2 Little Girls

Cooper Isaac is Here!

2010-08-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition is here! So grateful for this sweet little boy! He is perfect in every way...God is so good!
He arrived on Tuesday, August 10th at 8:46 pm.
6 pounds 15 ounces
21 inches long

Thanks for all your prayers friends..it was a long haul but God is faithful!

10 Things I really should have already blogged about..

2010-07-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am really hoping to get back on track here with this blogging thing. Do you think it will get easier with a newborn?? Anyways...

Here are 10 things I really should have already made note of in our little Smith World:
1. Gracie lost her first tooth at 4 years old! Nic bribed her to let him wiggle it out with $10!! I remember a trusty rusty single under my pillow when I lost a tooth-I really hope she doesn't get used to that one. (Gotta love the snarl for dramatic effect)

2. Vacation was awesome! We went back to Duck, North Carolina again and had some wonderful weather. Most days were nice and hot like you like vaca to be but we did have a couple cooler days. Those cooler days were some of the best because we got out and did new things we never would have tried in the heat. We went to these large sand dunes on one of those cooler days and the girls had a blast running up and down them. They were really cool looking. Nic used the opportunity for some great plyometric training...my hero!

3. The girls now both love the beach(last year Gracie was not really into it)!

4. We went crabbing for real(not just nighttime on the beach with flashlights running around so they don't run across your feet) and it was so much fun! We roped up chicken necks and got some large handled nets and we went down to a dock on the sound. I think all of the girls got a chance to pull one in. We actually caught some large enough to take back to the house and cook. I was amazed at the whole process. Did you know that you can turn a crab on it's belly and rub a little bit to put it to sleep?
I love it when we find new family traditions! (Sorry no pic here-8 months prego in the hot sun walking to the dock was good enough. I had to lighten the load somewhere!)

5. I turned 30! Thank you Ashley and Jackie for a splendid and beautiful surprise! I never love that kind of thing girls but this time I did. It was so nice hanging with friends and family. I can't believe I am 30!! Nic told me 30 was the new 40-such a brat.

6. Fourth of July Party at the Smith Residence-We can see the Grove City fireworks from our front porch so we always try and host this Holiday. It is nice to not have to fight crowds..even if we are a little far from the action. It's all good-the kiddos love it anyways. Thanks to my dear cousin Ashley all the kids were in heaven because she rocked out some sweet face painting. I thought they were going to do little stars, hearts, maybe even some super festive flags...but no...they had full on animal faces that some folks would pay the big bucks for at the zoo. Aunt Ashley...You rock on so many fronts girl!

7. We welcomed a special little girl named Rylee into our family. We are all absolutely smitten with this little sweetie pie! My aunt and her husband have taken on the powerful role of parenting their granddaughter. I am so proud of them and so thankful that God has His hand on this special little love. Bold Faith & Powerful Love!!
We love you Rylee!

8. I am 37 and 1/2 weeks pregnant today! Let's just say that deserved a number all by itself...I am telling you that this must be done soon! Yes soon and very soon! I can't wait to get my hands on this little babe!

9. Happy Birthday Gracie! Gracie turned 5 on July 15th. I really don't know where time goes..maybe it is the pregnancy hormones or the heat, but I am really in a sentimental place. There is something so powerful about watching your babies grow up...really unexplainable. Being entrusted to raise up babies is such a precious gift..God is so good!
Gracie-you are an amazing young lady. I am so proud of how you lead as the oldest kiddo in the family. You are so smart and beautiful and you are so precious to me and daddy. Thank you for teaching us how to be a mommy and daddy and thank you for being who God made you to be. You ooze with sweet love and compassion and I am so blessed to have you in my life!

10. Did I mention that I really long to done with this pregnancy? Don't get me wrong..I am completely grateful to be carrying another child..I am just done carrying him on the inside. I will give him another week(haha-as if I have any control)
Another tidbit for you..a little nugget so to say...did you know that baby actually initiates labor? Once his lungs are fully mature, he releases a protein that tells mom's body that it is go time. So I say...little lungs-be complete today!!
Your new little room awaits...

She Rides!

2010-05-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

Shiloh has decided that she is now 3 years old and it is time to catch up with big sister on the bike riding with no training wheels. Chalk it up-one more thing Shiloh has decided to learn out of sheer desire to be bigger than she really is!

I love your spunk girl-but maybe slow down and stay little for a little longer...please!!
The second little clip is my exclusive interview with the "BW" -Nic has been the bike whisperer(BW) lately. He has been helping all of our nieces pick up the bike and try with no training wheels. He has a little method he is quite proud of...eat your heart out Lance Armstrong..or so at least that is what Nic thinks!

Happy Birthday Shiloh!!

2010-05-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Okay...so I am a litle late on this one. Blame it on the nesting(yes I am cleaning every nook and cranny in this joint, right?) or the increased desire for a nap again in the afternoon. Either one of those excuses could work but mostly that first one...well maybe mostly the first one...maybe!

Shiloh turned 3 on April 22nd-Earth Day! It was a beautiful day and we celebrated with the family. Because celebrating with just the fam brings us oodles and oodles of children...birthdays are always a par-TAY! Shiloh posed like a pro for the cake and candle fun..
then decided to take a bite of the number 3 candle! I guess that was probably what she was thinking about in that first pose. Shouldn't everything be edible on the cake??

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Then we busted out some old school fun with the
biggest play parachute ever! I borrowed
one from school and with all of the fun
loving adults around at the party we made
some incredible tents. The kids were going
nuts running around under the tent..good times for sure.

We had such a great time celebrating Shiloh's special day!
Shiloh-you are a rockin' little 3 year old. Mama and daddy are so blessed that God trusted us with you. I am amazed everyday that there is never a task too big for you. You have such amazing faith-and NO FEAR! Oh to be more like you is my prayer!
You have the sweetest little servant heart and there are so many things in life that we never even had to teach you to do. You are just gifted in that way..so special! You fill our lives with purpose Shiloh and we are forever grateful for YOU!
We love you Princess Shiloh!

Good Friday Garden Time

2010-04-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Good Friday is the day that many farmers use as the day to get potatoes planted in the ground. My grandpa sticks to this practice every year. Last year we helped more with the harvesting of his garden and this year I decided to get the girls over and help put the plants in the ground. We planted rows of potatoes and rows of onions because they will not be bothered by the frost. What an interesting process!! I am not sure why it took me this long to become as interested as I am now! We planted rotten chucks of potatoes that have been drying out for a month with eyes sprouting. You always plant the eye up and it is best to let them get completely dried up-my grandpa calls it scabbed-so they won't get eaten by any little creatures.
Many lessons were learned today and we had so much fun! One of the most interesting lines of the day came from my grandpa. He said the potato has to rot and die so it can bear fruit. Such a point on this Good Friday. Through death we have life!

Locks of Love

2010-03-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

Well friends-it is finished! The growing of unruly, shabby, stringy hair is over!! Gracie and I decided to cut our hair and donate it to Locks of Love yesterday. Gracie has had an incredible amount of hair for awhile now and after talking and sharing some pictures with her she decided that she was ready for a cut and she wanted to be able to donate it for a wig. We are so proud of her!! She wanted me to join in with her in this quest so I decided to support her. I didn't quite have my 10 inches but we found out that Locks of Love will take a minimum of 6 inches to offset the price of making wigs and hairpieces. So Gracie's 10 1/2 inches will go to an actual wig and my 8 1/2 inches will be used for spare pieces.
Aunt Jackie hooked us up with some cute little bobs and the world is a little lighter with our fresh new perspective!!
Great Job Gracie-your heart is so beautiful! And your new little cut is too!
Thanks Aunt Jackie for rocking like always-you made this a fun adventure for us!

I am trying to get back into the blog of things!

2010-03-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Wow-it has been a long time! I actually feel guilty every time I come to my blog to check all of my friend's blogs because of the pitiful December 8th posting I see every time I pull it up. Not being one to make a lot of excuses for myself...I will give you some reasons that MAY have led to my blogging breakdown.
MAYBE.....
1. It happened because of my incredibly long streak of vomiting everyday since December 19th. Yes-EVERYDAY-since December 19th. You did read that correctly. I finally stopped about a week or so ago-Thank You JESUS!
*I have really good technique now because of all of the practice. I have mastered the art of it some could and would say. I know how to turn the bathroom light on long enough to get my toothbrush situated and quickly turn it out before premature vomiting occurs. You see-if the light is on-you may see something to trigger it too quickly. Not that I have some foul bathroom-don't want you to get any ideas-but I do share it with a man and it is crazy the things you see that make you think of something else!! So how did I make it to the toilet during said vomit time? I am sure you were thinking that-that is easy-I just take my cell phone and open the screen slightly to give me that nice blue light in the room that reveals enough but not too much. Then I can safely find the toilet and start the heaving process. I really had the routine down. It worked while it needed to but I do not miss it one bit now!
2. It was because driving home at noon everyday put me into a bit of a coma. One that ended up with me shoveling some lunch in me and the girls and sacking out with the children for a long and beautiful 2 hour nap. Yes that happened most days of my first trimester-no lying up in here-but it felt oh so right. I have so much to do in my house right now just like catching up on this blog that is not even funny but I rested when I could friends.
3. It was because night time has not been the right time for Erin. Sleep hasn't come easily this first trimester because of the night sickness. This has intensified the extreme sleepiness and coma like feeling at noon everyday. I was my sickest at night! Once I could get settled and calmed down from the nausea would always be when I had to go to the bathroom. This just stirred it all right back up again. I tried to devise a plan for beating the system. I could either lay and pee on myself-yeah I never even considered that one, or I could try and trick my body that I was still laying there settled, and asleep. Sounds funny but I was desperate. I tried my darnedest to roll out of the bed without raising my head too much. I then got as low to the ground as I could never opening my eyes once. I had to make my body think it was still asleep. I army crawled my way to the bathroom every night hoping this would do the trick. I even sat on the pot with my eyes closed trying to mimic sleeping breathing. I made my way back into bed only to find it never worked. I was sick until I got up and puked everyday without fail. Now why did I do this more than a couple times? I knew it never worked but I had to be trying something for my sanity.

So...maybe it was one or all of these reasons that kept me away from bloggy land. BUT..it is also all of the reasons that I will get to hold a new sweet little bundle come August. And for that I would do #1, #2, and #3 again and again and again!!
Here are some pics from the past couple of months:
*I was getting dinner ready one evening and found the girls setting their own table up complete with vase and rose in the middle. Gracie had climbed up to get the pretty glasses and filled them up with some beautiful apple juice. Cheers! This was a mommy bite your tongue moment because I allowed them to stay where they set up on the carpet against my better judgement. And everything was just fine!!

Some snow day fun and Shiloh in a princess dress. The kid seriously lives in a princess dress and I always have to introduce her. Even if we are the only ones home. Introducing the one, the only Princess Snow White Shiloh!

Just a few pics from our Christmas Photo Session

2009-12-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

We always try and go to the Franklin Park Conservatory for Christmas pictures because the lighting is just so perfect. The girls feel like little princesses coming down the big white staircase. It is always so beautiful there at Christmas time.
Now nothing gurantees cooperation from the little ones but the stage was set up for us quite nicely. All we could do was bribe the heck out of them with giant candy cane lollipops. We did have some minor issues that led to extra bribes for Shiloh but we managed to squeak out a few.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

2009-12-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

Gracie had her first great performance last Sunday night for her preschool Christmas program. She attends preschool through the Grove City Christian school at GC Nazarene. It is a pretty large church so when we got there on Sunday night, I just assumed they were integrating their little show into their church service because the place was packed. Really-standing room only. I later realized that in fact it wasn't their regularly scheduled church service-it really was just the GC Christian School Christmas program complete with a pre-concert by the fabulous worship team and choir at the church. Everything was beautifully decorated and put together. I started getting a little nervous for Gracie. Imagine looking out over a thousand people with spotlights in your face as a 4 year old. I started feeling things for her in a way that only a mother can.
Finally it gets to her little group and Shiloh and I race down to the front to get some pictures and reassure her-there was no way she was going to get to spot us in that crowd! We get down right in front of her and she looked so nervous. Her little face was so pale and finally we made eye contact-it was so awesome-she just melted and smiled and waved her little hands. She just needed to see us and all was okay! I loved being there for her in that moment-I loved being the one to take the fear away. My eyes filled up with tears and I could not stop smiling. I was so proud of her! Indescribable!
My little Rudolph with her nose so bright-I will never ever forget that moment!

Tree Picking

2009-12-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

So we went to Christmas town a couple days after Thanksgiving and I am just now posting...it has been very busy lately!!
We always enjoy going to the tree farm to pick out our tree. I remember as a kid loading up in my dad's pick up truck with the dog in the back going to pick out our tree. All 4 of us piled in on laps (there were no extended cab seats in the Boyd pick-up)-probably not the safest but always a great memory. It is fun to make new memories with my little ones now!
We have this awesome tree farm near our house that is complete with a bonfire and hot chocolate to warm the tummy. It was a beautiful day and of course we found our perfect tree. It may be leaning a bit to the left as we speak but perfect nonetheless!
Here are a few pics to highlight our fun...and I was not playing favorites here-Shiloh was just not feeling the Polaroid opportunities.

Introducing..

2009-10-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Gracie as "Muno", Shiloh as "Foofa", and Natalie as "Plex"
Cutest little Gabba Friends I have ever seen(sure a little biased)

Homemade costumes courtesy of my dear sweet cousin Ashley! This was so fun! The girls, of course, wanted to dress up as something I couldn't find at Red Dot Boutique(Target) or any other store for that matter so I enlisted the help of my oh so lovely and talented cousin. We spent a couple of hours (times 5 probably) shopping, designing, cutting, sewing, etc. to put together the coolest costumes I have ever seen. What a cool process! Sure they only had them on for a short time but making them was where the fun was at for sure!

Thanks Ash-You Rock Girl!!

Here is a picture of the Real Gabbas just so you know who these goofy characters are anyway.

Little Red Leash

2009-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Oh look at Nic here with his new pet! Wait...you can't see it? Sure you can-look again. Don't you see his new little pet on a red leash?

Okay...here's the zoom look. Nic caught a flippin' bee today and played a little trick. He captured him in a bowl and put a lid on him after Shiloh nearly had a heart attack that he was in her kitchen. Nic then proceeded to put the sealed up bowl in the freezer to attempt to put a leash on him. After a few minutes in the freezer, sure enough, the bee was not moving and very cooperative with the tying on of the little red string. The girls were going nuts. It was absolutely hilarious! Nic then decided it was time to see his trick in action. He very carefully "warmed" his little friend by blowing on him in cupped hands. It stinkin' worked and the bee started coming back to life and moving around. He came back to a life in chains friends. He was bound and Nic was on the other end of the string.

Here is our bee on a leash in action. You can see the bend of the red thread-he is trying to fly!!
It is really crazy how long we sat trying to capture "movement" shots for this bee. I had actual tears in my eyes I laughed so hard!

Here is a close up view of our new little friend. This is early on in his shackled life but no worries-we freed him out the front door sans red thread! (wouldn't have really been my option for getting rid of him but the children were highly involved and really did latch on to the whole pet thing!!)

Just look at him-so proud of his cool self! A legend in his own mind friends-a legend!!

Riding 2 Wheelers

2009-09-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

One day last week Gracie asked me and Nic to help her ride her bike with no training wheels so of course we said yes. Nic promptly takes the training wheels off her little Dora bike. He was ready-he knew his role!! Natalie decided she wanted to try also so they suited up in their little helmets to give it a whirl! It was an absolute thrill to see them attempt this new challenge. Just seeing their excitement as they prepared themselves for the job at hand was enough to make me cry. It didn't even matter yet if they were successful. Seeing them get that pumped showed a lot about their character. They had confidence, not because they knew they could do it, but because they asked and we said yes. That is all they needed to know. We wouldn't have let them try something we thought would hurt them and they knew that. That was all they needed to know. I think that is such a cool lesson. I don't need to know if I am going to be good at something or do it perfectly, I just need to know if my Heavenly Father says yes. That is all the confidence I should need. Thank you Gracie and Natalie for reminding me of that!
They went on to do a great job. They did it. They rode free of training wheels. Sure there were some falls and we do have some work still but they kept that confidence and they learned how to give it a try. I am so proud of you both!!

Of course he got on that tiny little bike-of course he did!
He is such a nerd.

Dancing Machine

2009-09-29T11:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Grandma Cindi's 50th birthday this past weekend with the most fun party ever complete with a disco ball, candy buffet, and dance floor! The party was at The Now Center in New Albany where Grandma Cindi works. The building alone was beautiful but was topped off with some pretty hot decorations! Gracie's jaw about hit the floor when she saw all of the pink! Grandma Cindi decided that her 50th birthday party would not really be about herself at all but rather a chance to get friends and family together to brag a bit about what God is doing within her group, Girls With Attitude. It was so awesome to see all the people throughout different walks of her life that came together to support her ministry. Some really cool things are happening in lives because of a girl with her bike and an open heart to serve people. I am so proud of her work and so excited to see what is next for this wonderful group!
The party was so fun for the girls. They were tearing up the dance floor with some crazy moves. Regular little dancing machines. I need to be recording this stuff for sure! I looked over at one point and saw Shiloh carrying a piece of cake over to a table with one hand. She was helping herself to some more of that good stuff. Never mind I had already given her a piece. I guess that is what Grandma's birthday is for, right?

This would be a move called hawk in the sky. For all of you that have watched Hannah Montana the movie (yes I do realize that is not many) this move comes from the hoedown throwdown. I may have seen it so many times that I know the dance by heart. Just maybe!

So you think you can dance dance dance dance! Watch out season 20 something!

Low low low low! This would have to be a move she learned from her daddy.
Happy Birthday Grandma Cindi! We love you so much!

Gracie's First Day of Preschool

2009-09-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Gracie started preschool today at the Grove City Christian School(located at the Grove City Nazarene) and I can't even believe she is old enough for this. It is amazing how time flies. I was thinking about how it just feels like yesterday I was cheering for her to take her first steps. Every step of this motherhood journey has taught me so much about the very character of God. I know every feeling of love and adoration I have towards my children is just a small glimpse into how our heavenly father feels about us.
As I sent her off with Daddy this morning to go to preschool, I was just so overwhelmed with pride. I am proud of the little lady she has become and I am so grateful for the gifts God is developing within her. She had such a wonderful time and can't wait until Thursday so she can go back to see Ms. Shirley and Ms. Becky. It is so cool watching her grow up.
Happy first day of preschool Gracie Bella!

Calgon Take Me Away

2009-09-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

Calgon Take Me Away! Is that commercial still on? Anywho-that was a memory from my childhood. I remember those goofy commercials where the woman was drawing the largest bubblebath froth ever seen with her permed hair and fluffy robe saying calgon take me away. So you wonder why this is being blogged about right now right? Well, Kindergarten is back in session. Let me slow that back down for you. kindergarten.is.back.in.session
And every year, I wonder why I choose to put myself through kindergarten being back in session.
On day 1 with all of my kindergarten students(another teacher and I are sharing 33 kindergarteners) I was:
1. punching bag punched in the stomach 3 times by a FIVE year old
2. escorting a FIVE year old to the office in a trained hold with my co-teacher and partner in crime
3. told by this very same FIVE year old that he "ain't afraid of nobody"
4. losing my patience as I reminded this FIVE year old that he was just FIVE-slapped my hand on the table in front of him as I slowly said F-I-V-E(yes I do realize that this angry child was not getting my sarcasm but really dude-you are only 5 years old)
5. ducking and covering as a wooden letter U from a puzzle was heaved into the air (by another 5 year old) smashing into the ceiling and quickly bouncing back to try and attack my head
6. tripped up as I was helping another teacher escort a 2nd grader to the office in that same trained hold I mentioned earlier. He was a little bigger-SEVEN years old!
I tripped and fell right on my face into the guidance counselor's office.
You know you are a school teacher when you have a day like mentioned and somehow talk yourself into returning for another day. Now I do not hope this continues in any fashion but I do have to admit that my friend and cohort in this madness and I have some really fun times because all you can do sometimes is laugh. Well after a good cry!!

Creation Museum

2009-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Catching up here on some summer fun we had! We went to the Creation Museum a few weeks ago for a girls weekend. It is located about 10 minutes from Cincinnati in Florence Kentucky. I know, I always remember Florence Y'All on the water tower when we would travel south as a kid. Do Y'All remember Florence Y'All or is it just me??
Anyways, any trip staying in a hotel with a swimming pool is fun for the girlies. They are quite easy to please! We did have a great time. The museum was a little more geared for the older family but we enjoyed our time looking at how God created this amazing universe we live in. The best part of the trip was the exotic petting zoo. The girls got to feed an enormous camel as well as pet zorses(zebra horses) and billy goats. Gracie even got a chance to snuggle up with a Wallaby(spelling??). Here I am with my fresh Mater's Degree and I don't even know what a Wallaby is or how to spell it for that matter. I am calling for Gracie to come see the baby Kangaroo at the museum and a 12 year old corrects me that it is actually not a Joey at all, it is a Wallaby. So there you have it friends-Gracie held a Wallaby, not a baby kangaroo! What is the difference anyway??

It is official....

2009-08-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

I am officially a Master's Degree holder. I have no picture of the degree for you to prove my accomplishment but it is real babies!! I just got my grades today! 4.0 Chicas-I finished with style!!
I know many of you were thinking something else when you first saw my it's official title-so sorry to disappoint!!
What does that mean for me? Well it means a bit more pay (nothing much friends) and my teaching license has been renewed for 5 more years until they can think up the next hoop I must jump through. Maybe they will require me to carry a doctorate to educate 5 year olds. We will just have to wait and see on that one!
Celebrate good times!

Harvest Time Once Again

2009-08-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Last week we did some harvesting at my grandpa's lovely garden. We picked potatoes, more zucchini, okra, and cabbage. The girls were very in to the digging and I learned a great deal about planting and harvesting potatoes. For example, you actually quarter the rotting potato when it starts sprouting it's craziness and that is what you plant under the soil. When harvesting the potato you can actually pull the beginning quartered piece out of the ground and see how the whole plant started. Very cool! I know I have left a bag or two in the pantry a bit too long and seen the sprouts but I never really put that together about using that to start the potato plant. Anyways, the potatoes all grow underground but the actual plant sprouts up out of the ground so you can pull it as you dig around the plant to loosen the potatoes. Then you just pull the plant up and bunches of little potatoes are hanging on and then some are just down buried in the ground because they fell off the plant. It was an actual harvest the girls could really get into because they could pull them off the plant and dig in the dirt to find the hidden treasure. I couldn't help but snapping some pictures because they looked so cute getting their hands dirty. Gracie asked me before we left the house to go harvest if I thought she looked like she had good farming clothes on. The girl was definitely preparing to get her little dig on!
I am really getting quite addicted to this whole gardening thing. I can't believe how crazy fun it is to plant, grow, harvest and eat these little goodies. I know I need to get out more!! I am looking for recipes now to help me use all of this zucchini. I have been making some zucchini bread lately that is so tasty. Who knew? I guess when you put 2 cups of sugar in the bread, it can't go all that wrong now can it?

Random Sightings of Future Olympian Hurdler

2009-07-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Mimi and Poppy blessed Gracie with a set of hurdles for her birthday so she can follow in the footsteps of the old momster. She loves them for sure and wants to be taught and coached how to do them better. It is so wildly fun but I must remind myself that she is 4 and only 4. Working on the 3 step might just need to wait a year or two at least :)
Here is the making of a future olympian hurdler(or maybe 2 because Shiloh has really taken to it as well!)

My Sweet Little Princesses

2009-07-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

The girls decided they wanted to play dress up the other evening after dinner. Mimi(that is my mom) and I helped them pull their dress up box out of the closet for a little fun. Gracie was rummaging through it looking frantically for something "beautiful" but came up short. Their were monkey masks, firefighter clothes, hard hats, cowgirl pieces, and even some ballet slippers but nothing "beautiful" for sweet Gracie. So I got to be mom of the year and bust out early birthday presents-2 new princess dress up boxes filled with that beautiful stuff she so longed for. I can't tell you how fun that was pulling those presents out (that I had just wrapped-that will never happen again for sure) and meeting her little desire right on the spot. That was way better than waiting for her birthday party where she probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to dive in the way she wanted to. The girls (all 3 of them because Nat was over for a slumber party) jumped into those boxes and got all dolled up. They were so happy and looked so sweet! I just kept thinking about how cool it was for me to bless my daughters right in perfect timing and that is how God wants to bless us too. It is like just wait for it-wait for it-maybe wait for it some more-and then the blessing comes in perfect timing and can have the maximum effect. I was pretty tickled to give her those boxes but I know God is so much more tickled when he sees us enjoy His blessings!
God is good! Thank you for my little princesses!

Because We all Need a Little 4th of July Chuckle

2009-07-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Nic and I sat and belly laughed about this little video. Check out the diligence these fellows have in taping explosives to a sledgehammer.
The kicker is at the very end when "our guy" finally gets his turn at slamming his hammer. He meticulously changes the metal plate over a couple times for exact placement, winds up, lunges back, and simply hilarious. Check it out!
Happy 4th of July-don't do anything quite this silly!!

We harvested today..

2009-06-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

I decided to try my hand at farming this year and we actually got to harvest some goodies today. I probably didn't allow quite enough room for my 2 tomato, 2 cucumber, and 2 zucchini plants seeing as how they are being housed in a 4 X 8 space right next to my patio. The cucumber plant is spiraling out into the yard and the Zucchini plant is trying to take the entire patch over. So maybe I didn't do it exactly right but my girls have been helping in the process and carefully watering and weeding each day with me and we were all extremely excited today when 2 huge zucchini squash were ready for the picking.
It has been such a cool process doing this with the girls. They take such care and love to be the "picker". I already have plans for my talented father and hubby for next year. Garden boxes-out in the back of the yard!!

Now if I could just get Gracie to eat that green pepper she is so proud to hold!
By the way-the green peppers are not doing as well as the squash and cucumbers. Any of you know why??

I got hit on by a teenager...

2009-06-22T12:38:00.001-07:00

I was walking into Kroger to pick up a few groceries-child free-yesterday and the funniet thing happened to me-I got hit on by a Kroger working teenager!!
The kid seriously looked 13 and I know he is super young because he doesn't even scan the groceries-he is just a bagger!
I walked into the door to be greeted by "hey gurrrl, you are looking good tuhday"(the flat iron job was pretty stellar but really nothing fancy)
I returned with a little chuckle-what was I supposed to say?
He then proceeded with "gurrrl, what is yo name?" as I was politely trying to get my cart out.
I then returned with belly laughter. He then took that as rude and said "why you not gonna give me yo name?"
Trying to keep the laughter under control I replied with a bit of a swagger, "honey, I am a married woman with 2 little babies at home!"
All I heard as I turned to leave was "WHHHHHAAAAAAAT?"
Priceless-as I am just a week away from my 29th b-day I got hit on by a teenager!
Nic best be stepping up that game!
Hilarious!

Some things we learned on vacation...

2009-06-16T11:33:00.001-07:00

We vacationed in the outerbanks last week and had an absolute blast. It was cool because we got the last week of off season pricing and got amazing in-season weather. Everyday was beautifully sunny and we spent so much time at the beach and pool. Our home was perfectly stocked and a close walk to the beach or to the quaint little village of Duck. The girls are still calling our current home, the "old house" in memory of the more fun vacation home!!
So everyday with little ones is a learning opportunity, but vacation seemed to be a learning process for all invloved. Some things we learned from our trip(and yes some of these we "old school" twittered about in a composition notepad so we would never forget how hard we laughed about them and I do realize that packs less of a punch now but here we go):

1. Don't allow Nic to lead the caravan of 3 vehicles when he is by himself driving with the 2 little sweeties with no GPS and no phone service. (I rode with my sister down so she didn't have to drive alone-Josh was flying down a day later) We couldn't get a hold of him for anything and I just wanted to make sure he was okay as we were driving at 2 am through the mountains of West Virginia in crazy fog. Why did we appoint him our leader? Why does that ever happen?

2. It must really stink to be a toll worker. My sister and I couldn't even tell how they got to work and Nic later pointed out that there were multiple parking lots for them. I didn't see them though. I guess maybe because it was 3 am.

3. And why did we leave at 1:30 am anyway? That part really stunk.

4. Cookies, sweets, fudge, and ice cream at 9pm aren't that bad for the little ones. Hey-it was vaca!

5. Gracie is for sure a "Pool Girl". Everyone would be down at the water playing except for Gracie and Aunt Jackie up by the umbrella. It's all cool girl!

6. Shiloh is a crazy water baby. She can not be stopped or held back. No worries if she falls in the pool at the ladder or a huge wave knocks her over and over again-NO FEAR BABY!!

7. Shiloh's favorite thing to say with her 2 little fingers positioned in front of her mouth is "One more time". Unfortuantely the kid really doesn't know what that means.

8. People straight up go on vacation and decide to get fit. I can't tell you how many people were running the little trail through the village of duck that were in a major struggle fest and looked as if that may have never run before in their lives. Now I am not trying to crack here-just sayin'-many non-runners were running it up on vaca!

9. Erin and lighthouses don't really mix. I tell you-I have gone to the top of other lighthouses and looked out but it was way different with the little girls. The very thought of them up there held me back from stepping foot onto the platform. And yes-I was majorly cracked on for being a weasel. Gracie came down to find mama and tell her that she shouldn't be scared, it was nothing to worry about because Jesus was keeping everyone safe. Yeah-great example mom!

10. My family rocks! Every morning someone was up making breakfast. Mom was the queen of clean as always. 3 women in the house is awesome for sure, I think we all got to take home bags of clean clothes to simply put away. It was awesome spending the week with this clan-I may be in mourning that we aren't still there-just maybe!

Circus Fun

2009-05-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

I scored $10 tickets to the circus this weekend so I decided to take the girls down to Nationwide on Saturday morning. They got a chance to see all the runners from the race for the cure as they were heading back to their cars. They loved the pink wigs and pink capes. It was cool to see everyone out there on such a beautiful day.
Nic was at the station so it was just me with the girls but it was actually kind of relaxing in some odd way. They both did such a great job. We are really getting to this place where having an older sibling is such a huge help. Shiloh just looks to Gracie to see how she is responding in certain situations and Gracie is being such a cool little role model.
The circus was a blast-we got to go down on the floor the whole hour before the show began and they had neat little performances going on. Gracie took a camera so she could take some shots and she ended up with some really good ones. I was absoultely amazed at how action packed the show was. It really kept their attention. Shiloh did end up drifting off to sleep in my lap the last 20 minutes or so. I feel like I could really count on one hand how many times she has fallen asleep in my arms so it was a sweet cuddle surprise. Gracie wanted to snap her picture so she would remember that she fell asleep during the circus.
It was a great day-thanks girls for being so much fun to hang out with!!

The Meat

2009-05-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Nic and I are back on a co-ed softball team. No longer are we called Balls and Dolls, we now play for THE MEAT. Nic collaborated with the team leader on this concept and is quite proud of himself. Our team shirt has a large steak across our chest and we each have a different meat name. Pot Roast, fish stick, the great hambino, tenderloin, baby back, Ike burger, Pete Roast, and nugget to name a few. Nic's meat name is "Raw"(so typical), and I am Kickin' wing. We have quite a good time every Friday night. The girls went with us last Friday night and cheered their little hearts out. Nic is always the MVP-just don't mention it to him, and I always make some goofy play that everyone wonders how I made. I would love to have myself on tape so I could add commetnary about what is going through my head. Yeah-well I don't really have time for that one but you get where I am going.
So here is our team shirt pictures complete with Meat names.

Last Firday was a bit of an injury night for the old kickin' wing but no worries-I am still going strong. After one solid catch out in right field I was feeling mighty confident. With that confidence I went out after another fly ball and tipped it barely with my glove. With full force behind it, the ball slammed into my right thigh. I squeezed my legs together trying to make the catch but it still bobbled away. All I was left with was a crazy muscle spasm and a lovely bruise. This picture can't even do it justice.
But hey-I was raised that bruises, and scars are character builders. I will cherish this memory!(I just hope the large knot under the bruise eventually fades away)

Reminiscing

2009-05-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

My computer just recently crashed but thankfully not before I was able to move some photos and files on to a flash drive. Good old Robert came to the rescue and since none of you know Robert and I am fairly certain Robert will not know Gracie and Shiloh's blog, I will tell you that Robert was a perfect fit to come fix my PC. You see, my friends, Robert looked just like the "PC" guy from the commercials. Since I am not cool enough to own a Mac, I simply had Robert replace the hardrive. Feeling good that I saved some cashola!!
So anyways, I am in the process of downloading every flippin' thing you forgot you had to download in the first place as well as looking at all my oldies but goodies(photos). It has been cool but let me tell you that I filled a 16GB flash drive with all those goodies. Yeah-pretty crazy too because it has just been pictures from the past 3 or 4 years!!

So here is little Gracie at her 2nd birthday party. I had to remind myself what she was like at Shiloh's age. My children absolutely and completely look nothing alike. Amazing.

Gracie weighed 22 pounds as a 2 year old and currently weighs 32 pounds as an almost 4 year old. Yes-I pulled out the shorts and she is still rocking those 2T's.

And now for Shiloh. Here she is at 3 months with those pinchable cheeks. The ultrasound technician couldn't stop talking about how plump her little cheeks were going to be at our last ultrasound before I had her. Let's just say there has never been a question about Shiloh being well fed.

I took her today for her 2 year check up and she is as perfect as can be. She weighs a solid 30 pounds(yes that is 90th percentile) and tops the chart at 36 inches tall (96th percentile).
Complete opposites and perfectly Gracie and Shiloh.
I sure do love these girls. I think Nic is already thinking about how he can teach the finger roll shot to his 2 year old.

Shiloh's Yo Gabba Gabba Birthday Party

2009-04-27T12:40:00.001-07:00

We had a big bash for Shiloh's birthday on Saturday themed all in YO GABBA GABBA!
Yo Gabba Gabba is like a dance party/variety show for kids with all of these crazy looking characters. Muno is a one eyed red guy, Brobee is green with stripes and has really long arms, Foofa is pink with a flower on her head, Toodee is the blue one, and Plex is a yellow robot. They dance around and actually play pretty cool songs that I kind of dig. They are completed with the host who walks out with an old school boombox on his shoulder wearing an orange jumpsuit. He is-of course-DJ Lance Rock.
Now stop all of you-my girls love this show and I must investigate what it is they are watching-right??
I am really serious-go to youtube or something and check it out. The latest one with Jack Black as the guest star is quite amusing!

So here's the cake with the boombox and characters(missing Plex the robot-he went MIA the day we ordered the cake)

Birthday Girl Shiloh sporting her Foofa shirt(I recently got hooked on etsy-all these cool homemade things. The girls got shirts and I did gabba bottlecap necklaces with all the kids)

Gracie-sports the little green one Brobee

Daddy and Shiloh on the bounce house(umm daddy-the weight limit is just 200 pounds)

The Orange Goober made an appearance(this is my cousin Ashley in disguise and the funny thing is that this was not just for the party. You see Ashley owns an orange and purple goober costume that her and her husband used in one of his video shoots. She loves the freedom she has when she puts it on-her dance moves are wild!!) Little Shoshanna was the only one of the kids who was really feeling the goober dance party!

All 15 kids scrambling after the boombox pinata was busted by Mr. Kyler(Gracie and Shiloh's cousin)

13 kids at the celebration(minus Jazzlyn who had fallen asleep while eating and little Trysten who is not all for the paparazzi) You see- no birthday party is ever small in the Smith family!!

We had a fun and memorable day and I still have cake coming out of my ears! Yes-I know Victor-I must not have eaten it the right way but you all know what I mean!!

Happy Birthday Shiloh!

2009-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Today is my sweet little Shiloh's 2nd birthday. My baby isn't a baby anymore! She is growing up so fast-it feels like overnight she starts doing or saying things that I never knew she even could! I just sit and watch her-she and Gracie are really my best entertainment! What did I ever do before I had babies??

So here's to my sweet baby girl Shiloh-

*From day 1 you have been a piece of cake. You came 2 weeks early and put momma out of her misery! Yes! You ate well, slept well, and didn't cry much. Thanks baby!

*You were the way that God taught momma to quit planning every detail of her life! What a beautiful, precious lesson! I am so grateful for you! You are what I thought my baby would look like but God made you so much better that I ever could have imagined.

*You taught me how to RELAX(crazy to say that a second baby so close to the first one can teach you to relax but you really did-totally a God given surprise)

*You make me smile when any type of music comes on-you have some great moves girl!

*I love to watch you eat-you make everything look so good!

*When you say dink you momma (thank you momma) unprompted-I melt

Shiloh-you are truly our gift from God! I never knew how much I loved surprises!!!

YAY DADDY!

2009-04-07T11:59:00.001-07:00

We are so proud of Daddy.(Yes I know I always use that proud word in a rotten way but I really mean it this time)
He is now Lieutenant Smith at the London Fire Department! YOU ROCK NICO!
2 weeks of books and papers scattered around the kitchen table
2 weeks of moving those books for every meal
and those same 2 weeks of feeling like I am in single mommyville
ALL worth it!!
The day before Nic's test Gracie decided she wanted to make a card to hide in his fire bag to cheer him up. She decorated and colored it beautifully and wrote her little name for him. I asked her if she wanted to tell me something to write and she did. She told me that she decorated his card with bugs to cheer him up and she wanted to tickle him so he would laugh. She then went on to tell him that she asked Jesus to help him and she knows He will because he always helps people. I wrote those beautiful words exactly the way she said them.

Out of the mouths of babes God reveals really cool things at the perfect time.
Gracie-I love your faith and I love how bold you are at the ripe old age of 3 1/2.
Daddy will cherish that little card forever.

Just thought I would share

2009-04-03T14:06:00.000-07:00

This isn't really a fun girls update or anything like that but I just found a little Old Navy coupon for 50% off one item. Now I know it isn't so great like the friends and family thing but I thought I would share if anyway. I don't believe it is good for clearance-just promotional sale and regularly priced. Now I am in no means being a scummy advertiser here(actually Nic calls ON disposable clothing but I really don't care because disposable is fine with me as long as it is cheap and in the budget)-just wanted to hook some of the coolest girls I know up!!
go to
http://www.oldnavyweekly
THEN

Vote for "best legs" on the mannequins at the bottom (all stars must turn blue)-I had to click on all the manequins stars and turn them all blue
Wait 15-20 seconds(this felt a little longer to me!) for a kite to appear in the background(it comes floating out of the left hand side of the screen and can be kind of tricky to catch-must admit it took me 3 tries but by goly I was getting that coupon!)
Click on the coupon and then you can print it
It only works once so you can't share it.
HAVE FUN GIRLS!

Does This Dog Belong or What?

2009-03-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

The dog fits(I must admit)in our family nicely. I just couldn't see it for the longest time but now I realize that Erin can do the dog thing. Max is a good boy and Gracie and Shiloh are smitten. As I was tucking Gracie in the other night, she told me that she loved me so much and she loved Max too. I then told her that I loved her so much more than I loved Max because he was just a dog but she was my baby. She then replied, "Mama I told you that I loved you and Max just the same."
Now that hurts Gracie. She turned every comment I have ever made about loving our family all the same and how we don't love one person more than another and turned that baby around right back at me. The problem is sweet Gracie-Max is a DOG and I birthed you!!

Milk-Where Do They Learn This Stuff?

2009-03-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am definitely catching up on my little blog world journal today. It is so beautiful today and the girls were out a lot this morning so they needed some quiet time crazy bad!
Girls-Snoozing comfy in their little beds
Dog-laying right in front of the window basking in the sun
Nic-studying quietly at the kitchen table for his upcoming lieutenant exam
=Mama on the computer bloggin it up
So I caught the girls the other day drinking out of the milk jug. I had to run and get my camera and snap a few pics but all the while I am really wondering where they get this stuff. I have always seen people on tv drinking out of the jug and I hear people talk about people drinking out of the jug but we don't do that around here. Not that I have a problem with it-I don't think-but we don't do that so where did these children get the idea?
No-not even Nic opens the fridge, twists off the cap, and chugs it.
It is just funny to me that my 2 babies really are just learning this world everyday and figuring new things out for themselves. I love their spunk but I did encourage a glass next time.
Maybe I shouldn't encourage a glass-it might just quench their little spirits. After all, they did take care of their own needs and I didn't have to do 2 more dishes because of it. I really need to rethink my teaching on this one!

Sweeeeeet Little Photo Shoot

2009-03-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege to do a sweet little 5 week old photo shoot a couple weeks ago. Wow-I am certainly feeling the baby fever(like many of my friends-you know who you are) after holding and posing this perfectly precious one. She is a beautiful baby and I had a blast taking 250+ pictures of her in various little poses. She was such a trooper-she hardly fussed in the 1 1/2 hours I was there moving her all around. She very peacefully drifted off to sleep at the end of the shoot while we were in her sweet little room. Of course my pictures couldn't end there. I think I shot 50 more after little chick was snoozing but then I remembered those newborn days and I knew I had to get out of there quickly because I didn't want to waste mom's quiet, peaceful, hopefully nap time!
Here are a few shots from my beginning and growing portfolio here:

Thank You Jesus for Healing my Heart

2009-03-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

Gracie had her follow up appointment with the cardiologist today at Children's Hospital because when she was born the doctor detected a heart murmur. She was just 1 day old when our brand new pediatrician came in to the room to tell us that he heard something abnormal with her heart and he was referring her to a cardiologist. I never once felt real fear about this-even with a 1 day old baby. I knew she was going to be just fine. The next day we took her in for all of the testing they needed to do. I knew she was okay but that whole process was quite upsetting. You see your little sweet thing with stickers all over her chest and cords coming out. Not really the way you want to spend time with your 2 day old. They spotted the hole and called it VSD. A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole between the right and left pumping chambers of the heart. They told us the hole was in the best possible place it could be not affecting anything. We had peace the whole time because we just knew God had her in His hands. We just thanked Him for that news and thanked Him for healing her little body. From day one Nic constructed this beautiful prayer that we have always spoken over the girls:

The love of God is shed abroad in Gracie's heart by the holy spirit. God will never leave her or forsake her. God is her Father and she is His daughter. As a daughter in His kingdom she is taking her place and acting her part. What God said she is-we declare she is!
By His stripes-Gracie is healed! She can do all things through Christ who strengthens her. We declare these things are forever settled in heaven! They are settled in our hearts and in hers.

She has had a couple follow up appointments but today was her last. YES-her absolute last appointment with a cardiologist because the doctor, and I quote in his own words "declared VICTORY today!"
Isn't that awesome? God had that whole thing sealed up from day one with me. This is like the first huge thing in my life that I can honestly say that I really gave him TOTAL control of. I know that is why He gave me that peace immediately!
As we were walking out of the hospital today Gracie said "thank you Jesus for healing my heart!" I love it!
Here is her sweet little grown up self sitting on the table. I had to snap a couple of pictures.

Cesar

2009-02-20T12:08:00.001-08:00

Many of my posts are dedicated to my loving, wonderful, darling, thoughtful, and kind hubby. I just can't seem to stop thinking of all the fantastic things he does-I am so PROUD always! Check back on some of my proud Nic moments(saving that cat, Nic the hunter, etc.) As we near Nic's big 30th b-day(next Friday)-it is like he is really getting better and better daily. He has had quite the week of eventful statements and actions. Let me share a few with you now. Hopefully you will totally get my tone here!!
Valentine's Day- Nic returns home from the fire station at 8:25(he normally gets home at 7:30) because he needed to make a quick stop because he just assumed I would be sleeping in with the girls. When do I ever sleep in with the girls? They don't really sleep in! So he made his little stop to get some v-day goodies. He brought the girls each a little valentine's day book and for me-the Mama-he also brings a little reading material. "Oh honey, how sweet you are!" Nic brought me a copy of Cesar's Way. Now I do love me some Dog Whisperer, and with our new sweet little friend Max-I do need some knowledge in that area. Okay-cool, my husband brought me Cesar's Way for my little "love" gift. It is more than I got him and I always love a little gift. You know we can't be having a good dog gone bad situation here on our hands so Cesar is the MAN!
The real sad part here is not technically the said gift but more so the fact that he then turned around and took the book with him to his next 24 hour shift and read said book from cover to cover. I hadn't even had the chance to get past all of Cesar's acknowledgements. Nic is straight up quoting me book lines on our phone conversation while he is "at work" reading from the stolen gift as if I had given him permission to read it to make sure I would like it so I wouldn't waste my time. Yeah-I never did that. I didn't even know he swiped it!
He is so selfless-gets better everyday ladies-everyday!!

Then we move into "do you think my vote counts somewhat Nic, or do you think I am silly for voting?" Okay so I don't know why I asked this one and more so I don't know why I am sharing it because it does sound a little pathetic. Why must I get hooked on reality tv? I got so irritated when the bachelor Jason Mesnick already has sent home his perfect wife. See I know which one is perfect for him and she is gone now. I turn it off in disgust and secretly vow to never watch it again but I do-every time-check the DVR- I do. There are only 2 shows in which I have ever picked up the phone and casted a vote. One, of course, is "American Idol" and my other guilty pleasure is the summertime fun "So you think you can dance". I don't vote often or much but I do vote when it just wells up inside me that I really believe they need my vote. Anyone else here??
Okay-Danny Gokey has already stolen my heart on AI-his little story just about makes me cry every time I see him and I absolutely love his voice. He is the best hands down and yes I wanted to vote for him. No-I didn't think he really needed it because I am sure others would agree with me here but I wanted to cast a vote. Why did I ask Nic about it? Well friends I am not quite sure.
He proceeded to tell me that my vote only mattered if I wanted to sit there and redial 49,999 more times. He says it would take 50,000 votes to really matter in one case. Where does he come up with these numbers right off the top of his head? Why does he jump right into Negative Nancy, Debby Downerville so quickly and so smoothly?
My flippin vote counted friends-I rocked it-and it counted!

Daddy's new toys

2009-02-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

So the DADA has a couple cool new toys that seemed like a worthwhile share in the blog world. He has always been so proud of his chicken wing making skills but lately he has been bogged down with drama from the cheapie deep fryer we had. With Super Bowl Sunday as his incentive, we ventured out to Macy's for the MAC DADDY of deep fryers. This bad boy is pretty toguh and I love it because you can just drain the oil right out of a spout in the bottom-easier clean up-which always seems to be MY job! Nic is so pumped because you can put like 3 lbs. of chicken in this thing at once which in turn reduces his time spent hovering over his creation. I was telling him how I would clear a spot for it in the cupboard under the counter but he wasn't having it. He proceeded to tell me that he beleived this huge fryer shoudl be kept out on countertop at all times because you just never know when you might need to fry something up. You know like donuts, french fries, etc. I then told him that is exactly the reason the toy must be stored AWAY. Who needs donuts, frnech fries, etc anyways??
I won-don't worry-I won!!
Here is toy #1

And Toy #2
We have been visiting MINGLE with the MUTS for a couple months on every other Sunday afternoon looking for a new little friend. Nic has been wanting a dog for a very long tiem and I jsut haven't quite been there. I felt like we were going to introduce the girls to the canines for the future but this last Sunday was a bit different. We met MAX (yes he shares his name with your perfect little one Jen) and really fell in love. I have never met a 7 month puppy with such calmness. You see-I need calmness!! He is puppy like playful too but oh so very sweet and loving. he was great with the girls, he isn't mouthy or yappy. He really hardly barks. He is already learned that we do not pee or poop in this house and for that I am eternally grateful! I label this daddy's toy but we are all having a blast with this one. He is not too big and has little hair so he definitely works for me!!
Here he is just minutes after arriving to the Smith household-just cool and calm as he could be.
He kind of looks like the dog from the little rascals!

Auntie Pam's Wedding

2009-01-31T12:41:00.000-08:00

This blog post is a little late but better late than never!
My aunt was remarried the day after Christmas and I took some shots for her. We drove down to Gallipolis where my aunt's husband is from. They had a sweet little church ceremony performed by his brother-in-law at the church he pastors. It was awesome and my aunt was beaming. She is quite a catch!! I couldn't help but smile all day for her. She has had a road to get where she is now and I am just so happy for her. Her husband passed away a year and a half ago from lung cancer and her mother passed away 2 years ago from ovarian cancer. We all had a lot of loss in those few years but she really got hit hard. I have never seen such patience and strength!
Well God has blessed her BIG time and she is on top of the world. I am loving it!

SO BEAUTIFUL!!
Well the girls had a blast at Aunt Pammy's wedding and I caught some funny little shots of all 3 of them (including my niece). They were just hamming it up for a few shots in a row and then all the sudden you can see it on Shiloh's face that she is TOAST. I'll give you the play by play.

Okay-we are easing into the photo shoot. I seriously am always trying to get a picture of my 3 girls. I never seem to manage it.

Shiloh is feeling it here-wait for it-wait for it-yeah she is feeling it with her little smile. That hair never seems to work with us but she is feeling the grin.

So what is up with the rear naked choke(aka headlock)? Gracie is pushing it here but Shiloh is still managing the smile. (I only knew that rear naked choke thing because of Nic-did I awe you with my fight terminology?)

Not loving the choke feel and just about to lose it.

AND SHILOH IS TOASTED(but look at Gracie and Natalie with their little smiles)
If you could hear and see it live you would see huffing through the bottom lip accompanied by a sigh of exhaustion.
We have all been there now haven't we?

A Heart for Jesus...

2009-01-16T04:27:00.000-08:00

Gracie Bella never ceases to amaze me and I am always full of stories about things she says that are so sweet. Last night I was praying with her and as I usually do I prayed that Gracie would have a heart for Jesus. She immediately stopped me in my prayer and said, "I do have a heart for Jesus, mama! I do have a heart for Him and I think I am going to decorate it blue because he is a boy!"

You see, we rolled out sugar cookies yesterday and she had to call her Mimi(my mom) and her grandma Cindi to see what color they wanted their hearts she made for them.
She was thinking about her heart for Jesus and how it should be blue because boys like blue.
So fun. She is always thinking!
At least I know she is listening to the things I am praying over her!

SNOWY DAY

2009-01-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

So it took me a little over an hour to get home from school today. Leaving at lunch time ended up being a bad thing today because of all this white stuff. I decided to embrace the timing of the winter blast and get outside with the little girlies. I was pretty much toasty from all the tense driving so I was actually ready to feel the cold on the face. As many of you well know, dressing the 2 wee ones only intensified the internal heat. I really can't tell you how good that cold was feeling after getting out there. I don't think I have ever been so warm playing in the snow!!
The girls, of course, loved every second of it.
10-15 minutes of gathering clothing items, gloves, boots,etc.
30 minutes of strategically layering and dressing all 3 of us for the fun.
For about-oh, let's see-20 minutes or so of actual play.
Only to come in and spend 15-20 minutes undressing, laying clothes out to dry, cleaning up the wet floor, and then having to serve up some hot chocolate.
Why? For FLIPPIN fun-that's why!!
Nap is late but better late than never today FOR SURE!!

OH SO PROUD AGAIN...

2009-01-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

So here he is in all his glory and I am oh so proud again(can you tell the sarcasm in my bloggity blog blog voice?)
Nic has been off to the wild on a little duck/goose hunting adventure and he is so happy with his treasures here. Those of you who know him-can you even imagine all the stories I heard after his day in the wild? Just can you EVEN IMAGINE?
Gracie and Shiloh were pumped to see daddy's find but I really don't think they got it-which is just fine with me. Gracie kept asking why they weren't quacking. I just dismissed and we moved right along. We eat meat every day but I guess we can just wait to talk about that one!!
So I am not really into eating duck-I wish he could have brought me home some cow or chicken or something but I smiled politely and patted him on the back(side)!
Great job buddy-way to bring those birds in!
He is off finding some great recipe to mix his kill up with right now I am sure as I am typing. He's all in his element-you know-in "man-ville" and feeling like he has just defended my honor. I want you all to know that I hear that one all the time. He has to go out and defend my honor. Well defend it he did-I am sure duck and goose feathers are still in the garage to prove it. You see-cleaning his work area after plucking the feathers does not fit that whole manly element thing!!

CHECK OUT THAT WINGSPAN!(I know-sarcasm again-I am trying)

*Just a side note here-Nic and his buddy, as well as my pops laid out in layout blinds in the frigid temperatures for 6 plus hours. Layout blinds are really just laying out in an open field covering yourself with field materials. Nic has some crazy contraption covered in husks and other various earthy materials. He laid there all flippin day for those little fellows in his hand. No-I just can't get it either-I know that is what you all are thinking!
To each their own!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas was wonderful! The girls both got into it so much and it was awesome to see the excitement on their sweet little faces! It was great having family over and being together-the only thing that could have made it better was a little white on the ground.

Well you all know that this mama had the camera out in full force and got tons of pictures. The overall "look" for Shiloh in all her pictures was this crazy little gritted teeth, closed eyes smile. She has never done that for pictures before but it was like she realized that it was Christmas and she had to step up her picture game.

Here are a few samples from the fun:

*This is the look!

*And here it is again! I wanted her to show me her present here but she laid it down and turned to strike "the look"

*Here is a case of the little sister rubbing off on the big one. Waiting for daddy to sling a skillet for Christmas breakfast!

*Grandma Cindi got Gracie her Christmas wish with this little ipod shuffle(pink of course). Ever since her Aunt Rachel won a shuffle at church and we loaded some songs on it for her, Gracie has wanted a shuffle. I know she is only 3 but the girl loves her music and knows how to operate the thing!

*Shiloh also loves the shuffle now. Look at this technique. Shiloh on the balance beam that my dad made for the girls, while jamming to some tunes on the shuffle, all the while manipulating a monkey yo-yo. Christmas just brings out the best in us all!

My brain is out of batteries...

2008-12-17T18:08:00.001-08:00

Today was a great day for the Smith gals. I had a 2 hour delay at school and needed to take the girlies with me to kindergarten for the day. Our already short day gets even shorter on 2 hour delay days- we only have the kinder friends for 1 1/2 hours. By the time they get there and unpack we are basically packing them right back up and bundling them out the door. It is crazy!! Gracie and Shiloh joined us for the day today and they had a blast. Gracie latched right onto some friends and they just ushered her around the room and took care of her every need. Another little boy really looked out for Shiloh. I looked over at one point and he was cuddling her. She was just lounging back on him and he was holding her with a giant smile on his face. Too cute! I wish I had my camera. It was quite a full day because we then headed off to Gracie's gymnastics class. Gracie has been working on a move at gymnastics called skin the cat. It is a little move on the bars where they put their legs through and flip their bodies over while hanging on the bars. It is kind of tricky for these little ones. She does it with her coach by her side all the time but then struggles when she gets by herself. She wasn't able to do it today. On the way home from gymnastics class I gave her the whole speech about giving it her best and really trying even when she thinks it will be too hard. I then asked her why she thought it was so hard for her and she replied:
"Mama, it is like my brain is out of batteries when I hang on the bar. I think it needs some fresh ones."
She really replied that way to me. I just looked in the rear view mirror and smiled. I feel like that all the time but never had the ability to describe it quite the way she did!
She loves asking if things need fresh batteries. She really is thinking about how things work and what things are made of. It is very cool that she translated that thinking about batteries to her little brain.
Yes-I did explain that her brain doesn't work on batteries but sometimes it would be nice if it did. Right around 5:00(if not earlier) I could just pop a couple AA's in and freshen myself right up.
Don't you find it interesting that I only required my brain to work on AA? I should of dreamed bigger-maybe C cell?

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-15T13:04:00.000-08:00

Every year I try and snap a few pictures of the girls for Christmas cards as well as Christmas memories. Gracie's first Christmas she was chilling in her little boppy gazing up at the tree and we were able to catch the twinkle of the light. I would bust that one out for you but that was still pre-digital time for me. I was still old schooling it with my canon rebel 35mm. Loved that camera but sure wasted some film!

Gracie's second Christmas my sister and I decided to doll the girls(Gracie and my niece Natalie) all up and take them down to the Franklin Park Conservatory with the big Poinsettia tree. We did their little hair, switched their naps all around and put those scratchy little tights on them. We drove ourselves all the way down there only to find that they were closed on that particular day of the week. Why? Why do we do these things to ourselves?

Last year came and it was the first Christmas with both the little sweeties and I managed to squeak one or two pictures out but spent most of the time managing tears. We arrive to this year and we had some fun. Things are getting a little easier but they still get pretty fed up with me and the camera pretty quickly. Here is what we managed:

*One of the first ones we did-they are still fresh loving on one another. They don't stay this fresh for that long!

*Shiloh is seriously up to something here. I do love this picture but I do see this face often and let me tell you she is up to somthing here!

*This is the potty face. It is accompanied by a groan of some sort, an attempt to say potty, and then movement towards the bathroom. If you could see down farther in the picture you would see her finger is pointing to the "region".

*And Shiloh runs! Losing focus here people!

*Gracie is airing out. You can tell these girls don't wear dresses often. Time for a mama intervention complete with picture pep talk!

*Back on track-or so I thought! Shiloh's relies on her quick reflex because she really never can tell what her big sister is going to throw her way. Gracie leans in for the kiss but Shiloh retreats. Gracie then can't understand why. Shiloh has just learned at the ripe old age of 19 months that she "must protect her house"!

*Trying real hard here not to give me the pirate eye picture! So beautiful Gracie Bella!

*And we are now in tears!

*Totally and completely finished with these shannanigans. Mama has lost picture control.

I ended up getting some good ones here but I could help but think back to the olden days of the 35 mm camera. How did I do that? I must have taken 3 rolls of pictures only to manage 2 or 3 good ones. My new digital rebel is justified and we are all happier for it!!

Shiloh Loves the Potty!

2008-12-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

Yes-
Shiloh(my 19 month old) loves the potty!
Shiloh has recently demanded to be potty trained. Now, I thought Gracie potty trained pretty early and pretty easy but Shiloh definitely has her beat. The crazy thing is that Shiloh doesn't have near the words that Gracie had at her age but can somehow quickly "tell" me when she has to go potty. She just groans or grunts and pulls at herself and then takes off running for the nearest potty. This all started a few weeks ago when Shiloh decided she was done with diapers. She whined about having it on and would go and find Gracie's underwear wherever she could and bring them to me to put on her. She would grab them out of dirty clothes hampers and baskets and come whining to wear them. I put them on her one time just to let her feel and see how it went and sure enough she kept them dry.
One day at nap I went in to kind of start waking her up and I saw her laying there with bare bottom up in the air. Immediately I figured I was going to have a big pee mess to clean up because the kid had been sleeping for almost 3 hours but when I searched around for the diaper I found that the bed was completely dry and so was she. She had taken her diaper off and stuffed it between the crib and the mattress. Completely dry! From then on I decided that it really isn't about me here-it is about her-and if she wants to potty then by goly-she is going to potty. She pretty much wears her little underwear at all times when we are home and for the most part stays completely dry. She even recently has started telling me when we are out and we just go right into the big public restrooms. It is crazy because I am lining the potty with toilet paper for my baby. She gets both me and Gracie barking orders of "hands off" from the time we enter until the time we leave. She is just a baby still!! I guess she is just a baby who is sick of wearing a nasty, wet diaper stuck all around her little rear end!
We haven't mastered "the deuce" but she is just 19 months old.
Crazy little girl!
I guess just one more cool thing about second children. All Shiloh wants is to be like her sister and I know that is her motivator on this one. Now you all know why it has been so long since I last posted-I am busy dropping everything when she tells me she has to potty like 20 times a day. I sure do love her spunk!

ANDY REALE

2008-11-25T04:24:00.000-08:00

So proud of my "cousin-in-law"(I am sure that isn't really the term but you get the idea) here and wanted to give you all the video premiere of Jeremy Camp's new song. My cousin's husband directed this video in Nashville and I think he did an amazing job! They were over last Friday night for pizza and Andy showed us this video clip along with another that he did for some friends from their wedding. The wedding video almost brought me to tears and I do not even know the couple and the Jeremy Camp one was just awesome. Andy, of course, had to go into how he just directed and edited the video and he didn't actually shoot it this time. He was trying to give all the credit to the camera guy who had to figure the lighting out! I guess that is what truly cool, talented, and humble people do. Ashley and Andy-I am so proud of you guys! You are definitely the coolest in the family!(Nic just thinks he is)Enjoy!
(**Turn my playlist off before you click this one on)

Friendship Bread

2008-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

So I do love to bake and have warm homemade goodies around the house but these past couple months I have been baking my tail off because of a little thing called FRIENDSHIP BREAD. If you don't know what I am talking about you probably shouldn't tell me because I will just have to give you a starter bag that will have you trapped as well. I don't know if any of you have ever been blessed with an Amish Friendship bread starter bag of batter but I sure was. My sister gave me this starter bag with the little sheet of directions on how to make my own Amish bread. Now I do not know what makes it from the Amish or where it originally came from but I did it because my sister had baked her bread and it was oh so divine. It is kind of like a really bad chain letter thing but you get to have this delicious tasting bread every 10 days and it smells the whole house with ooey gooey goodness. You have to do something everyday to your bags of batter, sometimes just mush the bags but other times you add some ingredients. On the day of baking-watch out-you have crap everywhere. Especially when you allow your 3 year old and 18 month old to join in the fun! Each time you get to the baking day you then create 4 more starter bags of batter to pass out to all your lovely friends. I never pass these bags out because I now wish I never received one in the first place. When am I going to stop the cycle? I don't know. I can't answer that one. Every tenth day-I think about it but just can't bear to not have that batter. What if I wanted to make some next month for Christmas? I need the starter bag. You see how this is a vicious cycle. Really vicious-I put like 2+ cups of sugar in this stuff and then sprinkle the top and sides with cinnamon and sugar. Sounds good, doesn't it? And that is why it is vicious. This has been the fall of the Friendship bread in the Smith household. Look at all the fun from one of our bake days. Check the clutter of ingredients on the counter-why don't I just do this when the girlies are asleep?? I have my mom trapped too! We try to do a lot of our bake days together and switch each houses so we don't each have a mess to clean but rather one huge disaster. I really don't know if it is all that helpful doing it this way because we are just doubling our work at one place. Oh well-it is more fun that way!!

Now really Shiloh? I have tasted the batter-I don't get it!!

My Future Help Is In Training

2008-11-10T13:13:00.001-08:00

Lately I have been catching Shiloh trying to do daily household chores and I have been loving it. She seems so much more interested in cleaning than Gracie ever was! Whenever I signal to clean up toys or help with something, I can always count on Shiloh to come running in ready to help. I HAVE to make sure I DO NOTHING to DISCOURAGE this behavior! Every time I want to speed through something and take it out of her little hands-I MUST be Reminded that my FUTURE HELP IS IN TRAINING. AHHH-how refreshing a thought! Now I do realize that any real help is still miles away but I am just savoring this whole help idea.
Shiloh is especially interested in helping unload and load the dishwasher(once again a task that I have to take care not to spoil her interest in-I try to be so patient as she helps which makes the task 20 minutes longer than need be)
She loves flipping the lid and helping to add the soap. One day I flipped the lid open to add the soap and start the dishwasher, which I thought was interesting because normally the lid is already opened when the load is dirty and needs to be cleaned. Well anyways, I flipped that lid up and inside was a soggy, old vanilla wafer. Shiloh was near when this was all happening (because she is always near when I open the dishwasher) and I just looked up at her to see her big dimples. She was grinning from ear to ear almost as if she was saying "don't get too ahead of yourself on this future help thing mama!"

Yes, I did actually take a picture of the vanilla wafer. Cracked me up for sure!

Lessons learned from Nanny

2008-11-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

Today marks 2 years that my sweet Nanny has been in Heaven. She died of Ovarian Cancer and was only 64 years old. ( She was a very young mama-16 and only a 36 year old grandmother-Crazy, isn't it?)
Yes I called her Nanny until the day she died and will forever continue to call her that because saying Grandma just isn't right. She always wanted us to call her Nanny and we all loved it.
There truly is not one day that goes by that I don't think of her in some capacity. I think about her when I am making my sweet tea and remember that little beat up pan she used to always use even though she had a million others that were in better shape. I think about how she used to make the best tea but never even liked it herself! I can still remember Sunday after church at her house for meals and how there was always someone new she had over at the dinner table. Thanksgiving meals with extra families that we didn't even know. She loved to cook and loved to serve! She would sit at the table and tell stories about people she knew or had visited in the week and tears would well up when she talked about their circumstances-she was so sympathetic and she had a heart for people. It was the gift God had given her and she had His awesome annointing on her life.
Nanny was the best giver I have ever known. At her viewing and funeral we had so many people come to us telling stories of what she did for them. Random people who we don't even know and never will were touched in remarkable ways because of my Nanny's life. People came to tell us how they were living in an empty apartment with no furniture and she and my grandpa brought them beds and mattresses. Another person told of how she bought the church a van and nobody knew but him. Now I must stop to tell you that my grandparents are blessed yes, but not wealthy by any means. They both grew up with nothing but God blessed them because of her giving. I want to be more like that-the biggest lesson learned from her life.
I don't know why it seems like you need someone more when they are gone. I feel like this time of my life would have been so fun with her. I know she would love being with these girls of mine and dolling them all up. They would have loved her too!
She was a true example of strength, poise and beauty. She was the strongest woman I have ever known. She was so sick at the end of her life and she had more strength than anyone around her. Half the time we would all be walking around moping but she spoke life to all she came in contact with. She visited and prayed for other sick folks just weeks before she died herself. She was really cool and really bold. My prayer is to be more like that. Another song lyric here but one that has really been speaking to me lately-it's so true-"God let me have just enough strength to live for today so I never have to worry what tomorrow will bring because my faith is on solid ground-I am counting on God." She lived each day with strength and she lived it for God. What a legacy!
Shiloh Jean was due on her birthday(May 6th) but ended up coming 2 weeks early. What is cool is that my aunt and my grandma share the same b-day and Shiloh would have made three. I know Nanny would have wanted me to get out of my misery rather than go to the due date. She was just that way. Shiloh Jean is named after her(Bonnie Jean) and it is so cool because she really favors her a lot. I do miss her greatly but I do love the memories I have of her. The memories I think of most are the ones that revealed what her true character was and those memories in turn then teach me more about who God is and who He wants to be for us.
God is good even in times of pain!

*I don't know her exact age (probably 20's) in the picture above but I absolutely love this picture.

Things that made me smile..

2008-11-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some goodies that God allowed me to think on or remember today that made me smile. I just thought I would keep a record for myself because God is so good to meet us where we are EVERYDAY! A little pick me up so to say!
1. My hope is not in any idea, in any possession or any person in this world. My hope is in a good, loving, and merciful God! (That is really powerful-just keep saying it!)
2. God's love is so much bigger than any fears or anxieties. His love never changes-it never fails!!(loving this song I recently downloaded-"Your Love Never Fails" by Chris Quilala-been playing it constantly) When the oceans rage, I don't have to be afraid because I know that YOU love me.
3. God truly makes all things work together for my good. That seems so simple but I have been thinking on this one for awhile now and God keeps giving it to me. In even the little things God works things out and I need to give credit where it is due more often. I always catch myself saying that something will just work itself out. No way!! Stuff doesn't just work itself out-God is moving and plotting and changing and working daily for us. I always feel like a crazy woman running around juggling a million things but He is the mastermind. Just Be! Just Be!
4. This verse(now I wish I could say I knew more scriptures by memory but I just don't-but this one was planted in a beautiful song by The Promise movement that I played over and over a few years ago. Because of that I memorized it but God helped me remember it today)
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchman wait for the morning. Put your hope in the Lord for with Him is unfailing love and full redemption." Notice the trend! All God given in my quiet moments today!
5. God uses my babies to make me smile all the time. I absolutely love the cool things they say and do. Seriously, it is my entertainment. I don't really watch a lot of TV-just them! I probably should back off that-center of attention thing- maybe not the best idea all the time! But I kept thinking about something Gracie said a couple weeks ago after church. We were driving home and I wanted to let her know that I thought her worship was really beautiful that day. She was just spinning with her little arms out and it was really cool. After I told her that I thought it was really beautiful the way she was dancing and worshipping and I know God loved it so much she just smiled and said "yeah I know He did-He was doing it with me". (Me)-doing what?
(Gracie)-"Jesus was dancing with me! It was really cool!"
Smiling as I am writing this one! Isn't that what it is about. Teaching our babies that having a relationship with God is not about what you can not do-it is about meeting with Him in lots of cool ways. The Father was dancing with my 3 year old and she knew it-Awesome. Nothing-No Nothing is too small or too big for my God!

Just a few cool things God gave me today. I hope they make you smile too because they are really His promises for us all.

VOTE!

2008-11-04T13:22:00.001-08:00

Many fellow Americans and friends did the time saving task of sending in their absentee ballot. Now I could have done this and given myself a little extra sleep this morning but there is something about election day that just motivates me to get up early and stand in a line that moves absolutely too slow! It has to be the whole democratic process thing because I was up bright and early at 5:45 this morning so I could get to my polling location before the doors even opened. Yes, I was waiting outside in the cool crisp morning air at 6:15. I was loving it! Smiling to all my fellow line waiters who didn't feel the need to send in an early vote either. I struck up a conversation with the man in front of me to pass the time and found out that he had just jumped off his local waste trash truck to get in line. I looked over across the parking lot and sure enough the truck was sitting there still running with headlights on. I figured a guy like that had to be Country First!! I only ended up waiting a total of 1 hour because I went to the paper ballot line. It was kind of cool sitting there filling in those little bubbles. It felt Old School!
I was definitely a people watcher today as I passed the hour wait time. I just kept looking at people wondering if they were thinking like me when it comes to voting. What drives people's decisions-what truly matters to people? The whole process is so interesting to me!
I left proudly with my little sticker!
I have tried to really guard myself today as to what I should or shouldn't hear. The last few months as well! I don't want anything tainted that I believe in so strongly. I have found myself turning my music louder today and praying more persistent. God bring healing to this land, let us truly humble ourselves and Pray and seek God's face! That is my prayer on this election day!

Dress Up Fun

2008-11-02T10:48:00.001-08:00

Every year brings the dilemma-to dress up or not?- for the little kiddies at school for their Harvest party. I often go with the old firefighter routine because I can just borrow a pair of Nic's bunker pants and slap on a helmet. It is pretty easy and the kids think it is cool-I guess! Sometimes I switch it up and throw a Red Sox t-shirt and hat on and become a baseball player for my favorite team. I have to admit that it is a pretty lame costume. The kids really don't care though, they just seem to love anything we do! This year's costume tops it all. I raised the bar and now I don't know if I will ever attain such greatness again in the costume department. I can't take one bit of credit for my attire-my fellow am kindergarten teacher and wonderful friend is 100% to blame(did I say blame?) for the get up this year! She called me a couple weeks ago and said she had our costumes under control for the kids-she wanted to do something for the boys in our groups this year-something they could relate to. Now I am never one to create more work for myself so I just went along with the plan. BATMAN and SPIDERMAN! Yes, the big puffy chested costume just like the little boys wear! My only stipulation was that I would wear the bigger of the 2. Yeah, I am not quite into the spandex on the rear end look(bike shorts came and went in the 80's and I moved on) so I ended up with the huge spidy costume!
Yes-I did it! I really didn't want to at all but I did and those kids had the time of their lives. My cohort was darting off everywhere with her cape trailing and I was leaping around like a true superhero would and throwing my fake webs out. I hesitated to document and share but it was quite a stellar performance!
The best was when a few of our kids came in and saw that they had a costume just like their teacher! Now how many kindergarten students can say that their teacher dressed up as Spidey and Batman? Not many-no not many!

And now to my little beauties! Dressing up is always fun to do and I try to grab things here and there for them to play in at home. Our hayride pumpkin patch trip for the night had to be cancelled so we decided to pass out candy and go to a few neighbor's houses and both of these costumes were in their closets ready to be played in! Jake is an oldy but goody(the dalmation) and an obvious choice for Gracie and Shiloh is truly a little Pocahontas. I don't think she could look any more authentic! We had so much fun! It is crazy because Gracie keeps trying to have a piece of candy from the basket but she never ends up liking them. Most of the candy she just one bite wonders and then throws away. Give her the cheap and ever faithful SMARTIES and she is good to go. All that chocolate stuff is just not her bag! I wish I had that problem!

Go Bucks!

2008-10-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

Because the main numbers of the game were not exactly pleasing to Buckeye fans, I thought I would give you some other numbers from the big game! Nic and I had a blast at the game despite the 13-6 loss. We tailgated with some awesome friends and woke up sore in our ribs from laughing all evening! Here are some fun stats from our time together!

2 - free tickets in the student section(South stands) thanks to some great neighbors!

50+ - high fives(yes, some with random strangers)

8 - Tailgaters at our friend's Chevy Tahoe (Thanks Sam & Jen-we had an absolute blast!)

8 - The number of times Nic cornholed Sam! (Sorry Sam-Nic made me!)

5 - The amount of money that 2 of our tailgaters spent on one bag of peanut M&M's EACH (Nic and Luke really believe they were helping keep kids off drugs by handing over a five spot for a vending machine size bag of treats! Bless their hearts!)

1 - great pair of Buckeye tube socks (Sam revealed on the walk to the Stadium as he heckled every PSU fan he found)

9 - layers Luke had on including 2 hoodies (he texted Nic during the game saying "I'm hot") I can't even tell you a number for how many times he asked if any of us needed another layer!

2 - #1 fingers to go with

1 - SWEET HEADBAND

2 - the number of Costello's Nic submitted during an impromptu wrestling match (sorry guys-once agin Nic made me!)

1 - Awkward side hug that Nic shared with a stranger during Carmen Ohio (still laughing) As the stranger approached Nic for the awkward side hug I heard Nic say, "Oh Yeah buddy, get in here".

18 - number of times we booed PSU (now these were combined boos from Nic and myself but only 2 of those were mine!) I know it isn't nice but I got caught up in the moment!

13 - total dollars spent on the whole evening (not too shabby, huh?)

1 - Heck of a good time had by all!

MY HUSBAND-THE HERO!

2008-10-21T12:59:00.001-07:00

THIS ARTICLE BECAME AVAILABLE TO US TODAY AND I AM LITERALLY STILL ROLLING ABOUT IT! I FUGURED I WOULD JUST CUT AND PASTE RATHER THAN SEND YOU THE LINK!
London firemen’s rescue efforts are cat’s meow
(by Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor - October 11, 2008)

In this time of bank bailouts, job loss, and unpredictable gas prices, it’s nice to know there’s something—and someone—on which you can still rely.
On the afternoon of Oct. 6, Amber Collins went out to check her mailbox on Sheffield Boulevard in London. She heard the cry of a small animal coming from the yard of the unoccupied house next door.
“It sounded like a kitten and it was coming from a pipe sticking out of the ground,” Collins said.
The pipe measured six inches in diameter and went down five or six feet before making a turn. Collins retrieved a flashlight from her house to investigate further.
“I shined it down there and, sure enough, I saw two little eyes,” she said.
She attempted to rescue the kitten with a rope. When that didn’t work, she tried calling on a neighbor for help, but he wasn’t home. That’s when she decided to call the London Fire Department.
“I felt so stupid calling them about a kitten stuck in a hole, but they came right out,” Collins said.
Lt. Mark Foster said it isn’t unusual for the fire station to get calls about stranded animals.
“We go out as long as we’re not tied up on an emergency. We have helped several people with cats or dogs stuck in tough situations. We even got a pet parakeet out of a tree once,” he said.

London firefighter Nic Smith holds the kitten he rescued from a six-foot deep drain pipe.

While Collins’ call wasn’t unusual, the kitten’s particular predicament was.
“We wondered how we were going to get to it without digging up the yard,” Foster said. “At one point, Firefighter Nic Smith was on his stomach and had dropped one of our rescue ropes down in the pipe with a loop on one end.”
The kitten was stuck at the bottom of this cleanout pipe in a yard in London.

Just as with Collins’ attempted rope trick, Smith’s didn’t appear to be working either. Foster was so sure Smith’s approach was doomed to fail that he promised to buy his fellow firefighter dinner if he managed to rescue the feline.
While Smith toiled with the rope, Foster started making calls to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office with the idea of gaining access to the house, which is in foreclosure and up for auction. Foster’s idea was to see what could be done from the other end of the pipe which serves as the house’s cleanout for the sewer drain.
“As I came around the corner of the house on the phone, Nic was saying, ‘Never mind, never mind. We got him.’ And there was Nic holding this kitten. It was so little it was barely past the stage of having its eyes open.”
As luck would have it, the kitten had climbed up a stick stuck in the pipe, then tried to climb the rescue rope. Smith pulled on the rope, and the kitten wrapped its front arms around it, Foster said.
“The odds of that happening are slim to none. That little kitten acted like he knew what he was doing... I guess I owe Nic dinner,” he said, adding that after the rescue, the fire department sealed off the open end of the pipe.
Collins was thrilled with the happy ending.
“The moral of the story for me was that they were kind to me and so gentle with the kitten. It was just a good community feeling. It warms your heart,” she said.
The gray and black tiger-striped kitten has a new home. Named after the firefighter who rescued him, “Nic” now lives on a farm in London with Collins’ best friend. The friend’s two young daughters have already become quite attached to their new pet.
So, yes, while the big world is in turmoil, you can still count on the little things in your hometown—like firemen rescuing cats out of trees... or drain pipes.

EVERYDAY HERO NIC-YOU HAVE A DANG CAT NAMED AFTER YOU!

Some fun from Round Town

2008-10-19T17:02:00.001-07:00

This past weekend brought the annual Circleville Pumpkin Show. We try and go down every year-it is some of the best people watching fun ever! Good greasy fair food, crazy expensive little carnival rides, and some of the biggest pumpkins on the planet. Sounds like a recipe for fun to me! We went with a couple new friends and really had a great time. Gracie wanted to ride every big ride in the place. She doesn't quite understand that she is only 3! I did let her get on one that was really cool and she was just barely big enough to ride. I thought she might get terrified but I didn't want to hold her back. She got on and loved it. The only one crying was Shiloh because she wasn't big enough!

You never know what you are going to see and do when you get to these small town festivals-here is a little photo journal of our day!

Where can you go to see a 1375 and 1/2 pound pun-kin? Round Town Babies!(get it-circle-ville)

Nic can smell this Bourbon Chicken from miles away. It is the one and only reason he allows me to schedule these festival days! He loves that stuff-and I do too! HE knows exactly where the stand is located and we honestly make a direct path from the car to the stand(not allowing the children to stop for any fun sights on the way). We return to the fun later but I guess you gotta make daddy happy!

Paying $4 for the girls to ride the merry go round-well worth it to see this smile!

Gracie had to ride this motorcycle like daddy-she came around one time singing "I'm a Crindall-set to swipe and steal" How does she learn that stuff? Oh I know-Daddy turns that song on the ipod constantly. Crindall is not really crindall-it is criminal. Yeah I know the girls sing and dance to "I'm a criminal-set to swipe and steal. I think it is the song they played on that Dr. Pepper commercial when the guy was sip stealing. Please don't think we are bad parents. They know so many more worship songs!!

Gracie is all the way to the left-you can barely see her over the harness. She screamed and laughed the whole time!

Okay-I probably shouldn't chuckle and God may not want me to find humor with this but I just couldn't help taking a snapshot of this one. This sweet little old man was just walking around by himself and stood by us for a little bit when we were watching the parade. He was talking with Gracie and told her she looked like she belonged on Charlie Brown-we all didn't get it but we chuckled anyway! We just made some small talk with him and then I saw it-the hat was priceless! It was like a homemade hat and when I made mention of it he was so proud of himself. He told me about some of the others he has also. I had to take a picture-it was part of our journey for the day. He posed with pride!

Near the end of our trip our friends bought their little boy and the girls a big pumpkin cookie. It was a bit of bribery on our part to get through a few more things. They were all pooped. Do you other moms bribe out there? I sure do. I always keep a sucker in my bag for the girls. You never know when you need 20 minutes at the store!
Okay-the funny part about this picture is that I still don't exactly know where this cookie went to. I distinctly remember Shiloh eating a little bit and then handing it to me. I think I wrapped it up and tucked it somewhere but I really don't know. Now I know what my friend Kristen S. would suggest-and yes girl I did check the washing machine. Thankfully it wasn't there but I just know I am going to find that nasty cookie somewhere I really don't want to find it! We will see! I will keep you posted!

Little Girls in Leotards

2008-10-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well Gracie has been in gymnastics for the past couple months now and she has been having a blast! I managed to talk my way out of my first purchase for Shiloh to be in that parent tot class (that was a whole other blog issue from way back when!) Anyways-they credited my account so I signed Gracie up for the next session! Wednesdays at 1:30 have been the best for Gracie! I decided after the first couple classes that Gracie needed to have a little leotard. All the other little girls were jumping around in their suits and I knew it was just a matter of time for Gracie to ask in her super sweet little voice, "mama, do you think I could wear one of those next time I come?" Of course I melted-I mean I guess we both just kind of fell into the peer pressure of having to have a leotard for gymnastics. Why? They can do the same thing in little t-shirts and shorts! I went into the little store at the gym and pulled a couple out to look at the sizes and prices and quickly realized that if we were going to purchase a leotard-it was not going to be there!

$35-40 for a 2T/3T leotard just doesn't seem right. Here I am analyzing what I can do with $40 the whole way home. You guys know what I mean-just having that conversation in my head! For a leotard!! $40 is probably not that much money but that is just the way I am built! You remember my blog a while back about me picking up a $10 shirt and analyzing the heck out of it. Should I buy or not? Of course I should buy it!! CRAZY!
Well, the quest was on. I went to our local thrifty nifty stores, went to red dot boutique(target), meijer(where the largest Smith family I know shops for everything-really everything!), and finally landed at once upon a child. I found a sweet little purple leotard that I am sure is like a ballerina suit or something because it has little short sleeves, but who cares? It was $3! I can really live with $3! Didn't analyze that one once!
Gracie loved the suit. Wears it faithfully every Wednesday! She puts it on and becomes super gymnast in her little mind. She strokes her little stomach feeling the material and in an instant performs a forward roll-I think to test if it is working properly!! She looks so cute-there is something about little girls in leotards. We are all shapes and sizes from day 1-some fill the little rear ends out, some hang baggy. I love it!
Well now I know I need to get used to the idea of paying for a new leotard. She sure loves gymnastics and is going to keep doing it for the next 10 weeks. The time is coming-I know I will break-a new leotard is in our future! Here is how goofy I am-on the way home today I was thinking about how a new little leotard is really just like $4 a class session. I was seriously breaking down the cost of the leotard per session. I think it is time I stop listening to the woes of the economy. I mean price per session for a leotard-
Just a little Crazy!!
And what is up with Gracie the pirate? All of the shots I got of this day were one eyed!(3rd pic)

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my sister and I took the girls to Circle S Farms to pick some pumpkins right off the vine! It was a beautiful day and the kids had an awesome time. Nic was on his way home from an extra shift and got to stop in to play for a bit and that made it especially nice for the mama!

Through all of these fun and games I have learned something. SECOND BORN children are CRAZY! I really mean this in a great way-I am a second born! I honestly thought that Gracie was quite adventurous and dare devilish but she is not even close, really not even close to Shiloh in this arena! Last year when we went to the farm Shiloh was strapped nicely into a little front carrier and Gracie ran around and played and attempted things but never fully engaged in the haybarn like I saw from Shiloh this year. Shiloh was going down these pretty big slides and fussy for us all to leave her alone. There was one time when the child hit both her feet on the side of the slide and she literally tumbled over sideways staright into the hay. Did she cry? Oh No! The chick was laughing it up with hay coming out all over her head! I love it! I love their little differences! To Gracie's credit-she talked way more and way earlier this miss Shiloh! Shiloh says forget words, who needs them? Give me the action!

Firefighters

2008-10-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

So Nic is the king of firefighting stories, he loves telling of all of those crazy cat rescues and everyone seems to enjoy listening!(or so they act like they enjoy because they are all too kind) He has been working a bunch lately and had to drive to and from London almost everyday last week. He spotted this great sign at one of the local churches in London and I made him take my camera to snapshot it the next day. We loved it! Nic says that even Jesus needs a right hand man!! Well Nic, I am sure if he really did need a right hand man you would be on that list somewhere! He is truly a legend in his own mind!!!
I also have to share this video that someone shot from across the street when the Rax in London recently burnt down-yes, I know, I didn't even know that the Rax chain was still around! You can kind of see the firefighters across the way and you can definitely see the fire. The people shooting it are quite entertaining. I love it when the girl says that she thinks they should turn the car off because she doesn't know if they have enough gas for this!! They are just chatting it up while they watch this place go down in flames. The very best part is pretty much right near the end when the girl asks her man how these firefighters are going to put the flames out! (Enjoy but go down and pause the playlist before you start this up) (This is Nic's unit fighting the fire but I don't beleive you can see Nic hard at work-it is kind of far away) have fun-it's just a short clip but has now become the phrase of our household!
They gonna do what they do!
**I think you may have to turn it way up to hear them talking!

I smell something...

2008-10-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am really feeling a little self conscious lately because of my 3 year old. Gracie's favorite thing to say lately is "I think I smell something", and it always seems to be when she in close proximity to me. You know it is bad when you are just pushing your babies in the cart at Target and your three year old says "Momma I think I smell something" and the people in the aisle over start snickering. I quietly tell Gracie that I am sure it is nothing and she should really save those thoughts for a more private time. She then decides to say in an exaggerated quiet voice(you know when they are whispering it out but somehow it is like they are straining so hard that they are really louder than they were before)"momma-really I smell something and I think it might be you!"
The children in the aisle next to us were not snickering anymore-they were laughing and their parents were doing their best quiet hushing! Now I know I did not stink and I wanted to get closer to the people to prove I didn't stink but then I thought, why do I really care? I mean, really, she is just 3! She is just like wonder woman of the smells. Nic loves it because I am always the one all over him about the whole onion thing(wrote about it a few posts ago). He is adamant that she is a direct reflection of me with the smell thing and he loves that I am the target and not him. I have tried to really use these smelly times as teachable moments with her and teach her about restraint but I am failing miserably. She doesn't get the whole privacy thing yet at all!!
She has been lately saying her very familiar "momma, I think I smell something" and then she catches herself and looks right at me. I give her the ever popular mom look and she quickly says, "momma, it's not you this time-you smell good!"
Great Gracie-it's not me THIS TIME!
I don't stink!!
Crazy kids!

700 billion dollars

2008-10-02T04:19:00.000-07:00

We have sure heard that amount a bunch lately but I heard something interesting yesterday that helped me reference 700 billion dollars. I don't know about all of you but I am horrible at estimating. Walk into a building with a bunch of people and try and guess how many there are-not even close. Try and guess a certain amount of money-no way. I am just not good at it at all!! Anyways-backt to the 700 billion dollars.
700 billion is like giving 33 million people(which is still hard to imagine but closer) $21,000.00.
Do you know that according to the last census-there are 33 million current mortgage holders. Hmmmm-that would be interesting wouldn't it? Give 33 million people $21,000 to pay down or finish their mortgages rather than give all that money back to the poeple that squandered it in the first place. Wouldn't that stimulate the economy?
Now I am not political nor do I know jack squat about the economy but I heard this point today and I thought that it seemed very interesting to me and maybe all of you as well!!

Clinging to our Guns & Religion

2008-09-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

We had a blast this weekend! So many things to blog about but I couldn't help but put this one on first! We went to the Prairie Peddler Festival this weekend and the girls had an absolute blast! They took pony rides, made candles and homemade soaps, saw some really cool little bluegrass bands, and watched some woodcarving. So Cool! We were in this awesome little small town close to Mansfield and there were tons of people out supporting these hometownn artists. A tradition we have started and will continue for sure!
The girls had to have these pop guns from the festival. They saw some kids with them and heard them all thoroughout the booths so we hunted to track them down! By far the favorite possession brought home from our little trip! Gracie and Shiloh were running all around popping these guns tonight after we returned and I just couldn't help but think about that whole Clinging to their Guns and Religion thing! Clinging for SURE! Just not bitterly!! Gracie's face is priceless-she was feeling it definitely!
I thought you all might enjoy that-all you other clingers out there!!

REUNITED!

2008-09-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Reunited and it feels so good! Do I have you all singing right now??
Today is dedicated to Gracie and Jake! They are reunited and they are feeling good!
Last night after dinner Gracie, Shiloh, myself, and Jake(Gracie's favorite stuffed dalmation dog) went to the Library to exchange our movies and books! We went through the doors of the Gorve City Library with backpacks on ready to look for some great new reading material! I glance over at Gracie and specifically make this comment. "Gracie, I wish you wouldn't bring Jake in places because I am really feeling like he is going to get lost one of these times." Gracie then replies that she won't lose him mommy-she would never lose Jake! I then proceed to the counter to explain that we have abused one of the books we had checked out. Lets just say it was well loved by Shiloh and the cover seemed to have gotten ripped. The ladies at the desk were wonderful! They let me slide even though I offered to pay! Maybe it was the fact that Gracie was doing her latest gymnastics move with Jakey in the middle of the floor and Shiloh was trying to stick her head down the book return! Maybe they could see I was in a strugglefest and showed a little mercy!! Well we get passed that part of our time and head on back to the kids section. I remember it very clearly-Gracie had pulled Shiloh over to the puzzle table while I was hunting for some good finds and I heard her manipulating her little sister. Gracie-"Here Shiloh, you can hold my Jakey. He loves it when you hold him!"
I knew this was a bad idea but it happened. That was the last we saw Jakey!
Before Gracie went to bed we started looking for Jake. We looked everywhere. 20 minutes later it hit me that Jake was at the Library. Boy the tears started flowing and it took some major strategic talking to get her through it! She was desperate for that dog. That bottom lip could not have stuck out any farther and I thought I was going to start crying. I felt every problem solving strategy I possess well up inside of me! You all know what I am talking about, it was hurting me that I could not just jump in the car and race over there. I am just as attached to Jake as she is-SERIOUSLY! I then went on to tell Gracie that Jake was having a sleepover with all those other stuffed animals we saw sitting on those shelves. She started calming down-I had her with the sleepover thing! Yeah Gracie he was probably popping some popcorn, chilling with that crazy lion we saw. I really got her with this next one-Gracie-Jake is so lucky, he gets to read every book in the library tonight and use that scanner all by his bigself. She was still upset but loving all of Jake's options!
We made it through the night only on the promise of being at the Library first thing this morning to rescue Jake. This was daddy's task-he was there waiting at the door at 9:30 with the girls! He said Gracie's face was priceless when the lady behind the counter held him up. You see that is kind of a whole other blog because I asked Nic to take my camera and document their search efforts. Of course-he forgot! I can't fault him too much-I mean he did rescue the family pet. Probably the only family pet we will ever have and momma is just fine with that!!
Here is Gracie with her sweet Jake cuddled up in my bed! These picture still pretty much tell the story of Gracie and Jake reunited and feeling good!

Ashley Keepin' it "Reale"

2008-09-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Todays little Blog is dedicated to my lovely cousin Ashley who married a man with the last name Reale. So she is now Ashley Keepin it Reale! Just needed to give you that background so you don't wonder what the title is about! Ashley is currently doing her student teaching so she can earn her art teaching license. I have always been so impressed with her talent and so proud of her. I have a beautiful rose painting in my house that she did! With all of that said about her talent-I do have to say that she is definitely one of the clumsiest people I know. Now I know I am clumsy myself-don't see me judgemental here-I am just calling it like it is! A couple weeks ago sweet little Ashley had a cutting board accident while at school. I mean she cut like 1/4 inch off her thumb!

Now this video is not of the actual accident but it is kind of graphic. You see, bad things happen when artistically talented people get behind a video camera at the doctors office. This video cracks me up for several different reasons-but only because she is okay now.

Reason #1-The music (her husband Andy chose quite a hit here to sequence the events-where do you hear songs like this?) For everyone who doesn't know him-he is a skinny, little, white Christian boy

Reason #2 - The cutting boards flashing at the beginning and then the old school red flash around the thumb-Crazy!

Reason #3 - I think my serious first thought when I saw this little video was- what is that cat going to do when she has a baby? I will make it my personal mission to STOP HIM!! All you other mothers out there have my back on that one!!

Reason #4 - How pretty she looks in her misery!!

Andy-you are a talent pal and Ashley-you are a real trooper for putting up with his talent!!

Before you hit play for the video, you will have to pause my sweet selections at the very bottom of this page so you can hear Andy's tunage!!

Happy Birthday Girl!

2008-09-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Happy 31st birthday to the best sister ever! You Rock Jackie!!

Having a sister has always been a blessing to me! I am so glad my girls get to have a sister to do all the fun things that we have done together. Here are some fun memories for you girl:

*Saturday morning chores with New Kids on the Block "Oh, Oh, Oh,O-h, the right stuff"

*Hey Jackie, did you know trash men make a lot of money? (Jackie-But they only work one day a week! ) I LOVE THAT ONE!

*That crusty Ford Escort with the best turquoise paint job on the block!

*Wild Hearts Can't be Broken - We sure loved that movie with good old Sonora Webster. They sure don't make a good movie about diving horses anymore, do they?

*Fights that always ended with one person pinned and the other letting the drool fall. Why did we do that? I do have to say that you definitely got more of my spit on your face because of these long grasshopper legs.

*MASH(Mansion, apartment, shack, house)- We loved that game! Played it like it was truly real! I mean, how upset did we get every time our count landed us on shack?

*You with your light issue! Dad taking your light bulb wattage down because you refused to turn your lights off when you were finished. Your light just got dimmer and dimmer and finally you ended up in the dark to learn your lesson. You would bring your little clothes into my room in the morning and have to turn my light on when I was still sleeping to see if you would match or not! SAVE ENERGY!

* Putting together Ashley's Graduation slideshow when we had to time that music just so to flip those pictures. Things are so much easier now, aren't they? We practiced that thing 100 times or more. I will never forget the song- "I see your true colors shining through. I see your true colors and that's why I love you!"

*Being pregnant together! That was crazy! But hey, misery does love company!! I will never forget us waddling around places together and poor Nic having 2 pregnant wives while Josh was off at war. What a crazy nine months that was. Too many memories to post here!

I can still see us now sitting at Tuttle Mall near the Coldstone sharing a bottle of water. We talked that whole mall sick as dogs with those killer headaches until finally, I decided drinking some water actually might give us some relief. Notice how it was my idea to get the water. We sat and drank that water like we had never had water before. It was like an epiphany or something. Like hey maybe we do need water to make these bodies function properly!!

WELL I hope you all enjoy these fun memories and maybe you think of some own from your families!! I could go on for days listing fun memories Jackie and I have shared but the best thing about her is that she is such a great giver, she has a beautifully kind heart, and she is so good at teaching me how to relax! She always knows how to calm me down when I get in my Crazy Mode! God sure blessed me with a great sister and he blessed Natalie with a great Mommy!

Happy Birthday!

We have got to get one of these!

2008-09-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

This whole blogging thing is so fun! What a great way to be reflective and keep track of some great memories!! As I was driving the girls home from a very full day I was able to just smile at all the great things Gracie thought up to say today! Here are some really fun things she said that I thought you would all enjoy!

1. "I am really having one of those wedgies under this brand new leotard mama." Today was a gymnastics day for Gracie and I found her a "brand new leotard" from once upon a child that she absolutely loves. She now fits in with the other little girls in the class! Daddy taught her that lovely wedgie word and she used it oh so appropriately.

2. "Hey daddy, we are going to go see Papa Vic and Mama Linda's new little baby!" The reason that is so fun is obvious-not many kids get to go see their grandma and grandpa's brand new baby! Yes, Gracie has 2 aunts younger than her! So fun!

3. "Oh, I love that little baby!" The reason this one is so cool is because it is awesome when you here your 3 year old baby say something so adult like!

4. After Gracie held baby Jazzlyn Rose she was all about her every little move. Jazzlyn is a beautiful baby! I can't believe I forgot my camera or her picture would be posted!! Gracie kept kissing her and holding her little hand. I loved every minute of it. Life is awesome and babies are just the BEST!! After all the caressing and loving and holding of hands Gracie turns to me and says, "Mama, we have got to get us one! Mama, can we take her home, please just take her home with us?"
I know Gracie-I did want to take her home.

5. "Mama, can I give the baby an M&M-she would really love it"

6. "Here little baby-do you want this blanket?" Baby Jazzlyn obviously no response. "Oh mama, she doesn't have very many words does she?"

Just a few fun words from the beautiful little mouth of Gracie Bella. She keeps me well entertained. It's days like this that make you just sit back, smile and thank God for this amazing life!
We have a sweet, beautiful little addition to our family! It was so great just cuddling her up for a little bit today! Welcome baby Jazzlyn-you are blessed baby girl! You have a rockin family!!

WIND STORM

2008-09-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

We had a blast in the wind storm today! Maybe it isn't the best motherly choice to take your babies out in the windstorm but they sure loved it! We all made it back in safely!!

I know Gracie was out in just a t-shirt, with undies all exposed, which also probably wasn't the mother of the year thing to do but once again, WE HAD FUN!

Here are some fun pics from our time outside!

Am I the only?

2008-09-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Just some random thoughts here! I know I am not the only one for all of these but somethimes I wonder????
Am I the only one who........
1. Enjoyed ear candle-ing-Yes I loved it-I loved cutting the candle open and seeing the goodness pulled out. I still would participate if I had any patients!! If you don't know about ear candles-just ask-I am the expert!

2. bakes a cake-thoroughly enjoys a slice-and then leaves it to sit untouched for far too long before scraping it in the trash. Yes I leave it there to haunt my mom and mother-in-law when they watch the girls. I know I am not the only one on this because Nic doesn't eat it either. No-it isn't that the cake is bad!

3. has to count back the days to see if I need to wash my hair or not. No-I do not do that task everyday-sometimes every couple! I would have afro-puff of the year if I washed it everyday!

4. puts lotion on my hair after a fresh wash, dry, and flat iron. Yes lotion-good old Suave! Sorry Jackie!!

5. picks! Not my nose but everything else. Zits, scabs, toe nails, fingernails-you name it! That is gross isn't it? I know my good friend Kristen C. is a picker too so I am not alone-She has to be worse than me!! Sorry girl!

6. checks my breath by smelling in my hand. No I am not the only one-I have seen people doing this one! It is not an adequate test for breath smell!

7. holds up a $10 shirt for myself that I think is really cute and I know would fit and I still take 10 minutes to decide if the purchase is a good choice for me. Why is that? Now if somebody asked me if they should buy that $10 shirt for themselves-I would be all over it. Of course you should buy that great shirt for that great price. Why can't I do that for myself? I need help!

8. goes straight to the children's department in every store-really every store! It has magnetic force on me.

9. wiggles the doorknob multiple times before going to bed to make sure it is locked-multiple times. Nic says, Erin if was locked 5 minutes ago it is still locked. You just never know!!
I learned that one from the best-that is definitely a David (Dad) OCD trait.

10. has to leave food on my plate. I mean even if it is one bite-it messes with me if I don't leave food. Nic says it is more than just food. I don't finish sodas I open, candies, bags of sncaks like goldfish(if there is a small amount of goldfish in one bag and a brand new unopened bag, I have to go for the fresh and leave the old. Something always has to be left.

11. smells like a regular coonhound-no I don't mean I smell like a dog but I have the ability to smell or sniff out things like a dog. I guess a coonhound smells well. I just asked Nic and he just dismissed my question. That is a whole other "am I the only one" thought.
I seriously catch all smells always. I mean I just sniff it out and smells affect me differently than anyone else. I can get sick in an instant because of a smell.

12. makes their husband fast from all onions-they make him smell so bad-back to number 11. I try not to be mean about it and I don't go all nazi on him. we just have an UNDERSTANDING! All you married couples know what I am talking about. The onions don't just make his breath smell-they makehis body stink. I smell onion coming off his arms. He knows I am a pro at sniffing it out. I can tell if he has induldged!

13. talks to their husband-asks many questions-even when you know they aren't listening. I just keep talking-WHY???
You guys-I went to the store last night to get some lat minute items-just down to the local CVS. It was probably 9:30 and I told Nic I was leaving. I got back around 10:00, walked thorugh the front door and Nic just looked at me like I was a ghost. I knew he had no idea I had left. I knew he hadn't even listened to me.
He is rotten sometimes but a sweetheart mostly!!

14. goes to sleep with an agenda in my head for the next day?

15. has a hard time not laughing or smiling when I am not supposed to? That was worse when I was younger!! You can all think of a time in church when the giggles caught you. Unfortunately, I am the worst at this one!!

This is probably enough to get you all thinking! I will have to jot down my quirks and keep this updated!
Leave me a message with some of your quirks if you dare!!!

Balls and Dolls

2008-09-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

So Nic and I are playing on a co-ed softball team together down at Berliner. This isn't the first co-ed league we have played in together-but the first since I have had the little gals! We had our first game Friday night and by goly-we WON! I was a little nervous going to the game because I was pretty much meeting everyone else on the team for the first time and Nic ever so sly told me the day before that he would really like for us to go to the batting cages before the game because HE DIDN'T WANT TO STRIKE OUT! Now, we all know what that really meant. Nic doesn't worry about striking out-he worried about me striking out. This put me on the defense and heightened my worries about playing on the team. Men have a way about them-don't they? We are both so stinking competitive that I really don't know if this was a good choice or not-we will see as the season unfolds!!
So our team name is Balls and Dolls or maybe Dolls and Balls-I can't remember. What I know is my team shirt is very reflective of the oh so creative team name-you would all laugh! Not necessarily at the shirt-but at the fact that I wear the shirt!
Okay so we won the game but the coolest part is that I made a beautiful catch from left field. I was running in-can you picture it?-I spotted the ball (even at night with the stadium lights on) and I got my glove open. I heard someone yell that they thought it was foul but I was committed. I had to catch that ball-mostly for Nic-I had to do it. Picture the movie Sandlot when the little boy stood with his glove up and eyes closed. That was probably more of what I looked like-but I felt like I looked much cooler. The ball hit perfectly in my glove. I was pumped! I caught that ball and got the last out of the inning. I ran back in to Nic who was smiling. He did say good job but had to go and ruin it by asking,
"Hey Blue-Would that have been foul?"
Blue-"Yeah it was foul"
In this league you get one pitch-a foul is out.
I caught that flippin ball for nothing!

"Where is it going?"

2008-09-02T12:39:00.001-07:00

We had an absolute wonderful long weekend! I had no school on Friday or Monday and the weather was beautiful! We started our weekend out on Saturday with a fun monkey business party at Gracie and Shiloh's cousin Liv's birthday party. All of the girls had a blast sliding down a water slide at Livi's house. Triston, a.k.a. Bubba Joe, wasn't feeling the fun. It must have been a girl thing! Sunday was Natti's birthday party at Marmon Valley Farms. The kids had so much fun feeding the deer, taking a hayride, and riding ponies! Shiloh got right on that horse and held on tight. She didn't want a thing to do with petting him but she sure knew how to get in that saddle! It was just an awesome time for the girls-just enjoying life! We left the farm on Sunday with our hands full of cake, cookies, and balloons. Gracie and Shiloh love balloons just like most other kids but what they love most about helium filled balloons is letting them go. We traveled all the way home from past Marysville with 2 balloons only to get home and let them go. Balloons in the car in the hands of a 3year old and 16 month old are never a good idea. We couldn't get home fast enough!
Anyways, we got home and the girls had to have a release party. We prepare for the lift off and Shiloh is so excited she squeals and Gracie is jumping around to see these balloons travel away. It was a rocky start because the helium was wearing off a bit so the girls had to start clapping and cheering for the ballons-as if that was powering them. Well Mama cheered too because it wouldn't be a ballon lift off marty without the mama cheering! Finally, the wind lifts them up and they take off. After they were in the sky a bit we just stood there watching them travel away and get smaller and smaller. I asked Gracie where she thought they were going to. Gracie told me that Shiloh's balloon was going to China (you can tell what we loved watching just recently). I thought that was pretty cool of her but then she got even cooler and said,
"mine isn't going to China Mama-My balloon is going to worship Jesus!"
That rocks Gracie!!
Makes sense-doesn't it?

Happy Birthday Natalie and Liv!

2008-08-30T11:40:00.001-07:00

I have 2 nieces turning 3 this weekend. They were actually born hours apart!

Liv(Kendra & Jer's little girl) was born on August 29th late into the night and Natalie (Jackie & Josh) was born in the wee hours on the 30th!

Happy birthday sweet little beauties!!

MERCY?

2008-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Is there a magic age when you are all of the sudden aloud to spank? Is it like 18 months or something? You parents know what I am talking about!! Nic would say and argue validly that the age should be birth but I wonder!! Shiloh is really at that age. I am a firm believer in disciplining my children but I do like to use different methods and make sure the punishment fits the crime. There are just times when a spank is necessary. We are there with Shiloh. She is a climber like no other right now. The funny,well not really funny to me, thing is she is a really smart climber. She scoots chairs, step stools, toy baskets, and toys over to the table and desk and other pieces of furniture to climb on top. She is really working me! The other day I had just had it and I said Shiloh Jean I am really feeling like a spank is coming on. "Put your feet down!" Gracie then pops her head up out of nowhere and says, "I think she does need one mommy, do it now!"
I then tried to use this as a teachable moment about mercy. I went on in to this long lesson about what mercy is and how our Heavenly Father shows mercy to us. He doesn't always do or give for us what we deserve. She sat there listening, or so I thought, and when I finished she said, "mommy, are you going to give her that spank now? I think she still needs it!"

No, I didn't give her the spank grandparents. And I did manage to walk away without laughing!
Mercy didn't matter just yet, she wanted to see her little sis get it!!

He's already in there!

2008-08-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Kids are so cool-especially mine! Whenever Gracie and Shiloh get hurt or are sick-we pray. We ask God to help them, heal them, take the pain away. It is so cool when they start doing something on their own that you have been working hard to teach them. I mean just really cool when you are in Target and Gracie stubs her little toe on one of the aisle endcaps and starts screaming and crying being overly dramatic and proceeds to scream that she needs me right away to pray. I know it is still cool but somebody probably would have needed to tell me how cool it was as it was happening. Slightly embarrassing to pray for a stubbed toe but I do want them to know that God does care about the little things too. So I prayed for the stubbed toe in Target! Anyways, the other day I caught something in my throat and was coughing and choking a bit, nothing too serious-kind of like the stubbed toe, but still sounding like I was hacking up a lung. Gracie was sitting there with me and she calls out loud to me like I can't hear her just because I am hacking or something. She screams out "Mommy, Do YOU NEED JESUS?" Of course I told her yes so she came over closer put her little hand on me and prayed for me. She asked Jesus to help her mommy feel better. YES! I loved every minute of it. She then went on to ask me again if I needed Jesus. I said yes I do still need Jesus. She then told me, as if she was done with the whole transaction,
"Mommy, He's already in THERE!"
Yes, baby, He is already in there. It is so simple, isn't it?
Why do we adults complicate everything so much.
Of course Jesus is already living in there. Why don't we just accept that he is working and moving in our lives constantly. I need Him when I am hacking a lung-BAM-He's already in there!

Gymnastics

2008-08-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well, Beijing came and went and the Smith household was awed by all of the fabulous athletes in the Olympics. I am sure Michael Phelps is now a household name for everyone but my girls, including my sweet little niece Natalie can not stop talking about him. I mean-I came home the other day and my mom had taken the girls on a walk down to the pond and they saw a bunch of ducks swimming around and Gracie told me all about the ducks flipping the feet like good old Michael Phelps. Natalie learned to swim and got over this crazy fear of the water with the help of Michael Phelps and his gold medal swimming!! Anyways-back to gymnastics. The girls were in awe of those little gymnasts flipping around and mama decided it was time to fork over the cash and sign Gracie up. I went over to Midwest gymnastics by the Sports Ohio Complex because we are familiar with the owner there and proceded to sign Gracie up for a 10 week class. I figured that if the Chinese can start their girls at 3 in the gym, why can't we? Well as you can see in the pictures below-I am going to one up the Chinese because I have been suckered into signing little 16 month old Shiloh up. Aren't those shirts great? Lets hope so! 250 bucks later! We are all smiles!! I will post some pictures of their lessons later. Somebody should take my picture running around that gym with Shiloh. Sweaty back definitely (SWACK)! If you haven't heard that-a great friend just recently taught me about combining sweaty terms. You know like sweaty back is swack, sweaty legs=swegs, sweaty pits = swits. You get it right? I am sure you will all use that soon. So silly I know!! I definitely deserve a gold medal for my efforts in this arena!!

First Week Back to School and Already Missing Summer!

2008-08-28T13:39:00.001-07:00

Although we absolutely, positively have needed this rain for the past 2 days-I am still struggling about it. I think it is the fact that it has come on the first week back to school and I am ALREADY MISSING MY SUMMER! It has been so dreary! I know, I know I only work 180 half days a year but I tell you those other 180 half days are where it is at!!! This is obviously new for me-this whole bloggin' thing but I thought I would start by adding some summer fun memories as I pout my way into fall!!