Have you ever...

had one of those days that you wish you could just start over. Well, that was today. I wish I could've just crawled back into bed and started over, but that wasn't to be.

It was all going well until about 30 minutes to church time and then it just went down hill from there. We were doing good on time until I gathered everything for our day. We had a full day and wouldn't be home until after the evening church service. Ugh, I dread long days, especially Sundays when it's full, I like to just go home after church and relax.

Anyway instead of going through our entire day here's a quick run through.

On time for sunday school then all of sudden forgot this, forgot that, do we have this, did you remember that? Then before we know it, we're past being fashionably late.

So run to the store to buy the macaroni salad that I forgot to make. Then to church.

After church we're off to the park for a family picinic, but have to stop at the store again....kleenex. I think I have a sinus infection or something, gross. Anyway, stop to Wegmans, then to the park. Get to the park, no one is there. Call in and apparently we were supposed to be at Brad's dad's house not the park...no one told us.

Arrive at Carl's and play with the kids. Time to eat, hectic, hectic. Chase wouldn't eat because of all the kids and busyness. I don't even remember eating or what I ate. Oh yeah, forget that he started to have a fit because he wanted all the "D's" on the table. Fine but they were all cans of pop. Absolutely not. That was it. He was done.

Clean him up, clean the chair and floor. Play some more. Then he became miserable because he was tired and wanted to be held but really didn't. So it was time to go. I had to stop at my parents yet. But first we had to stop at Lowe's.

Arrive to my parents, van's not there. Hmmm? Call dad. Where are you guys? At Shawn's for Aubrey's birthday that was canceled but not really canceled. I was little annoyed to say the least, I had her gift and everything. So we just went home. Oh, but that was after Chase was out of the car and saw the swing and started crying because we left. By this time it was 4:30 and I am past exhausted, miserable and my sinuses are killing me. Major headache. I needed a quick nap before church.

Crash on the couch for five minutes while Chase plays but I need a real nap, at least 20 minutes. I knew Chase was tired so I took him with to laie down. He wasn't having it, but I knew he was exhausted. He started crying to the point where he is hiccuping. So I rocked him to sleep and we both laid on the couch...out cold. An hour later we all wake up and realize we missed church.

At that point we got past our guilt and went and got ice cream. It was beautiful out and very relaxing. Got home and played a little outside and then it was nighty, nighty for Chase, after a bath of course.

It was such a looooong day, I just wanted to relax. It was even one of those days that you just want to stop and cry. I held back and decided to put in Steve Green and wash the dishes, clean the kitchen and make Chase's lunch. Homemade whole wheat mac & cheese, steamed broccoli, yogurt and grapes, blueberries and pears. The homemade mac&cheese is real easy, I just boil some macaroni, drain and while it's still hot I melt a slice and a half of white American cheese. He loves it.

Then I made lunch for Brad and I and finally, at 10:50pm, I came in and sat down. Sigh.

Praise God that we get another day to start out fresh and new.

From our mini-camping trip. Notice what's in the bed of the truck. Aww....I love him so much.

I'm Back!!

Oh goodness it's been forever since my last post. So much going on but my real reason is because my camera isn't connecting right to the computer so I can't get any of my pictures off my camera. So what fun are posts without pictures, but my little point and shoot has saved the day...kind of.

Last weekend was our first mini-camping trip. But I will save that for another post it's late so here's a funny from tonight.

Chase was "helping" me clean the office tonight, organizing and purging. Well, I was moving something and turned around and this was what was waiting for me.

Chase was sitting to the right of the paint next to the cord. Just as I turned around he had the cord in his hand about to play with it. Fortunately he picked up the part of the cord with no paint. Both mommy and baby walked out of the room without any paint on them. However, the bottom of one flip-flop didn't fair so well.

They always say it only takes a second.

Why wasn't the lid on tight you ask? Well, this paint can has been here, there and everywhere in the past 5 years so it doesn't close anymore. But the paint is still good. The office door is waiting to be painted so hopefully there is enough left.

Faith is getting in the wheelbarrow

Today was Sunday which meant church, morning and night, and I needed both. Pastor talked about faith in the morning message and then Jack followed with a message about faith too. And it was definitely God working because Jack was preaching at his new church this morning so he had no idea his dad just preached about faith. My ears were wide open as many things in my life lately seem to be requiring faith and to live by faith. Much easier said than done. There have been times where we've/I've lived by faith, such as when we moved home from Charlotte on a whim with no jobs and no place to live. But we managed just fine and God provided a place to live and work, of course.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Going part-time is definitely an act of faith but I am very excited. I am doing what is right for our family. If I put my priorities right everything else will fall into place...God First, Family Second, Career Third. I can talk all I want about living on faith but when the time comes how well will I actually do? I don't know and won't til the time comes, but I know with God on my side it will be ok.

Pastor used this illustration of faith...


Our faith is not determined by what we do, it is demonstrated by what we do. About 35 years ago there was a famous tightrope walker named George Blondin who, for a publicity stunt, decided he would walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.

On the appointed day they stretched a tightrope from one side of Niagara Falls to the other. He got out there and there were crowds lining both the Canadian and American side. Thousands of people showed up to see this unbelievable feat. Blondin walked up to the edge of the tightrope, put one foot on the tightrope and put another foot out and began to walk across -- inch-by-inch, step-by-step. He got out in the middle and everybody knew that if he'd makeone mistake in balance he'd fall off the rope and into the Falls and obviously be killed.

Blondin got to the other side and the crowd went wild, shouting and cheering. Blondin said, "I'm going to do it again." He got to the other side and the crowds went crazy. Blondin said, "I'm going to do it again but this time I'm going to push a wheel barrow full of dirt." He pushes the wheelbarrow across. He got to the otherside. The crowd cheered and clapped. "Ok," he asked, "how many think I can push the wheelbarrow across with someone in it?" Everyone raised their hands and cheered. Blondin walked over to someone with their hand up and said, "Get in."

Faith is getting in the wheelbarrow.

Answer to prayers

I have been burdened, my heart has hurt, I have been exhausted...I've prayed.

Prayed that...

• Chase would feel better
• Chase's teeth would come in
• Chase would start to sleep better
• God would open doors for me to work part-time
• To live by faith and quick worrying
• God would open the doors for alternative daycare for Chase...for now
• To be a good parent, Brad and I both
• For serenity
• .......

And for simple things in my life...

• A new dishwasher
• A bike trailer so Chase can go biking with me
• A new vacuum
• A black end table
• Carpet for my workout room

Prayers do get answered even if it's not the way you expect.

Answered prayer 1: Chase's is feeling better and that is because his tooth finally popped through which also means he is now sleeping better. The bottle is back in the picture and we're starting to get more sleep. It has been roughly three weeks since the last time he slept through. When he would wake up it would take us 45 minutes to 3 hours to get him back down. Not fun and very exhausting for all of us. Hopefully the worst part is over for now except I think the second tooth is on its way.

Answered prayer 2: I had been looking on craigslist for sometime for a newer dishwasher. After about a month of patience and looking, you have to be fast, I found one, almost brand new. And you want to know something funny, it's the same exact model we had in our old house in NC. Too funny.

Answered prayer 3: End table. Another item I had been hoping to upgrade and I knew exactly what I had in mind. Black, with a drawer and somewhat small. I looked everywhere, Wal-Mart, Target, Ebay, craigslist, but everything was at least $50 or more and I just didn't want to spend that much. Well, my prayer was answered but not how I imagined. Katie gave me an end table that she had and didn't have any use for anymore. She told me there was numerous times she was just going to throw it out but didn't. It's wasn't, black but rather white with some stenciling. I bought a few cans of black spray and I now have my black end table and it has a drawer.

Answered prayer 4: Carpet for my workout room. I have been remodeling our shed-outbuilding to be my workout room. After refinishing most of the walls, creating cathedral ceilings and plastering, it is now time for carpet. This is would be costly and I didn't want to or have the money to invest in carpet for a shed. I prayed...I received. My dad's boss gave me slightly used industrial carpet that is the color I wanted and it came with the carpet pad. All FREE.

Answered prayer 5: Open doors for different daycare. God is beginning to open doors so that Chase will not have to be in day care at all. The first step is with me going part-time. I talked to my boss on Friday and told her I would like to be able to work something out by August. This decision is all on faith, bills or not. I must be with my son and raise him, that has always been my desire from the day we were married. If my priorities are not straight then we/I won't ever be happy. Thankfully Chase will not be in daycare anymore as of June 26. That part of my life and his will be over.

Anwered prayer 6: Show me direction. This was actually from a few months ago. But I had looked into starting Mary Kay again and didn't feel it was right for me again. I checked Pampered Chef, Home and Garden, etc. I wanted to do something that would help offset the bills but not require alot of my time. lia sophia was the answer. I knew it was right as to the way it all came about but that's for another day. I am excited to start my business and succeed.

I could continue with my personal wants and needs that eventually translate to prayers and direction but this was just a reminder of everything that has happened. Keep on praying and asking for guidance and direction.

Unimportant favorite things...finally

Ok, so I am finally getting around to my unimportant favorite things, but if they're my favorite, wouldn't they also be important? All right never mind, let's see here.

1. Riding my bike...here, there and everywhere.

2. Trying new recipes....when I have time.

3. Getting lost....I love trying new roads and seeing where they take me, but only in the country. It's a lot of fun when you realize where you are. Who needs a GPS.

4. Working out...again when I have time, at least I bike.

5. Sleeping outside under the stars...if I didn't have to worry about the bugs, I would grab a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars. I plan on pulling out the tent soon so Chase and I can camp out.

6. Taking pictures...good or bad, still learning how to use my camera...so much know.

So there's my 6 unimportant favorite things.

Just because every posts needs a picture.

Has it really been 9 years?

Yes, in fact 9 years ago today Brad and I were joined together as one, Friday, May 26, 2000 @ 5:30pm to be exact. Boy how time flies, it seems as if just yesterday we were dating, now that has been 13 years. It's funny because I remember clear as day when we started dating, June 29, 1996 and the time and where we were. Then fast forward a few years, graduation, college, Air Force and I'm being asked to marry him. In the past nine years, we have lived in many different places, six to be exact, thanks to the Air Force and our own decisions too. Ready babe to visit memory lane? :)Our first abode was a tiny little apartment in Ft. Walton Beach, FL just outside the Air Force base. It was probably built in the early 60's and was nothing specatular, but they did have somewhat of a pet area where we faithfully played ball with Sierra every day after work.

We moved to our second home nine months later. It was a duplex house on base, Hurlburt Field. This was a cozy, stark white walls home. We had a very, very small fenced in yard and the yard was nothing but sand. Just about any window you looked out you were staring at a neighbor, we were packed in like sardines. I did enjoy the warm weather early in the year. I remember it was February, actually my birthday, and I was out gardening, well trying. No matter how much top soil we used, it just wasn't happening in sand. But the base had it's perks, great walking/biking paths all throughout the base, just a short bike ride over the bridge and you were at the beach on the gulf. Of course there were more perks but I must move on.

After two years, we moved North to Goldsboro, NC where we bought our very first home. It was a cute little ranch in the country just a few minutes from our second Air Force base, Seymour Johnson. We had an acre and a half with a big shed. We bought picket fence and fenced in the whole backyard to give the dogs a big play area.

You know, they say that the South is a friendlier place and that is so true especially if you ever met our neighbor. He was an older gentleman who was truly a Southern rebel, complaining about our neighbors, but he was friendly to us anyway. Anytime he saw us outside, he would mosey on over and chat. These were actually more than just chats, you see good 'ol Eddy Brit loved to talk, oh and so did his wife. Oh my. We laugh now but it was tiresome at times. Brad would be out mowing and Eddy would stand by our fence until Brad shut off the mower and talked to him. There were a few times when Eddy asked for Brad's help and we had to scheme up a plan so that Brad could actually come home, otherwise Eddy would talk past dark. Our plan, I'll call you on your cell and tell you it's time for dinner, if you don't come in five minutes I'll holler out the door. He eventually was set free.

Sometimes it was so bad that we would look outside first before we did yardwork to see if Eddy was out. Because you know, if we went out, no yardwork would get done. It sounds so horrible of us, but it was tiresome at times. We now laugh about it and miss good 'ol Eddy. He probably isn't around anymore, he was very unhealthy, smoking against all doctor's orders with high blood pressure to boot. But whenever we say his name we both smile.

There are many great memories in this home and town but I must move on.

After exactly two years, well two days shy of two years, we sold our house and moved to Charlotte, NC. We had plans of residing in NC for the long term and decided to go to Charlotte, they have good racing too. We decided to rent before we bought a house, and ended up living in a two bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor, with no elevator, in pretty much the middle of the city. Moving a washer/drywer up three flights of stairs was interesting and yes, we moved everything all by ourselves. That's what happens when it's just the two of you, you manage to get things done yourselves.

It seemed like every weekend we would go house hunting, Huntersville, Statesville, Hickory, Concord, Matthews...you name pretty much any city surrounding Charlotte and we looked. But nothing was calling our name. We both worked in opposite directions and tried to find a house in between, it just wasn't working out. So on a whim one weekend after about three months of Charlotte, we decided to move back home to NY. It had been six years since we lived home and we missed it. So I called Katie and told her the good news, she thought I was lying...nope. We flew Jeff down and loaded our belongings and homeward bound we were. It was quite hilarious actually. Brad driving the truck and race car trailer with the dogs, I was in my car with the cat and Jeff was driving the u-haul. We each had a walkie talkie and were chatting the whole 12 hours drive home...straight through. Jeff the wisecrack he is, said to us as he was driving..."Whoa, I have all of your belongings in my care." Such a scary thought, but we made it.

Home number, five is it? Yup, Main St. We had no idea where we were going to live when we got home but we were coming. After two weeks bunking with his dad, we were able to move into a house on Main st. in Macedon that Brad's brother owned. Talk about a world of difference from a cute, country home in the southern country to an older, smaller home right on the sidewalk on Main st. I could look out our bedroom window and see the stop light and traffic. Let's just say 8 months was plenty long enough in this house, but I am very grateful it was avaialble for us to rent.

And number six...our current home. An old farm house on the hill. I love our home, even if it is set up kind of awkward with a small living room but I have everything I prayed for...a house on a hill with a view, big trees all over, a big yard, a big kitchen, and a jacuzzi tub. I have painted every room except our office, which is in the works. This house is our home and who we are, dirty/clean and inbetween. We even have a nice big pole barn for Brad. I love looking out the window to see the cornfields, then a white fence that keeps the neighbors cows in, and behind us another fence that holds the horses. This is now our "home" where we started a family. No matter how small it may feel at times with "stuff" all around us, it is perfect for us. However, I will remember if a number seven move is ever in our future to ask for a driveway that isn't so horrible in the winter. We had to buy 4-wheel drive truck just so we can get up.

So in our 9 years we have lived in six different places and three different states. It's amazing that we have been married for 9 years already and now we have a beautiful little boy. I thank God every day for a mother who prayed for me that I marry the man that God had planned and my soulmate. And because of her prayers and me listening to the Holy Spirit, eventually, we have a wonderful, happy marriage. Love you babe and look foward to many more.

What's right for my child

Oh where do I begin. This week has been one of the most stressful times for me ever, or close to it, as a parent. I can tell I've been with lack of sleep and stressed because I haven't worked out and have been eating bad, bad food. And I have been a little irritable. My lil man has been so miserable all week and waking up for 1-2 hours every single night. He only started doing that this week since I began the bottle journey. I know it's not just the bottle because he's been eating his fist and fingers, so some teeth are surely going to pop through anytime.

But tonight was the breaking point for me. It has been five days that he hasn't had a bottle at all and it's not getting any better. I have been very consistent and he has been very consistently miserable. So tonight Brad and I talked about it and decided that what's right for my child right now in his life, is to have his bottle. It's his lovey, blanky, bear and I just took it away. It's his only source of comfort and really what harm is it for him to have it. He doesn't take it to bed with him and he doesn't use it as a sleep aid. He gets it before bath, then we read and then he goes to bed. I don't know if we made the decision out of guilt, stress, etc. but really I have peace about it where I didn't about taking his bottle away.
This first-time parenting thing is stressful. You want to do everything right. You know this whole thing started because I listened to another parent's comment, as innocent as it was, I took it to heart and thought Chase was behind. I read some books, searched the Internet and thought I was behind the game. And I read that overtime it can give him earaches and change the shape of his mouth the more he uses the bottle, so I was concerned for those reasons. But at his one year appointment on Monday, the pediatrician said I was ahead of the game, so then I was really confused. (BTW...he is 29.75" long and 21.5 lbs.) But I had already begun the no-bottle process and I decided to stick with it. And don't worry it was no one out in blog world that said that. But after one week of no sleep, a miserable child, messy house because I am too tired to clean it, no exercising, well, not as much as I would like, being stressed and on and on. I decided to give him his bottle. And I have peace, not guilt, but peace. And so does Chase. We are his parents, no one else, and we know what is right for him. So the bottle it is until we feel it is time to wean. And I will know when it is time.

If anything this past week, I have been taught a very, valuable lesson...I am his parent and I can't listen to everyone out there. I appreciate advice and guidance, since I am new to this, but I will not let comments affect me. I need guidance since this is my first go-round but that's it...guidance.

Oh and no more light switch problems, we finally moved his crib tonight.

It's not getting any easier

I am exhausted. We are on day...three without a bottle. And it's taking a toll on me and Brad. Chase goes down without a problem, he just lays down and falls asleep but every morning at 3am he wakes up. I thought he was hungry so before he went to bed last night, I fed him good and full with some avacado and cottage cheese. Well, didn't work.

Chase woke up at 3am this morning, he was just whining a little. Brad got up and gave him a "D" and laid him back down. He was quiet and we thought asleep and then he starting whining again. So I was it. I got a sippy cup of warm milk which he wouldn't take so I put it down and then he would point and say "D". After a few times I laid him in his crib, rubbed his back and he was relaxed. I left the room to put his sippy cup in the fridge, and a whole out whail ensued. I gave in and brought him in with us. He was peaceful cuddling with me...for about a minute. It is now 4:30am. He then became unconsolable....forever it seemed. We couldn't get him to "snap out" of it. So Brad took him to his room, turned on the light and started to read books. It worked, he settled down.

It is now 5:00am and he is still awake, as we all are. And mind you, both Brad and I need to get up to work the next morning. Chase is now back in our bed and cuddled next to me falling asleep and Baxter jumps on the bed and meows. Chase sits straight up and yells "kitty". I yell at Baxter and was livid at him for waking semi-asleep Chase. One minute later, Baxter jumped again. And Brad pushed him off the bed and right into the water bowl. "Bradley Michael" I yelled, you don't need to do that. Then Chase started crying because I spoke loudly and Brad did back. So here we are 5:30am in the morning and have been up since 3am. The sun is now rising and the birds are loudly chirping.

Finally 5:45am we are all zonked out only to get up 1.5 hours later.

But the day doesn't end there...night time wasn't as easy tonight. But that will be continued to another day's posting.
And way too exhausted to edit any photos. Good night and hopefully to sleep tight.

We're getting there

So we are on day three of weaning Chase off the bottle. Sunday night I gave him his bottle but I changed up his routine and he went down no problem. However, he did end up waking up at 1am and after a diaper change, rocking and 30 minutes of crying, Brad did give him a bottle. He fell asleep and five minutes later he was up again.

This time it was my turn.

I gave him four more ounces and again he was sleepy and laid down, sleeping. I crawled back into bed and "Waaaaa!". So I let lil' man cry for 20 or 30 minutes, hoping he would cry himself to sleep. Which I should know better, he doesn't do that. And unfortunately he figured out the contraption I put up that was supposed to keep him from turning the light switch on and off. Which meant he had his light on. So it has now a been about an hour and 15 minutes and he is still up.

Brad you're it.

He double checks his diaper, dry, no poopies. He is just so upset now that he is doing the "hicupping". At this time we brought him to bed with us and I cuddled with him. That lasted about 2 minutes and he became restless.

So we let him fuss it out, being very restless. At about the 2 hour mark, which was also 3 am in the morning, we both thought that maybe his teeth were hurting him. His other top two teeth are just about to break through, so we gave him some Motrin. 3o minutes later he was zonked out. Finally 2.5 hours later, we were all "sleeping ever after."

The next day, was his one year check-up. He weighed in at 21.5lbs and 29 3/4" inches long. I thought he weighed more seeing how he was 10lbs 2oz. when was born, but nonetheless, he is very healthy and happy. I told the doctor about weaning and she actually said I was ahead of the game. That made me feel good but then bad that I was denying Chase the love of his bottle. BUT then I thought, it will be so much easier weaning him now instead of 5 months from now. So even though I wanted to retract, I did not, consistency is key as I was told (Amy). I would confuse him otherwise.

He slept through no problem on Monday and I think that was because he had his immunizations and was exhausted. But not last night. 3:45 am he was wide awake but really I was expecting him to wake up. He had absolutely no bottle at all Tuesday, so I just had a feeling. And I was correct, momma's intuition maybe. But when he woke up we so wanted to give him a bottle, you know the quick fix. Well we stood our ground and offered formula in a sippy cup. He took it but wasn't thrilled.

He was again in our bed and at this point it started to get light, bad sign, less sleep ahead. But because of the light starting to peak through, he saw both of our water bottles on the our night stands. "D" he said, which means "drink" and he pointed. Brad grabbed his water bottle. Chase took a sip. "D" he said and pointed to my water bottle. I gave him a sip. Then the funniest thing, he is too smart. He noticed that our water bottles were similar in shape, size and both had a straw. He grabbed mine and put it next to daddy's and started laughing. It was the cutest thing. It was just so neat to see him put the two together and realize they were alike. Brad and I just laughed. It made being awake at 5 am worth it. That was so precious to me.

Now don't get me wrong, I would much rather be sleeping, but that moment is a memory forever, him laughing and babbling away at something new. So amazing. But I would rather not make any memories tonight. I'm sure the lack of sleep will catch up with me soon.

They never said it would be easy

Raising a child is the most difficult thing I have ever done and it's so scary that just anyone in this world has the capability. They make you study and take driver's test before you can drive, get a boater's license before you can drive a boat, etc. etc. But there's no studying, coursework or test to take to be able to bare and raise children. Scary to think about. I say all this because I have started down a very bumpy, difficult road with Chase. I am weaning him off his bottle. Now I've come to the realization that I should have started this a few months ago but I haven't been keeping up on my "What to Expect the First Year" and totally missed that one.

I feel like a bad mom and my child is behind. Well, all I can say is that he eats plenty of solids and is very healthy. We started weaning him from his day bottle about 2 weeks ago but I am now starting the night bottle. I've always been asked "Does Chase have a lovey, blanky, or teddy?" and the answer it always "no", he didn't even like a binky. But now I must change my answer to "yes" he does have a "comfort item", it's his bottle. When he sees it he gets all excited and if you don't give it to him, he gets livid. He had an outburst in church today when Brad took it out but didn't put in the diaper bag fast enough. Chase cried the whole way out the door.

Today I didn't give him a bottle before his nap but rather in a sippy cup. Well, it didn't go over very well. Let's just say he didn't take but a 40 minute nap and was absolutely miserable pretty much all day. This made it very difficult for me even more so because it's pretty much that time of the month and emotions are crazy. But I prayed fervently for patience and didn't get angry with him because he was just going through withdrawal. Poor thing.

It was pretty much an all day battle today except for about an hour when we just played and played. When I put him down for a nap, unsuccessfully, I was trying to train him to stop turning the light switch on and off and to lay down. All I have to say is that is one VERY stubborn boy and it will take a lot of will power on my end to "break" him. I feel like I am training a wild horse sometimes.

He is too funny though. I think it was all a game to him. When I was trying to lay him down and he kept standing up, I would lay him down and say "no" when he went to get up. At some point he wouldn't get up but just roll over to the side and play with the bars and give me a big smirk. He knew exactly what he was doing...bending the rules. He wasn't getting up but he wasn't sleeping either. It's amazes me how, at such a young age, they already know how to manipulate. I tried to hold my stern face but when he would give me that BIG "aren't I so cute?" smirk I had to turn my head.

We ended up staying home from church because he was so miserable. I didn't want to bless the nursery workers with his sweet spirit. However, he probably would have been a sweetheart and had fun, except that he would have fallen asleep on the way for a whole ten minutes and not want to go to bed tonight.

After such a long, trying day, I did end up changing his bedtime routine. Poor thing is all messed up today. I put him to bed early because he didn't nap, he had his bottle before his bath, brushed his teeth, read some books, had a drink from his sippy cup, prayed, layed him in his crib, sang three songs, said "night, night" and closed the door. Sweet dreams. He was so absolutely tired he went right to sleep. I am now hoping that he stays asleep for the entire night. He hasn't been to bed at 7:45 in a long time.

We made it through the day but my emotions are shot and I am exhausted. So I blogged to release some frustration and emotions. I want to go for a run but I missed eating dinner so I am starved and once I eat my bowl of cereal I won't want to. I guess I will clean instead and do some situps later.

Good night baby boy. Mommy loves you!

More birthday pictures

Here are just a few more pics from Chase's 1st birthday. We had such a great day, just as imagined except he didn't blow out his candles. We practiced and everything, but he was to into his balloon. :) I still can't believe he's one.

All the kids minus about six that weren't there yet.

This is the result of an unhappy CJ when he didn't get as many eggs as we wanted.
Now bare in mind he had a bagful, at least six.

Uncle Brad having a "talk" with CJ.
Mommy's turn. :)
He was just over tired and excited from all the kids and fun.

Chase 1st Birthday Celebration 1 of 2

Oh goodness where has time gone. Not just in the past week...busy, busy, but in the past year. I just can't believe that my baby boy is one already. It is absolutely amazing how much he has grown in one short year. From birth to almost walking and talking. It's amazing.

I made his cake for him, of course. It was funfetti in the middle with chocolate on the ends and custard in the middle. The track was asphalt, actually oreo, which made it diffulct to put the stripe on, it kept falling off. Oh well I had a blast making it, even if it wasn't perfect. It was pretty yummy and there were no leftovers.

We celebrated his first birthday on Saturday with many friends and family. There were probably around 40 people with about 1/2 of them being kids, all 10 and under. Crazy, huh? But lots of fun. I knew we were going to have many kids so I tried to plan ahead. After Easter I bought about 36 pre-filled eggs at a great clearance price. And best of all, none of them had candy in them, they all had little neat toys such as bubbles, slimy bugs, little cars and balls. It turned out to be a blast. It broke up the party and gave the kids something fun to do. A definite hit!

After they checked out all their toys it was time to have cake and ice cream. We have been practicing with Chase on how to blow so that he could blow out his candles. It was all planned out, I made Chase his own personal cake to destroy, I mean eat, with his #1 candle. We started singing, well wait, first he started to play with the balloon that was tied to his highchair. He was having a blast, too much apparently because he wouldn't let go to blow out his candle. I tried to take it away and that was a BAD idea. I quickly gave it back.

After the yummy cake it was time for presents. He didn't need anything but of course everyone brought a gift, it was his first birthday afterall. We had his party outside in the garage because we had so many people and it was nice for the kids to be able to run around. So for the presents we threw a big blanket down and most of the kids gathered around as Chase opened his gifts. He loved reading his cards. It was too cute.