While daddy's away..Monkey and I will PLAY!

Happy Friday Folks!!

D has drill this weekend in Little Rock and Monkey and I will be left

home alone...well, kind of!

My dad's coming to visit!!!!

Monkey and I LOVE getting visits from some of our fav people!

(and dad doesn't get a chance to come often)

Monkey, Jessica (another awesome neighbor), and I are walking

in a 5k in the morning at our local Fall Fest. This is a first

for all of us, Lord...help us make it through!

We may do a little fall festing tomorrow after the 5k..since we're already there!

Maybe a little trip to the pumpkin patch..maybe a nap?

--Ok, wishful thinking on the nap--

I will certainly let you guys know how everything turns out over

the weekend! Wish us luck on the 5k!

Have an awesome weekend!

from last year's pumpkin patch fun!

 



 



weekend get away

It's an understatement to say that I suck at blog life.

I love,love reading..but I'm so not motivated to write.

I try to sneak peeks in between clients and telephone calls..shh!

Don't tell the bosses. =]

 

Life has been good. Work is has become interesting as I'm slowly learning

more and more about the clientel we work with everyday.

Challenging?

The Scentsy business is going wonderfully though thanks to a few,

cute and cuddly Scentsy Buddies being buy one,get one free!

Thank the HEAVENS for Scentsy Buddies! ha.

 

 

Over the weekend-D, Monkey, and I made a too quick trip to see my mom.

We all had a blast.

Her house is in the mountains/hills of Northern Arkansas and it is like

it's own retreat! It's so comfy, D and I rarely sit on the couch..because

we fall asleep instantly! lol It's the truth...sadly :)

 

 

 

Monkey got to hang..and do what Monkey does best..

Be a boy! He fished, and threw rocks, and collected MILLIONS

of acorns which will find their way to acorn heaven in the vaccuum :-/

Sooner rather than later...I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

 







Yay for dates,Scentsy, and bangs!

Home girl has a hot date this weekend with a pretty special bald man =)
Whoop,whoop!!
After not having a date since June, D and I are both pretty stoked!
Alone time.
No naps, no picky eaters other than myself, no time schedules, no random bathroom stops, no arm limitations,no McDonalds, no cartoons....!!!
Not sure what D has planned but at this moment..but I am perfectly content with strolling the streets of downtown Little Rock,enjoying the weather if nothing else.
I'm easy. Let's just go. Do whatever "big people" do.
________________________________

On another update/note:

I am now an independent Scentsy consultant!
I love Scentsy. Everything about it..so,why not sale it.
My best friend introduced me to it last year and I've used it ever since.
She is a consultant in West Memphis and makes it look like a breeze-so,why not!?
I am fully prepared to eat those words later.
Look at the super cute business cards--->>I marked out the cell number and the blue is more aqua!

 

_________________________________

 

I got my hair cut before a friend's wedding last month and my normal

side bangs were NOT cooperating--at all.

They were blowing both ways and ended up in the middle like I got regular bangs? However, D   L O V E D it!

He never,ever mentions anything about my hair.

I could literally come in with it purple and he wouldn't say a word.

But he gushed, and gushed about the bangs! So when I went for a hair cut this

month, I had her whack off the side bangs and VOILA!!   Bangs =]

___________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Uncle Sam's Time..

I'm sure you have heard me talk about our decision for D to re-enlist.

Well, Uncle Sam called..and D swears in tomorrow morning!

This time around, D isn't 17 and he now has a family of his own.

Monkey and I will be by his side,supporting him every step of the way!

Pray for D, monkey, and I!

Congrats sweet husband! You will make us all proud :-)

Introducing..nephew #2

Yesterday morning, the world gained another beautiful little boy!

This is Rhett.

He weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces.

He is 20.5 inches long.

He's perfect.

As IF my "baby fever" couldn't get ANY worse..it certainly DID.

He has the sweetest little toes and fingers and nose!!

And yes,the butt chin is adorable too!

He looks alot like his big brother, Brandt!

And Brandt was SO,SO excited to meet his "Bubba"

(he even managed to fit that new word into his vocab!!)

Brandt and Nonna waiting to see Rhett

Brandt wants in there with his Bubba!!

Aunt L was ready to hold that sweet boy,too!!

Proud Nonna and Pops :)

I think the number FOUR looks good on us??  Make that happen,D..we want PINK!!

I saved my absolute favorite pic of the day for last..Monkey has been on one for the last few months with.."I want a baby brother.." or "I want a baby sister.." which has not helped MY thoughts on adding another child to our family. I even got so carried away with that..I ripped the BC patch off a week before time, protesting that I wasn't going to use it/take it..I have since then changed my mind. lol Back on with the patch :-/

 Monkey is going to make a great big bro someday..eventually..

xoxo--LH

Christmas in July?

It's July.

The day AFTER Independance Day,and I'm seriously planning for...

christmas.

A bit anxious are we?

Uh,yes...yes,we are!!

 I have always disliked Christmas and major holidays in general.

My parents are divorced and have been forever,which gives us all a MILLION+

places to be..which = STRESS! and $MONEY$.

Our schedules have always been nuts around the holidays-throw in a spouse, spouse's fam, and our child...and OMG!!

And not to mention the SCROLL of people you have to buy gifts for :-/

I want to buy everyone a gift,I truly do..so don't make the assumption I am fussing about buying gifts for loved ones but..

((Buying gifts for 40 people))

 (yes,real number..just wrote them all down!)

Will NEVER, EVER, E V E R  be cheap.

-and I SUCK at DIY gifts-

So,I have decided to try something new this year..

lay away.

I can get started now..or August/September..

and hopefully,be DONE by October/November!?

awesome idea..right!?! (no need for comments,really :)

NOW If I could only find out what to do about that schedule we feel like we MUST keep..

it goes something like this--

November-Thanksgiving/Christmas at mom's the wknd before Thanksgiving

thank you for doing these TOGETHER and a month in advance before it gets TOO crazy! We LOVE this!

First wknd in December-Work Christmas party

Second wknd in December-Christmas at dad's with step bro's

always entertaining..seriously.

Christmas Eve-Grandma's house w/ dad's side of the family 3pm ALWAYS!

Christmas Eve night (last year)-Christmas with D's fam

My mother in law is the BEST at bending and working around everyone's schedule! The "giver" of our family!

Christmas Day-Mamaw and Papaw's bright and early--8am! w/ mom's side

If ya'll are tripping about the 8am part-this has IMPROVED over the years from 6am! FOR REAL!

Somewhere in there, we have to fit in Christmas with our family..D, Monkey, and myself?

We love doing Christmas with all of our families,we really do..but Monkey's getting

older and we want to do Christmas Day/ SANTA at OUR home on Christmas morning?

Did I mention we MOVED....two hours away from ALL of those activites?

What are some of your Christmas/holiday festivities?? Is everyone's schedule as hectic as ours?? Suggestions to IMPROVE the schedule?!?!

sweet Monkey at Christmas last year :-)



Army Wife..round 2?

I fell in love with a soldier at 16.

Survived my first deployement  at 17.

I married a soldier at 19 and gave birth to our child later that year.

Survived my second deployment at 20-with a two year old in tow.

My soldier put his dream on hold for us for a year after returning home.

Where do we go from here??

After a whole year and one month of praying..and praying hard..

We've decided it was time for D to re-enlist.

I married a soldier at heart and you can't take that away from them, only special people

get touched by God's hands to do such a job.

As a mother,my top priority is my child..and his well being.

Will my child be left father less?

Will he understand?

Will he hold a grudge at D and I?

How will he cope?

Will I be enough for him?

Will I be strong enough mentally and physically to play two roles again?

 Children are resiliant.

They can handle and understand so much more than we give them credit for.

He will understand and embrace why his father and I have made this decision.

We have done this before..and CAN do this again.

The military has been wonderful to us in many ways.

The friendships we've made.

The people we've met.

The benefits.

And yes..the deployments were "wonderful" in their own ways.[$]

We have a wonderful support system here in our new town with the best neighbors anyone could ever have. As a matter of a fact,they're all military and all have young boys..and another little boy on the way. We are all away from home,and can rely on one another..if we ever have to face another deployment. (which WILL happen in due time)

I am at peace with all of this.

We ask that you keep us all in your thoughts and prayers as we go forward with the re-enlistment process..and I'm SURE it will be a P R O C E S S..!

Any little bit of encouragement is always welcomed,however I can assure you-negative remarks will not be taken lightly or with a grain of salt.

xoxo-LH

...SO much going on..

Dear Lawwd the things going on within the last month..I don't even know WHERE to begin! We went on vaca,got BIG news for our family,lost a loved one,came back to work,everyday life...which is exhausting in itself (in the BEST kind of way!) and I have been busy,busy with Miss Hive's bridal shower and the sweet baby shower for my future nephew!

Anyhoo---along with the good news for us. When the Monkey came into the world, D and I were totally unprepared! We were VERY young and the Monkey was a "surprise" for us. So,with that being said--insurance was something we knew nothing about and did NOT have. Luckily,the lovely state provided us with Medicaid and we thank God for it daily because the Monkey's first surgery raked in over $250,000 in medical bills..and then there were three more after that.However,with our move last year--we both got raises and were no longer applicable for Medicaid. Like most young couples with a family, private insurance rates are 1)scary as HELL  2)very over priced  and  3)a MUST for a child who has had 4 surgeries. Our jobs both offer insurance but they will take half of our paychecks which leaves us not paying important bills---that's clearly a no-go! So...our search for health insurance began. I was a nervous wreck because I had no idea if anyone would cover monkey since he had pre-exsisting conditions..but luckily,the laws have recently changed where children under the age of 18 WITH pre-exsisting condtions can NOW be looked at as not having ANY! Music to his mother's ears :-) With a little help from my mom (who is awesome with budgets,btw), we have realized..we can do this on our own. I mailed the ACCEPTED application in to the insurance company and Monkey's insurance starts July 1.

kind of a big deal at our house right now...

Moving along...we went on a small vaca :-) We just went home to Memphis for what I like to call an "away-cation"  Where you go AWAY but no where big! Totally what we needed! We went to the zoo and went swimming for a day and we had a FOUR YEAR wedding anniversary!  *high five for D and I because marriage is NO JOKE and FAR from easy! While at the zoo,Monkey and I got to FEED GIRAFFES! The neatest thing..ever! Monkey and I have a little bit of a "thing" for giraffes anyways..he tells me daily he "loves me bigger than giraffes" because that's the biggest (thing) he's ever seen! Melts me right into a big pile of mommy goo! Sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me..here are some pics from that!

our sweet friend, Kenya...

Monkey LOVED him and wasn't scared one bit!

Best $5 I've spent...ever!

D and baby Monkey :)

Now with the not so hot news..my great grandmother went to Heaven while we were home on vacation. It happened the afternoon of our anniversary-May 17th. We had originally planned on going away on vaca but due to a totalled car..our finances wouldn't allow..so we went home. I've told people before, God's timing is always perfect and we needed to be home at that time...and we were.

On top of all my "fun"...I have been busy,busy with two showers for JUNE that are back to back! Showers are tough work but TONS of fun! I can't wait to see how they both unfold!



Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everybody! :-) Today has been quite enjoyable with the BEAUTIFUL sunshine and NO clinic..I desperatly needed to play catch up thanks to a certain insurance change--GAG! Having time to play on pinterest and blog,helps..even if I DONT have a clue as to what I'm doing :-) However, Miss Hives and I have decided we should probably strangle the stinkin' birds singing oh SO LOUDLY outside...they make it rather difficult to be locked away in an office while THEY get to play! Anyhoo--this is what is going on in my neck of the woods..

Miss Hives is getting MARRIED...in August! So her lovely twin sister and I have been texting like CRAZY back and forth to prep for her bridal shower! I am SO excited and praying to GOD I can manage decorations from two hours away! :-/ Her sister has been a HUGE help so..I think we may survive! I can't give details because Miss Hives secretly stalks me and my little bloggy-deal. But I will post pics later in June--think burlap and lace; LOVE the combo!!

This past weekend was pretty relaxing..not much going on at all! When the man at the cupcake shop asked about my plans on Thursday..I literally checked over my shoulder to be sure NO ONE heard me say.."no plans for us!!" with just a BIT of excitement behind it! :-) Friday night, D took us to dinner and a movie :-) Sushi/Japanese and The Lucky One--I may be the ONLY person in the WORLD say it..BUT,I was actually disappointed? (minus Zac Efron!) Like I said,I may be alone..but I wish I saved my $20. QT with D was def.worth it though!

Saturday,the monkey and I had errands galore and D had to work..hair cut,walmart,grocery store,unpakc groceries,play outside,clean,move furniture--etc. We made yumm-o homemade pizzas and watched We Bought a Zoo-cutest movie ever!

Sunday was a wild day for us..Monkey actually slept in and I got to enjoy my cereal alone! I was putting up my cereal bowl and noticed Monkey's beloved Blue and Manny (yes,like Handy Manny) FLOATING in the top of their fish bowl! Dear God,I killed his fish!! I cleaned their bowl out the night before and apparently put them back in the water BEFORE they were supposed to..or something?! How was I going to replace them before Monkey got up from church!? I did not DARE attempt the..."Blue and Manny went to see Jesus" talk! I immediatly called and confessed my sins to his mawmaw (who bought Blue when Monkey and I first moved last YEAR)-and woke D up in a panic! (he thought someone robbed us! lol) I waited to wake up monkey until we were already rushing around so MaYbE he wouldn't ask to feed them--success! We went to church and headed to Walmart after service. D and Monkey went to "look at boy stuff" while I took care of busines..They had ONE dark blue betta left. Problem is,he had mangey looking fins,not beautiful LONG fins like Blue..surely Monkey would notice? Or would he..!? Betta--bought. Mangey fin and all. Now to replace Manny..funky orange fish..is a no go. Not a single orange fish in the store that looked even a LITTLE like Manny!? I was def. going to have to have the "Manny went to meet Jesus" talk....fail!! :-( We are probably one mile to our house when Monkey realizes he left "Baby Bubby" at Walmart....9 miles away!! Baby Bubby is his Scentsy Buddy that Aunt L gave him,and he drags it EVERYWHERE with him! He sat it down to play with the fish bait daddy bought! Poor D drove us home and BACK to Walmart for Baby Bubby...after a BIT of coaching! lol Baby Bubby came home safely,Blue2 has settled into his new bowl,Manny went to meet Jesus..and all is well with life! lol The boys even had some time to get a line wet..and Monkey enjoyed the "nice worms"





...and the list goes on..

I am so very sure that EVERYONE has at least had one of those "days" where EVERYTHING seems to be going on and nothing seems to be going YoUr way...right? Apparently,the last two weeks have been one of those "days" for me :-) Most days, I have been to take it with a grain of salt..and no tequila either because I dont drink (lol). But today,it has just been a touchy subject. So what's a girl to do? Vent to her two close friends who absolutely do not mind one bit in joining in with my foolishness =] THANK YOU Miss Hives and Miss Mo for joining in on what actually turned out funny?

My list of things that SUCK---

working 46-50 hours a week and not getting to do stuff you want too SUCKS
grown ups SUCK
the IRS SUCKS
bills SUCK
unexpected WRECKED CARS suck
paying someone $100 a week for a car to sit else where and MAY not be fixable SUCKS
heytell notifications turned OFF...SUCK
cupcakes/mani BFF two hours away SUCKS
dieting and no starbucks SUCKS
being stuck inside this office while beautiful sun is shining outside SUCKS
soggy bread SUCKS
saving $$ and NOT going out to lunch SUCKS

Miss Hives list of things that SUCK--

waiting on a house to be built SUCKS
mother in law disagreements SUCK
feeling unappreciated SUCKS
washing clothes and them not looking the same as they originally did on you SUCKS
my friend living in Central AR SUCKS
losing weight SUCKS
bad coffee is a CATASTROPHE
smearing nail polish right when you get in your car after you get your mani SUCKS
insurance claim rejections SUCK
westside cupcakes closing SUCKS
people hitting your car and driving away SUCKS
tattoo shop diagnosed with the flu SUCKS


Miss Mo's list of things that SUCK--

home work SUCKS
deployed husband SUCKS
yard work SUCKS
cleaning floors SUCKS
being lactose intolerant SUCKS

With all of THAT being said..after re-reading my list of things that suck..I looked/felt like a total whiney ass. Yes,I've had my share of things that I think "suck"..but there are SO many things to be grateful for and all of these things will pass..so-we made a LoVe list :-) We're not totally unappreciative!

My LOVES--

Tucker snuck in our bed last night at some point..he is the BEST snuggle bunny I know :-)
this sunshine!
break from clinic today!
planning showers for people I adore!
LOVE that I actually HAVE a job..tough times people!!
LOVE that I have paid for EVERYTHING I own!
LOVE that tmrw is FRIDAY!!
LOVE that tmrw is PAYDAY!!!!
LOVE that my BFF is coming to my house for the FIRST time,next weekend!
LOVEs that Miss Hives sent a heytell singing soft kitty!! LOL!

Miss Hives LOVES--

my feet being wrapped in a hot towel while in a massaging chair
LOVE that I'm getting MARRIED in August!
LOVE LH and Jess for throwing me a shower I will LOVE!
LOVE my new,awesome HOUSE!
LOVE that the office will be closed for a WEEK in MAY
LOVE funny pics & wedding ideas from LH

Miss Mo's LOVES--

LOVES pomegranate seeds
LOVES having the whole bed to myself!
LOVES water with lemon
LOVES little miracles
LOVES my new purse!
LOVES blogging!

Ok,we're done :-) Thanks Miss Hives and Miss Mo for indulging with me for a little while! Our collaboration of lists gave me the little giggle I needed to make it through the day! Life's too short for "SUCKS" list..but everyone has something that SUCKS at least on occasion! :-)  Enjoy the sunshine and the rest of the day! 

A week in review..and a little EASTER!

It has been a wild and crazy week here!! I started off last week with a clinic day which is ALWAYS full of the "unexpected" and plenty of great things to keep me on my toes. Tuesday-I had to be away from my boys (husband and child) for the first time EVER for work..for TWO DAYS!? I was an absolute mess knowing they would be without me for two days. How would they eat? Did daddy have the schedule down to a fine art like yours truly or was The Monkey going to be having brownies and sweet tea for breakfast? (Yes,those have happened before..) Were they going to have enough clean clothes for two days? Should I give him a GOOD bath now just to ensure he will be clean for at least while I'm gone? Could they do this? And would everyone survive TWO DAYS!? Including myself. After all,sitting in classes for two days and coming back to an empty hotel room with a king size bed to MYSELF and no one to look after would be VERY hard work ;-) and not to mention all the SHOPPING that could be done since class was over at noon (-:

Needless to say, I did fine without them and needed the tiny break and they seemed fine without me too. Everytime I called,daddy was very calm and told me of all the fun they had together..he's a champ =]

I got out of class early and actually made it back in town to pick up the Monkey from daycare! I just knew he would be SO excited to see me beacuse he knew daddy was supposed to come get him. On the way to daycare,daddy called literally 5 times while I was on another line..finally,I called him back only for him to inform me he has wrecked my once beautiful BMW!! And as you can imagine..the week went down hill from there..

Daddy was ok,but my car was not..MY daddy wasn't going to be so thrilled considering he was going to be the one to fix it :-/ Luckily,he didn't come through the phone to choke us out and was just glad everyone was ok. (thank God!)

Moving on..Thursday was the only NIGHT I got at my house this week and even that night was spent packing and prepping for the weekend..so,no fun there either! Friday night after work,we loaded up and headed home to Memphis bc it was Nonna's birthday!! Saturday,we enjoyed a picnic at the park, a small egg hunt for the grandkids,and played at the park for a while!! The kids and their nonna LOVED it! Happy Birthday Nonna!!

Saturday night,we loaded up and made the drive home. We arrived home about 1130 and had to unpack and get ready for church! Easter Sunday,we all went to church and enjoyed a lovely service! We were invited to a relatives house where we had yet another egg hunt and some awesome food!! And the Monkey RACKED UP at the egg hunt....

The Monkey's Easter outfit :-)

Family Pics from Easter!

 

In the end,we had a wonderful weekend! The weather was amazing and we got to spend some QT with half of the fam..and lets face it,nothing is better than that!! Cheers to a new week!! Hopefully no wrecked cars or anymore LARGE surprises!! :-) Happy Monday,guys!!

xoxo---LH

Out of my comfort zone for a day.

Ok,lets get this straight-I am by far,the most BORING person you will probably ever meet! If for one second,I feel like I may be endangering myself or could POSSIBLY not make it home to my child--there is NO way I am doing whatever the activity may be. (except driving to work because I LOVE making money!)  Lame,right??

This weekend,my husband and I FINALLY got time to ourselves..(once a month, The Monkey goes to his Nonna's house for the ENTIRE weekend-whoop whoop!!) Our awesome neighbors invited us to go "off roading" in their jeep at a "park" about an hour away from our house! Beautiful warm weather,sunshine,shorts..TAN,a jeep,no top or doors---absolutely!!

The four of us loaded up and off we went! I totally enjoyed the awesome ride to Hot Springs being able to really relax and not worrying about where we were going to have to stop and pee because the Monkey can NOT hold it, if we were going to be back by nap time,and if we had enough air going to be sure the Monkey didn't get too hot...just "BIG PEOPLE" time,with other BiG PeOpLe who spoke full sentences to ME and not their "Baby Bubby" scentsy buddy! :-) Yes,I am SOAKING this up!!

When we arrived at the park--our neighbors jumped out of the jeep and informed me that I had to come in to sign in my WAIVER??!?!?! Surprised? You can bet your sweet ass I was surprised?!  Why must I sign a waiver to enjoy a stroll in the woods? This was NO stroll in the woods apparently. I walked in to the office to sign my life away and they also sold helments and harnasses for our little joy ride. Great!

After talking myself into signing the waiver-we all headed towards the trails. Soon I realized, I may have bitten off my first peace of adventure and my mouth was NO WHERE NEAR BIG ENOUGH! We were literally CLIMBING up hills and steep slopes in a VEHICLE that someone DRIVES to work--this is NOT safe! lol (but if we tear it up,he was paying to fix it--not ME) ;o)

After a couple of trips up and down steep slopes, I started to calm down a bit..you probably couldn't tell from my awful LaNgUaGe of choice,but I was calmER..and truly enjoyed the whole thing! We were going down slopes so steep that the upper half of my body was leaned as far foward as the seat belt would allow and my butt scooted all the way to the back of the seat. The views were amazing! The weather---even MORE amazing! The company was pretty amazing as well! My husband was beyond thrilled I decided to step out of the comfort zone..however,I do believe I was tricked and THROWN out of my comfort zone! lol  But it was fun! And we will def. be going back!

Here is a view from the top of one of the EaSiEr trails! Beautiful!!