Summer

Nothing much new around here. The temperature has finally dropped a bit with some rainy days although we have had little rain here. The girls love playing outside.

Ainslee goes to the door and moos at the cows. She knows a cow says moo, says "DAA" when she is all done. She was walking down the isles at Cavender's hollering "DaDa!" trying to find him-so cute. Baby girl is still tiny and only wearing size 12 months if it is a hand me down and been washed bunches. She has this new thing with crossing her arms, personality coming out! She will blow kisses and pat-cake rolling and all. She likes to push and whack on Lena Kate. Big Sister takes it pretty well. Ainslee loves baby dolls and carrying bags:). What a joy she is.

Lena Kate is growing up! She is sassy and silly. Lately when you ask her what she wants to eat, she says chicken nuggets and dog. I have no idea where that came from. She has picked up on me asking, "really???". I am not sure I like her asking,"really, Mom, really?". I guess I asked for that one. She is excited about her birthday already even though it is not until December 19th. She now knows that is her birthday. She sends her cousin fake invitations daily. Lena Kate is all about infomercials. If she sees an infomercial, she wants it-Stompees, night light blanket, glow pillow pet, and a sea creature build-a-bear. I wonder what it will be 5 months from now.

I love my two girls!!!

I have made three things worth mentioning-a delicious and simple fudge pie, homemade granola and a recipe swap recipe for fried okra salad-soo good. I will post the pie over on my recipe blog as well as the fried okra salad from Tori over at www.scoutsmithscoop.blogspot.com. Jennifer over at www.ranchgirl09.blogspot.com hosted a recipe swap and I was paired with Tori. I have enjoyed getting to know her through her blog and surely enjoyed the first recipe I tried. I have 2 more to make yet. Can't wait!

I made the coconut granola from Tasty Kitchen and with the following as basic ingredients it had to be tasty: unsweetened coconut, oats, cashews almonds, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, vanilla, dried fruit and chocolate chips. I used a dried berry mix and also added about a 1/2 cup of rice krispies to see if they added extra crunch. I LOVE this granola. Probably not the healthiest out there, but I don't eat too much at a time. I top my new favorite Greek yogurt (coconut flavored) with it. I really love to eat ot plain to get all the flavor, but am I the only one that can't eat yogurt if it isn't crunchy?

I also crocheted a cute owl purse last week for Lena Kate, and included a picture. I think they may be this year's repeat project to sell before Christmas.

Now for a few shots of my monkeys!

Say Cheese!

We had the kiddos picture taken for Mom's birthday. Here are the best shots. I think they turned out pretty cute:)

Grumpy Old Troll

I seem to find myself griping at Lena Kate and raising my voice way too often lately. I want to try really hard to take different approach. I know I resort to this because I can tell her something at least 3 times with no response and then have to raise my voice to get her attention, ehich drives me crazy. Trust me, I would rather not have to raise my voice. It makes me feel like "that mom." After dealing with this day in and day out I guess I get tired of it and grump at her. As a mother of only 3.5 years this is by far my hardest challenge. How does one raise an obedient child with tons of energy and enthusiasm to tame? It is hard. Discipline is hard. I need to focus on discipline and teaching and not griping or raising my voice. It can be done, but I must use the patience God has planted deep inside me as a mother. I want with all my heart for my children to be well-behaved yet still be children with personality! I know I am not alone, but sometimes feel like those closest to me don't understand the difficulty because it is not their responsibility as the mother. This is where I love all of you other mothers of young children in this situation currently. Thank you for your friendship in person as well as honest blogging from those I wish I have met in person. We will get through it together and must remember God's grace and mercy when all else gets us down. Thanks to Him, there is tomorrow to start anew. I plan to not put off until tomorrow what I will start today.

I love my girls with all my heart and want them to know me as a great mother and one to look up to and aspire to emulate when it is their turn to be a mother. About a week ago I was griping at Lena Kate for who knows what and as I turned my back she called me a grumpy old troll. I did not hear it, but Lane did. Of course, he thought it was funny, probably because he agreed with her. It is funny and it also hurts. Sometimes the truth hurts. I know I am not always a grumpy old troll, but probably more often than I should be! These are the days I want to cherish for I know they will be long gone soon enough. I also know these are the impressionable years for my girls.

Rather than look back, today I will look forward to what I can do better and lean on God for support. I know when Lena Kate hugs me and randomly tells me she loves me, I am doing alright. She can melt my heart in a moment.

I will also hide Three Billy Goats Gruff so Lena Kate won't request to read that book. Who wants to be a grumpy old troll?! 😉

No pictures, just words

The week before Ainslee's birthday Lena Kate had swimming lessons.  Charles was here for the week so he could take lessons with Lena Kate at the Beeville Country Club with Mrs. Ford.  Justin Laechelin and Dean and Elle Carriger were also in their class. We had so much fun taking the kids together and watching them learn. By the end of the week Lena Kate and Charles swan all the way across the pool by themselves. Considering that Charles didn't want to put his face in the water at the end of the week, he came a long way!  Lena Kate did too, she just seems to like going under much more than Cousin Charles, but she doesn't like to come up and take a breath. It is interesting that each child had their own strength and weakness and no two were alike.   We had several picnic lunches during the week. 

I took Charles and Lena Kate to see Madagascar 3 that week and they both really enjoyed the movie. Ainslee stayed with Mimi.  She would NEVER sit still and quiet for a movie. 

We had a 4th of July picnic party this past weekend at the Argenta School House.  The old schoolhouse was established in 1916.  It is a great community building for a party.  We (4 families) rented a bouncehouse and big waterslide. It was a potluck and the food was great.  Once again, I had a splurge day!  Uncle Ray brought over his Polaris and the kids enjoyed riding around.  Ainslee was a busy girl at the party too, she just made her way whereever she wanted.  I look forward to next year's picnic. 

Tuesday night I met several girls out for dinner and a movie.  Magic Mike was quite entertaining, I must admit. It was fun and much more harmless guilty pleasure than I thought it would be.  Channing Tatum is just yummy to watch on the big screen...yummy, did I mention that.  I am not big on Hollywood celebrities AT ALL, but I think I have a crush on that guy.  Overall the movie was funny, a little sexy, but not too bad.  I could've done without the drugs part of the plot or some of the language, but considering that the movie is about a male review, it wasn't too bad.  The plot was simple and slow at times, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be a deep thoughts kind of show! I would reccomend it for a fun girl's night out for sure.  Thanks Regan, for the invite. I must admit I enjoyed the ride to and from Beeville without the girls yakking in the backseat too.  Moms really need breaks:)  Let's just say I've lost about 5 things this week and I needed a break. Those things included one of Ainslee's cups, the keys to my car (twice-once not even knowing I had lost them until they were returned to me!) and one of my favorite pink shirts.  It is just an Old Navy t-shirt, but it still hasn't turned up and that kind of thing DRIVES ME CRAZY. The only thing i really want to lose is weight!   Oh well, speaking of Old Navy I found several pairs of cute shorts on clearance between 6.50 and $9.  Yea me. 

On the 4th we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a hotdog lunch and swimming with friends.  It was a great way to spend the holiday.  I baked homemade frosted sugar cookies supposed to mimic the Lofthouse deliciousness. They were tasty I must say. I put the leftovers in the freezer for the church ice cream social so I would not eat anymore.  Ainslee would eat as them if I gave them to her, but Lena Kate is picky with her snacks. She is her father's child and would rather have something salty like chips or Goldfish...weird, or I think so anyway!

I finally reached my pre-baby weight the week of Ainlsee's birthday-I truly took the entire year to get the 60+ pounds off.  I am using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and logging everything I eat, trying to stick to a 1200 calorie a day diet. I am proud of myself for finally sticking to it and am seeing the results of portion control, fairly healthy eating, as well as exercise.  I want to lose another 8-10 lbs, but already feel much better about myself. The food diary and weight log in definately keeps me on track. It is also motivating to know what projected weight I will be in 5 weeks by keeping up daily.  I just hope those projections happen if I stick to it.

On a sad note, Lane's boss's 25 year old son lost his life this week.  I want to share the story in hopes that it might be shared and have a positive impact on somebody.   Ryan was in the backseat of a car driven by an intoxicated female that lost control of the vehicle and drove right into a lake.  The car ended up upside down.  Two cops happen to see the accident and rescued the driver and front seat passenger.  Unfortunately, when they learned of a backseat passenger, it was too late.  He was pinned in and had drowned.  I can't get this out of my mind and don't really want to.  It is such a sensless loss and I have shed tears over it several times.  I didn't know him personally, but his parents are great people.  He was known as an upstanding and intelligent young man.  Please don't drink and drive and please don't let someone who has been drinking get behind the wheel.  I know in the past (college years) I made some poor decisions and know how hard it is to stand-up and do what is right.  I pray that more people, young and old, will hear of this story and NOT let it happen to them or make poor decisions in this respect.  Please keep the Whittington family in your prayers. I can't possibly imagine the devastation of losing a child.  

My eyes still burn from crying at the funeral. The music was beautiful and meaningful. Ryan's dad, Lane's boss spoke for about 45 minutes. That was amazing.

I must Trust God and His plan for me and my family.  I am reminded of this in times when fear cripples my thoughts.  Fear not, and believe.

God Bless the USA on this 4th of July week  I hope it was safe and festive for each of you.

Party Post

Fun was had by all over Ainslee's birthday weekend. Lane's parents and grandparents came down for the weekend.  It was wonderful to have them here to celebrate and show NeNe and PawPaw where we live.  I think we all really enjoyed the girls and the weekend of family fun.  I had chicken spaghetti, salad, and yellow country cake ready for Friday night and then we headed to town for lunch at Van's before the party.  I think most of us had a steak finger basket.  Let's just say I didn't count calories that day and it was worth every bite.

I decided on a "You are my Sunshine" theme for Ainslee's party.  I didn't do too much in the way of decorating, but did coordinate orange, yellow, and blue colors for the food table and hung some fun tissue paper balls and lanterns.  I also made a fun banner.  I made tasty chocolate cupcakes with yellow yummy buttercream frosting.  The chocolate cake recipe on the Hershey's cocoa can is so good, even though I prefer Giradelli cocoa!  I used the Better Homes and Garden butter frosting recipe.  I could've eaten many more than I let myself.  Trust me, if  you are looking for a classic chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, this is a great option.   Ainslee LOVED her XL-cupcake. She started slow and then really made a great mess.  I was hopeful she would enjoy it, and she made her Mommy proud.  She definitely has my sweet tooth. 

We had family and close friends join us.  The kids had a great time playing on the Laechelin's water slide and wade pool we borrowed.  Ainslee was not bothered at all by the crowd and really enjoyed her party, which was nice.  She got a fun chair and sat in it and pretty much watched the older kiddos open her presents. She did want a closer look at the Baby Cinderella.  She got lots of cute outfits, now we just need something to get all dressed up for.

After the party, we just hung out and visited with Lane's family.  We were blessed to have so many family members love on the birthday girl at her party.

I think these pictures speak for themselves as to how she enjoyed her cupcake.

 A kiss for the birthday princess from Dean...soo sweet. He just decided to lean in and give her a hug and kiss.  LOVE IT!!!

 Leelee and Paw-thanks for coming, and my cute little Mexican dress!

 NeNe time

 I'll get you Paw Paw!

We are so blessed to have our 1 year old and be able to celebrate her each and every day.  God is great!