our everyday bliss

March 27, 2010 - Mikey's One Year Birthday Party!!

Today was a wonderful celebration of our baby boy turning one!!  We had a great turnout of family & friends & an awesome time hanging out with everybody.  Thank you to everyone for coming and sharing this special day with us!

This is the best shot I could get of him with the birthday hat on, every time I sat it on his head he would rip it right off.......probably because the very first time we put it on him he pulled the band that holds it on and popped himself on the face really hard...there was a big red welt....and after the tears were all dried up I still tried to get the picture....bad mom!!

 

Close-up of the cake

 

Soooo, what now?

Raise the roof, it's my birthday

 

Baby cake

 

Oh yes, I remember this stuff

Mmmm...messy, cakey goodness

 

Too much cake...

Presents!!

 

Sweet Baby Kaylee slept through the whole party!

 

Cute, lil Spencer

 

Wii Just Dance after party

 

I want that flashy thing your holding

 

Playing with the new goods

 

Fun with balloons

 

The cake turned out wonderful and if anyone needs a good cake person, I used Laura Underwood.  Her business is called Sassy Sprinkles.  I would definitely use her again, the cake looked great and tasted amazing!!  Super moist and delicious!!

  

March 26, 2010 - New Moon!

Look what I got today!!

 

Yes, I am a total dork, but I don't care...I love me some Edward!  Tuesday & I watched it at her house tonight, fun!  I should have really been home getting ready for Mikey's re-scheduled party tomorrow but...party prep or Edward....you decide ;)

 

March 22, 2010 - Mikey's 1 year WCC!

Mikey went to the Dr. today to get his one year check up and his stats are great - He weighs 22 1/2 lbs and is 31 1/2 inches tall.  Had to get 4 shots though and did not appreciate it one bit.  He always gets very sleepy on the days he gets his immunizations and a little bit grouchy, but who can blame his really. 

Here is a picture of our big boy today before we went to the Dr.

In other news, the AT&T U-Verse guy came out today and installed all the new equipment so we are officially AT&T customers now.  We'll let you know how it all works out, but for now I am excited to be able to watch any of our recorded shows on any tv in the house!

 

March 15-21 - Completely Crazy Week!

March 15, 2010

Spring Break is officially here and my parents are being brave and watching all 3 of our munchkins until Friday! Today was a big milestone for Mikey & Me...he nursed for the last time this morning and while I have a slight twinge of sadness that I just nursed for the last time EVER...mostly I'm thinking WAAAAHHHHHHOOOOO!!!!

Does anybody realize how horrible it is to pack for 3 kids, one of them a baby, for more than an overnight trip!?  I totally had a spreadsheet for my mom with detailed instructions and a checklist for my checklist.  What a nightmare!  But the reward is QUIET!  Page & I actually got to have a conversation without a child dangling from our arm or leg or neck!

It's pretty funny how little time it takes to regain your perspective, though...I was already missing them tonight and the quiet seemed very abnormal.  It's bittersweet.  I ordered the adorable collage that Kerry made for me on a 3/4 ' standout mount today.  I hope it gets here in time for the party!

The many faces of Michael!

 

March 16, 2010

Things still seem hectic, even with the kids gone.  Page is in Instructor Development School this week and I am working & still tying up all the loose ends for the party.  Got the balloon order put in at Party Galaxy today and went to Target and got him a few things for his birthday + some adorable summer clothes for Lexi for super cheap!

After Page got home we went out to The Cheesecake Factory for date night and had a wonderful dinner.  We were in deep discussions about all of the shift change/days off opportunities that keep coming up and whether any of them would be a good fit for our family right now.  Then!  We got to go see Avatar in 3D and it was soooo good!  We both loved it!  A very nice date night!

 

March 17, 2010 - St. Patrick's Day!

K, so we never go out on St. Patrick's Day, like EVER.  Neither of us likes beer, much less green beer + it's all wild and crazy...so not us.  However, tonight we actually met 2 of P's police officer buddies at some really random Irish Pub off of May Avenue and it was ridiculously packed full of stumbling, bumbling idiots.  It was freezing cold outside, where we had to wait for about 30 minutes before we could even get in and once we did we were pinned up against the wall for about an hour before we got a table.  It was not awesome at all and I think our original plan to not go out on St. Patty's day was probably one of our better ideas.  That being said, once we got the table it was much better and it was good to hang out with Nick & Jason, but I do not do Bangers & Mash or Corned Beef & Cabbage, so I pretty much went hungry and things only went downhill from there.

EW!

March 18, 2010

Stayed out way too late last night and felt terrible at our 8am staff meeting at Jimmy's Egg-ugh!  I did get to have lunch with Melissa at Panera today, though, and that was definitely a highlight.  I had to work until almost 7pm and then go home, change and drive 2 hours to my parents house so I could be with Mikey on his birthday tomorrow.  I was very happy to see my kiddos!!

March 19, 2010 - Mikey's 1st Birthday!!

Exactly one year ago today we got our little Mikey bundle of joy!  He has been an amazing blessing to our family.  He is so layed back and just kind of along for the ride....3rd child syndrome?

 

Everyone is saying there is supposed to be a blizzard tomorrow and I may have to re-schedule his party!  If there is, it will be so weird because it was like 80 degrees today!  I got all my last minute party errands run anyway after we got home and I'm just crossing my fingers there is no Blizzard. 

March 20, 2010

Well, there was totally a Blizzard today, of course, so I had to re-schedule the party :(  Actually, it started off like a Blizzard but then settled down pretty fast.  By that time, though, we had already re-scheduled everything for next Saturday, except for the cake.  My cake lady had already finished it so we will meet her tomorrow to pick it up and she is giving us a deal to do another one next Saturday.   It wasn't a total loss though we got to have Page home an extra day to hang out and snuggle up to keep warm.

 

March 21, 2010

Page met the cake lady today to pick up the cake.  We were boxing it up and sending it to the neighbors and home with Hannah, who spent the night last night.  Here is a picture of Mikey's baby cake.  The colors were actually really off so maybe this whole second cake thing is a blessing in disguise.

 

Mikey testing out the cake (delicious, by the way).

 

The "Blizzard" our 3rd big snow storm in 3 months.

 

Cuddle muffin

 

 

March 13, 2010 - Mikey's Partyware!

So excited I got Mikey's Party stuff ordered today and it is sooo cute!  Got a pretty good deal at Birthday Direct.  I can't believe he will be one in less than a week! 

 

 

 

March 12, 2010 - Page's Birthday!

Poor hubby had to work on his bday today, so we checked Chris out of school early and went to lunch at Bravo .  It was fantastic!  Great food and great service.  I forgot my stinking camera though, so no pictures, not even in front of the pretty fountain out front :( 

After Page went to work the kids and I made him a cake & on his way home for supper, Page grabbed some Hideaway Pizza!!

Chris had a Luau at school today for all the kids reading 1 million minutes so that's why he is dressed like this.

 

Sweet girl, see how I multi-task with one hand on the escaping baby?

 

Ok, just keeping it real with this picture....

Here we have the husband that thinks it's hilarious to randomly grow a mustache...All the crap that was on the table shoved unto the buffet...Disgruntled baby in the back...Chris hanging on his Daddy and Lexi cheesing it up.  Perfectly normal for our house.

 

 

March 11, 2010 - I'm so happy, I'm drooling!

Now that is happy.

 

Check out Mikey's big 'ol ham hands...wonder if he's going to be a giant?

 

...and this one's just cute.

 

 

May 10, 2010 - Why Don't Kid's Know How To Whisper?!

Page's birthday is on Friday and we secretly ordered him an I-pod Touch on line from Best Buy.    First off I need to rant about the horribly unprofessional employees and customer service at Best Buy by Quail Springs Mall!!!  These high school/college age employees were being so rude to the customer beside me! They didn't have my order ready, or even right, after they sent me an email to come pick it up, and they were just shootin the breeze and yelling back and forth to each other about an upcoming concert while they ignored the customers they were checking out!!!  I was so irritated that when I got home I actually sent a complaint letter to Best Buy on line and guess what?!  They completely ignored me.  Nice.  Awesome customer service, Best Buy...I look forward to not shopping with you again.

 

Fun, new toy!!

AAAAnyway....so after that fiasco I went to pick Chris up from school and thought, he's 9, he can surely handle a good secret.  Not. So. Much.  I showed him the goods and we talked about how we were going to surprise Daddy on his bday etc.  We got home and were perfectly incognito until Chris decided to 'whisper' a question to me about it in front of Page and the 'whisper' was so loud, he heard every word and got a big smile on his face.  Needless to say, he got the I-touch early and was very happy with it, which is good, cause now he can stop stealing mine-lol!

On a more relaxing note, Page took all the kids to Grandma's tonight and I got an hour alone in a completely quite house!!  Bliss!

 

March 9, 2010 - Dinner for the new mommy of 2!

Today after work the kids and I loaded up to take Kim & Roy dinner.  I made Pulled Pork in the crockpot & it was great, if I do say so myself ;)  Everybody seems to be doing well and getting settled into the new routine.  Kaylee is such a cute little peanut, the kids were being baby hogs and hardly giving me a chance to hold her!

Lexi with Baby Kaylee

 

Stealing all that sweet, baby sugar

 

Sweet sleeper

 

Stretching out in Christopher's arms

 

 

March 8, 2010 - Bday Party Invites!

Kerry put together these adorable invitations for Mikey's Bday party and they were all so cute I had a hard time deciding which one to choose!!

Note, some of our personal information has been blurred out.

Option #1

 

Option #2

 

Option #3

 

Option #4

 

Option #5

 

And the winner is....Option #4!!!  I thought they were all cute though, and I TOLD you he demolished that cake!!  These are now ordered and should arrive in a couple of days!

 
 

May 7, 2010 - Beautiful Lexi Mae!

Yesterday as Kerry was getting everything set up for the photo shoot she did a few test shots of little Miss Photogenic Lexi Mae. 

Am I a lucky momma or what?!  She is a true joy.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

March 6, 2010 - Mikey's One Year Photo Shoot!

Today was all about Mikey's one year pictures.  We met over at Tuesday's about 4 to get started and it was super fun!  Mikey demolished his cake in no time flat and Kerry got so many great shots!  After the photo shoot we got Mikey (and Tuesday's floor) cleaned up and went to eat supper at Pepe's & then to Braums for Ice Cream!!  Chris & Hannah stayed behind with Cam because they were watching Forrest Gump which I just watched with Chris for the first time a few nights ago & he loooved it.  We brought them back some Braums for dinner and then Chris actually ended up sleeping over while I took the very tired little ones back home for the night.  I was so excited when I checked my email because Kerry had already sent me a few of the best shots from tonight!!

Is this amazing or what?!  He is so adorable!

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

I am so blessed to have such a beautiful, sweet baby boy.  I cannot believe he is turning one in just a few weeks!  I'm also so lucky to have such a talented and generous friend as Kerry who did an amazing job on the pictures.  There are so many more that are equally as good that I didn't put on here...thank you so much Kerry, you rule!!!!

 

March 5, 2010

I am in full 1st birthday party planning mode now.  I ordered Mikey this adorable shirt & party hat off Etsy today and I am basing my whole theme around it since it's actually designed to match 'The Big ONE Dots' partyware.

 

His hat is a little different than this one, but you get the gist.

 

I drug the kids all over looking for accessories for Mikey's pictures on Saturday.  I found 3 wooden letters at Cinnamon Bears that spell out 'ONE' and the most adorable hat ever.  I've been searching the internet for picture ideas and have found some really cute ones...here are a couple of examples of what I have in mind. 

 

 

 

 

 

March 3, 2010

Christopher's school had a book fair today.  We sent him some cash & he spent it all ,of course, and even got a book for his sister.  He also came home with a Diary of a Wimpy Kid poster which was a gift from 'Maddie'...uh oh, here we go!

We were going to get Mikey's 1 year pictures taken today, so I left work for a bit to run over to Target and get a cake for him to destroy.  It actually was super cute!  They had it ready with only a one hour notice, plus it was only $10!!  We ended up having to re-schedule ,though, because Kerry was not feeling well.  I think it was for the best because Mikey actually threw up once today out of nowhere?!  I don't know if it was something he ate or what but he seems to be doing fine now.  I took the cake over to Tuesday's and we wrapped it up real good and stuck it in her freezer to use on Saturday when we try again for the pics. 

I was all set to make dinner tonight and then the AT& T U-Verse guys showed up on our doorstep and I swear I talked to them for an hour.  At first I was just waiting for them to finish their spiel so I tell them NO and then I totally got sucked in.  Each time I would present my skeptical question or excuse they came right back with a reason why they are better etc...sooo we are switching from Cox to AT&T U-Verse...and we are had pizza for dinner tonight instead! 

Yesterday Kim was discharged from the hospital but Kaylee was not, due to a bad case of jaundice.  The folks at Integris were nice enough to let her stay in a room down the hall, though, and they even brought Kaylee to her for feedings!  We went up for a visit last night and Kim was in really good spirits and so happy she didn't have to leave without her baby.  So today they both got to come home together!! I went to pick them up around 7pm and took them home to get settled in.  The crib & diaper changing table were all set up and looked super cute!

This was the first time we got to see Kaylee with clothes on and she looked so cute bundled up in her carseat!

 

 

March 1, 2010

Lexi & I had lunch at Mickey D's today & then went to visit Kim & Kaylee in the hospital.  Both mom & baby are doing well.  We brought Kim a Mountain Dew and some sweets & hung out with them for a bit.  It is amazing how tiny Kaylee is!  My babies were never less than 8.5lbs so she just seems like a little peanut!

Sweet Baby Kaylee

 

Lexi cuddling with her new baby cousin

 

Holding my precious baby niece

 
 

When we got back home I discovered I got my new Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2010 Cookbook today!!  So what's for dinner?!

 

Draeh had a recipe for Mini Turkey Meatloaves she wanted to make and they turned out great and were healthier than regular meatloaf...which is a good thing because I made this Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake for dessert!!

 

Mike & Draeh invited a few friends over and we all hung out while the kids played and wrecked Lexi's room, but a good time was had by all!  Page had to work, so I was sad he didn't get to hang out with everybody but he did catch up with the boys after he got off work at 11.  Tomorrow the Collins are headed home :( we will miss our friends.

February 28, 2010 - Welcome to the World, Kaylee Renee'!

This morning at 7:06am, Kaylee Renee' Hawkins entered the world weighing 6lbs, 15oz!  We got the call around 10am and couldn't wait to get up to the hospital to meet her and see Kim.

Proud Big Sister

 

Beautiful New Life, Miss Kaylee is perfect!

 

Lexi was excited to get her new baby cousin in her arms

 

Perfection

 

So happy, momma & baby

 
 

Aunt Melanie Renee' with her new niece, Kaylee Renee'

 

Proud Papa, Roy

 

After our visit, and much to Jewel's disappointment, I had to take her to meet her daddy.  After I dropped her off, I called Doc about the horrible back spasm/knot I've been having for the last week to see if she could call me something in & I also got a heating pad.

Went to Old Navy to take advantage of their Stuff N Save Sale and then headed back home.  Auntie Draeh was putting rollers in Lexi's hair, which thrilled her to no end!

 
 

Draeh and I went to see Shutter Island which was really good and she introduced me to the most amazing combination of Popcorn/Butterfinger/Coke all at the same time...Amazing & very bad...clearly a special treat ;) 

 

February 20 - February 27, 2010

February 20 - Playdate with Christopher M.

Heroscape

Lexi with Bearie

February 21, 2010 - Rainy Day Cuteness

February 24, 2010

Kim's baby is due in less than a week!  I've started buying things here and there for them.  The Collins are due to arrive for a visit tomorrow, got a new air mattress because our old one has a hole in it :(  Christopher's teacher, Ms. Laing is celebrating her birthday tomorrow and the amazing home room mom has a nice celebration planned where each child will give her a rose and a card that they have made.  She also gave us a list of her favorite things so we stuck a $10 Sonic Gift Card in ours. 

February 25, 2010

Got my first facial with microdermabrasion today and it was amazing!!! Thank you Rachel!!  The Collins were here when I got home from work and I was so excited to see Draeh I knocked over my purse which had a whole container of salsa in it from our lunch at Jason't Deli today :/

February 26, 2010

Draeh and I snuck away today and left the babies to hang out with the boys.  I took her to my friend Keri's vintage store, Mister Rabbit, which is in the Paseo and super cool.  She had all kinds of awesome stuff, including these adorable little girl's flower bows by her featured artist of the month, Sweet Baby Sloan.  Go see this girl's store, it's cool and she rocks!

We also had lunch at Big Truck Tacos which I have heard so many great things about and we were not disappointed, very yummy! 

February 27, 2010

Kim was admitted to the hospital for high BP today and they started inducing her since her due date is tomorrow and she was getting induced anyway.  I met Cindy in MWC to pick up Jewel so she could be here to see her new sister.  We went to Toys R Us and got Kim & the baby a changing table/pad/baskets/cover etc. from all of us.  Draeh, Jewel and I went to Forever 21 & found some cute jewelry & clothes for super cheap.  Draeh had the coolest vintage dress to wear to the wedding she is singing at tonight, super cool.  While the Collins were at the wedding, I took Jewel up to the hospital around 7pm but we didn't stay long because Kim was really in a lot of pain.  I think baby will be here soon!!!

Saturday AM before a disaster of a breakfast run and ultimately a homemade breakfast!

Yeah, he's got a thing for windows

Sassy princess Mae

Coordinating Cousins

Isa & Sevanna getting ready to go to a wedding (soooo adorable!!!)

Annie & Isa

  

February 19, 2010 - Look Who's 11 months old!

11 months old today and still perfecting the art of pulling up which he just started doing a little over a week ago.  Also tried cow's milk in his sippy cup for the first time this week because the end of the nursing era is drawing to a close VERY soon!  He looked a little confused by the taste of it but hopefully it will grow on him soon!

 Ummmmm...what is wrong with this picture?!  My daughter is holding giant purple scissors and pointing them right towards her body...clearly we need a lesson on scissor safety-lol!

 

 

February 18, 2010 - Open House @ Charles Haskell

Tonight after work I got home and got settled and then realized I was supposed to be at Open House at Christopher's school from 6:00-7:00...and it was 6:30!  Since we only live about 5 minutes from school, I decided to take Chris (and Lexi too) and dash up there anyway.  We caught the tail end of Ms. Laing's discussion, but the best part was the one on one time she took with us after everyone left!  I wanted to talk to her about Christopher stuffing papers in his desk rather than bringing them home for homework :(... so we both had a little 'Come to Jesus' meeting with him and he has promised to cut that out.  Hopefully that is true.  I really love Ms. Laing, she is such a good teacher and always takes time to go the extra mile with the students, definitely one of my favorite teachers he has had so far, although they have all been good. 

Chris & Ms. Laing

Chris doing his sentence breakdown using the Shurley Method...very impressive...not sure I could get up there and to it!

Lexi testing out the desks