The weekend.

I felt better.
Layton felt better.
The sun was shining.
I got caught up on housework.
We celebrated the littelest nieces birthday and went bowling with The Hughes Family and The Roses.

It felt good to be out of bed and off the couch.

Life is looking better this week.

This week.

Layton has been home from school, still running a fever on and off and my back (and hip) are still bothering me. We have been a whole lot of lazy for the last four days and I'm honestly starting to get cabin fever.

My house needs attention.
Ava doesn't stop moving.
I'm over feeling like crap.

Pity-party.

On Sunday I woke up, unable to really move. My back problems were "back" with a vegence. I could barely stand, barely walk, barely do anything without having major spasms.

Today is day #3 and I am feeling a little better. I made an appointment to be seen Friday just to make sure I didn't rupture a disc or something crazy like that.

The last few days have been rough. Having to rely on others to help me is a HARD thing for me to accept. But, everyone has been amazing. Lee and Kaylee are great caregivers and Becca saved me last night by coming over to bathe Ava and put her to bed since I can't lift her and Lee was still at work. Poor Layton spiked a fever and Lester took him to the ER for me - he has a bad case of strep. Add to that a teething baby and you can see that we are just having loads of fun over here.

I'm praying that tomorrow is the day I wake up feeling better, because I am so over it.

Finally.

We started on my half-sleeve yesterday and I already love it.

I have been wanting it for years now, so the fact that the process has begun has me so excited.

It has a huge Gerber daisy, (my favorite flower) along with a camera, (my passion) and my favorite quote: "It is better to light a candle than to curse the dark." It also has a diamond, 2 large gems and a four leaf clover. The entire piece will be shaded in black, grey and white except for the diamond and gems - they will be colored to symbolize the kids' birthstones. The four leaf clover will also be colored - bright red (her favorite) in memory of my wonderful Grandma Lucky.  

The pain was pretty intense in certain areas but it's already worth it.

It's going to be amazing when it's finished and I will be so proud to wear it on me for the rest of my life.

Heart day.

I'm not crazy about it but it's fun for the kiddos.

I got this great idea off of Pinterest (so addicted) to post a heart a day on their door with something that I love about them. I couldn't really resist. Each day they would wake up excited to see what the newest one said. They loved it, and so did I. I just might have to make it a tradition.

I bought them each a little treat to come home to after school and Lee and I went to lunch and shared dessert before he headed to work.

That's how we do Valentine's day around here - sweet & simple.

A few [random] facts.

- I REFUSE to watch scary movies. I'm a total baby, I admit it.

- I'm addicted to sour cream & onion Pringles lately. Like, BAD.

- I have an obsession with making sure my doors are locked at all times. It's so bad that I am always locking the kids outside. What can I say? It's a habit.

- My feet are always cold and I must wear socks to bed. Somehow though, they always end up under my pillow in the morning and I NEVER remember taking them off.

- I seriously have to see or talk to my bestie everyday or I feel 'off.'

- I despise doing laundry. I seriously wish I could hire someone to do it for me. (If we ever win the lottery, that is the FIRST thing that it's going towards.)

- I don't really care for Valentines day. It's kinda lame.

- I can't stand the cat (like, wish-she-would-run-away-forever, can't stand.) She is mean and hates me too.  I've begged Lee to just let me dump her off at the humane society but he thinks that I am awful and Kaylee says that I should be ashamed of myself.

- I don't drink caffiene.

- 90% of my playlist is country music and I have no shame. It drives Lee insane when he rides with me because I love to crank it up, and sing it as loud as I can, in my most twangy (and annoying) voice. It's so fun.

The 9 month old.

-- I thought she was mobile when she was just rolling over to things. Now? Well, now she really gets around and she leaves nothing alone. One minute she is in the living room, and seconds later she is playing in the dogs bowl. I leave her in her room to throw away a diaper and find her in mine. This kid is FAST. We baby-proofed yesterday but still need to buy a baby gate to keep her from going down the hallway and into Kaylee's room. Those two steps will get her.

-- She is also pulling herself up. Sometimes in her crib but always in the bath. It's not so fun now to bathe her now because she constantly slips and falls even with me hanging on to her. She exhausts me.

-- She has started the full on 'cracking up' laugh and its so awesome. She has ticklish elbows and ankles (strange kid) and anytime we go for those spots - she laughs hysterically. I love it.

-- She goes in on Monday for her 9 month check-up and I am almost positive we will see a change a major in her growth. She has grown out of all of her clothes in just a few weeks. I had to hit Target and a few second hand stores around town to stock up on bigger sizes. It's moments like those that I wish I had someone to give me hand-me-downs.

-- She now claps her hands whenever someone says "yay!" Last week I was watching TV and she even dropped her toys when she heard the audience clapping - so she could join in.

-- She also mocks us. Whenever we grunt at her, she grunts back. The newest thing? When we click our tongue, she clicks hers.

-- She still army crawls. She gets up on her hands all the time and rocks back and forth but when it comes to crawling? She prefers to do it the lazy way.

-- This girl is a dancing machine. Anytime there is music playing, she convulses. It's hilarious.

-- Her fit throwing is getting even more interesting. She really likes to throw herself back and sometimes even hit her head on the floor and then just stare at me. Yep, already testing me and proving that she is a royal stinker.

-- She has always loved Bentlee and lately she loves to crawl up to him and lay her head on him as she pats his fur. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen and I have been trying for DAYS to record it. So far, no luck. They are buddies though - for life.

Grubbin'.

Ava lives for food. She has quickly decided that baby food isn't her thing anymore and prefers to eat whatever we have.

She is totally into the whole 'feeding herself' thing so I normally just dump food on her tray and let her go to town. The cleanup was becoming a headache so I invested in these super cool catching bibs and that pretty much fixed the problem.

The girl amazes me with how much she can eat. She's truly a bottomless pit, a pretty cute one.