The never ending battle

At my house there is constantly a battle going on for something. A car, a pony, a sippy cup, a blanket. Keaton wants what Kyndall has, Claire wants what Keaton has, Kyndall wants what Claire and Keaton have. The possibilities and combinations of who wants to take what from whom is endless. So I decided the other night to just take a breather. Not worry about who took what from who and sit back and take a few pictures so we could all look back one day and laugh. Here is what I came up with during battle-- "SIPPY CUP"!

Keaton waiting and watching patiently for the right time to pounce on Claire and the cup!


The beginning of the cup tug-o-war. I love the look on Claire's face here. She looks so darn determined!


She looks to have won for the moment. I think Keaton got occupied with something else.


Somehow she must have lost control cause now Keaton was back in possession of the prized cup.



Claire is back in control and is thinking that biting might be a good defense. I swear the kids do own more than just one sippy! I could put 1o0 out for them and they would still fight over the exact same one!!


I had to back up a little cause the action was getting pretty intense.

In the end I am not sure who ended up with the cup. I kept laughing so hard that I had to stop taking pictures. But I have a feeling they both forgot about it after awhile and went on to fight over bigger and better things, like who got to chew on the t.v. remote next. Aaahhh, the little things in life. :)

Hope everyone has some fun plans for the weekend. I am going to be busy organizing, pricing, and sorting all my kids clothes and toys they have outgrown. I am getting ready for the spring little angels attic sale. Also I am hosting a sale of my own Saturday Feb. 28th at the Washington Center, if anyone is interested in being included or just coming to shop email or message me on facebook for more details.

Have a great weekend! TTFN!! :)

Let the biting begin!!!

It is official both the twins have teeth! Which is really odd to some folks that they are almost a year old and just now getting their first teeth. But let me tell ya, they have Kyndall beat already. That child had her one year photos taken on her birthday and her smile was just as gummy as the day she was born. She had all this crazy wild hair that stuck up everywhere and a big gummy grin. She looked like a cute little old lady who forgot the fixodent! So the twins being just shy of 11 months and having teeth is big news for me!

Poor Keaton had been working on his tooth for what seemed like months and months. I can remember all the way back to September him starting to get annoyed with it. He was like Kyndall and decided to cut his top teeth first. Which my pediatrician says is really rare in kids (apparently not rare in mine!). I swore everyday for the past five months that tooth was gonna make an appearance soon. And lo and behold Friday the little bugger finally went from one big knot on his gum to a little pearly white sticking through. I was so happy for him! Now maybe he can get some rest at night. That is until the next tooth decides to make its appearance.

Now Claire on the other hand was a complete surprise. We had been checking her for months. Thinking that she would start teething any day just cause Keaton was. I can't tell you how many well-baby check ups and regular old sick visits we went to where Dr. Patty would look at both of them and assure me Keaton's were on the way, but say that Claire's were no where to be found yet. I never questioned it cause she never offered to complain about her teeth. She wasn't overly fussy. She didn't drool like a garden hose like Keaton did. For the most part once she went to sleep at night she did fine. I just assumed she would get them late. Maybe even later than Kyndall. I wasn't too worried about it. I remember when Kyndall was going on eight months old and still didn't have a tooth I called Dr. Patty all torn up about it. She reassured me that it was perfectly okay for her not to have any teeth. In fact she told me the longer they stayed under the better chance she had at having great teeth. So for me (someone who had a gap so big between her front teeth she could stick her tongue through it, which led to lots of time in braces and the dreaded headgear! UGH!) that was A-Okay with me! Last night Claire had a little bit of a crying spell around 3 and then just basically decided she was up for the day. We just chalked it up to her maybe being a little gassy and then once she was up, we just thought she was ready for playtime. It wasn't until this afternoon that I saw her put her hand to her mouth and I thought she had picked up something she shouldn't have off the floor to chew on. I did a quick sweep of her mouth and hit something hard. Assuming it was whatever she put in her mouth, I picked her up to get a better angle to retrieve it. And there it was, a little sweet tooth on the bottom gums. It was actually out further than the one Keaton had been working on for months. And then right next to it, the start of the other! I was so excited and shocked all at the same time. How could this kid have gotten almost two teeth and I be totally oblivious!!!??!!! After I got over the guilt of feeling like a bad mom, I chalked it up to being super busy with three kids, and I am just hoping I am more aware of her next major milestone whatever that might be, to make up for it!

So now I am excited that both babies should have pretty good chompers in time for their one year pics. Funny how you can have three kids and they all do everything at such different times and in their own particular way. I guess it is just a good reminder to me that they will continue to do and grow in their own ways as the years go by. I can't expect one to do like the other did or vice versa. I am just blessed with three beautiful wonderful kids, who all keep me on my toes in their own ways. I just can't wait to see what they do next!!!

Happy Monday everyone! TTFN!

Shew, where did my weekend go?

I can't believe that I am sitting here and it is Sunday night already! I was so busy this weekend that I don't even really remember when one day ended and the next one started. But it was a good busy, a fun busy, the kind of busy that you wished could last longer than Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

First of all on Friday night I got the supreme luxury of going to crop with some of my old Memory Box buddies!!!! Along with meeting some new fun scrappers too. It was great. Betty, Terri and Deb W. along with their regular croppin' group had rented out two cabins at Barren River Lake to spend the whole weekend scrappin', relaxing, and just hanging out in general. I was blessed to be able to spend from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday hanging out and being crafty with them! The cabins were awesome and everyone had more than enough space to spread out and be creative. I got more done that night than I ever have at any other crop in my recent memory. I completed three pages and two cards. I felt super productive! Plus it was so great to be with old friends. We shared stories and laughed and laughed. I would have loved to stayed the whole weekend, but that wasn't in the cards for this trip. Maybe next time.

I am truly blessed to have been included in this awesome time with such fun people! Another great side-effect is that I came home re-inspired to create more layouts this year than I have in the past few months. I remembered again what it was like to scrapbook just cause I loved it. Not necessarily for doing a book for someone else, or to make projects to sell. So I am hoping the motivation from this will last me well into the spring! Then when it runs out I will know it is time for another girls night out with the scrappy friends! :)

Saturday I woke up bright and early to babies that were ready to play, play, play. Kyndall had gone to Mom-Mom's the night before and stayed with her. So I had some good one on two time with the twins. Jordan had left out earlier in the morning to cook the men feed the masses breakfast at church. He and several other guys get together every few months and cook for all of the women and kids. It is a fun time and the food is usually pretty good! Unfortunately this time conflicted with one of the most important dates I have on my calendar this month....sign up for the 'Lil Angels Attic Consignment Sale. I was on pins and needles most of Saturday morning right up until sign up time. I am always worried that I won't get in or that my computer will goof up, since consignor numbers go in usually less than two minutes. I was one of the lucky few, along with my mother-in-law. We both got in and now begin the daunting task of sorting out spring/summer clothes from the fall/winter cause they only accept seasonal items. I have a feeling that numbers went in record time this year. Last sale I was able to sign up for a number and then go in a few days later and sign up a volunteer shift and pick my drop off time. This time around it seemed like all those things went quick. By the time I made it over to the volunteer page, lots of shifts were already full. I got decent times for both and I am excited as always about the sale. Not only will I be able to get rid of a bunch of stuff that is taking up space in my basement. I am excited about getting new spring/summer stuff for the kids. I am a shop-a-holic when it comes to my kids wardrobe, but that doesn't mean I don't love a bargain. I rarely, RARELY, rarely pay full price for anything. I am the queen of coupons, consignment and yard sales. When you have three kids, every penny matters!

After getting myself signed up for the sale and Jordan getting home from breakfast we decided to head to Bowling Green to go to the mall and run some errands. So we packed up Claire and Keaton and all their traveling supplies and headed out. Kyndall stayed in the 'ville, since Brian and Micca were picking her up that evening to go celebrate Brittany's 16th b-day. We made pretty much a whole day of shopping. We spent from 12-6 in the mall and at hobby lobby and party one looking for supplies for the twins first birthday (to no avail). We ate dinner with the Lee's at Logan's that evening. After that we headed over to Kohl's to check out their spring clothes and winter clearance. That was our last stop of the day and we headed home with some great new stuff at great prices and three tired kids!

Sunday morning was our usual rush of getting three kids up, ready and out the door in time for church. We headed to Fountain Run to visit with Jordan's family for the afternoon. Jordan's little brother Matthew came up with his mom from Tennessee to see us. He is a doll and we hadn't seen him in a long time. It was good to catch up with them. I was glad that they got a chance to see the babies. It is funny that Kyndall has an uncle who is only about five years older than her! She thinks Uncle Matthew is pretty darn cool though! We left there in just enough time to run back to town to drop the twins off with babysitter mom-mom, go to the grocery for some Super Bowl snacks and head to church for the party. There was a good time had by all at the party, even though I was more interested in the commercials than the game. However, I was sorely disappointed by the commercials this year. I just didn't think they were as GRAND as years past. Oh well, maybe the economy will be better next year and retailers will feel more like spending millions of dollars to get me to send five dollars their way! LOL!

Last but not least I did get a chance to go to First Place and weigh-in and have a short meeting before the game party started. It was a nice pick-me up. It gave me a few quiet minutes and I am proud to say that I was down another 1 and 3/4 pounds. I have lost almost nine total. Slowly but surely the weight is coming off. I figure it took awhile to put it on, it is going to take awhile to come off! I joined the YMCA on Friday so that will give me a little boost and let me get out of the house some during the week with the kids to break up my day. I am excited to go to my first step aerobics class tomorrow night. It is actually a class that is taught by my church friend and First Place coordinator Marritta, so I think I will feel totally comfortable even though I may not get all the moves on my first try! LOL! Good thing no one is videoing this thing!

So now here I sit at the tail end of my weekend, exhausted but happy that I had a great time with my friends, family, and church. I am excited for a new week, and a new chance to be a healthier me. I know it will be just as busy, but I promise to be a better blogger in the days ahead!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did!!! TTFN!

Wordless Wednesdays

I miss my Christmas tree!!! WAAAHHHH!!! But I will be glad when the spring and summer get here too. Oh well. :)

What am I gonna do with this girl?

Kyndall is the wildest girl I have ever met. She loves to yell, dance, sing and just be all around goofy. The only time she ever stays still is when she isn't feeling good. I am not sure what to make of this wild child sometimes! I think she may grow up to be a rocker, or a world traveler, or even a dancer. I have a feeling she is going to crave adventure her entire life. It is fun to see her personality develop more everyday. She definitely gives her daddy and I a workout when it comes to keeping up with her. She has such a free spirit. She would rather run around naked than ever have clothes on. That's why we had to change back over to zip and snap p.j.'s cause with her two pieces she would strip out of them just as soon as we took our eyes off of her for a minute! She has her own ideas about where and when she should do things. She thinks she is in charge of both Claire and Keaton. I guess in a way she feels like the queen of this castle and they are her subjects who do what she says! That will be okay, I guess, as long as she remembers who the REAL boss is around here!!! HHHHmmmm, what are the odds of that! LOL! :)

Well happy Tuesday everyone. I will be back to blog more later, since I have been terribly absent from the blogosphere this past weekend. TTFN!

Something fun and random.

I was catching up with all my regular blog reading the other day (which takes several days, cause I am addicted to so many of the awesome, funny, talented bloggers out there) and came across a challenge on my friend Chris's blog. She challenged us to leave a comment on her page and she would assign us a random letter of the alphabet. Then we had to come up with ten things that we like/love that start with that letter and why. I thought it sounded like a fun idea and so I jumped in. My letter she assigned me was the letter "L". So here are ten things I like/love starting with "L".

1. Little Kids-- Namely Kyndall, Claire and Keaton. I am a little partial to those particular little kids for some reason! I have them running all over my house, so I might as well love 'em. Right? :)

2. Late nights--Since the twins arrived I am a late night gal. I enjoy the peace and quiet and free time to spend catching up on chores, watching t.v. or just doing whatever I feel like. Some of my best ideas have come to me at 1, 2 and 3 in the morning.

3. Laughing--It is a no-brainer. Nothing beats laughing. I love it. The deep kind. That leaves you with black mascara tears, gasping for breathe, and holding your belly. For me when I laugh really hard I usually end up with the hiccups too. Not a great side effect, but totally worth it.

4. Long Distance phone calls--Nothing makes me feel much better than a phone call to my Aunt Amy back in Nebraska. She is my best friend, my hero, my confidant, and the closest thing I have ever had to a mom since my mom passed away. I love her so much, and nothing is better than a Sunday evening phone call to catch up with her and all my family in the Cornhusker State.

5. Leaves in the fall--Fall is by far my favorite season. The weather becomes more tolerable. We make our annual trip to the orchard. I get to decorate my porch and home for fall. The colors of all the trees turning is splendid here in Southern Ky. Everywhere you turn it seems like a different set of leaves are putting on a show. It is one of my favorite things about living in this part of the country.

6. Loose fitting clothes--We all know what that means! As I stick to my First Place plan, I am starting to notice a difference in how some of my clothes are fitting. For me it is something I have really been working on this year. I have several health goals I want to reach and I have never been more motivated. I have been repeating this mantra lately...."what we eat in private, we wear in public."

7. Lots of friends--I have never been the kind of person who can only have one friend at a time. Although I have met lots of those types of people. We usually don't click. I say the more the merrier! You can never have enough friends.

8. Lipgloss--I prefer it over lipstick. I think it is easier to wear and not as harsh. It is usually the last thing I put on before out the door. I have been known to wear it around the house, even when I don't have any other makeup on!

9. Long weekends--Granted I don't work in the traditional sense. But trust me raising three kids is the toughest job I have ever had. And I have had some bad ones. (Once I worked for the Gallup poll when I lived in NE. Basically I got paid to be hung up on.) So even though my job doesn't stop for the weekends, my husbands does. So any extra days that I have with him at home to help me is a BONUS!

10. Lots of Music--I couldn't live my life without songs. I love music of all colors, shapes and sizes. Country, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rap, Alternative, Rock.....you name it I probably know it and listen to it. I dare say that given the choice of no t.v. for the rest of my life or never getting to listen to a song ever again, I would give up my reality shows in a heartbeat.


So there ya have it. A fun little list for your reading enjoyment this Thursday afternoon. I am glad that tomorrow is Friday. The twins are going to be spending their very first night at Granmom's tomorrow night. I hope all goes well with that, since they still don't sleep through the night. We are taking that chance to get out with Kyndall and do something fun with just the three of us. We don't get to do that much. So it should be fun. I am sure I will post some photos of whatever it is we decide to do.

Happy Thursday everyone. TTFN!

Please say a prayer.

I have a favor to ask of anyone that reads my blog. It is not a personal favor, but one that I would be so happy for you all to oblige none the less. Our cousins have very close friends that are going through an extremely rough time right now. They were expecting a little boy to be born in April and he unexpectedly made his arrival on the last day of December. This sweet little boy and his family are in desperate need of prayers. Lots of them. Specific prayers, general prayers, short prayers, long prayers.....any kind of prayers that you all can send up. They have a created a Caring Bridge webpage so that we can all keep up with his status. Please take just a few minutes out of your day and visit little Miller's page. Once there enter in the name MillerSmith (with no spaces) in the section where it says visit a CaringBridge website. There his story is told more completely than I will be able to but in a nutshell he was born premature at 24 weeks. He weighed one pound eight ounces. His family has been told several times by the dr.'s to expect the worst, but each time this little guy comes back fighting. He is truly a miracle. As a mommy of two NICU graduates myself I know how grueling this time can be for the parents and relatives as well. Please remember to ask God to lay his grace and comfort upon them also during this stressful time. If you all are involved in any prayer groups, or know any church prayer intercessors, or just good folks who would be willing to pray for this little guy, please pass his story on to them too. I know with his story spreading far beyond just those who know him, that we will see many more miracles out of this little fella. Thank you for your help. And remember to say a special thank you tonight for the healthy children in your life! I know I will. :)


Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Another big-girl moment! <----read another tearful moment for mommy!!!

This was Kyndall's precious long hair on Thursday morning as she played with Claire. It was soooo long and soft. When she took a bath and got her hair wet, it went clear past the middle of her back.

But as long and lovely as it was, it was starting to show a few signs of wear and tear. Sadly, it was becoming a little lacking in luster and got stringy looking pretty quickly.


So that prompted this trip for her first ever haircut! Which made me sad and tearful, anxious and scared all at the same time!!!


Although she was as cool as a cucumber! In my opinion I had two things going for me which helped put Kyndall and myself at ease. Number one: One of my best friends owns a salon and she was going to be doing the honors of this first cut! So Kyndall was totally okay with being there. Number two: Kyndall had just been at Hairworks last week to see her favorite big-girl friend Brittany get her hair cut. Since Brittany is almost 16, everything she does is pretty cool to Kyndall! Needless to say Kyndall talked about getting her own haircut all week long after she left from hanging out with the Gunter's that day.


So she was totally fine when Brandie got started and put all her hair up in a clip. In fact she even remembered that Brittany had also gotten her eyebrows waxed the week before and was more concerned with asking us about getting hers done too, than anything else!


She got to wear this totally cool kiddie-cape with the fish on it! You can see her cheering section behind her consisting of Gran-mom and Bubba Keaton. We couldn't get a shot of the other two supporters cause Claire and Daddy try to avoid momma's paparazzi tendencies!


She got to take the clip out once her cape was secured and she must have thought that was pretty neat by the look on her face! :)


She sat pretty still and with a little bribing and coaxing we were able to get her to look down so that Brandie could gage where to make the first cut.


Brandie even squirted her hair with water to wet it and then let Kyndall try out the squirt bottle too! Mommy was an instant target, but I didn't care as long as we ended up with an even 'do!


I am pretty sure that I held my breathe for both this photo and the next one...........................


YIKES!!! Was I really sure that 2 inches was not too much? Would I hate the way it looked? Would I cry and cry and cry that I had cut off the hair that my baby had since the day she was born? Not really the same hair, but that is how I thought of it.


Shew we all made it through the first snip. Kyndall didn't cry, I remembered to breathe again, and we decided to continue the bribes with a sucker which made Ms. K very, very, very happy!


See I told you....very, very, very happy!!!


The only thing that really bugged her was trying to figure out the entire time how to get her arms out from under the cape! Have you ever tried to eat a sucker without your hands??? Quite messy and not something I really recommend with a two year old!!!


Still waiting patiently to check out her new 'do!


When it was all said and done and she figured out that she still had hands despite the cape, Kyndall gave it a quick once over with the old sticky sucker fingers and was quite pleased!!


So here is the new look. Still my baby girl. Just minus two inches of sweet strawberry blonde locks which are now tucked securely into a baggie attached to her first haircut certificate! Just waiting to find a home in her scrapbook.


And even though we decided against the eyebrow wax for at least the next 14 years, we compromised and let her get the works package complete with blow out and style from Brandie's talented hands! LOL!


So here is the final look. Much softer and prettier than what she started the day with.


And last but not least a shot for the scrapbook of Brandie and Ms. K who was still thoroughly enjoying the sucker long after the glow of that fresh from the beauty shop feeling had left her!


Sniff, Sniff....so there you have it the story of Kyndall's first haircut and a brief reminder to me that yes my baby is growing up. :) Oh well, I should be glad that I at least get to tell the stylist what to do! I don't even want to think of her having a "style" of her own in mind in the near future! YIKES!!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend! TTFN!!

I have been blessed by a fabulous blog award this week! I think honesty is very high on the must have list of virtues, so to me this award means a lot! So my thanks goes out to The RaMbler who bestowed it upon me! :)


The rules for this award are:
First, choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Secondly, show the seven winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Scrap". Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon. Lastly, list at least ten honest things about yourself.

So here is my list in no particular order :)

1. To Maureen over at Dolphin Designs her blog is neat and she always comes up with cool post ideas that she shares with us over at 2p's!

2. My dear friend Terri whose blog is inspiredbeyondjustbreathe2 . She is a fellow scrapper and also is just a good soul!

3. Paige who I talk of often on my blog. She has a cutie patootie toddler too and you can read all about their life at Mommy to a Charli Girl!

4. Samantha who also experiences life in fabulous Scotts-vegas! She writes about it all over at The Highs, The Lows and The In-betweens .

5. Ashley from Double Trouble. I think her blog name says it all and you will all know how I relate to that! :)

6. My mother-in-law who has been a bad blogger lately. Maybe this award will inspire her to go ahead and post something already. Geez, you haven't done anything since last year!!!!!!

7. And last but not least Audrey who blogs at Lil Booger Bows . She combines super cute photos of her little booger with lovely hair bow goodness that her ridiculously creative self makes! Check it out!


So with that part accomplished now the tough part :) Ten honest things about myself---

1. I bite my nails. I quit every several months and then start back again. I have ever since I was little. Oh well.

2. I would rather get a well-worded card than a fancy no-thought present any day. Words to me are better than any store bought gift.

3. My mom died when I was ten. She drove drunk. Losing her forever changed me and made me into the person I have become today.

4. I think avacado's, artichokes, and asparagus are yummy!!!

5. I am in the midst of a major scrapbook studio cleaning, organizing and purging session. It started at the first of the month and I am hoping to be finished by spring! Keep your fingers crossed.

6. American Idol always makes me cry. I know weird, but any time they show the back stories on the contestants even the bad ones who can't really sing, I tear up.

7. I tend to laugh if someone falls down or if my husband hurts himself. Mean I know, but it is the truth! I usually make sure they are okay, but once that is established watch out. I will laugh til I cry!

8. Facebook is open on my computer at all times! I love to keep up with everyone's "status"! :)

9. Sometimes at night if I don't want to get up with the twins I tell Jordan I was just up with them and put my cold feet on him until he gets out of bed. (this is an honesty list afterall!!!) For those of you who know him, if you let him in on this you will be officially on my list! So let's keep it our little secret!

10. Whenever I hear that song "I bust the windows out your car" I turn it up really loud and sing along. Not sure who sings it or why I love it, but I think I must secretly wish I had done that back in my younger years! ;)

So there ya go, probably more than you ever cared to know about me, but oh well. That's a risk you take when you read my blog. Have a good weekend and I will try to post some new photos soon of the exciting happenings in the world of the Clay's!

TTFN!

Wordless Wednesday................

Okay, maybe just a few words.....we all know that I am not being good at wordless......Where does the time go???????? Nuff said, before I start to bawl :P Happy Wednesday everyone!