Kylie's New Room Thanks to My Talented Husband :-)

Well, when we got back from our trip to Arizona Jeff had a surprise waiting for the kids. This is a picture of the new murals on Kylie's walls. Each wall has a different character. Isn't my husband talented? I like to think so :-) Kylie is still so thrilled with her new room she always wakes up pointing and trying to say the names of the characters. Sometimes she just likes to go in her new room and dance and point. What a great daddy she has!!! We are heading off to Alabama to go visit friends and when we come back Jeff has promised to be done with Dillon's room. When we get back, I will post those pictures. Well, I am off to a birthday party with the kids and then on the road to Alabama. What was I thinking!? But I am very excited to see the Goodson family and go to the lake with them :-)

Have a wonderful day and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

A C-Section without an Epidural

Can you imagine? Well, as I was pacing back and forth down the aisle of the plane and about the cry from the frustration of a one year old, I starting thinking about birth. I was seriously thinking at that moment of time I would rather have a C-Section with no epidural than to keep dealing with the fussiness and dirty stares of some of the passengers.

It was definitely not a picnic! But, when we arrived in Arizona my parents were waiting for me and I was relieved for the extra hands.... I mean I was so excited to see them! Dillon did amazing on the plane and was a big trooper. He will be getting a big prize when he gets home :-)

So far we have woken up from about 7 hours of sleep and went to see Monica and two great grandmas and we will be getting ready for our fishing trip soon. I will post pictures of that tomorrow. Dillon is ecstatic to drive the boat and be with his hero. Seriously, this kid idolizes my father! It is always about Grandpa, even when Grandpa has nothing to do with it! Oh well, it is nice to see that kind of relationship even though we live so far away.

I will post more tomorrow. I will share pictures of some of my visits with friends and family.

TaTa for now!

Staci

She Wore an Itty Bitty Blue Bikini :-)

My friend Stephanie gave Kylie a little bikini today and I just had to post it. Too adorable!!!

From Frumpy to Fabulous!

Warning, before you look at the picture below you will have to remember it was first thing in the morning with no makeup. With that being said, this is what my hair looked like before I left the house. Note the bushy eyebrows too :-)



Now, I was going to wait to cut my hair until I lost the weight and then I would do a mini makeover. Well, I changed my theory and now I am going to start trying to look better, so maybe I will start to feel better about myself, therefore eating better. Do you think that is a better theory? Anyway........ I got 6 inches cut off my hair and a picture of Jessica Simpson and this is what I got.....

Pretty good, huh!? This is my natural color now because she cut off the last of my dye job. Amazing isn't it!? I think Jeff was impressed because since I wanted to start presenting myself in a different way, when he walked in the door I was not in my sweatpants and Jeff's tshirt. I was actually in a cute little tank top with my new bermuda shorts. I was looking pretty snazzy if I do say so myself. Jeff was pretty excited!!!! However, the kids were downstairs with us.... so not THAT excited!!!

Well, today was a great day. I dropped the kids off at school and gave myself a day of pampering. It was amazing! I went shopping, got my hair done, eyebrows wacked, took a long bath, watched a movie, and played some video games. Then when I picked up the kids we met some friends at the pool. Can life get any better than this????

I do not think so!!!

Have a great night!

Staci

Kylie is Getting Down

Okay I had to post this video of Kylie dancing to a bunny that Great Grandma Dillon gave her and Dillon for Easter. She is too cute!!!

Now I must get going to my last soccer game before the playoffs!

Official Last Day of School Today!!!

Well here is a couple pictures from the other day when the kids hit the pool. Dillon is finally jumping off the sides and not caring if his face gets wet! Hallelujah! If you look in his right hand he has his googles and his snorkle in his hand. Those are his new favorite water toys. One of the kids brought a toy to the pool the other day with the balls. I think I am going to pick those up at Target because Dillon really enjoyed playing with them and swimming after them.

Here is Kylie girl when I told her that we were getting out of the pool. As you can tell by the look on her face, she did not like that plan!!

Look at my big boy! Don't you just want to scoop him up and give him a big hug! However, he will not let me because I am not Daddy! He keeps telling me that he only loves his Daddy. What is up with that? I am the one who took him to the pool :-)

What is that thing you ask? It is an old toy that Dillon never used in the pool. I was so excited because Kylie would just splash in there and it gave me a little more chances to play with Dillon in the pool. Obviously, I was still supervising, but she was not in my arms the whole time. She really enjoyed it too! So when I go out to Arizona you better have a floating device if you want us in the pool!

This past Friday I got my wisdom tooth out. It was an experience. Jeff took great care of me and the kids while I was out of commision. He was sure to get me ice cream and all of the goodies you need after a wisdom tooth removal. I love that man! He did not complain once....well maybe once, but no more after that!

Well I have lost a total of one pound so far and I am going to keep on going. On Saturday my friend Cris took me to the mall in a drug induced state since I was still in pain from my wisdom tooth :-) You will be so proud of me because I have done something that I did not do in over 15 years. I bought a pair of shorts. No, I did not type that wrong, I bought a pair of shorts.

I will give you a moment to process this information. For those of you who know me very well, they know I do NOT do shorts. I am a pant kind of girl. I am the kind of girl who does not want to show her legs. Well, since they have brought back the bermuda short style, my dreams of wearing shorts can come true. It is enough to cover me, and enough to cool me down at the same time. Isn't life grand.

Well I better get going. We are going to be doing some stuff at school soon and I need to get a snack. Have a great day!

Staci

Our Little Fish

As promised I have uploaded the video of Kylie girl swimming in the pool. Okay, she is playing on the steps but it will just show you how much she loves the water :-). I am going to get Jeff to come with me to the pool hopefully tomorrow and get some more video. That is only if I do not still look like a chipmunk from my wisdom tooth being pulled. Not that you will be looking at me, but we will see how much I am up for it.

Well Jeff and I are going to get ready for bed and watch 24. We have been on a big marathon of 24 since we just started to watch it about 2 months ago. We have been ordering all of the copies from Netflix so I love having no commercials! We are on season 4 right now.

Also, today was Dillon's last day of soccer. I could not be more proud of our big boy. He was such a good sport and really enjoyed himself. I will try to post pictures tomorrow of him with his brand new trophy :-)

Have a wonderful night and check tomorrow for more updates!

Staci

School's Out for Summer

Tomorrow is the official last day for the students. I am so excited to start the summer with the kids. We have a lot of fun things planned like our trip to Arizona, Alabama, and North Carolina. Jeff and I are planning a weekend trip to take the kids to the beach. We are thinking we will take the kids to a beach in Hilton Head that is supoosed to be nice and family friendly. That is what we are all about, the family friendly atmosphere :-)

I love the summer when I can see friends, take the kids to all the different places Greenville has to offer, and laze around in the house with each other not having a care in the world. The way things have been going lately, I think Dillon will want to spend everyday at the pool. As soon as we get home he wants to go to the pool now. We went to the pool yesterday and Kylie was amazing me as she tried to get away from me. Little does she know she will not get away from mama bear's hands while she is in the water. We met up with our friends Tina and the family so it was great to spend time with them!

Today we are going to do a play date with Manuela and Cris. I love that they are back in Greenville because we have become so close! I think we might just do a bike ride in the neighborhood. I like that our neighborhood is smaller right now! I like that we know most of the kids in the neighborhood and they are always seen outside playing. It is amazing because when we lived in Phoenix we never saw the kids playing outside, here they are playing everywhere. However, we also know it is way TOO hot to play outside in Arizona most of the time.

Well I better get going. I have to get the kids from school and then it is time to do our playdate. Today is day 3 no soda!!! I am holding on strong. Tonight when it cools down I think I am going to take a jog in the neighborhood for about 3 miles. If it does not cool down I will go to the gym.

Have a wonderful night and thank you for checking in!!!

Staci

Headache and Backache... I am Officially Getting Older!

Last night while playing soccer with my Beckham like soccer skills...... I hurt my back. Seriously, am I getting old or what?! Then when I was driving home feeling sorry for myself, I started to have a caffeine headache from my lack of caffeine.
But.... yeah for me that I did not have a soda. I woke up this morning and wanted to feel the cold bubbles burning my throat.... but I grabbed a water instead. I wish I could say I am more satisfied. But who are we kidding, I really wanted that soda!!!
Yesterday I took the kids swimming and it was wonderful. Dillon wanted to jump off everywhere and dive in the pool. Kylie is going to be like a little fish because she kept wanting to jump out of my arms and do it herself. Of course I would not let her go, but she wanted me to!
Well I better get going but I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Staci

Kicking the Coke Habit

Did I have you scared for a second when you saw the title???? Just kidding, you know I have never done anything like that in my life. However, I do have an addiction I need to kick and that is Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. I love the sweet fizz going down my throat first thing in the morning. There is nothing like that feeling in the morning! See, I do have a problem! Today is another round of trying to quit the soda. My mom is always asking me to stop the soda, so here I am listening to her. See Mom I do care what you say!!! :-)

Anyway, we will see how it goes. Today is also the start of me working out everyday again in the morning or night. However, this morning I did not work out because I have my soccer game later tonight, so I do not want to get myself sore :-)

When we were at Carowinds this weekend I was thinking of my own self image and pondering some questions of why can't I have the confidence in my body like some of these women do!? Seriously, even when I was at my thinnest, I would not wear shorts because of my self body image. I really need to start working on that! Jeff always praises me, but I have my own issues to work out. Now I am at my heaviest, I am thinking of trying to wear more things like longer shorts or a tank top. Go figure, I had to get bigger to feel better about myself. Am I crazy in the head or what!?

Well, I have three more weeks until I go to Arizona and I am kind of ashamed of my weight. Where did the magic wand that melts away all my cellulite and weight go? I swear I left it somewhere!! Let me know if you find it because I would like to have it back.

I hear the sound of work calling my name, " Staci, stop procrastinating and get back to work!!!" so I must answer it and end this post. Today is day 1 no soda, so we will see how it goes. Check back tomorrow to see if I have reached step 2. I think I am past step 1 of acknowledging I have a problem :-).

Have a wonderful day and I will post some tomorrow.