You're going to miss this....

Today as I am working hard to get the dining room/living room cleaned (making room for the Chirstmas Tree, yipee!!) the girls are suppose to be in their room cleaning it up. I really don't like making them clean their room because it always gets so messy and them cleaning it always results in them fighting and me yelling at them way to much. Today has not been much different although I have decided I am not going to yell, I have made it clear to them that if they don't get it cleaned today we will not be able to get the Christmas tree out of the attic (the entrance to the attic is in their closet), the next 3 weekends we have plans so if we don't do the tree tomorrow it won't get done for several weeks. Does it help....well of course not, lol. They get workind really hard for a few minutes after I remind them, then they go right back to playing or fighting because Elianna won't help. But as I was putting more clothes into the washer all I could hear coming from the room was laughter, both of them laughing so hard. UUGHHHH, I got frustrated, why won't they keep on task and get the darn room cleaned up, but then....I got a huge smile on my face and tear in my eye...Oh, someday I KNOW I am really, REALLY going to miss that laughter coming from their room. Now back to work for me, after all I probably am going to have a little girls bedroom to clean when I am done with the living/dining room :)

For more You're Going To Miss This Moment posts go to: http://pramom26.blogspot.com/

Veteran's Day

To all Veteran's, whether you actually served or were the spouse or parent who supported those serving this country... THANK YOU!!!

At Bethanie's school each year they have a big Veteran's Day assembly. I had never been to it till this year. This year my Girl Scout troop got to participate. They, along with all the other scouts in the school, got to help with the flags. I was so proud watching her, wearing her GS uniform for the first time, walk in right along side a boy caring a flag. All the scouts had a look of such pride to be able to help with such an important assembly. This assembly turned out to be much, MUCH more than I ever thought it would be. After the scouts brought the flags in and put them in their proper stands, every one attending stood and re-sighted the Pledge Allegiance to the Flag. Hearing all those voices, the children's echoing above the adults, in unison saying the pledge made my heart swell and brought tears to my eyes. A little later in the program, an invocation was given by a boy in 5th grade. The words he spoke to God were amazing...to be coming from a 5th grader at a PUBLIC school...it was just wonderful to hear! I went to high school with both his mom and dad, I can only imagine the immense pride they felt hearing him lead this whole gymnasium full of people in such an eloquent prayer. Then they honored the veterans that had been invited. Through out the program the 5th grade chorus performed 3-4 songs about America including the National Anthem. I was very pleasantly surprised at how great they sounded, it did not sound like a group of 10-11 year olds, they really sounded VERY good. Toward the end, they played a slide show of some of the students reading thank you notes that they had written with pictures of MANY veterans from our area, included in those pictures were my papaw "Popsie", one of my uncles, a cousin, and a cousin-in-law. My eyes feeled up with tears when I saw Popsie's picture pop on the screen, I could just picture him being there (he passed away in 2002), his eyes filled with tears, and the pride that would have been flooding his heart. I am so glad I went today, I was VERY impressed that an elementary school could put on such a great assembly honoring those who served this great country. And I was even more impressed by ALL 800+ students from grades preschool to 5th and how well behaved they were through the 90 minute program.
And Again....Thank You Veterans and those still serving!!

You're Going to Miss This....Moment

Can you believe it 2 posts from me in one night!! A few weeks ago I ran across this blog called You're Going To Miss This...Moment http://pramom26.blogspot.com/ I have really been enjoying reading her once a week Blog Carnival by the same name as her blog. It has caused me to many many times since finding it think to myself...I'm really going to miss it when.... or when something reminds me of the past to think...I reall miss.... So although I have thought up posts for weeks now that I could share on her carnival, I decided this week I WILL do it, then my internet wouldn't work last night so I am a day late but anyway.......

Two things this week have reminded me of things I am going to miss. In general I am going to miss my girls being toddlers. I don't plan to have anymore children so I will most likely never be a MOM to a toddler ever again and that makes me sad. This weeks reminders are one thing I miss the most, the things they use to say.

The other day I was looking for something in my jewlery box and found a necklace that Bethanie had gotten out of a bubble gum machine when she was about 2. It's a silver necklace that says Hottie. Now normally, I would have just threw it away, IMO no 2 year old should be considered a Hottie or even know what that word means BUT for Bethanie, it was perfect. See, at that time, Bethanie had a fasination with horses. She couldn't say horse though and her word for them was Hotties, lol. When she got that necklace and I told her what it said, she was so excited! I didn't let her wear into public but the whole family got a big kick out it. Finding that necklace brought back that memory.

This picture is of Bethanie right after her second birthday. Yes, it was her SECOND birthday, she didn't have much hair yet and was really small, she still didn't even weigh 20 pounds yet.

Bethanie was probably about 3 in this picture but I just had to share it too. When I was searching for that rocking horse picture I found this one. It reminded me of how much she LOVED that toy snake and those snow boots (notice she doesn't have a coat on and the grass is really green so it couldn't have been winter, lol). The snake she got when we went to a little farm festival. They had a booth set up selling all kinds of home made beanie baby animals. I let Bethanie pick out which ever one she wanted, they had a ton of animals in all kinds of bright colors...Bethanie picked that snake and you can't tell by the picture but it was shiney gray and black on the front side. She would even sleep with that silly snake, she LOVED it.

Now on to Elianna...the memory that came to me about things she use to say came when the lady bugs came back last week. When she was 2 (that was just last year but seems SO long ago) she use to call lady bugs...Teddy Bugs, lol. It got to the point that we ALL called them that. She had a love/hate relationship with those stinking teddy bugs. Late fall every year we get them really bad, and they like to get into our bathroom. Elianna loved to let them crawl on her and she would sit and watch them crawl around for long periods of time BUT if one would fly, she would freak out, I mean start histarically crying TEDDY BUGS GET ME. But as soon as they would land...she would be right back to loving them again. Now she seems to just ignore them.

Look at those dimples and chubby cheeks!!

Here she is feeding her baby pig, and oh yea...that's a piggy BANK, lol. I will definitely miss it if she ever quits being such a mommier. Thankfully she still feeds all her babies, only now she breast feeds them instead of sharing her sippy cups, lol.

Oh, I just miss them being little! But we have alot of fun at the ages they are now as well, I just wish they wouldn't grow up SO fast!!!!

I can't seem to get the little You're Going To Miss This Moment button to post on here, it may have to do with my mouse acting up. When I click on something it's like I click twice instead of once. Am I doing it right...I right click on the button on her blog, click copy, then come to my post, right click again and click paste. Will someone please tell me if I am doing it wrong? Thanks for doing this carnival Pam, I really enjoy it and it reminds me to enjoy the moments we are in now :)

Three months?!?!? And my personal goal for the month

Wow I can not believe it has been that long since I have posted on my blog! Things are just really busy around here. I haven't been babysitting as much (I have felt SO less stressed, it's been really nice) I have my 2 nieces, ages 2 1/2 and 9 months, everyday. Then I have one other little girl every now and then. I have only had her 1 time in the past 2 weeks but usually it's a little more than that. Bethanie and Elianna are both in school...Bethanie in second grade and doing great! Elianna in preschool and really loving it. I have to take her everyday then go back and pick her up about 2 1/2 hours later...15 minute trip each way. The baby naps both trips so then she is awake almost the whole time when we are at the house, so I get very little done. After the kids leave for the day, we get homework done, cook dinner, bathes, reading, and most of the time, the day is over! After the girls are in bed, I am usually SO tired, I do a little around the house, do some reading online, and then I hit the sack only to get back up the next day and do it all over again...but I wouldn't have it any other way. Last month we finished up soccer, both Bethanie and Elianna played for the first time, on seperate teams. That sure kept me hopping. Oh, and I forgot to mention trying to get all the "details" worked out for going back to school, making a million phone calls, filling out a bunch of paper work for finacial aid (student loans), and just trying to get things figured out. That scares me to death but I am beyond excited to get back.

Now for my real reason for posting~my personal goals for November. Since I will be quiting babysitting when I start back to school in January and we will be paying more for Elianna to go full days to preschool (most likely depending on my classes), things will be a bit tight so to help get us ready for it, I am planning to make all the Christmas gifts we give this year (other than the girls, they want bunk beds and I don't think I could make those and feel safe about them, lol). So my goal is to work on some craft project each evening, get the things I have already promised done first then get the gifts started. I am excited, I just hope all the ideas I have in my head come out as nicely as I have invisioned. Then I will try (really hard) to post pictures here of all that I got done for the week. So help me out...If next monday comes and I haven't posted ask me...help keep me accountable for my goals! Thanks! Now I am off to make another post for tonight.

I know I have to do it, but I am not feeling good about it at all!!

Elianna, (huge sigh) Elianna I really don't know what I am going to do with this child. For one thing she is very strong willed child and she is going to be the life of me....she's only 3...what am I going to do when she is a pre-teen...or worse a TEENAGER. Heck what is it going to be like when she starts school??? Will I be going to the school everyday because she won't behave?

I know a family closely that has a little girl the same age as Bethanie. When she was younger, she misbehaved ALOT. She would scream at her mom, she would do things that she knew she wasn't alowed to do, she would sneak and get into things that were not hers or that could hurt her (such as vitamins, she got into them at least twice, once eating over half of a large bottle of gummy bear vitamins). I remember being on the phone or being around them and thinking they just need to discipline her and be consistant. The mom would constantly threaten conciquences, but never follow through. If she did follow through, like making her stand in the corner, she wouldn't pay close enough attention and the girl would sneak out and the mom wouldn't notice or make her get back in the corner if she did.

Bethanie was, and still is, always very well behaved!!! Thank GOD! Then I had Elianna...from the very beginning she was LOUD and cried alot, the mom I mentioned would always tell me "she reminds me SO much of "sis". WHAT??? no way, maybe as a baby but she will NOT act like sis when she gets older. A few days ago when I talked to her on the phone, she said it again..."She reminds me so much of sis at that age". It kills me to hear that! And it reminded me of all the empty threats that I heard that mom throw out when sis was around Elianna's age. Am I guilty of that??? I know it doesn't work, kids won't take you serious if you threaten but never do whatever it is that you threaten to do. So that leads us (finally) to the point of the title of this post...

Yesterday Elianna was horrible, several times through out the day she screamed at me (which I absolutely HATE!!!!! I feel so disrespected by my own child when she does it) and I thought I have got to do something to make her realize that I am serious when I say not to scream at me. So I told her she had 3 chances, if she screamed at me or completely defied what I tell her 3 times, she would not get to go to the fair on Monday. She had been really excited about going after we saw some of the rides being set up on Saturday. Well it lasted probably less than 2 hours from when I told her about the 3 chances. So tonight, to show her I am serious, Bethanie and I along with my sister and 2 neices, are going to the fair. Elianna gets to stay home with her daddy. She already doesn't like it but I can only imagine what it's going to be like when we actually leave. And let me tell you...it is killing me, I can feel the tears coming to my eyes as I write about it. I even gave her another chance last night, her and Bethanie got upset that Elianna wasn't going to be allowed to go today, Elianna told me she would be good, she promised. I told her she had one more chance. If she was good, I would go ahead and let her....about 10 minutes later, she screamed at me because she didn't want to go to bed, I reminded her about her promise of being good, so she hit me (I hate that just as bad as the screaming). So she is NOT going! I want my girls to have fun, to have great memories of their childhood, but it's no fun to any of us when her and I are constantly battling.

So tonight Bethanie and I will be going to the fair and we WILL have fun. Hopefully Elianna will understand and her behaviour will improve at least a little, so that we can all go to the fair at least one day this week. I hope if I see anyone I know at the fair that they don't ask where Elianna is, I would hate to start crying at the fair...oh or feel like the worst mom in the world!

Hair bow options

Here are the options for types of clips to put them on

Alligator clip

French clip

hair bands (for pony/pig tails)

Or I can put them on a strtchy lace head band for babies without much hair.

And the winner is......

It's the end of the Bloggy Giveaway carnival! So I go to have ONE of the girls pick a number out of a shoe box and they both wanted to...ok, I gave in, so we have TWO winners instead!!!!!

Here's all the #'s in a box, do you see yours?

I shook the box up real good, had the girls close their eyes Elianna picked:
#47 Gina

and Bethanie picked:



#49 Karen of Sillymonkeez



Congrats to both!!! Please give me a little while to get the bows done after contacting you both. This coming week is going to be a BUSY one, I am not sure I will be able to get them done but I will get them done as soon as I can.



Thanks to all of you for commenting!! I have really enjoyed reading your comments and your blogs (for those with blogs).