TEMPER TANTRUMS

Life is NOT always a bowl of Cherries with two little Drama queens in the house :) Here is some footage of them at their finest. An while not cute and sweet I do want to remember these moments too....

If Kayelyn doesn't get her way she throws herself on the ground and yells NO NO NO!



She is also very defiant. If you tell her to stop something she tests and tests. If you tell her no, that's the end of it- she FLIPS OUT!

This video was captured the same day. I allowed Briley to Chew a piece of gum as long as she promised NOT to play with it or take it out of her mouth. She did take it out of her mouth so I made her spit it out-- hence this all out FIT.

Later on, after everyone calmed down KK did say some cute words for me...



They have their moments, but dang, I love them :)

Two Faces that I can't let go of....

Kate McRae

Layla Grace

These two beautiful girls are constantly on my mind. I cannot seem to function at 100% because I am haunted by the devastation that their family is enduring and cannot even imagine what they are going through. I feel a very specific pull to families with sick children since we were once sitting by our daughters bedside praying for a miracle. God granted us our miracle. These are just two of many beautiful faces that are putting up a brave fight against childhood cancer.

Many of us ask why? I don't know these children, or their families personally. I have been following their stories for months. I pray everyday for them. I don't know why God does things the things he does and neither do you, but it's all part of a greater purpose and a greater plan. I know, that personally he has showed me that its important to take time and smell the roses. STOP worrying about the dishes in the sink, the laundry, the mess in the kids rooms. Savor each moment because you never know when it will be your last. These two girls have taught me so much in the past few months and for that I am grateful.

These two are still fighting and miracles can still happen. Please pray for them and for their comfort and peace and for their dear families who are watching their precious children deteriorate. I cannot even imagine.

PRAY FOR LAYLA!

This little girl needs a miracle!! I know God can make miracles happen. Even if you have just an OUNCE of faith, please pour what you can into a prayer for this sweet girl and her family....

http://laylagrace.org/

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG Girl Bed!

Briley got her "BIG BIG BIG BIG bed" (that's what she calls it) this weekend. We thought forever about what size to use.... We have LOTS of beds people have given us over time.... We have two twin bunks beds that were my dad's, and a gorgeous iron full size bed, AND this queen that used to be in our guest room.....

After much deliberation, we decided the queen, while very BIG for a 4 year old was the best choice because all of my family lives out of town and we always need more places for them to sleep..... So when they come a for a visit, they can stay in the pink paradise- aka BGB's Room :) Kayelyn will get the full bed eventually....

I found the bedding at Bed Bath and Beyond.... I just love it!

Sully really likes the bed too :)

Briley was all snuggled up, reading before bed

She is so proud of her big girl bed and her "NEW" room. She is keeping it clean and came down when she woke up today to announce that she made her bed. Sure enough, she made it and it looked ALMOST perfect. She asked me this weekend to show her how to make the bed like I make mine.... Apparently she paid attention. It's amazing what they can pick up on!!!

She is such a good, sweet girl :)

And don't forget about KK, here she is at bed time all cozy in her crib :) Yes thats a Soothie Newborn Binkie. Its from her Time in the NICU and she still loves it :)

Her Room is still the same peaceful place it's always been.... I just love her room :)

Fun @ Hermann Park

I had a photoshoot downtown this weekend. Nathan took the girls to the park during my shoot and I met up with them afterward to play and get some cute pictures :)

Right behind Kayelyn is Children's Memorial Hermann. She was throwing a fit, but after I took the photo it hit me, that my healthy baby girl is in the same photo as the hospital she was gravely ill in.... last time she was in a photo with the hospital, she was in the level III NICU. We are so blessed to have her in our lives. After I took this photo a wave of emotion hit me... I just can't believe how blessed we are.

A better view of the hospital, the Life Flight landing pad is visible, that's where Kayelyn landed in a helicopter when she was just hours old....

No time for a Sick MOMMY!

We have been SICK! At the beginning of the week, I started feeling pretty crappy and headed to the doctor.... They told me I had an inconclusive strep test, bronchitis, sinus infection and a double ear infection.... NOT FUN. That night my right eardrum ruptured....I made it through work most of the week, but I wasn't getting any better. On Thursday Briley spiked a fever after school so we headed to the urgent care.... They said she has bronchitis and pharyngitis and gave her an antibiotic..... I asked the doc to look in my ear again and when she did she said O-M-G!!! You're antibiotic is not working and gave me levaquin and steroid ear drops.... SO now Kayelyn is on an antibiotic, her ENT called one in today....both kids are better troopers than me.... I have been in tears most of the week, working and taking care of two kids while you're this sick SUCKS!!!! Hopefully we are all on the mend. I can only hope!The girls LOVE to sit together in the Big Chair and watch Barney and Dora and Max & Ruby and the Wonder Pets.... they sit there and talk and giggle. Its the cutest EVER! I am so glad I have two girls! SISTERS ARE AWESOME!

So I have truly found the best deal ever. On a jaunt to get juice and tylenol, I saw the CUTEST pillows and covers.... They sell them at Target. The Brand is ReSTYLE. The Pillow Inserts are $4.99 and the covers are $4.99. What a BARGAIN!! They have them in TONS of styles and colors!!! I couldn't resist these. RED & ORANGE AND RETRO all on a perfect plump pillow!?!? Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE LOVE LOVE pillows.

fuhgettaboutit.....

And THIS is the photo of the week. Anytime you tell Kayelyn NO for any reason at all, she does this fit throwing thing and pouts that bottom lip out!! I now like telling her NO for no reason just to get this face! It's priceless!!

If we all heal and get well, we are going to try to get Briley's Big girl bed put together this weekend.... This is a big job that consists of painting a wrought iron bed baby pink (Briley requested pink, I wanted white but she begged. You're only a kid once- HECK! Why not have a pink bed??) getting bedding, something solid and bright and fun, buying a queen size mattress and getting it all moved into her room and the old stuff moved out. I think we can handle it over the course of the next few days..... Stay tuned!

Please keep this Family in your prayers....

I learned of this little girl's story and have been following it for months now. My heart aches for her and her family. Please take the time to STOP and read this....

http://laylagrace.org

When your done, please stop and pray. This family needs a miracle and they need your prayers.

Life is too short. Please hug your babies. Don't worry about the dirty dishes or the laundry to be folded..... There is SO much more to life than that. Enjoy your family. Don't be a slave to your job.... In a moment it can all be gone.

I've changed my perspective of my life so much, from all this little girl and her family has gone through! Please Lord, help me not take the little annoying things for granted anymore! It's so easy to get upset... Life goes by way too fast! No... one knows their time... So enjoy EVERY moment!

Snow man in the Kitchen?

I thought we would go ahead and revisit the accessories that Kayelyn loves SO much :) These are her sunglasses..... Yes it's nighttime, inside the house, and yes she wore them MOST of the night :)

Daddy is home this weekend, so after dinner the girls watch the olympics with daddy and ate lollipops.

Nathan and I were playing with his new camera tonight and took a pic of ourselves :)

This is KK's Grin when you tell her to say cheese.

Here I am with the girls.... Check out the glasses.... Still wearing them :)

Nathan was up in the snow is Dallas this past week- they had 12 inches of snow!!! he took some pictures for us!

Nathan brought SNOW home for Briley in a cooler. She was SO excited. She thought it was so neat to have snow from Daddy's job....

Then we made a snowman in the kitchen!!!!

Valentine's Party and Goggles....

Kayelyn LOVES accessories..... Shoes, Socks, Hairbows, jewelry, hats- her latest craze is goggles. She found these in the pool bag and has been obsessed with them ever since. She will literally wear them for hours until they fog up- like you see below. She is SO funny!

Briley and Haylee had their Valentine's party at school today..... I took some cute pics of them....
This is Briley with her friend Frida.

Briley made me a magnet- she was so proud to show it off!

They had ice cream sundaes which they LOVED!

Haylee's class had HUGE pink cupcakes.... Haylee loved the pink icing!

We made little heart shaped pizzas for our class! They LOVED THEM!

Something to be Proud of....

So I am pretty proud of myself tonight. The past couple weeks I hit a small plateau. I was losing tiny amounts- I was NOT happy. After toying with thoughts of quitting I opted to channel my anger into my time at the gym and it paid off. Watching the Biggest Loser inspires me. If they can do, there is no reason I can't be great as well. I have realized the dishes, laundry etc will be there when I get home. It's time to focus on me and make myself a priority.

I was told that I should take my body weight and divide that in half. That number, in ounces is how much water you should be drinking each day to maintain fast weightloss. I did it all week and yes I had to pee every 30 minutes :)

This past week I was averaging 14 miles a day on the bike, 3 miles on the elliptical and 1.5-2 miles aerobic walking on a treadmill at a steep incline.... After that I lifted weights. There is only one way to do this and do it right and I am hitting it hard and steady. I WILL SUCCEED!

I lost 4.2 lbs this week, meaning I am at -28lbs..... I am thrilled!!!! Pretty soon I will be sitting down to set a long term goal and I am pretty nervous about this. I have a long path ahead of me. Please keep me in your prayers!!

Valentine's Cuties!

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, of course the girls are wearing red and pink :) I love dressing them up in Holiday Themed Clothes!!! They look so cute!!

I am amazed when I look at pictures (Even though I see them everyday) how much they have grown.... Look how tall Kayelyn is!

Briley is such a little lady....

And check out how LONG her legs are!! We are in big trouble!! she is going to be a super model!

I can't believe in 2.5 weeks I will be able to spend A LOT more time with these two adorable faces.... I am really looking forward to it!! I enrolled Kayelyn in her Pre-K class today, it's hard to believe BOTH my girls will be in school next year!!! Time sure does fly!