IT'S A SPARKLY LIFE!

It's time for some Christmas shopping...

2010-11-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

As usual, I have already got a jump on my Christmas shopping. All this means is that I'll end up with WAY more than I anticipated...lol...oh well, it only comes once a year right?!

So for all those family members who are out there wondering what A might want this year...her list is up...check it out if you need a few not so subtle hints... ;)

http://ashlynsbigwishlist.blogspot.com/

it's time for some fall soccer...

2010-09-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

fall means the start of one thing around here...no, not cooler weather...no, not leaves changing on the trees...okay, well maybe football (darn you fantasy football team) but the one thing that fall brings is the start of the outdoor soccer season...

this year A is playing in her first 7v7 league...so it should be an interesting season to say the least..the thing she is most excited about? playing goalie....yes, my miss priss of a kid LOVES playing goalie...i'm in shock...trust me...but hey, if she loves it... well...no, i'm still in shock...lol

here are a few pics from last weeks game...

i know i know...

2010-09-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

it's been forever...yes, i know...i am a slacker and a procrastinator...at least when it comes to my own endeavors...blog be included...so after lots of heckling from an oh so WONDERFUL friend of mine...you know who you are...i'm back..not bigger...not better...just back..and who knows for how long...so enjoy it while you can

Ashlyn's birthday wish list 6th Edition

2010-04-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

Oh does time fly!! I can't believe the schmoog is about to turn 6!

Well, here are the things she is interested in this year. It's funny which things change and which stay the same.

http://ashlynsbigwishlist.blogspot.com/2010/04/ashlyns-birthday-wish-list-6th-edition.html

moving to the desert?

2010-03-04T12:05:00.000-08:00

for the past few years we've watched A constantly struggle to function when her allergies hit her...it's not just a mild runny nose...it's not just an itchy throat...it's eyes matted shut, can hardly breathe, constant stream of runny, eczema ridden yuckiness...so our doctor decided, since we were going nowhere with medications, to have her see an allergist so we could have testing done...yesterday was the big day...both R and A went in...since R had been having problems since his previous medication had been discontinued...both got to experience the joy that is allergy testing (sarcasm at its finest right there)...our allergist was really awesome...GREAT with A....(his receptionist probably could have learned a thing or 2 from him)...anyway, both A and R made it through the testing...A with lots of crying and itching and R...well, he didn't cry or itch...results came back and for the most part they were identical (way to go dad for passing down THOSE genes)...only trees and grass....though A was off the charts on grass...(which kind of makes me laugh ONLY because when she was a baby she HATED grass...now i guess i know why...lol) A was a trooper despite the crying...she gave dad a big "thanks" for passing down his allergies and wished she could be more like mommy who doesn't have them at all...i guess now that we know we'll be moving on to treatment for the both of them...keeping my fingers crossed that it helps!!!

on a side note A got weighed and measured....46 inches tall and 46 pounds...i thought it was kind of cute that she is 1 pound for every inch tall that she is...

the next kara??

2010-02-17T08:55:00.000-08:00

ever since i can remember ashlyn has loved making up her own songs...she's always said she prefers her songs to "regular music"...lol...well now that she is writing she has taken to jotting down her songs in a little notepad...just bits and pieces right now...i guess she'll go back and finish them someday...

a little excerpt from her most recent...(the song so far only contains this line...but she swears it's going to be a song)

"oh why don't you come along and join me to go rock and roll"

(i think rock and roll is the main theme throughout)

last bit of fun in the snow...

2010-02-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

well the snow is starting to slowly melt away so we decided to take full advantage of the time we had left....

snowball fight!

this was our snowman that we made yesterday
notice that pink thing in the middle?!
that's the hat that was on TOP of his head when we built him
that's how much snow we got last night

getting covered

getting up from our belly flops!
(trying a new conversion)

BELLY FLOP!!

look how deep it is mom!

i'm cute in my winter clothes

finally a snow angel!

a few pics from our hood....

2010-02-12T08:19:00.001-08:00

looks like today will be the last of our snow days..the snow is starting to fall off the trees and the roofs of the houses...i guess this will be the last time in a long while that we'll be seeing the neighborhood look like this...

another funny...

2010-02-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

R took A to school today...

A: what's that smell daddy?
R: it's the water treatment facility (i swear we have this convo daily)
A: so is it the tree or the city that smells? (must have been something shiny during the tment fa..il...part)

a few more snapshots from our snow day

2010-02-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

Perfect day!

2010-02-11T13:20:00.001-08:00

This morning we woke up to a yard FULL of snow. Well full in Texas terms anyhow. Ryan was off recovering from being sick. Ash went off to school which I wa bummed about because I thought for sure she would miss all of the snow action. Ryan and I decided to make the most of our time. We had a little breakfast at The Taco Joint (mmm the migas and bean and cheese tacos were wonderful!) then headed over to Society for our cupcake fix. Afterwards we went and had lunch with our favorite little girl (we were keeping our fingers crossed that we could break her out of school early so she could enjoy the weather...plus Ryan made me wait to make a giant snowman and I was getting a little antsy). Anyway, after lunch A's school decided to let parents pick up their kids early if they wanted due to the "inclement weather". We fully took advantage and ended up back at the house around 1. We played outside for a few hours...snowman, snowballs, snow angels, snow penelope's...the works. Then we came in while the rest of the kids were just getting out of school. Fire roaring, hot chocolate from scratch with marshmallows of course topped off with our favorite cupcakes. Today has been the best day ever...

A few pics of the day via phone camera..

Snow angels

Our big snowman...this is the biggest snowman Ryan,Ashlyn or I have ever had the chance to build.

P was LOVING the snow (which seemed crazy to me since she hates to be wet). She was rolling around, jumping and chasing us.

Now mind you I was supposed to be IN this picture. I see how it is.

My miniature snowman

Oh and the sign outside of the Taco Joint. Lol

More pics to come...I actually busted out the big camera for once.

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Picture time

2010-01-27T08:44:00.001-08:00

This time Here are a couple of A's recent drawings that I <3!

Her baby duck swimming in the pond.

And of course I'm a little partial to this one...Bubbles from the Powerpuff girls.

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Sat, 23 Jan clip of A riding her bike

2010-01-25T06:52:00.001-08:00

Okay so here's a little clip of A riding her bike. Not too shabby after a few tries.

Another milestone accomplished

2010-01-23T10:55:00.001-08:00

Today A learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!! Woo hoo!

I'll have to add the video clip when I get back on the computer. I can't wait for spring. I see lots of bike riding in our future!

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shunned...already

2010-01-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

My child has officially kicked me to the curb. Today she told me that it was okay if I just wanted use the drop off line. Since I couldn't because I volunteered this morning she immediately found one of her friends as we were walking up and went and walked off with her. What happened to walking me into the office and getting my green sticker? Those days are long gone!

god versus satan...or santa

2010-01-17T08:42:00.001-08:00

while we were in the car yesterday, ashlyn and haley got on a conversation about god and satan...

haley (to ashlyn): so which one of these is your favorite...god or satan?

ashlyn: satan because he brings presents...

haley: no that's santa

ashlyn: yeah, i like santa better because he brings presents

haley: but god is still better

ashlyn: nu uh...santa brings PRESENTS

haley: well, yeah i know but god is still better

glad to see my kid gets santa and satan confused....

a few from out deep...

2010-01-17T07:52:00.001-08:00

yesterday amy managed to drag me off my butt and down to deep ellum to take some pics of the girls...mind you my love affair with my camera had gotten into a "honeymoon's over" phase...(yes, it's sad that 85% of my pictures lately have been taken with my phone...i know...and am now trying to make ammends...roses, new sd cards, fancy accessories, a flashy item or 2) so i dusted her off and headed on out...another thing about shooting with a phone camera is that you're pretty much just shooting in auto...press the button and you're done...so i decided to shake the rust off and went with full manual...omg...wow...talk about a lot of rust...lots of underexposed pictures (or overexposed if i forgot that i changed my location to a nice sunny patch versus that dark alley we were shooting in before)...so anyway...it turned out to be a fun day...

here are a few pics....

the girls decided to break for a little bubble gum bubble gum in a dish

ashlyn thinks haley is SO funny...

miss pie eye...

her new favorite pose...throwing up the double peace signs...

and i guess this is her next go to pose...

she wanted to sit down for a minute...then she showed me her muscles..

yes folks...that's right...now she is kissing her muscles...

contemplating life...

peace signs and skylines...

okay..honestly...this is her favorite pose right now...the puppy
just doesn't make for the best pictures...lol

why so serious?

neener neener neener...

neener neener nee....squirrel

ha ha ha...oops...i wasn't looking off..i was paying attention
i promise

haley's serious pose face

AAAAAAAHHHHHRRRRGGGHHH!!

sorry...just had to let that out for a minute...now you were saying?!

really mom...are we done yet?! my smiler is broken

no really...

aaahhhh...what is that on my shoe??!! get it off get it off
fine...i'll get it off
(for the record it was dandelion fluff)

darn, i waited all day and now it's closed

no...no more smiling...i'm done

okay...well, maybe one more...

Fingers crossed

2010-01-04T13:36:00.001-08:00

A's 1st day at a new level. Hoping her tummy holds up.

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A doodle doodle doodle

2010-01-03T17:49:00.001-08:00

A drew a picture of mommy and daddy kissing under the mistletoe.

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chreestmas 09...

2010-01-02T08:17:00.001-08:00

a few snapshots from our christmas holiday...

decorating for christmas with one of our new favorites...legos

aren't they cute?

time for a little gingerbread house decorating

taa-daa!!!

last day of school before vacation
time for a party!

party games! my favorite
(excuse the red under her nose...her allergies were horrendous)

another new favorite in the house
knex
she loves this one because it reminds her of Wall-E

i was surprised to see how determined she was to put this together
she did almost all of it by herself!

christmas morning
santa presents
(she got all of her faves, legos, barbie-liv-moxie girlz, lincoln logs and art supplies)

her favorite book for the last 2 years

her favorite christmas treat..chocolate coins

now mind you...these weren't just presents from santa and us
we had family who sent presents as well
hence the ginormous pile
(thank you everyone!!)

the veterinarian kit with dog from santa

time to style some hair

my turn!!

a little touch up before heading out

hope everyone had a merry christmas!!! thank you to everyone who sent A presents. she loves all of them!!

just playing around in darkness...

2009-12-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

this is the result of boredom...a ham and a dark room...at least A looks cute...can't say much for the pictures though...lol

car convo

2009-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

taking A to camp this morning sounded a little like this....

"A: mom, i think we need to go on a cruise...just imagine all of the fun we could have (waves the disney cruise pamplet up over her head)

Me: maybe one day sweetpea

A: i really think we should go on the cruise...they have lots of fun activities for the whole family...here let me give you some examples of how much fun we'll have....

first...you can like play games...and you get to stay on a big ship...and well, they have arts and crafts and you can go to the pool and they even have slides for dad. THEN when you are done with all of that you can go to the beach and build sandcastles...and have picnics...Sounds fun mom, doesn't it?!

Me: uh huh

A: Oh and mom, this is so cool....you can meet ALL of the characters and even have dinner with them...isn't that cool? and mooooooommm, did you know they even have Pixie Hollow...see right here...you can meet TIIINKERBELLLLLL!! (she's saying it as though it were my life long dream to meet Tinkerbell) Wow, mom that's pretty exciting isn't it. And if that weren't all mom, dad can go and get a massage. I think dad would like that. And then for you mom, well you can take a bubble bath with lots of flowers in it.
Doesn't that sound good mom?
I think you want to go now don't you?"

Such the salesman that one is....

Zhu zhu pet name

2009-12-29T12:47:00.001-08:00

So A just received her first zhu zhu pet today. His name....

...tighty whitey.

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-26T21:46:00.001-08:00

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday! Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Pics to come...

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Goal in life

2009-12-26T21:44:00.001-08:00

At the store today Ashlyn told us "I don't want to use any of my allowance. I want to save it all so that way when I grow up I can be rich."

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it's up...A's wishlist for 2009

2009-11-21T07:12:00.001-08:00

http://ashlynsbigwishlist.blogspot.com/

getting you current...

2009-11-21T06:42:00.000-08:00

hmmm....let's see...let's get you up to speed shall we...

A is in school and LOVES it! Her teacher is absolutely amazing and she loves her so much. She's doing really well and has made crazy ridiculous strides in reading and math. It's amazing how much they can jam in that little head of theirs.

We've been busy with our crazy schedule of activities. I swear it never ends and yes, as of right now we are overextended...well, i should say that I am overextended. A loves the busy pace unlike her mama. We've got dance, gymnastics and soccer...though the soccer season ends Monday...whew. Gymnastics is by far her favorite. She had her first "meet" not too long ago and even though she was nervous she totally rocked it! I was so the super proud overly beaming mom.

Hmmm, well, honestly that's about it...all we have time for really. We've been doing a few school activities...birthday parties, math and science night, field trips, etc. It's been a blast meeting all of the kids and parents in her class. It's neat to think these are the same people we will be spending the next 6 years with.

and no post would be complete without some Ashlyn funnies....
drum roll please....

So A starts talking about Ryan and I and how we got married. We talk about it and then she says "Well, I think I may still marry Noah (a little boy from her PreK class last year)." I said "Well, you still have a long long time to think about it." She said "Well yeah, BUT if i marry Noah he said he wants to have 10 babies."...."But Mom, he's just going to have to understand that I want to work so he may just have to settle for 1." LOL Then she proceeds to tell me her future career plans..."I think I'm going to be a vegetarian (she means veterenarian) and I will own my own pet hospital. That way I can have a baby and take it to work with me. I'll just keep it in a room and close the door" LOL I told her she may want to think about hiring someone to keep an eye on the room....we wouldn't want the baby sneaking out or anything....

Day before yesterday A tells me that some older kids were being mean to her and some friends on the playground. They were saying that Kinders are LAME. She tells me "Mom, they kept saying it...that we were lame. So I told them that I would beat them up if they didn't stop. And not only would I beat them up...but that I would scream in their face AND I would get baby Madison (her cousin) and let her scream in their faces...and Mom...nobody likes a baby screaming in their face!"

big time slacker...

2009-11-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

yes i know...i am the worst blogger ever...i could make up a million excuses as to why but...well, i only need one....

school!

who knew things would get so crazy once A started school?! why didn't anybody warn me?? what happened to "oh she's in school so i'll have lots of time to myself?"....well, i guess i do BUT most of it is in the form of volunteering and working out...by the time i'm done with all that it's time to be A's shuttle service again...

so anyway, sorry for leaving you out...didn't mean to...hopefully i can keep up with this thing a little better (but as we all know i've made empty promises before)

New fad

2009-08-29T11:28:00.001-07:00

Just recently Ashlyn has gotten into using her leg warmers as arm warmers. Today she decided to go with the combo.

Go Rangers!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Favorite and not so favorite

2009-08-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

So Today Ashlyn told me that one of her favorite parts of school (besides her teacher, her new bff, the cafeteria and the new songs she has learned..Mabel she's got a song that's right up your alley) is the rule song, along with the rules. She said she loves that she has to raise her hand to do things. Lol.

The worst part...recess because you have to play outside and you get all sweaty and getting sweaty...well, it's just not a whole lot of fun.

She did make a new friend today and an old 5th grade friend of hers (Romeo) said hi to her today. She figured it was because he noticed her new haircut. Lol. I swear.

When I went to pick her up she wanted me to give her "one second so she could finish making playdate plans with her BFF".

I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

-- Post From My iPhone

1st day of K

2009-08-26T07:03:00.001-07:00

So this past Monday was Ashlyn's first day of Kindergarten. I have to say it went ridiculously smooth. She loved her school and her teacher. The only thing that was missing on the first day was a friend (though being able to eat in the cafeteria more than made up for it). By the second day she found her BFF and all was right with the world. I am so proud of her and the little person she is becoming. It's great to see her so confident and ready to take on the world. I can't wait to see what the future holds.

-- Post From My iPhone

A great couple of weeks

2009-07-14T15:16:00.001-07:00

It's been a blast that's for sure! My family came in from Florida for a couple of weeks. It was great and almost nonstop.

Let's see...some highlights

Southfork Ranch
Ashlyn's first Ranger game
A visit to the FW Stockyards
A trip to Joe T's
Some good ol' Whataburger
A trip to Texas Roadhouse (Ash's favorite restaurant)
The good ol' Mesquite Rodeo
Our first soccer game (FC Dallas) followed by some fireworks
Twisted Root
A little slide action
Go carts, batting cages and mini golf (Ryan and Ashlyn totalled out a go cart while Alex and I wrecked ours)
A trip to the new Cowboys stadium
And lots and lots of Wii

-- Post From My iPhone

Ash's new name

2009-07-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well it's official...Ashlyn as decided to change her name to Cloe (that's the way she wants it spelled too). She says it's because she always wanted a C in her name. So there ya go. She has even started signing Cloe on her school papers.

-- Post From My iPhone

Happy Fathers Day

2009-06-21T12:03:00.001-07:00

To my husband who is the most awesome dad ever and to my grandpa who helped me become the awesome person I am now (lol). Love you both!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Baby phobia?!

2009-06-21T11:59:00.001-07:00

Um, okay. I think my child officially has a baby phobia. She said that a few nights ago she dreamt of spitting babies and " it was horrible"...

-- Post From My iPhone

Ready for date night...

2009-06-19T15:48:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn patiently waiting for daddy to take her on date night.

Texas Roadhouse here we come...

-- Post From My iPhone

Fathers day gift

2009-06-18T20:31:00.001-07:00

So today I took Little miss out to the stores so she could pick out a present for her daddy. I let her pick whatever she wanted. It was pretty sweet. First she took a minute to think about what dear old dad might like...what he's into, etc. She then remembered she saw that BK had pokemon cards in their BK kids meals so she immediately wanted to go there since dad is really into pokemon right now. (really into means he's playing the game on the ds, no books or cards or anything...yet). I told her that there wasn't a bk anywhere close (and knew she had alterior motives..kids meal) but I could take her to a store that carries the cards if that's what she really wanted to get him. She decided that would suffice so she went and picked out the perfect package of pokemon cards for her dear old dad. Afterwards, we headed to half price books so she could spend her little $3 gift card she got through their summer reading program. She went to the kids section and while looking found a how to draw pokemon book. So she decided she wanted to spend her gift card on that (instead of the books she had already picked out) so she could give it to her dad along with the cards. I thought it was so sweet that she put everything back because she thought Ryan would love the book. She is so excited to give it to him. I'll have to update after fathers day to see what Ryan thinks about the whole thing.

-- Post From My iPhone

Disco daddy

2009-06-18T07:30:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn just informed Ryan that his hair looks like a disco ball. Ha. I guess I really do need to give him a trim.

-- Post From My iPhone

Test-photo

2009-06-17T08:24:00.001-07:00

A few random pics to test out the app.

Best friends...

Fashion diva...

First Home Depot project...

My super hawt sunburn with super hawt sunglass lines...

Time to swim...

And finally the slide makes its summer debut...

-- Post From My iPhone

catching up....

2009-06-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

i know i know...slacker...yes, this is what i am...especially when it pertains to keeping up with this blog...so let's see if i can condense the last few months to catch you up....(hopefully i'll keep up with the blog a little bit better)

ashlyn graduated preschool...i have to say it was pretty adorable...i can't believe she's growing up so fast...we are getting all geared up for kindergarten, which i am ridiculously nervous about...don't ask why...

ashlyn's 5th birthday has come and gone...we did it all up with a trip to disney...princess lunches...tea with the mad hatter...the whole 9 yards...ashlyn had a blast...we had the opportunity to see my aunt, uncle and cousin (who ashlyn fell in LOVE with) which was awesome...i hadn't seen them in years!

dance rectital was last month...when i get the video i'll try to post...it was too cute...ashlyn was in a tap routine and a ballet...i was backstage mom which was ridiculous!!! i'm so not cut out for that...but i do my best since ashlyn loves it...i even managed to lose the same kid twice (you guys remember that when i'm babysitting your kid!)

i got my iphone FINALLY!!! and of course a few weeks later the brand spanking new one comes out...oh well...(i know, not big news...but it is for me...lol and on top of that i found an app that will help me keep up with my blog...woo hoo)

hmmm...what else...?? right now we're going some projects around the house...i guess our crazy days weren't crazy enough...so we decided to add to the madness...of course after 5 years of being in this house it's about time we did something...

ashlyn is starting up her summer classes...we've gone back to gymnastics and she's still taking tap and has added jazz to the mix...it's too cute...she's so the opposite of what i was at that age...but i have to say it's fun to experience everything i never had a chance to...

well, i guess that's enough of a novel for now...updates to follow (hopefully)

This is a test.

2009-06-17T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get back to my blogging so hopefully this will make it a little more convenient.

-- Post From My iPhone

whilst shopping and high fiving mannequins...

2009-05-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

ashlyn and i had a few errands to run today (by few i mean lots...ha)...while out i ran into macy's to see if they had a particular shoe i was looking for (well, let's be honest...i'm sort of in a dress phase..so i while i was looking for a particular shoe...i was only in the shoe section for a minute...the rest of the time i spent looking at all of the cute summer dresses...stand back now...the world is coming to an end) anyway...ashlyn took it upon herself to examine all of the mannequins to see which were the cutest...then once she found the cute ones (by cute i mean the best dressed) she would run up and give them high fives while saying "woo hoo, high five" (as if the mannequins can hear) the ones she didn't approve of got nothing...lol

a little chalk and a lot of imagination...

2009-04-27T08:25:00.001-07:00

since the weather on friday evening was just perfect ashlyn and i decided to partake in a little sidewalk chalk...well, first, before the sidewalk chalk ashlyn decided it would be a good idea to become a tiger/dog/cheetah (hence the marker all of her body...tiger stripes...dog spots...and cheetah print)...then we headed outside and started our artistic endeavor...covering the entire sidewalk in beautiful colors...i think it came out quite lovely...and afterwards we gave the tidotah a much needed bath!

random quotes by ashlyn...

2009-04-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

chicks don't taste like chicken until they are full grown

not much has been going on...

2009-04-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

really..not much to report...basically our lives revolve around soccer right now...ryan has been on call for 2 weeks straight and has been gone for approx. the same amount of time...ha...i'm trying not to use LOL as often as i do...pure excitement i'm telling you...

ashlyn did have a funny dream the other night...she said a gummy worm was attacking her and she was scared of it...i guess no more gummy worms for her!

the soccer light came on....

2009-04-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

finally..it has happened...well...kind of...but hey i'll take what i can get...ashlyn had a soccer game a couple of days ago...for all of you who have been out to watch you KNOW ashlyn's strategy for game play...run around the outside of the circle and point to which direction we should be headed..every blue moon she'll trot in and kick the ball..then it's back to the outside of the circle where she trots around on her tiptoes (remind you of anyone...??? LOL)...so imagine our surprise when all of a sudden we see our child running into the middle of the pile and actually try to kick the ball away from the other team....WHAT??? who is that out there? now don't get me wrong...she would still get on the outside from time to time and trot around on the tiptoes...i mean, helllooooo, it's a trademark family move...but we were really proud of her...at one point she even almost scored a goal...she was soooo excited about it too...here are a few pics from the game...i didn't get any good action shots around the net because i would get too excited everytime she got close and i would jump up and down and forget to take pictures...

isn't this one cute? after her almost goal she ran over
to her daddy and gave him high fives

the fw tree

2009-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

ever since i was a kid i can remember driving through fort worth and seeing this tree on the side of the road...now mind you, there are hundreds of tree scattered throughout fort worth...thousands maybe...but this one tree in particular really stands out...first of all, it's up on a hill on the side of 30 just sitting there all by its lonesome...it's not very big...and if you weren't looking for it...and it wasn't decorated...you'd probably never notice...what's really cool about the tree is that every year it's decorated...decorated for holidays mostly...but occasionally it has been decorated for certain events...like our troops going off to war...elections..etc..i have no clue who decorates it...or what made them start...but every holiday...there it is...on the side of the highway...looking out onto the fort worth skyline...i've told myself a million times to stop and take a picture before it's gone...so yesterday we were on our way home...we drove by the tree...and even though i only had my point and shoot i just kept thinking in my head...you need to stop...stop and take a picture...you're going to keep waiting and something is going to happen to it...so i made ryan turn around and we parked on the side of the highway and proceeded to climb up the hill to the tree...a few years ago, a bench was put up by the tree...and this year, for easter, someone put a cross up beside the two...we walked up and looked...remnants from years gone by...old snowflakes, christmas balls, streamers...plus new decorations added to the pile...by the bench we found a note...an artist left it saying that he wanted to construct a metal sculpture in tribute of the tree and would like to place it up on the hill when the tree is no longer viable and that he is also documenting the tree and its story through photographs...i snapped a few pictures of it...looked at it for a little while longer...and then headed home...a little bit of fort worth nostalgia tucked away in my little point and shoot....

easter time...eggscellent!

2009-04-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

this was our easter with old man and g-ma..

i want to dine tonight...

2009-04-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

this evening while i was cooking dinner, ashlyn runs in and says...which one mom?...i'm like...which one what?...she grabs my hand and says come look...so i go with her...she leads me into her room where she has all of the dresses in her closet lined up on her bed...she looks at me and says "i feel like DINING tonight, so i need a pretty dress"...i hold back my laughter (at how cute she is)...i tell her that she needs to decide which dress she would like to wear...then she says "a-ha i know" and runs to the closet in the back bedroom where her "special" easter dress from last year (that was too big at the time) is hanging...she points and says "that one" (i think she had a slight drool when she said it)...you know at first i almost told her no..because it was an expensive dress and not made for messy dinner at home...but then i figured...what the hey, she's never going to get a chance to really wear it anywhere...might as well get some good use out of it...so i grab it out of the closet...she cheers...then says "now for some high heels"...she was a bit disappointed when she couldn't find any (because she doesn't own any)...so she told me that next time we went to the store we needed to get her a pair for the next time she wants to dine...lol...in all of her glory though she didn't want her picture taken...so this is the best i could get...when ryan walked in from work we all sat down and had our "Fancy Nancy" dinner...ashlyn being fancy and us being her 2 dumpy parents...lol

now just to get the right image going...imagine...light pink...satin...with some kind of see through almost ball gown like material on the bottom (whatever that's called...i'm not well versed on soft frilly material) a satin ribbon trim along the bottom...a kind of basket weave (i guess) satin top with little pearls sewn in the corners of the blocks...and a bow on the top of each shoulder...all this for mom's pot roast and rice...

a few pics...

2009-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

i don't know why i have such an issue with blogger and the way my pics look when i upload them...i swear...i need to talk to someone to make sure i'm doing it right or something...anyway...here are a few pics...random...but pics nonetheless

the other day we were getting ready to go and ashlyn came out in this outfit...i thought it was so fitting!!! lol...isn't she adorable?? ryan said she reminded him of punky brewster in this one...

and one little lonely soccer picture...i was going through them all this morning and realized i hadn't really taken many of ashlyn...poor thing...so mistreated i know...

i'm so adopting a 5 year old...

2009-04-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

seriously...is this what it is like to have 2 kids??!!! ever since ashlyn's friend came over they have been playing outside...not even bothering with me...as a matter of fact if i walk by to check on them or something they're all staring at me waiting for me to leave...lol...i honestly don't know what to do with myself...dude, if it's always like this i am so running out tomorrow and adopting a 5....maybe 6 year old!

ashlyn funnies...it's all i've got

2009-04-02T18:18:00.001-07:00

i know i know...i've received the emails...i'm slacking...lol

i promise from here on out to be better about my blogging and to actually post some pictures now and again...but until i take all of these wonderful pictures and post all of these wonderfully hilarious stories, here are a few ashlyn funnies of the day...

so i'm sitting on the bed with ashlyn...we're rolling around wrestling...so i reach over and pretend bite her nose...then i reach over and do it again...to which she says "watch out mom, you're biting on the strawberry and you might get some seeds!"

then today we (as in me and the mouse in my pocket...not me and ashlyn) were doing some spring cleaning in ashlyn's room...i pulled out all of her old summer clothes and all of her winter clothes and had them in piles on the floor..so when i started to put them in boxes i told ashlyn to come over and help...she did so willingly at first...then she found a red cape and decided she was no longer the "picker upper hero" she was a SUPER hero and didn't have time for cleaning...her animals needed her...

keep your fingers crossed...soccer this weekend!!! hopefully!!! then i should have some pictures...at least a few...

air guitar...really?! lol

2009-03-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

today as i was taking ashlyn to school i had my ipod going and was jamming out to some pink...well, i say jamming but since i had ashlyn in the car and her ears are so "sensitive" i only had it turned up enough to just hear it...anyway...the song "so what" came on and i hear her yell..."ya, turn it up"...then she starts singing and bobbing her head up and down...then as i'm looking in the rear view mirror i see her put up one hand and starts wiggling her fingers...then i see the bottom hand is "strumming"..i asked "hey there, what are you doing?"...she replies "mom, it's the air guitar!!!"...lmao

an ashlyn funny on dinosaurs...

2009-03-25T12:49:00.001-07:00

ashlyn "mom, did you know that dinosaurs lived on the earth a long time ago?"
me "yes"
ashlyn "we find their fossils..that's how we know they were here since they are extinct now"
me "that's right"
ashlyn "and did you know that extinct means...doesn't live here on the earth anymore?"
me "i sure did"
ashlyn "yeah...they used to live here like 25 years ago but after that they became extinct...that's a LONG time ago huh?"

nice considering she thinks i'm 22 years old....puts me right up there with those old dinosaurs..

a few quick updates...

2009-03-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

i swear facebook is killing my blog!...i've been so bad about posting on here...and i really need to keep up with it (since you can't save your facebook)...

anyhoo....

we got ashlyn all registered for her new school yesterday...a big shout out to all of the people who have given her positive comments about where she will be attending...she was NOT thrilled about the fact that she wouldn't be going to the school back behind us BUT everyone has been telling her how great the school she will be attending is...so now she is starting to get a little pumped about it...talking about all of the new friends she will make...

i am starting to gear up for disney...i know i know...i'm a slacker...i've got ashlyn's big day all planned and have made reservations for everything...i'm just trying to figure out what else we might want to do that we may need reservations for...the information is just overwhelming...SO much to do...this will be the most active vacation we've taken since ashlyn was born...(YES!! I think it will be even more hectic than the year we went to PR with the in-laws...and that was CRAZY..not because of them but because of everything we tried to fit in)...i really need to sit down for the next couple of days to make sure i've got everything covered...i may need a bullet list or something...lol

ashlyn's new favorite show is phineas and ferb and can i say that i just LOVE them...lol...it beats out ryan's favorite...spongebob...everytime now...ha...take that dad....

soccer right now is non-existent due to rain...which sucks because ashlyn misses it...hopefully the weather will be nice again so we can play this weekend...

not much else is going on...trying to get ashlyn registered for some new summer classes...we're dropping everything she normally takes and putting her in a few new classes just to give her a variety...then in the spring she'll decide which she is most interested in and can continue with them...

last week she went on her first go cart ride...which she loved...dad was jealous because he didn't get to go..but we told him we could do it again one day...lol...we also went to the zoo and took the dart train for the first time...she loved that...

i guess that's about as updated as i can get...gotta run and pick up miss thing from school...hopefully i'll keep up with my blog a little bit better...and maybe...just maybe you'll get to see some pictures...lol

we got the news!!

2009-03-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

ashlyn made it into the magnet program!!! yay!! i had mixed feelings about this early on but now that we've received the news i'm super excited...ryan is ecstatic!!! i think he just about did a flip when i told him (well after the whole me telling him in a sad sad voice that we got the letter today...i so had him going that she didn't get in) we are both ridiculously proud of her...though we would have been fine either way...she did her best and that's what mattered the most...(it does feel pretty good though...i must admit)

umm...err....okay....if that's how you like them...

2009-03-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

why is it that my kid likes her eggos frozen straight out of the box...like, i mean that's how she likes to eat them...strange strange child...oh well, i guess it saves me the 2 minutes it takes to toast them...

thanks jackie...i'm officially a recon junkie...

2009-03-11T12:46:00.001-07:00

so i've been wanting to attempt a recon shirt for awhile now...ever since the lovely jackie started the trend...(well at least started it as far as i'm concerned)...so when ashlyn got a note saying she had to wear green to school on thursday i figured it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try...i went to my favorite store, target and picked up a cute st patricks day shirt from the adult section...(i would have picked a shirt out of my own closet but for some strange reason i only have like one green shirt) anyway..i thought a pair of cute matching socks would make some awesome sleeves..so i picked up a pair of those too...and a pair of knee highs to complete the ensemble...today i busted out the trusty sewing machine and went to work...now mind you i'm horrible at following directions no matter how you spell it out to me...i'm more of a trial by fire kinda girl...so i made a few mistakes (which you'll be able to see) but at least i'll know for the next time...i think it turned out pretty cute...especially for my first attempt...and can i just say i LOVE using the socks as sleeves..i took a few quick pictures just now...hopefully i'll get some better ones when she puts it on tomorrow for school...i'm still debating making it into just a shirt and pairing it with a skirt...but ashlyn is bound and determined she wants to keep it a dress...so we'll see...

oh and if you want to see a tutorial check out jackie's blog at
http://fabricfloozie.blogspot.com/

youtube for kids!!

2009-02-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

i just had to share...i thought this was a really cute site for kids to surf...lots of little video clips of cartoons, songs, etc.

Visit Totlol

today is picture day...

2009-02-18T08:48:00.001-08:00

and we all know how much i LOVE school pictures...lol

so i told ashlyn that she could pick out what she wanted to wear for school day...of course, being the girly girl that she is, she decided she wanted to go with (and i quote) "a dress and high heels"...lol...we went this weekend to look for something and she settled on sparkly silver shoes (you know like wizard of oz kind of sparkle but in silver...because it goes with more...well, that's what she said) and a dress i wasn't too thrilled with but ashlyn was happy with because it "covered her bottom when she bent over"...(because that's what all 4 year olds worry about)...anyway...yesterday we ran by the mall and she fell IN LOVE with another dress...so i told her she could have that new dress as long as we can take the other back...she told me that she would like to get the new dress but that she would like to keep the other dress to wear on a different day because she just "a dress kind of girl"....lol...i couldn't argue...so we got the dress and she picked out a bow to go with it...

and here's her ensemble all put together (no pic of the shoes...you would have been blinded by the sparkles)...

happy valentine's day!

2009-02-14T15:20:00.001-08:00

(ashlyn with her valentine)

round 2....

2009-02-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

we just got word that ashlyn made it to round 2 of her GT testing...this tuesday...keep your fingers crossed!

you wanted a girl....

2009-02-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

i think ryan didn't know what he was asking for when he wanted a little girl of his own...the whole daddy's girl thing blinded him to all of the things that go along with girls...drama...boys...drama...boys...he's learning quick though with every year that passes...this year it's been boys...not that she's head over heels in love calling people her boyfriends or what not...BUT...she does have a best friend at school (Noah) who she said she wants to marry and have 10 babies with...if you ask her if she's her boyfriend she says no...he's just my best friend...but she's told everyone and their mother that she's going to marry him and have those 10 babies...so yesterday i go to pick her up from school...she's running down the hallway with a few of her classmates...running past her teacher from last year when she grabs another friend of hers...Luca...and they give each other this huge hug and fall to the ground...ashlyn's old teacher was like "oh wow, luca did you just give ashlyn a big hug?'' he replies "yes, and i give her kisses too!"...WHAT?! LOL...then he says "i even give her kisses on the mouth"....WHAT?!! hey now...dad's going to LOVE hearing about this...so when we leave i ask ashlyn..."so who did you play with today?"..."noah and luca"..."were you giving each other kisses?"..."yes, i gave luca kisses"....then she proceeds to tell me "mom, i think i'm going to have to marry 2 people...because i want to marry luca but i don't want to hurt noah's feelings because i want to marry him too"...ha...so...when ryan gets home i give him the scoop and all he can do is shake his head...and so it starts...hey...YOU wanted a girl...now you've got one...lol...

honey...are you trying to tell me something?

2009-01-30T07:17:00.001-08:00

yesterday we had a package sitting on the front porch..thinking it was something i ordered i grabbed it..opened it and said....hmm...what in the world is this? so of course, i kept going...when i got the thing fully opened i realized it was my valentine's day gift from ryan..personalized m&ms...cool...so i look inside the package...awww how cute...a picture of ashlyn and me on an m&m....awwww...i love u cb...that's sweet...then i stop...look...look again and start laughing...i call ryan and ask him if there was something he wanted to talk to me about and if this was his way of going about it...he didn't have a clue what i was talking about...until i said "happy VD honey"...lol...poor thing...

get your geek on...

2009-01-28T15:08:00.000-08:00

gotta love it...i just stumbled across this site and have fallen in love..it speaks to the inner (and outer) geek in me...

http://www.geekologie.com

LOVE the light saber umbrellas!!!

bad mom...

2009-01-28T06:14:00.001-08:00

last night we were watching american idol together...and ashlyn brought out her guitar so she could play us songs during the commercials (yeah, we watched it in real time...can you imagine??? insanity i tell ya)...well, i decided to "tune" it for her...and in doing so popped a string...now mind you she's been playing that guitar for 2 days straight and it hadn't left her side at all...she bawled...and bawled and bawled...i felt so bad...i apologized for breaking her guitar and when she finally calmed down she looked at me and said "i don't think i want anyone else playing with it anymore...just me"...and then she grabbed it, held it and leaned her little head against it in a little depressed funk...talk about feeling 2 inches tall...luckily the thing came with one extra string...i fixed it this morning and she was pretty happy about it...though i'm thinking that's the only time i'll be allowed to put my hands on it again...

ice sucks...so does cold weather...

2009-01-28T06:10:00.000-08:00

as most people know...at least around here...when the weatherman says ice is coming everything shuts down as soon as mention is made...now don't get me wrong...i don't really have a problem with it since i don't like to get out of the house when it's below 60 BUT i'm so tired of being inside...ashlyn's stir crazy...i'm stir crazy...i guess i could be doing something productive like cleaning...or painting...or sewing...instead of bitching about it...but that would mean pulling myself away from the computer for hours at a time...who wants to do that??? lol

ashlyn's hair shop...

2009-01-27T11:26:00.001-08:00

just a quick pic...not much..we played hair shop the other day...ashlyn got her hair did...then ashlyn did mama's hair...then it was daddy's turn...

checkpoint one...this is checkpoint two...

2009-01-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

you can tell that SOMEONE in our house is an online gamer...one of her favorite games to play with daddy is "checkpoints"...she'll put on his headset and he'll put on the bluetooth and they'll talk to each other back and forth...."checkpoint one...this is checkpoint two...do you copy?"...."watch out for that blowy uppy thingy on the left"....

aww...my little rocker

2009-01-26T16:28:00.001-08:00

all day today ashlyn has been carrying around her guitar...she'll sit down...pick at it...strum it and then start making up her own songs...awwwww...i wish i could find my camcorder...

ryan is cringing as i type this...

2009-01-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

everyday after school last week ashlyn came home talking about this little boy in her class named noah...noah this...noah that...noah is coming to my birthday...i want noah to come and play...i love noah...noah is my best friend...noah noah noah...so on thursday i walked in and saw ashlyn and noah coloring a picture...i should say coordinated coloring...they sit at different tables so they would talk across the tables to each other..."noah, what part are you coloring..???....what color are you making it?" "okay ashlyn, i'm done with that, what part do you want to color next?""what color do you want it?" in the end...they pretty much had the same exact picture...colors and all...so i go up to ashlyn's teacher and tell her i've noticed noah and ashlyn have gotten pretty close...she said that in the past week they had gotten super close and are all about each other and even hold hands when they walk down the hall...LOL...how cute is that? hold hands...(ryan doesn't think it's so cute...trust me...he had just gotten used to jett from last year and THEY didn't HOLD HANDS!!!)...so when i get home i tell ryan about it...of course he makes the face (cringing as i say boyfriend...lol)...he asks ashlyn about noah (we try not to embarrass her so we don't use terms like boyfriend) and she says "yeah, i LOVE noah...and we're going to get married and have 10 babies"....i think ryan about passed out...i just told her that if she was going to have 10 babies she better go to college and both of them better have really good jobs so they can afford a nanny to help them out...ryan just glared at me...i don't think he was thrilled with my response....lol

patiently awaiting...

2009-01-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

some of you already know...but for those who don't...we took ashlyn to her GT test this past saturday to see if she can possibly qualify for magnet...we figured it couldn't hurt...if she passes we try it...if she doesn't then we're perfectly happy with her attending our neighborhood school...we won't find out the results until march though...ugh...i was so nervous for her on saturday...it was a big experience (i think more for me than anyone)...we basically just told her that a person would be asking her questions in order to help them figure out what school she needed to be in next year...she was a little hesitant at first...especially since the whole process was like cattle herding...we walked in...gave them her name...they slapped a name tag on her and took her away...i was wondering what type of questions they would ask...i was imagining her in the back room crying the whole time...or being silly...or answering questions wrong on purpose just to see if she can get a response from the person...in other words, i was nauseous the whole time...i don't know why...we decided before we even walked into the school that we would leave the whole thing up to fate...if she passes and gets in...she'll go to magnet...if she passes, gets wait listed and goes to the neighborhood school she'll stay there...or if she just plum failed the entire thing she'll just go to the neighborhood school...

(WARNING:SHAMELESS BRAGGING AHEAD)

either way i'm super proud of where she is at and what she has accomplished in the past year...she's reading short readers...spelling 3 letter words all by herself and some four letter words (lol...)...she knows her ABCs and 123s...her colors...her shapes...she loves to draw and color...she can cut and paste with the best of them...she has an extensive vocabulary and likes to surprise you by using words like extensive in a sentence...lol...she can do small word problems and does basic one number addition and subtraction...she's even managed to pick up some spanish (letters, colors and body parts) and she's learning her sign language alphabet!...she has a wicked sense of humor...one that i absolutely treasure...though i'm sure it will try my patience as she gets older...sarcasm will more than likely be one of her strong suits...she's a good kid...has a very strong will...makes her own decisions....and is really learning how to bend without breaking...and how to stand her ground...she's just really awesome...i can't believe next year she'll be out and about at school...every year just gets better and better...i love it...and i'm super proud she's my kid...

um...maybe a slight attitude...

2009-01-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

so the other night we went out to eat with my MIL/FIL...we're in the car...they're sitting in the backseat beside ashlyn...old man is closest....ashlyn asks old man if he'd like to play ponies with her (poor old man got suckered into that one)...he says sure and plays for a minute or two before he gets into a conversation with ryan about work...they start talking about all of the switching going around at work and how he's not in his same truck anymore...and a few other things dealing with the "truck situation"...ashlyn meanwhile is patiently (well, somewhat patiently) awaiting the return of her playmate back to imaginary land...finally, after coming to the end of her patience she says "look old man, i have to tell you something....you have two options...either get your truck...or don't get your truck...now let's get back to playing ponies!"...

2009-01-15T15:56:00.001-08:00

Omg! have you ever been trapped in a room with someone who chews their gum like a freaking cow chewing on their cud...it's horrible...then

2009-01-15T15:47:00.001-08:00

On another note...ashlyn definitely has developed her daddy's stubborness...she has a few words she says incorrectly...coffee instead of c

2009-01-15T15:42:00.001-08:00

This year we have a new american idol armchair judge in our midst...the last few nights we've all piled on the couch to watch the "singing

well...i had every intention...

2009-01-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

i had every intention on blogging tonight...new pictures..funny things ashlyn has done/said...fun things i've done...and said...but my dear old sweet husband has decided that tonight will also be his game night...now, as most of you know...my husband isn't the talking kind...he says what he needs to and he's pretty much done with it...BUT....when he gets on his games there is no shutting him up...so, since i can't concentrate long enough to even write 2 blog enteries (it's taken me twice the time as normal because i keep forgetting what i'm typing due to his blowing crap up...see...i had to reread this sentence 3 times just to figure out where i was going with this statement...and honestly, i still don't know...) oh...i'll just cut it short for tonight and hope for peace and quiet tomorrow (LOL...right)

though i am taking on a massive undertaking at the house..painting...painting...more painting...and actually making my house look more homey...not like "yo what's up holmes!?" but like "hey, someone lives here" kind of homey...we'll see how that goes over tomorrow after i get up...

cakewrecks...

2009-01-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

okay, so if you're not already a fan of this blog or don't have a clue what i'm talking about, please, PLEASE check out

http://www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com

omg...it's hilarious...i spent like an hour the other day perusing through the vast assortment of cakewreckage...i laughed aloud several times...well, more than several...at one point ryan came in and asks "what are you laughing about?" so i show him...and well, he laughs too....you KNOW it's funny if it makes BOTH of us laugh...not only did i enjoy all of the horrible cakes but i love looking at the really good ones too...(especially the batman and nightmare before christmas ones)...omg and i so love the way the blogger ads her own spin...you have to read as you look...it makes it even better...

so in short...two thumbs up for cakewrecks...go read it...NOW (i'm tempted to buy a shirt i've become such a fan...i even look for bad cakes now while we're out and about)

sorry i was MIA...

2009-01-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

so things have been crazy around here for the past few weeks...sorry if i've neglected any of you...i've been so on the go that i really haven't had time to take a breath....i can't complain though...it's been great...i've got to hang with old friends...have dinners...get stomped on by the albertson clan in DDR...and check out my girl becks at her poetry slam...things should be dying down a little bit so hopefully i'll keep up with my "normal" everyday activities a little bit better...though between me working out and ashlyn's return to regularly scheduled programming i don't know how much i'll live up to that last statement...we'll see....

2008-12-27T15:46:00.001-08:00

We just got finished eating at a little cheesesteak place a friend recommended called fred's...can i just say that old fred makes a darn g

merry belated christmas (though technically i said it earlier in the month)...

2008-12-26T06:04:00.000-08:00

hey everyone...hope you had a wonderful christmas!!!

we had a great day...the grandparents came over on christmas eve and stayed the night...ashlyn went to bed super early that night so we got a chance to put out her santa presents early...this year santa brought her the mlp amusement park, a stick unicorn, a scooter and a guitar....mom and dad brought her way too much! lol....we all stayed up and watched chronicles of narnia and then it was off to bed...ryan and i got up at a ridiculous time in the AM...ryan...because he had to start on his delish homemade cinnamon rolls...me...well, because i was too excited to sleep...i wanted to be up and moving before ashlyn even got stirring...an hour and a half later ashlyn decided to grace us with her presence...since we leave santa presents out and unwrapped she got to enjoy her toys while daddy finished up the rolls and we waited for the grandparents to get up...after they were up we opened up presents...ryan and i waited while ashlyn opened hers...lol...there were a few that she was surprised with...she would say "oh..i didn't say i wanted this but i'm really glad i got it"...then she opened up the martian matter and said "um, guys, I really didn't want this...daddy can have it"...nice....way to be appreciative there wee one...(of course about an hour later when ryan got it out of the box she wanted to play with it and then proceeded to make martians for over an hour)....we played a few games of blokus which was actually pretty fun for all of us...and ryan and i trash talked each other the entire time (i swear our kid is going to be the worst winner ever...she's already a sore loser...like her mama used to be)...ryan opened up his presents...some new shirts from me (i swear he hasn't had new clothes in years...poor thing)...the big bang theory season 1...a few movies and a few little odds and ends....my grandparents got him a new jacket and then got the both of us a new set of pots and pans...ryan did a great job keeping me from nosing in on my present...so i really didn't have much of a clue as to what i was getting this year...i ended up with a cool digital frame that can wirelessly stream pictures from my flickr and facebook accounts...my grandparents hung out for awhile and then headed out and our little fam just sat back and enjoyed the entire day just us...we played and played and ate and played...we took the new scooter for a test drive...and played at the park...and then it was over...ashlyn went to bed and ryan and i curled up on the couch and laughed our asses off watching the big bang theory...it was the perfect end to a pretty perfect day....hopefully, at some point, i'll stop being lazy and will post some pictures....

ashlyn's sock drive...

2008-12-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

tis the season to contribute...lol...

ashlyn's school is having a sock drive...the goal was to get 150 pair of new socks to donate to the local retirement home...what they didn't realize is that when they set that goal they didn't know they paired the most competitive teacher with the most competitive mom in the school...so far we have 60 some odd pair i think...we were on top till today...i think 2 other teachers have surpassed us...little do they know that i'm stockpiling socks!!! i have about 7 bags that i still need to bring and am still collecting...hey...my kid wins a pizza party (nevermind the fact that i could have bought her whole class pizza for the entire week with the money we've spent on socks!!!...it's for a good cause!!!)...so...if you're in the area and can buy a bag of socks before tomorrow night i would gladly appreciate it!!!

i couldn't resist...ashlyn's christmas dance...

2008-12-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

okay...ashlyn has had a few christmas activities over the past week...so i decided to take the camcorder along for a good ol' fashioned family video...and yes...i do need to learn how to use a tripod... (and i need a better camcorder for my indoor video taking....geez...can you say pixelated much?!)

this video was actually taped second but i didn't label them correctly...though to you it won't matter so there...lol

ashlyn's tap class....of course the whole "tap" effect is taken away when you're dancing on carpet...i think in this one ashlyn is second from the right...i think...anyway...i swear she's much more animated in class.....(though still usually always with a tinge of seriousness...)

oh well...there's always running tattoo studios in the bathroom and singing "that's not my name" and shaking your booty to lighten the mood...

(video to come...blogger is wonky once again!)

so i couldn't resist...ashlyn's christmas dance...2

2008-12-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

okay so this was ballet...ashlyn is directly in front of the lady in the front row...

merry christmas everyone....

2008-12-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

since i will be off through the holidays i just wanted to wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAY and a grand, wonderous NEW YEAR. Take care and be merry!!! love you all......

might be my last post...

2008-12-09T18:57:00.001-08:00

on this address anyway...we'll see...i'm thinking about switching blog hosts...you may see one or two more posts...you know since it's christmas and all...if i get a new one then i'll make sure to post the new address...if not just keep reading....

2008-12-03T19:31:00.001-08:00

So today as i'm picking up ashlyn from school i walk up to her class and notiice most of the kids are walking out with heart doodles (in p

pics take 423...stinking blogger

2008-11-29T06:33:00.001-08:00

so we took a trip to arkansas and i've been trying very patiently (my new thing i'm working on) to upload the pictures onto blogger..unfortunately it will only let me upload a couple before it goes all zonkers on me...so i will post more as i get more up....

kung fu panda much...

2008-11-24T18:53:00.000-08:00

it's not bad enough that ashlyn has been quoting tigress for the last week or so...but today on the way home she got frustrated with her headphones and started chanting "inner peace......inner peace...inner peace".....

oh and only because i don't want to start a whole new post....ashlyn has a new boyfriend at school...the other day we were leaving and she said..."mom, there goes zachary"...i was like "oh is zachary in your class?"...she replied "yeah mom, i really like him...he doesn't scribble scrabble on his page like the rest of the boys...he tries to stay in the lines...i think i'll invite him to my birthday!"....lol...either she likes zachary for his artistic ability or she likes the fact that he's a rule follower....either way i'm happy to see she has standards (LOL at 4)....

ashlyn's 2008 christmas list....

2008-11-17T08:18:00.000-08:00

well here it is..for all those who want or need some hints...

http://www.ashlynsbigwishlist.blogspot.com

it's official...

2008-11-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

we're going to disney!!!! yay........

2008-11-06T14:44:00.001-08:00

Ashlyn just came over and curled up beside me and gave me a hug...she then declared herself the "hugginator"...lol

a few more funnies...

2008-11-06T13:36:00.001-08:00

ashlyn told me the other day that she had a new bff (yes, she used the term just like that)...she said that jett was no longer her bff and her bffs now include her friends haley and sierra...i think she's definitely been hanging around mommy too long...picking up on the slang...

so then she comes home...same day i think...and proceeds to grill me about composting and recycling...so tomorrow we will be getting a recycling bin...nothing like a 4 year old to make you feel guilty for not doing your part to help save the earth...

oh and a sweet story...ashlyn came home on tuesday and asked if she could have a piece of paper...i got her one and she asked me if i could fold it in half...so i did...she went back in the room and drew some pictures on it and put her name on it...then she came and asked me if i could help her with her card...i said sure...then she asked if i could help her spell "i'm sorry mikayla"...she said she wanted to draw a card for mikayla because she had been mean to mikayla at school and she felt bad...she said her friend wanted her to be mean to mikayla so she was...but then she felt really bad about it...so she wanted to make her a card so she could know how sorry she was...then she proceeded to tell me that it didn't feel very good to be mean and that from now on if her friends wanted her to be mean she wasn't going to be...i know i know...she was being mean in the first place...but the fact that she turned around and acknowledged it and wanted to make it right really made me feel good...i know quite a few adults who wouldn't even do that...

a few pics...excuse their horridness...lol

2008-11-05T08:40:00.001-08:00

okay...so i may end up having to bite the bullet and either purchase cs3 or maybe upload cs2...i'm not figuring this aperture out as fast as i'd like...oh and have my monitor calibrated...anyway..here are a few pictures from the last week...

ashlyn in her halloween outfit...minus her wings...

(not trying to toot my own horn but i think i did pretty decent with the petal skirt and top)

mom, i'm with my friends...stop taking pics...you're embarrassing me

ashlyn's class

we went to chase's basketball game this past saturday...

i only got a few decent shots due to my failure to foresee a dark gym and bring my flash

ashlyn was cheering him on...watching through her binoculars

more pics eventually...lol

pretty cool photo editing site...

2008-10-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

yes i know..i'm a blogging plug these days...but i stumbled onto this cool website where you can edit pictures using pretty neat effects...anyway...for any of you who don't have photoshop or something similar it's definitely worth checking out...

http://www.picnik.com

it's totally free or you can pay $25 a year for the upgrade...and you can save to your computer or you can upload directly to your facebook or myspace or flickr accounts....

that's all i have to say about that...

new fangled lunch box...

2008-10-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

if you have a lunchbox fetish like i do...here's a new little bentoish laptop lunch boxish container that i just found on the internet...now if i could only just see one up close...i may have to do some research on this puppy...

http://www.thermapod.tv

and we're off....

2008-10-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

to the start of our super huge week...soccer games...soccer party...halloween parties...fall festivals...trunk or treating...trick or treating...all jammed pack into one little bitty week...hopefully i'll have lots of pics to post...though since i've been pretty lazy about it don't expect anything TOO spectacular...lol

2008-10-24T10:40:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn's quote of the day: "I get to rule the world and take a shower!"

I swear she's as random as her mama.

a few brags...

2008-10-23T07:58:00.001-07:00

hmmm where to start...i've got quite a bit to brag about these days....lol...no seriously...i just wanted to post an update on all of the cool stuff i've been excited about over the past few weeks....(pretty much all has to do with ashlyn so consider yourself warned)

as ashlyn's soccer season has come to a close i'm proud to say that ashlyn has become leaps and bounds better than when she started...now of course she's no star player or anything (in our eyes of course) but she does have a lot of fun and always wants to play...anyway...she started off as the girl who just ran around the herd in a circle pointing to the direction the players needed to go...this continued through the middle of the season...but here lately..she's been making great strides...she has actually touched the ball on a few occassions...yes....even gotten in the middle of some pileups...(a few...but still) and she's actually made a few drives toward the goal!!! it's funny but i'm so proud of her...has she made a goal yet..??? no...but she has moments where she actually goes after it and i'm proud...because trust me...it wasn't like that when we started...darn me...telling her all of those years to stop being aggressive...lol...her last soccer games are this week and i can't wait to see what they have in store for her...and how her spring season will go now that she knows what she's doing (she already told me she wants to play soccer until she's old)...good for the cardio you know...

so remember all of the drama with ashlyn and school...you know how she didn't want to go...she was saying she was sick and worried....yadda yadda...well, all of that has passed...YAY...i couldn't be more thrilled...it took a couple of weeks...some teary eyed goodbyes...but ashlyn officially loves school again...her teacher has been so awesome with her...i'm so glad we made the switch...she's really comforted her and been very patient and understanding...i'll say we're 99% back to the old ashlyn...this week she has been so excited to go back to school...she goes running in her classroom and always loves to stay late to finish playing with her friends...it's been such a heartbreaking and wonderful experience all at the same time..i was starting to feel like i had made the wrong choice by keeping her in...thinking that i was pushing her into a decision she didn't want to live with...but i'm glad i kept trying...now mind you she wasn't screaming and crying all day at school...once she got into her class she was fine..it was the goodbye part she was having trouble with (in her new classroom...her old classroom was a totally different story...she didn't even want to go in there)...she told me today that she no longer worries about missing me...(so basically she's over me...lol)...i was so happy to hear it...i really want to set her up for a positive school experience..especially since next year will be the big K...

speaking of school...ashlyn has started a new trend in her class....lol..her teacher told me that all of the girls are now coloring all of their pictures rainbow due to ashlyn's love of coloring things rainbow...that's the way to be a trend starter...you go girl...

ashlyn has been doing great in her art...her coloring and drawing are just mad ridiculous (now mind you...i'm her parent so i'm a little biased)...she's drawing hearts and stars all by herself...her people are starting to be more than just stick figures...and she's pretty awesome at coloring in the lines...lol...(okay so maybe most kids are doing the same...but since she's mine i can brag if i want to)...ashlyn is also doing really well with her numbers...i don't know if they work on them in school or not but she's already doing simple addition (2+2) and subtraction (3-1)...and little word problems to boot (if ashlyn has 2 apples and mommy has 3 apples how many apples do we have altogether) ...she sure didn't get that from mommy...we always play math games in the car...so that might have something to do with it...now if we can just get her to write her numbers as well as she can figure them we'll be good to go...they have spanish class at her school and her spanish is really coming along as well...she knows most of her basic colors...her numbers to 10 and some random verbs and other words mixed in here and there...she always tells ryan that she knows more spanish than he does...lol...funny thing is...at the rate she's going...she'll know more than her mommy too....then there is singing (chapel)...she's pretty disappointed that she hasn't been chapel champion yet...but she has come to the conclusion that she doesn't sing loud enough...so she's going to keep trying her best because she really wants the title...she sings her songs while she colors and in the car...it's really cute...i'm glad she's getting a little singing time in at school...and now for the big news of the day...ashlyn is reading!!!! yay...we've been working on it for a few months now...but she's finally really grabbed hold of it...she's sounding things out fairly well...though sometimes she does try to cheat by looking at the picture...we have the HOP series...so at night she's been reading a page out of the workbook and then a book of her choice...if she opts for a new book then she gets a star on her little sheet....i'm so excited...i love that she's reading...it's just so cool (sometimes frustrating....darn english language with your crazy rules) to imagine what kinds of books she'll be into...i know it's a long time away but it's just a really cool milestone...one of my favorites so far...she's also getting the knack of spelling small words by sounding them out...i'm just so very impressed by her...she's really starting to grow up...i can't believe it...

okay that's it for now...no more bragging...i think i've used up all my brag points for the month...just wanted to fill everyone in...

oh and on a side brag note...ashlyn is getting her cartwheel down like a champ..now if only i can get her to kick her legs a little bit higher in the air...

funnies....

2008-10-23T07:26:00.001-07:00

now that my brain has returned to being somewhat normal...here we go...

1st....we're driving down the road and ashlyn keeps asking what's above us...we were like..what are you talking about...you mean the sky...and she's like...no...what's above texas..so we tell her...oklahoma is above texas...she says...oh...so jesus lives in oklahoma....lol

2nd...once again in the car...we're playing the rhyming game..someone starts with a word and then we all rhyme off of it...well ashlyn decides to use chicken nugget as her "word"...so ryan says "shicken schmugget"....ashlyn starts laughing and i'm like...ha dad...that's not a word...to which ashlyn replies..."it might not be a word...but it sure does rhyme mom"...ugh i swear...they're ganging up on me already...

3rd....this is more of a ryan funny...he's getting pretty quick with them too...we're in the car last night (i don't know why all of this happens in the car but whatever)...and we're talking about costumes...ryan was asking if we could maybe make a jack skellington mask out of a big balloon and paper mache...i said i guess you could...though it would look like you would have a big moon on your head..ashlyn starts laughing and saying "yah dad...you should go as the moon"....we laugh and laugh...then ashlyn says we could make the planets too...and she asks which one would i be...ryan butts in and says "mom can be the sun...since she thinks everything revolves around her"....lol...good one....

oh and not so much a funny...but ashlyn has decided that she likes rock music...and a little bit of rap...lol...