Time For An Update!

Once again it's been way too long since I've posted anything here.  I need to get back on track with that!  A lot has happened since my last post.  Some things I can mention, others aren't my place to say, but our lives have been on a roller coaster lately!  First, about a month ago, we had to put our baby girl, Cloz'r, down.  That was a terrible day.  She wasn't acting quite like herself so I took her to the vet.  They found she had a tumor on her spleen and that it had been bleeding into her belly.  With her being 13, there wasn't much they could do, that wouldn't have ended up being incredibly rough on her, and the odds of her survival were slim.  It was heartbreaking to have to make that decision.  She went peacefully in my arms.  Our house is so not the same without her.  Every day there is something that reminds me she is not here.  When the kids drop food, when someone comes to the door... it's just not the same without her.




In other news, the kids are enjoying their summer break!  We've gone camping a few times already and have had a great time.  They love it, but much like me, they are always ready to go home at the end.  :)  Each time we've gone with been with family and/or friends and it's been a blast.  We hope to go a lot more in the near future.  The kids are also both in the summer reading program at the library again.  This year, Lucas is really getting into it.  Lauryn loves being in the older group and getting to do more with it.

Lloyd and I are doing great!  We are coming up on 15 years of being together (11 years married, in October).  It's been the most wonderful 15 years and I know they wouldn't have been this way if it weren't for him.  I'm so incredibly lucky to have found someone so amazing

Things are getting pretty exciting with my Jamberry business!  In 8 days, Cheryl and I will be going to Texas for the International Conference.  I'm excited and nervous!  The only time I've really traveled like this was almost 11 years ago, with Lloyd on our honeymoon!  It's going to be great!  We're going to trainings, special events and hooking up on some major Jamberry Swag!!!  Being away from Lloyd and the kids for a few days will be tough but I think it will be beneficial to my business....not to mention Cheryl and I have a blast no matter what we do!  :)  We'll be staying at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center....look it up, it's insane!!!

I suppose that's all I have for now.  Hopefully I can get back on track with this.  Not only can I share with everyone, it's also a little therapeutic!

Catching Up

It's been a little bit since I've sat down and done a post.  We've had a busy couple of weeks and it's time to play catch up!  Two weekends ago, Lloyd and I decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary a little early by spending the weekend in Chicago.  We hadn't gone on a vacation, just the two of us, since our honeymoon!  His mom came early Friday morning and stayed until Saturday afternoon and my mom came Saturday afternoon and stayed until we got home on Sunday.  We had a wonderful time and it was a much needed getaway.  Some highlights of the weekend were the shopping, the Field Museum, The Emerald Loop restaurant, our fancy date night at Ruth's Chris, the dueling pianos bar, Howl at the Moon, and our hotel room, which had an awesome window seat hat was big enough for us both to lay in and look over the city.

Last week was busy with getting ready for Halloween, a costume party and Lauryn's birthday.  On Friday, Lucas and I went to Lauryns school and watched the costume parade.  It was a lot of fun and we loved seeing all of the different costumes.  Later that afternoon we had friends and family over for trick or treating and a get together/anniversary party.  It was a fantastic night!  Yummy food, tasty drinks and lots of laughs with great people.  Saturday night, we went to the costume party at Candlestone with our friends, Cheryl and Alan.  We were dressed as Flo from Progressive and Mayhem from Allstate and they were Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter.  It was another super fun night!  Those two are a blast to hang out with and there's never a dull moment! ;)  Sunday was Lauryn's 6th birthday.  We decided to keep it low-key this year and have dinner, presents, cake and ice cream with our moms and this coming Saturday the four of us are going to have lunch and play games at Chuck E. Cheese's.  Lauryn requested spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, strawberry cake with strawberry frosting and Neapolitan ice cream.  She got a lot of nice presents and it was a very special day for her.

I think sums up our last couple of weekends pretty well.  I'll add a couple of posts soon with the recipes for the seven layer dip, crock pot hot cocoa, and the caramel apple sangria we had on Halloween night.  They all were a hit! :)  I've been having trouble getting my pictures downloaded too so I'll post them once I get the kinks worked out. :)

Another Great Weekend

I absolutely love our weekends!  Whether we make plans or just stay at home, I love spending time with my family.  This past weekend was no exception.  We started with "Nana Friday" where my mom comes over to spend some time with us and we eat dinner together.  Lloyd surprised Lauryn by taking her to the Belding football game to watch one of our favorite players, the Brim Reaper.  :)  She was thrilled!

Saturday started off with Lloyd making a yummy breakfast of omelets, brown sugar baked bacon and toast, and I did some cleaning and laundry.  In the afternoon we got a visit from one of my favorite people in the world, my cousin Ashley, and her equally cool boyfriend, Matt.  They came to share the good news that they'd gotten engaged!  I was so beyond excited for them!  I can't wait to see my beautiful cousin walk down the aisle!  After a nice visit, they headed out and my mom came over to watch  the kids.  Lloyd and I went to Allendale to pick up his sweet cousin, Jordynn.  We got to see her dorm and then we all went to Uccello's for a yummy dinner.  The service was less than impressive but the food was great.  We had a really nice time catching up with her!  We took her back home and then headed home ourselves.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day.  We went and got a ton of groceries, Lauryn went to the neighbors for  a couple of hours to play with her friend, Sophie, and I made General Tso's Chicken and homemade crab rangoons for  dinner.  The rest of the night was spent hanging with the kids and watching some Sunday night shows.  It was a nice, relaxing way to wrap up the weekend.

 

Weekend In Review

To share your weekend, please visit Jodi at:

Friday ~ Happy Birthday, Lucas Elijah!  Today my baby boy is 2 years old!  We started the day with Lucas opening his presents.  After Lloyd went to work, we got ready and then met Cary and Abri at Silk City Saloon for lunch.  We all came back here and had such a nice visit.  There's something so special about hearing Lauryn and Abri giggling together, like Cary and I have done for years!  After our visit, the kids and I went to Greenville to get everything we needed for Lucas's party on Saturday.  The rest of the night was spent cleaning and preparing food.

[caption id="attachment_4919" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Opening Present[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4920" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Future ball player :)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4921" align="aligncenter" width="300"] When they're big, you gotta climb on them to get them open![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4922" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Checking it out.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4923" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Slam dunk![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4924" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Birthday Ice Cream at Silk City Saloon[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4925" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Hugs from Cary[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4926" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Abri, Cary, Lucas (who wanted more hugs) and Lauryn.[/caption]

Saturday ~ We spent the morning and early afternoon getting the yard and house ready for the party.  We had such a great time!  Our friend, Jessica, brought her bounce house and the kids loved jumping around in between games and food. :)  Our family and friends made Lucas's birthday so special and so much fun!  We are so thankful to have such awesome people in our lives!

[caption id="attachment_4927" align="aligncenter" width="224"] All dressed up for her brothers party.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4928" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Bounce house fun![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4929" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Daddy eating with the birthday boy.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4930" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pin the Tail on the Donkey[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4931" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Balloon Pop[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4932" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "Tuptakes!"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4933" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "More please, Mama!"[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4934" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Getting some help opening presents.[/caption]

Sunday ~ We had a completely lazy day!  Lloyd showed a house, the kids and I ran a couple of errands, and the rest of the day was spent hanging out and playing.  After dinner, Lauryn was eating an ice cream cone when her first tooth finally fell out!  She was so excited she kept doing little happy dances around the house (she is SO my child!).  After the kids went to bed, Lloyd and I watched a couple of episodes of "Orange is the New Black."  It was a fantastic weekend, spent with amazing people! 

It finally fell out!

(Monday morning)

The Tooth Fairy was here!

Mini Pizzas

Tuesday we were supposed to go to a friends for a play date and lunch.  We ended up rescheduling the play date, due to the weather, and I felt I needed to do something to make up for it.  We ended up making mini pizzas for lunch.  Lauryn had so much fun making hers.  We used Pepperidge Farm garlic parmesan biscuits for the crust, my pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and bacon.  I baked them according to the time and temperature for the biscuits and they turned out really yummy!  Later on, I cleaned the Valentine's Day drawings off of the windows in the dining room, got out the markers and we drew rainbows, pots of gold, and clovers for St. Patrick's Day.  We were bummed to have to cancel our plans but we made the most of our day.  :)

 

[caption id="attachment_4755" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Lauryn making her pizzas.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4756" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Ready to go into the oven.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_4757" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Lunch is served. Yum![/caption]

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, Lauryn Elaine!

Today is my sweet girls 5th birthday!  It blows my mind that it's been five whole years since she came into our world.  I remember every single detail about the day she was born, like it was yesterday.  I'm sure I won't get all the pictures downloaded tonight, so I'll do another post tomorrow.  I think it's safe to say Lauryn had a fantastic day!  She was surrounded by her favorite people, we had one of her favorite meals, she was spoiled by everyone, and she LOVED her special surprise from me and Lloyd, a face painter.  :)  Both kids went to bed without so much as a peep!  That's rare!  It makes me so happy to know she had such a great time on her special day!

Weekend In Review

To share your weekend, please visit Jodi at:

Friday ~ Lloyd took the day off and helped with the kids while I canned more salsa.  It was great having him home an extra day :)  The kids loved it!  In the evening, Lauryn and I met up with Kristin, Ross, Jesse, Nikki and Willow, to watch the Twilight parade.  We had lots of snacks and Nikki brought glow necklaces, bracelets, wands and swords.  We got there early so we had fun with the kids, took pictures, and talked about looking for a raleigh house cleaning service.  It's fun to see everyone and everything all lit up through the parade.    Saturday ~ Lloyd made breakfast and then we got ready and headed down to the fair.  Lauryn was so excited and wanted to ride everything!  She and I went on the Ferris wheel, the Gravitron, the Tilt-A-Whirl, the swings, and the Scrambler.  She rode all of the kiddie rides and she, Lucas and I rode the carousel together.  We played a few games, bought some lemonade and before we left, we walked over to the arts and crafts at the park and Lauryn got her face painted.  Shortly after we got home, my Mom came over and she and I went to pick up my brother Jayson.  We had an easy dinner of ham and cheese sandwiches, chips and pickles and we visited for the rest of the evening.    Sunday ~ I made breakfast and we hung out around the house most of the day.  Lauryn and Lucas kept their Uncle Jay busy all day :)  In the evening, Mom came back over and we grilled burgers, hot dogs and brats.  After dinner, we went downtown and watched the fireworks.  Lucas did not have a good time :(  He was too tired and was upset through the whole show.  After we got the kids in bed, we sat out on the deck and visited for a few hours.    Monday ~ I had put breakfast in the crock pot the night before so it was ready when we got up.  I made some biscuits and we all ate before heading down to the parade.  Lauryn loved it and got tons of candy.  Lucas had a much better time and was clapping, waving and dancing to the music.  Aunt Dereka and Uncle Russell visited after we got back and then I took Jayson home.  When I got back, we had leftovers for dinner and relaxed in the evening.  It was a long, fun weekend :) 

Crank The Tunes and Clean!

When I was young, when it was time to clean, my mom would put songs like The Big Chill soundtrack (one of the best soundtracks, in my opinion) on, crank up the volume and we would get the housework done.  To me, that's one of the best ways to get the house clean.  Singing and dancing around makes it feel like you're not really working.  Since Lauryn and Lucas are so little, they love it too!  I'm sure they'll get to the age where singing and dancing around the house with their mom is embarrassing, but for now, we have a lot of fun.  Maybe it's a tradition they'll do with their kids someday :)

Rain, Rain Go Away!

I know that April showers bring May flowers, and I've even explained that to Lauryn when she's complained about the rain, but enough is enough! Normally, I like the rain and I love a good thunderstorm, but we're going on four days in a row and with trying to run errands with a four year old and a 10 month old, it's getting to be a bit much! Mother Nature, if you could just give us a day here and there without it, I'd really appreciate it! :)

It feels like I haven't written much about the kids lately. Actually, I've slacked on blogging all together. I haven't posted new recipes, craft projects or anything! I need to get back into updating often. I have tried a couple of new recipes recently and since they turned out pretty darn good, I should share them. I'll try to get them in the next post.

My sweet girl Lauryn is doing great in school. We're going to keep her in preschool for one more year. Scholastically, she's excelling, but she's still very shy and timid with her classmates. Yes, I did just say Lauryn is shy and timid! Doesn't sound like the girl we know, does it? :) At home, she is so helpful to me. She loves to help me make dinner and bake treats. She keeps Lucas busy when I need a couple of minutes to get something done, and they play a ton throughout the day. She's an awesome big sister, an amazing daughter and just an all out wonderful little person.

Lucas is learning new things every day! He says "Mama, Dada, Nana and Lala" along with making monster noises and what I think is singing along with me when we're in the car :) He's crawling all over the place, and when he's in his walker, he runs! He chases after me, Lloyd, Lauryn and the cat! He'll learn one of these days that you just don't mess with the cat! He's trying and liking a lot of different foods and he's such a good eater. I'm still nursing him and plan to do so until he turns one. I'm ready to be done, I think he's getting ready too. He only nurses 2-3 times a day and the only time he's not totally squirming is the feeding at bed time. I'm ready but it's a little sad too. Knowing he's my last baby and we'll be done with that part of things is a little heartbreaking but I'm proud that I was able to do it! He's been sleeping through the night again, for about a week and a half, but I'm not getting my hopes up that it's an all the time thing. He's done that before and then went right back to waking up a few times a night. I feel like we're getting there though. He LOVES his big sister! He always wants her attention and loves to ham it up with her. He loves to follow her around and jibber-jabber non-stop to her. He's 10 months now and I love seeing his little personality! He's a happy boy, and a snuggler, but when he's mad or frustrated, he knows how to show that too! I think he may have some of the Stewart stubbornness in him :)

As for me and Lloyd, you know, the parents of these super cool kids, we're fantastic! His business keeps his busy but he always has time for me and our kids. I'm so fortunate to have found someone who loves and respects me, who works so hard to take care of our family and make sure our kids never have to go without, and who gives our children the love and comfort that only a father can give. We are blessed!

And We're Done

Christmas break is over and it's time to get back into the swing of things.  Lauryn is super excited to go back to school as she missed her friends and her teacher.  I think she missed the hustle and bustle of it all too.  She only goes for two and half hours, Monday through Thursday, but they go non-stop and she has the energy for it.  When she was home, we tried to keep her as busy as we could but between having the flu, Lucas getting an ear infection and teething, and the every day stuff that needs to get done around the house, it was hard to keep her busy all of the time.  We had a great time with all of our Christmas parties and I'm going to share some of the pictures I took.

Our first Christmas party, with Lloyd's mom's side of the family:







Baking yummy treats for friends:

 



Christmas with Lloyd's parents and brother:













Christmas morning:

 

 

 









Christmas with my Mom:







The kids and I missed Christmas with Lloyd's dad's side of the family due to my having the flu and Lauryn not feeling so well.  :( 

On New Year's Eve, my mom and I took the kids to Grand Rapids to see the lights at 5/3 Ballpark.  Although I took tons of pictures, I'm only going to post one.  I can't remember what the Santa was supposed to be doing here, as they bowl, kick field goals, etc., but this one looks like he's peeing!  I realized later that to the side of him is a light tunnel that you drive through but at this angle, it looks like Santa is relieving himself!  :)



Now the tree is down and so are the rest of the Christmas decorations.  All things snowman are staying up through the rest of winter though :)  The house sure looks bare without all of our pretty decorations!  One of these days I will actually figure out what I want to put on the walls and get this place looking nice and decorated so I won' t have to wait until Christmas time to see it!  :)