Pretending

So I just think it's so funny when little people start to pretend. Here is Braden today in his play room pretending with his cars. He kept saying, "Where do you wanna go .... soccer? ok!" It was so funny. 

Extended medical leave

So despite my attempts, I did not get to go back to work today. The physician that signs off on medical releases for the employees put me on a weight restriction which means I can not work in patient care. Before the economy stuff happened (that's about my understanding of it all) we could return on "light duty." There's no such thing as light duty now. If you can't 100% fulfill your duties, you can not work. Bummer. Then I found out I didn't have to use my paid time off banked time for these additional days ... I am covered under FMLA. YAY! So I get free days off! Cheating the system? Maybe, but at least I tried to go back, right?! Now Braden says he has a owie.
My son .... obsessed with bugs
So .... stay tuned for 5 more days of blogging boredom!

The Bark Park

I finally got to try out the new dog park in Tulsa today. It's called Tulsa's Bark Park (I think), and it's an old baseball park turned into a huge off-leash dog run with balls, toys, water, and poopbags! (Sorry, Julie!) Josh and I took Abby of course, and we took our good friend Julie with us too. She has a rescue dog named Elle that she's had since December. Elle is very .... well, shy! She is so attached to Julie, and doesn't want much to do with anyone else, or any other dogs! I think it's kinda sweet! Abby, on the other hand, immediately turned into a crazy puppy full of energy! She and her new greyhound friend at the park trampled over a 13 year old pup and hurt her leg! Other than that, it was all fun! She ran her little butt off for about an hour, and still had enough energy to play with Josh's twin brother's Great Dane, Maggie this afternoon! (Have I told you all that Josh has a twin?!) Anyway, I had no idea she had that much energy. Anyway, I'm glad I got to enjoy the dog park on my last day off because children under 12 aren't allowed at the dogparks, so I won't get many chances to go. 
Attempting to take a self-portrait with crazy excited Abby (she wanted to go outside so badly!) She is such an outside girl!

More Ethan Birthday pictures!

So since his Daddy was off doing his Navy training stuff on his REAL birthday, we had a HUGE re-do once he got back home. When I see the bond this family has, it makes me wish that Braden had what Ethan has. His daddy is pretty fantastic. We love our "Tepay." Thanks, Laurie for the pictures. I don't know why they are so small .... or why they take so long to load! It was even slow on my computer. Hmmmm .... maybe we need a computer nerd's help here. 

Random pictures

Here's a few pictures from our week off .... enjoy

Abby and her bestie, Max

Lunch date

So I got a little taste of what it would be like to be a stay-at-home mom today. I went out with my stay-at-home mom friends, Debbie and Shea ..... my part time stay-at-home mom friend Shelby, and our on bed rest soon-to-be mom friend Jordan! We had 5 kids between us, and they had so much fun at Cosmos while we had lunch. Enjoy our pictures! (I'm secretly a little ready to go back to work!) My Dr gave me lifting restriction for when I go back to work of 10lb! Ha! We'll see about that!Ethan, Debbie, Braden, Rory, and little miss Ava. (Reese was dodging the camera!)
Shea, Rory, Reese, Shelby, and Ava ..... not expecting the photo!
Braden wearing Reese's headband .... pretty, son.
Braden was singing songs .... Ava was intently listening and mouthing the words along with him. I was laughing so hard!
Little Shea and little Shelby. They are beautiful just like their mommas!

Here's a video of Braden showing off at the table .....

More Brooklyn pictures

Isn't she beautiful? I got to spend some time with Phyllis and Brooklyn this morning without Braden around to get jealous, so I got to hold her a lot!! I snapped a few pictures while I was there! Enjoy

Our spa day got exciting REALLY quickly!

So because Phyllis was scheduled for her C-section on Monday .... we decided to have an all day spa day. This was the first time we'd ever done this, so we have been looking forward to it for months! We joked around about how she was going to go into labor in the middle of our day ..... well, she didn't. She waited until after the massages, the facials, and the pedicures! We were ordering dinner at Charleston's when ...... "My water just broke," came out of her mouth like a freight train! WOOOOO! She said she always wanted the dramatic labor experience ... well, she got it this time! We ran out of the restaurant, and I drove like a bat out of hell all the way to the hospital. She was in so much pain .... we had to stop several times in the hallway during her contractions. When she got checked in, she was already dilated to a 6! Baby Brooklyn was just as beautiful as her sisters, and weighed in at a big 6 lb, 7 oz. What an exciting end to a very relaxing day!!!! I love Phyllis, and all of her beautiful girls are so blessed to have such a wonderful mother. 

1st hour of our week off!

Yay! A week off! We started by watering our new tomato garden, azaleas, and hostas that my mom planted for us. Did I spell those right, Mom? Anyway, Braden ended up naked and soaked .... I was laughing too hard to snap pictures! Ha! I am having a minor little hand surgery in the morning, so tomorrow will probably consist of pain pills and napping ... I'm also getting a sinus infection and I feel really icky so I may be resting the rest of the week! We have soccer Thursday morning, a doctor's appointment, and then Friday ........ massages, facials, and pedicures with Phyllis and Shelby 3 days before Phyllis has baby Brooklyn. I'm really looking forward to that day! Saturday is another Ethan birthday party ...... and ...... hey, what happened to doing nothing. Oops ......

Oh and by the way ..... I fixed my video on YouTube so scroll down to the day before yesterday and click on it! It will work this time! And Josh decided to name the dog Abby! She is Abbigail when we get on to her! Ha!



had to slip in a picture of my sweet boys lounging 

watch my video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5T_CwouctA

All I need is a name ....

She's home! Josh picked his little girl up today, and I convinced them to come over for a visit. She is asleep in the floor right now, and I think she may be a little overwhelmed after her first day of non-orphanism. She seems to have really taken to Josh .... she follows him around and really listens to him. She sits, and learned to lie down right before my eyes. She is so smart! For a baby, she is very chilled. She is whining a little, but I think she'll get use to her new home and her new dad soon. She seems pretty flexible. She is perfect! I know, I know ... she's not mine, but come on .... let me enjoy my time with her!

Oh yeah ..... her name is still a little up in the air ...... 

A) Marley (Josh says EVERYONE is naming their dogs Marley these days)

B) Abby

C) Sopie

D) Zoe

How she's spent most of her time
She loves her new daddy



She really enjoyed Braden. He was a little excited, and it was hard to convince him to be easy with her (she just had a doggy-hysterectomy last week!) 

Welcome, Marley!

So I know some of you may remember my short-lived dream to rescue a lab from lab rescue last year. I was talked out of it by my mother (thank goodness!) Braden and I are just on the the go too much in Tulsa to have a dog in Claremore. So ...... the next best thing is to talk the boyfriend into it! Ha! Actually, he was considering getting a dog anyway, I just kinda nudged him a bit. Ok, a lot! Sorry, Josh. I'll have to be gently reminded from time to time that she is not MY dog. Anyway, we all fell in love with sweet little Merlot yesterday. Merlot's name is now Marley, and Josh is on his way right now to meet her foster mom and take the little girl home! Yay! I can't wait to take her out and play! We walked her around PetsMart yesterday for a bit, and for a baby she is very mature. She follows commands, and is really sweet and meek. She doesn't act at all like a puppy, her foster mom says. That's easy to believe by watching her interact with Braden and the other dogs ... she is very well behaved to be under a year old! Anyway, untill I get the chance to spend some time with her ..... here's some pictures. This is her mugshot from the labrescue website. Stay tuned .....

http://labrescue.net/adoptables_current/adopted_200904/merlot.htm

I found a new Hobby!

So after the caterpillar cake, I decided to try for another challenge. I made a bear cake for Phyllis's baby shower. I tried Wednesday night, and it didn't turn out right so I had to throw that one in the trash and try again. Thursday night, it turned out perfectly! It doesn't really look all that professional, but it is personal! And it was so much to do! I also made a diaper cake for the first time. It was a lot easier, but not as tasty!