The McMullen's Memories

hmmmmm.....

2010-07-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

I wrote this back in July...not sure why I never posted it but now that its almost 3 months later -- I am going to hit the publish post button. Doesnt really make sense but gonna do it anyways.

I have not blogged in over 6 months now. I need to start catching up and posting things for myself. I think I cut back or lets just say stopped -- because my mom and Jill were the only people who read my blog. Its cool -- I talk to them like 9,000 times a day and they already know everything that I would post sooooo why tell um twice. Well, I am going to blog now for ME!!! Memories -- fun things to look back on with the ol famdamily.

Dont think I can really catch up the last 6 months or year because there has been way to much going on and I am totally a rambling kinda gal.

I can say that we got tubes put in Logans ears on June 21st and he has since made some progress with his speech. He has a developmental specialist, occupational therapist, and a speech therapist that all come once a week. He is really trying hard to make sounds and today for the first time -- he wanted his juice so he signed more while saying it and then signed please while saying it. This is great progress and I am super proud of the little monster.

Brady has been growing by the second. I cant believe how big this guy is.....hard to treat him like a 3yr old and not a 5yr old. He is such a sweet, gentle, strong willed child who tells his mama I Love You - atleast 30 times a day which I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear!

Ryan is amazing like always -- continues to be such a wonderful husband and my best friend. Its crazy how easy marriage is when you are friends and get along so well. He is very patient and understanding with me and I with out a doubt appreciate him.

Life is good!!!

What if.......

2010-01-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

You talked to your sister 9 billion times in one day. I often wonder if people have the relationship that Jillian and I do. Back in the day when we were in school I didnt care to have conversations with her. Who would have thunk that we would grow up being the best of friends and talk 9 billion times in one day.
If we have not talked by 8:30am in the morning something is wrong. Funny thing is.....even with as much as we do talk - we never really run out of things to say. Jill comes over a lot during the week which the boys and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE. Trenton gets to run around with his buddies and there is actually an adult around during the day to have some meaningless conversations with. If Jill leaves we usually have picked up the phone with in a half hour and are talking again.
I guess it was brought to our attention that we shared soooo much time together when Jill passed her old web cam onto me. She was over earlier in the day and then when she left I called her and we chatted on web cam instead of the phone. At least we could see each other then. Seriously? Seriously! hmmmmm - maybe this is a problem?
I call Jillian every night before I go to bed and we have the best belly laugh conversations. I really should stop doing this - being that I cannot sleep at night and I end up waking up more after I have tears running down my face from laughing so hard. We even make jokes about possibly just leaving the phone on while we go to sleep - knowing that when we wake up we are going to call each other - whispering in the phone ( you awake yet !?!? ) lmao. Ooooohhhh my goodness - this is just too funny! There are soooo many things that we could get accomplished if we didnt talk so much but, to tell ya the truth - its the best of the best of the best times. I wish everyone could have a relationship like we do. I feel for those out there that dont get to experience this fun times and laughs that I do with my bestie sis.
Thats all for now - I have to go call her!!! lol

Welcome -- Maggie Mae McMullen

2009-11-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

We were heading out for our normal family grocery shopping trip to Wal-Mart on Sunday late afternoon. As I was driving down Cactus I saw a dog on the south side of the road which appeared to be a puppy. I commented to Ryan....Ahhh, there is a puppy over there. We kept driving and did our grocery shopping which takes about an hour since for some crazy reason we all go together (this is definitely Ryans idea not mine). Anyways I thought to myself that if I see that dog on the way home I might stop and try to help it.

As we left Wal-Mart and headed home....the dog was still in the same spot. I of course felt obligated at this point to stop. Dogs dont usually stay in one spot and not for an hour anyways. My wonderful Ryan jumped out of the car to go over and see the dog. She was very dirty and totally scared. I told Ryan we needed to help her. I got a bottle of water from the car and started pouring it in front of her so she could have a drink. A very thirsty little gal started drinking the water. Ryan at the time was probably hoping that we would drive away -- never know what you are going to have to invest in a stray dog just to help it find its home again. I left Ryan on the side of the road with the dog and went to Jill's to grab a leash. I didn't want us to pick her up with how dirty she was and not knowing if she was going to bite us. We borrowed some dog food from Jill and headed home where we placed her in the back yard. This dog would not eat and just laid around. I went outside often to pet her and talk to her letting her know I am going to help her and find her home. She would get up and walk away from me every time I came outside.
I knew she was an older dog due to her gray hair around the mouth....so, I thought she possibly was dying or was depressed from loosing her owner.
After 2 days of no eating and no movement - I finally got her to lap up some chicken broth which brought a smile to my face.

I called Dales pet grooming to see if I could bring her in and get her a bath so she could come in the house and be more comfortable. I explained the situation to them and they said they would bath her. They looked her over and found a spot on her neck that was bloody. Well turns out that spot was a hole the size of the end of my pinky -- and I have big hands. She had been bit by something and her neck was so swollen and bruised that they said that they cant bath her right now till she is seen by a vet. Wonderful Jillian came over and helped me out the following day so I could take her to the mobile vet. They think maybe a coyote got her and she was lucky to get away. Put her on some medicine for the infection and pain pills.
For some reason after I got home she was excited to get in the back yard and ate a little more broth. I started her meds right away in hopes that she would feel a little better.

The dog started eating more so, I offered some dog food that I had softened with hot water and a little wet dog food. As the week went on so did her progress. I had made an appointment with Jill's vet to follow up and possibly see if there was anything else she needed since the first visit is free. They shaved her neck where she was bit and the bruising was continuing to go away as well as the swelling. I asked him if she could have a bath and he gave me the thumbs up. Sooooo....I called Dales and made an appointment that day. When I went to go pick her up she was a new dog. It was just like she had a day at the spa and was a new women. Leaping around....her hair was so soft and you could tell that she was feeling soooo much better.

She got to stay inside now and was so excited to be with us. I put her on 3 different web sites in hopes to find her owner. I checked her for a chip - she had no collar to begin with and I drove around the area I found her multiple times looking for a lost dog sign.
Well.....we now have a new member to our family. She has miles on her for sure but, she is such an amazing dog. Ryan and I had talked about getting a puppy in the next year which is pretty crazy being that my plate is beyond full. She does not shed, she does not bark - unless you ring the door bell, she is good with the boys and I just love her. We decided to name her Maggie Mae McMullen. She obviously is very grateful for us saving her -- she follows me all around the house and lays in the laundry room when I leave waiting for me to come back through the door. She listens very good and is house broken.

I feel like she is a little blessing and was put there for me/us to find. She is great for our family. Like most kids -- Brady has a hard time staying in his bed before he falls asleep -- coming out for multiple reasons. Last night I had Maggie jump up on the end of his bed and told her to stay till he went to sleep. Brady never came out of his room and she stayed there until I came and got her. What a sweet little angel we have been blessed with to join our family. I cant tell you enough how good it feels to know that we saved this little girl and how much extra joy she brings into our lives. I hope we get to enjoy her for years. Hard to say how old she is but, we will love her as long as she has.

Many Thanks to my husband for just going with the flow and letting her be a part of our family. I appreciate him helping me get her home and being so supportive. I also could not have helped her out as much if Mom and Jill didn't help. Mom picked her up a bed from Costco along with a pooper scooper and dog bones from Pet Smart. Jillian of course helped me out by coming over to the house so I could run around town multiple days trying to fix our girl. Its so great to have so many amazing people in my life so willing to help me with anything. Maggie is very thankful for you guys as well as I am.

This is what she looked like before!

This is what our girl looks like now! Pictures really dont do any justice to the amazing changes.

October where did you go???

2009-11-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Its obviously common and we all go thru it but, time is flying by soooo fast in my life right now. I cannot believe that October has come and gone.

*At the beginning of the month Vicky and her daughter Chloe came and visited which was great. Always enjoy seeing Vicky and it has been forever since I saw Chloe -- she has grown up so much!

*I ran the 3mile race for the cure with the wonderful Kristi. We did great and finished at the front with the pack.

*Ryan went out of town for a few days which is always hard for me -- soooo my hero Matthew came and stayed with me one night when I got spooked. He would fight off any of the bad men that were standing in my showers waiting to kill me (or so my mind makes me think).

*We went to the state fair where we enjoyed the ol corn dog on a stick and some Indian fry bread. We only get to partake in these wonderful,greasy,give me a muffin top items once a year so we enjoyed. Brady didn't want to try out any of the rides so we just walked around and enjoyed the scenery. Love to people watch at the fair -- it brings in a whole to crowd of people ya just didn't know really existed.

*Then of course there is Halloween! We went to a pumpkin patch where Brady got to pick out his pumpkin and then a family one was also picked. Logan can pick his own next year. Ryan and I got nominated to have people over to our house for Halloween so our friends came over with their kids 13 kids total to be exact and 10 adults. This number included Jill and the boys which was super fun since they are not into Halloween. Always love having the ol sister around when things are going on. Everyone brought a little something to shmack on that was mexican themed. We played a quick ghost poop race game and off we went trick or treating. Mom stayed home and passed out candy to the neighborhood kids.
Logan was a bee and and angry bee for that matter. He really was not interested in having the bee costume on at all. He didn't want to go up and ask for candy, instead he wanted to run around everywhere he wasn't suppose to -- like the street. I failed to bring the stroller - needless to say -- my arms were on fire. Brady was a pirate and truly enjoyed Halloween this year. He would run up to doors and say arrrr trick or treat. Just the way a true pirate would do. Came home and mom had cleaned up all the dishes and the kitchen from the mess that we all had made. Thanks Mom!!! I will make sure she is here for all parties to come. It was such a treat...Mom your the best!!

This sums up October -- I AGAIN....am going to try and do a better job about blogging. Its very hard for me to sit long enough to make a post so most of them will be short and sweet. November is already interesting and full of excitement. I am excited about the next post which will be introducing Maggie Mae!!!

Can you tell which one Ryan carved???

Sleeping after our big night out on Halloween!

Our rugrats!!!

2009-09-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Its cooling off a bit and went outside to play the other day with our girl Paige. It always seems to end up that the kids get in the water or get so dirty that we just hose them off! Here are some fun pics of the kids running around naked.

Also went over to Jills house the other day and just started shooting some pictures of the boys while they were outside. We are trying very hard to learn our cameras and be in control but, I think we have come to realize and discover that the auto in our camera has a lot more experience than we do. Just some fun photos of our rugrats to share!!! Enjoy!

This is some heavy duty armor that Matt has made for Branden!!!!

My Logan is such a cuddly little guy!!! I just love it!!!

Update on running!!!

2009-09-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

Soooo....I have this terrible head cold right now that is keeping me from running! This SUCKS!!! I have been so good about not missing a run or a jog for our training and now since I feel like I have been hit by a 2x4 in the head -- I have missed the last two days of our runs. We are suppose to run 6 miles this weekend. How the heck am I suppose to do that!?!?!? Not to mention that I feel like a beached whale. Its so funny what a couple days of not working out/excersising can do to your mind/body. I hope this passes soon so I can be back on track. We are going to run the 3 mile Susan G. Komen race for the cure on the 11th of October. Feeling really good about this run and not to mention its for a great cause. Hope everyone who reads this will run/walk it with us.

Sassy here we come!!!

2009-09-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Jillian and I went shopping last week and headed over to Buckle to find some jeans. We can only buy jeans at Buckle because they so graciously cater to us tall folks by making jeans with a 37 1/2 inch inseam. We loaded up my two boys and Trenton and off we went with jeans on our mind. We justified buying a new pair each since we have not bought a new pair of jeans in like ummmm....5 years. Its quite obvious that styles have changed since then and although we tend to not care that much about being super trendy -- it would be fun to sport some sassy, sexy, stylish jeans.

We tried on about 10 pairs each -- I might have a couple more under my belt but, with a lot of time and sweat and tired, hungry, whinning babies...I found a great pair of jeans and Jill found -- NOTHING!!! Sad day for her! But, at these prices...you better feel you sparkle like diamonds in the sky when you put these babies on or they will be left on the shelf.

As I was checking out -- I happen to glance over and saw this shirt that I just knew I was going to LOVE!!! I walked over and unfolded this shirt made by Affliction that is so the uhmmmm.....cant even think of the right words but, its just the rough side of my personality with a little bling to it. Its soooo not a sweet, danty, etsy look which dont get me wrong I love. I glanced at the price tag and it was $68.50 -- OMG...are you kidding me -- for one shirt!!! Will this shirt rub my shoulders and back after pulling it over my head!?!?!? Anyways..I went home and told Ryan all about the shirt and I just cant stop thinking about it.
We went back later that night and my WONDERFUL HUBBY let me buy it since I still had birthday money left over that I never spent back in May. Please see picture below!!

There are a lot of girls/women out there who would totally not sport this shirt but, I planned on rocking it out with some fun boots and exsesories. I placed this $68.50 shirt in my closet and let it sit for a couple days. I got a size medium and it fit good but, a smidge snugger than I would like around the chest and arm pit area. If you know me -- you know I do NOT like to wear sleeves and have a hard time with shirts that are so tight they are all up in my pits. Makes me uncomfortable for some reason -- I like to have my arms free like a bird. lol

Long story short....I loaded the boys up today and I took that $68.50 fabulous shirt that I HADE TO HAVE back to Buckle and bought three new shirts for the price of that one. I am sooooo excited about my new purchases that I just had to share them. I went over to Heart & Soul which is new in Arrowehead Mall but, they have a store up in Prescott that I have glaced at many times. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my new purchases BUT -- I can put a picture of them up right now because you will not get the same effect if they are laying on my counter or on a hanger. They have to be on me to share them with you. Its the little things in life that bring great joy into my heart. I am totally not a fashionable person and I envy those who are (Candace aka: Brooke Masters)with love in my heart. I just dont have the sassy fashion in me or the denaro to be that sassy. I tell ya what -- it costs a lot of flippin money to be up to date with fashions and do it right. I guess thats why I am excited about the new purchase. Soooo.....sassy pictures of muah will be posted soon!!! This should be exciting!! lol

Running Around Town

2009-09-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

Today is a much better day! I just get to be a rolling snowball sometimes and a few tears and hugs seems to make me feel all better. Soooo on to some new things in my/our life. Kristi....my very wonderful friend/neighbor/and employer -- started talking about running a 1/2 marathon months ago. We go to the gym every morning together and when she mentioned this I quickly jumped on the ship and said...lets go sailing together! I have never really liked running and havent done much of it since high school but, I/we thought this would be some great excersize and we would probably do well at it since we workout every day. We also would both like to shed or tone a couple pounds and were convinced that this is how we are going to do it.

Well, our official training day was to start on August 23rd but, we jumped into it a couple weeks early to have a head start. We have both done quite well. I think we push eachother a lot and it sure helps having her run next to me. I am happy to say that we have never stopped in the middle of a run to take a break -- and last week we ran 5 miles. Doesnt seem like much but, let me just tell ya...5 miles is ridiculously far when you are on foot. We have been running here and there at night so we could sleep the next morning and last night I finally felt amazing when I was running. Usually when I start I have this thought of -- oh my gosh I am going to have to stop. Then as we get about half way thru the run -- it gets a little better. BUT....last night we were to run 3.5 miles and we ran 4 instead because we were doing so good. I have been getting a little discouraged lately with our runs because we have to build up to 13 miles and I feel sometimes like I am going to die with a 3 mile run. Anyways....I thought it would be fun to journal our experience with the training and of course our victory at the end of it.

We will be running in San Diego on Coronado Beach on November 15th. We leave for San Diego on the 13th and return the same day as the race. This will also be the first time I am away from my babies. The only other time I have been away from Brady was when I was giving birth to Logan. Two whole nights these little guys are going to be with out their mamma and me with out them. I know its going to be sooooo hard for me to leave and actually just the thought of it and writing this makes me teary. Hopefully I can call Brady each night and we can sing Sunshine over the phone. My boys are just amazing little guys -- actually all 3 of my boys. I couldnt go with out saying how supportive Ryan has been with me doing this and the costs that are involved. I truly have an amazing husband on so many levels. I feel so blessed every day with my life, even when Brady is putting me over the edge sometimes. Its fun to have a goal to work towards like this and I am so lucky to being doing it with such a great friend. Thanks for the suggestion Kristi and for keeping me going! Stay tuned for our progress!

Oh Brady!!!

2009-09-16T16:54:00.001-07:00

Mom keeps telling me that I need to blog more. Probably not the day to do it but, I am going to make a quick post. Brady has been testing me the last two weeks and its really starting to wear on me. I believe in love and logic and try my very best to stay calm and give him choices. He has started hitting and being a bug bully all of the sudden and I of course wonder....what am I doing wrong. I am aware that Brady is very strong willed and has a very healthy temper -- just the way he is built as does his little brother Logan (the temper anyways). I can admit that I am not the most patient person in the world but, I have come a very very long way with patience after having kids. I just feel like I am always raising my voice and always putting him in time out or counting or or or. Of course with writing this, I feel bad like I am saying my little man is not a good kid -- wrong -- he is a very smart, wonderful, sweet little guy. These last two weeks have just been trying and difficult. I think this has a better word for it and its called "being a parent". I also need to remember that just because Brady looks like a 4 year old...he is only 2 1/2. Ryan and I want to have 4 kids, we are only at 2....am I going to make it?? Does this mean I am being defeated and giving up!? Sigh...
Ok...I am going to get off of my poor me box and I am going to go take a happy pill and be the best mother ever!!! Wish me luck -- and Brady for that matter that we can come out of this testing time very very soon.

Catching up!

2009-08-03T12:20:00.001-07:00

Wow....its has been like 3 months since I have posted anything on my blog. I think as more and more time goes by -- I start to feel overwhelmed about sitting down and catching up on all the events that have happened. So, I decided to just pick up from today and move forward, with the exception of one classic day.
A brief catch up with just some bullet points:

*Logan turned one year old on May 8th. Where the heck has the time gone??? We love him so much...he and Brady are becoming great buddies and he truly is a blessing.

*Jillian turned 32 -- my mom and I took her out for dinner at Postinos and then surprised her with a little country dancing which was a BLAST! We had a great time.

*Carter turned 5 -- seriously....its truly ridiculous how fast our kids grow up. I cannot believe that he is already 5 years old. Love you buddy!! You are a super special little man to your Aunt Lindsey.

*OUR ANNIVERSARY!!!!!
This would be the special classic day that I by no means can leave off of the blog. Ryan and I got married on 07/07/07. Now, I wanted to do something fun and DIFFERENT for Ryan that he would never guess I was planning. Let me just say....I accomplished this in flying colors.
I was talking with my fabulous girlfriend Julia, discussing with her some ideas that she might have for the big day. She told me that on fathers day she took Brett (her husband) over to Turf Soaring to have a fun adventure in a glider. Well, at first I thought....hmmmm....not sure if Ryan would really think it was fun but, at least it is something he has NEVER done and can say that he did it in life. So, Jillian was wonderful and agreed to watch the boys for us so I could take Ryan out for this fun day.
We arrived at the Turf Soaring and I could read on Ryans face that he was a little nervous after seeing the contraption that he was going to be sitting in and not to mention it was way flippin hot out. If you have never been to Turf Soaring which I am sure most have not -- let me lay it out for you a little. Its right behind a trailer park, there is a bird that sits on a line right above the stairs that if you dont walk fast enough -- it might poop on you, the people are quite elderly, (but very nice) and I felt like a millionaire walking up to pay. Anyways....Ryan and I walked out to the glider with these smiles that were from ear to ear on our faces -- not because we were so happy yet, totally freaked out and trying to think positive. I wished him luck and off they went.
I went and sat under the tree were this young girl about 9 years old came and sat down with me. She lived over in the trailer park and comes over every day to empty the garbage's and helps out. She probably had not brushed her hair or her teeth in days but, that didnt matter - she was very nice and pleasant to talk to while waiting for Ryan to be done. All of the sudden she says to me.....Oh boy -- there coming in --he must have puked! I said really you think so. Oh yeah -- there coming in fast he puked. They do a very fast landing and she pipes up again and says -- yup -- theres his puke bag!!!!
It never even dawned on me that Ryan has a weak stomach and would get air sick. Oh geeezzzzz -- now I feel like a flippin moron. Ryan walks over to me and he is just drenched from head to toe in sweat. He was white as a ghost. The guy who went up with him says....let me get his flying booklet for him before you leave. I told Ryan to go sit in the car and relax and I will get the booklet. At this point I could care less about this booklet and just want to go take care of Ryan.
Well, a long story short on the glider -- Ryan felt like crap the rest of the day. We drove out and had to stop at Lowes for about 45 min sitting on their patio furniture in order for him to not feel so dizzy and want to vomit again. I kept telling him that we should just go home but, he was insistent that we go to Firebirds and eat our favorite meals.
I talked to Jill while sitting at Lowes and she was just busting a gut. You really have to hear the story in person but, this little girl going on and on next to me all hillbillyish that Ryan had thrown up was seriously funny. We got home and Ryan went and laid on the bed for most of the evening. He came out a little before the boys were going to go to bed and we started playing with them. I was just telling Brady to go in the play room and we will play for a little while. I gave him a big tight squeeze and he vomited over my right shoulder all over my back. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! I am thinking -- I just squeezed my son so tight that I made him vomit. Well, after that Brady kept saying I puke I puke and ran to the toilet. He never threw up so we thought he was playing around. After the 7th time of him doing this I finally said -- now thats enough -- its time for bed no more playing! He bursted out in tears and said he needed to puke sooooo I picked him out of bed and took him into the restroom where he vomited and vomited and vomited. He threw up so much that he started to not be able to get his breath and got scared so he picked his head up and then vomited all over the toilet and not just in it. We moved Bradys mattress into our room next to my side of the bed where he threw up every 20 min until about 1am. The next morning Brady was great -- got it all out of his system and I was on the couch the whole day feeling sicker than a dog. Couldnt eat anything and dry heaved a couple times. This is truly a day and night that will never be forgotten and we can now look back and laugh about it. Ryan told me later that day that he is kinda a back seat guy and I really dont need to do wild and adventurous things for him -- he likes doing the same things over and over. Note taken!!! Happy Anniversary Honey!!!!

30.....are you kidding me!!!!

2009-05-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am 18 .....look like I am 32 - according to my stupid neighbor -- and just notice a new line under my left eye which can be referred to as a WRINKLE. Well...I started getting grey hair at the age of 18 and totally was ok with it and thought nothing of it. There is this great person called a hair dresser - who can make everything better for you in a matter of an hour or so if you are not doing any highlights. But, there is nothing for this new and not acceptable wrinkle I have - aside from a little botox or plastic surgery. Am I too young for a little injection or tug and snip here and there??? Naaaaaaa but, cant do it right NOW.
Anyways...as my mom would counsel me....be grateful to turn another year older, some people dont get to. Sooo, I am welcoming 30 with open arms and hope to look and feel better than I did in my 20's.
My birthday happened to fall on a Saturday night. We went and grabbed a bite to eat at Firebirds ( one of my many FAVORITES ) and then off to Harolds with good friends. Its very hard to find anyone these days that knows how to country dance so, I was only able to get one song in with a man who was much shorter than me. My fabulous husband went over to him and his girlfriend and asked him kindly to dance with his wife because its was my birthday. We may have only got to dance once but I tell ya what -- it was sooooo much flippin fun!!!! I miss country dancing sooooo sooooo much. Jillian and I use to go all the time when we were younger and just dont find the time to do it these days. I am hoping that I can steal her sometime in the near future and we can head out with mom for some dancing.
Thanks to all that shared my birthday with me and made me feel special in some way or another!

The beeeeee's

2009-05-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

I have been bad about posting and I know there is really no excuse like I have two children ages 2 and under and they are only 14 1/2 months apart - or like - I go to bed at 9pm every night so, I can get up in the morning at 4:45am to hit the gym by 5am. I know those are just silly excuses sooooo.....I am going to try to do better.

Anyways, my sister Vicky came down to visit in April for almost a week and I just have to post about the bee's. My Mom, Vicky, Brady, Logan and Madelyn were all outside enjoying a nice sunny but still cool out day in the backyard of my house. We were laying on the grass while the children played with eachother in the yard. All of the sudden I hear this bzzzzzzzzz.....bzzzzzz....bzzzzzz ---- :0 -- I turned my head to my left shoulder and HOLY CRAP -- I have never in my life seen sooooo many flippin bees ever!!! I quickly leaped up like a gazelle grabbed Brady's hand and Logan by one arm as I leaped for the door to the house - Vicky, Madelyn and Mom totally followed suite. We then watched thru the windows as my whole entire back yard was full of a HUGE swarm of bees. From the grass all the way to my roof the back yard was covered. They didnt stay long -- just chilled for a few min. and went over the roof. I didnt grab the camera in time to get them in the back yard but, I took a picture of them as they went over the roof and on to their next destination to freak some other innocent people out. Jillian would have had a heart attack. It all happened so fast and mom says that its amazing how the kids just new to leap up and follow me/us into the house so peacefully. We will talk about this for years.

Potty Training

2009-04-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

The other day I went out to Sams club and bought a new box of diapers for Brady and of course $40. later - thought to myself hmmmm....I wonder if my little man is ready!?! Well since Brady just turned two at the end of February I thought I might be jumping the gun. I ran over to Kohls and bought two packages of underwear that had 7 pairs in them each. I decided we were going to give it a shot and see how we do. I have gotten mixed responses about me starting him so soon and that he probably wont be ready but, in my opinion -- worth a weeks effort and if it doesnt work and he needs more time, thats totally fine.
WELL....my Brady -- is doing AWESOME!!! He has not had an accident since the first day. Now....mind you -- we are only on day 3 but, good gravy...he is doing FABULOUS in my opinion. I even ventured out of the house to go pick up Carter, Branden, and Matt from school and he stayed dry the whole time. If he needs to go he runs up to me and says " Mom...Pee Pee ".
I am soooooo proud him. Brady is a very strong willed child so it could have gone either way so I am glad its going so great. I obviously have never potty trained a child before being that Brady is my first born. Its sooo fun and exciting for me to watch him make these steps to being such a big boy. I am totally not ready for my baby to be growing up so fast but, I have to be honest.....I could totally go with out changing diapers on two kids to just one and not to mention the cost that is involved. We usually dont leave Sams club when buying diapers and wipes under $100. Ahhhhhh the savings - the savings!!!

Catching up on posts!!!

2009-04-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few things that have been happening the last few weeks and I just havent had a chance to post anything.

We went to the splash pad with Jillian, Carter and Trenton. I took Kate and Connor along - since I was taking care of them and all....thought it would be best!!! lol They all had a great time and it was a nice way for the kids to burn off energy before their naps. Logan at one point started falling asleep in the swing so we knew it was time to head home.

Carter came over to have a play day with Brady! They had a lot of fun playing with Play-Doh and shaving cream. Its always fun to just have those days where you dont really care if things get messy.

Brady got his alphabet learning blocks from his Nana and Grandma Watts. These are quite a pricey item but he absolutely loves them. Each box has something in it that begins with the letter on the box. Brady and I get to have one on one time every day and we pull out the boxes and say the words. It is so much fun and hopefully is making some progress with his speech.

Brady also got a fun cube like ball from his Nana for his birthday...This thing is a great energy burner. Brady runs all over the back yard with it chasing it around. We took it to the park one day with Jillian and she thought she broke her nose -- Carter thought he was going to throw up so, he was sitting down by the strollers! We went over to the park instead - the cube was a bust on the field...we will keep it in the back yard.

Not to compare kids but, my little Logan has jello legs! Brady was such a stiff board and very strong from the moment he was born so this is all new to me. However..Logan has been using the Lion that Grandma Watts bought Brady when he was a baby and walking all over the play room. Here is a fun little video clip of him.

Classes starting NOW!!!

2009-03-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

For all of those who have visited the Smith's Blog....I appreciate your time and the amazing calls to congratulate Jillian and I on our talent. The request for sing-o-grams are so appreciated and overwhelming that my heart is just full for Neil Smith acting as an agent.

Due to my love for children and being that Neil and Laura just recently were blessed with little Tyler -- I thought it would only be appropriate to start branching out and teaching children how to do their own singing and dancing routines. I keep the classes very small so the children get special one on one attention.

Neil and Laura -- To show my appreciation to you -- Tyler will get these classes free for 6 months for all your help.

Classes are filling up fast, so make sure your children are not left behind.

Please preview my advance sing-o-gram class below. As you can see....totally worth your time and money.

Concerned!!!

2009-03-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Night before last I was doing my usual -- check on the boys and tuck them in one more time before I headed to bed myself. I first checked on Logan who was sound asleep and looking soooo peaceful and sweet. I then went into Brady's room where I usually take out a couple toys that he has taken to bed with him and below is what I found.
Now....I am sure that some might be offended that I would post such a picture but, Im ok with that. Brady of course is my first child and being that he is a boy is fabulous but, good gravy! It starts at such a young age. I called Ryan into the room and we both chuckled and snapped a couple of photos. I have a feeling that there are going to be some funny story's to follow with having boys. Gotta love it!

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Love Thy Neighbor!!!

2009-03-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sooooo....Ryan is out of town this WHOLE week for work and a little pleasure. He is in Vegas for a conference and then his birthday is this Friday so, he decided to stay a couple extra days to make some bets on basketball games. Ryan and I are both big fans of Vegas so, I am happy that he gets to get a chance to get away and enjoy himself. Of course -- I wish I was there with him because I miss him sooo much but, I am not ready to leave my bambinos yet.
Anyways...it happens to be St. Patricks day and my WONDERFUL neighbors/friends -- took a stroll down to mi casa and brought there friend Jose for me to meet personally. Well...it was a pre-made bottle of Margaritas. Ahhhh........
Had a couple fun conversations outside with them and off they went. Kristi came back for a few min and we chatted. I tell ya what....we seriously have some of "The Best" neighbors ever. We feel so lucky, and blessed to have moved into such a nice neighborhood and found new friends. Thanks to Kristi and Kevin for thinking of me last night and letting me see some adults while Ryan is away. You guys are great!!
Kristi also told me that Jose is not leaving town for another day so, she may bring him over tonight again to visit!!! Tee Hee

You have to love how Kevin placed the nicely salted glasses in-between the rugs in front of the Car-Seats in the Mini Van --- in order to keep the salt on them!!! That's Great!!!

Loving those Toes!

2009-03-12T12:53:00.001-07:00

I sat down on the ground yesterday to paint my toe nails. Brady was soooo very interested in what I was doing. I explained to him that I was painting my toes. He lifted up his foot and kept saying....toe, toe. I told him this was only for Mommy but, he continued to say...toe, toe - while pointing to his own feet.
I thought....what the heck. So I painted my little mans toes. After I was done I was blowing on them so they would dry quickly and of course Brady brought his foot up to his mouth and started helping with the blowing. Ryan of course was mortified when he got home and saw his sons toes. He also told me to not blog about it or let anyone else see them. Sorry Honey!!!
I think he looks cute!!!

I apologize for the close up of my horrible looking feet!!!

Brady is 2 years old!!

2009-03-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

It has been super busy around the McMullen house but, then again -- when is it not busy. Our big boy Brady turned 2 years on the 26th of February and I am totally in disbelief that we are already here. Where has the time gone?? There is no way possible to put into words the feelings and love that I/We have for Brady. He truly is an amazing child. He makes us laugh all the time and of course -- keeps us on our toes.
I think I also feel like it has gone by so fast due to Brady's size. He is only 2 years old and is about the size of a 3 1/2 year old. He is not fat by any means but, rather just a solid 36 pounds. He is the reason I can keep my girlish figure by packing him around - one or two lifts a day and ya have a full body work out.
He is so smart and amazes me every day with the things he understands and picks up. His speech has taken a giant leap in the last two weeks and he says the cutest things ( or trys to anyways ).
I am sure if you know Brady he has made you bust a gut a time or two while hanging out with him. He has to be one of the most dramatic children with his expressions.
He listens very well for his age and aside from an occasional temper tantrum he is a very happy child who just loves to be alive.
Brady has made a connection between Ryan and I that is indescribable. If there was no Brady there may not be a Ryan and Lindsey. I know that God sent this little angel to us/me for more reasons than I can explain. This little man makes me sooo proud of him every day and I love being a mom, more and more every time I wake up and get to see his shining face. I could go on and on about my love for our Brady.
I am so blessed to have Brady for a son and Thank God everyday that his sweet soul is ours. Ryan and I have created an amazing child who we are so proud to be his Mommy and Daddy.

10 Things that I LOVE that Brady does or says:

1) Love ya chew
2) Ohhhh Noooo
3) Plays in his crib for a good half hour before he wants out of bed
4) Goes to the pantry taps his finger on his chin and says hmmmmm.....
5) Puts his hand over his ear and says...whats tat
6) Signs Thank You when someone does something for him
7) Says Bye and waves if he needs the ok to do something
8) Sings and dances with me
9) Yells Hi when I walk in his room to get him up
10) Takes Logan a toy and says shhhh if he is sad

I took Brady to the Children's Museum the day of his birthday and then later that night we took him over to Chuckie Cheese so, here are some photos of his big day!

The Blue-eeee Blues!!!

2009-02-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

I was in a blue funk for like a week straight and I know Ryan will say AMEN....if he even logged onto our blog but, it was really starting to get me down. It can also be refereed to as the blue-eee blues ( according to Wow Wow Wubbzy ). Widget got it once and I related to her. Anyways.....I was just being angry and frustrated and and and - didn't know why and I talked to Jillian about it for a quick moment. Of course -- she has 900 things going on at once and I always seem to call her around 6pm and want to discuss it and she is making dinner - telling kids no - feeding Trenton etc. Well....my mom was out of town and I would have called her first ( no offense Jill ) but, she just wasnt available. Soooo I called Jill and was sympathetic to what she was doing and what she does everyday so, there was no need to add to the chaos. I was missing my mom. Well....mom decided to go out of town and visit her Dean ( her husband ) for Valentines day. Why would she leave town when I had the blue-eee blues and not be there for me??? Geeeezzz!

Well....Ryan and I ended up going out on a date and I realized that I just needed to get out and spend some FUN time with my hubby. I think the fact that my kids have been totally sick ALL WINTER LONG....it has been really hard for me. I needed to get out and have some adult time and enjoy my husband. We decided that on Feb 15th we were going to have my mother in law come over and spend some time with the kids so we could do this. We ran up to target and dropped my tire off...being that the morning before it was flat and was unreplacable -- and then off to lunch. We went over to Uncle Sams which is one of our favorite places. We had a couple of steak and cheese hoagies and had some good conversation. Then off to bowling! Ryan and I love to bowl. We played 3 games and made a bets on two of them that I would beat him and I would win whatever I bet. Well....I lost all three games!!! Sigh.....
I already took care of one of the items but, I also owe him a back rub! BUMMER!!!
Actually its totally ok -- because I just had a massage from a professional courtesy of my wonderful mother a couple weeks ago.

I totally got out of my blue funk and realized thats all I needed. I needed to get away from the kids for just a couple hours and have fun with my hubby. He is a fabulous man for sure!!! Dates are super important in a relationship and super important for Mrs. McMullen.

Thank You honey for a fun day/evening -- I think you are the most amazing man out there and I am so blessed to call you my husband!

Everyone else.....go out on a date with your husband -- it helps the blue-eee blues!

Trenton....I love you

2009-02-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

I know that Jill totally wants to post this on her blog and rightfully so but, I cant resist putting it on mine. My little nephew Trenton just LOOOOVES his aunt Lindsey. lol And rightfully sooo...I am totally cool and the word on the street is everyone just loves me! j/k I seem to make him laugh a lot and we got a video of him busting a gut so hard that he had tears in his eyes. Enjoy my little buddy! I sure do.

The "running" process

2009-02-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

I have NEVER liked running....its hard on my knees and joints and being tall just doesn't help! I sound sooo old saying it like that. Well, I started running. One of my neighbors Christy also runs -- so we are taking the challenge up together and got started on Tuesday morning. I was up all night tossing and turning anxious that I might over sleep ( even though my alarm was set ) -- or maybe I wouldn't be able to keep up or or or. Well, I got up at 5:34am and got geared up for the jog. Ate a banana and off to her front door where she was ready to go. I have to say...we ran 2 1/2 miles and I did great! I felt soooo good afterwards.
I really just need to do some exercising in my life because it helps me mentally and not to mention -- it helps keep things up instead of having them fall in time (which is starting to happen).
Ryan and I went to the mall last weekend and my wonderful husband let me purchase a pair of fun running shorts by Nike. I say "let" because we dont spend money that is unnecessary very often. This was definitely not a necessary purchase. My goal is to wear these cute running shorts and look GOOD in them sooner than later. Right now I am not quite ready to sport these babys but, there will be a day. They are a little short sooooo....it encourages me to work the tops of my thighs.
If you talk to me in the next two weeks and I sound energetic....more positive....excited -- you know that I am still working out and progress is being made. If not -- I am leaving you all a full responsibility to get on me about not keeping up with a simple goal. It works out well that I am doing this with someone because to tell you the truth -- I totally wanted to sleep in that morning. We are running again on Thursday night -- had to take a couple days off because Ryan is out of town. Is it ok to leave the kids in bed in the morning and go running with monitors??? I mean they are sleeping and safe in their beds. lol j/k I am not that dumb! And obviously the monitors don't reach out that far.
I know anyone who reads my blog of course will be dying to know my progress...teehee
soooo, I am going to update my blog on how I am coming with my goal. Stay Tuned!!!

Beginning of payback 2 Jill!!!

2009-02-17T11:37:00.000-08:00

If you ever jump over to the Strong Family blog you will notice that my loving sister posted a horrible picture of me. I left a comment and made sure that she was aware that I will in time return the favor. Here is the BEGINNING of payback. Love you lots Jill!!!

Battling Speech

2009-02-11T08:42:00.000-08:00

Brady is going to be two this month and soooo much has been going on in the last couple of months that there has been no time to blog. Well, no time for this mom anyways. I know there are super moms out there who can "do it all" but, I am just not one of those moms.

My family including me has been sooooo sick this whole winter. Will vomiting, high fevers, to coughing up part of our lungs -- its been a never ending battle. Thankfully, these are all common things that every family tends to go thru during the winter and we can get past it. We are all in pretty good health and I am very thankful and feel blessed for that.

Back to Brady turning two! I cant believe that my first born is already going to be two. I decided to have Brady tested by AZEIP (AZ early intervention program ) for his speech. He gets quite frustrated when he is trying to tell us things and we are not understanding because its all jargin. He will usually just get up closer in your face and say what he is trying to tell you over and over again. He knows exactly what he wants and is a smart little boy. He is just having a hard time with his expressive language. Of course Brady is our first born so all of these new obstacles and battles are new for me. My sister Jillian and friend Christine are well educated in the education department and both of them have children that have received services for speech. They both encouraged me to have Brady tested and have helped me out along the way with the path I need to take to get Brady the help he may need.

Clint -- the speech pathologist came out and tested Brady last week. He asked me a few questions and spent about 10 min. running around with Brady who was just speaking chinese to him the whole time. We discussed a little about what he thought and he said he feels like he is a little delayed but, will meet with the team and they will call me to let me know if he would qualify for services.
Brady did in deed end up making the "cut" for speech services that will be rendered with Clint. HOWEVER......he will only be receiving once a MONTH services. I consulted my sister and Christine and they both got on their boxing gloves and said ...let me at uhm! hehe They both felt that once a month was not very beneficial and I needed to talk to Clint. This would come down to 6 hours a year that Brady would get some help with his speech. Uhmmm.....if ya put it that way -- sounds totally Lame huh!

I called Clint and spoke to him and he agreed that he felt that Brady would benefit from having weekly services but AND I QUOTE.....he just doesnt have time.
Hmmmmm.....ok sooooo you are telling me that my son would benefit from services more often then once a month and once a week would be better but YOU DONT HAVE TIME??? WOW!!!! I MEAN WOW!~!~!

The conversation went on and I asked if I could find someone who HAD THE TIME to service him if he felt that was the next step I should take -- he agreed. I then asked him if he would make that recommendation for Brady to be serviced once a week and he declined. WHAT??? Soooooo - hmmmmm - totally confused at this point. Everything this man has just told me he is now back tracking and is obviously being a bully. He encouraged me to call AZEIP and express my feelings and that he could only service him once a month and thats just the way it is.

For all the parents out there who don't have a Jillian or Christine -- you would totally be walked on at this point if you didn't have any insight about this process. I make a phone call over to Amy who is above Clint and we sat on the phone for about 30 min. I stressed my concern with my conversation with Clint and she in a round about way -- supported him and threw out a developmental specialist to come into my home once a week. To a some what educated mother -- this sounded like a great plan and I had made some progress. WRONG!
A developmental specialist-- Christine told me -- is someone with a degree and has nothing to do with speech. In fact -- Christine use to BE a developmental specialist. Its really just going to be play time for Brady. GRRRRR!

Soooo.....here we are with Clint still coming out only once a month and developmental specialist going to come out once a week. Who knows -- maybe Brady will really make progress and I can cancel all of this all together. He is such a smart little boy and his receptive language is amazing. We just would like to see some more progress with his expressive language. I will stay on top of updates on the blog with Brady's progress.

Which leads me to Brady and turning two. I have decided that I am not going to buy Brady any toys from Target or Wal-Mart or or or -- I am going to spend some money for his birthday and get him learning things from Lakeshore. Stacy ( who is Connors Speech Therapist) comes into my home twice a week and works with Connor. Brady LOVES getting into her bag and pulling out stuff that he can just sit and play with and LEARN while she works with Connor. She has a lot of learing boxes that focus on colors, shapes, and letters. Brady loves to pull things out of these boxes and rattle off what he thinks they are to me. I really would like to make some progress with Brady on my own so, I can tell AZEIP where to put it. I only want whats best for my little man and hope that we can attack this obstacle. Stay tuned!

Love for the Ellen show!

2009-02-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

Silly Brady!

2009-01-21T12:38:00.001-08:00

We were doing our usual Wal-Mart grocery shopping over the weekend and...like always -- Brady spots a ball and some how suckers me into letting him see it. My little man is so flippin cute that its just hard to say no. Well, it happens to be a Backyardigans ball and he LOVES THEM and so do I. When he took his nap that day he didnt want to let go of his ball sooooo I let him take it to bed with him. There is no harm in a ball -- I figured as soon as he falls asleep I will go and take it out of the bed. WELL....Please see below!!! I was just dying of laughter. Can you imagine sleeping like that?? Needless to say -- I didnt take it out of his bed when he fell asleep.
You make us laugh little man!

Ryan's Holiday Party!

2009-01-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

Ryan's work has their Holiday party at the beginning of the year which is always a great turn out since it doesnt conflict with any other parties. They have had it over at Dave & Busters for a few years now. I enjoy having the night out with my hubby. I always have a hard time leaving the kids but, I know its important. My mother-in-law came over and took care of her grandkids and let us cruise in style by handing Ryan the keys to the Hummer!

Ryan and I always hit up this one game there before we go bowling where you can win lots of tickets if you hit the light going around at the perfect time. Well....we were on fire!!!! Ryan is amazing at this game and I am not too shabby myself. We started winning so many tickets that we decided we were going to get Brady and Logan this HUGE catepillar from the prize room. It only cost 6,875 tickets. Hmmmmm....thats a lot of tickets! Well, as you can see we were quite successful and we obviously had fun making our goal. We had a couple of people in on our mission like Ryans boss Lynn and her husband. After we reached our success we went downstairs and started bowling. This is where I learned or was TOLD ABOUT -- popping yo boody!!! OMG >>>> I am sorry but, I have never even heard this term before much less know how to do it. I will leave it at that. The conversation with these girls that work for Ryan, went on for about an hour and we just could not stop laughing. My New Years Resolution.....LEARN HOW TO POP MY BOOTY!!! lol J/K I have much bigger goals -- but, I will master this task. It probably wont go into play but, I will master the task alone! That might be to much information for some but hey, thats honest Lindsey here.

Christmas

2009-01-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

We had a very low key, FUN Christmas this year. Its seems to get better and better every year as Brady gets a little older and can now open his own gifts. His big gift this year was suppose to be a playground set for out back but, we waited to long to order it and it has been out of stock since. Hopefully some time soon it will come back in stock because my boys LOVE to be outside. Instead of the playground set Brady got a tool bench so he could use his manly skills with some big time tools. At first he wasnt too sure about the noise making parts of it and only wanted us to push the buttons for them. However, once his cousins came over and played with it he loves it and plays with it all the time. Thanks to my mom for picking it up for us and finding the good buy.

After we did our family presents we headed over to my moms to have the kids open their gifts other gifts from family members. My mom LIKE ALWAYS.....made the most amazing food and was so kind to send home a care package for later eating. The boys really had a great time and it ended up being such a fabulous day because we all decided to just make it about the kids this year. My mom snuck in a Dirt Devil Dust Buster which I am forever grateful for -- I cannot believe I lived life without one of these. Its truly a little blessing to have around when kids are in your life.

I surprised Ryan with a Shuffle Board Table this year for his "Guy Room" and he was very surprised ( Ryan style of course ). Thank You to Daniel and Jessica for storying it at their house till the big day arrived -- along with helping Ryan set it up!!!
We agree that we are going to spend money on the kids and not get eachother stuff for Christmas and he usually breaks the rule and gets me something small which is super nice but, I feel like a nerd when I show up with nothing. I am officially safe for a couple of years! He got me a slide converter which I am soooo excited to dive into when we are all feeling better. There are so many pictures of us kids that we have never seen because they are on 35mm films.

On Saturday we went over to my in-laws house and had another nice feast and really just enjoyed the family. We got stockings stuffed full of goodies (my mother in law is the best stocking stuffer!!!) and the boys got lots of fun gifts that they love. Brady got a mini disc golf set that he really enjoys playing.

We are soooo blessed to have such amazing family members -- that we love and cherish. Now on to New Years!!!!!

The Blaich Christmas Bash!!!!

2008-12-19T07:40:00.000-08:00

My step sister-in-law, Jessica....who at times can be mistaken for Martha Stewart - had a christmas party that was super fun. The pictures will not do any justice to the talent this girl posseses. She truly has a touch with a sewing machine and an eye for decorating.
I am sure she is reading this totally rolling her eyes cause she always acts like everthing she does is just not a big deal. She is one of THOSE GIRLS!!! j/k Love Ya Jess!
Although they live just about 10 min away from us....we loaded up the whole gang and spent the night at their house so we could do breakfast all together in the morning. I had to snap a picture of Daniel reading in his bed all tucked in like an old man with Bruno laying next to him while Jessica was over brushing her teeth. I of course was having fun with the camera this late at night. I think it was about 1am - not to mention the captain had set in for the evening. hehe
Ryan and I ended up sleeping in different beds since Logan decided that he was just not happy being in a porta crib and wanted to sleep right next to his mommy.
Daniel and Ryan went and thru the ball around in the morning and Brady of course needed to be outside with his dad and uncle. It was really overcast that morning which set the tone for my energy that day. After we returned home -- I would usually run around like flight of the bumble bee but, I just layed on the couch and caught up on a couple of our shows with my hubby. The kids went down for a great nap and the weekend in my opinion was a success.
Thanks for another great time guys!!!

The Boys!!!!

2008-12-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

Brady gets sweeter every day with his little brother. I just know they are going to be best friends. If Logan is sad, Brady will bring him a toy and say shhhh shhhh shhhh. He loves to give his brother hugs and kisses. I was able to capture some cute photos and wanted th share them. I sure feel blessed to have such wonderful boys...this of course uncludes my wonderful husband.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-18T15:53:00.000-08:00

Initially we had planned on doing Thanksgiving on a different day with my family to make it easier for all. This way Ryan and I didnt have to run from one house to another....however, things changed a bit and we spent this Thanksgiving with his family. Next year we are going to spend it with my family if we cant change the dates a little bit. We went over to Tina and Clays house and had a great time. They always put a great feast on no matter what the occasion is. It was so much fun to have all the babies there at one time like we have talked about for so long. Logan was the first to be born then James and Jesse to shortly follow. Talk about baby overload. We are incredibly THANKFUL for all the wonderful family we have and love you all so much.

2008-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

I couldnt help but post a couple pictures of sweet Logan. He is a lot easier to capture on camera than Brady, because he sits still longer than 5 seconds. He has been falling asleep a lot in his jumper and bouncer and he just looks precious!!! I also got a quick clip of him jumping in his jumper. Sometimes I think he is going to jump right out of this thing. The video does no justice to when he is determined to jump high!!!

Love for my friends husband!!!

2008-11-26T06:16:00.000-08:00

The knocks at my door just got better and better as the day went on Friday. Lets recap for a moment.......

Knock one - Christine with an Ice Coffee

Knock Two - Carter and Jill with a chocolate shake from Sonic

Then to my surprise knock three had arrived -- Chris ( Kate & Connor's dad ) came over to pick up Connor as usual and there he stood knocking at my door.
I opened the door and the dear, sweet man handed me a BOX OF KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS!!!! He said its not a full box but, I had them left over from work.
Its as if he knew that I needed them. What?? Men are NOT in tuned with anything in life -- whats going on??
Hmmmm.....Would it be inappropriate for me to leap into my friends husbands arms and hug it out?? Probably!!! Not to mention -- he would think I was totally crazy.
I thanked him very much and stayed calm and collective. As soon as I waved goodbye and locked the door -- I slowly walked back into the kitchen where a caged lion who had been starving for days, dived into this helpless box of doughnuts. I popped one of those baby's in the microwave for about 8 seconds, sat down on the bar stool and just shook my head with approval of the day. Everything is going to be ok -- in fact.....now that I have just added 5 more lbs to my buttocks --Friday ended up being a pretty darn good day!!!

What a week!!!

2008-11-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

This last week has been challenging. Both of the boys got runny noses last week and it has just progressed into wiping noses every 5 min,lots of cuddling, refilling humidifiers all day long, and Tylenol. Brady has a pretty bad cough and his nose is just a faucet. However, I must say....if you walk up to him with a tissue and tell him to blow -- he rocks at it. Not sure where he learned this, possibly from his mother and Aunt blowing our noses like a flock of geese entering the room.

Logan on the other hand has been real congested but, has still been his happy, fabulous self -- UNTIL....yesterday! I picked him up out of his crib from his morning nap and he was burning up. I took his temperature in his armpit and YUP...he is at a 101.6. This is a low grade fever for a little guy but, still gave him some Tylenol. Our happy baby turned into a lethargic, sad, needing to be held every min boy. I would sit down on the coach and he just layed on my chest not wanting to pick his head up at all and would fall right back asleep.

After his second nap I picked him back up and he felt every hotter than the first time. OK....Time for a rectal temp....sorry bud! Yup....getting worse! He was now at 102.4. I thought I might need to take him in but, as all mothers know -- they are going to say YUP....he has a virus -- keep lots of liquids in him and monitor him. Called the doctors office and the nurse said as long as he is making wet diapers and eating -- he is probably just fighting this nasty virus.

Of course...as a mother your heart just aches for your children when they are sick. They cant tell you where it hurts or what they need. You have to go off of your instincts and do what you feel is best. ALSO as a mother...your eyes, body, head all ache from lack of sleep. Hmmmm 12am to about 6am this morning I was up with my little baby. Stuffed him like a tick with food since that was the only thing that seemed to make him feel better. Of course...he is fast asleep in my bed since 6am this morning. Isn't it funny how they finally get past all the pain and suffering right when you get out of bed.

Christine dropped her kids off as usual around 6:45 and the wonderful girl is knocking at my door with a iced coffee from McDonald's!!! AAAAAhhhhhhhh.....she has saved the day. Its amazing how a large iced coffee can change your whole day. She always seems to bring them on the right days. Thanks Christine!
Of course Ryan and Jillian know very well that I have a problem with these darn iced coffees. Liquid cocaine maybe -- lets just say...I get a lot done after I slurp one of these babies down.

I promised myself that I would sit on the coach and do NOTHING today except play, nurture and love all the kids. I am not sure its possible for me to sit down more than 5 min at a time but, I am going to give it a good effort. I need to stay off my feet because something is VERY WRONG with them right now. Hurts to even walk. Jill says Welcome to tile thru-out your house. My mom made me throw my ol faithful flip flops away in her garbage the other night.

Lets have a moment of silence for them please!!!!

Thank You!

I seriously do not know what to do about my feet. I have been icing the tops of them where they are just throbbing but, doesn't seem to help. I have been wearing my tennis shoes all around the house and out doors BUT...doesn't seem to help. I am sure it has something to do with me never sitting down during the day but, lots of people run around like myself. If they dont get better, I am going to pull out the ol wheel chair in the garage and wheel around town -- they hurt THAT BAD!
Any thought on how to cure the pain on the tops of feet??? Im listening!

Just to add onto the week of chaos.....My milk might be drying up. If you are a mother and have or do nurse your child -- you know that this is very devastating. Not to mention very expensive if we have to buy formula on a regular basis. I just dont understand. I havent done anything different. I pumped and got 2oz. WHAT?!?

Ok....I am sure that some people dont want to hear about my milk production and thats totally cool but, this is something that is stressing me out and making me emotional right now so, I am going to blog about it too!
I have never been a walking milk truck and thats ok. I nursed Brady for only 3 months and it was awful. Logan is 6 1/2 months old and I feel like I have won a gold medal already with keeping up with nursing him. Not sure why all of the sudden it would stop or slow down to such a screeching hault. This means at 5:30 or 6:30 when Logan usually wakes up -- I am going to have to make him a bottle instead of just lay down back in bed and let him nurse. I called Ryan yesterday in search for some compassion about possibly having to stop nurse and this is how the conversation went.

Me: My milk might be drying up because I pumped and didnt get anything. I just dont understand whats going on. I am totally bummed out about this. I will be sad if I cant nurse Logan anymore.

Ryan: Yaaa...Sorry babe. How is Bradys cough?

Me: Sigh...Its just about the same. But he seems to be ok with it.

Ryan: Thats good!

Thats all the TLC I got about the nursing. Ok...I will call Jillian! Geeezz
I know men dont understand. Either does anyone who doesnt nurse their kids and thats ok. Its just one of those things! I should have known not to go to a man for a womens topic.

I pumped last night after it had been 5 hours and got NOTHING -- ok its over Lindsey....let it go! This morning around 7:30a.m. I pumped 4 oz. Hmmmmm not making sense to me. Is this because of stress??? Either way -- I am sad about being a drying up cow with gimpy feet.

There is a knock at the door....Oh boy : - 0 Its Carter! Jillian has come over and brought a yummy chocolate shake from Sonic. Thank You, Thank You, Jill! I brought Brady out to the car with me to say Hi to Jill and he leaped in Carters seat like a Gazelle and waved bye to me. He just loves going over to his Aunts house and loves his Carter soooo much. Brady got right up in Carter's face and started speaking sharply to him....we all know Brady's language. He truly felt like he was telling him something very important. Possibly....telling him he wanted to come over and play today and to please let him come. He was very determined that he was going home with them, so his wonderful Aunt drove away with Brady to let him come over and play.

Looks like we might just make it thru this Friday after all.

Its 9:30 and Logan is just waking up!!! Glad he got to sleep in and get some good rest!!!

I took my little Logan's picture when he wouldn't pick his head up off of my chest. Sorry you are so sick buddy! Mommy sure loves to to pieces. Hopefully the boys will get some relief soon. If it means we are going to be up for the next 3 days all night long that's ok. Just want my boys to feel better.

Rock Band!

2008-11-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

We went over to Jillian and Doug's house the other night for dinner and game night. Dave and Brianna came over also and brought there fun Rock Band thingamajigger. Logan has decided he is going to be a drummer some day just like his late Great Uncle Chuck. I was soooooo proud of my Brady who ended up reading books with Matthew and then just laying down next to him in his bed to fall asleep. He is getting to be such a big boy and I couldnt believe that he would just lay next to Matt to go to bed. I would go into the bedroom to check on him and he would still be awake and I would say... -- Just checking on you buddy -- sleep good I love you and he would wave to me and say bye -- while blowing kisses. Makes my heart melt. Are we ready for a big boy bed at 20 months old??? Naaaaa

First attempt!!!

2008-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

My first digital scrapbooking page. I hope I will get better with time and experience. Never done this before but, looks like a lot of fun.

Big Buzzin Bee & Frog

2008-11-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

I am not a huge fan of Halloween but, I have to say this year was so much fun. We didnt run out and spend money on a costume for the boys because we knew Jill would have something that would "work" and didnt want to waste money anyways. The boys are at such a young age still that they dont really care about it either way.

We went over to Jillians house the previous day to see what costume might fit Brady...I wish we would video taped his reaction to having the costumes put on him -- it was the funniest thing. He totally threw a fit and put a huge lip out till we took it off. We thought we were going to have the same battle the next night when we went to go out to a couple houses but, we were happily mistaken. Brady did soooo good. I think it was because their cousin came over earlier and was in his costume along with Logan and we took photos of them. Then Megan (my sister in law) said that she got James a pumpkin. I realized that I didnt have anything for Brady to carry around except a plastic bag from Wal-Mart. Megan, so kindly let us have James's pumpkin to take around the neighborhood with us. You would have thought that she gave Brady a hidden treasure. He LOVED carrying this pumpkin around and went up to each house, got one candy and waived bye to each person. He is still carrying the pumpkin all around the house with him....putting things in it and taking them back out -- again and again. It was soooo much fun for me to see my little man having so much fun and getting to experience Halloween. Its hard to explain my feelings but, it was a night to remember and I am sure proud of my little man. He even kept his costume on -- even being that it was a little snugg around the edges!!!

Spagetti-O's

2008-10-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ryan was in the garage, on the Eliptical while I got Brady dinner and prepared myself to go running. I slipped away for a quick moment to chat with Ryan and came back to Brady who was eating Spagetti-Os and Corn.....Hmmmm -- looks like he decided to wear them instead. Brady is a very clean eater so this was something new to him. I couldnt get upset cause I couldnt stop smiling.

Fun with Play-Doh

2008-10-28T14:49:00.000-07:00

Brady's best buddy and of course Cousin, Carter got to come over and play today since his mommy had to take our sweet little Trenton in to get a blood transfusion. He brought over his Play-Doh and he Brady and Kate had so much fun making different creations with it. Prior to me getting the play-doh all ready for them....Logan had been in his jumper in the play room where the kids were all yelling and being loud having a good time. As you can see - the noise really bothers our poor little guy. He is such a sweet angel!

My boys

2008-10-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

I couldnt resist sharing these fun photos of Ryan with his boys! I especially like the one of Logan passed out with Ryan on the couch.....If you look closely -- he is laying on his own arm with Ryans arm under it. I sure do love ALL my boys. Couldnt ask for a better life than with these guys.

Silly Dancing

2008-10-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Brady is quite the character. He LOVES to dance. One of his favorite shows that he enjoys watching is Wow Wow Wubzy. He will come racing in from the other room if he hears the theme song. He then runs in place really fast yelling go go go....its so much fun to watch. There are many times that I join in on the fun and run with him. Kate and Connor (kids I watch daily) joined in one day so, I thought I would share the fun. Its not their best performance but those are hard to get on video.

Childrens Museum

2008-10-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

If you have not been to the childrens museum....you must go!! Brady has an absolute blast there and we have visited it 3 times already. The first time we went daddy got to join us for a little while and see our little man run around. The second time we went with my mother-in-law Linda and she got to enjoy holding Logan and see Brady have fun. This past time we went...our buddy Carter got to go. We drove all the way from Surprise down to the Museum which is located at 7th street and VanBuren - as soon as we pulled in to park we see two buses. Darn - we have come on a field trip day. We were there maybe 45 min and I said enough....I promised Carter that Aunt Lindsey will bring him back when its not so crazy. There was just way too many kids all packed in the rooms and they were so big and knocking the boys over. Its a good idea to call and see if there is any schools coming in and what time. I got 3 free passes to come another day. We picked up Ryan to have lunch with us. We snagged some Subway and went to the park for some nice out door fun.

Uncorked & Unplugged

2008-10-20T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last night Ryan and I went to an event called Uncorked & Unplugged with Daniel and Jessica. Jessica, got the tickets thru her work and was kind enough to ask Ryan and I to join them since we had not yet been out together with out the kiddies. Dave came over and watched the kids which was so great. The event took place down at Desert Ridge. As you walk in they hand you a little wine glass that fits so nicely into your plate and they place a wrist band on you that has 10 drink tickets on it. You go around and sample all these different food and beverages. Each time you get a drink you take off one of your tickets. Anyways...we all walked around and sampled all these different foods and wine and had a great time. Hard to explain how it was set up but, they had a band playing in one area which we have a picture with them. Show stoppers was there with good ol Neil Diamond and in another area they had Tina Turner who the boys said fell off the stage into a bush -- Jessica and I regretfully missed that happening.

I think one of my favorite parts was when Jessica and I went and used the Ladies Room and came back to meet the boys where they were waiting and watching Tina sing....there were two gals hanging out right next to our men. Jessica and I walked up to them and the women totally walked away. OMG....they were so trying to get our guys!!! Well, its not surprising...being that our husbands are so good looking.

We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to get out of the house and have an adult night. Its always hard for me to leave my kiddies but, it sure was nice to just have some time with my hubby and friends. Thanks again Daniel and Jessica for letting us tag along and have a fun night out!!!

**Below are our pictures from Ryans Blackberry -- we forgot our cameras so they are kinda fuzzy. I also took a picture of our wrist bands....as you can see - there are still plenty of drink tickets left.**

The Boys

2008-10-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

I have always thought that Brady and Logan look totally different but, I have a lot of people tell me that Logan looks just like Brady did at his age. Well, its pretty safe to say they look completely different.

BRADY

LOGAN

Brady Barfing!

Logan Barfing!

SURPRISE!!!!

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

We have moved to Surprise! Ryan and I are soooo happy to be in our new home. I thought it would be fun to share some " Under Construction " pictures on our blog and then once we are all moved in and things are on the walls I will post some more pictures to show the huge improvements. I am sure everyone knows how much work it is to move and I have moved about 5 times in the last 5 years but, my gosh.....this was the hardest yet. Still super busy unloading boxes and trying to make it feel warm and cozy. It will be awhile before we get everything accomplished that we have planned. We need to get a lot of window covering/blinds and the whole house has to be painted. I have put pictures below of what the house looked like right after we unloaded the Uhaul. Its coming along a little more everyday. Hope everyone who can will come over and say hello and see our new beautiful home.

Introducing....Trenton Drew Strong

2008-10-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of unpacking from our big move and I have no free time on my hands at all BUT.....I am going to do a quick post and steal my sisters slide show of my newest nephew. Trenton Drew Strong who was born on October 3rd, weighing in at 7lbs 3oz and 19 inches long. Our new little family member gave his mom and dad some sleepless nights with his jaundice but, is now in the comfort of his own home doing great. He is such a beautiful little boy! My sister Jillian did an AMAZING job keeping it all together while she was in the hospital and totally looked fabulous. She is one of those people who you go and visit after having a baby and she looks like she put on fresh makeup and did her hair for the day.....makes me sick! :-)
We are so very excited to have our new nephew to watch grow and accomplish new things in this world. We love you lots Trenton - Welcome to the family.

Thankful

2008-09-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

My sister Jillian, whom I talk to multiple times a day...had a conversation with me about laying in bed thinking about her next post and running thru it in her head while laying there. I on the other hand, have a horrible problem that when I go to bed I start singing songs in my head which can last up to three hours at times. Most of the songs are childrens songs that I have heard in the car on the DVD player behind my head or ones that I have seen on the boob tube. The current one that is playing in my brain right now is Pinky Dinky Doo! Super I know! I try so hard to get these blasted songs out of my head and start to relax so I can drift off to sleep and get the well deserved sleep that I need. My mom says that she does the same thing. Nice to know that someone else does but, doesnt help me when I am three hours into the same verse running over and over in my head. The boys take most of my energy along with my husband so, this sleep is well needed. I am breastfeeding Logan or I would try taking something like Benadryl to help me drift off (which dries up your milk soooo thats a no no.) Poor me I know!!! Now...since I am a blogger I too run thru things of what I am going to post and how I should type my words to match my feelings. Are you kidding me???

My mom always sends Jillian and I these emails of things that are going on in our world and how blessed we are. You stop for a moment and read how a very well known blogger http://nieniedialogues.com/ was in a plane crash and 83% of her body was burned along with her husband who's was burned 35%. Or where a post -natal infection costs a mother her legs, arm and sight. There are many more that make us all take a step back and say ~wow~ we are so fortunate. But, do we really know how blessed and fortunate we are??

How would you deal with these things???

Reflecting a moment on the woman who cannot see the baby that she just gave birth to...she now cannot change this childs diaper, or feed, or see the growth and stepping stones that this baby is going to go thru. Not to mention that this is her second child. My heart just aches for the families that go thru such tragedies. Truth of the matter is...we are all human and nobody can plan for such things or prepare for them because they are truly tragedies.

Ryan and I are in the process of buying a new house...Yaaaa! The whole process has been a complete nightmare and we both have been totally stressed out thru the whole thing. We almost lost the house twice but, it appears that its going to be a go! Very excited for sure but, to think that I have complained and bitched about things here and there when it comes to buying this house just makes me sick. I get a reality check every time my mom sends over something to me and read what another family has gone thru. Have you ever seen 99 balloons?? I posted the clip below. Tears run down my face every time I watch this.

I think my post is more for myself to remember how flippin fortunate I am and to stop being so ungrateful. I get to wake up every day and stand on my own two feet, I get to hug the people I love with my two arms, I get to see the smiles on my boys faces and hear them laugh, I get to run around chasing Brady all day long.

I am Thankful TODAY!!! AND for every day from here on out that I get to wake up and be a mommy, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, friend, etc. I cant imagine not being able to see my boys smile....or to talk to my husband and tell him how much I love him. I cant imagine not being able to spend time with my mom and sister and hear them laugh at the silly things I do in life. I cant imagine not talking to my friends and comparing our funny stories about our husbands, kids, and life. I am soooo blessed to have such an amazing life. We all forget how great things are in our life and how fortunate we are for the our health because its easy to get rapped up in the small stuff. Sooo, for all you that do read this post. I am Thankful for you! I am blessed to have you in my life and thank you for being a part of it. Take a min. and go tell someone you love them. Take a min and look around....and see how flippin beautiful we have it.
Soooo we have a couple extra pounds on us, or our husband doesnt do the dishes when HE KNOWS we have had a hard day, we dont live in a mansion and drive a mercedes, but just one look at my little god given blessings and I KNOW - how Thankful I am to have this wonderful life and be able to have songs run thru my head over and over again for three hours!

Sending out lots of love to everyone!

A couple pic. that make me smile!

Ryan would kill me if he knew this was on here!!!

The Heavens Opened Up!!!

2008-09-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

This will be a quick post but an....OH MY GOSH!
Did anyone else get the hail from the heavens above?? Jillian had just called to chat for a quick moment when I proceeded to tell her it was raining at my house. Brady really enjoys watching the rain and since we were up stairs -- I went into his room and opened his curtains so he could watch it come down. All of the sudden the rain got heavier and the hail started to come down hard. Brady is now running back and forth from his room to the computer saying ohhh ohhh ohhh. Jillian quickly prompted me to take a picture so, I hung up with her and grabbed Brady to take a picture of our quick hail storm. Crazy how big the hail is and the sound of it on our windows was just amazing. It only lasted about 7 min. and now the sky is blue and the ground is already starting to dry up. Hard to believe looking at the pictures!

Im an official blogger!!!!

2008-08-30T13:55:00.001-07:00

Im soooo excited to get my own blog up and running! My sister has had one for quite some time and a friend of ours Shelly helped me get started like ages ago with a blog but, sad to say that it kinda got a little messed up. Hopefully I will be able to one day have a really cute blog out there like a lot of others I have seen but, in the mean time.....this is what I have come up with. I have so much to write and feel like I am so behind the 8 ball that I should just recap the last three years of my life. I am not going to however, but dont be surprised if you see some posts from the past.
I thought it would only be appropriate to make my first post about the most important people in my life and thats my beautiful family. I should start with my husband Ryan, he helped create our wonderful family and make such amazing children. I am sure that there are a lot of people out in this world that feel this way BUT....I have the most amazing husband. He truly is an incredible person and brings the very best out of me every day of my life. I feel so blessed that he asked me to be his wife and that we have created two adorable children. Ryan, is my very best friend in this world. He truly is undescribable, along with the feelings that I have for him. We met about 6 years ago at work, where he has climed the ladder and is now the Regional Manager of the corporation. At the time we met...I was currently in a relationship with a total loser! I am sure my mom and sister are saying AMEN right now. I had my head way too far up my rear end at the time ( sorry for the visual ) but, saw so many great qualities in Ryan. I knew that he was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with but, felt so flippin trapped in this dumb, emotionally abusive relationship. We dated for a while when I was on the outs with my boyfriend at the time. Ryan showed me how a woman deserves to be treated. I had never felt so important and loved before in my life. I suppose this blog could be like 12 pages long so, I will shorten it up to the cliff notes HOPEFULLY!!!! Long story short...I no longer worked at RSI but, Ryan and I continued to stay friends and dated people here and there till the winter of 2005. Ahhh the winter of 2005...when Ryan and I started to talk again in a more serious level. We became pregnant with Brady on June 3rd. I will never forget the day we found out we were going to have a baby. We were both scared at first but, were ready to take on this challenge. Well, this challenge ended up to be a beautiful miracle. I cannot put in to words the joy, happiness, laughter, etc. that our Brady brings to us. I always knew that I wanted children, and thought that I knew what it was like to have them. WRONG!!! Its 100 times better. The love that I have for my kids is absolutely indescribable. Im sure that all parents ( mothers ) feel the same way. Brady has made mine and Ryans relationship sooo much stronger. He is a spitting image of his daddy yet, is totally like his mommy when it comes to his attitude. I could go on and on about all the love and feelings that we have for Brady. When Brady was 6 months old, we tried for our second baby and hit the jack pot with Logan. Talk about the easiest baby I have ever met. I was concerned when I was pregnant that I wouldnt be able to love Logan like I do Brady....being that he was our only one and didnt know any better.Wrong again!!! He makes us all smile soooo much. He just sits back and lets his brother run the show, when he really needs something like, food or a diaper change he lets us know but, besides that...he just loves to be around. God has blessed us in so many ways. I/we have two healthy, beautiful little boys that touch our hearts every day. Ryan is an amazing daddy! I truly feel like I couldnt ask for a better life. I remember when my mom met Ryan for the first time and told me....He is a keeper for sure! Well, I plan on keeping him for all time and eternity. This is the cliff notes of how the McMullen Bunch got started and will continue to grow. Hope you enjoy our memories to come.