Brinners

The other day my Mom was telling me about how beautiful Brynley is and well, I agree. So here are some things of Brynley, she'll be 9 months old on the 15th of this month! Still no teeth.

These just cracked us up! Perfect mug shots! Say Hello to the drunk Shamwow guy!

Everyone can comment... but please spare me the giving ice cream to a 9 month old lecture!

Great day!

Yesterday was so much fun! I took Mariska to the Desoto playgroup to tour the newest fire station in Cedar Hill. She had a great time playing in the fire truck. They even ran the siren!

Then afterwards it was a really nice day so I took the girls to the park for a picnic and to play on the playground. It was so much fun!

Here are some other pictures from August...

I love this video. They went back and forth like this for about 15 minutes, but I like this video so much because of how Brynley copies Mariska!

Just Me

I'm stealing the "bullet point" format from my sister, but in any case, these are my thoughts and some update highlights...

• Today is Brent's first day with his students. He has come up with a great analogy comparing the structure of school and his class to that of The Tour De France. It emphasizes hard work, endurance and working together through out the whole year to achieve the best results at the end (TAKS tests).


• I'm working Friday and Saturday grave shifts and it's about killing me! It's going to take a few weeks to get used to this new schedule of both of us working.


• I haven't worked out in a month and feel as jiggly as ever. I hate it, but after working the two graves over the weekend it's SO HARD to force myself to restart my work out routine on Monday!


• Along with that, I still have yet to lay off the desserts. I'm addicted. Anyone who doesn't believe sugar and fat is addictive is an idiot and very lucky.


• I've become way too emotionally involved in the "Health Care Debate" and have decided to avoid it all together.I almost broke a shelf in the fridge last night after watching the story of a couple without insurance. He works 2 jobs. She was working until she got cancer. Her prescriptions ALONE were $2500 a MONTH. $2500 a month ONLY for her prescriptions, never mind the doctor/hospital bills, chemotherapy and all their other living expenses. Particularly in America, that is wrong on every level. No one should have to become homeless and/or bankrupt to try and LIVE. So, since we can't afford to fix anything I break, I'm avoiding it as much as possible and just filled with gratitude that we can spend 20% of our NET income on premiums alone... assuming we have the copays, deductables and coinsurance we're some of the lucky ones out there who are ALLOWED to be in a car accident or touch a door handle and get swine flu. It wouldn't make us lose our home and having that peace of mind is a big blessing.


• I need to check out our local Kid To Kid to find some "big girl" toys for Mariska. She is so bored and out grown 90% of her toys.


• I want a Chrysler Pacifica Touring, Buick Rendezvous, Honda Pilot, well, pretty much any SUV crossover with an optional 3rd row. I think a minivan would be too much car for everyday use, but I like the idea of being able to carpool in the future if we needed to. But that's probably a long way off.


• I'm ready for Brynley to walk and talk. Life is so much easier once they do. But for now, her little smiles and "on the go humming" just make me all toasty inside, that makes up for the other stuff!


• And I love that Mariska calls Mayonnaise, "Jamaze".


• I am so excited for Christmas this year. I'm not sure why.


• In my obsession with thinking about the future, I've been thinking about what kind of nursing I think I'd like to do someday. So far pediatric, ICU, Cancer treatments and the ER top my list, but I'm not sure just how I'd do in an ER. But of course that's what school is for!


• I'm so eager to go to school some day, once Brynley is in kindergarden probably.


• I have 3 loads of laundry I'm avoiding... here I go.

Pictures and such

Well yesterday was Mariska's 2nd day at school and she still loves it! And she actually naps while she's there! I'm so excited for her.

Brynley is going to be 8 months old on August 15th. She's pulling herself up to stand onto things and is so curious about everything. Still no teeth, but she is getting better at eating baby food.

Brent went to work today and met with a few new staff members and caught up with some old ones. He's still teaching reading, language arts and social science this year. We're both ready to get the school year going.

That's about it for us. I'll be working Friday and Saturday graves from now on, so it's going to be real busy around here and time will fly! It's great!

"AARRGG!" Pirate Mariska!

Mariska's First Day!

Today was Mariska's first day at Little Miracles Mother's Day Out! She'll be going every Wednesday from 9am-2pm. She LOVED it! She marched right into her class and didn't give me a second glance! I tried saying "goodbye" but she was far to busy with the blocks for that kind of thing! She is so funny! This is going to be so good for her! She needs the structure and stimulation so badly. I love that it's on Wednesdays so that it will help break up boredom through the week. We're also (my neighbor and me) going to try and get our kids to the Library for the Story Hour each week as well.
Today I came home from taking Mariska, fed Brynley and let her play a bit. Once she was down for a nap I had a nice quiet lunch while I watched "The Doctors". Then I layed on the couch and snoozed for a good hour and a half!! Brynley napped for 2 1/2 hours! I couldn't believe it! When she got up I managed to get all the floors vacuumed and mopped just in time for Mariska to get home!
We're trying really hard to get a down payment saved for a car. I'd like to take Mariska to the Desoto Ward playgroup, but taking Brent to work so early in the morning during the week is so hard!! We would be able to get a car sooner, but I made a bonehead mistake on our budget and just realized we need $2500 for property taxes in our escrow account by December... so the car down payment is having to wait for that. Brent is so funny, he just said, "I'm sure glad that was your mistake! You'd never let me live that down if it had been me.", and he's totally right and way more forgiving then I am, so thank you Brent! Of course we also want to make sure we save up all the money we'll need for a VERY long, much needed trip to Utah next summer! We have completely vowed to use nothing but cash from now on and we MUST go to Utah next summer, so I want to make sure we've got the money FIRST!
We are really gearing up for Brent's return to work! Starting August 17th, Brent will be working Monday-Friday from 7ish to 6pm (not getting home until 6:30). And I will be working the grave shifts every Friday and Saturday night from 11pm to 7:30am! Between us we'll be working 7 days a week, roughly 72 hours a week. Things will really get rough when Brent starts Saturday School from 9-11. We're coming to accept the fact that our family won't be all together much for the next 10 months, until Brent's off for next summer.
I'll still be home during the week and Brent will take the reigns on the weekends while I sleep! It's going to be stressful but worth it when it's all said and done. And I love working, which I feel terribly guilty about, but I don't want to quit, it makes me so much happier! I appreciate everything more, especially my family, when I leave for a bit to focus on other things a couple times a week.
But we're so excited Mariska started preschool today. It may only be one day a week, but I think it will be extremely rewarding for all of us!

Pictures

I'm not in a big typing mood... here are some pictures. :)

Today

So today it hit me: I've been working out 6 days a week, maybe an "off week" here and there, but for the most part working out 6 days a week for almost 4 MONTHS and NOTHING is happening. I'm SO mad. After four months I still can't fit into any clothes, except my big, ugly, frumpy "fat clothes" that I hate. I haven't lost a single ounce or a single millimeter off of anywhere! I love working out and it fixes any depression that may head my way and it gives me tons of energy each day... but come on!

I know that a lot of it is still my eating. With Brent being home for the summer we give into our going out to eat temptations and so there has been more of that then normal over the last month, particularly since I've started working. And I've made a few batches of cookies, plus the 4th of July stuff.... so that's my problem. I can't count calories very well, especially when making a big dinner with lots of ingredients for everyone, like a casserole or something. But within the last week I've switched to whole wheat bread and brown rice. I'm hoping that helps. I just need to seriously stay away from desserts, fried stuff and over eating, that's a big problem for me too. I eat and eat until I'm about to pop. Very bad habit and very hard to break.

So anyway, I'm just very mad at myself for being so pathetic in the food department and very frustrated that I make my work outs pointless for weight loss. Working out is never pointless but I'm not losing anything!!! And I hate it. I'm so mad today.

In other news, I just got "passed off" to be a "med tech" at work. So now I'm able to give all the residents their medication. Now that all my training is over I'm only working weekends. I'd like to get more hours in during the summer, but it's nice to be home too. My getting this job has been great. The extra money is a nice perk, but it's really helped my mental health and I'm way more appreciative of everything, particularly my family.

Mariska is really excited to go to her friend Samantha's birthday party at a water park tonight. She's feeling a bit cramped up here at home, since it's so hot there is virtually no playing outside. The party at the water park isn't until 7:30 at night and it'll still be in the high 90's! Since I'm not working next week we're going to try and go walking at that neat park in the early mornings and then letting her play until about 10. After 10 or 10:30 it's way too hot, particularly the playground equipment. In a few weeks Mariska will begin her Mother's Day Out program on Wednesdays. We're all really excited!

Brent still has time off, not much new with him. He brought home some really good books to read over the summer. I'm enjoying one called The Wanderer.

And Brynley is crawling all over the place and sitting up by herself like a pro. She's also starting to turn when we call her name. Still no teeth and still drooling like she's had a surgery and been numbed all day. Her hair is coming in nicely and a bit curly. This last week she just turned 7 months! She's getting really fun and interactive. Mariska is a great big sister but gets a bit jealous when we try and take pictures or videos of Brynley's milestones.

That's it for us. Brent and I are going on a date and seeing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Tuesday!!!! We are SO excited!!!!!

This is a nice picture of her drenched neck and chest... from drooling, so nasty.

The girls watching Clifford together.