Taylor could NOT stay awake during lunch today. I thought it was so cute.
Monday, November 24
Tuesday, November 18
Birthdays, Hats, and Mail
On Sunday my girls celebrated their birthdays!!! Taylor was 18 months and Maddison was 2 months! They're both getting to be so big. 
Last night taylor was playing with an old cell phone and chris didn't recognize it. He kinda freaked a bit thinking she had someone's phone. He said "Taylor! Where'd you get that?" and she just looked up and real sweetly said "Booboo!" Booboo is the nickname for my little brother Avery! He had given her the phone to play with a few days before. :) It's crazy to me how much she understands now.
Before we put the girls to bed last night, they were playing together. Taylor would cover maddie up with a blanket and maddie would start cooing and gooing and laughing. Maddie loves when her sister plays with her, and Taylor gets a kick out of being a Big Sister! It's so funny.
I had my first etsy sale yesterday! GO ME! I was so excited. I used the $ I made to go buy some new yarn to make some more of my teddy bear beanies! I needed to take pictures to put them in my shop online, and so I'm using Maddie as my model. Who could resist buying this cute little hat when they see my gorgeous baby wearing it?
She knows when I've got the camera out already, and she hams it up!
Taylor has her daddy's hair! And along with that comes THE WORST BED HEAD EVER!
And lastly... I am no longer a woman! Nope. According the Salvation Army... I'm a MAN! So I guess y'all can call me MR. Keaven Neely from now on. Poor Chris. I should probably let him know huh?
Saturday, November 15
What I learned from TOFW
A few things I learned at Time Out For Women:
- Just like you have core muscles in your body that help the other muscles work easier, a family has a core too, the mother. Many people say if mama aint happy, no one's happy. And that may be true! But the opposite isn't... Just because mama's happy, doesn't mean everyone else is. The mother doesn't necessarily set the tone in the home, but we've heard that our whole lives. So we feel guilty about what we can't control (the moods of others, what happens to others, etc.) We can't control how a certain child will view or respond to a certain event. But we feel like there should be more control. When other people's kids misbehave, we judge the other people. We try to find out WHY their kid misbehaved (ie. They don't give him enough freedom, so he rebels. They don't give him enough rules, so he can get away with anything.) We judge like this so we can try to see what the other people did wrong and try to not do it. But instead of judging, we should ask, "How can I help?"
- Alot of times we're lead to believe that if you keep all the commandments, do exactly as we're taught, marry in the temple, have a cute family, read your scriptures, and say your prayers, that bad things won't happen to you. Don't believe bad things WON"T happen to you. When they do, don't say God has deserted you. The Gospel is not insurance against pain. It is a resource in the event of pain! (broderick)
- We can control ourselves and our reactions. 1. refuse to engage in petty arguments... this is the way it is and that's how it's going to stay (when it comes to rules and such.) 2. don't let the "straws" pile up... this way there is no last "Straw"
- Love does NOT mean not having to say your sorry. It means the offenses hurt even worse and you have to say sorry more often!
- "I give the kdis the gift on an imperfect mom so they won't enter marriage with unrealistic expectations."
- One of the speakers read Mathew 25:35, but added a new "motherly" twist to it. "For I was an hungered, (and you woke up at 2 a.m. to feed me): I was thirsty (and you refilled my sippy cup 20 times): I was a stranger (and you let me into your home and gave me cookies and milk for an afternoon snack): Naked (and you did the laundry): I was sick (and you took me to the doctor and helped me get well): I was in prison (and you sacrificed your body and mind and spirit, to give me a body of flesh and bone and free me, like my Father in Heaven.)
- This isn't what you do while you wait to be exalted. This is what exalts us!
- What did he die for when he died for me?
- Psalm 30:5 ... weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
- God expects us to find a way to be happy and have joy IN SPITE of all that makes us sorrowful and sad and brings us down.
- Don't you think God is sad when his children reject him? Don't you think the Savior was disappointed when his children didn't listen or the apostles didn't understand? (Mark 14:34) If the Savior felt sorrow sometimes, why do I think I'm not supposed to ever feel it?
There are alot more notes and things I learned, but some are very personal... just for me. It was very uplifting which I needed and got me thinking about alot of things which I needed too. I'm very GRATEFUL I was able to go. Maybe I'll be able to go next time they come to Nashville.
Friday, November 14
It has been too long, so I'm forcing myself to blog. I'm trying to type this out with one hand while I sit here nursing Maddie.
Here's a recap of what's been going on...not much.
Its getting cold, very few trees have leaves left but the ones that do are gorgeous. It's getting colder and colder and it's been raining. I keep thinking about how much I hate this kind of weather. But I'm really beginning to love this time of year... more than I ever have. I think having kids does that to you. I can't help but get excited every time I go shopping. I can't wait to buy Taylor and Maddie their Christmas presents... and Chris too! To see them get excited! It'll be so much fun. And I've gotten to the point where I honestly can't think of anything I want. I would rather spend money on my babies or my handsome. I guess I could use some clothes and such, But there really isn't a whole lot that I Want. I guess I'm growing up! Ha!
Well, Maddie has started talking! Yup... my 2 month old is talking. She can coo and goo with the best of them and it melts my heart when she does it. She laid down with her daddy and talked to him for about 30 minutes... I mean a real conversation. He would say something to her and she would coo back. I don't remember Taylor interacting this much this early, but maybe it's just because I'm busier now, time seems to be going by faster. I love it though.
And Maddie is REALLY into Taylor. She'll follow her with her eyes around the room. And whenever I talk to Maddie, Taylor comes and gets in front of me and starts talking to her. Taylor adores Maddie and LOVES being the big sis. She loves to hold Maddie and actually does pretty good considering their ages and size. She even gets mad at me when I try to take Maddie away too soon. So my girls are getting along great.
Taylor is learning and growing everyday. I can't believe how much she knows now. I can't keep up. She says about 2 or 3 new words everyday. And she speaking in sentences now. It's just nuts. She can say all of my brothers and sisters names now. Sorry to all of Chris's family... we're working on y'all too, but she sees mine everyday so I guess they're easier to remember. Michael is her latest one, and she'll walk around the house saying "Michael, Michael?" Then Avery is "boo boo". She can say cayce, Chelsea and kyle too. She's getting good at the whole word thing. She's also learned what the color yellow is. That's the only one she knows every time so far. Blue Green and Red we're still working on :) And she can almost count. Most of the time every number is two... but every once in a while she throws in a 3,6,7,8 or 10! And she loves Letters! She tries to say her alphabet, but most letters come out sounding like "A." I love it. She's such a little person. Everyday more and more of her personality come out. And her attitude. I'm getting kinda nervous on those terrible twos getting here. The way she says "NNNNNOOOOO" drives me a bit nuts already. Oh well. She listens pretty well most of the time and will clean up her messes on her own now! For the most part. That's nice.
Anyways - As far as what's new with me... I'm just trying to not go crazy. I have to make sure and get out of the house a little bit each week, with or without the girls. It's hard to not get a bit stir crazy when you're with two babies all day every day. I'm WAY excited for Time Out For Women this weekend. It's an inspirational conference for women for those who don't know. My mom is helping with running it and stuff this time, and so she is taking me along with her to it. I can't wait to get inspired and uplifted. I need it. I feel a bit like I'm dragging. I think is just the pick me up I need.
And I think I'm going to be seeing one of my favorite bands "KINGS OF LEON" next week. They're coming to municipal auditorium and a friend is giving me tickets. WOOHOO. It'll be mine and Chris's first date since Maddie was born. Actually, not just our first date, but first time ALONE! And we need it. I feel kinda like we see each other in passing most days. Usually when he gets home from work he takes over playing with Taylor while I keep up with Maddie, so this is definitely needed.
Well, I figured I've rambled enough on here now. I'll be going. Here's some more of my grateful list!
1. Gorgeous red, orange, and yellow leaves that are left on the trees. There's a gorgeous view from the front of this house. Just perfect.
2. Chris being such a good dad. Some dads don't help out nearly as much as he does. I'm grateful he enjoys our kids as much as I do. It makes me fall in love with him all over again to see how sweet he is to our girls. And they both adore him.
3. A car that works and is mine all mine. I can come and go whenever I want. Me and the girls could just leave for the day and that would be fine. I love having that option. Now I just need to take advantage of it one day!
4. Good friends who like to watch the Hills and reminisce about the good old days :) It was such a fun break! And I LOVE Skipbo
5. The internet and my own computer to use it on.
6. The greatest 2 sets of grandparents for my girls! It's so much fun to watch how Taylor is enjoying her grandparents now. She saw a man at the store today with white hair and kept calling him papa... she knew he was a grandparent too :)
7. Chris's job. It is a great job for him and our family. I'm so grateful that he has it, and to Mark and Lu. Y'all are great.
Here's a recap of what's been going on...not much.
Its getting cold, very few trees have leaves left but the ones that do are gorgeous. It's getting colder and colder and it's been raining. I keep thinking about how much I hate this kind of weather. But I'm really beginning to love this time of year... more than I ever have. I think having kids does that to you. I can't help but get excited every time I go shopping. I can't wait to buy Taylor and Maddie their Christmas presents... and Chris too! To see them get excited! It'll be so much fun. And I've gotten to the point where I honestly can't think of anything I want. I would rather spend money on my babies or my handsome. I guess I could use some clothes and such, But there really isn't a whole lot that I Want. I guess I'm growing up! Ha!
Well, Maddie has started talking! Yup... my 2 month old is talking. She can coo and goo with the best of them and it melts my heart when she does it. She laid down with her daddy and talked to him for about 30 minutes... I mean a real conversation. He would say something to her and she would coo back. I don't remember Taylor interacting this much this early, but maybe it's just because I'm busier now, time seems to be going by faster. I love it though.
And Maddie is REALLY into Taylor. She'll follow her with her eyes around the room. And whenever I talk to Maddie, Taylor comes and gets in front of me and starts talking to her. Taylor adores Maddie and LOVES being the big sis. She loves to hold Maddie and actually does pretty good considering their ages and size. She even gets mad at me when I try to take Maddie away too soon. So my girls are getting along great.
Taylor is learning and growing everyday. I can't believe how much she knows now. I can't keep up. She says about 2 or 3 new words everyday. And she speaking in sentences now. It's just nuts. She can say all of my brothers and sisters names now. Sorry to all of Chris's family... we're working on y'all too, but she sees mine everyday so I guess they're easier to remember. Michael is her latest one, and she'll walk around the house saying "Michael, Michael?" Then Avery is "boo boo". She can say cayce, Chelsea and kyle too. She's getting good at the whole word thing. She's also learned what the color yellow is. That's the only one she knows every time so far. Blue Green and Red we're still working on :) And she can almost count. Most of the time every number is two... but every once in a while she throws in a 3,6,7,8 or 10! And she loves Letters! She tries to say her alphabet, but most letters come out sounding like "A." I love it. She's such a little person. Everyday more and more of her personality come out. And her attitude. I'm getting kinda nervous on those terrible twos getting here. The way she says "NNNNNOOOOO" drives me a bit nuts already. Oh well. She listens pretty well most of the time and will clean up her messes on her own now! For the most part. That's nice.
Anyways - As far as what's new with me... I'm just trying to not go crazy. I have to make sure and get out of the house a little bit each week, with or without the girls. It's hard to not get a bit stir crazy when you're with two babies all day every day. I'm WAY excited for Time Out For Women this weekend. It's an inspirational conference for women for those who don't know. My mom is helping with running it and stuff this time, and so she is taking me along with her to it. I can't wait to get inspired and uplifted. I need it. I feel a bit like I'm dragging. I think is just the pick me up I need.
And I think I'm going to be seeing one of my favorite bands "KINGS OF LEON" next week. They're coming to municipal auditorium and a friend is giving me tickets. WOOHOO. It'll be mine and Chris's first date since Maddie was born. Actually, not just our first date, but first time ALONE! And we need it. I feel kinda like we see each other in passing most days. Usually when he gets home from work he takes over playing with Taylor while I keep up with Maddie, so this is definitely needed.
Well, I figured I've rambled enough on here now. I'll be going. Here's some more of my grateful list!
1. Gorgeous red, orange, and yellow leaves that are left on the trees. There's a gorgeous view from the front of this house. Just perfect.
2. Chris being such a good dad. Some dads don't help out nearly as much as he does. I'm grateful he enjoys our kids as much as I do. It makes me fall in love with him all over again to see how sweet he is to our girls. And they both adore him.
3. A car that works and is mine all mine. I can come and go whenever I want. Me and the girls could just leave for the day and that would be fine. I love having that option. Now I just need to take advantage of it one day!
4. Good friends who like to watch the Hills and reminisce about the good old days :) It was such a fun break! And I LOVE Skipbo
5. The internet and my own computer to use it on.
6. The greatest 2 sets of grandparents for my girls! It's so much fun to watch how Taylor is enjoying her grandparents now. She saw a man at the store today with white hair and kept calling him papa... she knew he was a grandparent too :)
7. Chris's job. It is a great job for him and our family. I'm so grateful that he has it, and to Mark and Lu. Y'all are great.
Tuesday, November 11
Baby Luv Gifts
So, the craft fair did not do so well. So I've decided to try the internet for my crafts. I opened an Etsy store (see my items on the side here.) and I've started a blog.
Babyluvgifts.blogspot.com
There is a monthly giveaway so sign up for the mailing list and you could win :)
I'll post again later with pics and such. So be on the look out!
Babyluvgifts.blogspot.com
There is a monthly giveaway so sign up for the mailing list and you could win :)
I'll post again later with pics and such. So be on the look out!
Friday, November 7
Christmas at the BEECH!
Tomorrow I will be RE attempting to do the whole craft show thing... I'm excited, but not getting my hopes too high. The last one was a BUST! So we'll see how tomorrow goes.
Also, I french braided Taylor's hair for the first time today. How cute is this???
I only did it half way back, then braided the left overs... I loved it. I had a woman tell me that it'll straighten her hair if I keep braiding it like that though!?! I've never heard of that before. Oh well... I liked it, and it kept it out of her face... and it didn't just fall out (like her pony tails do.) It even made it through nap time!!! Like I said, I love it.
And I haven't posted my "Grateful" List lately, so here's some more
I'm grateful...
That I have my own computer
That I have my own car
For my new Camera
For the quiet (cause everyone but me is sleeping... wait... chris is still up... MAN! He's quiet!)
For my little girl crying everytime I leave her at home (It breaks my heart, but makes me feel good at the same time... She loves me!)
That I seem to have a magic touch with our kids... sometimes chris has, sometimes I have it.
For A warm cozy bed to jump in as it's getting colder at nights.
That i have my girls in the room with me. Yes, It sucks sometimes, cause we all lose sleep... but at the same time, it's nice that they're so close!
That my husband is so cute! Everytime I look at him, I feel so lucky that he's mine.
That I'm actually getting tired, so I'm going to bed now.
Be on the look out this weekend for pictures of my "CRAFT BOOTH!"
For anyone interested in coming... Here's website with Details!
Also, I french braided Taylor's hair for the first time today. How cute is this???
I only did it half way back, then braided the left overs... I loved it. I had a woman tell me that it'll straighten her hair if I keep braiding it like that though!?! I've never heard of that before. Oh well... I liked it, and it kept it out of her face... and it didn't just fall out (like her pony tails do.) It even made it through nap time!!! Like I said, I love it.And I haven't posted my "Grateful" List lately, so here's some more
I'm grateful...
That I have my own computer
That I have my own car
For my new Camera
For the quiet (cause everyone but me is sleeping... wait... chris is still up... MAN! He's quiet!)
For my little girl crying everytime I leave her at home (It breaks my heart, but makes me feel good at the same time... She loves me!)
That I seem to have a magic touch with our kids... sometimes chris has, sometimes I have it.
For A warm cozy bed to jump in as it's getting colder at nights.
That i have my girls in the room with me. Yes, It sucks sometimes, cause we all lose sleep... but at the same time, it's nice that they're so close!
That my husband is so cute! Everytime I look at him, I feel so lucky that he's mine.
That I'm actually getting tired, so I'm going to bed now.
Be on the look out this weekend for pictures of my "CRAFT BOOTH!"
Thursday, November 6
It's Been
a good 24 hours!
I'll start with my favorite part... Chris's x-box has the RING OF DEATH! We were expecting to spend a pretty penny on getting it fixed. So, for the past few months, Chris's dead x-box has been sitting there, waiting til we have the extra money to resurrect it! Thanks to mwah, some extra money came in and so I decided it was time to get that x-box alive again (just in time for christmas... so games will be an option for gifts.) So I called to schedule the repair and such. I was informed that our Waranty ran out last November, but x-box has extended the warranty to 3 years for the RING OF DEATH! So the repair will be (da da da duh!) FREE! Here's where my little story really starts to get good - for me! Since I had this extra wad of dough that wasn't going to be used for anything else (other than maybe saving it or making a bigger payment on a credit card) I decided I needed a new camera! I used to have this totally cute little Kodak Easyshare camera that chris got me for our first christmas. I loved it, but unfortunately, It broke right after taylor was born. I do have a Digital SLR... but let me tell you what... that thing is HUGE and HEAVY. Not ideal for whipping out a camera to take pictures of the kids. This problem was why there were no Halloween pictures. It was just too big to carry around... And other people feel uncomfortable using it, so there are NO pictures of me and my girls really. (thus is the life of a photographer.)
But last night I went out SHOPPING. And I bought me a nice, little, but still with enough options to keep me busy camera! I love it. I've already almost worn the batteries down.
Another exciting thing - I had my After baby check-up today. I'm guessing everything looks good. My weight isn't where I would like it, but I'm sure it won't be until well after christmas! (on a side note, I quit walking, but not on purpose... I just changed routine and that kinda fell off my routine. I need to pick it back up though.) I talked to my great Dr. about Birth Control! She gave me the same pill I got pregnant with Maddie on! But that's only temporary. In 5 weeks I can get MIRENA! (sorry to any guys reading this... you may skip ahead if you'd like!) I have to wait til the 12 week anniversary of my c-section.
But I'm so excited. It'll be great to NOT be able to get pregnant. To NOT worry about. To have a break! And in about 4 years... I'll have it taken out and Poof... Have another baby. Is it weird to be this excited about birth control? I guess it's just what two babies in less than a year and a half will do to you!
Speaking of my two girls... here's some random pictures of them!
Okay, so they're mostly of Maddie... But I just loved her smiles in those pictures. And one last little thing... I really don't think they look all that much alike anymore. Everyone keeps telling me they look JUST ALIKE. I don't see it. Any other mom's have this happen? Is it just cause I see them both all day long every day that I don't see it? Oh well... Anyways.
I'll start with my favorite part... Chris's x-box has the RING OF DEATH! We were expecting to spend a pretty penny on getting it fixed. So, for the past few months, Chris's dead x-box has been sitting there, waiting til we have the extra money to resurrect it! Thanks to mwah, some extra money came in and so I decided it was time to get that x-box alive again (just in time for christmas... so games will be an option for gifts.) So I called to schedule the repair and such. I was informed that our Waranty ran out last November, but x-box has extended the warranty to 3 years for the RING OF DEATH! So the repair will be (da da da duh!) FREE! Here's where my little story really starts to get good - for me! Since I had this extra wad of dough that wasn't going to be used for anything else (other than maybe saving it or making a bigger payment on a credit card) I decided I needed a new camera! I used to have this totally cute little Kodak Easyshare camera that chris got me for our first christmas. I loved it, but unfortunately, It broke right after taylor was born. I do have a Digital SLR... but let me tell you what... that thing is HUGE and HEAVY. Not ideal for whipping out a camera to take pictures of the kids. This problem was why there were no Halloween pictures. It was just too big to carry around... And other people feel uncomfortable using it, so there are NO pictures of me and my girls really. (thus is the life of a photographer.)
But last night I went out SHOPPING. And I bought me a nice, little, but still with enough options to keep me busy camera! I love it. I've already almost worn the batteries down.Another exciting thing - I had my After baby check-up today. I'm guessing everything looks good. My weight isn't where I would like it, but I'm sure it won't be until well after christmas! (on a side note, I quit walking, but not on purpose... I just changed routine and that kinda fell off my routine. I need to pick it back up though.) I talked to my great Dr. about Birth Control! She gave me the same pill I got pregnant with Maddie on! But that's only temporary. In 5 weeks I can get MIRENA! (sorry to any guys reading this... you may skip ahead if you'd like!) I have to wait til the 12 week anniversary of my c-section.
But I'm so excited. It'll be great to NOT be able to get pregnant. To NOT worry about. To have a break! And in about 4 years... I'll have it taken out and Poof... Have another baby. Is it weird to be this excited about birth control? I guess it's just what two babies in less than a year and a half will do to you!Speaking of my two girls... here's some random pictures of them!
Okay, so they're mostly of Maddie... But I just loved her smiles in those pictures. And one last little thing... I really don't think they look all that much alike anymore. Everyone keeps telling me they look JUST ALIKE. I don't see it. Any other mom's have this happen? Is it just cause I see them both all day long every day that I don't see it? Oh well... Anyways. Til next time!
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