better days :)

So, we have had a better day today. Layne was a stinker and wouldn't take naps for me, but that is okay. He is dead asleep now though. Has been since about 8:30. :) This means no middle of the night stirrings...YAY!!

Went to story time at the library. They sing a song at the beginning and go through each of the children's names there...

Layne over the water
Layne over the sea
Layne catch a blackbird
You can't catch me!

For the first time, the little man noticed people saying his name. He didn't quite get it and kept looking from grown up to grown up trying to figure out why they were saying his name. It was mighty cute! Jack even perked a bit when he heard him name.

Here is a picture of Layne on his 1/2 birthday
And Bayleigh decided to dress Layne in her baby dress last night. I was off doing chores, so Daddy was in charge. Needless to say, alot can happen when Daddy is in charge. Including this
And look at this one - the perfect face for being dressed up in his sissy's dress :)
Can't leave off with that one, so here are some baby grins
Tomorrow Layne goes for his 6 month check-up. I am curious to see how much he weighs. And then tomorrow evening is Bayleigh's open house. I am going to be ready for a weekend - for sure!

Here's another page I completed with the June Studio Calico kit - yummy Basic Grey goodies.You must check out their new kit!! Soooo good...and the hints for next month are sounding great as well. :) They never disappoint.

Until next time...

XO

oy!

So, this is how it goes...

Clean up poop out of high chair - CHECK
Change my poopy clothes - CHECK
Pick up screaming baby - CHECK
Watch Layne spit up everywhere - CHECK
Change my spit up clothes - CHECK
Wipe spit up off of every crack and crevice - CHECK
Put Layne down and pick up screaming Jack - CHECK
Smell poopy diaper - CHECK
Change Jack's poopy diaper - CHECK
Change Layne's spit up clothes - CHECK
and
on
and
on

All by 9:00 am. Nuff said!

Things have been out of whack here in the Wildes household. I was sick for over a week with sinus crud. Then, Layne got it. Of course! I mean, there is only so much I can do when I am still nursing.

Friday afternoon was spent in the emergency room because Layne woke up from his nap with a 103 degree fever. Turns out to be a middle ear infection. The 24-year-old doctor informed me that sometimes their fever will spike when covered up during a nap....thanks doc, appreciate it. *rolls eyes* I don't think a 103 spike would be the norm...but whatev. What do I know?? I am no 24-year-old single doctor.

The meds have done a number on Layne. Lots of spit up and poopy diapers. Oh and screaming. Let me not forget the screaming.

*sigh*

Now maybe you can see why I have been mia. :) But, I have hopes that things are turning around for us. Well, I am clinging to those hopes...

Layne is now 6 months old. Gotta share some pictures of him in all his cuteness. Took these about 2 weeks ago.

And as promised pictures of Bayleigh on her first day of 2nd grade. Her cute little outfit was sent to her by her Nana. She thinks her Nana hangs the moon. And picks out the coolest clothes evah!
Trying to think of what else I need to share. Probably a layout. I will add one today and add more soon. Don't want a picture overload. haha

Here is a page using the fun new Making Memories Passport line. Got this stash in my Scarlet Lime kit in June. Also some found in the July Studio Calico kit.
Here is a closeup of the lower right corner. Love me some canvas brads. :)Closeup of the title and the luggage tag with another favorite on top of it - canvas flowers:
Closeup of the upper right with bling on the sticker tag and the fun ribbon that is a part of that fun new MM line:Alright, I better end it here.

Until next time.... (which will hopefully be less than 3 weeks from now - haha)

XO

menu "Monday"

So, it totally slipped my mind that yesterday was Monday since we all were off. Staying home will do that to a person! :)

Here's my menu for this week:

Sunday: Herbed chicken casserole, rice, lima beans
Monday: Husband night - hamburgers, crab soup
Tuesday: Honey glazed chicken stir fry, rice
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Ricotta pasta with Italian sausage and tomatoes al Forno
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Manly quiche, asparagus

Weekly bill: $148.98 (includes lots of drinks and vitamins for Bay)

Be back later to update with new pictures!

XO

back to school

Bayleigh went back to school on Monday. She has a great teacher and I am sure that we will have a great year! :) Now, we just have to get into a routine for school. Nice challenge for a mama minus her hubby, heh?? Needless to say, I am doing the best I can.

Today was a rough one...but, we made it through. Now all the kiddos are in bed and I am sitting here watching the Olympics. I really should get up and scrapbook...but, I am so comfy right now. :) Maybe in about 15 minutes, I will get up and do the dishes, load some laundry, and then go scrap. I would like to be tucked into bed to watch the women's beach volleyball semifinals...so that is the plan!

Look at this little man:
He's getting so big!! I miss his snugglies. He just wants to be up and at 'em - nosy little booger. We got a double stroller to take the boys out and about in. And he sits up there like the head honcho looking out over his servants. haha Too funny!! I will have to take a picture tomorrow for ya'll to see.

Also tomorrow I will post some pictures of Bayleigh's first day of school. She was so cute and such a little diva for sure. :)

Andy is off gallivanting - eating a nice meal every night at various restaurants in Savannah. Rough work I tell ya. When is my "mission"? haha I might just save that one for when Bayleigh is a teenager. Don't you think I might need to cash it all in then??

Happy Wednesday! :) (it is Wednesday, isn't it??)

XO

menu

Sunday - ribs, homemade baked beans, hashbrown casserole
Monday - homemade pizza
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - breakfast for dinner
Thursday - fish sticks, fries, and corn
Friday - lasagna, garlic sticks
Saturday - chicken tetrazzini and homemade yeast rolls
Grocery trip for the week - $99.05

Can you tell Andy will be out of town until Friday? :)

XO

busy times :)

We are super busy around here right now. Between back to school and church stuff getting kicked back up again, we have stayed on the go.

Tomorrow Bayleigh starts the 2nd grade. It is hard for me to believe that she is getting so big. But, that is another blog post. We went through all of her clothes tonight to get rid of the stuff that doesn't fit and put all her new stuff away. Wow....she has not one single pair of jeans that fit her. Thankfully, we got a bunch of new school stuff - so she is good for now. Until it gets cold. :)

Andy leaves in the morning for a week in Savannah, Georgia for a conference. He always spends the last few hours before bed the night before packing. It. drives. me. nuts. *sigh* I have done so much laundry and answered more "where is my....?" questions than I care to count. He might be back sooner than Friday if Hurricane Fay heads towards Florida before then. Then, he will be activated to wherever he is needed. Gotta love the Army life.

I am tired, so I am going to keep this short.

Here's a new layout using the Scarlet Lime kit in June and the July kit extras. :)
And here is my little man, sitting up on his very own. He's getting to be such a big boy!! It only lasted about 2 seconds, but that's okay. Mama is okay with him staying small for a lot longer. :)
Hope your week starts well!

XO

catching my breath :)

Whew, I think I am finally catching my breath! I started watching baby J last Thursday. So, I have been adjusting to two infants, ages 4 months and 5 months, along with an active and bored 7 year old. Whew is right, heh?? :)

Here they are - they just kept smiling at each other. It was so adorable!! I will have to take a few more pictures tomorrow. :)

But, we are making progress. Today the boys both slept for their big naps at the same time and actually woke up within 15 minutes of each other. It was nice. But, I didn't get to do anything fun in that time. I dusted my living room, cleaned my toilets, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, unloaded the dryer and put another load in, etc. I am hoping to get into a routine and be able to maybe scrap for at least 15 minutes during their naps. I think when Bayleigh goes back to school, I will be able to get it done.

Speaking of little miss. She starts the 2nd grade on Monday. We go tomorrow to find out who her teacher is. I am hoping for someone in particular, so we will see. Keeping my fingers crossed. :) We are all ready to get into the school routine for sure.

I haven't gotten much scrapping in because I am an Olympics addict. I swear, I cannot stop watching the games!!! I am begging Andy to plan our vacation in 4 years to London and we can go to the games. How awesome would that be?!?! Ohhhh, we are really going to try to start saving now and make that dream of mine a reality. :)

Here are two pages that I finished up last week. I have another one on my table that is 98% done and I have to add some Stickles and hopefully post it tomorrow.

This one was inspired by my friend, Christy, over at Lifetime Moments. All of these goodies were in the May Lifetime Moments kit and the FAQ stamp from Studio Calico.

This one was inspired by a layout done by April over at Studio Calico. Just took hers and put bigger pictures and added a few things. I really like how this one came out. :)Alright, off to finish watching the gymnastics competition for tonight. These judges are *killing* me!!! Ohhhh man, there is something up with this. I am sure that you will see some articles about it tomorrow morning. Ugh, ridiculous.

Catch up with you tomorrow. Oh and the menu is great!! Ya'll have to try the bacon wrapped meatloaf recipe!! Yummmy!

XO

menu

Just wanted to get my menu down for the week. Going to try to do this every week - to cut down on grocery trips and that means cutting $$ too. :) It's a win-win.

Sunday: chicken, herb potatoes, brussel sprouts
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: South Pacific pork, yellow rice, green beans
Wednesday: Senate bean soup, homemade yeast rolls
Thursday: Bacon wrapped meatloaf patties with pan gravy and tomato basil smashed potatoes, black eyed peas
Friday: Pan seared scallops with pasta
Saturday: Country style ribs, hashbrown casserole, homemade baked beans
Grocery trip for the week: $141

XO

girls, giggles, and gumbo :)

That sums up our weekend so far. :)

Bayleigh went to her Girl Scout sleepover last night. Her last one as a Daisy *sniff, sniff*. She will officially be a Brownie come September. Needless to say, there was a lot of excitement last night. Unfortunately (hahaha), I wasn't able to spend the night this year. Layne couldn't be left yet and Andy had drill. Darn, huh?!?! I missed the 1:30 am bedtime and the couple of girls who didn't sleep at all. Not a wink. Bayleigh is just purely exhausted and is sound asleep right now. I am sure she giggled much into the wee hours of the morning.

Andy spent like 4 hours making a pot of gumbo last night for all his "buddies" at drill. Yes. 4 hours. I wanted to kill him. But, that is a story for another day! He did leave one small bowl for us and I was thankful for that. Begrudgingly, but thankful nonetheless. hehe

Not much else to report. I might be doing some freelance work for Marilyn (who owns Gingerbread Daycare/Heritage Academy). Hopefully, that will work out and I can bring in a little extra money.

Layne was in a bit of a funk today and hasn't been eating his cereal and baby food that well. Hopefully, he will sleep it off. He just wasn't himself...normally smiling and happy, but not today.

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day. I am making a menu for the week, so that I don't have to make any trips during the week. It's just too hard with both babies and Bayleigh. If you have any ideas for good recipes, please forward them along. I am looking to try a few new things each week. :) Tired of the same old, same old.

Alright, off to watch the Olympics.

I will leave you with a few pictures of little man on his 5th month birthday. :)
Have a great Sunday! :)

XO

one more time

*warning - picture heavy post*

I have had this post typed at least twice and somehow it's not here. Could it be that I have been thinking about it and sitting with a new opened page for days?!?! :)

Today is my first day as "nanny" to Jack. He really is a good baby and just goes with the flow. :) Him and Layne have been just staring at each other all morning. hehe Right now, they are both down taking little cat naps, so I thought I would try to catch up my blog.

We had a great vacation. We traveled to Lake Weir, which is just south of Ocala. My in-laws rented a big house right on the lake and we all stayed there. It was his parents, Andy, David (his brother), and Wendy (his sister), and all the respective families, minus one hubby that couldn't make the trip.

We enjoyed the lake so much. I don't think Emma and Bayleigh ever got out of the water except to eat and sleep for the first two days!

Grandpa took Bayleigh and Emma for their first train ride and they loved it. Well, Bayleigh loved shopping while waiting for the return train. hehe Ahhh, she is her mother's child. :) While they did that, the girls all drove down to Mount Dora for some walking/shopping. I didn't buy much of anything except some Crocs for Bayleigh that were $10. Ohhhh, and cupcakes! We found the most delicious little cupcake shop. They were just divine!

Alright, onto the good stuff - PICTURES! *warning - TONS of pictures to follow*

On the way down, the only way we could get Layne calmed down in the car
Our view the first night we were there as the sun was setting
The first days catch
Baking cookies with Uncle Dave
Layne playing on his play gym mat
Layne and Ga Ga

Layne and Aunt Carrie
Layne and Aunt Wendy
Bayleigh trying to knee board
Layne on his first boat ride
"The Girls" - Emma, Aunt Carrie, and Bayleigh
Bayleigh chilling out
Layne chilling out
So, that is basically our trip. :) We had a nice time, but it was nice to get home, for sure!

That is all that I will bore you with today. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon/evening.

XO

whipped...

I know I said I would post pictures from our vacation, but I am just whipped today.

We had a busy day and I haven't been feeling well at all. So, I will have to post our vacation happenings tomorrow. :)

We had a blast at our church's back to school bash today. Fun water slides and fun stuff! Then, I took Bayleigh over to the library for their summer reading party. We had such a good time and Layne was really good - so was Bayleigh for that matter!

I picked up some pictures to scrapbook and I can't wait to dig in!! :)

I also picked up Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I was "encouraged" by my Studio Calico friends and can't wait to finish my current book and dig in.

I am off to bed....I am hoping I can kick this cold!

BTW, if anyone knows someone that needs their baby/child watched please email me. I would love to watch someone's little one and be able to continue to stay home! I have tons of experience with kids and I am a trained Speech-Language Pathologist and ESE teacher - so I have lots of patience! haha

Night night everyone!

XO

back online :)

So, we are finally back online. The Comcast dude was here this morning and of course said that there is no real reason why we shouldn't be working just fine. Gee, thanks!

Oh well. At least it is working now - for the moment. :)

Here's a new picture of little man. He is holding his sisters purple bear - which he promptly slobbered all over. So now he is the proud owner of a purple bear. I am sure his dad will be excited to see this! heheAnd we got to go and visit my grandma while we were on vacation at Lake Weir. This is the first time she has met Layne. I have to say he laid on the charm and she was just smitten. Here is Grandma Shirley with both of the kids.Bayleigh has been enjoying the new tire swing that Andy hung for her about 3 weeks ago. We took her to get her haircut - she got a little trim and some layers put in. Of course, I had to snap some pictures.Alright, off to eat something and get some rest. I think little man passed his cold onto me. Ick I don't like summer colds at all.

Have a happy Friday and I will probably post some pictures of our vacation with a little synopsis tomorrow. :)

Until then....

XO

what the heck?!?!

Can someone please tell me where the month of July went?? I mean. Seriously. How is it possible that Friday will be August 1st. Wow. I am such a blog slacker. (as some have clearly pointed out to me!)

Let's see - it won't be hard to catch you up on whats new.

Still no job.
Whiny 7-year old.
Hot.
Week long vacay with the in-laws and families.
Hot.
Sick baby.
Sucky Comcast = no internet.
Hot.
Blessed beyond measure.

Got it? Easy enough. That's July in a nutshell.

The kids are asleep and Andy is on military duty at a conference in St. Pete. I am trying to upload pictures to have on hand to create some new layouts, but my internet has been so sporadic that I am not sure that it will upload the 30+ pictures I just spent an hour picking out.

Niiiice. :)

I love being home! I do want a job, but I really love my time at home with my little man.

Speaking of little man. He will be 5 months on Friday. And since Comcast is once again being a pain in the rear - a picture will have to wait until tomorrow.

Keep your fingers crossed and send any positive thoughts and prayers my way. I really would like to hear about some sort of job soon. Something. Anything. I put in for more jobs today and made phone calls all morning. I am doing all that I can possibly do to try and secure a job. It is so frustrating...and WAY bureaucratic. It's just sick. Seriously. Thanks for thinking of me though...I really would appreciate it. :)

I will have to update with pictures tomorrow. Maybe my internet will actually work. What a concept, heh? It's only $43.95 for service that goes down at least once a day. And has now been done for the better part of 2 days. They are sending someone out. Friday. *rolls eyes* Needless to say we will be shopping for a different internet provider.

Hope that you are well. Sorry to be MIA for so long. The month literally flew by.

XO

monday monday!!

Okay, so I must be on an oldies kick with the song titles/lyrics lately...haha

Bayleigh is currently at her grandparents' house in Fernandina Beach. She left on Saturday and calls us each night telling us how much fun she is having and how much she misses me. She will be back on Thursday night. :) Just in time to go scalloping on the 4th of July.

Layne will be 4 months tomorrow. He is growing so fast and is so fun!! He smiles all the time and loves to play and giggle. Here he is at our church fun night yesterday. hehe
Too cute, I tell ya. This is what he does alot during the day. Well, when he isn't screaming! LOL

I got another page done. It looks quite busy when I uploaded it, but doesn't look as loud in person. Oh well...it will do. I made the page to document one of my favorite places to be - on the water. Love, love, love it!
You can click on it to see it in more detail if you are so inclined. Just love using the new Making Memories Passport line. I got this stuff from the June Scarlet Lime kit (www.scarletlime.com). And the July kit from Studio Calico has lots of it too!

I am reading a good book and hoping to get some more chapters in tonight. It is a series of books and I am on book #3. Good stuff! The series is by a Christian author, Karen Kingsbury. She writes some good, realistic books about faith and people finding their way to the Lord. I just love reading stories like those.

Still no word on the new job. However, my old prinicpal called to offer me a job there for next year. I didn't commit and will wait until I hear from the other school. There are lots of reasons...but, let's just suffice it to say that I think I need a change.

Until next time...

XO

summer lovin'..

And we are having a blast!!! Okay, that was really lame. LOL :) I can't help it.

Bayleigh had her best friend spend the night last night. Oh the fun of a 7-year-old sleepover!! The giggling did not cease until *late* last night. Well, until the monstrous thunderstorm came through. Then, I had a little one crying about being scared and a baby not wanting to go to sleep. Yes, it was a late night for all!

And why do men find it funny to scare the pee out of their wives??!?!?! I was reading a book on the couch last night - because is there anything better than reading a book snuggled on the couch while it rains?!?!? My wonderful hubby (insert *eye roll* here) thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and just stand there. When I turned around, I FREAKED!!! I mean, fell on the couch in tears, freaked! He just chuckled and then rubbed my shoulders and said not to be scared. Oh boy, men!!

Tomorrow is reveal night at Studio Calico and I am so excited. Can't wait to see the kit and add-ons...but mostly, I can't wait to see how the wonderful designers used all that yummy goodness. Maybe I will be inspired to actually get something done with my June kit. hehe

If anyone knows where to get my hands on some of the new Chatterbox, feel free to pass it along. Or just send me some. Yeah, that would be good too. haha - just teasing!! (kinda). :)

Alright on to the good stuff....a scrapbook page!! YAY!!!

This one was inspired by another lovely lady at SC. And had to get that picture scrapped - only Bayleigh!!
Hope to have another page completed tomorrow!

Off to read my book...

XO

cry baby..

I guess that should be cry BABIES. hehe Bayleigh is so emotional - wow! I never knew it would already start at 7. I am in for it when she is a teenager. Yikes. Maybe I can cash in on my "deployment" time when she is in high school. haha

The schedule thing is going well, I think. Layne has been to bed by 8 pm last night and tonight and slept through the night last night until 7 am. I am hoping that today goes the same. I will keep ya'll posted. I pray for my sanity that we can continue on this track.

Alright, onto the good stuff.

Here is a layout using all scraps from my Studio Calico kit (www.studiocalico.com). Lots of yummy goodies on this one.
And here is another one using more of the SC kit. I got this idea from another gal over at SC. And I had to just go with it. :)Loving belonging to Studio Calico. I basically used every last piece of my May kit...all I have left are a few alphabet things and some Hambly leftovers. Yay for me!!

We are probably going to go to the pool for baby/toddler time so that Layne doesn't get trounced by a bunch of 10-12 year olds. Should make for some good pictures.

And here is a picture of the kiddos that about sums it up right now for me.
Bayleigh with a goofy face trying to entertain us and Layne screaming!!! hehe

Pray. for. me. :)

XO

updating some pages :)

Alright, I am finally getting some more posts in.

We had a nice lazy day here today! Andy cooked us breakfast and we hung out all day. Soo nice!! I am attempting to get Layne on a schedule - so we spent most of today trying to keep him awake and getting him to nap when he was supposed to go down. He just fell asleep about 20 minutes ago - so we are making *some* progress - hey it's not 1 am. YAY!!
.
Tomorrow I hope to have another relaxing day. I would love to get some scrapping done for the Extreme Crop at Lifetime Moments (www.lifetimemoments.com). I got some stuff finished up today - I have been inspired to finish lots of lingering things...so that is always good.

Here is a page about Layne. A picture taken right after his birth. :) Lots of Heidi Grace on this one.I will add another tomorrow that uses all scraps from my Studio Calico kit. Loving it. I hope to start working on June's kit here this week.

And I have to add a picture of Bayleigh with her baby brother in the kiddy pool this week. He loved it - even though it was a little too chilly.Alright, off to get some more scrapping and relaxing in.

XO

ok, seriously?!?!

Has it really been that long since my woe is me post?? Craziness!!

So, I must update everyone, I guess. :)

Gotta start with the good stuff...my baby boy! He is growing way too fast for my liking. He will be 4 months on July 1st. So hard to believe. He is pushing up on his arms, rolls from his tummy to back, coos, laughs, smiles, and still eats every 3 hours!! Here he is..how cute is my little man??
Miss Bayleigh is doing good. Of course she wants to be entertained *ALL* day long. I made a schedule for each day of the week this summer to try to keep her occupied. I think once we get it down pat, it will help her enjoy her summer. Here she is having a traditional summer lunch....Sonic ice cream and tator tots! :)

I have been enjoying my summer so far. Trying to scrap tons and tons to make up for what I fell behind on this year. It feels good to get back into a routine of being creative. I will share one here. Our old computer crashed, so I lost A LOT of stuff on it. But, this is what I have on this new one as of today. :) I used ALL of the Studio Calico kit last month. I mean all I have left are some leftover alphabets and Hambly transparency. I am so proud of myself. I will have to share one of the pages I did with it tomorrow.

No news on the job front. I went on an interview on Thursday - and it went REALLY, REALLY well. They are waiting on some grant funding to go through so they can officially offer the job. But, I was told in basic terms that they want me there...just have to get through the legal stuff and make sure the $$ goes through. I will be sure to keep you all updated! I don't count it as a job until I hear official word for sure.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I know I am loving being home with my baby! And he is becoming quite the mama's boy.

Until tomorrow....

XO