I used random.org to draw a winner for my Bella Bling giveaway, and the winner is.......

Stephanie Wesley! Congratulations, Stephanie! Leave me a comment to know which item you would like from my shop!

To everyone else who entered, THANKS!!! I really appreciate your support! If you would like anything from my shop, too, I'll give you 25% off of your entire order!

*Nat*

Bella Bling Giveaway!

How would you like to win one of the headbands or hair clips from my Bella Bling shop? Even if you don't have little girls, if you have a niece or a grand-daughter or even just a friend with a daughter this is for you, too! All you have to do is "steal" one of the buttons for my etsy shop, which are located on the left of this page under my pictures of the kids. You copy the code for the one you like best and go to your blog and click on "layout". Then you "add a gadget" and then click on "HTML/Java Script." When you do, it will open a little window. In the content box, you'll just paste the code into the box and hit "save". THAT'S IT!!! Then, leave a comment on my blog (on this post). On Saturday, I'll use the people who have put up a button and use random.org to pick a winner! I'll post a comment on your blog to let you know that you won and then we'll work out the details of what you would like from there!

Where's The Love, Yo?

I am just about in tears. Seriously. I just need to vent a little. You all already know I've decided to home school Whitney. I don't have anything against public school and I don't think that parents who send their kids to public school are evil. I think public school is great! I know the kids have a lot of fun, I know the teachers are wonderful and the kids absolutely adore them. I know they have fun playing out on the playground for recess and playing with their friends. I know there are tons of fantastic things about public school. I absolutely loved my elementary school! But I want to home school, and that's what Whitney said she wanted, too. I asked her over and over if she was serious that she wanted to home school, because if she wanted to go to public school she could. In fact, on our first day of it, we had a really hard time with her penmanship and she was frustrated and put her pencil down and refused to try again. I was frustrated and I just gave up and said, "I just can't do this, Whitney. I think we'll need to send you to public school." And Whitney seriously started to cry and she threw her arms around me and told me that she didn't want to. She wanted to home school and me to be her teacher. And then I realized that this was for real, that this is what SHE wanted and it wasn't so much about my decision at all. So, that is why we are home schooling. I prayed about it and I felt peaceful about it. The part that I'm having the hardest time with is the lack of support. The strange looks from people who ask when her first day of kindergarten starts and I tell them we're home schooling and we've already started. I can't believe how many people, even my friends, who have flat out told me I'm crazy. That Whitney is going to be socially backwards. (Okay, do they even KNOW Whitney? She has NO problem there!) They've told me that I don't have the qualifications to be a teacher. That there is NO way home schooled children can be as smart as other school children. (Again, Whitney has been reading since she was three. She can do addition and subtraction. Obviously I must be doing something right) On and on and on...and it seriously cuts me to the soul! I have spent hours and hours researching different curriculum to see what will be best. I have put HUNDREDS of dollars into supplies and books. I have given up my personal alone and free time that I would have while the kids are at school. I have the responsibility of now being a mom, a wife, a cook, a maid AND a teacher. Shouldn't I get some credit for SOMETHING!?! I'm not some government hating hippie who is convinced that public school is going to slowly turn my child into a Nazi-like spawn. I'm not trying to shelter my child from the world and holding her hostage in my house so she doesn't get corrupted. I just love my Whitney. I WANT to spend the time with her. I WANT to be with her and teach her. I don't want summer to come and to think, "Oh my gosh, I can't wait until school starts again so the kids are out of my hair." I know it's hard work. I know it takes a lot of time. I've thought it over and over and over and prayed about it again and again. I didn't jump into this with my eyes closed and I wish people would just understand that. So, hopefully, through our home schooling experience I can show the rest of the world that home school CAN be a good thing. That kids CAN turn out normal. That we ARE NOT FREAKS. Okay, I need to go finish crying now. Thanks for letting me vent. :)

Happy Birthday Aaron!!!

My Little Man turned three. I can't believe it! Time has flown so fast, and somehow I feel like I've missed so much because I can't remember every single moment. I remember finding out we were expecting with him and how happy we were. I remember being in the hospital at 36 weeks with a double kidney infection and wishing I could just have him while I was there and get it over with. I remember finally going into labor with him 6 weeks later when he was 2 weeks late. I remember the sound of his first cry and holding him for the first time.


I remember wishing that I would have taken him into Grandpa Wally's hospital room so he could have seen him when we were waiting in the waiting room. I remember him being my comfort when Grandpa Wally died a week later, and how good it felt to just hold him close and cry. I remember having to pull over every 2 hours to feed him on that long drive from Colorado to Texas and thinking the trip would never end. I remember how hyper he would get when he was a chunky monkey baby and he'd flail his arms like he was going to fly away and the sound of his squeaky giggle. I remember him taking his first steps at Grandma and Grandpa Brimhall's house.




And suddenly...



he's 3 years old!!! Oh how I love my Aaron. He is a tenderhearted boy who will cry at the drop of a hat. He was sent to teach me patience, and I'm learning. He loves to snuggle. He loves all things BOY, and loves to play with Whitney. He loves peanut butter and honey bear sandwiches and yogurt. He's my little man and my big helper, and I am so happy and blessed to have him in my life. Happy Birthday, my Aaron! I love you!!!

Bella Bling

I started making headbands and clips for the girls a while ago and I have been getting so many great compliments about them and people asking me to make some for them. So, I finally gave in and started an etsy store! It's called MyBellaBling.etsy.com and I'm really excited about it! It's something I love to make, so it's the perfect fit for me! I'm selling them for $6.50 each which, turns out is a great deal. After checking out some of the other sites I realized I could be charging a lot more for them, but eh, what the hay. Who wants to spend $20 on a headband, right? These are just a few of the headbands I'm selling. I have about 35 that I'm listing so far. So, if you have daughters or baby girls or friends with little girls, check out my site!

FREEEEEEEDOM!!!

Yaaaaay! After 2 years of being stuck home with the kids while Michael is at work, we finally have 2 cars again. This time, let's hope Mike doesn't wreck this one, too. (sigh) My WONDERFUL in-laws sold us their 2005 Ford Freestyle Limited, and it's sooooo nice! I'm really excited! I'd be even more excited if I knew that I got to drive it, but I don't think that will ever happen. It has been dubbed Mike's "Man Car", so that means, "hands off, Wife, forget it!". I'm trying to not be bitter...it's not working very well. :)

Here are some pictures-I stole some pictures off of the internet so you can at least see which kind of car it is. Sorry, I mean, crossover. ;)
This is the Freestyle.


Here's what it looks like inside....only ours isn't all brand spanking new....


Here's what it's like inside. Pretty roomy!

So, that's the newest addition! It's soooo nice to not feel stranded anymore. :)

Finally, an update!

Hi! Okay, I know it's been 2 months since my last post. Sorry! I'm sure you've all given up on me! For anyone who for some reason hasn't given up on me...this is for you! :) Update. Deep breath...here we go.

Kate. Kate has more than doubled her birth weight and is now 2 1/2 months old! Aaah! I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. I survived the zombie stage and am happy to say she now sleeps from about 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. straight! She was colicky for about three weeks and would cry from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and boy was it rough! She's caught up to the rest of the babies and is sure filling out nicely as you can see from her picture below. She's starting to smile and coo and there is nothing more rewarding than your baby smiling at you because she's excited to see you! Her legs start kicking and her arms start flailing and she smiles...oh I love it!!! So, things in the land of Kate are going very well. :)


Mr. Aaron is doing well, too. He had a rough month or so after Kate was born. I had to completely re-potty train him and he got really distant and wouldn't really have much to do with me. He's back to his good old self now and I am soooo relieved! I think the hardest part for me was not being able to rock him and sing him to sleep every day for his nap. That was one of my favorite parts of the day and I really miss that. But he's doing great and has been having a lot of fun playing with Whitney. He loves Kate very much and is usually by my side when it's time to burp her asking, "Mommy, can I pat Tate?" (Yes...he calls her Tate.) I love my little man!


Whitney has been a champ through everything. She is just such a good natured girl, I am really really blessed to have her in my life and I honestly don't know what I would do without her! She's my big helper. Every day for the past month or so she has been begging me to start school with her. I finally gave in and to tie her over until September I've started doing some penmanship lessons with her to work on her handwriting and a thinking skills book. Whitney did an online placement test so I could know where to start her in each subject. She is at the 3rd grade reading level, 1st grade math, and 2nd grade Language Arts. By law we are only required to do Math, Language Arts, and a course in Good Citizenship. But I am also doing some History, Geography, Social Studies and Science with her once a week. It's going to be a lot of work, but it will also be a lot of fun and she is soooooo excited about it!

Well, Kate is up from her nap and calling for me. I'll try to do more of an update soon about my family coming out and all that good stuff!!!