Tuesday, November 01, 2011

Mom, I love Halloween

I am so glad Halloween is over. Does that make me a bad mom? Ha! I'm only sorta kidding. Its crazy trying to get all the kids the right costume and then to get them in them (or out of them). Between school parades and naptimes and dinner and trick or treating and bedtimes I was WORN out at the end of the day. Alot of work but totally worth it. Roman goes to Mothers Day Out on Mondays and Roman and Avery go Thursday so Monday morning  the kids wore their costumes and walked in a parade. I took Avery and let her walk with her class. It was cute. It's always fun to watch them in an enviroment I'm not in. Avery was so cute they have these long ropes with handles for the kids to hold onto (I need one of those). She just grabbed her ring and marched out there...all smiles. It was so cute. I got some cute pictures of her but I could not get my camera to take the picture when Roman walked past so the pictures aren't as good. WHile Roman was at school I tried (not very successfully) to get a few pictures of the girls. Avery isn't in to taking pictures. Oh well : )






This was the first year we took the kids trick or treating and they LOVED it! We live in a nice neighborhood and some of our best friends live in the neighborhood behind ours so our friends, Jada and Nathan and Emma, came and we trick or treated the neighborhoods. I really thought Roman would be intimidated and shy but boy was I wrong he RAN to the first door and the rest is history. Every lit up house : ) It was fun. I'm always so annoyed with the scary costumes....why??? I don't get it...or the slutty costumes for that matter, but that a soapbox I won't get on right now. We didn't even round the corner before Emma looked right at a scary face...grrr. Oh well we just told her it was pretend and that worked for her.



 



 




 






It was a good day, busy, but good. As we were walking Roman looked up and said, "mom I love trick or treating." Ha! It was all worth it!

It was past Ella's bedtime so she wasn't too much fun.

*Not sure why the pictures look all crazy...sorry...figuring out the new blogger : )

Friday, October 28, 2011

Dream Home...

We love our home and enjoy being so close to everything and being so much closer to JM's office. The 45 minute commute twice a day when you have little ones with early bedtimes definitely takes a toll not to mention its EXPENSIVE. Although we love our home the dream is to one day buy 5-10 acres (or more if possible) and build a house on. The intention would be to build the house we want to live on for the rest of our lives. iAnyways, I've saved this plan for a long time on my computer but I thought, "hey I can post it to pinterest and know I won't lose it." Well as usual I couldn't post a pin. I'm seriously challenged in this area so Im posting it here. I love it!!!

Here is the website just so Ill have it forever : )
http://southernlivinghouseplans.com/plans/SL024

and here are some interior pics of an actually home built by this plan.
http://landmark24.com/movein_detail.php?inv=281

That is all : )

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Honey there's a tag under your arm

Yes thats what I heard as I reached out to pay the teller at Taco Bueno (no its not on my diet : )) today. Sometimes I just want to curl up and die. Seriously, the bad thing is I've worn my new coat 3 times and I've apparently have had a big tag hanging from the left armpit everytime and no one has told me. I have a bad habit of not taking a real close look in the mirror before I leave. It is not uncommon to realize my shirt is on backwards or even worse inside out. About a year ago I was sitting in CHURCH when my mother in law came and sat down, she smiled real big and leaned over and whispered " I think your shirt is inside out." Lord have mercy....can you say embarassing!

Anyways, that was the most embarrassing part of my day and was definitely a reminder to SLOW DOWN and check myself out a little more before I walk out the door.

Roman and Avery both went to Mothers Day Out today. Thursdays are so nice. Its amazing how easy being out and about is with one baby. That one baby, Ella, is really getting much easier. Thank you Lord! The other day I was telling John Mark that Ella is a few weeks from being the age Avery was when I found out I was pregnant again. What in the world?! John Marks reply was, "makes sense Ella is getting easier I can see how we were thinking we could have another one." Apparently he forgot Ella was the surprise of the century. Thats ok I wouldn't change that surprise for anything. All that to say, I want another baby, just one, and no not now, but I'm completely certain I want another. The truth is as tired and as frustrated as I get sometimes this is absolutely what I was made to do. Its not all of who I am and there's alot more to me than wife and mommy but right now that the complete focus and I do love it. After I had Ella I thought, " this is it," I can't believe I have three kids. Truth is I think I would have three more (don't tell JM).

My heart is full.

Whose wouldn't be...look at them!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Sweet Mother of Mary

Seriously I have been working for hours on this blog and this is what it looks like...ha. What in the world?! I've been ready to pull my hair out. if anyone knows how to widen the header your help is greatly appreciated!

It does feel good to at least feel up to blogging again. Sometimes its just overwhelming. I read so many blogs and they all do something different for me. Some challenge me to be a Godly women, some of them give me great ideas for crafts or cooking, others challenge me in parenting, but all of them in some way encourage me. So when I sit down to blog I feel so "inadequate". I'm not a great storyteller and truth be told some days I just want to say "screw it", how encouraging is that??

Then it occured to me that all the blogs I love the most are honest and raw. They (the bloggers) are just documenting life. So thats my new perspective, raw, no matter what it is or how I feel I want this to be "real". I'm a stay at home mom to three great kids and sometimes I have to sit and count back when they had their last bath..ha so I definitely do a poor job keeping up with their baby books. So this will serve as a place to document the happenings of the Laney house, and whatever else goes fleeting through my brain.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Masons Giveaway




Masons is having a AWESOME giveaway. All you have to do is like them on facebook to get a chance to win the $500 giftcard. How fun would that be!!! Check it out

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Alot has happened since the last time I was on here. First and most importantly I gave birth to miss Ella Kate. My delivery was amazing by far the best experience I have ever had, not that I've had a very bad one, neverless this was truly ideal. We were induced March 9th. They told us to be there at 5 am we pulled into the hospital right as another women was very painfully walking into the ER in full labor. John Mark told me to hurry we needed to beat her in...ha. I told him I didnt think it worked that way. Turns out she wasnt the only spontaneous labor to come in that morning. We sat in the waiting room until 7. Its weird to wait in a waiting room at a hospital waiting to be induced. It was about 8:30 before I got my epidural and Dr. Hix broke my water and at 1:40 and 3 pushes later little Ella was here. She was a screamer. My loudest baby for sure. I was actually concerned she cried for so long but after an hour she nursed like a champ and fell fast asleep. She weight 7 pound 14 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. We had so many people come visit it was a huge blessing to us. Knowing you are loved and that the people you love also love your children and celebrate with you is priceless. We are VERY blessed! So here we are 4 weeks later..... Its been the shortest long month EVER...ha. It feels like yesterday I was having Ella and she still feels like a new newborn, but its been a month. At the same time it feels like shes always been here. She's a great baby and a terrific sleeper. Although she does sleep best if she's sleeping at my side or on my chest. She usually wakes up once or twice at night buy hey thats pretty stinkin good. Roman and Avery are doing great with her and show her their affection with a million hugs and kisses a day: ) They are my angels. I worried about Avery and adjusting. I remember finding out I was pregnant with Ella if I was honest I was disappointed. I feel so guilty saying that, but I can say now that I'm so happy and would change nothing about my sweet little unplanned baby. Anyways, on top of my long list of "what are we going to do's" I was worried about Avery. She's my baby and I was worried about taking something away from her and truth be told it kinda did. She is 18 months old, a baby, but shw looks so big and she's a big sister. I need/expect her to have a longer attention span and more patience than anyone really should have at her age, but next to a newborn she looks so big. Some days I step back and remember shes just a baby and I put ella in her swing and just sit and hold Avery. i kiss her sweet forehead and take her in. I know how fast all this goes and I try to memorize everything about her. Her chubby cheeks, the heaviness of her sleepy eyes, her soft sweet curls, and the sweet ways she say, "yeah" when I ask her a question. A precious girl she is and i love her. Did i mention she looks just like me when I was little. Sometimes i look at her and it like looking at an old photo of me. Its special having a kiddo that looks just like you. Anyways, when I was pregnant with Ella I focused so much on everything I might be taking away from Avery, but now I realize how great it is. I gave her a little sister that she will grow up with and being very close to. They are going to be the best of friends and that in itself is such an amazing gift. I look forward to watching them grow up. Roman, well he melts my heart. He loves being a big brother and he is good at it and he's such a great helper. Right now he's all about his trains. Thomas is his favorite and EVERYTHING in his life pertains to Thomas in one way or another. For example, I'll ask him how many chicken . nuggets he wants and he'll say 5 like James, or Roman whats your favorite color to which he'll reply blue like Thomas. When he wants a popcicle he'll say can I have a green one like Percy or yellow like Molly. Hilarious! He also quotes movies all the time. All the time. Most of what he says are quotes. He keeps me in stitches. We were at the zoo this weekend and he said, "look at that freakin horned animal." The other morning he ran into the living room right after waking up, he threw his hands in the air and said, "look how awake I am". Its funny and wonderful how your realtionship with your child changes as they grow. Roman is so much easier than he was a year ago. He's so fun to talk to and i feel like he understands most everything i say. It brings a whole other dimension to our relationship. For how easy it has become in some ways Im also struggling big time. He's very headstrong and I'm not so much. I feel overwhelmed when he's mad and yelling and slamming doors. I get so mad and lose my temper and therefore become completely uneffective. I feel like a complete failure often when dealing with him and with Avery for that matter. This momma stuff IS NOT for wimps! Praying for help. My desire for Roman to be kind and loving to have a gentle spirit and a heart for others. I want him to love the Lord and to come to know Him at a young age and be a mighty warrior and some days I'm afraid I'm not teaching him or showing him what he needs to see. It scares me that I may fail and it could cost him a lot. One thing I do see all the time is his sweet spirit. He loves to bring me flowers and love on Ella and Avery. The other day he yelled at me i didn't say anything I was too frustrated..about 20 minutes later he came up to me and said, "sorry I yelled at you." It was amazing lol and so sweet. I was so proud of him in that moment that he knew he did something wrong and wanted to apologize. It's in those moments that i realize I'm not screwing him up too bad. I love to go watch him sleep at night. He's such a beautiful sleeper. Roman looks so handsome when he sleeps. It could be his 6 inch dark eyelashes that melt me. Its hard to believe he's almost four. I love to watch him sleep because no matter how hard the day was I'm always reminded in his quiet room watching my big baby sleep how precious these days are and how fast they go by. Those fast days add up up and before I know it years have passed and i know one day I'll be watching my 15 year old boy sleep yearning for these days. My "new" life as mom to 3 kids is a lot harder than I ever expected but its totally worth it. These children and their dad are my world. Lord please help me show them what a blessing they are to me. Help my words, my tone, my expressions, everything about me show then how precious they are to me and how much I love them. Thank you for choosing to give them to me and entrusting me with their lives. I know I'm pretty special to you because you chose to give me them. Thank you. Please protect them and keep them safe. In Jesus name

Back and ready to blog

Today I'm back to blogging and after thinking about it for awhile i decided to put it on private. I've always wanted to keep a journal or a diary but never stuck with it very long. It takes too long to write it all down and my mind moves way to fast. Blogging helps with that i can type much faster than I can write ha. So, this will be my e-diary :) Alot has happened since the last time I was on here. First and most importantly I gave birth to miss Ella Kate. My delivery was amazing by far the best experience I have ever had, not that I've had a very bad one, neverless this was truly ideal. We were induced March 9th. They told us to be there at 5 am we pulled into the hospital right as another women was very painfully walking into the ER in full labor. John Mark told me to hurry we needed to beat her in...ha. I told him I didnt think it worked that way. Turns out she wasnt the only spontaneous labor to come in that morning. We sat in the waiting room until 7. Its weird to wait in a waiting room at a hospital waiting to be induced. It was about 8:30 before I got my epidural and Dr. Hix broke my water and at 1:40 and 3 pushes later little Ella was here. She was a screamer. My loudest baby for sure. I was actually concerned she cried for so long but after an hour she nursed like a champ and fell fast asleep. She weight 7 pound 14 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. We had so many people come visit it was a huge blessing to us. Knowing you are loved and that the people you love also love your children and celebrate with you is priceless. We are VERY blessed! So here we are 4 weeks later..... Its been the shortest long month EVER...ha. It feels like yesterday I was having Ella and she still feels like a new newborn, but its been a month. At the same time it feels like shes always been here. She's a great baby and a terrific sleeper. Although she does sleep best if she's sleeping at my side or on my chest. She usually wakes up once or twice at night buy hey thats pretty stinkin good. Roman and Avery are doing great with her and show her their affection with a million hugs and kisses a day: ) They are my angels. I worried about Avery and adjusting. I remember finding out I was pregnant with Ella if I was honest I was disappointed. I feel so guilty saying that, but I can say now that I'm so happy and would change nothing about my sweet little unplanned baby. Anyways, on top of my long list of "what are we going to do's" I was worried about Avery. She's my baby and I was worried about taking something away from her and truth be told it kinda did. She is 18 months old, a baby, but shw looks so big and she's a big sister. I need/expect her to have a longer attention span and more patience than anyone really should have at her age, but next to a newborn she looks so big. Some days I step back and remember shes just a baby and I put ella in her swing and just sit and hold Avery. i kiss her sweet forehead and take her in. I know how fast all this goes and I try to memorize everything about her. Her chubby cheeks, the heaviness of her sleepy eyes, her soft sweet curls, and the sweet ways she say, "yeah" when I ask her a question. A precious girl she is and i love her. Did i mention she looks just like me when I was little. Sometimes i look at her and it like looking at an old photo of me. Its special having a kiddo that looks just like you. Anyways, when I was pregnant with Ella I focused so much on everything I might be taking away from Avery, but now I realize how great it is. I gave her a little sister that she will grow up with and being very close to. They are going to be the best of friends and that in itself is such an amazing gift. I look forward to watching them grow up. Roman, well he melts my heart. He loves being a big brother and he is good at it and he's such a great helper. Right now he's all about his trains. Thomas is his favorite and EVERYTHING in his life pertains to Thomas in one way or another. For example, I'll ask him how many chicken . nuggets he wants and he'll say 5 like James, or Roman whats your favorite color to which he'll reply blue like Thomas. When he wants a popcicle he'll say can I have a green one like Percy or yellow like Molly. Hilarious! He also quotes movies all the time. All the time. Most of what he says are quotes. He keeps me in stitches. We were at the zoo this weekend and he said, "look at that freakin horned animal." The other morning he ran into the living room right after waking up, he threw his hands in the air and said, "look how awake I am". Its funny and wonderful how your realtionship with your child changes as they grow. Roman is so much easier than he was a year ago. He's so fun to talk to and i feel like he understands most everything i say. It brings a whole other dimension to our relationship. For how easy it has become in some ways Im also struggling big time. He's very headstrong and I'm not so much. I feel overwhelmed when he's mad and yelling and slamming doors. I get so mad and lose my temper and therefore become completely uneffective. I feel like a complete failure often when dealing with him and with Avery for that matter. This momma stuff IS NOT for wimps! Praying for help. My desire for Roman to be kind and loving to have a gentle spirit and a heart for others. I want him to love the Lord and to come to know Him at a young age and be a mighty warrior and some days I'm afraid I'm not teaching him or showing him what he needs to see. It scares me that I may fail and it could cost him a lot. One thing I do see all the time is his sweet spirit. He loves to bring me flowers and love on Ella and Avery. The other day he yelled at me i didn't say anything I was too frustrated..about 20 minutes later he came up to me and said, "sorry I yelled at you." It was amazing lol and so sweet. I was so proud of him in that moment that he knew he did something wrong and wanted to apologize. It's in those moments that i realize I'm not screwing him up too bad. I love to go watch him sleep at night. He's such a beautiful sleeper. Roman looks so handsome when he sleeps. It could be his 6 inch dark eyelashes that melt me. Its hard to believe he's almost four. I love to watch him sleep because no matter how hard the day was I'm always reminded in his quiet room watching my big baby sleep how precious these days are and how fast they go by. Those fast days add up up and before I know it years have passed and i know one day I'll be watching my 15 year old boy sleep yearning for these days. My "new" life as mom to 3 kids is a lot harder than I ever expected but its totally worth it. These children and their dad are my world. Lord please help me show them what a blessing they are to me. Help my words, my tone, my expressions, everything about me show then how precious they are to me and how much I love them. Thank you for choosing to give them to me and entrusting me with their lives. I know I'm pretty special to you because you chose to give me them. Thank you. Please protect them and keep them safe. In Jesus name