My baby is 6!

Wow Lexi, where has the time gone? So many things have happened for you this year - you started kindergarten, you learned how to ride a bike without training wheels, you can tie your shoes, you lost 2 teeth, you can fix your hair (and everyone else's), and you can read this post!!! You love reading, your friends (old and new), family-time, crafts with mommy, sewing, dress up, hair/makeup, fashion, cooking, gymnastics, going to shows, High School Musical, Hannah Montana, music in general, and you love to do anything "special" and out of the ordinary. If it's any change in routine, you are up for it girlie...you fly by the seat of your pants!

I can't even begin to describe how much I love you and how much I revel in your accomplishments. Every day you are growing stronger, more independent, and more self-confident than I could have ever dreamed. I always joke that the only reason you need me around is to drive you places, and I really believe that's true. You can get yourself ready from head to toe in the morning, one day you even surprised me and fixed my breakfast (if only I could teach you to make coffee)! You are a joy to be around, your light shines so bright people can't help but be drawn to you. I look forward to seeing the changes you go through this year, but I hope this year goes by slower than the last...your baby years are slipping away so fast. I love you so much - HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEXI!

PS - We had a really awesome "pretend sleepover" for you and all your friends - no boys allowed - but in the utter chaos of it all mommy forgot to take any pictures. :-( I am heartbroken, a group shot of everyone in their jammies would have been so great. Where is that rewind button?

Procrastination at its finest...

Instead of doing the massive amount of work I have to do for finals this week, I'm reading blogs and killing time. I need a break from my professor for a little while (I've been watching nonstop video streams since 4pm, I thought I had more time to watch them all!). I haven't written much lately, so here's a little something.

Spencer has been on an 'I love you' kick lately, he tells me all day long. It's so sweet and I am so not complaining! Here's what he said in the car the other day after leaving Wallyworld:

"Mommy, I always love you, even when we go to Walmart."

Wow, just how stressed do I get in Walmart?

Then today at Fishlips: "Mommy, I love you" (he says it in this sing-songy kind of way where he draws out the I, there's no way to explain how cute it is in print).
Literally 30 seconds later - after I told him to pick up the paper bits from the straw wrapper he was tearing apart - he screamed "I'm not listening to anything you say, only daddy!" After which he spit on me.
About five minutes later, after this episode was over, guess what? "Mommy, I love you"

Ah, the joys of having a 3 year old, it's like living with a bi-polar person off their meds. I already have enough crazy in my house, thank you very much!

From Spencer's mouth:

Mama, when I'm a grownup and you fall out of my belly, I'll be sure to
pick you up and put you back in.

For my beloved Jasmine:

Sleep

Your suffering shall end soon,
though mine has just begun.
I do not want to let you go,
But I’m told the time has come.

I’ll hold you while you go to sleep,
and wish that I could too–
I do not want to say goodbye;
I want to go with you.

Sleep now, my precious baby,
Dream of your favorite toy,
And hide n’ seek and tug of war–
Those games that brought us joy.

I’ll think how very blessed I've been
For all the years we've shared,
I'd not trade them for anything–
Though this heartbreak would be spared.
--Kathy Doerr

I love you and I miss you so much.

August Blast from the Past

Here is a picture from August 2004. Lexi is 2 years, 9 months and Spencer is 8 months old. Lexi still has some of her chunkiness and look at the size of Spencer!

Summer update

Sorry, I haven't posted in a long time. I've gotten caught up in the lazy pace of summer. We started out our summer sick. We all had some sort of flu virus, the kids had it for about a week each, I had it for a month, and my dad ended up in the hospital with it. It was not a good start to the summer, but we have all made a full recovery now.

Nick and I went to see Kenny Chesney and Sugarland in June where we had 7th row seats. It was so much fun, as his concerts always are. Here's some pics:

Nick and I in the car before the show

Sugarland rocking out Jennifer Nettles (of Sugarland) posing for my pic :-) Show's about to start! Finally! Mr. Entertainer of the Year!

Next we went to Nick's cousin's wedding. It was awesome, they had it at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, we had a great time.

Getting ready to leave the hotel

Food, Food, Food! Lexi and Mimi (my mom-in-law)
The beautiful bride Kristy

Lexi and my sis-in-law Miranda

Lexi, Miranda, Aunt Kelly, and me

Nick and his brother James Lexi in the dress I made, her "princess dress".

For my birthday, we decided to continue the tradition and get new tattoos. I got a celtic motherhood knot with a pink and blue star for both of my kids.

My sister's tattoo, if you know her you will know it fits her perfectly. She plans to get a devil duck on the other shoulder blade for her birthday in October. April's tattoo, she also got a puple dragonfly behind the other ear.

The other really cool thing that happened on my birthday was Lexi lost her 1st tooth! The tooth fairy visited her, she was so excited!Since her tooth had been lose for a while, my next project was to make her a tooth fairy pillow, I even bought the glow-in-the-dark thread. I figured I had at least another week, but she knocked it loose at dinner and it fell out that night. Since we were having a hard time finding a babysitter for them for when we went to get tattoos, we were joking that she was going to lose her first tooth at the tattoo parlor. That would have been a story for the baby book!

Other than that, we've just been hanging out in the pool and having fun. I've been doing a lot of sewing lately, I've made 6 pillowcases with names on them, Lexi's dress for the wedding, some pillows, a couple of purses, some reconstructed t-shirts, and a few other odds and ends. My father got me a new embroidery machine for my birthday, now I just have to order it and wait for it to arrive, YAY! It's a Brother PE-700 embroidery only machine. I have a Brother 270D right now, which I love, but it only does 4x4 embroidery and I always want to do bigger designs. I can't wait!!

A pic of the pillowcases I've started making for each birthday party we go to. I use the pillowcase as the gift bag. It turns out really cute.

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture from July 21, 2001 - the day Nick and I got married!

Blast from the Past

I'm going to try every month to post a pic from the same month years past. Here's one of Nick and I at my high school graduation in May 1999 - Go Mustangs!

Look out for the whale....

For everyone who doesn't believe that I really gained 80 lbs while pregnant with Lexi, here's the proof:

Let me tell you, walking was difficult in those last few months!

Arrrgh...

Living with someone who has Alzheimer's is difficult. And tiring. And frustrating. Kids are so much easier. Remember to breathe, remember to breathe....

Some fun pictures from camping in December I never posted

While I was organizing some photos in my Flickr account, I realized I never posted my pictures from camping the week between Christmas and New Year's at Cars Park.

My sis-in-law Ashley ready to partay!

Four wheelin' it like real rednecks

He thinks he's hiding

Nick's cousin Sam, look closely and you'll see a lizard hanging from his ear

Spencer getting the party started

Chillin' in Aunt Jenny's RV (so much more exciting than our tent!)

Ballet

Lexi's professional pictures taken at ballet a few weeks ago:

My favorite one

I don't want to hear any snickers about her face and that pole...

Pool Party

A few pics from the party yesterday, I didn't take many because I was too busy running around...

Lexi and Rachel chillin'

Spencer on the trampoline

The cake I made, the recipe can be found here

It was a lot of fun, we'll probably have another one before the summer is over.

Bored...

Basics:
Name:	Ashley
Date of Birth:	7-14
Birthplace:	Palm Beach
Current Location:	Merritt Island
Eye Color:	Brown
Hair Color:	Brown
Height:	5'1"
Heritage:	Irish, English, don't know what else
Piercings:	5
Tattoos:	1
Favourite:
Band/Singer:	Dierks Bentley
Song:	Long Trip Alone
Movie:	Clueless, My Best Friend's Wedding, Cruel Intentions
Disney Movie:	Lion King, Nemo, Cars
TV show:	Smallville, Heroes
Color:	blue, pink
Food:	pizza
Pizza topping:	cheese and pineapple
Ice-Cream Flavor:	birthday cake
Drink (alcoholic):	Long Island Ice Tea (if it's made right), Madres, Italian Wedding Cake Martini
Soda:	Wild Cherry Pepsi
Store:	Target
Clothing Brand:	anything on sale
Shoe Brand:	see above
Season:	winter/summer - I can't decide
Month:	July
Holiday/Festival:	Christmas
Flower:	daisy
Make-Up Item:	lipstick
Board game:	Life
This or That
Sunny or rainy:	rainy
Chocolate or vanilla:	chocolate
Fruit or veggie:	veggie
Night or day:	night
Sour or sweet:	sweet
Love or money:	love
Phone or in person:	in person
Looks or personality:	personality
Coffee or tea:	coffee
Hot or cold:	hot
Your:
Goal for this year:	have fun, don't stress so much, breathe!
Most missed memory:	hanging out with my friends and having no responsibilities
Best physical feature:	don't know
First thought waking up:	are the kids up and what are they doing?
Hypothetical personality disorder:	OCD
Preferred type of plastic surgery:	lipo
Sesame street alter ego:	Cookie Monster
Fairytale alter ego:	Tinkerbell
Most stupid remark:	???
Worst crime:	shoplifting
Greatest ambition:	be a good mom
Greatest fear:	losing one of my children
Darkest secret:	if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret
Favorite subject:	math
Strangest received gift:	don't know
Worst habit:	cracking my knuckles
Do You:
Smoke:	no
Drink:	yes
Curse:	only when my kids aren't around
Shower daily:	no
Like thunderstorms:	yes
Dance in the rain:	yes
Sing:	unfortunately for those around me
Play an instrument:	not anymore, I used to play piano and flute
Get along with your parents:	yes
Wish on stars:	yes
Believe in fate:	yes
Believe in love at first sight:	no
Can You:
Drive:	yes
Sew:	yes
Cook:	yes
Speak another language:	no
Dance:	not really
Sing:	not good
Touch your nose with your tongue:	no
Whistle:	yes
Curl your tongue:	yes
Have You Ever:
Been Drunk:	yes
Been Stoned/High:	yes
Eaten Sushi:	yes
Been in Love:	yes
Skipped school:	yes
Made prank calls:	yes
Sent someone a love letter:	yes
Stolen something:	yes
Cried yourself to sleep:	yes
Other Questions:
What annoys you most in a person?	lying
Are you right or left handed?	right
What is your bedtime?	whenever i want
Name three things you can't live without:	Coffee, ipod, computer
What is the color of your room?	white
Do you have any siblings?	yes
Do you have any pets?	yes
Would you kill someone you hate for a million dollars?	if i knew i wouldn't get caught...but i don't think I could go through with it
What is you middle name?	Irene
What are you nicknames?	Ash, Ashes, Ashtray, Oooshley, Delectable, Rizzo, Boobs Magee, Ash-hole, Yelhsa
Are you for or against gay marriage?	for
What are your thoughts on abortion?	pro-choice
Do you have a crush on anyone?	yes
Are you afraid of the dark?	no
How do you want to die?	in my sleep
What is the largest amount of popsicles that you have eaten on one day?	don't like popsicles
Would you take a bullet for the one you love?	yes
What is the last law you’ve broken?	speed limit
In a Member of the Opposite Sex:
Hair color:	don't care
Eye color:	don't care
Height	taller than me (which doesn't say much)
Weight	healthy
Most important physical feature:	eyes
Biggest turn-off	smoking
Take this survey or other MySpace Surveys at PimpSurveys.com

Too cool for preschool...

So sweet

052007 056
Originally uploaded by AshD23.

What a wonderful sight to see when you go check on your children at night...