remodeling.

for the past 3-4 weeks, we have been in the midst of a semi-remodel. we re-did the master bath, the entryway, and built a deck. i use the word "we" loosely...dusty did it ALL, while i kept miss addy out from under his feet. just took a shower in my "new" bathroom and it was ah-mazing!

before pictures of our master bath:




after pictures of our master bath:




before pictures of the backyard:



after pictures of the backyard:




NO lie--my ah-mazing husband did this all by himself. (pictures of the entryway will be up soon!)

addy is already diggin' the backyard. :)





i'm a lucky gal! ;)

proud.

i did it, guys. i started exercising again--for real exercising. and not to "get skinny" (although that will be a nice side effect), but to feel better. :) i have had this nagging in the last month or so that i want to get running again. i am someone who used to run like crazy--i played soccer all the way through college running close to 10 miles in one game! man, i miss those soccer legs i used to have. ;)

anyways, i found a program called "From couch potato to 5K in 9 weeks". i just completed week one last nite. it is breaking me in nice and slow...3 nites of running a total of 20 minutes each nite. run for 60 seconds, walk for 90 seconds, and repeat. i could already tell difference in my energy by the end of the week. and i felt SO amazing after each run.

i plan on entering an actual race at the end of my 9 weeks--sometime in the early fall. wish me luck!

flashback friday

my 24th birthday...

wordless wednesday

calvin.

two years ago today, we lost calvin. a son, a brother, an uncle, and an amazing friend. there isn't a day that goes by that i don't think of him wishing my daughter could one day meet him.

i miscarried my first pregnancy very shortly after his passing. as soon as it was "okay" for us to try to get pregnant again, i was. i can't help but think he and our first little baby had something to do with that.

he is so missed. by so many. love you, calvin.

Flashback Friday

my brother and me at his wedding......august of 2002

he and his family (elizabeth, joseph, bridget, katie, and emily) will be here in texas in a couple of weeks--can't wait!

eleven.

sweet addy is eleven months old today. i know i say this every month, but seriously, where did the time go? how is it possible that the baby i just had is already almost a year old? craziness.

she is walking all over the place now. it has become her favorite mode of transportation lately. when we got home this evening, she must have walked back and forth from the kitchen to the living room for 15 minutes...back and forth...back and forth, proudly carrying her book! it was super cute. the best is when she walks to me with that big grin and lands on my shoulder for a big hug. love.

her personality is growing every day with leaps and bounds. she has started to show not only us, but miss rachael and miss anna at daycare, what a little 'tude she has. she is not afraid to let you know she does not like something. no clue where that comes from. (my mom might though ;) )


she babbles ALL the time. some of the babbling is beginning to sound like real words--dada, mama, and bubba are big names around here. she talks from the time we get in the car to leave her daycare to our house--love the little conversations we are having.


she has started playing peek-a-boo with me! for the longest time, it was a pretty one sided game. now she will cover her face with a blanket and wait for me to say "where is addy?" and pull it off her face with the biggest smile! love it!

she LOVES duke, aka "her bubbas". they are a dynamic duo. duke has finally warmed up to her--he actually is okay with her messing with him. for awhile he would just walk away if she would approach him, but now i think he really loves the attention! they are too cute together.


she turns a year old in a month and i can hardly believe it. i am getting her photos taken at the dallas arboretum for the big day. (i happened to win a photo shoot at school during teacher appreciation week!) stay tuned for those precious photos!

this little girl makes our world go around. i don't know what we did before she graced us with her life. love. love. love.

ten on tuesday.

i saw this on another blog and thought it was a cute idea...

10 random thoughts from yours truly :)

1. did anyone see lee dewyze sing hallelujah on idol tonite? omg! that could have been the most beautiful and amazing performance i have ever seen on that show. ahh-mazing. :)

2. had to bust out the blow dryer to dry addy's hair after her bath tonite. her hair is starting to get SO thick. she wasn't a fan. :)

3. i reaaranged addy's bedroom this weekend...again. i love how rearranging something like a room makes it fresh. i also bought new curtains to go up on her windows to replace the ghetto sheet i had been using. :) they are super darling...sheer white with white polka dots. something about her room makes me happy.

4. 11 days of school left. i need this summer to come on already. the last few weeks of work have been c.r.a.z.y for a few different reasons. i am in need of some chillaxin with my girl. ;)

5. i am listening to tile being cut as we speak. it is 8:55 pm. dusty is remodeling our master bath--hip hop hooray! (toni, if you are reading this, don't tell him you know!) we found a leak in our wall in the shower so that means we get a new bathroom!! thanks, state farm. :)

6. addy turns 11 months tomorrow. holy crap. this year flew by way too fast.

7. i had a conversation with a student's parent this morning that absolutely broke my heart...made me feel extremely lucky and blessed that addy is as healthy and happy as she is.

8. it took me 20 minutes to go 3 miles today on highway 78. so sick of the roadwork around here! argh!!

9. anyone see miley cyrus on dancing with the stars tonite? isn't she like 16 or something? just sayin'...

10. i am joining a woman's outdoor soccer league...season starts in august. guess i better get back in soccer shape. :) i can't wait to play again!!

Flashback Friday!

On our way to Pensacola Beach 3 years ago!

We are going back this year, but this time with our sweet baby girl!

wordless wednesday

my first mother's day

funny how children change one's perspective on everything. before i was a mom, i always thought to myself, "when i am a mom and mother's day comes around, i want to take the day off from being mommy--lay in the bed all day, watch movies, and let my hubby do all the parenting."

yesterday being my first mother's day, that certainly wasn't the case. i wanted nothing more than to be with my little nuclear family--dusty, addy, and duke. i was granted the opportunity to lay in bed a little later while daddy and daughter went grocery shopping for my big breakfast. that was lovely. :) when they got back to the house 30 minutes later, i was greeted with a smiling baby girl reaching out her arms to grab hold of my neck. ahh life is good. i received from my hubby a very mushy card (and he doesn't do mushy, so that was a treat!), and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. from my daughter i received a less mushy, but very cute/ funny card along with a bag of plain m&m's (yum), a fudge brownie (double yum), and a balloon.

we didn't do much of anything in particular yesterday which was lovely. i spent my first mother's day not at all like i had pictured in previous years, however, i don't think i could have ever imagined just how happy my little family makes me. i am a lucky gal. ;)

Wordless Wednesday

love this poem

i saw this poem, of all places, in the teacher's bathroom at work. i loved it so much, i had to share. i love this new perspective i have on all things now that i have entered mommyhood!


Unity
By Cleo V. Swarat

I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child’s mind
And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.

And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
Could never be sold or bought!

And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home.