Happy Birthday Georgia Kate!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Thanksgiving Day, all over America, families sit down to dinner at the same moment - halftime.

~Author Unknown

Ten things I am thankful for!

10) A double stroller... how did I ever make it without one? Thanks Danielle!

9) Gas heat- Thanks baby!

8) Finding a whole box of brand new pots and pans at Mom and Dads!

7) 160 colors of embroidery thread 

6) Dexter on Demand- Thanks again baby!

5) My first paycheck in two years

4) A fridge full of food! 

3) Georgia Kate's first Thanksgiving

2) Belly laughs from my children

1) Having the best husband, son and daughter in the entire world.

Help! My House Is On Fire!

I made chicken salad for lunch yesterday. While I was doing that, I put a pot of water on the stove to make tea. The chicken salad was super messy, so I grabbed the camera then went to run a bath.

As I came back around the cornor, everything was incredibly smokey. I ran into the kitchen. It was also filled with smoke. My water wasn't even close to boiling. I turned the eye off a gathered the kids. Everything seemed fine. Later, I finished making my tea and I found this. This pot used to be stainless steel

I guess some dishwashing detergent got left on the bottom!

My Christmas Curse

I have mentioned in previous blogs, my tendency to be stressed out at Christmas.

I know most people are stressed at Christmas, but I am usually walking a fine line between stressed and checking myself into the looney bin.

You see, something always goes wrong between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Always.

I had told Adam about my affinity for trouble when we first started dating. He kind of shrugged it off.

Our first Christmas eve, he was on his way to my house when he was in a car wreck.

Year two, I ran out for some last minute gifts and Adam got to my house before I did. He walked into the house and had to step over my dad laying in the kitchen floor. He had passed out. Adam called me and said, "Your Dad is on the floor. I think you need to come home."

Year three, I was pregnant with Caleb. Adam was still in school and was coming home when a drunk driver nearly ran him off the road. Luckily, he only hit his mirror. They eventually caught the guy....

Year four, our niece got into a medicine cabinet and was rushed to the ER. She is fine.

Last year, we had to replace all of our plumbing two days before Thanksgiving.

I had mentioned to Adam that I was starting to get anxious. I know it is coming.

He just kind of ignored me. I guess he didn't want to think about it.

We spent the weekend painting where he works to make a little extra holiday money.

Adam had taken a little break.

I look up and see a man in the parking lot. He had long hair so I thought he was pulling it up.

I glanced away and then back at the man. He was screaming for help.

I dropped my paint brush, screamed for Adam and jumped off the ladder.

He had been unloading ethanol and the hose disconnected, spraying him.  

We called 911 and I helped him rinse out his eyes while the guys made sure everything else was alright.

After a ton of rinsing, a shower and a break, he thought he would be able to drive back to GA.

I am so glad that he was fine, but I hope this will be the end of our curse for the year.

1-2-3 Jump!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Life In Chaucelot.

It really is a cute blog. If you are looking for something to do, check it out!

Ok, so the tag rules are as follows:

Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves.

People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

At the end of your blog post, you need to tag eight people and list their names.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged and to read your blog.

I am going to do mine about the "Christmas" Ashlee!
Here  we go!

1) I have always wanted one of these ugly ceramic trees of my own and this year, I am getting one!

2) I use vanilla candles all year except for Christmas when I switch to gingerbread.

3) It isn't officially Christmas until I have heard Alabama's Tender Tennessee Christmas, Dolly Parton's Hard Candy Christmas and Madonna's Santa Baby!
4) I love this commercial!

5) I have been making trial Christmas cards for weeks! I still haven't picked one...

6) I think wrapping paper with the grid on the back and invisible tape are some of the best inventions EVER!

7) I really hope we have a White Chirstmas so I can get up and light the fireplace!

8) I'm super excited about putting up the disco ball for the kids to enjoy!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad with Caleb right after he was born!

Dad with Georgia Kate the night she came home from the hospital

We Love You!

Potty Training Boys...

I haven't had any experience potty training a child.

Yes, I worked in a daycare, but I was in the older kids room and they were required to be potty trained by the time they got to me.

I have heard that potty training a boy is harder than training a girl.

It took Caleb a long time to get "into" the potty training but it seems to have clicked.

The last couple of days have been accident free. He even gets up at naps to go potty.

I was feeling so good about getting him this far so quickly!

He was playing with Adam last night when it occured to him that he hadn't pottied in a while.

Off to the bathroom they went.

Caleb returned to the living room with a triumphant look.

Adam didn't share his enthusiasm.

He sant down on the couch beside me and said with a big sigh,

"You taught him to pee like a girl!"

And the stockings were hung...

I sent Adam a message yesterday asking him if I could get out the Christmas decorations.

Much to my surprise, he said he didn't care.

I excitedly cleaned the house.

I moved furniture around.

I prepped all surfaces for their Christmas attire.

I vacuumed up every last Cheerio.

I called Mom to ask if I could borrow some decorations I didn't think she was going to use.

We discovered the roots of my motherhood OCD but that's a whole other blog...

When Adam got home, I gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

"Will you go to the attic and get down the Christmas decorations for me," I begged.

He sweetly agreed.

I floated around the house with excitement and hurried him into begining his task.

"Come on, I want to start putting this stuff up!"

This odd look crossed his face. 

"You can get it out, but it can't go up until Thanksgiving"

"But you only said I couldn't put up the tree!"

I spent the rest of the night pouting and still no Christmas boxes....

6 more days and it will look like the north pole threw up all over our house!

Organized Chaos!

I have been trying to get things reorganized before I pull out Christmas decorations to scatter all over the house.

While I have been distracted, the kids have been taking advantage of it.

Georgia Kate climbed up into the small chair and then up into the big chair!

She was so proud of herself!

Then they played nicely together for a while!

And Georgia Kate tried to get into bed :)

What Do They Have Against Sleep?

The kids aren't sleeping well.

Caleb has been climbing into our bed every night for a while now.

Every night, one of us carries him back to his bed.

Last night, I did this three times.

If this had been happening last year, it would be no big deal.

I wasn't sleeping anyway.

I don't think I would have known the difference.

Georgia Kate sleeps like an angel.

She goes to bed early and wakes up late.

Unless Caleb is up.

Then she is up and they are both screaming and crying and generally driving me nuts.

Last week, they took turns.

As soon as I would crawl back into the warm comfort of my bed, one of them would scream out.

I would squinch my eyes tighter hoping they would just roll over and fall back asleep.

No such luck.

At 4 am, they were both up, they were both screaming, and there wasn't a thing I could do for either of them.

Adam got up, fixed sippy cups and we all snuggled up on the couch.

I finally fell asleep about the time Adam had to get ready for work.

Thirty minutes later, they were up again...

It's no wonder most days I walk around in a fog :)

Happy Birthday, Phyllis!

Pictures from her Party

We Love You!

Holiday Spirit

It is no secret that I love Christmas.

It is no secret that Adam doesn't.

I don't remember many details of last years Christmas.

Georgia Kate wasn't even a month old.

I wasn't sleeping.

I do remember that I absolutely had to have the Christmas tree up early.

I cried when Adam stayed home to help me.

I remember finding Adam the "Disco Ball" tree topper.

I remember sitting in the parking lot of Kohls crying because I couldn't remember what or who I had driven there for.

I remember wanting to punch the mall Santa.

Maybe that's why I start my Christmas excitement early.

By the time it rolls around, I'm stressed, I'm exhausted and I'm fed up with long lines and grumpy people.

Right now, people are friendly.

They may look at me like I have lost my mind for purshasing 6000 sheets of tissue paper, but that is alright.

I'm used to it...

I am sure my excitement is wearing on Adam's nerves. 

I am sure he is over John Denver and the Muppets and The Chipmunks Christmas.

He could probably live without me reminding him daily that we get to put the tree up on Thanksgiving and then telling him how many days away that is.

I know he could live without my indecision of what to get everyone and the hours of wrapping and rewrapping (we do have curious kids after all).

He knows that by the time Christmas is here I won't be the normal Ashlee. I will the the crazy, holiday obsessed, overly emotional Ashlee and he will step in and help me because he loves me and deep down he really does love Christmas :)

Presents!

We had Phyllis's birthday party today.

I spent last night trying to get these done correctly.

I think they turned out faily well since I am still new at this!

Boy Meets Girl

Mom brought over the embroidery machine last night.

After making a few practice pieces, I got brave and tried it on a onsie.
One of my favorite onsies!

It was Caleb's.

Now, it is nice and girly!

I can already tell that this machine is going to get me into tons of trouble!

Surprise!

Adam got off work a little early today and stopped by the store to pick up surprises for the kids!

Caleb loved his new tractor!

He got Georgia Kate a John Deere dump truck but Caleb took it away:)

Free Snapfish Photobook!

I found this on Lindsey's blogspot. I will definately be taking advantage of this!

New and current members can get a free 8x11 Photo Book from Snapfish thanks to Oprah. Yes, you do need to pay the shipping (you can not use coupon codes on this offer) - but this is a great offer that I think many of you will want to take advantage of. This book would normally cost you $29.99. Standard shipping is $6.99. You've got to hurry and request your coupon by Friday, November 14. You've got to redeem your coupon by Sunday, November 16. Might make a great gift for under $10? All the thanks goes to Martha for sharing this deal with me!

Read about how you can take photos of your child's artwork and turn the photos into a book to help clear the clutter in your house. It's part of Oprah's "Clean Up Your Messy Home!" segment.

This Is How We (Pumpkin) Roll

Bad Hair Day

Potty Training...Again...

Potty Training has not been our friend.

He uses the potty almost every time he tries, but it is getting him to try and not throw a fit on the bathroom floor that is making this such a task.

I took cues from Amanda who happens to be potty training her little girl.

I didn't have any stickers and really didn't want to make a trip out in the cold nasty weather so I taped a piece of paper to the wall and we use a hole punch every time he goes to potty!

Now, he gets so excited about it!

It is working so much better than treats ever did!

So far today, he has pottied 5 times with no accidents!

He was quite upset he had to put on a diaper for nap time though...

Who Needs Guitar Hero?

Dishes fresh from the dishwasher work best in our house :)

Communication is Key

Every night Adam comes home and "talks" to Georgia Kate.

Heartbroken...

Along with painting the kitchen, I have been attempting to organize around the rest of the house to get ready for the mad panic that is Christmas.

To put myself in the mood, I lit my gingerbread candles and went searching for the radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 starting November 1.

I was a little disappointed when I couldn't find it, but decided it was on commercial break.

I took to google to find the exact station and found out it has been CANCELLED!

The station is no longer Classic Music, but now Christian radio and have decided not to play Christmas music!

I swore to Adam I would not put the tree up before Thanksgiving, but I think I will have to pull out the CDs...

Adam's Purple Heart

Many of you don't know that Adam has a purple heart.

It is a fantastic speciman to behold.

He recieved it while he was on a deployment before we met.

It was a far away place known as Camp Dodge, Iowa.

He was assisting in construction of a new building.

On this particular day, he was installing electrical boxes.

As he screwed one into the wall, it twisted and caught him right above his eye.

The shock knocked him to the ground and left a gash on his forehead.

He was bandaged up and returned to work and I am sure everyone gave him a hard time.

Before they were to return home, he was presented with a craft store "purple heart" for his bravery while defending his country against the electrical box enemey.

I wish I could post a picture of the infamous "purple heart" but he has hidden it from me.

Happy Veterans Day Eveyone!

I Won!

I just won the "Worst Daughter In The World" award.

I was quite determined to finish the painting today.

When Mom called to ask us to go to dinner, I spilled my sob story about getting 2 hours of sleep last night and inhaling enough paint fumes to take down an elephant.

Her voice turned sad and she said, "Well, then tell me 'Happy Birthday, Mom' " 

"It's not the tenth..... is it?"

"Yes, honey, it is"

"Mom, I didn't forget your birthday, I just didn't realize it was today..."

Oops!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I Love You!