New Shoes

Briley recently got some new kicks thanks to a gift card from her great-grandmother Edna Mae. I have to share them because they are too cute and they fit feet that has some "fluff" on the top, as the sales lady at Stride Rite so sweetly called it.

Briley's feet used to be...umm...well, rather "fluffy" all over. Alright. Fine - they were just plain ol' fat. We found out they no longer measure wide, but we still have a hard time finding some that don't squeeze the top of her foot. And for the most part, cheap shoes just don't cut it.

So, I wouldn't recommend these if your kid can wear the $10 pair at Target, but if you're used to searching far and wide for shoes to fit your kid, this line call Morgan and Milo is at Stride Rite stores. Or just check out their website. Now that I know what size what Briley wears, I believe I'm going to order her some more.....

Getting Crafty

As I mentioned in a previous post, Briley looooves arts and crafts. Her teachers at school say she is the "craftiest" one in the room - not sure how they go about judging that at two years old, but anyway.....we will have to wait a few years to see if the girl has some talent or just an interest in this hobby.

Take me, for example - I also very much enjoy arts and crafts, but it's just an interest because I have absolutely no talent. You will never meet anyone who struggled as much in high school art class as I did.

Ok, I'm getting off topic. Here are some pictures from a craft project we did this past week. We made trees with leaves changing colors since I was on fall break. :o) Yeah, I really enjoy themes. In a couple weeks we'll be doing Halloween projects, then Thanksgiving.....you get the idea!

Briley's hand and arm print. This makes the tree trunk and branches.

Using her body as a canvas.

Body art. This isn't an early warning sign of her wanting a tattoo is it?! Kidding :o)

The finished product. Of course mommy had to do one, too! Kids shouldn't have all the fun. Sadly, my masterpiece doesn't look that much better than my toddler's.

By the way, I got this idea off of kaboose. It has all sorts of fun activities on it and it's really easy to look anything up. If you're like me and don't have lots of time to find stuff like this, then this website is the place to visit! You can find something fun in just a couple of minutes, print it off and you're ready to go. Or do what I do - make an account on there when you have a few free minutes and then anytime you find something on there that looks like something you might want to do, add it to your favorites. This way, you can sign in and then see all the great things you've saved at any time and take your pick!

My (Little) Big Girl

Talking about poop on my blog is probably inappropriate, but inhibitions usually disappear once you have kids, right?!

Briley did some fine work in her potty yesterday and while I'm proud of her for it, I am not on here to gloat. I'm on here to relay exactly how it all happened and what she said to me during the episode.....

She came and told me "I poo-poo, Mama". When she says this I never know whether she's telling me she already did or that she wants to go in her potty. But usually when I suggest the potty she refuses. Yesterday she complied. So I pull down her pants and diaper only to realize that she has left me a parting gift. I figured she was probably already done, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her sit on her potty (only after she smears the poo on her behind across the knees of my jeans - LOVELY.) She sits there for a moment, pauses, then stands back up and starts grunting, like she's going to relieve herself on the bathroom rug. So I try not to freak out and convince her to sit back down. After all, I'm already wearing this mess - I don't need it on my floor, too! She starts grunting and then says....

....."I can't. It stuck, Mama. It stuck! Help Mama! Pease help!"

I tried so hard to keep from laughing, being that this is a serious ordeal and all for her, but it was impossible.

Eventually, she informed me that she was done and her body was covered in Lisa Frank stickers shortly therefter to celebrate her accomplishment. (Our deal is Briley using potty = stickers on shirt, arms, hands and feet.)

Oh, and then we saved the surprise for daddy. Because we knew he would appreciate such a thing. < Sarcasm!

Better Late Than Never!

Here are just a few pictures of Briley's birthday party for those of you who weren't able to make it! I know, I know - I'm over a month behind! I'm so thankful our friends Kara and Ashley took tons of pics because Adam and I sure didn't have time to! I stole these pictures from both of them. :o)

The set up. We went ladybug crazy, I guess.

The big cake with all the baby ladybugs around it.

Little Bit and I checking out the trains. Her t-shirt said "Little Miss Birthday".

This is Briley's friend Lily that I have mentioned in previous posts. They are both apparently blown away by the birthday card. :o)

Briley's laptop from Lily, Kara and Lee. She knew how to work this thing immediately.

Before.....

........and after!

Prayers Needed

I'm going to make this quick because I have lots of studying to do (yes, it's my fall break and all I've done is read textbooks - fun!).

I would like to ask for prayers and thoughts for my family. My mammaw passed away yesterday. She was my great-grandmother and had just turned 96 last week. I won't get into how much she meant to my family because words can not do her justice, I just ask that you think about us. We know she is in a better place, but it's always hard to part with a loved one, especially when they have been with us as long as my mammaw had. And can you believe that she had 8 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and 9 (with one on the way!) great-great-grandchildren! Wow.

Again, please just keep my family in her prayers. Thank you all in advance!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

I got in trouble today.

With Adam.

Why, you ask?

Because when Briley and I got home from our recycling trip (we recycle E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. and you should too!), Adam came to get her out of the car and started freaking out because she was eating a no-no food.

In case you don't know (but I know many of you do) there are LOTS of no-no foods at our house. Anything with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, lots of food coloring, most dairy, nuts (including peanut butter!) is off limits to Briley. I'm sure I'm missing a few, too. And there are some that Adam and I stay away from or at least limit (high fructose corn syrup and sugar). Some may be no-no's because of Briley's intolerance to them (dairy), some may be because we are waiting till she is older to avoid allergies (nuts) and them some just aren't that great for you.

And guess what she was chowing down on in the backseat without me even knowing!

A chocolate granola bar! It was already open and half-eat because it was my breakfast yesterday. (Yes, my vehicle is THAT nasty.)

Adam was so ticked. He fussed and fussed at me! And you guys all thought I was the strict one! He is actually more particular about Little Bit's food than I am. I tried to convince him that it wasn't a big deal because 1.) she'd only taken a couple of bites 2.) it was organic and 3.) chocolate actually has been show to have some health benefits. But he didn't buy it.

He has now forgiven me, but he watched Briley like a hawk because he was afraid she was going to get sick due to my negligence. :o)

I'm So Proud :o)

I have to share this tidbit because it was my first real "proud mommy" moment. Of course, I'm always proud of Briley and people compliment her on different things all the time, but they're the kind of compliments every baby receives! This one is special....

I went to pick her up last week from school and when I walked in I saw Briley reaching for a marker and she said "Pease" to the teacher. When the teacher handed her the marker she said "Dank doo!" See, she always says her pleases and thank you's at home and to other people when she's out with Adam and I, but I doubted that she used her manners at school since they don't enforce it a whole lot at that age. But when the teacher saw me she said, "She's so sweet. She always uses her manners with us. She's the only one in the class that does and we don't even have to tell her do. She always does it on her own."

I'm sure my head was huge when I walked out because I was so proud! :o)

Manners are super important to me because my mom really stressed them with my brother and I when we were growing up. Mom always likes to tell us how the teachers would compliment us on our manners at the parent-teacher meetings! Haha. So I'm glad we're passing that down to Briley. Sometimes Adam and I will forget to say thank you to each other if we are in a hurry and Briley is always quick to correct us. She'll say, "Dank doo, Mama!" or "Dank doo, Dada!".

But don't you guys worry - my ego wasn't inflated for too long. When your kid insists on riding around Target with her sippy cup straw up her nose or screams "I poo-poo! Shoo-wee Mama!" while you're in a restaurant, you are quickly brought back down to reality.

Checking In....

I know it's been awhile, but I just wanted to check in with an update.

Thanks to everyone that came to Briley's birthday party and bought her gifts even when you didn't have to! She has enjoyed all of them. We hope everyone had a good time at the museum. There are so many more rooms than we checked out, so you should go back for a return visit if you ever get the time!

We had lots of fun in Chattanooga on her birthday, but I will have to post pictures another time. I'm at school right now and I'm supposed to be doing some pharmacology stuff and all the pictures are at home, anyway. Briley loves "feesh" (fish), so it was a lot of fun for her. She tried touching some sting rays and small sharks a couple of times, but when they got close, she freaked out and jerked her hand away. Then when we tried to lead her to another exhibit, she threw a fit and started screaming "I touch it! I touch it!"......but she could never work up the nerve. Maybe another time. And unfortunately we had to miss my family reunion because it was the same day as Briley's birthday, so that was a little bit of a let-down because my family only gets together about 3 times a year, but we had been planning on the aquarium for quite a while. Plus, Briley was the birthday girl and I knew she would have more fun checking out all the fish, so we stuck with our plan.

And while we're on the topic of Briley, she's doing great! Had a cold a couple of weeks ago that was rough on us all, but luckily it didn't go to her lungs and she's over it now! She says so many new things every day - we're always cracking up over her new words. Here lately, if something grosses her out she'll say "Shoo-weeee.......dat's natty!" Meaning - "that's nasty!" HA! Also, we are seriously going to have to watch what we say because a few days ago Adam called someone a "weirdo" and Briley starting repeating "Yeah, weirwo!" Oh, and I forgot to mention that at the aquarium when she started acting out and we put her back in her stroller (because she had been walking around, which she much prefers to riding in the stroller) she started yelling "Hep! I nuts! I cazy!" (Help! I'm nuts! I'm crazy!) Wow. Of course that one is my fault because when she does something funny, I always say "You're nuts!" to her. Oh well. She also likes to repeat everything I say. She will mock me FOREVER. I try to not laugh, but it's so hard!

Adam is doing well, too. I think he's going to start looking into other jobs, since the economy is going downhill at such a fast rate. Please pray that the Lord will direct us in our decisions. We have a few options right now, but we don't want our opinions to overshadow what He may be telling us to do.

And nursing school is still going. That's all I have to say about that. I study about 6 hours a day and that's not counting when I am in school from 8:00 to 3:45. That 6 hours is before school or after Briley goes to bed. And Briley has her own set of needs. And I refuse to let my house become messy. And we all have to eat something for dinner. I have been trying to go to bed at 10:30 and get up at 4:00 or 4:30 so I have morning study time, but it's definitely draining. Anyhow, I guess I'll ask for a prayer in that area, too! I'm just tired and stressed right now and I hate that studying consumes ALL of my time.

Plus, I've just never been one to sit Briley with some toys or in front of the TV and let her go at it. I like to do fun activities with her and she LOVES crafts together and I like to take her out to places. We are homebodies at night, but I hate to stay cooped up during the day - especially on days that Adam works. And now we never do anything fun anymore because of school. I also would really like to work-out from time to time and I just can't find some spare minutes to shove that into my schedule. And I don't think waking up earlier is an option! Also, I may see Adam for about 45 minutes or so a night and that's when we eat and then do a devotional. I honestly can say that the last time I sat down with him to even watch TV was about 4 weeks ago. Yeesh.

I do have to say that I am thankful to Adam and my mom for all the motivation they've given me. They've been so understanding if I have to use all my time for studying. They never make me feel obligated to do something or guilty if I don't get to do something, and that definitely helps me push through. Adam has also been lending a hand with a few things around the house and that's been a huge blessing. I am so grateful for him!

Okay, sorry for rambling - it's just nice to vent every now and then! I know I can count on the Lord to get us through the next couple of years - it's just taking me some time to adjust! :o)

Outside Time!

As I've told you guys before, Briley loooves playing outside. I can't wait until it cools off a little so it won't be so miserable outside and the mosquitoes will go away! Here she is playing outside a couple of weekends ago.

Oh my....another one of her "cheese" faces. Whatever happened to the days of getting a picture that was actually frameable?!

Playing in her castle from Nana. Unfortunately, if she sees a bug ANYWHERE on this thing, she refuses to touch the entire castle. Good thing there won't be so many creepy-crawlies once fall has arrived!

Another "cheese".

Checking out the bugs. She will not touch them, but she sure likes to look!

What's Been Going On

I'm using these few free minutes to give you all an update because we have been crazy busy this past week and I know we will be again this weekend with Little Bit's birthday.

Briley is doing well. Saying lots of sentences. She poked me (ok, more like stabbed me, but I'm trying to not be dramatic) in the back of the head with a stick a couple of weeks ago while we were playing outside and when I said "Ow!", she stuck her little face in front of mine and asked ever-so-gently "You okay, mama?" Speaking of being dramatic, though - she is quite the drama queen herself. And I'm not talking about fits here. She's all the time saying she has a boo-boo when she doesn't, but what's really funny is when she tells us she hurts. She'll hold her head in her hands and say over and over "I hurt, Mama. I hurt!" Now, don't get me wrong - sometimes she really does hurt or have a boo-boo, but when she does, she'll always tell us exactly where it is. I can determine when she's faking it because when I ask her where she's hurting or where her boo-boo is, she'll pause and then completely ignore my question and start up with the "I hurt, Mama. I hurt" all over again. Oh my......

Nursing school is going well. I guess. Thank you to those that have called to check in and ask about it. I have had hard classes before, but school is very important to me and I do enjoy learning, so I've pushed through them with mostly A's. I've always felt like even though these classes were tough, they were something I could handle. With nursing school, this isn't so much the case. I can honestly say I have never been more overwhelmed or stressed. Not only is a lot of the material VERY difficult, but we cover it very quickly (about 4-5 chapters a day). I had my first written quiz yesterday and did well, but the stressful part was our skills check-off. This is where our instructors come around the classroom and check you off on different skills, one by one. I was a nervous wreck. Anyhow - clinicals start next Friday, so that should be very interesting. I hope the first patient I work on is drugged-up or comatose because I'm already feeling sorry for my guinea pig!

Also, I am now able to do bed pans & bed baths, change the sheets on an occupied bed, take a person's BP, assess heart rate/respiratory rate/pulse rate, change gowns on an IV patient, empty a catheter, measure bodily fluids, measure a person's daily intake and output, wash my hands correctly, clean incisions, find all the pulses (there are 10!), blah blah blah. All of this is pretty basic - but the directions are very specific. You have to be very careful with gloves and contamination and safety issues. And a lot of it I will not even have to do that often when I become a R.N. Apparently, the bed pans and bed baths are delegated to the CNAs and LPNs. Oh well.

I will try and have some more pictures up soon. Right now, though, I have to go do some errands before tomorrow and try to get some things ready for our Chattanooga trip on Sunday. We are not going to be able to spend the night there (bummer!) because Adam has a work function tomorrow evening and they are doing a "cash spin". For every car a sales associate sold last month, they will get one spin and no matter what you land on, you get at least a little moolah. Obviously, we aren't going to pass that up! And then we cannot stay Sunday night because I have school on Monday. Oh well. We already have a trip to Nashville planned for the weekend after my finals in December, so we are just trying to look forward to that! I won't have class and we already know Adam can get that Monday off (we're going on a Sunday-Monday-Tuesday trip, so Adam only has to miss Monday because that Sunday is one of the two that he has off for the month). It will be nice to just do something different for a few days!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and I know I'll see many of you tomorrow at Briley's party!

Birthday Time!

As most of you know, Briley's second birthday is coming up! We stated on her party invitations that gifts are not necessary, but we knew there would be a few of you who still wanted to get her something. And that's fine! A couple of you have even asked if we would be offended if you brought a gift....let me explain where we're coming from on this. We do not mind in the least if you want to get her something, but we didn't want everyone to be expected to bring a gift, like most birthday parties. The gifts are the least of our concerns and being that we are an one income family, we know how it is to feel obligated to bring a gift when we could use the money elsewhere.

Here's our thinking: gas and food prices are ridiculous so not buying a gift is one less thing to worry about for you all, I've never thought birthday parties should be all about the presents, she's too young to care either way, we only have two hours at the museum and I'd rather have all the kids playing rather than sitting there watching her open presents, our house cannot hold much more, and there have been too many toy recalls for me to have that many suggestions on what to get her. We have stayed away from most plastic toys and anything made in China, so when you eliminate both of those, there's really just not that much to choose from. I haven't bought her a toy since last Christmas and have actually had to get rid of a few because they were some of the ones made with the chemicals in the plastic and/or lead paint. Let's just say she'll be getting lots of wooden stuff for Christmas this year. It's too bad you can't just go to the store anymore and pick something out without worrying what's in it that may hurt your child.

But I digress.....it's a-okay with us if you want to get her something and whatever it is, we will appreciate it. We just wanted everyone to know why we requested no gifts and that if you want to honor our request, we will appreciate that just as much as a gift, for sure!

Random Pics.....

Here are some random pictures of Briley from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy! (I've added some captions below each picture.)

Here she is shutting the door. She is really into this right now. Don't know why, but shutting doors is apparently great fun for her.

This is what happens when I tell her to smile :o)

She loooves going "side" (outside). She does freak out over the bugs (hey, she comes by it honestly!) but she will pick up worms. Although she usually pinches them in two pieces by accident. Oh well.

Dress up time! She gets all sorts of stuff out of her closet and asks for "hep" putting it on. Here she is in a raincoat with about 500 hairbows in her hair. Such a girl.

Reading books. One of her very favorite things to do. I hope this hobby lasts a long, long time.

And here she is with a very unbecoming facial expression attempting to attack me with the dreaded flower hand mitt. This is supposed to be used in the tub, but she uses it as a hand puppet/weapon.

Tomorrow is.........

........my first day of nursing school! WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I might need to tone the excitement down a notch in order to not scare anyone off tomorrow.

I'm going to make this update short and sweet because I seriously need to hit the sheets......

Briley did great Saturday and now we have her picture and fingerprints in this little book thing. The place was packed, so apparently I wasn't the only mom who thought this was a good idea. Although, I'm pretty sure I WAS the only mom whose child decided it was a superb idea to get in the middle of the whole thing (it was set up in one big circle) and dance to the music from 102.1. Too bad I didn't have my camera on me for that. She put on quite the performance.

Also, I had my second nursing orientation last Friday and it went very well. I know it's going to be hard, but I it will definitely be worth it. Roane State's nursing program has a 97% first time pass rate for the state boards and 100% job placement for all graduates before they even graduate! So that means I most likely won't fail my test to get my license and I will definitely have a job. Yipeee! But the best part of orientation was free food. I'm kidding. Ok, maybe not. I've never been one to turn down food, especially if it's free and Parkwest, Fort Sanders, Methodist, etc. had McAllister's cater the event. I can't argue with that. Oh, and I made a couple of friends, although no one close to my age. I know you're thinking that since I'm 22 and just now starting this program that everyone must be younger, right?? WRONG! I'm one of the youngest in the whole group. Weird. But it's pretty cool that all of these people are going back to school for this.

And finally, we decided to hit up Dollywood today one last time before school starts. We will definitely be back since we have season passes, but we won't be able to go as much as we used to. Plus, we hadn't been since June, due to my surgery and the fact that I wouldn't be able to ride the roller coasters. Boring! Briley actually enjoyed the carousel and is such a big girl now because she rides the pigs all by herself. :o( The flying elephants are still terrifying, though. I'm sure she's having nightmares of Dumbo right now. I didn't get many pics of the trip because the place was packed, we were hot, I didn't feel good and we have about 10,000 pictures of the same old stuff from Dollywood since we go so often. But I might get around to posting a few of them here in a couple of days.

Ok, I must go to bed now.....tomorrow is a big day!

Couple of Things Going On

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but I forgot about it - of course. Shoney's is sponsoring a KidCare Photo ID Program where your kids can get their pictures and fingerprints put onto a card (in case your child goes missing) for FREE. Most of you know what this is because it has been around for awhile. Adam and I both remember having ours done back in the day. Today they are having it at West Town and tomorrow they are having it at Foothills Mall. I'm taking Briley in a few minutes because this is the only chance younger kids have to get these made since they usually have to wait until elementary school to do this.

Also, Old Navy has certain jeans for kids and babies on sale for $7 and some for adults for $12. I don't think I've ever spent $7 on Briley a pair of jeans because I'm pretty thrifty, but this still isn't a bad price. We aren't buying any because I always try to buy ahead when I find a good deal and I found her Old Navy jeans on clearance and some used Gap jeans ($2.99 and a couple more pair for $4.99!) a while back. Just wanted to throw that out there, though, because you probably won't find them much cheaper unless they are on an extreme clearance later on in the year.

There are a couple of other things I wanted to post, but those will have to wait until later because Briley and I are fixing to head out to the mall! She hasn't been much of one for having her picture made here lately, so it will be interesting to see how she cooperates for this!

Mmm mmm good.....

I had some slight reservations about cooking back when Adam and I started living together. It wasn't that I don't enjoy it - because I do. And it wasn't that I had no idea where to start - I'd made a few edible things back in the day. But I have this weird frustration with cooking - if I make something that's a flop, it makes me sooooo mad! I wasted all those ingredients and my time and dirtied all those dishes for nothing! Ugh! It makes me irritated just thinking about it. (Ask Adam - I'm still ticked off about my baked spaghetti fiasco.) But surprisingly I have only made a couple of things so far that haven't been winners. I'm not embarassed to admit it, either - not everything is going to be perfect. Trial and error, I say!

But anyhow, whenever we try something new (which is pretty often because I'm not much for using the same recipes over and over), I always ask Adam if it's a keeper. We both have to agree for me to keep the recipe in my file.

And one of the best things I've made are these turkey burgers! They're really easy and so much better for you than hamburgers. We don't eat too much red meat around here because we try to eat pretty healthily. Adam actually eats better than I do, for the most part (I'm guilty of the occasional sweet tooth) and he has said over and over that he likes these better than hamburgers. That means a lot because this guy likes his meat! Here's the recipe:

1 pound ground turkey
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon finely diced onion
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/3 clove garlic - peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Then just mix it all together, form your patties and fire up the grill! (Or cook in a skillet over medium heat). Internal temperature should be 180 degrees. My mom bought Adam a meat thermometer that we use ALL the time because Adam tends to cook our meat on the rare side when he's using the grill - and it's not on purpose! :o) Some people may enjoy their steak a little on the rare side, but I don't know ANYONE who likes biting into a undercooked piece of chicken! Ha!

By the way, I got this recipe off of allrecipes.com. I love this website - you can search by the ingredients, of course, but all of the recipes are rated by people who've made them before. Lots of people even leave comments letting others know how they improved the recipe. Very helpful!

Briley vs. Daddy

Adam is a wonderful father. Don't get me wrong about that. And I am very thankful and fortunate that Adam believes that taking care of Briley, cleaning, cooking, bill paying, appointment making, and errand running, all while going to school, is much harder than him being at work all day. (Although I am more than appreciative and respectful of his hard work and long hours, for sure.) But man oh man - bless his heart when it comes to watching Briley on his own. He rarely has to keep her by himself (much to his relief) and it had been since June that the two were left to their own devices. Until this morning.

People, he was alone with her for FOUR hours and you would have thought I'd went on a weeklong vacation. The house was a complete disaster (I'm talking food on the floor, dishes stacked up, toys everywhere) and he said, "I don't know what got into her or why she only does this with me, but she wouldn't listen to anything I said! And she won't keep her hands off of anything. And she's like a leach on me. All she does is yell 'Dadadadadada'. And sometimes when I told her 'no', she wouldn't even listen to me and did what I told her not to ON PURPOSE! Can you believe that?! And the reason everything is a mess is because there was just NO WAY I could clean up anything with her around. She was into EVERYTHING."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I could have just rolled on the floor laughing. He thought that Briley just acted that way with him - like she was taking advantage of him since he doesn't watch her often. Ummm, I guess she's just a perfect angel when he's gone, right?! Only in my wildest dreams.

Even though it isn't always smooth sailing, I think alone time for the two of them is important, though. Dads need to know how to take care of their kids, too! And he said that overall, he enjoyed his time with her. But I'm sure he's also thankful that these bonding sessions are few and far between. :o)

Telling Stories....

Briley went through that dreaded "No!" phase for quite a while. Every question I had for her always returned the same answer - NO. And while she still favors this answer above any other, she has been known to toss a few yes's in the mix - especially here lately. Here's a conversation from last week while we were driving home from daycare:

Me: So, did you have a good day at school today?
BEK: No!
Me: You didn't? Well, did you play with any of your friends today?
BEK: No!
Me: Not even Lana?
BEK: No!
Me: Did you go outside and play today?
BEK: No!
Me: Did you take a nap today?
BEK: No!
Me: Hmm....did you eat anything today?
BEK: No!
Me: Oh no! Well, did they change your diaper at all today?
BEK: No!
Me: Are you lying about all of this?
BEK: Yes!

And there you have it, folks.

Me and My Girl

In the excitement of our busy weekend, I never had time to post any pictures.

I had lunch with my good friend Danielle, who I haven't seen in almost a year, and Briley and I got to spend some time hanging out with our friends Kara and Lily. We haven't seen them in awhile either (since January) so both of these visits were looong overdue. Lily is two months younger than Briley and they are just too funny when they get together. Briley calls her "Eee-Eee". So cute. And then I spent the rest of the weekend doing what everyone loves to do on a day off. Cleaning. I also made a cleaning chart so I can keep up with everything and not get overwhelmed once school starts. Yes, I am that nerdy. I made a cleaning chart - so sue me. I will not deny my love of organization and schedules!

Anyhow, here are some of the pictures I promised. I love this kid and all her facial expressions.

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry for no updates, but I feel like my head is about to explode with all the stuff I've been trying to get done and all the stuff I have yet to do. Plus, I have what I refer to as "mommy brain" - I believe this is where you lose any kind of short term memory once you have given birth. I had such a great memory before Briley was born and now....well, let's just say it leaves much to be desired. I'm liable to forget Briley - oh wait, yeah right....that kid is a like a leach on mommy's leg. I can remember what I wore on the first day of school EVERY SINGLE YEAR, but I cannot remember simple, everyday things (like updating this blog). It's absurd.

Anyhow, I've been busy trying to do a MAJOR cleaning of the whole house. And I'm not just talking about the everyday chores.....I mean, we're getting down to the nitty gritty here. Ok, maybe I am stretching it by saying WE, but I have been cleaning out everything, getting rid of stuff, etc, etc. Tonight I started working on scrubbing down all the baseboards. I am doing all this in the hope that it will make nursing school less stressful. I have heard the horror stories about nursing school consuming your life (and this is from people that do not have kids) and I'm already worried. So I figure if my house if good to go, then that will ease the stress at least a little bit.

Also, Briley's birthday is coming up. Enough said, right there. I'm a very detail-oriented person and I take forever planning this kind of stuff. I do enjoy it, though. We have also decided to take her to Chattanooga on her birthday and possibly spend the night, so there's some more things to be taken care of. Last year we took her to the Knox zoo and this year we're going to take her to the aquarium and children's museum down in Chatt. Don't even ask what we've got up our sleeve for next year - we already have it planned and she's going to love it. Eventually, these birthday trips will cease to exist because we won't be able to take a trip for every kid's birthday! But we're enjoying her being our one and only while it lasts (don't worry, it will last for a while longer!) and so we spoil her accordingly. :o) (In a good way, of course!)

Plus, I've needed Adam's help with a few tasks and he hasn't been able to because he's been working ALL the time. He worked on his day off this week and this Sunday is also his turn to work (they alternate Sundays). No fun! What really saddens me, though, is that we're not going to have much time together as a family from here on out. Next week, I have some nursing stuff on his day off, so we'll only have Sunday together. Then the next week, I start school and go all day during his day off and he'll work that Sunday - so NO days together on those weeks. It ends up that we're only getting 2 full days a MONTH together while I'm in school. This really stinks. Guess we'll just have to make the most of those 2 days! And it's just something we'll have to deal with for the next couple of years.....

Ok, so that's a little (or a lot) about what's been going on with us this past week. Tune in tommorrow for new pics of Little Bit :o)

Briley's Favorite Animal

Ok, so I really have no idea what Briley's favorite animal is. But I do know that she calls most animals ducks. She is getting better about calling other animals by their correct names, but for the most part.....they are ALL are still ducks. That dog running past our house? Uh, that would be a duck, according to Briley. That cat in her book? Once again - a duck. You get the idea. Anyhow, we've went and fed the ducks at the lake once before, but it was a couple of months ago, so we went again today. Briley really gets into this - she literally screams "Hi!" at them, waves wildly and then tries to chase after them. They always scramble away in fear and she acts like she cannot fathom why they would be terrified of her. Today she even went into the lake up to her knees and Adam and I had to drag her out because she would have went all the way in, had we let her. We do have to be careful at these duck feedings, though - those things get crazy and just go nuts when it comes to food. Moldy bread is apparently very enticing. We've heard that they have tried to attack people before, so we always park close and leave the doors unlocked in case we need to jump in quickly. Ok - I know you all are laughing now, but seriously! Today they started approaching us and hissing when Adam couldn't get the bread out of the bag fast enough! Anyway, I took a few pictures of our outing, so enjoy!

All Better Now

Praise the Lord! Briley is back to her old self. I guess it was a virus, after all. I'm so thankful. She gets sick so often and I just hate it for her - I'm so glad that it didn't last long this time. Plus, she still doesn't have health insurance, so that makes everything even more worrisome for us when she is feeling bad. Of course, my first concern is her, but I do fear that if she gets bad we will have to rush her to the emergency room and that will cost a pretty penny. Anyhow, I have to go for now - today is Adam's day off and we are going to go do a couple of things since Little Bit is feeling better. Just wanted to let everyone know she is as good as new!

Safe Sippy Cups

I first started reading about this sippy cup issue back in January. And I was behind on it, even then! Some of this info had been out for awhile, but I had not come across it in any of my research. (Yes, some people may make fun, but I research EVERYTHING. Let me repeat that - EVERYTHING.) Many of the people I know with kids are informed on the topic by now, but I figure I'll put this out there just in case because I know there are still quite a few that have not heard of this yet. This has been on the news and there are many, many articles on the subject so you can always google it if you want even more info. (I will also have some links at the bottom for you.)

I'm going to try and make a long story short. In many of the sippy cups and bottles produced, there is a chemical in the plastic called BPA (Bisphenol A). There have been many studies that show that even low doses of the chemical cause many problems in animals, so we can only assume what they must do to humans. There have also been a couple of studies that actually do include humans and the results from those have not been positive, either. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, miscarriages, neurological issues and obesity are just a few of the concerns that are associated with BPA. It's just the tip of the iceberg, so to say. There is already legislation going on to hopefully completely ban the use of the chemical, but in the meantime, it's important that we pay attention to what we buy to make sure it is BPA-free. Especially when it comes to things that we buy for our kids. There are many countries that are ahead of us on this - for example, Canada officially declared BPA "toxic" back in April of this year and a ban on it should be issued in the coming months. Also, it's important to remember that while I'm focusing on sippy cups and bottles, there are many, many things that have BPA in them. We are in the process of switching our plastic dishes (especially those containers used for leftovers) to glass.

There is a vast selection of BPA-free sippies and bottles and there are products to fit every budget. When we first started throwing out Briley's old cups and buying new ones, there weren't that many options and her cups were very expensive. Over the past few months, though, this has become a huge deal and there are now more affordable BPA-free cups and bottles. Of course, you do get what you pay for, so the more expensive ones are nicer and more durable.

Here is a link that has more info on BPA (it also has some links that will direct you to even MORE info, if you are that interested) and also gives some ideas for safe sippies and bottles.

Info on BPA and Safe Sippy/Bottle Ideas

Also, something to note: some of the plastic sippies and bottles listed on some sites are only BPA-free if they are the newest versions. So, say you have a Gerber sippy cup from 2007 - sorry, but it may contain BPA. Unless your plastic cups have been purchased very recently, I'd be super careful about trusting that they are BPA-free. Some manufacturers only made their products BPA-free when they started getting lots of bad press, so just because they are now advertising their stuff as BPA-free doesn't mean it was always so.

Here are our favorite cups:
Thermos Foogo
Sigg Sippy
Take and Toss - We use these for mealtime because they are easier to wash than the others, but the downside is that they are NOT "no-spill" so we have to be extra careful.

Alright, I guess that's about it for now. If I come up with anything else, I'll let ya know! :o)

Pictures soon - I promise!

I'm blaming the lack of pictures on Briley. She was crazy this weekend so I never got around to posting some. The "terrible twos" must be getting a head-start or something! Just kidding - she wasn't bad at all, she just wanted to test me on everything. The best is yet to come, huh?

On top of all that, she started coming down with something last night. She's had some congestion for the past couple of weeks, but that's nothing new for her. Then around 2:00 this morning she woke up full-blown sick. I had a doctor's appointment today that could not be re-scheduled, so she had to come with me, but she did surprisingly well. We just laid around the rest of the day because she felt horrible - her fever rose to a little over 103 and Motrin didn't even touch it. I'm pretty sure it's just a virus this time around, though. It's nothing like the pneumonia from a couple of months ago - thank goodness.

I've got to locate the cord for the camera in order to post some pictures and that may take a day or two because I've hid it and I can't remember where. Why did I hide it, you ask? Because Briley thinks the ends of the cord belong in her ears - like headphones. Haha. In the meantime, I am going to post a couple of things that I find very interesting. If you don't agree, you don't have to read it. :o)

A Little Update.....

I promised myself that I would keep up with this blog and I'm already slacking! I really want to make time every couple of days to provide updates on Briley and all the other stuff that we have going on - it's just going to take some getting used to. I have been very busy trying to get some nursing stuff out of the way. I'm amazed at all the junk I have to get done and papers to fill out and stuff to buy just to start the program!

Some new pics of Briley will be up sometime later today and MAYBE a video of her. I say "maybe" because I have no idea how to go about that or where the cords are for our video camera. Also, right now I'm using Adam's laptop and I'm not sure if his is capable of putting up videos in a decent amount of time. It's slow enough when posting pictures. The video may have to wait until I can get my laptop fixed (it has ANOTHER lovely virus) and that could be awhile because it's going to be costly and the funds just aren't available for that right now.

Anyway, we took Briley to the Children's Museum on Adam's day off and she had a blast! We got lots of good video of that, but no pictures, unfortunately. Our camera eats batteries like they're going out of style and, of course, it died right in time for the museum and we didn't have any extras on us. On the bright side, though - we had really been wanting to check the place out for awhile (I've been a couple of times, but it was loooong ago and Adam says he doesn't remember going at all) and this looks like a good place for Briley and I to hang out this winter when it becomes cold and there's not much to do. Plus, she's free until she turns 3 and it's only a couple of minutes from our house!

Movie Time!

Briley had her first big screen experience a couple of weeks ago when Adam and I took her to see Charlotte's Web. Some of the local theaters have summer programs where they show children's movies for free during June and July. We figured this was the perfect way to test the waters, since we could always just pick up and leave if she was over it and we wouldn't be wasting any money. Charlotte's Web went over very well....she sat through the entire thing! (Don't ask me how - I was about bored to tears watching farm animals talk for 1.5 hours.) So today we decided to take her to see that Veggie Tales movie "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything", figuring she would love it. Ummm.....not so much. It has these crazy cheeto's (yes, like the food) that come to life and they freaked her out. She finally said she wanted down and when I asked her if she wanted to go bye-bye she said yes. So the second time wasn't as successful, but that's okay. For parents with small children - this movie did NOT receive two thumbs up from Briley Kreis!

Oh, and I just added the "books we are reading" section on the left of my page, but do not be deceived. WE (as in, including Adam in this) do not read anything - these will be mostly things I am reading. However, I was told to put "we" because Adam believes he deserves credit for being the reader of our devotion every night (even though I didn't list it as a book "we" are reading). So there, people - Adam wants you all to know that he reads one page every evening. (By the way - the only reason he even reads this is because he claims that if I read it he will become bored and will not pay attention for the 90 seconds it would take me to read the thing!) Anyhow, I very rarely get the chance to read for pleasure, so these books may not change often. For example, I've been working on that "1000 Places to See Before You Die" for almost a year now. But I figured I'd need to clarify the "we" before you all got the crazy notion that Adam had picked up reading as his new hobby. :o)

Technical Difficulties

If you visit our blog and some sentences seem cut off or a paragraph gets cut off, it is because blogspot is having some problems. Hopefully they will get it fixed soon, but I've noticed it for more than a month now on some of my friends' pages, so it could be a while. Just wanted to give you all a heads up!

Oh, it also may load differently each time, so if something is cut off, try coming back to the page in a little while. It may be back to normal by then.

Trying Something New....

Some of you may know that Briley is sort of picky when it comes to her food. This pickiness apparently only applies outside of daycare, though, because when she's there the kid eats all of her food plus whatever her neighbor's have left. This used to make me wonder - does she hate what I fix for her that badly?! I would even give her the kind of stuff the daycare serves in hopes of her eating, since she would scarf down all of that exact same food while at school. (School is what we call her daycare - well, except for my dad who asks about how Briley is doing at "work", ha!) And you don't exactly have to be Martha Stewart (who I really like, by the way) to fix these things. This is not gourmet food for crying out loud! I guess it comes down to the fact that when she eats anywhere else, there aren't five other kids sitting there eating the same thing. Anyhow, she's slowly but surely becoming more adventurous at mealtime. Last week, part of our dinner consisted of turkey burgers and corn on the cob. I wasn't sure either would go over so well. According to Briley, any meat besides chicken and most vegetables are "gwoss" (aka gross) and are met with a big "NO!" as she proceeds to either hand it back to you or just drop it on the floor. She ate half of the burger, but the real surprise was the corn! She couldn't quite grasp the concept at first, thinking I must have just given her this thing so she could lick the butter off. But once I showed her how to take a bite, she loved it! Really - that kid sat there and enjoyed corn on the cob for over an hour.

First Post....Again

Hello everyone! Welcome to our blog. Really I should say my (Brittany's) blog because I probably stand a better chance of Briley typing something on here before Adam ever blogs! I started one of these back in January and made a couple of posts (that I have since deleted), but since that was around the time we moved, things just got too hectic and I never got around to telling everyone about it or updating it. So now we're back! I hope you guys enjoy staying up to date on everything that's happening with us (mainly Briley) and some of the other things I find interesting. Check back often!