Spring Is Here!

So its been quite some time since a post! I know I'll regret later not having a record of my life at this time, and what Chloe is doing, so I am getting on here to do just that! Well the present state of things in our life right now?

Financially: SUCKS.
Family As A Whole: Very Good.
Hubby and I's Relationship: Excellant!
Spiritually: Getting Better.
Physically: Great!

 So starting with financially, yeah, we are in deep. Mortgage gets paid the VERY last day of the month, all our other bills are always 2 weeks overdue. Utilities are a month overdue. Sigh. And we aren't SPENDING MONEY! Maybe eat out twice a week, no more then 30 each time, usually in the 20's. No other sort of spending, maybe a $100 a week on misc things. Its awful! We keep scrambling to catch up and it never happens. Sigh. I've been trying to pay extra on the husbands truck but that only happened one month. If I keep paying $30 extra I can pay it off next fall, which is a year early. Then we can put that whole $120 onto our explorer and get it paid off early. That would be a relief!! We also are paying a $100 to mom and dad for our mustang we bought. They financed it for us basically for $8,250. Its a '71 Mustang convertible! Lee just loves it.

So along with at least a $100 in groceries a week, a $120 tithe a week, at least a $100 in gas a week and all our bills (cell phone, dish, utilities, mortgage, 3 car payments, car insurance) it is TIGHT every stinking week. I just wish we weren't behind, that would make me happy. And poor Lee works his butt off on side jobs all week and we still end up needing every bit of it just to get by. I feel so sorry for him. :( Plus we owe $1200.00 on our taxes this year, yeah, awesome right?? >:(

Moving on! Our little family is just great. We have so much fun together. I really couldn't imagine having another baby anytime soon, I love just the way we are. Chloe is our world!

Lee and I are doing well too, it takes work, but he makes it easy. They really don't make them like him anymore. He is darn near perfect, and the things hes not perfect in he knows and is working on. Love that man! Not only is he a great husband but he is a wonderful daddy. He takes such good care of Chloe and she adores him.

Spiritually Lee and I are doing better. We are reading our bible more and really participating in our small group that we have on Fridays. We are going through The Five Love Languages right now in group and we all really are having fun with it. We love our small group anyway. The 3 couples that are in it besides us are just awesome, we are all really good friends! (which one of the couples is my younger bro and his sister who I am good friends with, lol)

So physically! Late last spring I started the couch to 5k which I culmulated with running a 5k in October. I stopped running after that because I wasn't losing the weight I wanted to. So this January Lee and I started doing some weight training every other day. That was going well and I started up running again and I am getting very happy with the results here about 3 months in. I've got some abs showing through even! My arms are really toned and my weight is almost where I want it. What I'm doing is 7 pull ups, 15 push ups, a few exercises on the weight machine for arms and legs. Then I do 15 squats with 15lbs on each side of a weight bar, after that curls with the same. Then I do some exercises with my 12lb or so barbell for my back. Then I move on to abs. I have 4 or 5 diff exercises for that. Then I'm done! I try to do it at least twice a week. I also jog about 3 times a week. I was doing HIIT, running hard for 30 secs and then jogging for 30 secs, but that gave me splints for the first time. So I'm starting slower this time with 1 mile jogs until I think I've built up enough for the pounding.  

I've also changed my diet of course. I don't eat much bread or processed things, sweets. A lot more veggies and fruit, drink nothing but water (about 4 bottles a day) and just plain eating less. I'm taking vitamins as well.  

My goal is to get bikini fit. You know, when you see the girl walking by in her bikini and your like, dang, wish I looked that good! Thats what I want. I even bought myself a motivation bikini, haha, its this one: 

I'm hoping it will make my hazel in my eyes pop. Of course my little a's aren't going to look that good, but oh well! I also just got the top because I don't do waxing, haha. I'm still not sure Lee will let me out of the house in it, but we will see! ;)

I wish I had taken a before picture so I can put my after picture next to it. If I take one now it won't be near what I used to be. I'm also trying to grow my hair out again (its about shoulder length now) and I ordered contacts Monday, so I'm getting myself the way I want to be, slowly but surely!

So lets get to what baby girl is up to!

1. She is saying so many words now, pretty much can repeat anything you say. Favorite/popular words: No! Dada, mommy, daddy, Daisy, papa, nene, ride, help me, where, down, done, banana, juice, please, get you, love you (she just started this last night, so sweet!) see you, mow mow, bow bow

2. She can climb up on just about any couch now

3. She is eating: Pb&J, spaghetti, peaches, bananas, chips, hotdogs (if she sees Luke eating them), raisins, bread (of course!) anything sweet!, mashed potoatoes, cream corn, beans, refri beans, mexican rice, oats (her fav!), and I'm sure some others.

4. She loves walking around at work with me to write up cars and has to 'drive' all of them.

5. We are working on colors, she can say them but I don't think she knows what I'm saying they are

6. She is 21lbs and 12 oz, 32in long, 20 months in another week

7. She loves Daisy and now after watching me ride so much last week loooves riding her play horses

8. Actually she loves ANY sort of animal

9. She HATES bugs, oops, that might be my doing

10. She still loves being outdoors over anything. She'll play in the yard for hours. 

11. She is wearing mostly 18 month old clothes.

12. We turned her car seat around about 2 months ago and she is a much happier camper

13. She loves riding in the mustang, even with the top down! (she likes going fast!)

14. She doesn't like the sound of thunder at ALL

15. She loves to sing and hear others sing

16. She likes reading books

17. She is getting hard to put to sleep at night, she wants to play still! 

18. Shes sleeping from 9 or 10pm to usually 7:30am. Rarely wakes up at night, if she does she usually puts herself back to sleep

19. She takes 2 naps on Mon and Tues with Shirley, and usually only one with me.

20. Her hair is getting longer, but in front of her ears its still very short!

21. She still only has the two front bottom teeth and one huge molar on the back right. Two tops and the two next to it up top. So 7 total!

22. She loves shoes, probably because that means she gets to go outside

23. She loves carrying around things like its a purse

24. She hated baths in the big bath until I put her little bath in there and now she is happy

25. She started smacking when she blows kisses :)

Well theres lots more but that is the gist! I'm here at work right now waiting on her to wake up from her nap. She has been sleeping about 2 hours here lately which is awesome. She used to only sleep an hour. She's at about an hour and 45 right now. Hopefully she will make it for 2 because we have a busy afternoon! After work we will go with Lee to a side job and then we are meeting the girls from small group for cupcakes at 6. We just got a cupcake place in our town. We are big time! We're even getting a Starbucks! haha. What we were most excited about though was when we got a Five Guys. SO GOOD. Although I haven't been there since Jan because of my 'diet'.

Til later!

       

Nearly 10 Months!

Hello everyone! Its been forever so I thought I'd better update this little blog!

Of course first on the list is baby girl. Who is nearly 10 months now! She is growing so fast. She is crawling a little bit now, and pulling up to her knees on the side of her pack and play and just this morning she did it on her crib for the first time. A bit alarming for me when I turned her monitor screen back on and saw that! Lol, time to lower the matress! She can also sit up from her knees and get on her bottom, and vice versa. She is clapping and waving now, and also does this funny clucking thing with her tounge. She also started laying her head over on your shoulder when someone talks to her like she is being shy, lol. Its pretty cute.

Her hemangioma looks really good. Getting lighter and lighter. Her doctor thought it was basically gone. So we go back in another month and she will probably be tapering her meds till she is off it. Then we will watch it to see if it comes back.

Shes eating well, loves anything we give her off our plates. Fries, bread, refried beans, rib bones, oatmeal, eggs, etc. STILL not drinking out of anything though. Sigh. I tried another sippe last night with no luck. But she will drink out of OUR cups all day long! I swear this child is too smart for her own good!

We went to the beach with her for the first time this past weekend. SO FUN! Although she wasn't impressed. She was really excited and happy right up until the wave got her feet and then she was done, lol! She didnt like the sand either! So we are hoping next year she will like it a lot more, :).

Anyway, not much else going on. Just going on with life. We did get rid of our F150 and bought an Explorer. Which I am LOVING! It has so much room and also a 3rd row so we can seat 7 in there. And we got a smokin deal on it. Its also black! :D Here it is:

We have been trying to get the house fixed a bit. Put some new blinds on the windows, planted some flowers, etc. I've got SO MANY other things I'd like to do but NO MONEY. Gas and food prices are just rediculous right now. We are glad to be out from under that 14,000 truck though. We have 8 to pay off now, between my explorer and Lees truck. That is our only debt save our house. So we get that done we can start on 3-6 months of living expenses (in case a emergency happens, Lee loses his job, etc.). Then we are supposed to put 15% of our income into Roth IRAs and such. Then we pay off the house earlier and save for Chlos college. YEAH! I can't wait. So we have to get serious about losing that 8k and building up our money for expenses. So if your wondering this is following Dave Ramseys plan. Check him out here! Dave Ramsey

Well Chloe is awake! She sleeps in the carseat for a few hours almost every morning, lol. Its so loud in here its almost impossible to get her to stay asleep more then 30 minutes. So our plan for the rest of the day is letting her play for awhile, shes in her pack and play now playing with my sunglasses, lol, and her car driving toy. Oh, now she has a spoon, haha. Then we will go get lunch at 12, come back and let her play some more. Then about 1 or so I will feed her. Then from there on its just swapping her from one thing to the other to keep her happy until time to go home! She might take another nap in there somewhere. Usually around 2 or 3. The fun part is getting her to TAKE it. She wont just lay down and go to sleep, lol. And now that she can sit up, she wont stay where you put her either! Speaking of, there she goes trying to go over the side of the pack and play, lol. Shes up on her knees holding on the edge.

Well thats about all thats going on. Here are a few pics of my girl!

 

Hello Spring!

Hey guys! Yup, really is me, geesh I am terrible at this blogging thing now! But I'm getting so excited about how warm its getting here. And the trees are blooming, the grass is coming in, YES!

So anyway, gosh where to start?? Chloe is 7 months and 2 weeks now! She is such a little person now. And man has she got a personality! She is going to be a firecracker, man I'm already praying for her daddy and I when she hits the terrible 2's, lol. Its going to be bad. She got my temper and impatience unfortunately. Sigh. I knew this was going to happen!! Lol, anyway, she is a sweet baby too. I love her smiles and laughs. Adorable. I can't wait until she starts giving kisses and talking, etc.

So right now she sits up very well, starting to reach for me. She is good a picking up her toys and loves to 'shake' them now to see what they do. She is eating baby food well, although we like our fruits much better then our veggies. Though we do love sweet potatoes, hehe. She STILL is breastfeeding. We never did get her on a bottle. She doesn't even like a sippee cup. She likes OUR cups though, lol. She will need breastmilk until her first year and then you can start with cow milk and most foods we eat now. Just cut really small etc.

She loves playing with her daddy and her favorite toys are a big plastic saftey pin with a ribbon on it, her bee, and anything with a big tag on it that she can suck, lol! She is doing very well at nights. She wakes up around 5 or 5:30 to eat after going to bed at 9 or 10. Then I put her back down till around 8 or 9. She has been sleeping in her room in her crib since 6 months. We got one of those baby monitors with a video screen, it is SUCH nice security for me to be able to see her as well as hear her.

She sat on her first horse the other day! Hehe, I cannot wait to teach her to ride! And swim, and tons of other things.

She isnt crawling yet, but trying to get her knees under her a bit. She can scoot around on her belly and roll very well though! I put her on her hands and knees last night and she held her knees under her for a few seconds, hehe.

So! Those are the good things. Bad things, hm, the worst would be her refusal to be away from me. And not letting anyone but Lee or I hold her. Sigh. We have had TWO nights by ourselves for a few hours since she has been born. My mom took care of her and she basically cries hersefl to sleep and I get her up to take her home later. She won't stay in the nursery at church so that means I am distracted the whole service and usually one of us ends up getting up to go out with her because she wont sit still that long. Even with 100+ toys, lol.

She also has a very short span of contentedness. She is happy for a few minutes with one toy, but then its time for something new! She will go through 5 toys in a matter of minutes. Thats a little tiring for mommy! She also does not like to entertain herself for very long. So I don't get a whole lot done around the house unless she is asleep. And even then I have to be quiet so that is difficult.

But that is the joys of children! I love my baby girl and wouldn't trade her for the world. We are at work right now and she is sleeping in her pack n play behind me. She will prolly sleep for another 30 mintues and then it will almost be time to go home! Yeah! The inlaws just got back from a nearly 3 week vacation to OK, so we will probably go and visit them after work. We went with them to AK for a funeral but came back after 3 days. Lee and I can't be away from work longer then that.

We are going on a vacation next weekend though to Tennessee! A couple in our church small group is getting married in Pigeon Forge so we are renting a cabin for 2 nights and making a mini vacation out of it. Lee and I haven't been on one in YEARS! Hopefully we will have fun. Chloe did really well on her first road trip to AK, like 10 HOURS of riding in one day to there and back. She slept most of the way thank God. This will be like a 5 hour trip so that will be cake! Luke (my bro and sis in laws baby, they are coming as well) hasn't been on a trip yet, but he is so laid back, as long as he is fed, lol, that I'm sure he won't be a problem.

So not much else going on! I rode Tuff for the first time the other day! Its on my horse blog here. Haven't worked him again since, no time! Or its raining. He is also a little low on weight from the winter so we are working on getting him plumped back up. Thankfully the grass is coming in!

I guess thats all for now! I'll leave you with some recent pics of my Chloe girl. Ta ta!

Still Alive and Well!

I will hopefully have time to make a new blog soon, for now I just posted a entry that I never published 2 months ago right under this one, so that is all I have for now! Chloe of course decided to wake up from her nap as soon as I was about to post a more recent one! Oh well, I'll do my best to get one up asap! If I don't talk to ya before, Merry CHRISTmas!

Where Did Two Months Go??

Hi everyone! Sorry its been so long since I posted, I can't ever seem to find the time. When I have a free moment I always have something else to fill it up with.

Anyway, today my baby girl is 2 months old! She has her 2 month check-up tomorrow morning. I love finding out how much she weighs and has grown.

So anyway, she is doing well! She only wakes up once during the night to eat usually, and then once early in the morning. If I'm getting up for work at 8 I usually feed her when she wakes up at 6 or 7 and just leave her in bed with me. Or I get her up when she starts fussing and when I lay her next to me she will just go back to sleep, lol. I guess she gets tired of being in her bassinet next to the bed by herself and wants to snuggle!

She still is eating every 2 hours if she is awake, otherwise she will sleep for up to 4 hours sometimes. Usually for an hour or two. Still breastfeeding! Yeah! It was rough the first two weeks, SO SORE, but after that it got a lot better. The only problem with feeding we are having is she will NOT take a bottle. No matter how hungry she is! We thought we had her a few weeks ago, she took one that morning from me and one from Lee that night. But then a week later we tried again and she totally refused it. As well as the other 2 times I've tried since. UGH!! Its so frustrating! She will chew on the nipple in the beginning and then just start screaming. Won't even try to suck on it. SIGH. I love breastfeeding her, don't get me wrong, but the husband and I are going to want to get out sometimes for more then two hours, and that will not work if she won't drink from a bottle! Also if something ever happened to me, God forbid, even just something as minor as being in the hospital, what is she going to do? So, we are still working on that, stubborn thing! ;)

Anyway, I'm so in love with her, I'm so glad I get to take her to work with me. I started back at about 5 or 6 weeks post partum. She does really well! I feed her right before I leave home and she will usually fall asleep in the car and then sleep a bit after we get here, then play with me a little (she is smiling so big now! I think a laugh is not too far away either) then she usually wants to eat again or nap. Then we just rinse and repeat. Some days I only have to feed her once before we go home, which I like. It makes me nervous feeding her here, even though I have a cover and all. Its just you know it would make the other person uncomfortable to know what your doing, haha, you know? Thats another reason I want to get her on bottles so I can feed her those in the day at work, and maybe pump once, then feed her regular at home.

So here are a few updated pics of my girlie!

This is her just yesterday laying on the floor at work :)


Here we are out hiking with her for the first time, she loved it!

Well thats all for now!

She's HERE!

Sorry I haven't blogged before! Little miss Chloe Leeann Mickle made her appearance Thursday August 5th at 11:50 in the afternoon. She was 7lbs and 8 oz, 21 inches long! Perfect size! I'm so in love, we both are. Although I aint gonna lie, its hard, especially when she won't stop crying for no reason or won't go to SLEEP or my nipples feel like they are going to crack open when she eats! Lol, but so worth it!!

I don't have much time to write right now, she has been sleeping for quite a while and is starting to get restless so I will write about the birth later, time for her to fill her little tummy again. She is quite the little piglet! Lets just say the labor was basically a BREEZE and I almost made a record at the hospital with how fast I had her. I went from 6 centimeters to 10 and ready to push in less then an hour. THATS UNHEARD OF for a first time mom! I pushed a total of 6 times (most first timers push for at LEAST an hour) loved all my nurses, the epidural was GREAT, the IV SUCKED, and thats about all for now. Anywho, here are a few pictures!

The night we went in to be induced!
Just born!

Proud daddy :D
Tired, swollen, but happy!!

T-minus 3 Days!

Hey all, sorry its been awhile. Haven't had a whole lot to report on! Still pregnant, still hot, swollen, and just BIG. But I see the light at the end of the tunnel! Won't be long at all now!

So my appointments have been going well. Two weeks ago I had my first 'examination' appointment. Which means you get to have your doctor dig her hand up to her elbow in you to see if you have dilated/effaced etc. (FYI: dilation is when your cervix starts opening, effacement is when it starts thinning, both need to happen to pop a kid out!)

Well at nearly 37 weeks I was not expecting to be either one, and I wasn't. But the next week I started thinking maybe I might be at least 1 cm dilated, but nope, nada. And I had even been walking a lot and accosting the husband, haha, if you know what I mean. Which are both mostly just old wives tales about getting labor/dilation started, but hey, doesn't hurt, right? Although you really need some sort of contractions to get dilation going, and I had had NONE.

Anyway, that was last Thursday. So the doctor then told me (after she dug up to her ARMPIT in there, lol, which it doesn't hurt, just uncomfy) that she wanted to do an ultrasound next week (this Friday) to make sure that the fluid levels are still good in the babies sack and that her size is good, etc. She then said if I have not done anything by 41 weeks we will 'make a plan' about inducing labor I'm assuming. Which I'd really rather avoid. But I also want what is best for little girl.

The thing is my OB is on vacation all this week. Yeah for her, boo for me! So I have to see a doctor I've never met before Friday after my ultrasound, who could possibly be making a very important decision for me. If the fluid levels dont look good or something, she could possibly recommend me to be induced that weekend. Without my doctor! :/ Which I have heard REALLY good things about this doctor, she is very sought after. My sister in law really likes her...but still, its kind of nerve wracking.

So anyway, lets go back to last night. Well actually even the afternoon before. Monday afternoon the hubby and I went to wal mart to get a few things and I started feeling sort of 'weird'. That whole afternoon I was having the 'weird' feeling, and then was fine that night and the next morning.

Then yesterday afternoon/evening I started feeling that 'weird' feeling again off and on. I don't even really know how to describe it...I've been feeling sort of crampy last two days, and then I will get really short of breath and my belly feels tight...I'm assuming these are some sort of contractions. Yeah! But I really don't know...its not what I thought one would feel like, you know?

Anway, last night we went to bed about 11 or 11:30 (were down in b'ham to see the husbands bro who is in the hospital) and I woke up not long after that with that crampy, mostly just uncomfortable feeling. I kept turning on one side and then the other and it wouldn't help. Could NOT sleep. So finally I got up and got a tums for the heartburn I felt coming on and walked around the kitchen/living room a bit. I was wondering if it was ever going to progress into something more, but it didn't. So I went back to bed and tossed and turned for another hour or so and finally went off to sleep. Was okay after that! Well other then going to the bathroom every hour like normal, lol.

So I'm kind of excited! This is progress! I bet they will tell me I have done something Friday, might not be much, but it will be heartening to hear. To know that I'm not some freak that can't dilate on her own. I have my ultrasound at 1 and then an appointment at 1:30. Lee Lee is going to take off work early to come, yeah! He hasn't been to the last 3 or so of my appointments, mostly just because there really is no need for him to take off work for routine stuff. But we get to see her again this time! :D

In other news! I've pretty much got everything ready for her! All is washed and set up. I have some things packed for Lee and I for the hospital, and everything is packed and ready for her! I found the cutest diaper bag at wal mart that matches her stroller/car seat SO GOOD. Check it out:

And the nursery is mostly done. I need to hang her name painting and put some more stencils on the wall, but other then that, we are good. I just wish I have had the energy/time to get the rest of the house in order. Sigh. I have 2 freezer meals ready to go, so yeah for that. I have at least one or two more I'd like to get in there...not sure if thats going to happen though. We have been gone every evening almost either painting that house again (little stuff that we had to wait for the floors to be down for) or up at the hospital with his brother. Which is 50 minutes away. Yeah, loving the gas money floating out the window. We have started taking the s10 down there to save on gas, luckily we usually go down in the evening so its not so hot having no AC. I sure hope he can come home soon. He's been up there nearly 2 weeks now, with 1 week before that in our local hospital. Poor guy. :( And I hate that his mom will be torn between me and him if the baby comes soon.

Here are a few pics of the nursery! Click on them to make 'em bigger.


That is her take home outfit, along with the little flower headband hanging on the same hanger. There are also two bees, a dragonfly and a butterfly on that wall, but the wall color is too light to show them up well. :(

This is a cute saying I got from hobby lobby I loved and I stenciled the butterfly next to it. Again, the wall color really is too light for either one, that was a bit disappointing...not sure what to do about it.

I would have taken a picture of the crib but it is totally cluttered with blankets and her wash tub, haha, etc. I need to clear out a space in the closet. for it. Time, energy! I NEED YOU! We have to go paint again this afternoon, yeah. But it shouldn't take real long. Its just will I have energy when I get home to do anything besides get dinner and sit on the couch??

So I mentioned something about getting her car seat inspected the other day at the hospital. Well apparently they don't 'do that there'. Well, fine. Geesh. So we are just going to go with it. It got taken out and hasn't been put back in, so I think I should have the husband reinstall that soon. We have been looking for a truck the last little bit. We've only found one we thought might be pretty good for us, but as soon as we were about to talk to the dealer about it he came over and said he had just sold it. Great!! I was so disappointed. Anyway, Monday I found another one on autotrader that looks promising. Although its a good 3k below any other I've seen for sale just like it...kind of makes me wary, but hey, I will check it out! I called about it and he said they just got it in and it was getting work done on it, so he would call me when it was ready. He thought probably Thursday or Friday. So we will probably go to the hospital down there tomorrow anyway, if its done then, good, if not, I'm sure we will have time Friday to see if after my doctors appointment since he will be off early anyway.
This is it: 2004 F-150 Lariat
Pretty, huh?? Lee thinks its a tad girly looking but I said well, um, 2 girls will be driving it mostly anyway! Haha. There is also another one farther south that seems nice. Might check it out too.
2004 F-150 XLT This one is more moola tho...

Well our pool got a bit neglected and decided to grow green algae, so we haven't been able to swim for a few weeks. We finally got time to shock the crap out of it etc and hopefully it will be ready by the weekend. Gosh those things need a lot of upkeep! I miss swimming!!

So work is going well, we just hired another new guy today, dad has SO much business we are seriously backed up. Which is good but also we don't need to keep stuff too long or people will take it other places! Although around here they keep them WAY longer then we do on a regular basis.

So lets do some belly shots!

38 Weeks!

39 Weeks!

Okay, WAY long post, sorry! I will shut up now, I'll try to update after my appointment Friday. Chloe is almost here!! :D