After my mother-in-law made me feel bad about not blogging, I decided I better catch up. I didn't feel so bad when I saw several people haven't blogged because the holidays. I can't believe Christmas is already over with! We had a wonderful time celebrating Gabby's first Christmas. Of course, she didn't care much. She did like her wagon. She sat in it for an hour and played with a ball. And of course, she got WAY too much. We are rearranging the office to become her play room.

The scary part is her birthday is in two months. I am having so much fun planning her party and picking out a cake to make her. I can't believe my baby is almost one! She has two more teeth and......

she is walking!!! Sorry the picture is blurry but you can't get her to sit still now. I will try to get Nick to download some video of her walking. Now for some Nanny stories! First one. Until a few years ago, my grandmother made noodles for Christmas. They are hard to explain, but they were delicious. She used to be a great cook. This year, she decided to make noodles again. We were kind of scared, given the fact that now she tries to cook everything in one pan. If she is having green beans, chicken and mac and cheese, she will just throw it all together and try to cook it at once. We thought she had forgotten about the noodles until Mom sent out a mass text message warning us NOT to eat the noodles. Apparently, Nanny thought a mouse got into them but was going to bring them anyway. Wednesday, we went to the get together with the people that go to church with Mom and Dad. The whole time Nick watched Nanny shove fudge and candy into her pockets. Nanny was tired so we decided to drive her home. Nick said, "Nanny, don't forget to take all that candy out of both pockets. I don't want it to melt." She just looked at him and said, " Two pockets?? I filled up three! Here you go, here is some for driving me home." I am not sure whether she remembered to take that candy out of her coat pocket or not. I doubt it. We rang in the New Year , I am sure, like any other couple that have a ten month old that hasn't been able to sleep well lately. Asleep. That was the first night in a very long time that Gabby slept thru the night. I start my taking my Speech class in a week! I am not looking forward to going back to school. I will being go two days and Nick will be going four nights a week! He is trying to hurry up and finish his degrees. I just hope he doesn't get burned out and I don't go crazy before he accomplishes them. Oh well, we will live thru it. Like he says, it is worth all the hard work and headache to become better for our family. Well, Bama just lost so I better go comfort my husband.

As Christmas approaches the weeks get crazier and I don't have enough time in the day. My mom reminded me that I hadn't blogged in awhile. So here are the highlights. Saturday Nick had to work overtime. I did not want to spend the day at the house but the weather was icky and I hated to drag Gabby out and about in it. So, what do you do on a cold and rainy day? You go swimming! Before I kept Daniel, Damon and Whitney, I would get up and go to water aerobics at the Wellness Center every morning. I love the water and apparently I have passed that to Gabby. I can't take a shower without her trying to nose-dive into the tub. She is fearless. She doesn't mind putting her face in the water. I happened to remember that they have family swim on Saturdays. She ate, took a long nap, and when she woke we headed to the pool.

Gabby LOVED it! I would stand her on the side of the pool and she would jump into my arms and kick those little legs. She would scream with excitement and her voice would echo through out the pool area so of course she would scream just to hear it. After about an hour and half of constant playtime, I had one tired baby on my hands. We loaded up and headed home. The best part was that she took a two and a half hour nap afterwards. After hearing all those cases of children "Dry Drowning" I was paranoid so I peeked in on her every fifteen minutes to make sure she was still breathing! This was the first time in a long time she has napped that long and of course I didn't get anything accomplished. When Nick got home we loaded up and headed to the tree farm. It is so important to me to make memories with Gabby and although she won't remember, I wanted us to go, pick out a tree, and cut it down ourselves for her first Christmas.

I spent today decorating it while she "helped" me. She FINALLY said "Mommy" last week but when you ask her to say it she says Daddy and grins. Tonight, I was trying to get her buckled in her car seat and she was kicking and throwing a fit. I sat her back in her car seat and said "No No Gabby." She looked at me and yelled, "NO!" I am not sure but I think I have trouble ahead. Friday, Nick surprised me with my Christmas presents. He can never wait till Christmas. He got me a photo shop program for my computer so I can edit all of Gabby's pics and Gabby got me a Pandora charm bracelet and charms. I had been wanting one but never mentioned it to Nick. I was so shocked that he picked out such a thoughtful gift on his own.

How to Make Peanut Butter Kisses ( With Two Three Year Olds)

First, gather everything together and measure out your ingredients. Can you imagine how messy that would be? I used a peanut butter cookie mix because it was easier and got it for free when K-mart was doubling coupons up to two bucks! Next, make sure they wash their hands. You never know how many times they have stuck their finger up their nose today. If at all possible, get the same color spatula. If not, they will fight over who gets which color and finally decide that tomorrow when they switch places and Daniel becomes Damon and Damon becomes Daniel they will have the opposite color. (??? How do they come up with this stuff??) Next, let whoever didn't get to choose spatulas pour the first ingredient in. Be prepared to answer several questions like, "What is this? Where do eggs come from? Can I touch it?" and etc. Next, let them take turns mixing.







No, they aren't really getting anything accomplished but they feel big and you can REALLY mix it when they are done. Take a hand washing break because you saw one of them, out of the corner of your eye, pick their nose and they are both denying it.






After that, roll the mix into balls, not squares, not snakes, not dinosaurs, just regular round balls and cover them with sugar. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven. While you wait, unwrap the kisses. No, you can't eat them. No, they won't fit up your nose and no, if you drop one on the ground you still don't get to eat it because I will know you dropped it on the ground just so you could eat it . Then wait....

And wait.




And wait.(they decided after the second picture they wanted to tell me how the should pose) Finally, take out of oven and place kisses in the center of cookies and let cool.

Enjoy!!
Even though you know you have a mess and the floor that you got on your hands and knees and scrubbed earlier today is covered in sugar because the boys decided they would wrestle in the floor while the cookies baked and before I could grab them to wash their hands. Enjoy not only the cookies, but also in the fact that you got to make a memory with two special little boys. I know you are asking yourself,"Where was Gabby while all this was going on?"



Eating a half frozen waffle.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Thursday, after Nick got home from work, we loaded up some hot chocolate and cookies and headed up to the square to take Gabby to her first Athens' Christmas Parade. I never cared too much for it but now that I have a child I want to start the tradition of going. We met Mom, Dad and Nanny up there. We waited for the parade to begin in Lance and Tommy's office(thank you April!) It was freezing! Gabby did pretty well. She stayed all bundled up with Nana Deb.

In a truck beside us, sat a man with his lawn chair and propane heater. Mom and I took bets on whether or not he had a cooler full of "goodies" with him. At first, we thought he knew several people in the parade. It didn't take long to realize he just was reading the signs and yelling,"Hey Christy, Hey Evelyn!" and so on. When the 96.9 van came around he yelled," 96.9! Ya'll are my favorite radio station! Ya'll play the best mix of soft rock around!" By this time, Mom and I were rolling! Mom missed it when the Chick-fil-A van came around because he got up and chanted, " Throw free coupons, throw free coupons!" Nanny went "MIA" so mom went looking for her. We found her sitting on a couch in one of those offices on the square. My niece, Kynsleigh was in the parade for winning, I think "Little Miss Limestone County". I will have to check and make sure. When Gabby saw her, her face lit up! We left shortly after and headed to Village Pizza for supper.

I told myself that I HAD to blog real quick before I went to bed. Even though I am about to pass out from exhaustion. We had a great Thanksgiving. Thursday we mainly spent the day at Mom and Dad's since Nick's family wasn't doing their Thanksgiving dinner till Friday. It has kind of become a tradition to sit down at the kitchen table with my sisters after lunch and look at the Black Friday ads. We make a list of everything we want to buy and map out all the stops for the next morning. This year I was up at 2:30!! Pam, Paula and Meredith braved the crowds with me this year. We hit Kohl's for some 1/2 toys and $2.50 BIG towels then headed to Wal-Mart for DVD players and Princess Barbies. We ran into the Breedings at Kohls at 4:00 a.m. and then again at Wal-Mart. Next was Target. Nick and I wanted to get Gabby a Radioflyer wagon for Christmas. I found the one I wanted, regularly $100 bucks, on sale for $64!! My mother-in-law's sister didn't make it down for Thanksgiving this year but Pam stayed on the phone with her getting the low down on all the deals. We finished up with breakfast and an afternoon nap. That night, we headed to the Miller family get together. This is a picture of Gabby and her great-grandmother and her great-great grandmother. I will have to get my mother-in-law to send me the picture of my niece, Kynsleigh stealing Grandmother Miller's walker! We finished the night with a late movie in Athens. Could this weekend get any better? Oh yeah, it did! Saturday Alabama whooped some Tiger tail! It was nice giving those Auburn fans their seventh....loss. Oh come on! You Auburn fans know you would have rubbed it in too! Sunday and Monday night I worked. It has been so crazy at the hospital. We didn't have an empty bed in the whole house last night! They begged me to work tonight and although that incentive pay sounds good, I know that their was no way I could stay awake all night. God has blessed me with a job that I can work as much or as little as I want. Tuesday we had an appointment with the pediatrician. My car was making a funny noise this morning so Nick took it to get it checked. When we got to the doctor, Gabby had the biggest poopy diaper and I had no diapers in my bag. I had two packs in the car. Unfortunately, half way out to the car I realized I was driving Nick's. I had to bum a diaper off a mom in the waiting room. I felt like the worst mother! Thankfully, Gabby had a good check up. She was in the best mood when Dr. Crowell started his assessment. But when he put the otoscope in her ear she showed her attitude. She has been really bad about slapping us in the face. Monday she did it to Nick and in the middle of him getting on to her, she put on her pouty face and gave him a big kiss. You could tell she was hoping that would get her off the hook and it did. We laughed so hard! She is already playing us! She weighed 18.4 at the doctor!! She gained over four pounds in three months. That is the biggest gain she has had so far. Login and Kyns came over this afternoon. I am hoping Gabby will be so tired from all the excitement of the day that she sleeps through the night.

Yes, I am still alive

I think finally my single mother days are over. It seems like Nick is done with the major overtime. He still works over and goes to school, but at least we get to see him. Monday he came home from work sick. I personally think it is mainly fatigue but he has been having some nausea the past week. Not much has gone on the last few weeks except Gabby got two teeth! My baby is getting so big! Daniel and Damon spent the night Wednesday. Thursday while the weather had warmed a little, we packed a lunch and walked to the park. We passed a lady raking leaves. She looked up and said, "You have your hands full!" Damon just looked up at her and replied, "She sure does!" I laughed the whole way to the park. Of course, by the time we got there, ate lunch, and began to play, one of the boys had to go to the bathroom. They lock the doors to the bathrooms during the winter and this wasn't the type you could tell him to just go behind a tree. So, we loaded up and walked back. Those boys are so protective of Gabby. She loves playing with them. When we got back, mysteriously, no one had to go to the bathroom! After a while of playing outside, the boys eagerly came in for some hot chocolate. Daniel got so tickled when I told him he could use a big mug. He looked at Damon and said, "We can pretend this is coffee!"

Then, he crossed his legs and said, "So, what have you been up to?" I cracked up! He thought he was so big. It was so cute, I had to snap a picture. I can't believe I am saying this, but I actually am warming up to the idea of more children. We would probably have to adopt. The thought of going thru another pregnancy makes me cringe and Nick informed me the other day that my pregnancy sickness, "Got on his nerves". I apologized for getting on his nerves. I did remind him however that I am the one that pumped myself full of hormones and carried his child for nine months. I don't think we will go to the extent we did with Gabby. I love that little girl, but the strain that fertility puts on your marriage and love life is stressful! I knew God would bless us. I didn't know that he would use this to strengthen our relationship. I loved Nick when we got married, but I never imagined I would love him the way I do now. Friday night he made reservations to Bonefish Grill. It was nice to get some alone time. Saturday, after a long day of hunting, he came home and took care of Gabby so I could rest. More and more I am realizing that we are more of a team than I thought. You pretty much have to be these days. He said something the other day that made me realize he does appreciate me. He said, "Ronna, you don't have to work, but you do. You realize that we have personal goals that can be reached easier if you help out financially and I am going to try to do more around the house to help you." My time with Gabby is precious and there are several times I am crying on my way to work because I am having to leave her. But then I begin to think of something Tim said in one of his lessons. "Don't make your child the center of you and your spouse's attention. You can not forget about the relationship you have formed with your spouse." And although I think a child as young as Gabby demands the majority of your attention, I can't forget the commitment I made to Nick. I better save this so the next time he makes me mad I can read it!

Week 2 Of Single Motherhood

This has been another week of Nick working long, L-O-N-G hours. The last two nights though he has actually been home in time to see Gabby before she went to bed. It bothered Nick because at first she acted like she didn't know who he was. I have stayed busy Fall, "Spring Cleaning". Yesterday, I cleaned out drawers, closets and cleaned carpets. I wish I had my mother's "cleaning gene". She has always stayed on top of things. As I loaded my dishwasher, something I have put off doing for two days, I began to think about when I was young and everything my mother did for us. Don't get me wrong, my father did an excellent job providing for us. But my mother was the driving force of our house. When does it happen? When do we go from thinking everything our parents' say is stupid to realizing they actually do have some pretty good ideas? We moved to Athens when AT&T transferred my Dad to Huntsville. Not long after, the government decided the company was becoming a monopoly and my Dad lost his job when the company had to down-size. We sold the house and rented a one bedroom house. My parent's slept on a fold-out couch and my sisters and I shared the bedroom. Living in such a small house wasn't completely necessary but at the time that was the only thing available in the school district we were in. We loved our school and my parent's wanted us to go thru as little change as possible. I never worried nor was embarrassed about living in that house. In fact, I have a lot of fond memories from there. My mother cleaned houses and business offices at night to help with the income. She pinched, poked and squeezed every penny. I remember one time she went to Kroger when they were tripling coupons and saved $100.00! She was so excited and I had know clue why. But now I realize that meant there was a little extra that month and I am sure instead of spending it on herself she bought us something. And the economy was no better then than it is now. We always had clothes, and not that it matters, but cute clothes. We never did without. We might not have had everything we wanted but we had everything we needed and then some. My mother was always there for parties at school and for softball and basketball games. We always had way too many gifts at Christmas. My father worked a second job some Christmases just to make sure and he mowed lawns in the summer for extra money. Not long ago, Mom got a promotion and Dad quit mowing yards. I got a little teary eyed when I found out because I new what it meant. It meant that no longer did my parents have to worry about money. I never felt the stress of not having enough money and I know my parent's stressed in secret so we wouldn't worry. Now my parent's get to travel and splurge! I ask Mom a lot how they did it raising a family of five on one tight income. She says she never worried that there wouldn't be enough money for the necessities. She knew Dad would work 3 jobs if he had to. So, for some that think that they are doing a horrible job at motherhood, here are some words of wisdom. Not from me, but things I have learned from my parents. Tell your children you love them often. Sometimes to the point that they are sick of hearing it. Make memories everyday with your children. Give out hugs and kisses like it is candy at Halloween. Teach them about the awesome love and power of God and that God does provide. He might not answer your prayers just the way you want them to be answered but the way that is best for you. Believe me, they will forget about the fact they didn't get every toy they asked for. But they will never forget the time and love you spent making them happy, healthy, children of God.