The end of the hottest summer ever.....

Oh man, how I wish that statement were true. Unfortunately, it's more like a wish for things to come. While it is accurate to say that the "summer" as we know it is coming to a close, it could not be farther from the truth to say that it's anywhere close to cooling down. I thought it was rather funny that yesterday on Facebook I was notified of a post titled "On this day in 2010"....it was literally a post from my facebook page from August 27, 2010. And in my post I noted how wonderful the weather was that day and how I was looking forward to more cool days like that one. HA!!! We are still having days in the mid-high hundreds everyday. And I have no idea when that's going to change. Praying for a reprieve sometime soon.

As for us this week.....it probably seemed like a bit of a boring week for my kids. They started school on Monday and therefore each evening was devoted to trying to get us all back into the school time routine. Early mornings, early dinners, and early bedtimes. And we made it to school on time everyday!! For more info on the first day of school, see previous post.

Steve bowled in the Greenville PBA Regional yesterday and came close but didn't make the final cut. You win some and you lose some, I guess. This morning was his first soccer game with his new team.......and I hear it didn't go all that well either. Rough weekend for Steve. Poor guy.

Other than that we literally didn't do much of anything at all this week. Not sure what this next week has in store for us......more to come later.

Love to all,
Melony : )

The start of something new.....

Yesterday was the start of another new school year. And I hadn't actually planned on posting again until this weekend, but since the first day of school is such an exciting day I figure it's worth posting about.

Monday morning rolls around and it's time to get up and start getting ready for school. Unfortunately for me, I have not slept at all in preparation for this day (and it isn't because I didn't try). So, it looks like it's going to be a long day......

We decided to try and drop off Ryann at her new school first since, in MY mind, it would take less time to say our goodbyes and whatnot....seeing as how her school is 3rd-5th grades. However, when you put 600 students in one campus and have all 1200 of their parents in 1200 different cars trying to drop them off........ick......it makes for one big fat hairy mess!!! The parking lot was a nightmare.....more to come on that later. But let's just say that I waited for almost 15 minutes just to find a parking spot. So, we go into the school and all of a sudden Ryann has a case of First-Day jitters and starts telling me that she doesn't want me to leave her.....huh?? Luckily, she quickly found her BBFF (boy best friend forever) from last year, Cody and double luckily....they are sitting right beside each other in class! I knew everything would be fine....

So, about 8:00 we leave Ryann's school......running behind of course....and get in the car to head over to Kamri's school to drop her off. As I'm backing out of my parking spot, I'm carefully looking around to make sure that all is clear since the parking lot is still something of a disaster. So, I'm sitting in line waiting to make my way out of this mess and I look in my rearview mirror. What do I see, you might ask???? A Ford F-25o backing up right in the direction of my truck and clearly not paying any attention.......yep, she hit me. Luckily it was a parking lot so she wasn't going very fast....and I was at a complete stop.....so my truck suffered something between a scratch and a gouge.....again. I don't know why people keep feeling the need to back into or run directly into my truck!!! What a mess!

So, we finally leave Ryann's school and head just around the corner to Kamri's campus.....MUCH better parking situation I might add. Unfortunately, by this time I'm running seriously late. With the parking fiasco at Ryann's school and then the crazy lady backing into my truck we show up at Kamri's school at about 8:15....poor child. As I was walking her into her class, the principal was announcing over the intercom that all parents needed to start making their way to the front of the school so that the students could begin their day......so, not only did I NOT have a chance to really talk to the teacher (or Kamri for that matter) but I only had time to take one picture.....and it's not even the best picture I could have gotten. Sorry baby girl.....Nonetheless, I did get ONE picture of Kamri sitting at her new desk. And then I had to rush out the door.

Both girls reported great first days!! And I am really excited to see what this new school year brings. My babies are growing up so fast!!! And by golly they are just so smart! : ) Of course I might be a little biased. ; )

Melony

My Plans Destroyed........Blegh!

I knew this was going to happen. I tried to prepare myself. I said to myself, "Now Self, don't be surprised...." And yet here I am.....shocked to my very core that we are once again starting a new school year! LOL.

The past seven days have gone by in a literal blur. So many of my carefully thought out plans did NOT go as I intended them to.......and although I am, by nature, the type of person who doesn't adapt to changed plans well, sometimes you just have to let it go and realize that it's not the end of the world. But, trust me......this wasn't an easy week. It seemed that everytime I planned something......God put me in my place.

Ryann and Kamri both ended up spending the better part of the past week with their fathers. And quite honestly that kind of threw a kink in my "plans", but I did my best to roll with the punches. Both girls had appointments with their respective orthodontists. And above all else, I am glad that they won't have to miss any school for at least the first few weeks. Kamri had her appliance installed (that sounds so odd.....installed.....like it's flooring for her mouth or something...) and Ryann had a routine visit where they tightened her braces and she got to pick out new colored bands for her brackets. I can't believe we've already reached the stage where both of my baby girls will be in braces......at the same time!!!!

There was SO much to do this week, and unfortunately I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I would have liked. But, hopefully the start of a new school year will bring with it the return of our dearly beloved (by me, if no one else) schedule.

To be honest, there wasn't really much to brag about this week. I have planned for the majority of the summer to take the kids to a local waterpark right before school was to start again. So, on Tuesday morning we all got up, took care of breakfast and got dressed and packed up to head out for some fun in the sun. My parents had both taken a day off work and were meeting us at the park to surprise the girls. It was going to be loads of fun! Unfortunately, I received a phone call from my mom when we were about 20 minutes out informing me that the park was CLOSED for cleaning! Are you kidding me??? This was the ONLY day we had left to enjoy any type of activity as a family before the girls left for the week/weekend......I was very upset (and that's putting it mildly). But fortunately, my mom has an amazing day-saving friend who lives in Rockwall who just happens to have a pool that she was more than willing to let us borrow for the day. SOOOO, I guess not all was lost in the end. The kids definitely would have enjoyed the waterpark more.....but we were all happy to be able to spend some quality family time together swimming and laughing.

Then, I planned a date night for myself and Steve on Saturday evening before the girls were to come home......we planned on seeing The Change Up. Little did I know when making these plans that God had other plans for us.....lol. We arrived at the theater and saw a sign informing us that "Due to Technical Difficulties with the Projector, The Change Up would not be showing until further notice".......so much for my plan of a much needed laugh-fest. We ended up seeing Captain America instead.......which was a good movie. But it was definitely no laugh-fest. I figure this just means Steve owes me another date night! :)

I think the Lord has been trying to get a message across to me all week. It goes something like this......"Melony, you are not in control.......get over it!"

I get it Lord.......and I'm trying.

Another one bites the dust…….another week that is…..

How in the world have we already made it to Saturday night??? It seems like I was just updating this blog and then I blinked, and now 7 days have passed and I'm sitting here again. Jeesh!

This past week hasn't actually been too bad schedule wise. We had a couple of activities/appointments planned that had to be re-scheduled. And things didn't start to get hairy until just yesterday. The girls and I have enjoyed spending a lot of time together this week. And I'm amazed by them every day. They are growing up so fast sometimes I feel like I can barely keep up.

Today everyone met at my parent's house to celebrate mine and Steve's birthdays. Mine was on the 8^th, of course, and his is on the 23^rd of this month. With the generally crazy busy schedules of everyone in my family and the start of a new school year being dumped on top of THAT…..it made more sense to get together this weekend. We had a yummy lunch and some homemade (from scratch) carrot cake cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting (which were quite delish if I do say so myself). Then Steve left to go bowl in the Plano Super Bowl Regional…..a yearly tradition at this point. Unfortunately, he didn't make the cut this year but I guess the only way to look at it is……you win some and you lose some. The Lord always has plans for bigger and better things for his children.

Tomorrow is going to be kind of a lazy day I'm hoping…..because next week is going to be insane. LOTS of fun things planned for this little family. More to come on that.

That's really about all for this week. Right now I'm planning out next week's menu and making out my to-do list. It's a little long…..but I work better under pressure, so I'm hoping for a very productive week.

And now……..more planning!!

Love,
Melony : )

Finally all are home!

It has been a crazy hectic week in our house....to say the least. But the important thing is that we are all finally back together. The month of July was especially long this year. With both girls gone it was unusually quiet around our house. That is no longer the case.

Sunday evening I met Ryann at American Girl Dallas where she was able to complete her birthday gift for this year. We had her doll's hair styled. For $21, I watched them spray, brush, and then style this doll's hair. And while we waited our "turn", Ryann and I shared a Chocolate Molten Cake. Hopefully it was a fun experience for Ryann. I wanted it to be special for her. But, I can honestly say, I don't think I'll be paying $21 again for someone to provide a stylish new "do" for this (or any other) doll. We've decided that it'll be more fun to try out new hairstyles at home from now on.

The majority of my Monday was spent driving down to Houston to pick up Kamri from her dad's house where she had been for the previous 6 weeks. It was of course a long drive, but well worth every second. While Kamri was down there she was finally referred to an orthodontist who said it's time to start her treatment. So, in the very near future Kamri will have braces put on a few of her teeth and we will begin the road to her oral perfection (ha!). More to come on that topic later I'm sure.

Tuesday we had an appointment with the Hunt County ECI ladies. I was slightly nervous about this appointment, as was Steve. But overall I'd say it went very well. Back in June, when we went to see Dr. Lay for Grant's 15 month well-child check she noticed that he wasn't able to speak very many words and it was mildly concerning to her. I myself had not noticed because I figured that children just start talking when they're good and ready. However, she referred us to the Hunt county Early Childhood Intervention group. She said it wasn't anything to be strongly concerned about at this time, but she'd like for them to assess him just to make sure that he's learning and developing properly. So, Tiffany and the ladies came out to assess my boy. And their report was as I expected. He's actually AHEAD of his age developmentally in every area EXCEPT the number of words that he's able to say. Me.....I just think he's being lazy....lol. He's gotten so used to having myself and two older sisters provide him with anything and everything he needs before he even has to ask. So, that's something we are learning to work on. He'll be assessed again in a couple of months and in the meantime, we're teaching him to speak.

Wednesday finally rolls around and although in my opinion we've already been busy enough to last us the rest of the week.....there's still more to do. Greenville Carpet came and installed the new carpet in the hallway and the kid's room......something I've been looking forward to for months now! And I'm SO pleased with how it turned out. But let me tell you........Wednesday was a crazy day for us. Certain areas of our house looked like we had either just moved in or had a severe case of hoarding...lol! Cleaning everything out of the kids' room and moving it all into the pool table room made for a huge mess (albeit an organized mess). Plus, it took the installers longer than I had expected to lay the carpet so my poor kids were bored ALL day. See, not only did they not have a bedroom to play in but they also couldn't play outside since the temps have been in the 104-110 range for about 2 weeks straight now. So, as terrible as it is, my kids spent the better part of the day in the nice air conditioned living room watching movies. But, honestly I don't know of any other way to keep them out from under foot and entertained. Soo......we dealt with it the best we could. And to be quite honest, the worst part wasn't the kids being bored.....it was having my 16 month old son desperately need a nap and me having nowhere to put him where he could safely sleep. That's where my nerves started to fray.......but we all survived and our house is one step closer to being "complete".

Thursday......man is it only Thursday??? I spent THREE HOURS at Rockwall Dodge getting my truck serviced. Last month I came across a deal on Groupon where for only $24 you could receive an oil change, state inspection, and car wash for your vehicle. This came at a PERFECT time since my inspection was expiring in August and my truck was a tiny bit (3000 miles) overdue for an oil change. So, I snatched that deal up quick!! But, I did have to sit and wait in the customer service waiting area for 3 hours while my truck was enjoying it's spa day. Again, a long long long LONG wait......but worth every penny! Afterward I drove my newly cleaned and running like new truck over to Kroger and did the grocery shopping for our family. This week I was able to purchase ALL of my family's grocery and personal needs for just under $33. And that feels great! See more about that at http://www.lifethefrugalway.com/.

Friday, oh how I love thee.......not a lot to report for Friday.....I was finally able to get my eyebrows waxed (and realized that it had been close to 9 months since my previous appointment...what?!).....this was something I've been looking forward to for about a month now, so it felt GREAT to rid myself of that unwanted pesky hair. Then the girls and I had lunch at Subway with my mom and headed back home to wait for the text from Adam letting me know he was ready to meet me to pick up Ryann. Believe it or not, that's the extent of my Friday.......boring, I know.

So here we are now.....Saturday morning......sipping coffee and browsing the online deal websites that I follow. Getting ready to "prep" for my shopping this week. While it may not sound like much to some......it's one of the highlights of my week. I <3 saving money!!!

It's definitely been a busy week for us. And next week looks like it's going to be jam-packed as well. LOTS of thing to finally get off my To-Do list, school shoe shopping (hopefully), and a trip to the local library for the kiddos. I'm looking forward to a productive week!! And if all goes as planned, we might even get to hang out with some family friends tonight and go bowling! Whoo-hoo!!!!

Hope everyone has had a blessed week!!

Love to all,

Melony & The Fam : )

Happy Birthday, Ryann!!!!

My how the time flies!!! Nine years ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed in College Station, Texas waiting on my first baby girl to join this world. I remember feeling more scared than I had ever been in my entire life....while at the same time feeling more excited than I'd ever been either. We've been through so much together in such a short period of time.

Ryann, you are one of the smartest, most caring little girls that I've ever had the privilege of knowing. And I count myself as blessed to be your Mommy. I know that there will be trying times as you continue to grow and learn, but I am SO exicted to see the woman that you will one day become.....strong, independent, confident, loving, and a true blessing to everyone who knows you. You have made the past nine years so amazing and FUN!!!

I love you with all of my heart, baby!! Happy Happy Birthday!!!

Love, Mommy

Summer Time in Texas!!!

Wow!! I can't believe that it's already July 4th! It seems like it was just last week when the girls were finishing school and now the stores are already putting out school supplies for the upcoming school year!!! My, how the time flies.

Both of the girls are with their respective dads for the month of July. Kamri left on the Friday before Father's Day and will return on August 1st. And Ryann just left this past Friday. It's definitely a lot quieter around here with just one kiddo to keep us busy. But, I'd swear that he's made the decision to keep us just as busy whether it's just him or not...lol. He's at the age that he's into EVERYTHING and it's sometimes a tiring task just keeping him out of danger and out of the pantry!!! But he's also at the age where he's really learning to express himself using facial expressions and some of the ones he comes up with are just adorable! I took him grocery shopping with me last week and he had a blast! Granted, being able to ride around in the little cop car certainly made the trip a lot more enjoyable for him......and who am I to argue??

A couple of weekends ago we spent a Saturday at Lake Tawakoni State Park with the family celebrating Bapa's 50th Birthday and Father's Day although the two don't fall on the same day. The Dads decided that they wanted to hold off and celebrate the Saturday AFTER Father's Day so that's what we did. We had a wonderful lunch under a huge shade tree where the biggest thing we had to worry about was having the cool breeze blow our food away and then we all had a little "boat therapy". That's what Aunt Jessica has nicknamed it and I think I kinda like it. Gamaw wasn't able to join us on the boat since she's finishing up an intense college course and needed to fit in some extra study time. But doesn't it just look like these two had a blast??

We are all missing Kamri Jay here. I'm very ready for her to be back home and for things to get back to "normal"!!

I'm still couponing and LOVING every minute of it! I absolutely love the challenge it brings into my daily life. Saving money on items that my family uses on a weekly basis is exhilarating!!! I even finally got around to setting up my Couponing website this past week and although it's a work in progress, I'm pleased with the outcome thus far.

Steve and I are still working on things in relationship land. We made it to that 3 year mark and all of a sudden things got hard. I fully believe that Satan is just playing around with both of us because one of the things he hates MOST is two God-fearing, God-loving people in love. But, we will make it through this time and when we come out on the other side a stronger couple, we'll look back and know that the Lord had his hand on us the whole time.

That's about it for us. We stay pretty busy most days. Grant sees to that! Haha!!

Hope everyone else is doing well. I'm still working on getting the literally hundreds of photos that I had on MyPhotoAlbum.com transferred over to the new site, PhotoBucket. It's truly a pain that MyPhotoAlbum decided to shut down......but what can you do about it??

Until next time,

Melony : )

One Year Stats

So, our boy is officially one. I wanted to make sure that I remembered to post the stats from his 12 month check up. So here is where we stand as of right now. One week after Grant turned one, we took him to see Dr. Lay for his 12 month well check. He now weighs 21.9 pounds and is 30.5 inches. That puts him in the 45%-50% range for his weight, but he's still in the 75th percentile for his height. He's a completely healthy boy....growing and learning right on schedule. As of this past week, he's started walking a lot more. He's now taking 6-8 steps unassisted, standing up without the help of support, and can even stop while he's walking and start up again. He has 6 teeth now......and we're working on the table food. He's slightly picky. Doesn't like pasta, but LOVES crackers and bread!!! And a bit of WONDERFUL news, this week is the first week in the past year that he's finally started sleeping mostly through the night. His bedtime is 8:30-9:00 and he usually wakes up between 12:30 and 1:00.....but then he goes right back to sleep and stays that way until usually 8:00am. This has been a prayer answered for us!!! I can't tell you what it's been like to wait an entire year to have a full night's sleep!! But, finally it looks like we're on the right track! Unfortunately, I don't have the pics from his birthday party on this computer......mine has a virus and is being worked on....so, I'm updating from Steve's laptop.....but I'll post pics on myphotoalbum.com as soon as I can!! Love to all, Melony : )

Happy Birthday Grant!!!

March 16, 2010 ~ A day I'll never forget.......the day the Lord blessed us with the birth of our precious little boy. And my, how the past year has flown by!! There have been tears, laughs, smiles, and exactly 365 sleepless nights.....hahaha.

Grant is close to walking....he's actually taken several steps completely free of support, however as of right now, he still prefers having something to hold on to as he cruises around the house. This week has also brought on 2 new teeth, which brings the running total to......6. LOL.....one of these days the teething will all be behind us, but we're not there yet.

He still hasn't said Mama......but it's Dada Dada all the time!! However, when it comes to cuddle time it's ALL about the Mommy!! He's definitely become a Mommy's boy lately.....and I love every second of it!! : )

He has started doing the funniest thing lately.....he likes to head butt you and then rub his head back and forth on yours....in the same motion as if he were shaking his head no......he gets a kick out of it and so do we. There are usually kisses that accompany this fun game so it's something that I LOVE to play with him!!

Since Grant's first birthday falls smack dab in the middle of the week this year, we are having his party on Sunday March 20th. We're looking forward to having everyone over to celebrate with us. I'm sure there will be plenty of pics to share! Until then, I'm gonna go soak up some more love from my little man!! : )

Man oh Man!!!

It seems like no matter how determined I am to keep this blog updated, it just doesn't happen!!! Being a Mommy to 3 takes surprisingly more time and work than being Mommy to 2!! It's probably also partly because Grant is 11 months old....he keeps me pretty busy all of the time. But here we go.....here's the latest.

I ended up NOT taking the job in Rockwall due to the fact that the pay was extremely low and it would actually end up COSTING me money to go to work everyday......call me crazy but I don't think that's what any of us are looking for in a job. SO, I'm back to being a SAHM full-time and working my MK business.

Both of the girls are doing exceptionally well in school. When the last report cards came out Kamri had all A's and Ryann had all A's with the exception of one B. She struggles sometimes in math.....but so did I. I don't know that I EVER got an A in math and I graduated in the top 10% of my class with a full scholarship to college. So, we're working on it.....but I'm very proud of both of them for all of their hard work.

Steve and I started taking Financial Peace University at our church this month. And so far I L-O-V-E it!!! I think it's going to make a HUGE impact on our lives. I can't wait to see how much we are going to benefit from all of this information. It's going to take some hard work, but I believe that we both understand the implications of NOT planning for our future.....and neither of us want that outcome.

Grant is 11 months old now.....he'll turn one on March 16th.....just a few short weeks away. I can't believe that I'm already planning his first birthday! It seems like the past year has just flown by! He's not walking yet, but he's trying.....and as far as teeth go, there are still only 4 as of right now. He's been saying "DaDa" for as long as he's been making noise it seems, but lately he's actually trying to say "MaMa". However, it sounds more like "BwaBwa" when it comes out....lol. We'll get there. He learned how to play Patty Cake this month as well. So now anytime you say "patty cake" to him he claps his little hands and gives you a HUGE smile!! I love how happy he is!!

Unfortunately, our family has dealt with a lot of sickness in the past couple of months. First, Grant had strep the week before Christmas.....and then I ended up sick the week of!! Then we started the new year and thought everyone was going to be fine. Well, beginning of February rolls in and Ryann ends up with a stomach bug that lasted for several days. The Kamri gets strep and later the same week, Grant gets strep again. Kamri and Grant have BOTH dealt with secondary infections.....but are finally on the road to recovery! Thank you Lord!! Between sick days and snow days (That's right.....we had 5 or 6 in a two week period), my schedule has been all sorts of upside down!!

Steve is starting a new job next week at Orr Nissan in Greenville. We really don't know what to expect of this new opportunity, but we believe that it was sent to us from God, and we're really excited about it!

Other than that, not too much happening here in our little house. We are living in His blessings and taking each day as it comes. : )

Melony

2011 ~ Some new and some the same.....

So, the start of a new year has brought changes to our family. And a little of the same old stuff as well. One of the "New Years Resolutions" that Steve and I set for ourselves was working on eliminating our credit card debt and so, we decided that the only way this was going to happen was for us to be bringing in as much income as we could this year. SOOOOO, I got a job.....for right now it's a temporary position that could only last for a couple of months, but it's something to get us started. For the next 8 weeks (or longer) I'll be working on a marketing project for an athletic club in Rockwall. My employment also came with a gym membership and, truth be told, that was definitely a deciding factor on whether or not I would take this position. I am once again attempting to get back down to a more "healthy" weight and lifestyle. And I'm thinking that working at a gym 5 days a week could really help me out with this!!

Steve is also going to be bowling a lot more on the weekends than he has in the almost 3 years that we've been together. He's bowling really well right now, possibly the best he's ever bowled, and we want to capitalize on that, so he'll be traveling a lot more this year and we hope that he'll be able to really be successful in his bowling career.

There really isn't much new for the kiddos this year. Ryann got braces during the last week of December and will have them for 12-14 months. And both girls will continue taking cheer this year. They seem to really enjoy it and they are learning a lot. Both girls are doing well in school.....and that's not something that I expect to change for the remainder of the year....thank goodness!! Grant is crawling all over the place and is already hard to keep up with!! He still only has two teeth, but we're hoping some more come through soon.....my poor boy needs some relief!!!

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot going on with us. Check out our photo site for pics from this month.

Love to all,

Melony & the fam : )

Oh how the time flies swiftly........

So, here it is December 20th.....5 days before Christmas.....and we just started (and finished) our Christmas shopping all in one day! I'm pooped! BUT.....it's done!

Both of the girls are gone now for the Christmas holiday. Ryann will be home on the Christmas afternoon and Kamri will be home on the 26th. We miss them terribly when they're gone, but know that they enjoy spending this time with their other families. But boy, let me tell you.......the week leading up to their departure was plain madness!!!

Monday night I stayed home from my meeting since the girls had been gone all weekend as well as Steve and we spent an evening just being together. Tuesday we had family movie night one last time before the girls left (we try to do this once a week). Wednesday we had cheer practice and then Christmas shopping for Steve and Gamaw. Thursday night was our annual tradition of going out to see Christmas lights with my parents. We always go out in our pjs and have popcorn and hot cocoa while we drive around looking at all of the lights. Friday was the final day.......we started out with school Christmas parties for both girls, then rushed home to bake cookies, trim the tree, wrap all of their Christmas gifts purchased for others and watched a final Christmas movie before heading out to their Christmas party for Stepz Gym. Needless to say, I was beyond exhausted by the time we got home.......but the fun doesn't end there!!

Saturday morning at approximately 3:00am Grant woke up with a wretched fever and a nasty cough.......so Mommy didn't get much sleep that night. However, staying home in bed wasn't an option for us.....my sister, Brittany, graduated from Texas A&M Commerce on Saturday morning and we had a special lunch for her at my mom's house that afternoon. Sadly, Grant and I were the only ones able to attend since both girls were gone and Steve was bowling in a doubles tournament in Euless (where he made $900, thank you very much!!! So proud of him!!). Once all of this was done, we headed home where we could FINALLY rest. However, it was more of the same (coughing and fever) in the wee hours on Sunday morning, so we were not able to attend church (sad face). But, we certainly didn't want to pass our germs on to anyone else and we really had no way of knowing how sick he really was. So, we chilled around the house for the day.

We were able to get Grant in to see the doctor today and it turns out he has strep......the boy has never been sick a day in his life and now he has strep!!! Blegh! Here's hoping the rest of us don't end up with it although I haven't been feeling all the great the past couple of days......Lord, please here my plea......no sick Mommy and no sick baby for Christmas!!!

We have quite a few pics from our week of adventures........so, check out our photo site to see them!! And check back soon for more mishaps and mayhem from our family!!

Hope everyone is well!

Melony, Steve, and the Sickly Grant

PS: Christmas cards go out tomorrow!!!! They're awesome! : )

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.......

I can't believe it's already been 2 months since my last post! The time flies by us so quickly these days that we are barely able to keep up! It's now December 14th and before we know it we'll be ringing in the new year! So, here's a little update on how things have been with our family.

Ryann and Kamri are both doing great! Getting excellent grades in school and almost no behavorial issues whatsoever.....which has been a HUGE relief to all of us! They are also participating in Cheer/Tumbling at Stepz Gym in Wills Point. Their coach, Coach Nate, has been very impressed with their progress.....especially little Miss Ryann. She's almost ready to be doing back handsprings by herself....and that's just what she's learned in the 2 months that she's been going. Coach Nate says that Kamri has one of the prettiest back handsprings that he's seen if she can just figure out how to power herself through her moves rather than have him do the "heavy lifting". Both of the girls love going to Cheer and I think it's safe to say that it's one of the highlights of their week!! I'm going to post pics on our photo site for anyone interested.

For Thanksgiving this year, both of the girls had the opportunity to spend time with their Dads and with us. It was a little chaotic because during the course of the week I only had the two of them at the same time for 2 days.....but they were able to enjoy the special holiday with ALL of their family so that's what's important. Steve, Grant and myself got to enjoy 3 days worth of Thanksgiving......and by the end of those three days I was ready to start walking and clucking like a turkey!! LOL But it was a wonderful time for us as well! And it was Grant's first Thanksgiving........he really enjoyed the mashed potatoes....heehee.

This year we as a family also participated in the community service project that my Mary Kay unit does every year called Adopt A Grandparent. Basically we partner up with local business, organizations, and individuals to provide a gift to residents of the local nursing/retirement homes. Last year we provided gifts to 200 residents but THIS YEAR we were able to provide gifts for 500 "grandparents". The girls were a little apprehensive about this last year, but this year they jumped right in and made a lot of elderly residents very very happy. I feel so blessed that I can have my family participate in such an awesome program. It really teaches the kids about giving back and helps them keep a firm grip on what Christmas is SUPPOSED to be about!! We look forward to doing this for many years to come!

With Christmas less than two weeks away, and the girls leaving to be with their Dads in 4 days, there is just so much left to do!!! Christmas shopping for family, baking cookies, Christmas parties, our annual trip to look at Christmas lights with my parents!!! By the end of this week I'm going to be worn out.....but I wouldn't trade one single moment of it! Check back soon for more pics and posts about our week!

We hope everyone is doing well and living in God's richest blessings!

Love,

Us : )

So Very Blessed

I cannot even BEGIN to express how incredibly blesssed I have felt lately!! With so many negatives going on in the world all the time, it makes me feel so wonderful to know that we have a home to live in, dependable cars to drive, family and friends that love us dearly, and the health we need in order to work.

Grant is 6 months old now and sitting up unassisted!!! He's getting so big. He's made it up onto all fours and is rocking back and forth.....he'll be crawling in no time!! Still no teeth at this time, but we don't mind waiting on those!! He's such an awesome little guy....full of smiles and laughter all the time!! It's funny that everyone who sees him is very adamant on who he favors most.......and the answer is always different....lol. People either think he is a complete clone of Steve or they think he looks just like me........which do you think??

Ryann started third grade this year and she is enjoying school. I don't think that I can honestly post that she "loves" school anymore because she has now reached the age that she could probably take it or leave it and the main reason she wants to go (most days) is to see her friends. Haha!! However, she is doing excellent in all of her subjects and is learning more and more all the time. We are definitely going to have her tested for GT this year. I feel confident that she'll pass with flying colors. This is a picture of her on the first day of third grade.

This year Kamri started 1st grade and we have been SO impressed with how much she has grown and changed over the past year. Last year it was a constant struggle to keep her behaving in school. This year......a complete 180!! In the first six weeks of school she has only had ONE oops moment and will end the first six weeks with a citizenship grade of 99!!! Everyone who talks to her can see how much she's grown up and comments to us all the time how well behaved, polite, and smart her and her sister both are! It makes me feel SO good to hear these compliments since for many years I was a single Mommy and worked hard to teach them good manners! LOL.... Kamri has also done extremely well academically this year. And we are going to have her tested for GT classes when the time rolls around as well! They are both so very smart! I just LOVE listening to them talk to each other.....it's so entertaining. Here's a pic of Kamri Jay on the first day of school!!

The girls also started Tumbling classes in preparation for Cheer last week and they had a blast. I'll take some pics this week when we go and post them online.

I guess our blog update wouldn't be quite complete without also giving an update on myself and Steve. We are doing great!! We've been attending church at Family Fellowship in Greenville since December of last year and just recently have made some awesome new friends!! We both really enjoy attending church there and can't wait to see how many MORE friendships the Lord is going to bless us with!!

Steve is still bowling travel league/tournaments several weekends a month and has just recently started giving private lessons and he LOVES it!! I've been telling him for a couple of years now that he needs to coach....but does he ever listen to me?? LOL He's also still playing golf a couple of days a week and enjoys getting outside away from all of the hustle and bustle and being with "the guys". He's getting a lot better at golf too according to my Dad and several of the other guys he plays with. He's actually played in several tournaments recently and has some championships to brag about! Whoo-hoo!!!

I'm still working and growing my Mary Kay business. My goal is to be on target for that Career Car by this December and to be in qualification to be a Sales Director!!! That's a pretty HUGE jump in my career so it's going to take some hard work and LOTS of prayers to get me there!! I've also been exercising everyday......walking/jogging 3 miles a day and working on losing the rest of this baby weight plus some!! I'm starting to see real results and that makes me a very happy camper! Go me!!! I love the fact that I get to be a "work from home" mommy now. I'm not missing out on any firsts with Grant and that's so valuable to me!! I highly recommend it to all mommys...lol!

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'm currently in the process of uploading new pics on our website as well, so check those out when you have time.

Hope everyone is doing great and living in God's richest blessings!!

Love,

Melony & the fam

Everyone's getting older......

Grant turned 5 months old yesterday....I can't even believe it!! It just goes by so very fast! He's still growing like a little weed. And definitely getting smarter. He mastered rolling from his tummy to his back about a month ago and is getting closer to being able to make it from his back to his tummy. And a couple of days ago he sat up on his own for about 5 seconds before toppling over....lol. No teeth as of right now, but the kid drools like he's going to sprout about 14 of them all at once. He also started eating cereal last week and this week we started on applesauce......which he loves as you can tell from the pic.....heehee. His sisters absolutely adore him and would do anything to make him laugh.

Speaking of sisters......Ryann celebrated her 8th birthday last month on July 13th. We took her to American Girl Bistro in Dallas and let her pick out her own American Girl doll.....and then we all had brunch together.....something that us girls loved, and Steve tolerated.....lol. She starts 3rd grade on Monday and she's really excited!!!! She's enjoyed her summer but she's ready to get back to school and see her friends again.

Kamri is starting 1st grade on Monday......I have a hard time grasping the fact that my little girl is growing up so fast. I'm excited about her starting school on a new campus this year. She'll be 7 in October and she's already planning out her birthday......lol. She's also really excited about starting cheer this school year.

Everything else is going pretty much the same for us......Steve's bowling and I'm working more and more every week. I'm currently in a challenge within my unit to put our amazing products on 100 faces within 100 days. I'm so excited about this challenge because it's really going to propel me to the position that I've been wanting since I started my business. I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.......

Also, I had a birthday on August 8th and Steve has a birthday this coming Monday......so yeah, we're both getting older......lol.

That's about it for now. I'll post again when the kiddos start school and let everyone know how their first day went.

TTFN.....TaTa For Now!!!!

Melony :)

Still adjusting.........

Grant went for his two week well-check yesterday (which was actually 2 days AFTER his 2 week birthday) and got excellent reviews!!! He now weighs 8 lbs 9.5 oz which is exactly on target for weight gain. He hasn't grown any taller.......just been plumping up.....he really likes mommy's milk....lol!! He's been sleeping really well, sometimes getting 4 hour stretches during the night. Mommy likes those!! He's starting to hold his head up a little and getting really strong!! Everyone just adores him when we go out ~ and of course the first thing EVERYONE comments on is the amount of hair our little guy has. He has so much of it that he sometimes doesn't look like a newborn baby!!! He'll be needing a haircut before long now!

The girls are doing really really well getting used to having Grant at home. They don't get quite as much of mommy's attention as before, but we spend time together whenever we can and they LOVE spending time with their brother. Last night we all went outside and enjoyed the weather together. Ryann rode her bike around and around the cul de sac and Kamri and I followed behind. We're still working on Kamri's bike riding skills........she'll get it before too long. It took Ryann about 20 minutes ~ I have no doubt Kamri will pick it up just as quickly.

Steve has bowled in a couple of league tournaments since the beginning of March and his team actually won first place in their division!!! This is really exciting to me because it means we've won a trip to San Antonio in May (I think it's in May)!!! We don't get too many adult weekends so I'm really looking forward to getting away and spending some time together!

Easter is in 2 days......Ryann is going to be spending the weekend with her Daddy but we are fortunate to have Kamri home with us. The plan as of right now is for us to all go to church on Sunday morning and we're going to take Kamri and Grant to an Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow.......assuming that the weather cooperates with us! Right now it's raining......ugh!

That's about it for now. Grant should be waking up soon for some of that yummy mommy milk and I have a few phone calls to make so I'll update again soon!

Hope everyone is going great!

Love to all,
Melony & the Family : )

To all my Mommy friends......

Okay ~ normally when I post updates on my blog it's to bring everyone up to speed on the family. Well, this one is going to be a little different. I'm in need of some advice from my friends and I'm hoping that this will be a good way for me to get it.

So, as everyone knows Grant was born 8 days ago......and I'm absolutely in love with this little boy! Just looking at him warms my heart. I mean c'mon.....can you blame me?? Just look at our little man!!

But....here's the deal. I'm going NUTSO sitting in my house everyday!!! I LOVE being able to be here with Grant and taking care of him. But I'm having a little bit of a hard time remembering how to just be me. There are still the daily things that need to me done around here.....cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. And I'm getting back into being able to do all of those things (after recovering). But, I'm also wanting to start working again. I had GREAT momentum built up with my Mary Kay business and with the birth of Grant, I feel as though that has come to a complete STOP!! I need to get myself back out there making contacts and holding appointments, but honestly I'm afraid of overdoing it and putting myself back several steps in the recovery process. I'm also DESPERATELY ready to start working out......but right now walking to the bus stop to get the girls off the bus in the afternoon wears me out. I guess in this particular situation I'm just expecting too much too soon. I'm frustrating myself because I'm not able to do everything that I would like to be able to do......and I know that I'm probably putting too much on myself.....but I'm just not a sit around the house and do nothing kind of person. And I'm going a little stir crazy!! However, I'm not interested in just leaving my house for the sake of leaving my house.........I'm looking to do something productive!!! I feel like I'm not being productive and it makes me feel awful!

So, this is basically a request for some advice, support, suggestions, tips, or anything else that you all have to offer. I trust all of my mommy friends and would love to hear what you have to say. Don't hold back. I know that this post probably sounded like a lot of whining.......but I'm in need of my girlfriends right now........so there it is.

What do you think?? If you can't comment on this site, just send me a message of facebook or email me at melk8879@yahoo.com.

Thank you all so much for loving me enough to help!!

Melony

It's a BOY!!!!

Grant Paul Merten
March 16, 2010 10:22 AM
Weighed 7 lb 15 oz ~ 21 inches

After getting a call from the hospital at 9:00 letting us know that our induction was being pushed back a few hours, Steve and I hung out at mom & dad's house for a while until it was time to leave for the hospital. Induction started at close to 2:00am with the insertion of medicine to thin my cervix. I was told that they would wait 4 hours and then determine when to start pitocin. Well, THAT NEVER HAPPENED!! Within 2-3 hours of being induced I was in full out labor. Contractions coming right on top of one another.......oh the pain......enter epidural. I had already informed the nurses and my midwife that in the past, once I have an epidural I progress very quickly. Apparently me telling them wasn't proof enough. I was dilated to a 3 when the epidural went in and within 2 1/2 hours I had progressed to an 8. Within 20 minutes of being checked and told that I was an "8" I was feeling pressure and calling the nurse back in. She told me that there was "no way" that I was already fully dilated and that she would come back in an hour to check me. Baha!!! She was back 20 minutes later to find me completely dilated and at +3 station. So, basically the baby's head was crowning. Our wonderful midwife....we'll call her Pam the Great......was called in and within a few minutes and almost zero pushes our little man was finally here!!!!

The first couple of nights were rough.....I'm sure that it's tough work being born and it certainly isn't easy delivering a baby.....so, we're all still trying to recover. I had no stitches and there was no tearing so my recovery has been remarkably fast.......thank goodness. And last night (night 3) Grant actually slept for a little over 4 hours in his own crib!!! Steve and I both woke up this morning freaking out because we hadn't heard from him in so long.....lol! But he was completely content snoozing. Whew!!!

Both Ryann and Kamri are out of town for Spring Break and both are very very anxious to meet their new baby brother! I absolutely CAN'T WAIT for them to come home on Sunday!!!!! I've missed them so much this week! It's been nice being able to adjust and have some time with just Steve, Grant and myself, but I know that we are all ready to have our family back home!!!

Gotta run.....it's lunch time for me and then for Grant!!!

Love to all ~
Melony, Steve & Grant : )

Finally the big day!!!

It's finally here!!!! We're going into the hospital to be induced tonight at 10:00 and we'll be meeting this baby soon!! We're all so excited!! The girls are both with their Dad's for spring break so it'll just be myself, Steve, and the baby this week! I'll post another blog as soon as I can.

Love to all!

Us!

10 days out!!!!

Well, I thought it was about time for an update. Although this one won't be long. We have 10 days remaining until our due date! But to be honest, I'll be really surprised if we hold out that long. I've started dilating and things have been progressing in baby land for a couple of weeks now. I've been having irregular contractions on and off every day for the past 3 days. So, we'll see what happens!!!

The girls are doing great! They're both really excited to meet their new brother/sister and can't wait for Mommy to go to the hospital!! Hopefully they will both still be here when the baby comes. Our due date falls right smack dab in the middle of spring break so there's a very good chance that both girls will be gone if we hold out that long.

I'll post updates on here as things progress and hopefully we'll have a new little one soon!!

Love to all,
Melony : )