"Monroe"isms

Monroe has said some pretty funny things in the last two days.  She's been cracking me up!

• This morning she came in my room, threw herself on the floor and announced, "Mommy, I don't like vegetables anymore!"  I don't know where that came from.  
• Out of nowhere, she said, "Mommy, do you think I can start drinking coffee?"
• When asked by Mitchell how old she was, she confidently told him "47".
• She asked me if I wanted to get married.  I told her I was already married to daddy.  She then said that she was married, too.  I asked her who she was married to, and she said, "Kiki".  I asked her who told her about marriage and she said, "Kiki told me all about it."     

Today is really stormy.  It's one of those days where you don't want to get out of bed.  Somehow though, I was able to tear myself away from the warmth, pack the girls up and go to pilates.  That class kicks my...core.  It is really hard because my core is not strong at all.  Hopefully, it will start getting easier and I will have rock hard abs in no time...ha!  I don't see that happening.  I can always just get them airbrushed on like Mariah Carey.  Now that's a plan.    

Spring has Sprung

I had quite a wonderful surprise when arrived home from our trip.  Spring, sprung in our yard!  The flowers around our home have bloomed and I love them!  It's been so fun to see what was planted by the previous owners.  We were a little unsure of their taste at first, but now, I'm able to see their vision.  Here are a few pictures I took this afternoon...

I LOVE my rose bush!!!

The biggest surprise of all happened when I went out to take the pictures.  I found these little gems...

I am so excited.  I have over a dozen strawberry plants!  For Rosie's snack today, she got to pick her own strawberries.  She thought it was the coolest thing ever.  They are so good, too.  This definitely made my day!

Today was a good day.  I had a pretty crummy day yesterday, so it was a welcomed relief.  Maria and the kids came over to play this morning and they had a blast.  It was really nice outside, so they enjoyed swinging, sliding and drawing with sidewalk chalk.  I had Zumba tonight and I must say I've missed it!  I love the ladies there.  I didn't realize when I started that I would meet such nice friends, but I sure have.  After Zumba, Maria and I went to the mall in Asheville.  I haven't been to the mall in ages, so that was a treat.  Like I said, a good day.

Remember a few weeks/months ago I said I was going to buy a swimming suit?  Well, I didn't.  I chickened out.  I just hate buying swimming suits.  One of my friends was writing on her blog about a swimsuit she had found online and I fell in love.  I asked her if she would mind if I got it, too.  She didn't. Then I showed it to Maria online this morning, and she loved it and she's going to get it, too!  I can't wait for it to get here so I can try it on.

Right before I bought it online today I remembered a commercial I've seen about ebates.  Have you seen that commercial?  Well, I decided to do some research and find out what it is all about.  I must say, if you are an online shopper, you must do this.  You get cash back for shopping online and a free $10 giftcard (I chose Target, of course) just for signing up!  They send you a check every few months, depending on how much online shopping you do!   Each store gives a certain percentage back.  The store I bought my swimming suit from (Lands End) gave 6% back, so I'll get $6.00 back from one purchase!  It's really amazing and it's all for free.  You also get money for referring people.  So, if you are interested follow this LINK and join under me!  I would really appreciate it.  Again, if you do any online shopping, it's totally worth it.  It totally sounds like I'm an infomercial or something, but I'm just really excited about it.

So anyway, I better head to bed.  Have a great night!

Home

Long time, no blog.  Sorry about that.  Time got away from me while I was in Oklahoma with my family.  It was so nice to be home but the reason I was there was hard.  My grandfather passed away
on Tuesday morning.  We knew it was coming, but it was so sad when it finally happened.  The memorial service was on Saturday afternoon.  It was wonderful seeing family that I haven't seen in years.  My brother did the service and he did a beautiful job.

My parents were a lot of help, but there's something about not having your other half around.  I have never been away from Mark that long and it was so hard.  I missed him like CRAZY.  The girls did, too.  Every night, Rosie cried for her daddy and let me tell you, that broke my heart.  Luckily, Mark was able to fly in on Saturday morning.  He was definitely a sight for sore eyes.  

My time in Oklahoma was pretty full.  We were driving here and there the whole time.  I did get the chance to see some of my dear friends, so that was a treat.  We also met Mom Murrill in Miami, Oklahoma, where her parents live.  It was great because she had Mason and Max with her for the 

week because Melissa has been sick.  Monroe got to reunite with her besties, so she was on cloud 

nine.  It was great to see them all.  

 Reunited!!!

 The cousins 

Just thought I would throw this one in.  

This trip definitely pointed out to me how different my two girls are.  Rosie was scared to death of everything and Kiki wanted to jump in head first.  Rosie ran screaming from every dog we encountered.  Kiki crawled squealing toward all of the dogs and scared them away.  It's hilarious 

to me that their personalities are so opposite.  It will be fun to see if they stay that way.  

Kiki made some major progress on the trip.  Besides growing a lot, she learned to pull up to 

standing.  It's her favorite trick right now and she does it everywhere.   Nap time will never be the same.  

Well, I better call it a night.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed tonight.  Do you ever feel like
everything goes wrong at the same time?  I truly don't know if I can handle anymore bad news.  

Making myself useful

I'm sitting here in the mothers' room at church rocking Kiki and I thought I might do something to make myself feel useful.  The speaker doesn't work in here, so I don't have a way to hear what's happening and experiencing praise songs through lip reading just isn't as inspirational.

So, we made it...I was worried we wouldn't, but we are alive and well.  The trip was super long and the girls were very sick of the car after two days of travel.  In fact, we walked to church today.  Not really, but I thought about it.  Thank you for your prayers.  They definitely worked!

The trip was made doable because we spent the night with the Baughmans and made two days out of it.  It was wonderful.  It's always a treat to see them.  Lila is even more perfect in person.  Rosie fell in love with her.  In fact, she said, "I love that baby very much."  I have some pictures to post, but since I'm writing this on my phone, I'll have to do that later.

I headed to bed last night at 8 pm which I haven't done in years.  It was wonderful.  I'm thinking of trying to make that my new bedtime while I'm here.

Well, by the looks of things, church is over, so I better run. 

Oklahoma Bound

It's becoming more and more real to me that I've got to leave on the longest trip of my life tomorrow.  I'm starting to freak out.  I'm really, really, really worried.  This could go really bad.  I'm just praying that it is totally uneventful and very easy.

I just finished packing everything and I think Mark is scared that I'm never coming back.  It seriously looks like we are moving out.  I've packed stuff for any and every situation we could get ourselves into.  Since I don't know how long I will be there, I guess I settled on packing for a month.  It's a good thing we've got a van.

I am so sad to be leaving Mark.  I miss him already and he's right here beside me.  He's my best friend, my favorite person, the love of my life.  The idea of being away from him for so long is horrible!  Today, we met Mark for lunch so we could spend a little time together before we leave.  It was so nice.  We even finished it off with a few treats from McFarlan's Bakery.

 This was the cookie of my dreams.  It was cakey and light and just perfect.

 Mark, enjoying his cinnamon roll. 

Rosie LOVED her cookie with sprinkles. 

 Keeks didn't get a treat, so I thought I would include a cute pic I took during her nap.  

Well, I better get off here.  Please, please, please send up a prayer for me tomorrow.  Love to you all!

When It Rains, It Pours

So, my grandpa has gotten worse and they aren't giving him much more time.  So, tomorrow morning, the girls and I are going to drive home to Oklahoma.  We don't know exactly how long we're going to stay.  I'm scared that if the drive down is really horrible I may never want to come back.  I think it's about a 14 hour trip...ugh!  We are going to make a brief stop in Memphis to visit our friends, the Baughmans, so that will break the trip up a bit.  I'm very excited to get to meet Lila for the first time and today is Brandon's birthday, so I'll get a chance to join in on the post celebration.

We went ahead and canceled book club for this month, which is a relief.  I don't think I could get us all packed and ready to go if I had to keep the house clean and prepare food, etc.  So anyway, today I'm headed to Target to stock up on wipes, diapers and other important travel items, like say, gummy bears.  Very important indeed.

I don't think I've ever made this long of a trip alone.  Well, I guess I won't be alone.  I'll have my two little people, but I doubt they'll be much help with the driving.  I have a feeling it will be extra long with all of the stopping for breast feeding, diaper changes, etc.  What am I getting myself into:)!!!!  I don't know what I'll do without Mark!  I've never been away from him this long!  The girls are going to be so sad!

Well, I better start getting us ready to go.  Prayers are definitely appreciated!

I'm gonna sing, sing, sing

We do a lot of singing in this family.  Rosie sings to us.  We sing to Rosie.  I sing to Mark.  Mark sings to me.  Rosie and I sing to Kiki.  We are like the modern day Partridge Family, minus their impeccable style and talent;).

I realized the other day that we sing a lot of "Jesus" songs.  I haven't meant to rob Rosie of nursery rhymes, I just automatically sing the Sabbath School songs I was taught as a child.  The special toy that we got Rosie for giving up her binky is a little puppy that sings.  She's learning a lot of the nursery rhyme songs from that puppy, but because she's two, she hasn't figured out exactly what the puppy is singing.  The other day she was singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and this is what she came up with...

Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.
Mary had a little lamb, In Jesus' name we know.

You gotta love this kid:)

Pictures I forgot to post...

An Eventful Visit

My parents left this afternoon, and I'm so sad.  I'm always so sad when they leave.  I just hate that we don't live closer.  I love watching them with the girls.  Monroe thinks that they hung the moon and I couldn't get over how much Kiki enjoyed them both.  Usually she's a momma's girl, but she was very content being with her Nana and Papa.  

If you are friends with me on facebook, you probably already know about the crazy happenings of their visit.  On Friday night, Mom started having chest pains/pressure that traveled down her arm and up her neck.  Not one to complain, she tried to sleep, but the pressure got more and more intense and she finally woke my dad up to tell him about it.  He was concerned and around midnight, they headed to the Emergency Room.  Once there, they gave Mom nitroglycerin and it caused the pressure to go away, so the doctors were convinced that she was having/had a heart attack.  They put her in the ICU where she stayed throughout the night.  Her EKG kept showing some strange things and they were worried.   They put her through every test known to man.  Her enzymes came back showing that she didn't in fact have a heart attack, which was a relief, but her EKG still was not normal.  They continued doing different tests on her throughout the day, and finally concluded that she had a cardiac episode and as soon as she got home to Tulsa, she needed to see a cardiologist.  By Saturday afternoon, she was feeling good and was well enough to be discharged.  We were so glad to have her home!  It was such an answer to prayers.  We were so overwhelmed by all of the people sending up prayers for her and us.  It was definitely an eventful day, but it all turned out okay.  She will really need to take it easy for awhile and keep her stress level down, but it all could have been so much worse.  

While we were all so worried about her, Mom was a true grandmother and was the most worried about missing seeing the girls in their Easter dresses!!!  She cracks me up!  Mark took the girls to Sabbath School/Church while I stayed at the hospital with Dad, but before they left, I took some pictures.  I just love how they turned out.  I love my girls.  Mom did end up getting to see them though, because they were able to come visit her in ICU.  

We had a wonderful visit otherwise.  It's always fun with them.  They loved the Biltmore and really enjoyed downtown Hendersonville.  We took a few pictures, but not nearly enough.  Here are a few of my favorites.     

We found out this weekend that my Grandpa Carlile is not doing well.  He was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.  They aren't giving him much time.  I know...the hits just keep on coming.  I'm so sad.  I haven't been able to see him in so long.  Please keep him in your prayers.  

It hit me this afternoon that I'm supposed to host book club at my house on Wednesday and panic set in hardcore.  I don't feel ready and the worst part...I haven't even read the book!  I'll be really busy tomorrow.  I need to go to Sam's and to the grocery store.  I need to clean.  I need to read the book.  We'll see what I get accomplished.  I might just curl up in bed and nap.  

Cramping the Hipster's Style

Well, our trip didn't go as smoothly as planned.  In fact, it wasn't smooth at all.  We did find an outlet mall, which was great, but soon after that, our luck changed.  Mark realized that the reservations for our hotel had been made for the wrong night (their mistake, not his).  He realized it just a few miles before we were supposed to arrive at said hotel.  We called to get it changed, but to our chagrin, all of the rooms were booked, which was the case with many of the other surrounding hotels.  We ended up at a place that didn't have any suites which meant we all had to be in the same room.  We figured we could make it work, although a suite is so handy with kids.

I just can't understand how families all stayed in the same room back in the olden days.  There is a girl who goes to our church who has kids 1.5, 4 and 7 years old and they ALL stay in her room.  She told me she just loves them so much that she wants them in her and her husband's room.  I just don't get it.  I love my kids tremendously, but I think I would lose my mind if I slept in the same room with them.  

We decided to head to our hotel to get settled in.  It was a nice place, but have you ever stayed at an Aloft hotel?  It is very...not family.  Their lobby is a lounge and bar and everything is very modern and hip.  We didn't quite fit in, but we were just glad to have a place to stay.  We went to eat and then hurried back so the girls could swim.  Swimming was all Rosie could talk about the whole trip down.  That is until we were heading down to the pool and then her tune changed.  She decided that swimming was scary.  After some prodding we were able to get both girls in the water, although the whole experience was pretty short lived.  The girls were both pretty exhausted and the cold water didn't help.  I'm sure all of the cool hipsters enjoyed seeing us in full swimming gear with our two screaming children.  

After tearful showers (no bathtub at Aloft), we put the girls to bed and Mark and I whispered to each other for awhile.  We played twenty questions in the dark for awhile until the girls finally fell asleep.  We then watched a little tv, while I did some yoga, then we decided to call it a night.  A few hours later, Mark woke up feeling sick.  His throat was hurting, he was achey and he couldn't stop coughing.  Rosie started coughing, too.  And then, because of the noise, Kiki woke up numerous times.  I was up as well, tending to my babies...all three of them:)  It was a LONG night.  Poor Mark had to go to his meeting early the next morning, still feeling horrible.  The girls and I spent the morning at the hotel and met Mark for lunch at a little restaurant.  Then we headed to the best mall ever.  Seriously, it was a really good mall.  Probably in my top three malls that I've ever been to.  The girls fell asleep on the way there, so I just set in the car with them for about an hour while they rested.  We shopped and played in the kid's area for a few hours until it was time to pick Mark up.

The way home wasn't great.  Mark was feeling horrible, I was exhausted, the girls cried a majority of the way, and it torrentially rained.  We were all so happy to be home.  Now, it sounds like we didn't have any fun on our little trip, but it was fun.  It just wasn't our best adventure.  We can't win 'em all.

On the way home, I did some googling to find out ways to help a sore throat and found a long list of options for Mark.  We ended up doing them all.   Well, all but the one involving horseradish and that's only because I don't have that on hand.  Poor thing, some of them were pretty gross.  The worst was the concoction of hot water, honey, lemon and apple cider vinegar that I made him drink.  He came very close to losing it on that one, but made it through and I'm happy to say that he woke up this morning feeling much better.

Today we just spent the day doing laundry and cleaning.  We are so excited my parents come tomorrow!!!  It's been since Christmas, which is way too long to be away from parents/grandparents in my opinion.