New Haircut Pics

Alright. So I told you all that I would share pics of my new haircut when either I got it fixed or I became used to it enough to like it. Still not fully "liking" it yet, but I have gotten to where I don't hate it either. I woke up for church this morning and was determined to make it look decent enough to not be ashamed of it. So I did. It looks better than it first did when it was cut. Of course, right after cutting it, I washed it. My hair doesn't fix very good when it is squeaky clean. So I slept on it last night, got up this morning, covered it while I took my shower, then sprayed it down with hairspray and had another tackle at it. This is what I came out of the bathroom looking like:

So Before:

And After:

What do you guys think? Honestly?!?!

Unexpected Visitor, Hair woes, and give-away winner!!!

It's been about over a week since my last post, and a lot has gone on.

First off, I got a phone call late Saturday morning. It was my uncle that I haven't seen since Sissy's baby shower. Yep. Three years ago. Now it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, I mean I have other aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in about 6 years or so. But my Uncle JR and I have always been close. He is the not only my mom's only brother, but my mom's only full blooded sibling. So yes, we have always been very close.

Anyways, he was coming to town to pick up a tractor and wanted to make a quick stop to see us. He was only about an hour away from the house so I had to light a fire under my you know what to get my house clean. If you know me at all, you know that I do not like my house to look like a 3yr old and a 1 yr old live here when company comes over...no matter who it is! I was so excited to see him, and so excited for him to meet both of my kids for the first time!!

(Uncle JR with Bubba and Sissy)

(Reminds me of the times he and I would just sit and talk or play)

This past week went by pretty fast, of course it seems to do so, now that the kids and I don't get to see Hubby more than 2 hours a day...literally! We didn't do much of anything all week. Pretty much stayed home, watched TV, and cleaned house...fun, I know.

Yesterday, Hubby's cousin, CS, arrived to stay until her mom came to pick her up. Her mom actually got here late last night. LW, Hubby's aunt, is a hair stylist, and I have been wanting a change with mine for the past week. So I decided that when she got here, I would have her do it for me. I'm still deciding if I like it, or if I need something else done to it. So far, I'm just not feeling it. I posted pictures of the before, but I am waiting until I can either make the new cut look good, or have it "fixed", which ever I decide I can live with it, before I post pics of the after.

(Profile Before...right out of a ponytail)

(Front View Before...again, right out of a ponytail, and with no make-up...eek)

And last but not least, the winner of the give-away!

(Drawing the name...)

(Excited about the name, apparently...)

STACY SMITH-FROST!!

(Yay for Stacy! Oh and no, I did NOT put a long sleeve flannel night shirt on my daughter when it is 90 degrees outside! She dressed herself. In fact, her bottoms are short thin pajama bottoms. Oh the joys of being a kid)

Sorry the give-away wasn't anything fancier. Next one, I promise will be better! Probably not down right awesome, but better!

Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up!

Hubby's cousin, CS, will be here sometime tomorrow afternoon to stay with us until her mom comes to pick her up either Saturday evening or Sunday. CS is currently staying with her father and they are bringing her here so she can see us and the kiddos before she heads back home. I do believe that Sissy misses her...alot.

Today, I am cleaning up a little bit to prepare for her arrival. Yes she is only 12, almost 13, but I would rather NO ONE come over and my house look like a 3 and 1 year old live there.

So what am I doing right now? Well, I am taking a break before I finish cleaning my kitchen, start roasting a chicken, peel potatoes, and well, finish cleaning. Bubba is sleeping so I can do all that. When he's awake, there is no way that I am able to clean the kitchen. He seems to like to clean on the dishwasher. He's such a boy!!

Sissy is supposed to be taking a nap, but as most 2-3 year olds, she is fighting it. She will end up conking out on her own in a little while...I hope. I'm ready for her to be able to help more with chores.

Growing up, when I would gripe about doing chores or waiting hand and foot on doing things for Dad, he would always tell me that's why they had kids. So the kids could do things that the parents didn't want to. Now, I know what he means. I am sooo ready for Sissy to be able to do laundry and the dishes. I can handle picking up and cooking but I HATE folding and putting up laundry. And dirty dishes just gross me out!

Anyways, I better get up of my bum and finish cleaning my kitchen so that I can start supper. Ughhh, the joys of adulthood.

Not Me, Monday

Not Me Monday, huh? Well lets just see what I did NOT do!

This past week I did NOT yell at Hubby because he put a diaper on Sissy after her being without one for a week, tell him he was going to make her regress, and then tell her that Daddy just didn't want to clean up a mess if she had an accident.

The very next day, I also did NOT decide, after cleaning up 3 accidents, that Sissy was indeed going to wear a diaper until bedtime (3 hours) only to then put panties back on her 10 minutes later.

Friday night, I did NOT get depressed because Hubby didn't get the job promotion we were hoping for, only to find out that the next promotion that will be open is more than likely his.

Saturday, I was NOT bored out of my mind and decide to go to WM to spend money that we did NOT have. I also was NOT able to see my uncle that I haven't seen in 3 years, who lives only 2 hours from me that day.

Sunday, I did NOT eat a hamburger, 2 hot dogs, 2 helpings of baked beans, 2 helpings of potato salad, a piece of birthday cake, AND a spoonful of homemade ice cream, all in one seating, at my nephews birthday...yeah, that was definitely NOT me!!

So, what have you guys NOT done this weekend??

I don't need to swap lives.

I was going to post this earlier but it would have been my 100th post, and I knew I was going to do a give-away for it. So instead, I did the give-away first, then this one now.

I have been thinking about the past 7 years lately, seeing as my 7 year anniversary is a month and a half away. I have been thinking about the good times and the not so good times. The times where I thought life/marriage couldn't get any better and the times that I thought life/marriage couldn't get any worse.

I will spare you guys, and my husband, the details, but lets just say that the differences are from one extreme to another. Thankfully, unlike I have experienced in a previous relationship, there are far more ups then downs. I love my husband with all my heart, despite our differences.

I like to watch Wife Swap. I used to watch it and wonder if I participated in that show, would my husband be like the rest of the husbands on there and learn to appreciate me more? Would it help our marriage to where there were even LESS arguments and disagreements? Would he actual miss me, and admit it?

Today as I watched it, I came to realize something...my life/marriage is normal. Every family has there ups, downs, arguments, disagreements, and quirks. Some more than others. I am blessed with two beautiful kids and a wonderful hardworking husband. He works his bottom off to provide for us and I love him very much for it.

He loves me just the way I am and respects my feelings, for the most part. He spends time with the kids and with me, even when he is exhausted from work and doesn't want to do anything but sit on the couch or sleep.

Yep, I have a wonderful guy and being on a show wouldn't prove anything, except that every family is different in their own way.

100th Post Give-away!!!!!

So I came up with some stuff for my 100th post...and this would be it!

So what is up for grabs?

A magnetic picture album, a baby book, and pink and blue metal picture frames. Even if you aren't expecting, I'm sure you know someone who is and the baby book, and even picture frames, would be a nice present....plus it's free! :)

So what can you do to win?

1 Entry) Post a comment on what you would do with the book and frames...I'm just curious you know!

2 Entries) Become a follower of My Life, My Story.

3 Entries) Post a link in a blog post of this give-away.

That's it. 3 simple entry options and up to 6 different entries! Drawing will be held a week from today, on Friday August 14th. That should give you all plenty of time to enter. Good Luck to you all!

Oh and I just had to share this cute picture of my little man. I do believe he has been watching his big sister a little too much. :)

Lots of Randomness

I have been SO busy that I haven't wrote a post in a week!

Okay, well maybe not "busy". More like lazy and putting it off. I plan on doing a 100th post give-away, and this is the 99th post. I have yet to come up with or buy anything to give-away so I have been putting it off. Anyways, I will get on that. I promise. Really. Okay, well, I'll try.

As I am sitting here writing this, I am watching The View. They have Meryl Streep and Amy Adams from the movie Julie and Julia on today. I really want to see that movie. I first watched the movie The Devil Wears Prada because I like Anne Hathaway. I fell in love with Meryl Streep and her newer movies from that movie. I LOVED her in Mamma Mia and I think Julie and Julia will be another hit for her. But, like most movies, I have to wait until it comes out on DVD to watch it. Hubby does not go to a movie if he is not interested in it at all...not even for me. And sadly, I have no GFs to go with me. But that's another sob story.

Sissy has been doing pretty good with her potty training. No diapers for her since last Wednesday! Yay! Of course, like most (so I have been told) kids that are going thru potty training, we have had a few accidents. The kind where they are in the bathroom, right by the toilet. I mean come on kid..cross those legs for two more seconds. Tuesday, she had 3, yes 3, of those type of accidents. Needless to say, I was a little perturbed! (If you are one of my FB friends, you are probably well aware of how frustrated I was...sorry!)

Wednesday, she did better. Yesterday, Thursday, she had a couple of accidents, but for the most part, did pretty good. The one thing that I was proud of her about was she went #2 in the potty. She has went before in the potty, but for the past few days she has been a little constipated. So when she finally went, she WENT. So much so that it scared her. When it hit the water, she screamed and started crying that she wanted down. I kept telling her that it was okay, that that's what is supposed to happen. I told her that she did good and I was very proud of her. Didn't help. She still cried and screamed. She did finally calm down, but for the rest of the day she kept telling me and Hubby that, "Monser get me. Poo-poo get me. I scared." Yeah, I know it's TMI, but it was too funny.

On another note, the kids and I went to lunch with my friend, AH, Wednesday. She called me out of the blue that morning and asked if we wanted to go to lunch with her. Of course, I said yes. Her and I rarely talk anymore and she is planning on moving her pretty soon, so we will see even less of each other. We had a good time at PP's and it was nice to catch up with each other.

Last thing, I ask for your prayers. Hubby has interviewed for a job promotion and we haven't heard anything on it yet. I ask that you pray for God's will be done in all of this. And that if it is not His will for Hubby to get the job that we have peace of mind and understanding. It would be an awesome opportunity for him and for our family, and we wouldn't have to move out of town..we would even be able to buy a house! So anyways, please send lots of prayers our way...thanks!

Is she really??

Today Hubby, the kids, and I went to FS today with one of Hubby's b/f's, MM. Our good friend, and my second cousin's husband, CG, was up there after having chest pains while at work yesterday (Praise God that everything turned out okay and that he got to come home this evening!) so we went to see him.

We spent about 2 hours there, while the guys talked about movies and food, CG was whining talking about wanting real food. Bubba had been up since about 9am, and had missed his morning nap, so he was cranky. Which if you have kids or you are around kids at all, you know that when they are cranky, so is everyone around them! We would have probably stayed longer if it wasn't for that.

We left there and went to eat at Chilis. I love me some Chilis!!! When Hubby and I lived in LR we ate there all the time. We used to eat the Cajun Ribeye, but they were having the $20 special (1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert for $20) so we had that. It was pretty good, but not as good as the ribeye....

After we ate, we did a little bit of shopping. And by little bit, I mean Books a Million, Target, and Old Navy. That's it. Yep, three whole stores. In one shopping center. That's about all we could handle with 2 tired, cranky, screaming kids. I was ready to pull my hair out. The only thing we I bought was 3 shirts, one for me and one for both kids.

Thankfully, they both conked out on the way home! Nice and quiet.

When we decided last night to make the trip, we had talked about putting a diaper on Sissy since we don't really consider her fully potty trained...oh ye of little faith. I told Hubby that she was going to fight us tooth and nail to wear her "big girl panties" and that it wasn't going to happen. That I would pack a bag with towels, extra clothes and panties just in case of an accident. WE DIDN'T NEED THEM!!!!

Yep, Sissy hasn't worn a diaper since Wednesday morning!! YAY for us!!! Is that long enough to call her potty trained?? We are going to see how tomorrow at church and lunch goes...if no accidents then, we are going to call her trained....

My MIL's visit

Last Friday, July 17th, Hubby's mom and step-dad made it in from Florida. We weren't expecting them until either late Saturday night or Sunday night. I had been trying to call her all Friday to see exactly what day they were going to be here, but could never get an answer at the house. Around 745pm on Friday, I decided to just call Hubby's grandparents to see if they knew when they would be in town. To my surprise, my MIL was the one that answered the phone! My S-FIL was able to start his vacation time early, he's a truck driver, and they left Florida at 6am Friday morning. Apparently everyone else knew, but us. Surprise!

(Sissy was not thrilled about moving from the chair she was sitting at to take the picture. She expected everyone to come pose around her!)

Hubby and I always stay the whole week with them (at Hubby's grandparent's house, in the boonies) every year. Last year, we had planned on it, but Bubba was not even a week old when they came in (he was born on a Tuesday, they got in Saturday) and it was not an easy task. So we drove back home, a 20 minute drive, every night for bed, then back out there the next morning. This year, we stayed the whole week. I think I may have wrote before about how Bubba's bed was recalled and instead of spending money on another crib when we were just going to buy a toddler bed sometime soon, he has been sleeping in his playpen. Which he loves, BTW! Anyways, we were able to just load that up and let him sleep in it. Sissy and I slept on the pull out couch with an air mattress on top of it the first few nights. It wasn't very comfortable, so after the first night, Hubby slept on the other couch. After the next couple of restless nights, Sissy and I just left the bed in and slept on the sectional couch.

(Yes, it may look comfortable, but it wasn't. It was an air mattress...when one person moved, so did everyone else!)

We didn't have any internet, worth dealing with, out there, but I did take my laptop to play games on and upload pictures on. I wasn't able to do much on it though as my games are pretty simple and "old".

(Bubba, trying to help me play, stopped to smile for Daddy with the camera.)

Hubby's grandparents take care of their youngest grandchildren quite a bit. Their son, Grandma A's only child, who was born just a few years before Hubby was, and his two youngest girls live just right down the road from Grandma and Grandpa As' house. Grandma and Grandpa take care of the girls quite a bit so they were there basically all week.

(Grandma A with the two youngest grandgirls and one of her great-grandgirls.)

Sissy and Hubby's little cousin, J, became good friends. Sissy followed her everywhere. It wasn't even to the point that Sissy didn't want to me, or anyone else for that matter, take her to the potty. It had to be J. And J was sweet enough to take her, and wipe her!

(Sissy and J making funny faces)

My MIL and S-FIL's last night there was when we took the most pictures. Sissy wanted to take one with me.


Then Bubba wanted to as well.

My in-laws brought there 'babies' with them, two bigger dogs and two 6 week old puppies. The kids LOVED them. The momma dog's name is Buggy, big brother is Little Man, and the baby brothers are LuLu and Smoky Jo. LuLu was Sissy's favorite. She chased and carried that puppy around everywhere. In fact, since we have been home, she has been crying for LuLu. Our first purchase when we finally buy a house will be a puppy! Bubba also liked the puppies.

(The dogs were laying on a foam pad. Bubba got down there, under the chair, and was laying on the pad with them.)

We had a wonderful time visiting with family all week. Though Hubby spent more time outside working than anything. He says that 'this' week of vacation he always works more than when he is actually at work. Grandpa always has a list of things that needs to get done that week. There is always a BIG project that needs done. Last year it was a lean-to for his 4-wheeler. This year it was shed for his camper trailer. No pictures of the shed though, Hubby and his brother have to go back out there one weekend and finish it.

Maybe next year will be a more relaxing one for him...doubt it!

On her way to a being a big girl!

We have been working with Sissy on potty training this past week. When I packed for our visit with my MIL last Saturday, I packed Sissy some panties and told Hubby that she was indeed going to wear them most of the time out there. I knew that she would be outside most of the time playing and what better place to have an accident if she had one.

The only time we put a diaper on her was during naps, at bedtime, and if we had to make a trip to town, which was about 30 minutes away from where we were staying (Hubby's grandparent's house).

She did pretty good. Most days she keeped the same panties on all day, one day she even went thru her nap with her panties on. Towards the end of the week, Thursday, she seemed to have more accidents. She had a "#2" accident first, then a pee-pee accident later that day. With the pee-pee one, she was outside and tried but couldn't quite make it inside to the bathroom. She made it to the door, where she lost it, then just took her panties off at the door, and took off back out into the yard to play...yep, in the buff!

She also had a couple of accidents on Friday, I think that she knew that Grandma R and Grandpa D where leaving the next day, and it just affected her. It was not a pretty "potty training" day.

Saturday, since we were coming home and then had to go grocery shopping, we put a diaper on her. Sunday, we had church in the morning, then to my parent's house for my niece's birthday party, then home for naps. We kept a diaper on her all day then too.

Today, Hubby had to go back to work, and I have commited to keep working with Sissy on her potty training. She woke up, went potty, and it's been panties every since about 930 this morning. So far, so good. What's even better is that she has told me twice that she had to go potty. Yay for us!!!

(Yes she was throwing a fit, but she's in panties!!)