10 Years!!

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been 10 years today that my husband and I got married! It has went by so fast! So much has happened in 10 years. We've moved 4 times, lived in 3 different states, sold homes, bought homes, got pets, lost pets, got new jobs, changed jobs, traveled to some wonderful places, and best of all....had Nathan! I am so happy to have a husband that supports me being a stay at home mom. He loves that I get to stay home with our son. And I love it too! He is a wonderful father and an awesome husband! We've been through a lot together these past 10 years, some good times, and some bad. I'm so thankful I have him to live life with! I can be hard to get along with sometimes, but he still puts up with me! :-)
Thank you Brian for all of your support, and most of all, your friendship and love! I love you!

Happy 10 year Anniversary!

Below are some pics through the years!

Sorry for the bad quality of the pics, since we got married 10 years ago, we don't have any digital pictures, and my photographer is no longer working, so I had to take pics of our wedding album!! LOL

5 yr anniversary trip to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic.

Welcome "Emmie Beth"!!

She's finally here!!! Emmie Beth was born on Tuesday, July 22. Christy and David are so happy! Everyone is so happy for them!! I cried so many tears for them that day....happy tears of course! You can read a little bit about their story on one of my previous posts, http://happymommykristi.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-week.html .
She is truly a miracle! God is so Faithful, and his timing is always perfect.

Mom and baby are doing good! Please keep them in your prayers!

ZTA Alumnae cookbooks

I just wanted to tell Anna and everyone involved, those who submitted recipes, and those who worked on getting the cookbook together, THANK YOU!!! It's an awesome cookbook!! I love appetizers and it was a "tailgating" themed cookbook. So there are lots of appetizers!

My alumnae chapter is selling them, if you're interested in ordering one, let me know! I've already used 4 of the recipes, and they were all great!

swim lessons

Nathan had his swim lessons back in June for a week. We took from Missy again, he really likes her! She's great! This year I didn't have to get in the pool with him. It was just him and a little girl named Stella.

This year they worked on using their arms. Last year, it was mostly getting them under the water and kicking and what they would do if they fell into the pool.

She had the dive sticks again and they were going to jump off the diving board, but we ran out of time.

We may go back in August if she has anymore openings!

Success!!

I know I've blogged about this once already, but I thought I would give an update about it!! Back on the 16th of June, I decided Nathan was ready to be potty trained. And, I was finally ready to work on it with him. I had been dreading this for quite some time because of horror stories I had heard. But I think I just caught him at the right time. We started using Gerber training pants, which look & feel just like big boy underwear, they are just a little thicker in the middle, just in case there is an accident. (Several people have asked me where to find these, and they are at Wal-Mart, Target, and I'm sure other places, in the baby section, where you find onesies, and rubber pants, etc.)

That morning I told him we were going to start using the potty all the time and not use diapers any longer. He said ok, and told me right away he needed to go. We have had a little "potty" out since he was two, but never really had any success with it. He would go on occasion in it, but not regularly, but I never pushed it. I was going to wait until he was ready. He would sometimes go on the big potty and had even done #2 in the big potty about a week before we started the actual potty training. He told me he needed to go and he went.

The day we actually started the potty training, he had only 3 accidents, all were outside. He would start playing and forget to tell me.

I put him in a pull-up that night, but it was dry the next morning. So the following night, I used the regular underwear, and he woke up and told me when he needed to "pee pee", he went, and went right back to sleep after we got back from the potty!

He's been in underwear ever since! He's only had a couple of accidents at night, and I think that's because we didn't hear him wake up.

Supernanny's approach is the one we used pretty much, no pull-ups, she doesn't recommend pull-ups. We did use them a few times before because they were just easier to change when we went out. But she recommends putting them in underwear so they can feel it, and I think that's what worked for us, and the fact that we were both ready!

We started on Monday and we also told him if he went all week on the potty, he would get a big boy bike..with training wheels of course! By Wednesday, he was doing great, in underwear all the time. So on that Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart and let him pick out his big boy bicycle! He loves it! He tells people he got a big boy bike b/c he pp's on the potty...too funny!

Potty trained in 3 days, I guess a little bribery never hurt anyone!!

I'm sure some people are wondering why I'm very detailed in this posting, but it's so I can remember everything whenever I get around to putting it in the scrapbook that I'm 2 years behind in!!!

The 4th!

Ok, so I should have done my posts in order, but I didn't, this post should have come before the beach trip, but that's ok!

Our friends Danna and Chris come up from Florida for the 4th of July. They got here on Thursday, we caught up, went shopping, and had dinner that night. On Friday, the 4th, the guys went golfing, and we went to eat and shop!

Later that day we grilled out, made homemade ice cream...which wasn't very good b/c we used the wrong measuring cup for sugar...there wasn't enough in it! (yuck) Then we went and saw the fireworks.

We were so glad to get to see them and catch up with them!

Thanks for coming up to see us!! We're thinking about you guys!!

Beach Trip 08'!

Wow...I can't believe I'm just now posting about our beach trip! I guess I'm still in "catch-up" mode. We went to Orange Beach, Alabama on July 6th, this is probably our favorite beach to visit as a family because it's not too crowded, it's a beautiful beach, and we feel like it's "our's"?? LOL I guess I feel this way because my family has been going to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach for as long as I can remember. Yes, we've visited a lot of other beaches, but this one is always nice. Not too many teens partying, some of our favorite restaurants, and again, not too terribly crowded. And, did I mention, the beach is beautiful!! It's white sand, the water is usually a pretty shade of green, and the beach is big!! You don't just walk out of your condo and BAM, there's the water. You walk out of your condo/house, and walk across A LOT of sand before hitting the water....which I like!

Like I said, my family/friends have been going there since I was a little girl, and once Brian and I got married, we started going there a lot too because we only lived about 4 1/2 hrs from it. Then we moved to Maryland, and didn't get to go for about 5 years! I was missing it. East Coast beaches are great, but they don't have the white sand, and pretty water I was used to. When we finally got to return last year, several of our favorite restaurants weren't there....because of a couple of hurricanes that got rid of them. But we found new restaurants that were great, so we're happy!

We went a couple of times last year, once with my family, and once with our friends and their children, both times we had a blast! But this year, we went, just the 3 of us. It was awesome! We got out to the beach early in the morning, came in for lunch, went to the pool, went back out to the beach, went back to the pool, went to dinner each night around 8pm. We had no time table, no schedule, just relaxed fun!

Nathan LOVED it!! He was tall enough this year to walk in the big pool's shallow end. His head was just above the water, so he bounced and tried to swim..... a lot! He didn't meet a stranger, he asked every kid in the pool what their name was. He made several friends. He still loved the sand, we built up a big mound of sand, that he played in every day. He made tunnels in it, drove his boat through it, he played for hours on this mound of sand. He had a blast!

He also had a great time jumping the waves this year, and playing football and baseball on the beach!


We ate at The Fish Camp, Lulu's, The Crab Trap, and Tacky Jack's.....all were great!! I was in need of some fried crab claws, and I would say Lulu's had the best this year!

The day we left we told Nathan we would stop at The Wharf and let him ride the big ferris wheel, he had been asking to do this everytime we saw it. We got there and it was closed that day for maintanance!!!! He was not happy!!! So we got him some dippin' dots, and that made him happy again! :-) He cried and cried when we left, he kept saying, "I wanna go back to the beach"! So we must go again really soon!! I'm so happy that he loves the beach as much as we do.

We had a wonderful trip, perfect weather, met a wonderful family from Tennessee, and we can't wait to go again!

Nathan would crash during dinner from playing so hard every day! :-)

I really need to figure out "picaso". For some reason I can't get it to download on my computer, but that way I could make these pics look better, instead of them being so spaced out??? Any suggestions???

Tagged!

Ok, I got tagged again! So here are the rules: answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? working
3. Your hair? messy
4. Your mother? birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!)
5. Your father? giving
6. Your favorite thing? beach
7. Your dream last night? crazy
8. Your favorite drink? depends
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? health
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
14. What you’re not? skinny
15. Muffins? good
16. One of your wish list items? baby
17. Where you grew up? Alabama
18. The last thing you did? cleaned
19. What are you wearing? shorts
20. Favorite gadget? computer
21. Your pets? bark!
22. Your computer? nice
23. Your mood? excited
24. Missing someone? always
25. Your car? Messy
26. Something you’re not wearing? earrings
27. Favorite store? target?
28. Like someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? turquoise
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? today

Okay who to tag?? anyone who wants to have a little fun!

Thankful......

Well, I'll be honest with you, I've been working through some issues lately, and quite frankly, I'm just tired..... I'm tired of thinking one day everything is going to be ok, and the next day feeling sorry for myself. ( I know I shouldn't do this, but sometimes it's hard not too.....just being honest here) I haven't wanted to post about this because I wanted this blog to be about our life, our happy life, not the "not so happy" life. But as we all know, that's life, some good, some bad.
Another reason I'm posting this is because I sometimes feel better about things if I write (type) them down, and just get it all out! And in two years from now, I want to be able to look back at this and know what I was dealing with during this time. And another reason, God totally lead me to two other blogs tonight of women with the same condition I have. ( I just stumbled upon these blogs off random other people's blogs??) One of them lost her little boy when she was 36 weeks pregnant, and the other lost her twin boys. Both of these women have my same condition. A condition, that I have an appointment to see my Dr. about again this morning. So I feel like maybe I'll be able to connect with other women out there who have this same condition, and we can all work through it together, you know, help each other out, lift each other up....that's what we as women do!
So, now for the "condition". Last year, after my second miscarriage in October, my dr. decided to do further testing and I tested positive for MTHFR, (what the letters stand for is way too long for me to type!) Basically it is a blood clotting disorder/folic acid deficiancy, etc. It puts you at high risk for blood clots, miscarriage, stillbirths, placental abruption, etc. I also found out I have a positive ANA (anti-nucleic antibody..sp?), & tested positive for anti-phospholipid antibodies, etc. My rheumatologist thinks that I may develop Lupus later in life.....who knows????? Or, she said it could be that I'm at the beginning stages of fibromyalgia, based on my symptoms. Again...who knows??? The hard part is NOT knowing. You've been told you have all these conditions, but there aren't any definitive answers. I know that God is in control, and he will not give you anything you can't handle. But I'm just going to be real honest here and say, I'M STILL SCARED!! I want to be around for my family for a LONG time and the thought of blood clots, lupus, etc. scare me.
We really want a second baby, and the road to get there will be long and scary on one hand, and happy and blessed on the other. I am already on a really high dose of Folic Acid, because this condition makes your body not absorb folic acid, so you have to basically "overdose" yourself on folic acid to get your body to accept any. And, I have to take a daily baby aspirin from now on. If I get pregnant again, I will have to take daily Lovenox/Heparin injections for the entire pregnancy, plus 6 weeks after delivery, when the risk of blood clots is very high.
Miscarriage, stillbirth, the loss of a baby/child is so devastating. I guess that's why I'm having such a hard time with this. I'm scared of experiencing another miscarriage, or worse.
July 3rd, just 14 days ago, should have been my due date for our 2nd child. I shouldn't be up typing, I should be up with a newborn trying to get him or her back to sleep. But I know that God's timing is always perfect, no matter how hard that is to accept at times.
At the same time, I am so very thankful.....thankful for all of God's blessings.
I've always been so thankful for Nathan, I've always known, he is a miracle. (I had a miscarriage before I had Nathan and was told I would have a hard time carrying a baby b/c of a uterine problem, that I had to have surgery for to correct) But now more than ever, I am in awe at what a wonderful miracle he is! You are born with MTHFR, so I had it when I had Nathan, but we didn't know it. Thankfully, I didn't develop a blood clot and cause him and me both to die when I was pregnant with him. Our God is a wonderful and faithful God!
Even though I am a little anxious and scared about all of the above, I'm also so very thankful.
Thankful to have a healthy 2 year old little boy, and thankful for my loving family and friends, and thankful for my health!
I also trust that God will help us through whatever may come next!

Babies, Babies everywhere!!!

ZTA picture

If you know me well, you know I love going to showers, giving showers, and going to weddings! So I am really enjoying myself lately! I have a ton of friends having babies! I helped give two showers in one day last month! I had a blast! I'm also giving a shower tomorrow for a close friend as well! Babies and weddings are so much fun to celebrate! I'm so happy for all my friends who are about to give birth, and for those who just gave birth! God is so Great!

Terry's cake & Christy's cake........both were yummy!! :-)

Meeting a Star!

Ok, so if you're a "Days of Our Lives" fan, you would understand about the "star". If you're not a "Days" fan, you would probably question the "star" part.

My friend Catherine and I went to the Atlanta Health and Beauty Expo in May. It was great! We got lots of free health and beauty items, such as, lipstick, fingernail clippers, lotions, packs of advil, etc. But the best part was that Allison Sweeney, aka, "Sammy Brady" from "Days of Our Lives" was there speaking on behalf of the reality show, "The Biggest Loser". We sat in the front, listened to her talk about both shows, then we got to meet her, talk to her, give her a hug, get an autograph, and get our picture made with her! She was great, very nice, unlike her character!

Fun day!!

Nathan's First Fishing Adventure

I meant to post this a while back, but I'm terribly behind, so I'm playing catch-up! Nathan has been asking his daddy to take him fishing for over a year. Brian wanted to wait til he was a little older last year. Nathan kept asking and asking, and Brian found out about a kids fishing derby, so the time was right! He went out and bought Nathan a real fishing rod and his very own tackle box, which Nathan wouldn't stop playing with for days! They practiced in the back yard the night before and left very early the next morning.

They had a blast! It was so hot that day, but they didn't care, they were just happy to be outside fishing. Nathan caught 4 fish! He was so excited, he told everyone about the fish he caught. I'm sure this will be the first of many father and son fishing trips!

busy, fun, days.....

Well, I said I was going to get caught up soon...maybe next week! I am busy cleaning, and doing laundry getting ready for our friends, Chris and Danna, to come for a visit. I met Danna while we were living in Maryland. We met while working together at MBNA. She moved to Florida right before Nathan was born, then we moved to Georgia several months later. She met Chris after she moved to Florida and they got married in 2006....beautiful wedding! We are really looking forward to their visit!
I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL 4th of July!!