Dumb. Drunk. Bitch.

On Christmas night at about 11 pm a DRUNK driver hit our truck, which was parked on our property parallel to our fence. The force from the impact sent both the driver's truck and our truck through our fence, and completely spun our truck around. Our kids bedrooms face the street! Should our truck not have been parked by the street that night and absorbed the impact, the drunk driver would have likely hit our house. The thought of that happening is way too much for this Mama to think about. This was an UNDERAGE driver on her way home after having WAY too much to drink. Although the situation we are facing, with our vehicle being ruined and our property damage, is an awful one...things could have been much worse. THANK GOD she didn't hit and kill another driver, THANK GOD nobody was outside when this happened, THANK GOD my family is safe. Drinking and driving is stupid. Lives are forever changed in the blink of an eye. We RARELY park our vehicles out near the street. The truck was parked there because we had a house full of people on Christmas and wanted the driveway to be open for our family to park. This 20 year old girl has no idea how much damage and trouble she has caused us. I can only hope she has learned her lesson and will never make such a SELFISH and STUPID decision again.

The morning after...

The force of the impact was so great that the hood emblem from her truck Landed about 30' away!


Our beautiful fence just 6 weeks ago...The way the truck is parked in this picture is exactly how it was parked at the time of the accident.
I'll be back later, for a more cheerful Christmas day post...

Christmas Day Pics FINALLY!

So yes, it has indeed taken me a full week to upload my pictures from Christmas! We have been dealing with the aftermath of our truck being at the repair/body shop. Can I just say publicly on MY blog that I HATE rental car companies. Having a rental car sucks. The shop estimated that the truck would be fixed in about a week. I will be glad to put this whole mess behind us.

Without further ado and because my damn family won't stop asking me why I haven't posted the Christmas day pictures here's how we spent our Christmas...

My handsome boy on Christmas Eve. Can't believe how big he is getting. Mama sure loves her little man~

Sweet Brynne opening her very first baby doll on Christmas morning. She LOVES it and is so sweet always giving her baby kisses and hugs. I LOVE this girl with all my heart!~

So excited over a $4 ball, lol~

Probably my favorite picture of the entire day. I love how Landon was more concerned with what Brynne had in her stocking, than what was in his own stocking, lol~

Baby's first Christmas!!~

Daddy helping Brynne open her presents~

It seems one of the 4 of us is alllwaaaays looking away! Look at Brynne's big toothy grin though~

My sweet girl on her first Christmas~

My handsome boy Christmas Day~

My brother Matthew and sister-in-law Tasha~

Dad and Mom~

Sissy and Nathan~

Travis and I~

Daddy and Brynne opening presents still...

My beautiful sister and I~

Sportin' my new hat and gloves from my 90 year old Grandparents, lol~

Brynne ridin' around on her new toy from her Grandma and Grandpa~

Auntie Amy and Landon ridin' around on Brynne's new toy, lol~

Me, my dad, my sister.

LOVE them~

Mama and Landon, so excited about his new ball~

Amy, Matthew..our brother, and I.

He's seriously like a foot taller than we are, lol~

On being lazy, too much snow, and random updates...

I can't believe I have not blogged in almost a full week! Things have been so busy around here lately and finding time to do 'relaxing' things, like blog, is nearly impossible. Finally, over the last 2 days the snow has begun to melt. I am so thankful for that and am really sick of being cooped up in the house with our 2 kids. I am not a mom that spends every day at home, each week. We are usually on the go, and this week has really taken a toll on me, and the kids. Especially Landon who loves to play outside, but doesn't love to play outside in the snow, lol. We own one 4 wheel drive vehicle and Travis has needed to use it every day to get to work. That leaves me here, with my van...stuck! I tried to get out yesterday and couldn't even get out of the driveway! The weather is supposed to bring more snow tonight and tomorrow night, I can only hope that the snow will stay in the higher elevations and miss us completely.

I am officially one of those moms who waited until the LAST minute to complete my Christmas shopping. Never before have I done this, in fact I am usually done with all Holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Not this year! The struggling economy has hit our family hard since Travis works in construction, and that combined with the recent weather, and of course working and raising 2 kids left me no time. So I went out yesterday and finished up our shopping. It was awful, the stores were crowded, people were grouchy and pushy, and the lines were endless. I am thrilled to be done and can't wait to finish wrapping everything. Never again will I be a last minute mom!

With Landon being 2, I had forgotten how sweet it is to have a 'baby' around the house. Lately Brynne has done so much to remind me that we were so blessed to be able to have a 2nd baby, and a girl at that! Wherever I am in the house throughout the day, she follows. Babbling her baby talk and always carrying some treasure in each of her hands. She is such a happy girl lately, and can't get enough hugs and kisses. She is sweet, funny, curious, and determined all rolled into one. She is so in love with her brother and learns so much from him each day. Our baby girl will be one in less than a month, so until then I am treasuring her innocence and the fact that she hasn't yet learned to talk back! Landon continues to change by leaps and bounds and is rapidly becoming a little boy! He is using full sentences to communicate with us now and loves to go everywhere daddy goes. He is so sweet to his sister and cares for her so deeply. He is still always hugging on her and he has learned to mimic me, often asking Brynne if she is hungry, or ok. I can only hope their bond strengthens as they grow. He is a strong headed little boy and doesn't like to be told no. He wants to do everything at his own pace (including using the potty...which some days takes an hour!) with as little help from Daddy and I as possible. He has such a big heart though and makes us laugh endlessly.

We are hosting Christmas at our home this year, for the first time. I am so excited for all of our family to be here at our place, and can't wait for Landon and Brynne to get to play with their 2 cousins. I know we will have such a great day filled with both family and friends. I hope all of my sweet blogger friends have a wonderful, warm Holiday with your loved ones.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Seeing White!

Our backyard, 2 1/2 feet of COLD snow! And it's taking its sweet ass time melting too!

Landon by the snow, Thursday morning

Out front...believe it or not that is my van, burried! See the side mirror on the left?

This was Wednesday morning..it snowed allllll day!

I'll post more pics later, for now I am headed out to shovel off the driveway, ugh!

Wordless Wednesday!

Poor Boy

My boy is sick. Ok, so it's no Man Cold but he's definitely miserable. He woke up whiny and clingy, and in a bad mood. He slept a little later than usual which is always a bad sign with Landon. 30 minutes after he woke up the vomiting started. Poor boy, over and over. He has no energy, a fever, and an obvious tummy ache. A sick toddler is no fun people! It's hard to keep him in one spot, and because he won't lay on the couch I have already cleaned up numerous surfaces. NOT FUN! Especially since Brynne does nothing but follow Landon around all day every day. Her partner in crime is down, and she is confused! She keeps bringing Landon different toys, and standing right next to him wherever he is laying. Landon came to me about a half hour ago and said he wanted to go Ni-Night. He actually went into his room and laid in his bed all on his own. That is a surefire way to know that he is really sick. I followed him in to tuck him in and shut the door. Brynne stood outside of his door for 5 minutes banging on it and whining for her brother. SO cute. I finally carried her back into the living room, and it was really nice to have some quiet alone time playing with just Brynne. She is growing up so fast. Both kids are napping now. Hopefully Landon will wake in a few hours and feel a lot better.

We still have about 5 inches of snow. The sun is out today and the warmth is rapidly melting the snow. It was so beautiful yesterday, I just wanted to be out taking pictures. It's hard to be stuck in the house with the kids. Especially Landon who lives to play outside. Yesterday he went into the backyard to show me the snowman he and Daddy made while I was at work. Brynne also snuck out behind us and ran right into the snow. I guess she saw it and wanted it, so she went for it! Once she got there, and felt it, she immediately changed her mind, lol. I took a couple of pictures I will get them posted later today. Hopefully the snow will melt quickly and the teperature will warm up a bit before the weekend. As for me, I am going to take advantage of my quiet house and do some laundry and then take a shower. Exciting aren't I?

*EDITED TO ADD*
Well, before I could make it to the shower Landon was up and sick again. I laid him on the couch with his favorite episode of the Wiggles on TV and snuck off to the shower. As soon as I got out of the shower (barely 10 minutes later) he was calling me from the couch. I ran to the living room and he was throwing up again. Yes ladies and gentleman, I just held my toddlers head over a bucket while he puked, AND, I was completely naked! Nice right? I knew I should have bought curtains, damn!

First Snow of the Season!

12-15-2008

Happy 60th Birthday Mom...AND Dad!!

On Saturday Dec. 13th my sister, my Aunt and I planned a surprise 60th (sorry to type that number mom, lol) birthday party for both my parents. They share birthdays only 1 week apart! It was a huge success and they had NO idea. I talk to my mom numerous times a day and it was VERY hard to keep this quiet, and I am SO happy it worked out.

Getting ready to open their gifts~

(ignore their sweats, it was a surprise party and they weren't expecting company!)

Digging for their surprise~

Orchestra Tickets to see Phantom of the Opera in LA in February!!!~

Katherine, my niece, and Landon~

Joshua, my nephew, and Landon~

Sweet Brynne~

Me, my sis-in-law Tasha, and Amy~

Imagine us trying to get a picture of all the cousins together! Landon is 2, Joshua is 3, Katherine is 5 and Brynne is 11 months. Brynne was NOT going to take a picture that day. This was the best we got, but still cute!~

Too much fun for this little girl. She was asleep before we were out of my parent's neighborhood...

Landon too! It was a quiet ride home that day!

I love you Mom and Pop and hope that Travis and I will have a long happy marriage like you both have. Happy birthday to you, you mean more to us than you will ever know!

LOVE YOU!!

I've Been Tagged

8 Things About Me

8 TV Shows I Watch
The 8 TV Shows I don't watch list would be much easier! I'm just saying...
1. Gossip Girl (don't judge me, I LOVE it!)
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. The Biggest Loser (however, if that bitchVicky wins this season I swear I will never watch again!)
4. Without a Trace
5. TMZ (What?)
6. The Amazing Race
7. Survivor
8. John and Kate plus Eight

8 Favorite Restaurants
1.Roadhouse
2.The Olive Garden
3.CA Pizza Kitchen
4.Claim Jumper
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?

8 Things That Happened Today
1. Successfully helped throw a surprise joint 60th birthday party for my parents!
2. Woke up to a flooded kitchen thanks to my 2 year old who ever so kindly adjusted the temperature on both our refrigerator and freezer to the warmest level possible. All the ice in the ice maker melted, all of the food was spoiled, I cried, it sucked!
3. Mailed out the last of our Christmas cards! Yay Me!
4. "Taught" Landon how to sing Happy Birthday.
5. Got the yard/wood pile ready in case it snows tonight! (it's supposed to)
6. Realized that I officially HATE the binky, and cannot wait until Jan. 1st when Travis and I decided that Landon is DONE with it!
7. Left my car keys in the car accidentally while I went to the grocery store this morning.
8. Missed my husband, who has been out of town working since 6 this morning (it's 11:15pm now, he is still gone!)

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. Brynne's 1st birthday party next month
2. Grocery shopping tomorrow (I know, I am weird...)
3. Hosting Christmas at our home this year
4. Taking Landon and Brynne to see Santa this next week
5. Spending the day as a family tomorrow
6. Getting my hair done Monday
7. Going to sleep tonight
8. Upcoming parties

8 Things I Wish For
1. Healthy and happy children
2. A clean and organized closet
3. To be a wonderful wife
4. To be the best mom I can to my kids
5. To keep my job (which I LOVE) in this unstable time
6. More hours in the day
7. A decent night of sleep in the near future
8. Patience and kindness in dealing with the terrible two's!

8 People I Tag
I think you all should do this, it was fun!

Party Pictures

Some friends of my sister and her husband have a daughter who turned one last weekend. The 3 of us took Landon and Brynne to the birthday party. It was the first time I have taken Landon and Brynne at a birthday party together. It was neat to see Landon around other kids, although he is mostly a shy boy!

My kids are so lucky to always be surrounded by people that love them. Especially Auntie Amy and Uncle Nate. They always make sure to involve me and the kids in everything fun that they do. I love this picture so much, and look at Brynne, she is SO happy here! So funny. Landon used to point his finger like that in every picture and say cheese.

I think I must have been laughing here, I think Brynne looks cute though~



First time! Amy and I laughed hard at Brynne while she was in the bounce house. She could hardly stand up and take even one step before she fell right back down.

Landon getting his share of the candy from the pinata. I had to practically shove him out to get the candy, but once he saw the candy he knew just what to do~

Brynne was worn out, luckily Uncle Nate held her as she slept and kept her warm and cozy~

Landon's turn~

Wordless Wednesday!