On a side note...

Holidays

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:38:00 +0000

I really feel like the holidays sneak up quicker and quicker every year. I am blaming the retailers. There is something wrong when you go to the store and Halloween is on one side and Christmas is on the other side. Ethan was having a fit over it because he could not understand why there was Christmas stuff out when it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. Anyway, it is now officially here and I couldn't be more thrilled.

As always, we started off the Christmas season with a bang. My favorite holiday: Black Friday. Oh, it makes me so happy. I obviously LOVE the deals, but it is the one day I get out to shop and buy buy buy. It is so much fun. The only downside is that it starts earlier every year. We didn't think that the 3am Old Navy was worth it (although I did wake up at 2am and thought about just going ahead and getting up). We had it in our plan to head to Kohls at 4am. UNTIL I got a tip from my friend Andrea that Belk was going to have boots for $19.99. I have been wanting some so I decided to be selfish and sneak over there first and get myself a pair. I did struggle with this decision because it is the day I shop for others not myself. I headed over there and was one of the first 250 customers in the door. They were handing out gift cards. I stuck mine in my pocket and headed for the boots...got them! YES! I saw my friend Tonya and asked her how much were on the cards. She said that they were various prices, but were all pretty much $5. That made me happy...$15 boots! I pulled the sticker off of mine......drumroll please..........TWENTY FIVE DOLLARS!!!!!! Free boots for Mommy. It made me start sweating I was so excited. So the moral of this story (other than to brag) is that sometimes it does pay to shop for yourself. I also must apologize to anyone who talks to me on a regular basis because you have all heard about the boots already. Not to mention my poor family that had to shop with me that day and deal with me being in crazy coupon lady mode.

Whew! Moving on...Ethan's school has a run/walk club that he does twice a week after school. He is pretty much obsessed. He has really been loving the running & he said he wanted to the Christmas 5k. We signed him up and to be honest I was nervous on how he would do. I took him out running the other day and he wanted to stop and walk soooo much. It was last night and it was cold. We started going and he stopped to walk quite a bit but got up ahead of me. He would stop and walk a lot, but the little dude got so far ahead of me that I couldn't keep up with him! He tuckered out at the end and I caught him and we finished together. It was wonderful! He got second place in his age group & got an ornament. He was sooooo proud. I ran my best 5k time, and I think it was thanks to him! Ha! Here are a few pics...

Talk about determination:Reece ran in the fun run. I hope you all are getting in the Christmas spirit and enjoy everything that this season brings! I am trying not to get overwhelmed with the busyness and am trying to enjoy everything that we are doing. I know this window of my kids at this age will not last long.

On a side note...please go to LuLu Photography and vote for the picture of my boys (#7 Discovery). If that picture wins, then I win a free photography session. Go vote!!!

Freebies

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:49:00 +0000

UPDATE: THE FREE CARD FREEBIE NOW EXPIRES 11/21, SO HURRY AND GET YOUR CARDS MADE!!!

Here are a couple of freebies that I just have to share, they are way too good to pass up:

Go here to find out about getting 50 free photo cards (& shipping). You can put as many pictures as you want on the card. I have already created ours and I am very happy with them. Plus, they are FREEEEE!!! Can you tell I am excited? It doesn't expire until 11/30, so you have time to get your pictures ready!

Also, go here and you can get 140 address labels for free! All you have to pay is shipping so you can have cute holiday labels for only around $3.00. I ordered them last week and they came in and are really cute. The offer continued, so I went in yesterday & instead of doing return address labels I did gift tags. I left the To: part blank of course and then wrote From: with all of our names. Now once the gift is wrapped I just slap one of those on there and write who it is to. Nice!

Go here and sign up for the Academy Sports & Outdoors birthday club. You will get a $5 gift card on your birthday. Since my birthday is in December & I always Christmas shop there, I was all over this one! :)

Happy freebies!

Half Marathon Re-cap

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:41:00 +0000

I am wondering how many Facebook friends are on the verge of de-friending me due to the excessive amount of half marathon status updates and pictures!!!??!? Sorry folks, a re-cap is oh so necessary.

The half marathon was such an experience! I am so happy that I decided to do this. My goal time was 2 hours and 30 minutes and I finished in 2 hours and 24 minutes! YES!

I was so worried about the weather. The night before we did the Kid Run and it was FREEZING outside. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to run in that kind of weather because that was what was forecasted for Sat morning.

When we got to the race it was COLD! Everyone was bundled up with gloves, hats, etc. I decided that I would want those warm things off after a couple of miles so I was going to tough it out. We lined up for the race and started getting ready. The sun came out and things started warming up. The wind was slightly blowing and the sky was so blue. They said a prayer and we started the race. There were so many people there cheering and I cranked up my music. A Point of Grace song was up first and I could feel God there at that race. It could not have been a more perfect start. I have re-played those moments in my head a hundred times.

The first few miles flew by (well, if 10 minutes a mile is flying by) and then I started settling in and doing some thinking. I have decided that running a half marathon is very close in comparison with childbirth/pregnancy. Here is why:

-The crying. Oh my goodness! I did not think I was going to cry during the race! I got choked up when it started, when I saw my parents at mile 5, friends at mile 8, sister & kids at mile 8 1/2, and then again thinking of that finish line and Scott and the kids waiting for me.

-You prepare for it for a very long time and then when it gets here it takes what seems like forever to finally deliver the finish.

-Side pains, contractions=same thing

-Pregnancy sucks out brain cells & so does running. I have done more bonehead things since I started training than ever before. Just ask Scott. No don't.

-Clumsy. Did I trip on a cone? Yes I did. But just one.

-You cannot walk for the next 3 days after it is over.

-Bladder control

-You are appalled when you see the pictures of yourself because you are much bigger than you had realized.

-You push at the end and then it is all over! Although a metal is nothing compared to a newborn baby.

-Even though it was rough you are so glad you did it

If I could do this, then ANYONE can. Next up: Little Rock Half March 2010. Who's in?

On a side note...we got our family pictures made by my friend Becke' this weekend. If you need pictures, then she is the person to call....check her out at www.luluphotographyco.blogspot.com/

Stuff

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Well, the Race for the Cure 2009 is in the books (we missed you Aunt Sandy & Brittany!). We had a fun time as usual. It was much different for me this year since it is usually a get away weekend since I previously had no girls to bring. Morgan came and did great! She actually slept through most of the race, but that was for the good! I didn't want to carry her 3 miles! It was packed with women and a sea of pink. We are always emotional when it starts as we remember Mom's journey through cancer & chemo. She is such an inspiration! We did it every year before her cancer, but now it's all for her--including wearing any silly get-up she has for us. I've seen ladies with giant flamingos on their heads so I'm not complaining! Ha!

Here are a few pics...

In other news we have had the flu at our house. It started with Ethan and lasted almost a full week. A few days into his Morgan got a fever and hers was an ear infection. NOW Reece has a fever. Will we ever leave the house again!??!? It is horrible and just lingers around for days and days. Ethan was so so happy to finally go back to school today. Thank heavens I went to the Race and had a night away or else I might be losing my mind by now.

You can tell we have been in the house for a week because as I did laundry today I noticed that it is nothing but sweats and t-shirts. Hopefully we can make it to the pumpkin patch next weekend. If not, then I may have to take the kids to Kroger and take a picture of them standing in front of the big pumpkin box.

The big half marathon is only FIVE days away. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I have trained for so long that I can't wait to run that race and FINISH. I think I may wear my metal all day long since I never in a million years thought I would be able to run that far at once. My friend told me that if I get the flu this week, then she is going to rent a wheelchair and push me all 13 miles herself since I have done all of this training. Now that's a good friend! :)

I ran 10 miles yesterday. They say that if you can run 10 then you can run 13. Do they not realize that it is an extra THREE whole miles?!? It doesn't quite make sense since I felt like I was going to pass out after 10 yesterday. I also ran into 3 spiderwebs and got chased by a dog. I will be ready for a running break after this is over. The dog about put me over the edge. Seriously.

T-minus 3 weeks

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:56:00 +0000

It is now less than 3 weeks until the big half marathon! I am getting excited and also nervous. We have been pretty busy so running with the training group has been difficult so I am left to do most of my runs on my own. I like to run with the group because it keeps me going. When I run on my own I zone out and slow waaaay down resulting in horrible times. I know that times don't make a difference because I am obviously not trying to win the race. BUT, when you get out there some sort of competitive nature shows up and you can't help but want to have a decent time. I guess for bragging rights.

I went to a baby shower a few weeks ago for a good friend from high school that I hadn't seen in a while. I told her about my running. She then reminded me of something on her thank you note that just about killed me. She reminded me of our 7th grade track coach. This lady was something else. She was VERY into sports and I definitely was not. I was chunky and only there to socialize since all of my friends were in athletics. She used to call us all by our last names and scream at us pretty much constantly. My friend told me that during the race if I need some extra motivation, then to remember that coach screaming "POSKOCIL, my 80 year old grandmother can run faster than you!!!" Let's face it, she was right. That definitely did not motivate me then, but I think it will now. Ha!

I love the month of October and look forward to it every year. Soccer is in full swing, the weather is cooling off, and I love all of the fall decorations. Race for the Cure is just around the corner and I can hardly wait to spend the weekend with all of the girls in my family. This will be Morgan's first year and I love that she will have this event to look forward to each year.

I have no big deals or no pictures for this post. I did learn today that you should not throw your husband under the bus on Facebook while he is at work. Tee hee! :)

Running thoughts

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:05:00 +0000

I have now been faithfully running for about 7 weeks. Thank goodness for the training group or I don't know if I would have been so faithful. Tomorrow will be 30 days until the half marathon. Yikes! I have to admit that I never loved running but now it has almost gotten.....fun. Oh my! Who have I become?

For me running has been a great way for me to de-stress and de-mommy (not a word but I think I could start using that one) myself. I love getting out and having the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders. I come home refreshed...and sweaty and stinky, but it feels great. Last Saturday I ran my furthest ever...7 miles. This Saturday it is 8 miles. I am nervous, but excited to see if I can actually do it! It is also a great time to pray, reflect, and clear my mind. The long runs seem to get my mind wandering, though. Here are some of my thoughts:

-Road kill stinks. All road kill smells the same no matter the animal.

-Whether they are clearance running shorts or more expensive running shorts they ALL ride up and you end up tugging on them throughout the run.

-The people in cars must think "if you run and still look like that, then it isn't working, honey"

-What would be a good Facebook status today?

-The fast runners that run an extra two miles AND PASS ME should not tell me "good job" as they go flying by.

-How in the world am I going to run 13.1 miles at one time?

-I want to detour to that garage sale

-Giving birth x3 does a number on your bladder....nuff said

-I am sooooo eating ice cream tonight (which could have something to do with the very very slow weight loss)

-I could never ever ever run without music, how do people do it? And TALK while running? No way.

Well, you get the picture. You have to occupy your time somehow. If you run I would love to hear what goes through your mind so you are not thinking "how much further to the end, I think I am going to die."

In other news, Morgan turned 8 months old yesterday. I can now pull her mo-hawk over & put a little bow in her hair. Love it! She is not crawling yet, but the girl knows how to work a room. She just rolls and rolls and scoots around. Still no teeth. Ethan didn't get teeth until 9 months and Reece was 12 months. We are late teethers at our house. I always get a wee bit sad when the teeth start coming in because I get so attached to the gummy smile. She is just such a joy and the most content and happy girl. And who can deny those big blue eyes! :)

Diaper Deal

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Go here and click on 'get the coupon' to sign up for a $5 off Luvs coupon in the mail.

I have been buying diapers for the past 6 1/2 years (sigh) and I am a big Luvs fan. I have found that Luvs is cheaper AND you get more diapers than the name brands even with a coupon.

I, of course, like Pampers and Huggies, but Luvs does the trick, too. I have called Morgan the "never has a dry diaper" baby and she does NOT have leaks with Luvs. I swear the poor girl got her mother's bladder. She was wearing Huggies for a while and had a leak every morning. Now that I am back on Luvs...NO LEAKS. That being said, go sign up for the coupon if you buy diapers.

If you get your coupon in the mail and don't want to buy Luvs, then you can always just give the coupon to someone that you know (wink, wink) uses Luvs. That would make a pack at Wal-Mart just over $2 and a case $10 with the coupon.

You can also go here to print a $2 off a Healthy Choice frozen meal. I got one for free at Kroger yesterday with this coupon because they were on sale 2/$4.

On a side note...tonight is a big TV night. Big Brother ends (boo hoo) but The Biggest Loser begins (yeah!). This year I will try to not eat ice cream while watching TBL. It is so so wrong!

Back by popular demand

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Well, here I am! I had all but given up blogging. The only problem is that I have had tens of thousands of people every week tell me that they missed my blog posts. Ok, well, maybe just about 10 people since my last post. Anyway, it doesn't matter because here I am!

I have had many reasons for not updating my blog:

-While I am busy and we do a lot of fun things, I don't feel the need for that to all be shared. Every time I have something in my mind to post I think to myself..."do people really care???" The answer is always no, so on with no blog posts.

-I don't want the blog to be the only way my friends and family communicate with me. They do that on Facebook. Ha ha, only kidding. Well, sort of.

-I have other reasons, but I will keep those to myself.

Now, on to the reasons that I am back to posting:

-Most people that know me know that I love a great deal. I get asked all the time how I find out about these deals. I have decided to start posting a few deals here and there on my blog. Who doesn't love getting a free cereal sample or lotion in the mailbox along with your mail?

-I love sharing funny stories. I mean, when your child goes to bed and includes a free chicken sandwich in his prayer, that's good stuff, right?

In the time since my last post, this boy started the first grade and is LOVING it!
This boy started back at his 3 morning a week pre-school and is LOVING it!
And I have been hanging out with this cute chick (who is almost crawling and will be 8 months old this month)!
The new school year has brought a lot of fun to our house. We had a great summer, but we were ready to get into a routine again & let's be honest, Mommy was ready for some children to leave for a little while. Soccer started back today and Ethan loves loves loves it as usual. He is back with his same team and coach and that makes it even more fun for him. He was a machine on the field this morning. (sorry, have to brag on my boy)

One of my goals for the new year was to run the 5k in May. That did not happen. I have started my training and am going to run in the Soaring Wings Half Marathon in October. Can you believe it? I still can't. The training is actually going better than I had expected and I am up to running 6 miles at one time. If only I had this kind of motivation in high school. Instead of going on our runs in cross country, my friends and I would run until we were out of the sight of the school and then go jump on this boy's trampoline in his back yard until time to "run" back. Terrible! I'm all signed up, paid my fee, and there is no turning back now.

And now go here to request your free sample of Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal. I love cereal samples because they make great snacks before bed. Or really any time. I am a cereal junkie.

Anniversaries

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:47:00 +0000

I have had a lot of milestones this month. I know you are all dying to read about them, right?

Scott and I celebrated our NINE year anniversary! We celebrated by him going to work, me staying home with the kids and then going to church for the evening while he mowed the yard. All you newlyweds out there you can see that the romance never stops! Ha! Just kidding. We have a date this weekend and we are more focused on NEXT year when we celebrate our 10th anniversary on a cruise. Yes yes yes.

It is hard to believe that we have been married for 9 years. I reminisced on Facebook (which has become a serious addiction for me to say the least) with my friends on how stinking HOT that day was. It was the middle of July and about 105 degrees that day and the air in the church was out. Yes, out. Let me just say that the last thing you want to be wearing is 1) a wedding dress or 2) a tuxedo. We were soooooo sweaty. The minister's glasses were fogging up during one of the prayers. Yes, I had my eyes opened because I was wiping sweat from my forehead. Sweat was pouring down my legs in streams. The bridesmaids & groomsmen looked like they had just scrimmaged basketball.

One day a few years ago Scott's sweet, sweet grandma said "Oh Jenni, I'll never forget your wedding." I thought, "Oh, how sweet!" Then she said "IT WAS SO HOT!!"

I have also just passed my one year anniversary of staying home. I worked part time from home the first six months, and then have not been working these past six. It has been so great and I love it. It is really like a dream come true. I never thought I would ever stay home with our kids. It all worked out in God's timing, not my own. I have a lot of friends that work full time and I am telling you from experience to not give up if you want to stay home!! I know how hard it is to be a mom, wife, and to work. It can be so overwhelming at times. I am not saying that staying home is not work. Good grief!!! It is so much work and some days are so tiring, but we are all having fun. This is the first full summer that Ethan has ever spent at home since he was born. We have had a lot of fun. Swimming, playing Wii, wrecking the house, etc. I would love to say that we have been sleeping in, but I am lucky if any of my children can sleep past 7am.

Another milestone--Morgan is six months old (well, she will be on Wed, but knowing me I will not get a post up). Time has been flying by but she is so much fun. She is getting so big and rolling all over the place. She says "DaDa" and talks and squeals all the time. I was really hoping that I could get a "MaMa" first. For pete's sake, she is the only one of my kids that hasn't gone to day care. I was hoping she would throw me a bone. She makes up for it since she has been sleeping through the night for several months now.

Side note...If you check out at Kroger (not sure if they are all this way) after 10:00pm, then you have to scan your own groceries. Imagine my dismay when I rolled up with a cart FULL of groceries at 10:04 and had to scan them all myself. This included produce and all. Not to mention my million coupons. The teenage girl that was helping gave me a big eye roll. Sorry! They should have at least one checker opened! Grrrr. It took me over 30 minutes.

The Morg-Hawk

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:14:00 +0000

I didn't want to do this. In an effort to capture my children's growth, good and bad, it is necessary to take pictures of things that are just plain wrong.

Here is Morgan:

Here is Morgan when you wet her hair. She has a TOTAL mo-hawk. We call it the Morg-hawk. It is so LONG on the top middle part of her her head and nowhere else. Funny stuff.

We had our annual 4th of July celebration at church last night and we got all decked out in our patriotic wear. Gotta love Old Navy Flag tees. Especially when you get them for $3 a pop. They were actually supposed to be $5 but an associate told us they were $3 so when I checked out he said that they were $5 but since I was told wrong I got them for $3! :) Love it! Since Scott threw a fit about the matching t's last year he didn't get one! That'll show him, right? He didn't make it in our backyard photo session since he met us at church straight from work. Ethan even took one of me and Morgan. Pretty good photography! Happy 4th to all!!!

The forgotten blog

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:58:00 +0000

I have all but forgotten about my blog in recent weeks. I have been both too lazy & too busy to update (is that possible to do at once)? Anyway, here is what we have been up to:

Lots of swimming:
Sporting a new swimsuit:

We hit up the water park last week one morning and had fun there. I did, however, see a giant hairball with a band-aid stuck to it in the wave pool. Classy.

We had a garage sale on Saturday. Here is the before picture of all of our junk:
I had planned on taking an after picture of what was left when we were finished, but let's face it--it was TOO STINKING HOT!!! We did really well, but not as well as we had hoped. Once the morning turned to afternoon it was too hot for people to stop and browse our high quality junk. I can foresee a fall sale in my future.

We celebrated Father's Day with my Dad and with Scott. Two great Dads to say the least! The boys made him cards and we ate out for lunch and just relaxed all day. Scott got a razorback fleece jacket. It was 100 degrees outside and the first day of summer. Dave Ramsey has hit our house and our budget (this may be a whole post by itself) so I gave him something I was saving for Christmas--ha! We got a good laugh and he will love it come football season.

Morgan turns 5 months old today! Here she is turning 5 months and sporting a cute dress (I KNOW you can do that at the same time)! :) She is the best baby. Everyone says it's because she is the third and has to be. I fully agree.
Deal of the day:

Redbox code for today and tomorrow. When you choose your movie press 'add promo' and type in this code: rbxthxu6. I got one today and had to type it in twice. These codes can be a little squirrly. The boys just got finished watching the cheesiest Super Mario Bros movie ever, but, hey, it was FREE!

Back to my roots

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:06:00 +0000

It is no secret that I am very passionate about the things I love:

God
My husband and kids
Family
Coupons
Deals
Pizza
Freebies
New Kids on the Block
Taking naps
Reality TV
And last, but DEFINITELY not least; My first love--

ZACH MORRIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you EVER watched Saved by the Bell, then you must watch this. So. Stinking. Funny.

First and Last

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:41:00 +0000

Today is Ethan's last day of kindergarten. It seems like just yesterday he started. He still loves it just as much today as he did the first day. I couldn't be more proud of him. Here he was on his first day of school in August:
And then here he is today:
I cannot believe how much taller he has gotten!!! It is sort of a different angle on him, but you can tell by looking at the doorknob (that has also changed--farewell brass) that he is much taller now! Check out those chicken legs! Ha!

Reece said his puppy, Max, wanted to be in the picture. Will Max ever leave us or what?Another first is that Morgan had her first rice cereal last night & she liked it pretty well. As well as you can like that stuff, I think. She is getting so big & hello red hair and big blue eyes!!!
On a side note...here is my deal of the week. A summer robe at Garden Ridge for $1.99. ONE DOLLAR AND NINETY NINE CENTS!!!! At Garden Ridge??!?? Huh? Who knew! It had an Old Navy tag so it must have been some rejects that they got or something. I'm not complaining since I love robes.

Randomness

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:47:00 +0000

I wonder how many blog posts I have with this title? Anyway, here you go...

-THANK YOU for your comments on the jeans problem!! I do have readers after all!! HA! I have not been out yet to check out the brands that were recommended but I will be soon! I did, however, go out and get a few things at Kohl's from my Mother's Day gift card (thanks Scotty) and found a pair of shorts. I'm so glad the bermuda shorts are in. My thighs do not need to be seen.

-We had a surprise birthday party for my Dad!! Yeah for 60! He was so surprised & my aunt, uncle and cousin came in to surprise her. Fun times.

-Soccer has finally ended

-Baseball is in full swing. Ethan, not so much. The boy cannot hit the ball...YET!! He's going to hit it soon, I can feel it in my bones. When he does it's going to be great! Please, Lord, let the boy run the bases at least one game!!! Thankfully he does good in the field and also plays the roll of cheerleader. Scott still will not allow me to use the term "back catcher" but I do behind his back. It really is a term, I promise.

-I was caught singing and dancing (yikes) a little bit in the chip aisle in Kroger. I don't think it would have been such a big deal except that it was to Britney Spears' "Hit me baby one more time." Luckily I didn't know the couple that I am SURE made fun of me as they walked by me. Kroger always has good tunes.

-I also like "Sonic radio"

-Scott's aunt, uncle and cousin came from New York to visit last week. It was great to see them & let them meet our zoo of children for the first time. Fun fun.

-I ran last night for the first time in over a year. The pain today, yikes. Talk about out of shape. My goal is to run a 5k on the 4th of July. I think I can do it!

-A couple deals for you:
-Playworld in Conway has a coupon on their website for buy one get one free maze admission. Trust me, we will be using this one this summer.
-Taco Bell has a great cheapskate menu. I just fed Reece and I for $3.05 for lunch. Can't beat that! If there is ONE good thing from the bad economy, it's good cheapy menus at restaurants.

-Morgan is now 4 months old already! She weighed in at 13 pounds and is doing great. Rolling, laughing, & grabbing things. Her naps max out at 20 minutes during the day, but that's ok because she sleeps all night. Except for the Par-tay the girl was having in her crib at 4:30 this morning that woke everyone up--except for Daddy of course, who wouldn't hear a siren in our house.

-Just when I thought all of my teeth were already filled...I have a cavity. I didn't think this was possible, but apparently it's a cavity on a cavity. Go figure. Embarrassing moment...they painted that sticky fluoride on my teeth at the dentist. After leaving there we headed to Morgan's appointment. I put on lipstick before we went in. LIPSTICK STICKS TO FLUORIDE!!!!!!!!!! Oh my! Imagine my embarrassment when I looked in the mirror AFTER we left the doctor's office. I had lipstick all over my teeth. And I do mean all over. We all know that I am quite toothy, too, when I talk. Good grief. I had a flashback of all of the people I had talked to in that 45 minutes: the girl at the front desk, the girl that took my co-pay, the lady in the waiting room, the nurse, the nurse practitioner, Reece, ok--he doesn't count, the nurse that gave her the shots, the lady at the checkout desk. WHY did I not check that, why why why???? I either need to check that or not talk so much.

-4 more days of school for Ethan. I can't believe he will be a first grader. This school year has flown by. I'm so proud of him.

-Was that enough for you?

I'm calling in the fashion police

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 13 May 2009 20:41:00 +0000

Up until today I had just about given up blogging. BUT, lucky for you I am so fed up with this issue today that I am back...for now.

I don't ask for a lot on this blog but today I am asking for some feedback. PLEASE help me with my jeans problem.

Here is what my wardrobe consists of:

a) jeans/capris that are so tight that they look like they are painted on and probably would pass as "mom jeans" (shiver)
b) jeans/capris that fit when I put them on or are even a little snug but then after wearing them for a few hours I can pull them off like sweatpants. I mean, I don't even have to unbutton them.

For example, the ones I had on today are from Old Navy (please know that I have nothing but love for Old Navy but I never find myself anything in there other than shoes or accessories or clothes for my kids) and when I ran across the street to the mailbox I nearly mooned the passing cars. This is not any way to live. The crotch was about down to my knees. The other problem is not only do they fall down in the back when you bend over, but they bring everything else (your underwear) with them on the way down the rear. This is unsightly and not any image you want to burn in someone's brain. That will be what they always remember of you.

Neither of these styles are working for me. After a wardrobe hiatus into maternity clothes (shiver again) I am finding what was in my closet to be quite disturbing. I am left with ONE pair of jeans and zero capris for the summer. I am not even going to go there with shorts.

People, please give me some brands to try out* so I can help solve this crisis. Oh how I wish Stacy and Clinton could save me now.

On a side note...GO KRIS!!!! I'm wearing my too tight t-shirt today in hopes that he makes it through tonight. I got the last shirt last Friday at a local hardware store (yes, only in Arkansas) and medium was the only size they had. You should have seen the crowd. Insane.

*Remember that I am cheap.

The best day

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:38:00 +0000

I came across this video the other day and love it. It is so sweet and reminded me how sweet these days are with my kids. It also made me reminisce on what a wonderful life I had growing up with my family. Even if you don't like country music you still need to watch this...

Taylor Swift More CMT Music More CMT Music Videos

Fun times

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Well, we survived the week of many, many events. It was crazy, but fun all around. I combined the boys' birthday parties this year (since it will probably be the last time I can get away with it) and we had a blast at JumpZone. Fun times. They got presents galore! It's hard to believe that they are 3 and 6 already!This week we ran all over town every day. You know you haven't been home when your dishwasher is full of only cups because you haven't been cooking. We have been hopping from place to place. Ethan even had to do a 2 minute strip in the soccer parking lot from his soccer uniform into his baseball uniform. Baseball has started out fun. Ethan plays two positions in the field--pitcher (aka standing next to the pitching machine) and cheerleader. The boy gets so excited when his teammates get an out. He cracks me up.

In other news, Morgan rolled over today for the first time!! She was laying on a blanket in the living room floor. Reece and I left the room and when we came back she was on her belly. I hate that I missed the acutal roll!! I got a few pictures of her post-roll.

I think she was proud of herself...
Then I got this one with Reece. It was pj day at school which is why he was still wearing them at lunchtime (not that it doesn't happen around here on occasion). This picture reminded me so much of when Reece was a baby and Ethan was 3 and used to sit next to him.So I found this picture (& Reece had on that shirt yesterday, gotta love hand me downs). Wow, time flies!!!!!!!!!

Busy week

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:06:00 +0000

We have quite a busy week here. For starters, this boy turned THREE yesterday!

He had a big day and has been playing with his new play-doh all morning. It's amazing how quickly he can mix the colors. Can't anything stay nice in this house for more than 5 minutes?? Guess not. The funniest thing yesterday that any time someone said "Happy Birthday, Reece" he replied "Happy Birthday!" instead of "thank you." It was too cute to correct.

Then tomorrow, this girl will be THREE MONTHS!!!

It seems like just yesterday I was complaining about how my pregnancy would never end and now here we are three months later with the sweetest, most cuddly little girl. This is her in her first Easter dress. She is sleeping through the night or only getting up once, smiles, laughs, and is starting to get a kick out of her brothers who stop by her to sneak in a kiss or a quick hi before running off.

On Friday this boy will turn SIX!!!

It is hard to believe! It seems like just yesterday that we had him and it's been 6 years and 2 more babies later. Other times it seems like light years ago that we brought home our first baby boy. We really had NO CLUE what we were doing. There are days I still feel like I don't know, but let me just say that the 3rd child (& even the second) are soooooo much easier than the first. I need to dedicate a post all about my Ethan man.

Tonight is Ethan's first baseball game. I can't wait to see him in his little uniform and to snap a picture--before it gets all dirty. That should take about 2 seconds. Again, we can keep nothing nice.

On a side note...in an attempt to put off cleaning as long as possible I have even posted on my blog. Pitiful.

That's my boy...

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:25:00 +0000

I have decided to dedicate this post to REECE. He is quite a character. He has a mind of his own for sure. He is easy to please and will pretty much do anything for candy or gum (or marshmallows at his grandparents house). He is completely and fully potty trained now since I have learned this about him. Ha! He had a several day sweets hiatus during some bad potty times (I'll spare the details) and he was sort of like a junky. It's not like he gets candy and gum all day long, but we all like a little treat, right?

He says some of the funniest stuff and is attached to his ragged old puppy. He likes spaghettios for lunch almost every day--straight out of the can, no warming for him. He sings constantly. Loves his brother. Loves his "sis poo." Was born to be a middle child. Is obsessed with play-doh and the thought of getting moon sand for his birthday (which will not happen).

One night last week Scott was tickling him and he was laughing his head off. Cackling. All of a sudden he started screaming...."DADDY, STOP!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE MAKING THE PEE COME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!" He released him to the bathroom and just cracked up. Um, yes, that is my boy for sure.

The next day it was storming a little off and on throughout the day. There was one giant boom of thunder and it scared him half to death. I calmed him down and then later in the afternoon it started storming again. Here is how I found him:
Puppy in hand, blanket over head & surrounded by pillows. I'm not sure what's up with the "senior pose" hand on chin, though.

Wets his pants when he laughs, afraid of storms, it may be a rough life--I would know.

Sonic or bust

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:58:00 +0000

Ok, so this has to be the funniest. picture. ever. My great friend Anthony took this picture himself. This is typically something you would see on an email forward. Not this time, he saw this with his very own eyes. Only in Arkansas.
Do you think he asked for the horses' Route 44 to be poured into a trough???

First laugh

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Morgan had her first laugh last night!!! It was right when we got home from church and Ethan and I were talking to her and she giggled. It was so great!!! Ethan thought it was especially cool that her first laugh was on April Fools Day. Maybe he thought all of his bad jokes from the day paid off. Ha!

Pocket Check

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:49:00 +0000

So Spring Break is over and normal life has returned. We had a great week and did a lot of fun things together. It was a good week for me not having a schedule and to just enjoy the kiddos. I am finally coming out of my "new mom" fog for good mainly because the Morgan girl has slept through the night the last two nights!!!!!!!! I hate to jinx her because the last time I said this on Facebook she had a horrible night the next night.

Ok, to the title of this post. I am reminding you all to do a mandatory pocket check before washing any clothes. I know you all probably do this anyway, but if you do not there could be severe consequences. While on Spring Break we took a trip to see Daddy at work. There is a man there that has LOADS of candy in his desk. I'm not even kidding. I would be 300 pounds if I worked there. He took the boys in and let them pick out anything they want. They both picked a pack of gum. They thought they were hot stuff having their own pack of gum instead of mooching off of me. They strutted around with it in their pockets all day. You see where this is going, don't you? No, I did not do a pocket check. Reece's gum made it out of his shorts he took them off. Ethan's did not. So I washed an entire pack of gum. Did I catch the mistake when switching to the dryer? Nope. I think it must have still been in the shorts after the washer. When I went to open the dryer (our BRAND NEW DRYER) there it was. The entire drum of the dryer was lined with gum. This totally tops washing the Pull-Up. It was a sight. I about fainted. The first thing I did was think about how glad I was that Scott didn't open it before me because I am notorious for doing these kind of bonehead things (although he did spill his drink ON MORGAN at dinner the other night & I found ice in her pants when we were leaving the restaurant). I spent the next hour and a half cleaning the dryer with peanut butter. The clothes did have a nice spearmint smell, though.

Consider yourself reminded. CHECK THE POCKETS!!

I'll leave you today with a song I heard Reece singing Morgan. He usually sings "Morrrr---gan, the girl girl" to the tune of Frosty the Snowman but yesterday it was something different.

Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little Morgan. It is library time, it is time to go to sleep.

I feel the same way about reading, dude.

On a side note...I was looking for a picture of a pocket to put on this post and found that one that's a purse. I cracked up because I had several purses made out of jeans pockets as a kid so I had to use it.

Spring Break!

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Hooray for Spring Break! Our first day was great! I loved hanging out in my robe this morning with no rushing around. I know by the end of the week I'll be ready for my normal schedule, but this will be nice.

Today the kids and I (I just typed the boys and I and had to go back and fix it, still not used to this girl!) met my mom and my nieces and nephew at the park. We had a picnic lunch and then did some kite flying! It was pretty windy today so it was perfect! I forgot how much work trying to fly a kite can be. Here's how the time breaks down:

2% flying
98% trying to get it to fly and getting it untangled every 5 minutes

The boys loved it and once they got the hang of it Ethan did really well. Reece quit because he wanted to play on the playground. Here are some pics...

As you can tell, Morgan really enjoyed herself. Ha! Poor girl lives in her carseat/stroller. That's the price you pay when you have two big brothers that like to go go go!In other news, I have gotten some great deals lately. I got two packs of wipes for 99 cents each. Regular price $5.99 for 184 wipes. That's less than a penny per wipe. What a deal! I also do the consignment sale in town and got rid of a bunch of stuff, bought a bunch of stuff, and even made some money. On half price night I got Morgan 16 items of clothes for $21.50. I got some cute stuff, too (see outfit above)!!! Oh how I love a deal.

I did take all 3 to Kroger this afternoon. I don't guess I've had all 3 in the store before but you know that you and your children look like a giant puff of chaos when the teenage checker boy says "Wow, you look like you have your hands full, ma'am." Ouch.

Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Kiss her, she's Irish!

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:33:00 +0000

Happy St Patrick's Day! Here's my girl dressed up in her green today! If you could see her hair under that hat you would definitely agree that she's Irish...it's red. She gets that from Scott's side for sure. I don't think it will be red red, more like an auburn red. We'll see, I guess!!

She will be two months old on the 22nd! I can hardly believe it! She is growing so fast and is doing so great. She is smiling like crazy now and has sort of "come to life" all of a sudden. She hasn't gotten sleeping down just yet and has a hard time going to sleep for the night. She must not have gotten the memo that bedtime is no later than 8:30 for anyone under 30. We are giving her a "pass" now, but once she starts understanding our reality shows her being awake is not going to work! Ha!

Things have been crazy and "Spring" soccer is in full swing. I put spring in quotes because I would like to rename it "freeze your hiney off" soccer. We have either frozen, gotten about blown away, or completely covered in mud each time we've been at the soccer fields. Grrrr. The weather should be nice from now on so let's hope it stays that way! Ethan is loving it and bounces around the field like a crazy man.

We have a dental mystery on our hands here. Well, we all know that Reece has been a little short on teeth. One was his fault--knocked out his front tooth at 16 months old. Then he had two on the bottom (the ones on each side of the front two middle teeth) that never came in. We took him to the dentist when he turned two and they did an x-ray. No teeth! The dentist said that they weren't there and the permanent ones probably aren't there either. Wellllll, the other night I was putting him in the car and I saw something......A TOOTH GROWING IN!!!!!! WHAT!!?! How is this possible? It's coming in alright, and it looks like the other one might be, too! Take that, dentist. Who on earth heard of getting two baby teeth one month before you turn 3? Crazy stuff. Reece is anything but ordinary so it is very fitting for him. I'm just so happy that they are coming in, though. The only problem is that at this rate he may not lose them until he's 16. Oh well!

Other than that life is crazy, but life is good.

Things I am sure of...

jenkailey@conwaycorp.net (Jenni) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:47:00 +0000

-I am starting to make some of my loyal readers unhappy due to my lack of posting. Sorry to 'anonymous' on the latest comment.

-If Sonic ever gets rid of Happy Hour, then I might die. Seriously.

-I love coupons & a great deal. It's an obsession.

-One of my favorite moments in time is when the laundry is caught up. That all changes as soon as someone changes, sleeps, or takes a shower. Sigh.

-Being a stay at home mom is by far my favorite & hardest job ever. I do have fun Pizza Hut memories, though. :)

-Besides our kids the DVR is the greatest thing we have ever brought into our home.

-Reality TV rules and anyone who thinks it doesn't is only fooling themself.

-Watching The Biggest Loser makes me hungry. It's so wrong, I know.

-Holding a sleeping baby is one of the greatest things on earth.

-Pregnancy makes you do crazy things like back into your garage door before it is all the way up. Yes, pregnancy is getting all the blame.

-I could write a book on the things that no one tells you about pregnancy, childbirth & postpartum.

-I hate to diet.

-Kids grow WAY too fast.

-There is nothing better than a good belly laugh. Unless you don't make it to the bathroom fast enough.

-I am so proud to be a mom.

-There is no way to keep up with a blog and 3 kids.