My Heartstrings

September 30, 2005

I Want to be a Cowgirl...

Kaylee loved dressing up today to go to Sunshine School for Cowboy/Cowgirl Day. She was worried that she would look silly but I assured her that everyone would be dressed up too. Since she wanted to wear boots I had to go with the only pair I could find for her which were two sizes too big! Oh well, she loved them just the same. Atleast now she will have some to wear next year. I am sure all the children looked adorable I know my sweet girl did!

Cary just called from the car and he is on his way home. I am looking forward to a little quiet time tomorrow even if it is just in the car on the way to my doctor's appointment. Thank you to everyone who prayed for Cary's safe return. We will be glad to have him home...I cannot hog all the fun!

September 27, 2005

Conversations with Kaylee

Well we have now made it a few days without Cary and I think his little angel is missing him quite a bit. (Me too!)I think we are all spoiled to Daddy time around here. I am definitely glad he does not have a traveling job. Hats off to all the ladies in our class who do have husbands with traveling jobs!

On the way to Ladies Class this morning I decided to call Cary and let Kaylee talk to him because we were listening to Kelly Clarkson (aka Kelly Partner to Kaylee, I do not know why) and the song Since You've Been Gone came on the CD and Kaylee changed the words to Since Daddy's Been Gone... which I thought was hilarious. Since he is never gone it has been hard to explain to her why he is gone and why he cannot come back today. So she and Cary had the same conversation she and I have had for the past few days about airplanes, why he cannot come back early, where he is, where he is sleeping, are his friends there, etc... All she kept saying was "I want you to come home now!" Even Cary's attempt to distract her with surprises he has for her did not work. After an "I love you" with a pouty lip and sad eyes she handed me the phone and I hung up. Then I hear from the back seat "I am tired of being a broken family" again with the pouty lip and sad eyes.( this is a phrase from Lilo & Stitch) "What are you talking about?" I say. (Thoughts running through my head of how many people she would encounter today and say this phrase to and what would they think? Would Cary and I be signed up for counseling by the elders on Sunday?) After a long pause she said "Daddy is in Seattle and we are here in Sachse so we are a broken family." Oh well, I do not think we are a broken family Daddy is just away on business but he will be back soon. "We are still broken till he gets home" says Kaylee. Okay, you win. I did inform her teacher who happens to be one of the elders daughters that Cary was out of town in case Kaylee told her we were broken. I love my thoughtful and inquisitive daughter.

September 26, 2005

Crazy days

The past week flew by and so did our weekend. I am constantly amazed at where the time goes.

On Friday we had a cute party to attend for one of Kaylee's sweet friends. She had so much fun making a puppy collar for her little beanie puppy named Max. They also made a puppy carrier. Such cute ideas!! Then we returned home so the girls could take a nap and I could finish getting ready for the garage sale our neighborhood was having on Saturday. After naps it was time to get the girls ready to attend a 30th Birthday surprise party for a friend of ours. It too was a lot of fun. Kaylee loved having cake twice in one day! Who wouldn't? Then I went to Traci's house where we were having the garage sale and unloaded things and helped set up for the next morning.

Saturday I was up and at the garage sale at 7:20am, should have been earlier but I slept a little longer than expected. We made several sales and by 9:45am it was time for Cary to work the sale so I could attend a baby shower in Mesquite for a sweet friend of mine, Shelly. She got some really sweet things and some practical ones too. The time with friends catching up was great! Then it was back home for some more garage sale...mainly packing up since it was around 1:00pm and it looked a little stormy outside. All in all the garage sale was a success and I was beat by the time we returned home at 2:00pm. The rest of the day consisted of naps for the girls, Cary mowing the yard, and me tidying up around the house.

Sunday begins another and it is a little different than usual since Cary left for a conference in Seattle for the week. We shall see how I do with the girls on my own. So far we have made it 24 hours with no major events.

Kaylee is a little confused about Cary being gone because he has never been gone for several nights since the girls have been born. He and Kaylee have the nightly ritual of bedtime so that is their special time of the day. She kept asking me where daddy was sleeping? Who was tucking him in snug as a bug? What was he going to eat? Who was he going to eat with? My little worrier. She said it was okay for him to be gone a little while but not a long,long time.

I am already enjoying the girls being sisters. Kaylee cannot wait to see Campbell and she smiles so big when she sees Kaylee. They are also enjoying bathtime together. Kaylee said " I have been waiting my whole life for this!" the other night when I put them in the bath together. Little does she know that is not too long. However, I am glad that she loves her so. Kaylee also informed me when we were talking last night that we did not need any more babies at our house because she was going to have a hard enough time teaching Campbell to stay out of her room. Good luck sweetheart! I pray they will always be good friends. My girls continue to be the light in my day!

Well I am off to run errands before Kaylee returns from school. Please pray for a safe return for Cary.

September 21, 2005

I Love Tuesdays!

I just love Tuesdays because I get to go to Ladies Bible Class at church. Kaylee gets to play with her friends for a few hours and Campbell gets to hang out with the adults.(only because I cannot bare the thought of putting her in the nursery yet) The format right now for class is lecture type with some discussion but I look forward to breaking up into groups and getting to hear other women speak on their thoughts and feelings. I always learn so much. It is a great way to get to know other women in the church too. There are so many older women that I look up to and look forward to seeing each week. Then of course their is the added treat of having lunch with friends.

There are not many things better than having lunch with good friends. Especially if you are eating at MiCocina at the Galleria. Shopping and lunch is even better! It is so nice to talk about life whether it is a little Dr. Phil, Oprah, Days of Our Lives, or our actually lives. Our three precious angels even managed to sleep the whole time so we could have a few adult moments.(the ones where you get to talk without interruptions and eat with both hands before your food gets cold) I am so thankful for these times with friends and as time goes by I am sure I will treasure them more and more. Thanks Nicole and Honey!

When I went to pick Kaylee up she came running down the hall to see her sister. She adores her. As I was finishing giving Campbell a bottle my BIG helper was directing all the parents to the room down the hall. She would say "Mrs. Pedigo, Beau is down in the movie room...right down there" and point her in the right direction with her finger while saying "yeah right that way, right that way." As if they were so lost without her pointing them onward. Such a helpful soul. Then on the way home she said, "Mommy are you sure you can take care of Campbell?" I responded with, "Yes, of course. Why?" She said, " It is a BIG RESPONSIBILITY to take care of a baby and I just wanted to make sure you could handle it." Where does she get this stuff from? I laughed the rest of the way home.

Well I am off to clean out my house of unwanted clutter to put in a garage sale. Hopefully I will have a cleaner house and a little extra money when I am finished.

September 18, 2005

A Quiet Sunday...

What is a quiet Sunday? I find myself wondering very often these days. I love my precious girls but there is rarely a quiet Sunday with the two of them and in the end I would not have it any other way.

Have you ever spent about an hour or so cooking something new for lunch thinking it will be so nice to sit down to a family dinner at the table for a change? ( since Cary usually is at work late we eat in shifts during the week) I had that thought today. Campbell was asleep and I thought how nice it would be to cook something new and all eat together. About the time the lunch was finished and I was placing the last plate on the table we hear a screaming "I am awake" cry from Campbell's room. Cary went to get her while I finished placing things on the table and getting Kaylee to sit down. Campbell is now having a bottle in Cary's lap and we are all seated and bowing our heads to pray when Kaylee announces "I have to go potty" which I follow with "can you wait a minute?" of course her answer is "no". Off she goes to the potty and Cary and I just laugh at what our lives have come to in only a few short months time. So much for a nice lunch with a conversation and no interruptions.

Fast forward to Sunday night after church. Campbell was a little fussy during church but I just thought a clean diaper would fix it. Not the case. As soon as we left the church parking lot Campbell started to scream and I do mean scream. Kaylee tried to entertain her by acting crazy and laughing which worked for all of 3 minutes. The screaming started again which Kaylee followed with singing and laughing even more loundly.( Did I mention that I had a headache before we ever left the house?) At one point Cary and I just looked at each other and laughed. At least we still have our sense of humor...you have to right? Also it should be noted that we live about a 25-30 minute drive from church which felt like an eternity tonight. Then I had the idea that maybe she was hungry even though it had only been two hours since her last feeding so we decided to stop at Whataburger to eat and quiet her with a bottle. This did not work either so we got the food to go and listened to five more minutes of screaming on the way home. Once home after a nice dose of Mylicon all seemed to be good in Campbell's world. After a nice dose of Tylenol all is good in my world too. I cannot wait till tomorrow to see what the day brings.

Hopefully someone had a calmer Sunday. In the end I would not change a thing, we are truly blessed.

September 16, 2005

Getting My Shopping Fix plus an Added Bonus

perfect bargain. I think I am addicted to finding the best deal. Needless to say I found several deals and Campbell now has a few things for the winter months and Kaylee has one new dress. ( there were not a lot of cute things in Kaylee's size by the time I got there, hence the one dress) There is something about a bunch of civilized women searching for a perfect outfit that is so much fun!! I appreciate my husband supporting this addiction and keeping the girls last night. They were actually both asleep by the time I got home.

After waiting for an hour to check out I received an added bonus. Several of us from church decided to go eat and catch up on life in general. Who can resist Olive Garden? We had a lot of fun talking and laughing. Those are the moments that I treasure the most especially when a few of the girls are ones you do not get to do that with very often. Our waiter was very nice considering we walked in right before closing time. Thanks Chris! All in all I would say my trip was very successful!

I am now off to feed Campbell, change movies for Kaylee, and start my day of cleaning. Also today is my Dad's birthday so hope you have a wonderful day Dad!! I talked about Daddy's girls in my previous post and I am the Queen of that. I love you Dad!!

September 15, 2005

Labeling On...

I have not blogged in a while because I have been burried in the study of our home labeling clothes and hanging clothes since Saturday. Finally today was the drop off day for the Just Between Friends consignment sale here in Dallas. It has been a long process but hopefully it will pay off with a BIG check in the end. Then I can go buy more clothes for the girls to fill up the already full closets. Isn't it a vicious cycle??

Today was Parents and Pasteries at Kaylee's school. She told me earlier in the week she wanted Daddy to come like last year. ( have I mentioned she is our "little elephant" who forgets nothing) She also wanted to get some books at the Book Fair which she had pre-selected on Monday with her teacher. She picked out the usual stuff for three year olds...Dora, Clifford, Franklin, and two books that had stickers in them. I did manage to talk her out of the Spiderman book that was on her list. She told me her "heart was happy" because her whole family went for breakfast at school. I almost cried.

Kaylee continues to love Sunshine School!! She told her teacher today that Daddy says "to always do your best". What about all of the things Mommy says? I already know who the Daddy's girl is around here. I am so glad they have such a great relationship. Kaylee continues to LOVE her baby sister and cannot wait to see her every morning and when she gets home from school. She likes to make her smile all the time too. She is growing up so fast. I thought the first year was suppose to be the fastest but we seem to loose track of time even more now. She is my sweet girl.

Campbell is getting bigger every day. She has been such a good sleeper lately...
I hate to say that because I am probably jinxing myself. It is amazing all you can get done with a sleepy baby. She continues to smile a lot and be a true joy.

Well I am off to get a few things done around here before I go shop the sale tonight. Wish me luck on some great bargains! Today is payday, right?

September 8, 2005

Holiday Weekend

Why is it that a weekend away always leaves you more tired than you were before you got started? Is it the packing of 2 adults and 2 children? Is it thinking about putting it all away when you get home?

Besides returning tired we had a great weekend in Abilene with dear friends catching up on life. It is so nice to have friendships where you do not get to talk as often as you would like but can pick up as if no time has passed at all. David Todd and Lisa's children had grown so much it is hard to believe we have friends with a six year old. Then our other dear friends are about to start the life journey of having a child. They have no idea what is in store. No more 9 o'clock bedtime for them. They will make great parents though. God bless all our sweet friends near and far.

My how things have changed in Abilene since we were there three years ago! There are more restaurants, shopping, and the big news was they added another Super Wal-Mart in town. We managed to eat Chinese food, a great steak, and some delicious Mexican food. I also got to enjoy a Cajun Cone before leaving town which is one of the places I miss especially in the hot summertime. It is amazing how much you can get done when it only takes ten minutes to get across town. The slower pace sure was enjoyable for the weekend. The only sad part was we did not get to see the Mayos but we will catch them next time.

All in all we had a lot of fun and Kaylee enjoyed her time with PaPa and Nana in Waco. She told me all about the beautiful wedding she got to attend and going shopping with Nana who buys her anything she wants. That is what Nanas are for though. I still have some unpacking to do so that is all for now. Enjoy your day.

August 31, 2005

First Pictures Together

Well here are the pictures from last week. They turned out really well I thought. My friend Stacy does a great job! I tried to pick some of my favorites. Not much going on today except packing to leave town tomorrow after Kaylee gets out of school. We are heading to Waco then to Abilene for the long weekend to catch up with some friends. Kaylee is going to enjoy some time with PaPa, Nana,and Great PaPaw. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!

August 30, 2005

Off and Running

Well Kaylee was up at 6:50am today with two books in hand saying "Today is school, Today is school!". I am so glad that she loves it so much I hope it is always that way for her. She could not wait to get dressed and out the door. After a mad dash to get everyone ready and a few photos in the front yard we were off.

As promised to Kaylee we went for a family breakfast at McDonald's before school. She was so excited to get pancakes and to have her Daddy there that I do not think she stopped smiling the whole meal. Campbell stayed asleep so we had a chance to talk to Kaylee about all the fun she was going to have in Mrs. Leslie's class this year. Once Kaylee finished her food she was ready to finish the journey to school. She decided to ride with Daddy this part of the drive. I am so glad she loves her Daddy so much. I know first hand what it is like to be a Daddy's girl.

Once we got to the parking lot she was running to the car to get her backpack and nap mat. Her friend Trinity had just arrived too so they were excited to see each other. After a few hugs and more pictures they were off hand in hand toward school. When did she get so big? We had to stop and check on her teacher from last year before proceeding down the hall. Kaylee loves to make sure everyone is okay...more on that later. I do not think she stopped after that because we were at Mrs. Leslie's class in record time. I do not even remember getting a "goodbye" or anything else. She took her seat beside her sweet friend Ashlyn and got busy on her color sheet. We did manage to get one more picture in though. I love my big girl but it makes me sad too when I think about how the years have gone by already.

Next it was Mommy time with my dear friend Stephanie. We did what women usually do which is shop and talk. We went to Tuesday Morning and Target for a few bargains. You cannot beat a pair of pants for $6.84 on sale. Yeah!! Then it was off to lunch at LaHacinda Ranch and catching up on our lives without interruption. ( except for feeding our precious babies a bottle) What wonderful day !!

When I arrived at school to pick Kaylee up she was all smiles. She came running to give me a big hug which was the best. However she followed that with the words "I want to stay here". I explained that everyone else was going home too so then she agreed to go with me. Mrs. Leslie pulled me aside and said Kaylee says such cute things. This worries me for a moment because one never knows what is going to come out of the mouth of a three year old. She said Kaylee asked her a few times during the day " Mrs. Leslie are you okay?". She thought it was cute and I was relieved. Once in the car she told me all about her day ( how if you stay on green you get a treasure on Thursday, everyone in her class is so good, and Mrs. Tiffany was sick today) and gave Campbell plenty of love on the way home. I assured her that Campbell missed her today but she would be okay two days a week for a few hours without her. ( As mentioned before my child is very nurturing..she wants everyone to be good at all times. I get asked at least 10 times a day if I am okay? Such a little mother already!) We stopped at Sonic for a treat on the way home and then she said she was ready for a nap. I had to ask her to repeat that a few times to let it sink in...asking for a nap. Daddy called to see how her day had gone and she told him her favorite part of the day was recess because she got to see all of her friends. My little social butterfly.

I am sure the new year will be great! God bless all the teachers and administrators willing to give their time and talents to our children.

August 28, 2005

Where did the weekend go?

Another week has ended with nothing too eventful to report or at least not that I remember. (I do have a 10 week old who still wakes up once in the night so somethings are blurry at times.)

On Friday my wonderful husband came home early from work so I could go scrapping with some friends at this great place called Recollections. We were there from 4:oopm till 12:00am. Needless to say I did not accomplish everything I had hoped but I am trying to stay up to date with at least one of my children's albums since I am two years behind on Kaylee's. In my defense I do have two albums full of Kaylee's first year so that took some time. I have found that this is a hobby I enjoy most of the time but also one I cannot stop since I have already started it! When I returned home the house was just as I had left it and both girls were asleep so my husband's night was a success. However, he did say on more than one occasion he does not know how I do all the things I do each day. That is always nice to hear...who doesn't want to feel appreciated. I could not do what he does all day either. Thank you God for a wonderful man who I am lucky enough to call my "husband".

My parents came in town this weekend too. Mom, Kaylee, and I had fun shopping on Saturday for Kaylee some back to school clothes which she will be wearing when the temperature stops being in the 90's to 100's. She loved shopping because we went to a mall where there were rides to ride so after each store if she had been cooperative she got to ride a ride. Isn't bribery wonderful!! That made the day so much better for all of us. It never ceases to amaze me when shopping for the girls just how much things cost for them. Should it cost as much or more than my clothes when so much less material is used? Oh well! Thanks Mom and Dad for always spoiling us.

Then on Saturdey night Cary and I went to a party at a friends house who recently got married. They had such beautiful wedding and honeymoon pictures. When do we get to go on such a wonderful vacation again? Is it before our girls are our ages now? It is so good to see him so happy and blessed by God. We know they will have a wonderful life together. The time away from both girls was an added treat since Mom and Dad pulled babysitting duty. For the second night in a row I came home to happy sleeping children. Thank you.

Today is Sunday and we had a great morning at church eventhough there was no children's church today for Kaylee. My little girl is growing up because she colored and played with stickers with two of her friends on the row behind us and there was no noise or fighting from any of them. They are all getting so big and it is nice to be able to not be the mediator for a change. It is fun to watch their different personalities at this age. They are so social. Kaylee was very pleased with her sweet time with her friends. Bless all God's dear children.

I have now packed Kaylee's lunch and backpack for another year of Sunshine School. It makes me sad to think I only have two more years of her being home with me before "big school starts" as Kaylee says. I do enjoy my two days a week of free time, but what will I ever do with five! I will still have Campbell at home but some things are so much easier with one child in tow. My husband would answer the "what will I do question?" with go back to work but I think he is slowly understanding how serious I am when I say I am retired from working outside of the home. Teaching for four years is enough, right?
We had meet the teacher this afternoon and Kaylee was very pleased with her teacher and class. All of her girlfriends from Sunday morning are in her class so she loved it tonight!

I will post more tomorrow on Kaylee's first day!

August 22, 2005

Time Flies

Well I did not have a moment to post at all last week so I suppose I will try to catch everyone up on our life.

Campbell went to the doctor last Tuesday for her 2 month appointment!! I cannot believe how time has flown by since her birth on June 16th. She is growing into a healthy girl at 11 pounds 6 ounces and 23 inches long. Her lungs are working fine too since the minute we walked into the doctor's office she started crying. She was comforted long enough to turn on the charm for the doctor who thought I was crazy telling him she was a little on the fussy side after the way she grinned and cooed at him through the whole exam. The shots were a different story of course. Kaylee did not like the nurse hurting "her baby". She had to know what was going on at all times and if all of that was "necessary". I am so glad she adores her sister, I am going to enjoy the ride until Campbell starts getting into her stuff and the tune changes. Kaylee did insist that her ears be checked too since she had an ear infection the week before and surprisingly everything was fine.

Nothing else exciting happened till Tuesday when I finally went to get Kaylee's 3 year pictures made since she will be 4 in November! In my defense I have decided to get her year pictures done closer to summer since we always do a family picture in late November around her birthday. She was a big cheese for the pictures! We had to keep telling her to smile less so we could see her eyes. Somehow we even managed to get the girls pictures together, which was a task in itself. All in all it was a pleasant experience. It helped having a friend who is a photographer and has patience. After that we met Daddy for lunch and had a great dining experience. Campbell actually slept through me eating. ( This does not happen very often.)

We had a great week and look forward to this one.

August 12, 2005

Addicted

Well I am officially sucked in to blogging. (thanks Kristen) I suppose it is a good way to spend the vast amount of extra time I have with my 31/2 year old and a 2 month old. ( ha, ha) Seriously I can see how it would help you keep up with family and friends though. I will try to keep up with the rest of you but I am not quite as clever most of the time. Happy blogging!