Birthday Celebration

This post is a little late, but this was from last Friday night. We had our night out to celebrate birthdays. We were a little behind on our celebrations due to the holiday craziness so we were celebrating Kyler, Faith, Tara and Heather's birthdays last week. (Heather ended up not being able to come, but we celebrated for her anyway.) It's always nice to have a night out with the girls, and of course, we had to take a photo to document the occasion. Actually we had to take several because I looked awful in all of them. I finally gave up. Thanks ladies for having birthdays and giving us a reason to celebrate.

What I Remember About Pregnancy

Thanks for all of your nice comments on the pregnancy post. We are very excited! As I was pondering this pregnancy, I began to think back on my previous ones. I don't exactly remember them fondly as you will read momentarily. I love kids, and the idea of a big family, even enough to suffer through nine long months of many things I loathe. So, here are a few of my memories from times past......

1. I gained 70 pounds. It was ugly. You know that basketball in the tummy thing, I didn't have that. No, no, no, my fat spread all over, head to toe. ( I may be comfortable enough with myself now that I would post a picture, if I had one. I don't think I allowed a single picture to be taken of me during my pregnancies.)

2. The pregnancy books say you may gain around 5 pounds your first trimester. I gained 25 pounds. At that point, I threw the book out the door and no longer believed anything it said.

3. When I went in the hospital to deliver, the nurse actually asked me how much I weighed. Did she actually expected me to verbalize that in front of my skinny husband? Of course I lied, as if at that points 10 pounds made a bit of difference.

4. I didn't want to go to my hometown fair because I hadn't seen any of those people for several years, and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of them seeing me and questioning whether I was a girl they once knew, or an inflated balloon being used for the upcoming parade. After much debate, I decided to bite the bullet and just go. I stepped out of the house to go to the car and started throwing up like crazy, I couldn't stop. Even better, as I was throwing up, I was also peeing my pants at the same time. It was ridiculous. I have never felt so out of control of all my body parts. That was my sign that I should go hibernate back inside. (I'm sorry if this grosses you out. I can't believe I actually wrote that publicly.) I believe this pregnancy maybe I should go ahead and get started on those kegal excercises.

5. When I was about 6 months pregnant, I was supposed to be in a wedding. I had flown in from CA, and my parents had driven to OK to see us. I remember arriving at the rehearsal looking like a beached whale while all of my skinny little friends were frolicking around in their adorable strapless sundresses. I sat in the car and cried. I refused to let my parents or husband get out of the car to go to the rehearsal, or the wedding for that matter, because I didn't want them to see how awful I looked next to my tiny beutiful friends. I still to this day have not seen those pictures.

Ok, that's enough reminiscing, I'm starting to get depressed. Not really, I suppose, I had two beautiful, healthy baby girls, and I would do it all over again....I guess I kind of already am.

Redbud Designs

Sharon over at Redbud Designs is having a blog makeover giveaway. I used her for our Christmas Cards, and Londyn's birthday invites, both of which I loved. She is great to work with, she responds quickly and always does an amazing job. If you are interested in a new fun look for your blog, stop by her site and enter the drawing at www.redbuddesigns.blogspot.com.

Bribery Works......

For adults too! If you know Kevin and I as a couple, you probably know three things. 1.) Our marriage started out horribly. We both laugh about it now, but it was a rough start. However, we survived! I would currently rate our marriage somewhere between good and very good. I hesitate to say great because you always want to leave room for improvement. 2.) Kevin has a very busy season at work January through March, and I HATE it with a passion. I want to support him in what he does, but I also want to make sure that our life is always in balance. 3.) I am a spender, and he definitely is not, so we are always working on some new budget and/or financial plan that actually works and will make us both happy. Now, about the watch.....As I stated in #2, Kevin is in the midst of his busy season, and it is always a struggle to keep thing on track at home during this time. I know it's a stressful time at work for him, and then he has to come home and listen to me complain about him not being home etc, etc. I get a little better every year, but I still have my moments. Anyway, he bought me this watch to thank me for supporting him at work and letting him do what he needed to do to get his job done without too much nagging and complaining. If I knew I would be getting great gifts for being more patient, I may have tried it a long time ago! Is that bad? Whatever works, right? I love you Kevin, and thank you for the watch, I love it!

Cabin Fever, Or Was It Rabies?

As many of you were, we have been at home enjoying the cold, icy weather. I started out getting a lot done. Ok, I only got one thing done, but it was a big thing, I cleaned the playroom. I had so many more plans, but as usual, they didn't exactly work out. As I would be in one room cleaning, the girls were in another messing. I realized there was no point. I decided to just try to do something fun with the girls instead. I had some cake mix, so I thought we could bake cupcakes. Yes, a great idea, that will be fun for everyone! It started out very well..... They were taking turns, sharing jobs, so sweet.

What good little helpers.

Filling the cups which took and eternity. I couldn't take it, I had to help.

And of course, sneaking a little bit of batter. Once again, don't worry, I'm not offering these cupcakes to anyone outside the fam.

At about this time, I had to make a phone call regarding a workshop I was supposed to attend. Within two minutes, I hear screaming. It's Skylar crying telling me Londyn has just made a hole in her FAVORITE shirt. Londyn actually bit a hole in the shoulder of her shirt. Insane! Londyn is usually one to sing to her own tune, but is usually still a pretty good girl. However, when she gets overly tired, she's unpredictable. Anyway, I'm getting on to Londyn, Skylar's still sobbing while still filling her cupcake pan. As I continue to try to get the story out of Londyn, Skylar's chair slipped out from under her and she jammed her chin on the counter and fell to the ground. It looked painful. When I picked her up, there was blood everywhere, and I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I didn't know if she cut her chin, busted her lip or what. It ended up being not bad at all, she actually bit her tongue which bled like crazy. She also had a small cut on her chin and some bruising. Anyway, by the end of snow day #2, I was exhausted, and ready to get back to life as we know it. I can't believe I don't have a picture of the most exciting events of the evening, but I thought Skylar may appreciate it if I chose to clean up the blood dripping from her mouth rather than snap a photo of the hole in her shirt and her lying on the floor bleeding.

Now That's More Like It

After bundling up appropriately, we took the girls out for a little white trash sledding. Of course for laundry basket sledding, maybe I should have just let them go out in their orphan gear from yesterday's post:) Anyway, we had a great time slip sliding around in the front yard. Such sweet little snow bunnies, aren't they? I hope everyone else is enjoying their days of ice and snow as much as we are!

No, It Wasn't An Accident....Not Exactly

I am probably posting this a little prematurely since I have not even been to the doctor yet, but I can't seem to keep things to myself very well. I'm pretty much an open book. I also have so many things going through my mind, it's only natural to want to blog about them, right?

My Little Orphans

The girls thought they just had to go outside today. I assumed we would be out of school tomorrow, so my plan was to work on getting things organized around the house today, primarily the playroom, and playing tomorrow. Apparently the girls had other plans. On their own, they went and "got ready" to go outside. Aren't they beautiful? Yes, we have purchased real winter coats and adorably matching scarves, hats and gloves, however this was the attire they chose to head out in this morning. Notice that the are still in their pajamas with a few extras. It was cracking me up. I let them go out for a few minutes since they worked so hard to get ready. Needless to say, it didn't last long. We'll have to go out and enjoy the ice tomorrow, maybe some high tech laundry basket sledding.

Can She Really Be 4?

So, the story of Londyn. Let's just say she was the best surprise I've ever recieved. It wasn't exactly in the plan to have a second child quite so soon, but as always, God knows what he is doing. I couldn't imagine things being any more perfect. Skylar was about 8 months old when I found out I was pregnant with Londyn. At first, I was in shock, but my second thought was that I would never want one of my children to think they weren't wanted. Then I started thinking about the age difference and for a brief moment thought my kids would be the freaks that were in the same class in school but weren't twins. (Skylar has a September birthday, so she starts school late) Once I realized that wasn't the case, I was ok. It was hard to think about a new baby because we were so wrapped up in Skylar. I hoped the new baby would have a personality of it's own so as not to always be in the shadow. Without a doubt, Londyn came out with her own personality, and it was so different than Skylar from the very beginning. She definitely holds her own, and is growing up into the most precious little girl. They are so different and wonderfully unique. Londyn gives me a run for my money and tests me to the limits, but she loves unconditionally and holds no grudges. She is definitely the cuddly one. (Please excuse the teeny tiny pictures. I had to save from snapfish, and it would only let me save the small ones, and this post is already late, so I quit trying to mess with it.) Londyn in her first few days of life swaddled up at the hospital.
Londyn's first birthday picture. We took her to get her pictures taken, and while we were waiting, she fell of a chair and bloodied her nose. It made for great first bday pics.
Londyn's second birthday which was sort of a flop. I remember it was bad weather, so we had to reschedule, Kevin was sick, the food I ordered got messed up, and I remember I was crying by the time it was all said and done. I hope she forgives me some day.
Last year Londyn celebrated her birthday at My Little Doll House playing dress up with her friends and getting their hair and nails done.
This weekend we celebrated Londyn's birthday with a baking party. If you haven't already done so, check out the video below. My mom made half aprons and head ties for all the girls. The girls looked like a combo of Aunt Jemimah and Rambo by the time they had their head ties twisted and turned to suit them, but they were cute nonetheless. Thanks again mom for your hard work. It was adorable. Again Londyn, Happy Birthday!

Londyn's Birthday Baking Bash

Happy Birthday Londyn

Happy Birthday Londyn! I tried all night last night to upload the video I created from Londyn's baking birthday party, but kept coming up against many obstacles, so there will be more birthday posts to come. I just couldn't let any more time go by without at least acknowledging my sweet baby girl on her special day! We love you Londyn!

Flashback Friday

This photo was taken about 20 years ago, which seems completely insane to me! Anyway, this is me, my sister and my brother obviously standing around a snowman that we had built. I can't even remember the last time we've had enough snow for rolling, it seems like it's always ice. Click here to see other flashback Friday posts over at Bloggin' It From the Burbs.

Short and Sweet

I have the day off today, and the girls' school was closed, so I scheduled hair appointments for them. We cut their hair off for the first time last fall, but Londyn's was getting straggly again, and I thought Skylar could use a trim. Anyway, they both wanted short cuts, and Skylar wanted to make sure hers was shorter than Londyn's. Last time, Skylar didn't want hers cut short, and hers is a little thicker so it looks better long, but this time, she was all about getting it short. So, here are the girls in their new stylish dos. They're looking a little old if you ask me, and I probably should have titled the post short and sassy rather than sweet, because I believe that is where we are headed. Scary thought!

Saturday Summary

As many of you know and are probably tired of hearing about, Kevin is working ALL of the time, so the girls and I have Saturdays to ourselves. This is a bittersweet thing. I love them more than anything, but I really require some ME time. Anyway, the day went like this .........
We met some friends for lunch at Pei Wei, I took Londyn to the bathroom, I sat down and joined in the conversation, I took Skylar to the bathroom, I finished eating dessert, I took Londyn to the bathroom, I took the girls to the bakery to drop off her bday invite so they could match the colors, Londyn decides she no longer wants the cupcakes I ordered but would rather have a New Orleans King Cake for her baking themed party, we went to the movies, I took Skylar to the bathroom but she refused to use that bathroom because it was dirty, we sat down at the movies, after much begging which I could no longer stand we walked out of the movies to get popcorn, I took Londyn to the bathroom, we sat down again in the movie, the movie ended, I took Skylar and Londyn to the bathroom, we went to Stage, I took Londyn to the bathroom, we went to Hobby Lobby, I took Skylar to the bathroom. What a great day, or it would have been had I not spent most of it in the bathroom:)

Flashback Friday

This is actually my oldest flashback Friday post so far. This picture was taken about 11 years ago, a month after Kevin and I started dating during our freshman year of college. Several of us decided to go on a ski trip for Spring Break. It was my first and only time ever to ski, and it was a pretty random group. Kevin told me he knew how to ski and could teach me, but he apparently had downhill skiing slightly confused with cross country skiing. Needless to see we were neither one very successful as skiers, but I'm sure we enjoyed our time together. I also remember when we went to rent our skis, they asked how much I weighed, and I lied by about 15 pounds because I didn't want Kevin to know because at the time he was a scrawny 120 pounds. I was worried the whole time that my skis were going to break because I was too heavy for them. Click here to see more flashback Friday posts over on Melinda's blog.

Baby Tag

1. Were you married at the time? Yes
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Excitement of course! (the first time that is:)
3. How old were you? 24
4.How did you find out? Umm.... I took a test.
5. Who did you tell first? Kevin first, and then everyone else that would listen
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Definitely
7. Due date? September 12th originally, and then they moved it to September 20th
8. Did you deliver late or on time? late, Sept. 24, I thought she was never going to get here
9. Did you have morning sickness? I had sickness, but it was more in the evening
10. What did you crave? EVERYTHING! I ate a lot of egg mcmuffins
11. Who/what irritated you the most? Anybody that was skinny
12. What was your first child's sex? a girl
13. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? I stopped counting at 60
14. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? Other than being obese, no
15. Where did you give birth? St. Francis Hospital, Tulsa
16. How many hours were you in labor? 7 or 8 maybe
17. Who drove you to the hospital? Kevin
18. Who watched? Kevin and my mom
19. Was it natural or c-section? natural
20. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Without a doubt
21. How much did your child weigh? Close to 7lbs (I should really know that, huh?)
22. Did your child have any complications? Not really
23. What did you name her? Skylar Jade
24. How old is your first born today? 5, I can't believe it

I was tagged by Mandy, so you should check out her blog to read about her adorable little girl, Vivian. I'm a total sucker for tags, I would never want to let anyone down. Anyway, I tag Brooke (this would be about Anastyn, so it would qualify), Melinda, Jessica, Tracy, April and anyone else who would like to tell about the birth of their first born:)

Music To My Ears

Since we are not actually "doing" anything blog worthy, I thought I would post a few of the funny things I've heard lately (funny to me that is, they may be stupid to you). Some from my students, some from my own children.

Why I teach....

If you recall from some previous posts, I mentioned that I am teaching the decades this year which is fun, but quite overwhelming. One of my classes was doing their research and one of the girls asked me which decade I was born in. I told her the 70's, and then strongly emphasised it was 1979 almost in the 80's. She goes "Wow, that is really old. You don't look that old." I asked her how old she thought I looked. She said "Like a teenager, maybe 21, you look so young you could be a model." She quickly jumped to the top of my list of favorite students. (j/k, I of course don't have favorites, I love them all.) So, despite my overgrown eyebrows and the holiday tire sitting around my waist, looking young made me model material in the eyes of a third grader.

In one of my other classes, most of the kids had left and only about four students were left working on their research. One of the girls was looking at a page that had a list of fifties song titles, surprised I knew several of them, I burst out in song. If you know me at all, you know I only do things like that behind closed doors in front of people that are 11 or under. Actually, you may not even believe I would do it then. Anyway, one of my usually rambunctious boys says "You have a really good voice!" I of course had to laugh, and if you have EVER heard me utter a musical note, you know that could not possibly be true. However, it made my day. If only everyone could see and hear me through the eyes of an elementary school student it would do wonders for my self image.

Tonight while I was cooking dinner (don't get the wrong idea here, that translates into heating up chicken nuggets and making grilled cheese), I told the girls they had to go play for a while while I slaved away in the kitchen. They apparently decided to have a dance contest. Skylar demonstrated some of her best moves, and then told Londyn to do hers. Londyn was being her typical goofy self. When she was done, Skylar laughed and said "Those aren't dance moves, that's like crazy monkey moves."

In the car on the way home Skylar started singing the books of the New Testament. I was shocked, I didn't even know she had been introduced to that song. She sang through most of it, and I helped her out through some of what she couldn't remember. Londyn was listening, but had obviously never heard the song because when Skylar finished, she asks "Why did he bruise James?" (Hebrews, James..just in case you didn't pick up on that.)

Busy Season

I find myself having a hard time thinking of things to blog about. The thrill of the holidays has past, the company's gone, the decorations are down(as of today), and it's back to life as we know it. It was a little hard adjusting back into the routine after the nice long break. I always love the idea of a new year, and new beginnings. I love making resolutions, even though I rarely keep them. However, once January rolls around, I'm also reminded that the usual flow of things around the Lawrence house temporarily becomes very interrupted. For those of you who don't know, Kevin's busy season is January through March, which means he works pretty much all the time, and we see him on Sundays if we're lucky. I always seem to have a hard time adjusting to this schedule, even though I know it comes around every year. Anyway, add that to 8lbs of holiday weight resting around my waist, cold weather, and I get a little down in the dumps. All of that to say I have nothing to write about or pictures to post because not much has been going on this week. Is it sad that I try to think of things we could do that would make a good blog post?

Flashback Friday

So the theme for January flashbacks is snow. These were some of my favorite pics from the snowstorm we had in January of 2007. We had several days off school, and the girls and I had a great time enjoying the snow. I pulled them around the backyard with a scarf tied around the laundry basket and then we would come in and stuff our face with smores and homeade hot chocolate. Check out Melinda's blog for more flashback friday posts.

PBK Bedding for Sale

I am redecorating the girls' rooms, so I have this bedding that I love that I am looking to get rid of. I usually use ebay, but thought I would try the blog route first this time. The pictures are not very good, but if you are at all interested and would like to see better photos, email me and I will send them to you. Both sets are from Pottery Barn Kids. This set includes the ribbon sham, duvet, bedskirt and bolster pillow as well as the floral sheet set (fitted sheet, flat sheet, and sham) all for a twin size bed.

This set includes the quilt, sham, floral sheet set, 2 small pillows, and bright pink gingham bedskirt all for a twin size bed.

I would like around $125 for each set, but would be willing to negotiate:)

If you are interested in either of these sets, leave a comment, or email me at devin_l_lawrence@yahoo.com and I will answer any questions or send more photos.

The Whole Lawrence Family...

...In the Victorian Age Lucky us, right upon the entrance of Silver Dollar City there was Tin Type photo shop. We all made Kevin's Dad very happy by agreeing to take these old time photos. I'm impressed that they actually got everyone looking. So, this is the Lawrence Family Photo for 2008.

Branson Excursion

We spent a couple of days in Branson while Kevin's family was here visiting. We spent one evening at the Branson Landing eating at Joe's Crab Shack and doing a little shopping although it was a little too cold. We also went to Silver Dollar City for a few hours, but it was too cold for most of the crew, so we didn't stay to enjoy the Christmas Parade. The girls still had a good time enjoying the rides and hanging out with the family. The girls playing ring around the rosy with their cousin Jade while we were waiting for the shuttle to take us back to the car.

The only times the girls get to enjoy sweet treats when we're out and about doing vacationy sorts of things, so Londyn chose this massive cookie, and Skylar selected this delectible blueberry muffin.

One of the shows the girls got to watch at Silver Dollar City was Frosty the Snowman.

The family riding the roller coaster.

Me and Kevin posing for Skylar to take our photo.

The favorite part of the trip was the hotel as usual. Something about sleeping in someone else's bed is sure to bring excitement The family in front of the big blue tree at Branson Landing.