Happy Birthday

Christian's birthday was at then end of May, but we celebrated with a party today. He's 2! Wow, time flies. He had a jungle themed party, and got his face painted like a lion. How cute! Colin didn't want any part of the face painting. The kids played 'Pin the Nose on the Elephant' and broke a pinata!

Graduation

So, this is a hard one for me...but tonight was Bianca's HS graduation. For those who don't know, Bianca is Miguel's sister, so my SIL. The reason it's hard is because I have known Bianca since she was just a baby...literally. She was not even 1 when I met her...maybe 6 months or so. So, to see her graduate from HS is a happy moment, but also a sad moment. She has grown up into such a beautiful, caring & kind person. She has decided to go to the University of Arkansas and we will miss her so much when she leaves.

Brennan & Alyson Kolb

Today I watched a few of the Kolb girls, and I just had to get a few pictures of Brennan & Alyson together. They are just a day apart in age and oh so cute!!!

2nd Tooth

Brennan cut his 2nd tooth today! Well, actually last night, b/c when he woke up this morning, he had it! It's right next to his other tooth. He looks so cute with a couple teeth. As soon as I can capture a picture with his teeth showing, I'll post it!

Happy Anniversary

Happy anniversary Chris and Casey Kolb! I hope that you have a wonderful day and may God bless you with many more happy years!

Pampered Chef

I just completed my first month as a Pampered Chef consultant. I closed out with 3 cooking shows and a catalog show. I earned $333 in commission, $200 in Pampered Chef Dollars (basically money that they give me to spend on product), a tote bag and a free Deep Covered Baker. All in all I'd say that I did pretty well! Here's to a good 2nd month!

Playdate

I babysat 2 of the Kolb girls today, and Colin had a great time playing with them! He just loves them! At one point we everyone was playing in Colin's room and they all got on the bed to pose. How cute!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday Madison Kolb! What a big girl you are. I can't believe it...4 years old already!

Memorial Weekend

For Memorial Day this year we spent it at my mom's house. We had a barbeque and and enjoyed swimming in the pool. Colin & Rachael had an awesome time swimming. Don't mind the pink swimmies on Colin...he has green ones, mom just couldn't find them!!

Belated Mother's Day Dinner

This year mom wanted to go to dinner for Mother's Day. We took her out tonight. She chose to go to The Bavarian Grill in Plano. It's a German restaurant. They had really good food, and fun entertainment. We ended up leaving out stroller, sippy cup, leftovers, Colin's blanket & Brennan's stuffed rabbit at the restaurant! We had a great time.

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 11

Week 11 - 'Tell Me A Story'

A picture is worth a thousand words, so a layout should be worth two thousand. Tell me a story with a photo, layout, and (optional) title... the catch? No journaling allowed. It can be your own story, a family story, or something that evokes a favorite childhood/fictional story.

Have your LO to Bonnie by next Wednesday night. She'll post the LO's on Thursday and the next challenge host will be announced. Anyone is welcome, and if you're new to Digi, questions are welcomed. We'd love to help.

Happy Anniversary

Happy anniversary Sean & Emily Tovson! I hope that you have a beautiful day!

Brennan Standing

I snapped a few pictures today of Brennan standing for the first time. He didn't get up himself, I stood him up...but he stood there for a bit playing with his toys! Go Brennan!

Colin's First Dentist Appointment

Colin had his first dentist appointment this morning. I was very nervous about it because I know how shy he is. Well, my fear was validated...he screamed the whole time...but I guess that is better than clamping his mouth shut, because they were able to do his cleaning quickly! He was just so scared. 

The office that we went to was a pediatric office, so it was all set up with a playroom and the exam rooms were very kid friendly. They even had a TV on the ceiling playing cartoons for the kids to watch during the cleaning. 

Colin got to pick out a brand new toothbrush (he chose one with ladybugs on it). He even got to choose the toothpaste and fluoride flavor (strawberry, of course!).

I came equipped with my camera to be a good mom and capture his first visit for memories, but with all of the crying, I just couldn't bring myself to bring it out. So, I took him outside when we got home and he showed off his pearly whites for the camera!

Report: no cavities (Yay! I contribute this to us being very strict with what he eats). He did have some plaque buildup on his front teeth, but that's nothing that a little flossing can't fix. The dentist also said that he has a fairly narrow top palette and she's going to 'watch' it...dunno what that means for the future?!? Colin also has his 2 year molars coming in (finally, now that he's almost 3...then again it did take 13 months before we ever even saw his first tooth!)

Plan: brush twice a day, focusing on his top front teeth and a few of the back ones, floss, and teach him to spit out toothpaste. His next visit is in 6 months (December). Hopefully he'll be a little more relaxed next time.

All in all, I'd say that the visit went better than I had expected it to. If anyone is pedi. dentist shopping, I would definitely recommend this one!

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 10 LO's

Week 10 - 'All About Me'

My LO

Casey's LO

Bonnie's LO

Emily's LO

Check out Bonnie's blog tomorrow for our next Digi Collab Challenge.

Super Sick Kristen

I had a HORRIBLE day on Monday! I woke up not feeling so great. Hit the bathroom a few times. It was Colin's last day of Kindermusik class for the semester, so I got us all ready and went. By the time the class was over, my stomach was grumbling again. I just figured that I needed to eat lunch. The boys, my mom and I went to eat lunch. I barely touched it b/c I was feeling so well. By the time lunch was over, I had made 2 more trips to the bathroom. I dropped my mom off at her house, and she watched Colin for me for a while. I went home, put Brennan down for a nap and I napped for 2 hours. When I woke up, the bathroom called me a couple more times. Then I got Brennan together and we went to the grocery store. I got really sick while in there and almost passed out. The stomach pains we horrible.  I barely made it back to my moms house. When she saw me she decided that she was calling Miguel to have him come home and she was taking me to the ER. She said that I had no color at all. 4 hours, 2 liters of fluid, 2 rounds of nausea medication and a couple rounds of pain medication later I was feeling slightly better. The doctor wanted to keep me over night, but I didn't want to stay, so I came home. 

Yesterday I still felt horrible. Miguel was nice enough to stay home and take care of the boys for me. Thank God he did, because I never would have been able to do it. I slept pretty much all day long. I was still running to the bathroom and I had a terrible headache. I finally started feeling better yesterday evening. This morning I feel fine...except that I am still running to the bathroom. When will it end?

I went to the ER that I work at, so my co-workers were taking care of me. Kind of ironic.

Mama

This morning Miguel let me sleep in since I worked last night. He got up to take care of the boys. I was so out of it, but I remember Miguel coming into our bedroom asking me "have you heard Brennan say mama?" I said no and went back to sleep. 

When I woke up a little while later, it dawned on me why Miguel had asked me that. Apparently, when Miguel went to get Brennan this morning he was saying "mama". I have never heard it before. I've tried to get him to say it since the first time, but I've yet to hear it!

This is a big week for Brennan!

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 10

Week 10 - 'All About Me'

We are rarely in pictures b/c we are always taking them! Design a LO that is all about you. Include at least 2 pictures of yourself. 

Have your LO to me by next Wednesday night. I'll post the LO's on Thursday and the next challenge host will be announced. Anyone is welcome, and if you're new to Digi, questions are welcomed. We'd love to help.

***Edited 4/20/09***

Journaling:

All About Me

Mother

Christian

Friend 

Wife

Nurse 

Daughter

Sister

First Tooth

Brennan has been a little cranky for the past 2 days and I didn't know why. He hasn't been running fever, no cold symptoms, no ear ache...nada. I just figured that he was going back to his old self again with the crying all the time. 

A little while later I was feeding him some puffs. I put my finger in his mouth to see if he had eaten all of one, and I felt something sharp. Low and behold, Brennan is cutting his first tooth. It's on the bottom and it's only cut through a little bit...but definitely enough for me to feel it. No wonder he's been cranky. I felt so bad that I didn't know what it was!

7 Month Comparison

Colin - TOP  Brennan - BOTTOM

7 Months Old

My itty bitty Brennan is 7 months old already. I say it each month, but oh, how time flies! He's turning into such a little cutie. He's not sitting up...almost all the way. He still gets a little wobbly when he starts looking around, but he's got it for the most part. He's not even trying to crawl yet...I'm thinking that's a good thing. He's back to eating baby food again, and his mood seems to be much better. He's not crying as much as he was before. 

He's a sweet little boy who just loves watching his big brother. In fact, Colin is one of the few people that can get him to cheer up no matter what. They are going to have so much fun when Brennan is a little older!

I can't wait to see what this next month has in store for us!

Happy Mother's Day

First I want to start off by wishing all the mothers out there a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Mothers are so special, in all that they do. Mothers are sometimes under appreciated for what they do. The little things, like making sure dinner is on the table, having clean socks & underwear for the husband, changing diapers, making sure the kids are clean, and just the daily grind of running a household. Today is a day where all the mothers can forget about folding the laundry or cooking dinner. Enjoy it ladies!

My mother's day was extra-special this year! I feel like my husband tops himself each year! We have a family tradition of going to my MIL's house (my mom goes too!) for brunch. All of the guys and women who aren't mothers prepare and cook brunch for us mothers. This year we had pancakes, quiche, fruit tart, pastries, scrambled eggs, over easy eggs, rolls, bagels, bacon, milk, juice & coffee. It was absolutely TO DIE FOR!!! They did a great job! After the prayer, the mothers got to serve themselves the food first and eat. It was soooo yummy!

After eating, we always take family photos. It's a time of year that the family is always together, so that's why we do it then! This year the girls wore baby pink and the boys wore baby blue. I think the pictures turn out nice! I'm still waiting on my MIL to upload the ones that she took, but here are a few of mine...

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 9

Here's Emily's Challenge:

Week 8 - 'Large Black & White'

Use a black & white photo that takes up over half of the page.

Have your LO to Emily by next Wednesday night. She'll post the LO's on Thursday and the next challenge host will be announced. Anyone is welcome, and if you're new to Digi, questions are welcomed. We'd love to help.

***Edited 5/13/09***

Journaling:

Papi's Boy

April 

2009

Spoke Too Soon...

Impatient me. That's what I get.

Insert foot in mouth.

I got offered the job at the other hospital a little while ago. Praise God! I guess I feel a little bit better, a little more wanted.

I'm still deciding what to do about it. I guess there are several options...take it and leave my current or decline it and stay at my current or take it and work at both places.

There are pros and cons to both places, so I just need to figure out what is best for our family right now.

Thank you all for your prayers. Prayer works!

No News Is...

Bad news?

I haven't heard back from the hospital yet, so I'm guess that I didn't get the job :-(

Thanks for Prayers

So, I had my interview today. It was at Presby Allen. I was very nervous, but I did the best that I could. Like I said yesterday, I know that I am qualified for the job, I'm just a socially anxious person. I fumbled over my words, and completely forgot to mention a critical point in a "What If..." scenario. It finally came to me, but not before I made myself look like an idiot. I did great on the other "What If" scenarios...I just can't help thinking about the one that I fumbled on. Darn me. Anyway, they are a smaller hospital with fewer ER beds and less interventions than I am used to, so yes, I am qualified! I must keep telling myself that. I interviewed with the Director and the Manager of the ER. After the interview, they took me on a tour of the ER, and then I said bye. They told me to expect to hear back in "a day or so." Good or bad? Thoughts?

Interview Tomorrow

I just wanted to put up a quick post to ask everyone for your prayers for me tomorrow. I have my interview at the new hospital at 10:00 am. I'm very nervous. I'm not nervous over my qualifications...I know I'm qualified...I'm just a very shy socially anxious person. I have a very hard time meeting new people.

Anyway, if you could just ask the Big Guy to be with me tomorrow, I'd appreciate it!

Ft. Worth Zoo

Since we came back from Florida a little early, we had a day to do something! We decided to go to the Ft. Worth Zoo. We've never been there before...we always went to the Dallas Zoo (what a crap hole!). We made the trip over today, and I am so happy that we finally went! It is such a nice zoo! Colin LOVES animals, so he had a great time identifying what he was looking at. I think he was most excited about the flamingos, crocodiles, and the reptile room. The rest of the pictures can be found on my smugmug!

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 8 Challenge

Here's Casey's Challenge:

Week 8 - 'Hero'

Everyone has soneone they look up to. Tell us who you look up to; who your hero is. It can be anyone.

Have your LO to Casey by next Wednesday night. She'll post the LO's on Thursday and the next challenge host will be announced. Anyone is welcome, and if you're new to Digi, questions are welcomed. We'd love to help.

***Edited 5/7/09***

Journaling:

Hero

2009 Family Vacation

This year our we went to Destin, Florida for our family vacation. I had never heard of the place until recently...but everyone that we told said it was very family friendly, and just a great place to vacation!

We left for our trip on Friday, April 24, and we got home on Thursday, April 29. 

We had such a fantastic time! Our hotel was wonderful. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with a full kitchen & living room. The hotel was on the grounds of a resort, so we got to use all of the resort amenities. There were several pools that we could go to, and the private beach was literally a 2 minute drive. 

The beach had the whitest sand that I've ever seen, and it was very clean. It was not overcrowded, so we had plenty of room to set up our 'stuff'!

There were 2 outlet malls within 10 minutes driving, so we made sure to go to both...more than once! I got a new COACH purse that I just absolutely LOVE!

We definitely got our fill of shopping, eating and beach! It's definitely a place that I would go back to, and I think it would be fun for a group to go to!

I did get pretty sunburned, so we cut our trip a little short. We drove back all in one day, and I can say that I definitely preferred that over turning it into a 2 day trip. The drive wasn't bad at all!!!

Here are a few pictures from the trip. The rest can be seen on my smugmug:

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 7 Challenge

Here's Bonnie's Challenge:
Week 7 - 'Favorite Thing About the Neighborhood You Live In'

We all like to get outside once in a while, when we're not digiscrapping, and it's the prettiest time of year. So... what's your favorite thing about the neighborhood you live in?

Have your LO to Bonnie by next Wednesday night. She'll post the LO's on Thursday and the next challenge host will be announced. Anyone is welcome, and if you're new to Digi questions are welcomed. We'd love to help.

***Edited 5/2***

We just got back from vacation so I didn't make the deadline for this week. I'll update when I get the page done.

Great Time

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for your prayers for safe travel. We made it Florida ok, and have been having a great time so far! We've been to the beach twice, went shopping, and have had some yummy food! Our hotel is like a 2 minute drive to the beach. The sand is the whitest sand that I've ever seen, and the ocean is just beautiful. I've started uploading pictures from our trip onto my smugmug. I may not get them all done now, but it's a start. When we get home and I've had time to settle in, I'll definitely be posting a more detailed post about the trip, and I'll include pictures! See you on the flip side!

Off We Go...

to Florida! I'm so excited! We are leaving now, and will arrive in Florida tomorrow afternoon. I just want to be at the beach already! Please pray for safe traveling mercies!

Prayers Please!!!

I've been getting sent home from work early just about each shift that I've worked for the past couple of weeks. It's frustrating, but more than that, we count on the money that I earn...and I haven't been getting all of it. So, I filled out an application for another local hospital on Monday. On Tuesday I got a e-mail invitation to complete their online assessment. The assessment is basically asking your reactions to certain situations. It's a pretty general test, but you have to score a certain way to move one. Immediately after I submitted the assessment, I was sent an e-mail to complete a more thorough nursing assessment...again asking what I would do in certain situations...this time situations related to nursing. I sent that in, and received a call from the hospital's recruiter this morning! Whoo-hoo! That was the FASTEST that an HR office has ever gotten back to me!

I have an interview set up for Monday, May 4. I would have done it sooner, but we are leaving for vacation tomorrow. Please pray that I do well in my interview! I'll update closer to the date, but I am just so excited that I had to post about it today!

Digi Scrap Collab - Week 6 LO's

Week 6 - 'Then & Now'

My LO

Casey's LO

Bonnie's LO

Emily's LO

Check out Bonnie's blog tomorrow for our next Digi Collab Challenge.

Brennan & Alyson

I love getting pictures of Brennan & Alyson Kolb together since they are only a day apart! Here a a couple of the newest ones!

Florida...Here We Come...

We will be leaving for Destin, Florida on Friday. I'm not sure what time just yet, as I work Thursday night, but I know it's some time on Friday. I'm excited to get away from the day-to-day stuff, and just have a nice, peaceful, relaxing vacation. We are driving there (thank God for a minivan!), and the boys are coming with us. I plan to lay on the beach and work on my tan (oh, who am I kidding? If you know me, you know that I DON'T tan). I'm bringing my laptop, so I will still have computer time (b/c that IS relaxing to me), and I'll have my cell phone to check in. I'll try to remember to post pics of me laying on the beach while you are all here (j/k). 

I'm not packed yet, and I haen't even started...I better get crack-a-lackin'!

Anyone have suggestions for car entertainment for Colin? He's 2 1/2.

Brennan's Dedication Portraits

A job well done to Frances! I just LOVE Brennan's dedication portraits! I'll get them uploaded to my smugmug as soon as I can, but here is a sneak peak:

Please visit www.francesoterophotography.com for information on portraits, and tell her that I sent you!!!