feeling better

tonight i feel better.

because i slept..

and slept,

and slept!

perhaps it was all the well wishing,

or the tubes,

or the minor (fine, major) detail that the babes weren't in bed till midnight..

but last night sleep was had.

 all. night. long.

clear till 9:00 AM this morning.

hallelujah!

and even more,

 i took a morning nap with the girls.

i feel like a new woman.

i'm not so naive to believe my luck could run two nights in a row,

but a gal can wish,

 right?

i can't thank you all enough for your comments.

you can bet your bottom dollar that i will attempt any and all the advice given.

truly, i would do almost anything to have a repeat of last night.

oh, to feel human!

it is not overrated.

i have the slightest nudge that this drastic change in behavior has something to do with Poppy's new tubes.

i was worried,

why?

the whole procedure from prep to recovery took a matter of 30 minutes.

the staff was wooed by those darn eyes of her, and i'm sure that scored

her some points in the care department :). our little sissy breezed through 10 minutes of surgery, and was back in my arms before i could even finish my blog checking for the day.

although coming off the anesthesia was hard on her, after a good long nap, and some serious mama cuddles she was fit as a fiddle by the afternoon.

she even made a trip to target

:)

some how,

some way,

like a new little gift every day,

i am all over in love with this girl..

can you really blame me??

issues.

i should be in bed.

i'm pretty sure i am a mean mom sometimes, 

and i'm pretty sure 99.9% of the time it's because i am so tired.

but alas.. 

here i am.

on to my thoughts....

we have some mom issues down here on the home front.

as we are all now very aware, Minie is two.

at two, she STILL:

takes a bottle. 

EEK..

TO BED.

double eek.

i know... i know..

but somewhere in the wish-wash of the past 2 years she turned from this darling chubby baby into this demanding, albeit adored toddler.

 and to make things all worse, she is asking for her "baba" in between naps now. NO, i can say i don't give it to her (most of the time), but if she doesn't get the bottle she definitely gets the B..

which brings me to the next issue.

the B..

that thing is an appendage. we live and breath by the pacifier. don't even mention the thought of sleep without it, and a car ride?? 

no. WAY.

we've tried maybe a little half heartedly to rid her of such comforts, but at the end of the day she is winning..  mostly because i am REEEAALLLY tired, and sometimes ( most of the time) they just feel like battles not worth fighting.

 now onto the topic of this exhaustion...

Poppy Louise..

sissy girl, WILL NOT sleep through the night.

she's up anywhere from 2-4 AM, and from there will only sleep if nursed back to sleep, and then only stay asleep if she is in bed, with me, in my arms. this was sweet for about 3-4 days there in the beginning, but now it's just plain tiring and giving me some major cricks in the neck, and only about 2 good hours of REMs a night. 

HOW do I break this?

i know.. shame on me for not Baby Wising, or Baby whispering, or whatever..

it just is what it is, and i am ready for some help.

and another issue..

i want to be done breast feeding.

partly because i feel kind of done,

but mostly because i am ready for dustin to help out in the night..

is this wrong and selfish??

i kind of feel like it is...

but it's the truth.

minie was mostly bottle-fed.. she's healthy, AND sleeps like a dream.

(if anyone points out the small fact that she ALSO still takes a bottle i might cry... so just shh. )

so just as luck would have it,

Poptart won't even look at the bottle without screaming.

she had a brief toleration of it somewhere between 4-6 months,

but these days the mere sight of it anywhere near her body will send her into a fit of wails and gnashing of teeth .

in her mind.. breast IS best.

 period.

*sigh*

i know she's only 8 months.. but.

i'm ready.

and to top it all off, little sissy Louise is scheduled to get tubes on wednesday, 

and tonight i'm feeling extremely guilty about it.

am i jumping the gun?

she has had 4 ear infections in the past 2 1/2 months.

both doctors (our pediatrician and the ENT) were on the fence. both said it was up to me, that she wasn't in dire straights, but the it could be a good idea.

i just told them, "lets do it".

quite frankly i am tired of her being MISERABLE every other week.. and i was sure at the time it was the best decision.

but now i am second guessing myself, and i feel sick to my stomach when i think of her little body being limp while under general anesthesia...

I KNOW it's practically the worlds simplest procedure, and the chances of something going wrong are pretty slim..

but i am still worried.

am i a bad mom because i am jumping the gun with this?

am i a bad mom if i don't go through with this???

i don't know.. 

*sigh*..

i know this is dramatic.

but once again,

i admit,

i am dramatic.

any advice would help..

unless it's mean and rude,

therefore posing in all actuality as very unhelpful

:)

good night

brad, ba, dabi, & bllala

we love this family.

Gabs is one of Minie's most favorite people,

 and for a good time just ask her to say

"Bella"

Brad finally decided to cash in on a very late birthday present,

and boy did we have fun tuesday night.

his girlies are about as cute as they come,

vanessa can't look bad if she tries,

and Brad... well...

he gave us all some good laughs.

love you Williams family!

there is this girl...

named poppy.

and i am so in love with her

it hurts.

truly.

love you my smoosh,

xo,

mommy

Happy 4th

PHEW.

 this weekend.

what a doozy...

48 hours packed full of family, food, parading

fireworks, laughing, and did i mention eating?

well... we are certainly 

TINERD.

oh how i love this summer holiday.

i love dressing in red,white and blue...

even though i can't get a decent shot of them matching together..

*sigh*

my parents neighborhood parade brings it...

especially when THIS transpires.

i love how hot is always is..

and how smooshy this one never ceases to be.

fireworks

i. love. you.

that smell.. 

the smokiness that sort-of settles over the valley.

oh.. i love that.

there is really just nothing NOT to love.

last weekend.. 

i miss you.

hope your 4th found you as happy as it found our little family's.

BUT

let's be truthful here.

 i am officially exhausted.

i am not going to pretend that throwing a 

birthday bash doesn't exhaust me,

nor does staying up with a sick baby.

nope..

i will willingly admit that proofing the 

weekends photos has me worn out, 

as well as all this blogging.

i am looking forward to lazy days at the pool,

afternoon naps with the girls,

 late dinners with my NOW school free hub.

and a long weekend up to Bear Lake.

but i do feel quite pleased with myself...

i am all caught up

:)

HOOray!

Melmo Party

Consider yourself officially belatedly invited to this party.

She looked really cute in her birthday outfit..

and even got to match her sister.

I know..

 hardly ever happens

:)

Elmo was all over the place...

and Dorothy too.

There was bouncing..

and sliding.

and fishing too.

Family to love...

and presents..

and singing too.

and it ended just as it should...

with a little nakey slide time.

And now she's two.. 

and seems too old to be mine.

*sigh...

dear birthday girl,

i love you, my poodle poo... 

my minie moo, 

the lady marmalade,

moodles, 

mins, 

mimzy, 

crazy horse, 

my little red tornado...

i love your stawberry hair, 

and i love your almond eyes.

i love your crazy smile,

and i your booty bum.

i love how you still snuggle me,

and ask to go "nigh nights".

i love the way your breath smells,

and when your scared you squeeze ME  tight.

i love your crazy laugh.. and those crazy teeth.

i love that you love elmo,

and barbie, 

and did i mention that you love me??

i LOVE that.

i love how you are pink inside and out, 

and how you love your dad.

i love to make you happy,

because my baby girl..

you make ME just that.

happy birthday my smoosh,

i love you to the moon.

xoxo,

mama

HER "toof" birthday

it has come.

my little poodle bum is TWO today.

oh how i love her..

i walked into to her room this morning and yelled "Happy Birthday baby girl!!", 

she responded with a squeal and enthusiastic "Thank you!"

i don't remember teaching her that?

to start her day out 

she had a singing candle on her eggs (her preferred breakfast .every. morning), 

and got to wear her special birthday hat from Grandma the entire meal through.

and the off to the races it was...

this is HER day after all,

so it was only appropriate she choose the giveaway winner.

after much digging, crumpling, and swirling

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!

drum roll please.......

Bryton Morse!!!

Bryton...

just drop me an e-mail and we can set up the details. 

i am excited to shoot you and jake

:)

once again,

thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone that commented.

it was even more fun than i anticipated, and i have "met" so many new blogging friends that i adore.

i definitely foresee more giveaways in the future.

so don't fret if you didn't win.. 

there will be more..

 

there will!

happy MINIE day to you all!

"Our house is a very very fine (*small) house..."

so dustin and i live in an extremely small town home located on the wrong side of town. :)

we actually love it.. 

minus the no yard business our little fish guts has been the perfect first home. 

i have brought my two girlies from the hospital to this house and it will forever be the breaking ground of where i became a woman, a mother, and a wife.

but 

if we are being honest,

in all my hopes and plans for this little home,

 i never envisioned 1/3 of the house and furniture consisting of nursery.

it still takes me by surprise as i walk by those two doors so very close to one another and peak in at not one, but two full blown nurseries in my tiny second floor. 

our space is cramped, we have become experts on organizing (read stuffing) our junk in every which nook and cranny.  every day i tell dustin it's time to move. but i do love this townhome, and my heart hurts a little when i think of leaving it behind. especially the girls rooms. 

i have had a request from Jenna to post some pictures of the little ladies domain, so without further ado.. here they are:

minie is all about dots. 

i think of her..

 i think dots.

as she was in my belly that is all i could see when i thought of her, and when we moved in 5 weeks before she was born, those big red dots were the first thing i painted.

who knows what came first?  the chicken or the egg,

but none the less, polka dots will always be her thing.

poppy's room is a little more eclectic. i am not really finished decorating it.. and probably never will get around to finishing it... *sigh*.

but i am just dying for some of these 

gorgeous prints to put up when that lovely little lady

 is back from her maternity leave. 

so we shall see..

and this has nothing to do with the rooms.. 

just the adorable girls who inhabit them.

i loved this photo,

it just feels like sisters to me, 

which really just makes me melt and feel all gooey inside.

isn't her name cute?

wouldn't you love to be named Poppy?

i will always love her name.

so there you have it.

these were all taken spur of the moment.

upon pulling them up on the computer i realized

 how messy and disorganized my house really looks.

oh well... what can you do?

it's real.

so goodnight...

it is almost officially a really big day in our home

:)

and 

hooray for the giveaway winner tomorrow!

stay tuned!