I am 30!

Well today is officially my 30th birthday.  I am kind of freaking about it.  Not necessarily because I am "old" , but because I feel as if I have left behind a much different time.  I am officially an "adult" and people expect things out of me.  I know that sounds ridiculously crazy because I have a daughter, I am a teacher, I own a home, etc.  But, I think about the things that I have done earlier in my life and I get a bit sad because I will never have that independence or worry free times again. .. not that I necessarily want to go back either. 

Maybe I have someone who will read this,. . I don't really know.  But, I do have a memory about each one of you, from an earlier time, who "follows" my blog.

Miranda- Formal. . .when you came to my house to get pics taken at the fireplace of my house for our formal.

Amie - Freshman year of college. .. . when we would walk to the Frat parties together and then walk home a bit tipsie afterwards.  :)  That was so much fun!

Melissa - we used to cheer together. .. what more can I say. . .I just found a button pin of you and I flexing in our cheer uniforms.

Amy- I remember staying the night at your house and your parents buying pizza for us and me having the biggest crush on your brother. I also remember going to your big sisters wedding reception. 

Our Christmas

We had such a busy, fun filled Christmas. .. I will just include pics to tell the story.   Here is the tree before everyone added their presents.

Here is the overloaded tree. .. ..CRAZY!

Part of the 13 that were at my house. Jody (my brothers wife) Grammy( Eric's mom) and GG(my mom).

My niece and nephew. . .they are twins and Taylor.'

 

Santa and his reindeer showed up too.

Gram, the one in the blue, is Taylor's Great Grandmother.

The Family.

My brother, Shawn and Phil.. . .after a few drinks and presents.  :)

Before bed, Taylor modeled Eric's hat.  I think I would kiss the cutie!

"Santa" putting together the kitchen for Miss Taylor.

When Taylor woke up that morning she screamed, "Santa left me a kitchen!!! WOOOHOO!"

My dad came after the big group of people left. He stayed the night so that he could watch Taylor open presents in the morning.  But. .. first. .. .he had to model the "infamous" hat.  :)

Merry Christmas!

Wish me luck!  This year I am hosting Christmas Eve Dinner.  I will have 12 people at my house.  Eric and I are cooking the turkey, ham, stuffing, scalloped potatoes and the dessert.  MAN!  Let's hope we can figure out how to get it all done with one oven. 

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. Enjoy the time that you have with your family and friends, but most of all remember why it is that we celebrate. 

I interviewed Taylor.

1.  How tall is mommy? 
   -she says, "6-3-1"

2.  How old is mommy?
   -"you are going to be 30 on your birthday."

3.  Why does mommy love you?
 -"Because you miss me"

4.  What is your favorite thing to do with mommy?
-Paint and Color. .. .that is my FAVORITE!

5.  What does mommy do at home?
 -clean, vaccuum, and do your work

6.Is mommy a good cook? 
-Yes. .. I like sandwiches.

7. What are we going to go do next?
-Jog out and make cookies. (That sounds like a good mixture right?. .. .Taylor works out with me everyday.)

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Here is this year's Santa picture!  As you can clearly tell from the look on Taylor's face, she enjoyed this year.  A far cry from the previous years.  :)

She told Santa that she wants a Leapster. .. . .he better follow through.  

CANCUN . . .here we come!!!!!!!

It is official!!!!!! We are going to Cancun on February 4 -11.  Eric just went and put the deposit down with the travel agent on Friday.  I am so thrilled.  We will be going with another couple.  They will make the vacation so much more fun!  The husband is the friend that I got Scuba certified with over the summer. 

Needless to say, I have started my diet. The last time I went to Mexico I gained 8 pounds in a week!!  Yes.  You heard that correct.  8 pounds.  I am so SORE!  I have gone back to the P90X videos.  I don't do them 6 days a week, but I do them 4 days.  I can't believe how out of shape I am.  I run on the treadmill 4 days a week, but apparently that is not the same thing as getting my butt kicked by Tony Horton.  I am bound and determined to wear my bikini in Mexico and not be a bit nervous about it.

Let's hope I come back from Cancun with a baby in the oven, that will hold on for longer than 5 weeks!   The timing will be perfect!  :)

My bargain of a Christmas tree!!!

So, this year I wanted to purchase a fake Christmas tree. My reasons were simple:  1.  I could put it up earlier without worrying about it dying.  2. I would not have to water the darn thing every day.  3. No clean up of needles.

I did NOT want to spend a fortune on a Christmas tree, so I went to Craigslist. My FAVORITE place to look for items or sell items. (on a side note, I sold my highschool car in 4 hours on craigslist)  I just typed Christmas trees in the search box.  That was all it took.  I had a HUGE selection of fake trees to pick from.  The prices ranged from $25 to $80.  WHAT A BARGAIN!  The tree I ended up selecting was 7 feet tall, had been purchased from one of those Christmas tree decorating contests. It was fully decorated with lights and ornaments. Plus, it had never been used. The woman who was selling it never liked the idea of a fake tree and never used it.  She kept it fully assembled and covered in her garage.

I have attached a picture of the tree after I fixed it up a bit.  It was a bit "country" for my taste. The horrible part about  "fixing" the tree was removing the ornaments that  were wrapped around each branch with wire.  So, taking off some of the ornaments took about 2 hours.   I have also included the pile of ornaments that I am selling on Craigslist.  If I sell them then, I can earn back part of the $50 I spent for the tree.

Notice that I already have gifts?  I started in September.  :)

 

Look at all of those ornaments that I removed!  Can you believe it?

My very happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was very memorable.  This was the first Thanksgiving, since I was 3, that I have spent with my father.  He has just recently moved within 40 miles of my house.  So, I thought this a perfect opportunity to invite him to spend the holiday with my family.  My dad came over at 12:00 and shortly thereafter, we left to Eric's dad's house.  There we ate and ate and watched the Giants game.  My dad LOVED the fact that there were no expectations of him, but to relax and enjoy his time.  This was the first Thanksgiving in 8 years, that I did not run from house to house to see each family member that lives in Boise.  This year my dad came first and was the priority of the holiday.  For those of you that don't know. . .my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly before Taylor was born.  He has had several surgeries and treatment, but the cancer is persistant and will not leave!  So, for now. .. the cancer is not growing or spreading and for that I am thankful.  I am glad that I chose to spend time with my dad and put him first! 

You may or may not know. ... .

Some of you may or may not know that I have been trying to get pregnant for 2.5 years without a lasting pregnancy.  I am fertile in the sense that I ovulate and can get pregnant, but my body won't hold onto the pregnancy.  Thus, resulting in miscarriage after miscarriage.   I have just recently had my 5th miscarriage. . .third in 2009.  The last miscarriage was at 5 weeks.  Long enough to find out that I was pregnant and then, "wham".  . . the doctor told me prior to miscarrying.  I have been going to the fertility specialist and they don't know more than I do. . .my chromosomes are fine, it is not Eric, it has worked before, etc.  They "think" it may be the lining to my uterus not being thick enough.  So, I am going to try a new drug called Fremara.  It isn't supposed to thin your lining like Clomid does.  With that said. .. .I am taking a vacation!  Eric and another friend couple of ours are going to Cancun the first week of February.  I am thrilled!  So. .. .the pregnancy trying must wait.  I want to scuba dive and drink margaritas.  Both of which I can't do if pregnant.  So. .. I will take the drugs prior to vacation in hopes that I come back with a baby that will stick around. 

Taylor's 4th Birthday

The day started with hear shaped pancakes, made with love by daddy.

This is the "Cinderella" cake I made.  Eric laughed at it.  I cried. . .Taylor love it!  This cake was HORRIBLE to make!  Not as easy as you would think.

Taylor got her first motorcycle helmet . . courtesy of Daddy.  He thinks she will become a professional.  I have my reservations.

My dad bought Taylor a miniature vacuum.  This was my personal favorite gift.  Guess who gets to "earn" her keep now. Joking!  LOL!  She loved it. . and tried it out immediately.

The stack of gifts. .  the picture does not do it justice.

Overall, a great birthday.  There were 37 people in our 1800sq. ft. house.  That is the MAX our house can hold.

You know you "really" are a mom when. . .. .

So, my pride and joy, Taylor has been exercising her opinions in a way I would describe as "less than enjoyable."  I have found myself reverting to 4 year old more than once these past 2 months.  Here is how it started.  . .I drove "early" to pick up Taylor from preschool,assuming that she would be thrilled that I had picked her up early.  Instead I pulled up and all of the kids were outside at "recess."  I heard a small boy tell me, "Taylor is in the box sleeping."  I thought that was weird, but looked around for her.  Indeed, I did find her in a box, the size of a Huggies box.  She was laying in the box, not moving.  The other children and myself said, "Taylor, get up. . .it is time to go home. "  . . .. no response. After a few minutes of this, I picked the box up and dumped her out, ever so gently. She then proceeds to run from me and scream as she does so.  I say, "Taylor, it is time to go." She continues to run to the side of the preschool, behind the shed.  I follow her and she keeps running from me and screaming.  When I finally catch her, I put her in a hold that can only be compared to as; the way you would carry a sack of potatoes under one arm.  There she was. . .kicking her arms. .. flailing about. .. .screaming. .. crying. . .scratching.  All for what?  Because she was dumped from a box?  LOL!  Anyway.  I somehow managed to put her in her booster seat, but not before she whacked me in the face!  (This is where I lost it and reverted to the 4 year old!)  I began to yell. .. I mean "loud!"  Over top of my child!  I began to drive down the road, but Taylor would not give up. . .she continues to wail!  So... what would any mature mother do?  I pulled the car over, grabbed her from the car seat and put her in the grass on the side of the road.  There she threw the worlds most classic temper tantrum.  Face down screaming, arms and feet kicking temper tantrum.  I just stood there in awe of what my child was capable of.  I had never seen such a fit.  The best was the cars driving by, the entire time that Taylor was having her fit.  I finally told her that she would not be getting back into the car until she was done.  I started to walk towards the car. . bluffing her. . .and she "STOPPED!"  What the hell!  Just like that?!  Then, it was over.  Taylor got back into the car and we went home.


This was only the first of many temper tantrums to be had within the last few months.  Tell me that I am not alone.  Tell me that my daughter is "normal" for a, just turned 4 year old.

My "baby" is turning 4!

In two days my "baby" girl turns 4!  I am emotional. . more than I thought I would be. I remember how hard it was to watch her turn 1. Now, I struggle to watch her turn 4.  I had to take a stroll down memory lane to remind myself of all of the special moments with her.  Happy 4th Birthday Taylor Jo!

This is the day I gave bith toTaylor Jo Holloway.  She weighed in at 6lbs 12 oz.

(On a side note. .. man I was HUGE!)

I love this picture of a special moment between

daddy and his girl!

It's hard work being born. .. I'm exhausted!

6 months old!

FIrst Birthday!

Second Birthday. . balloon theme!

Three year old pics .. .

 . . .and now. . .4 years old!

The latest in what is happening.

Mid October, Taylor's preschool went to the pumpkin patch for a field trip. Here is a picture of Taylor in the "box of corn."


Taylor and Greta riding around behind a tractor.





Over the course of fall beginning I have taken quite a few pictures to document what has happened. This picture is one of the special moments between Taylor and her Daddy. We went to lunch last Sunday at a restaurant called Rockies. Taylor wanted a Strawberry milkshake before her lunch came.. . .. guess who caved in and allowed it.