynical. It's kind of like calling your mom when you're drunk- you know you'll just regret it in the morning!:) (Not that I'd ever do that, of course!)

Derek's been so sweet this week. I know this semester has been hard on him as well, but he keeps a good attitude. I'm thankful for him. 

Firsts

Yesterday was a day of two firsts:

1) Annabel put together two words to make a sentence...both "hi, doggy!" and "Bye, dada"

2) First hair cut! I got so tired of her hair in her eyes that I just trimmed it up about an inch. It wasn't really even enough to save for the baby book!

Quilting Fantasies

I have always loved the idea of quilting... but I've been a bit neglectful in the last few years. I have 2 quilts I've started in the past 5 years but haven't finished. So anyway, I've become a bit obsessed with sewing again recently and while I've been focusing more on making clothes for Annabel, my interest in quilting has definately been revived (thanks, Ariel!).

Today at work I've had four cancellations in a row, which has left me plenty of time for internet stalking! Here are a few inspirational things I've found:

There's just something about looking at beautiful stuff to make you want to get home and get sewing!

I love this little sweetie!!

Check out her face-- priceless!

 

I love this picture because this is just what she does.... stares out the window! 

 And last but not least... our little redneck baby:) Nothing says backwoods like UT and camo!

 What's funny about these pictures is you'll notice she's not looking at the camera in any of them. She hates the flash! She always turns away or closes her eyes at the last second! What a stinker!

Jump Start on Menu Planning!

After getting creating with the pantry/freezer the last two weeks, I finally made it to the grocery store! I generally only make one "big" trip to the store each month, buying all our meat, canned goods, pasta, breakfast stuff, etc. Of course I still have to go each week for produce, lunch meat, bread and milk but that doesn't take much time or planning (thank goodness!)

So anyway, hopefully I planned well and there will be enough meals to last all month! It gets difficult because I'm not home until after 9 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so I either have to pack a meal or eat fast food on those days. Sometimes Derek and Annabel bring me dinner at work on Wed's and thats nice...I like that:) Especially since I don't see Annabel on either of those days otherwise :( 

6 more weeks of this crazy schedule...that's what I keep telling myself. 

Anyway, back to meal planning! 

Monday- Salad with grilled chicken, dinner rolls.

Extra: cook up extra chicken breast and save for quesadillas when its just me and Annabel

Tuesday- steak (courtesy of a cow donated to the camp by a local cattle farmer! Thank you!), leftover salad stuff and roasted potatoes

Wed- leftover meatloaf (last week's) for me :(

Thursday- Probably bread sticks from the gas station grabbed during the 10 minutes between my last client and class- how depressing! I don't even have time to get fast food! Maybe I'll pack PB&J...

Friday- brats and mac&cheese

 

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I've started a pretty good weekly workout routine- I'm proud of myself! As follows:

Sunday- ball and weights

Monday- yoga

Tuesday- nothing! No time! 

Wednesday- basketball with the girls

Thursday- ball and weights

Friday- yoga

Saturday- walk with Bailey and Annabel

Hopefully I'll lose some of this jiggle by summertime:)

Happy Birthday, Mo!

 Yesterday we had the opportunity to celebrate Morganne's first birthday! How fun! She sure did enjoy her little cake and kept saying, "Mmm!" What a big girl she is already! 

 She also got a lot of great gifts! I tried to steal some of her new dresses, but they fell out of my shirt on the way out... 

Annabel was just so cute with her little pigtails and bows.... and her party dress:)

 This is a picture from this time last year: 

 

And now: 

Those girls sure have grown up! And look at their matching pacies... great minds think alike:)

Little Piggy-Tailed Girl

 

Annabel and I have had a great spring break! After picking her up at my mom and dad's she and I had a playdate at my old friend Ariel's...so much fun! Those are the above pictures. She had fun wearing Titus' hat and his daddy's shoes! She and Titus actually played really well together, which was pretty amazing. Check out Ariel's blog for tons of craft/homemade-stuff ideas! I wish I had more time to do creative stuff!  

A few days later I decided to see if Annabel's hair would go in pig-tails- alas, it did! I have been getting so tired of her hair always being in her eyes, and this is perfect. And soooo cute! When Derek picked her up from daycare he didn't recognize her!:) (yes, I took Annabel to daycare while I was on spring break...hehe. Hey! We pay for it whether she goes or not, so I opted for some "me" time!:)

What a big girl!

We went to see the cow and donkey at camp...she was fascinated but also a little nervous...

There they are!

The next day we played outside all afternoon! It was sooo nice! We also took a walk to the library to check out the fun farm toys:) I didn't even realize it, but our library has a nice little play area with kid-sized furniture and books that don't have to be kept in order. She loved it! We even checked out a few books! (You may laugh- but those new books bought me 20 minutes that evening!)

Then of course we had to go out and see daddy for dinner and eat his yummy tacos and monster cookies! 

Yum Yum!