Couldn't ask for more...

Hooray for rainy days!!!

The new year is officially off and running. I've been so busy with getting things back on schedule for Avery and getting the entire family into a routine since being lazy and enjoying free time is becoming a bit over-excessive in my opinion. Avery has been back at MDO and I think she may have missed it more than we did. We're so blessed to have such a wonderful church home where she also gets to go to school at with some sweet friends and amazing teachers.

My monkey girl.

I'm slowly getting used to my glasses, I've loved all the compliments I've received and the only thing I have noticed is when I'm not wearing them, my eyes water a lot. Weird? maybe, but it beats headaches everyday. I've also been down the last 3 days with a pesky cold, started out more sinus related and a raspy voice then hit me hard. Today was the first day since Sunday that I left the house not in jammies. I must say that getting hot tea from the kuerig has been sooo helpful and has made me love this little machine 10x's more than I already did. (THANKS again Mom and Dad)

Other than that life is getting busy yet blissfully the same. Avery and Bailey keep me entertained in the evenings and help the nights fly by since Evan works from 4pm-1am.

Besties: Avery and Bailey

Megan's wedding is coming in April and I am busy with playing hostess for her Bridal shower next weekend and all the Maid of honor tasks that are somewhat popping up everyday. :) I'm excited though, Megan's been waiting for a long time to get this wedding to happen and it's going to be so beautiful!! At least wedding season hasn't freaked me out yet. I only have 3 weddings so far this year and with 20 friends currently pregnant, yes TWENTY!!!! Well...19 since one sweet baby was born this week. I seem to have a TON of baby showers the next few months. Avery and I went to a Sweet friends shower on Saturday and Avery was so good for me. As long as she knew she was going home with a balloon and got a cupcake she didn't complain. ;)

mmmmmmmm

Speaking of babies (No, not pregnant, patience people) I go to my doctor tomorrow to check out everything and go over my medical history and get set up on non OTC prenatal vitamins. We tried last month and this month and if I don't get a positive PT next month we will put baby #2 on hold until May or June and focus on other life events we've been planning for. We're determined not to stress over this or become alarm setting temp checkers as Evan dubs hardcore TTC'ers. Gods got it all lined up for us so whatever happens happens and tomorrows appointment will answer a few fears of mine for our journey back into pregnancy and babyhood.

So there you have it my sweet readers. Life in a update. I promise to blog better I just feel more into my HLC blog these days since comments and followers are kinda dwindling down and I'm also trying to not put so much on FB so this blog can be more fresh and new on the news and life dealings because who wants to reread about something they already know about?

Anyone have anything exciting planned for the weekend?

XOXO- Brittnye

White & Nerdy

Got my glasses today!!

I didn't really think there was much of a difference until I was driving back home from work tonight after the sun had gone down. WOW, oh WOW. Everything was clear and not fuzzy and I wasn't having to squint against the lights from the oncoming traffic. I will say checking my blind spots and things coming up from my peripheral line of vision terrifies me because it's like something popping out of nowhere since my glasses make things look bigger for me. I'm sure I'll get used to this though.

Yeah, I was low key and had no makeup on...

Have you been following up with with my Healthy Living blog? If not, take a sec and follow it and read a few entries. I'm having a giveaway next week and am really getting excited about it.

Healthy Living Chick Blog

Avery goes back to MDO tomorrow after a month of being gone. I wish she would be completely potty trained before she goes back but at the same time, I am super proud of how well she is doing as it is. I'm aware it's a process and she gets so excited when she is successful but I think we're going to have to back off a little and take this slower. The more we ask her to try or to go sit on the potty the more she would get anxious and almost panicked over it. So not worth her regressing and taking a longer time to complete.

That's all I really have update wise. Gus is purring up a storm and giving me those "sexy" eyes which means he wants my lap free and clear so he can snuggle and since Avery is down and I have nothing important to do as of now...I may just head to bed with a book and let him have at it so I'll have to stay put and go to sleep instead of stay up too late and be tired tomorrow.

Happy Hump day, we're almost to the weekend.

-Brittnye

Randomness is Bliss, right?

I know, she's pretty awesome.

So this week was pretty basic in boring routine except we started the big challenge of Toddlerhood with Avery. Oh yeah, we started Potty Training!! I'll spare the details but she has been doing better than I thought she would. few accidents the first day but by day 3 she doesn't need to be asked or followed constantly and she runs to the potty. However, that's with going teetee. Avery is terrified to go poopie in the potty. I guess I need to research more on it but she literally runs and hides if she has to go poopie but once she goes poopie she knows where it has to go "in the potty" she has been awesome at letting us know she needs a pull up on to do her business (THANK YOU LORD FOR NOT HANDING ME THAT MESS) and then we go to the big potty and flush the poopie...now, if I can just get her to see that going both teetee and poopie in the potty is the same happiness and excitement level.

I also had my eye appointment on Tuesday. I now have a temp pair of glasses until my new ones come in next week! I must say I'm glad I went. It's been over 6 years since I had glasses due to migraines I would get from a seizure disorder I had for years but once my seizures stopped the migraines did too so I stopped wearing glasses. About a year ago I noticed that I would get headaches at night. I figured it was from being a new mommy and lack of sleep. Then a few things started happening and frequent enough that I knew it wasn't from fatigue. During our trip over the Christmas break it finally caused enough alarm to Evan and I that he made me make an appointment to be safe.

Pretty much I have a slight condition with my right eye that can easily be corrected with glasses. After a year or so I may no longer even need them. Basically, my eyes are fighting each other and need to learn to relax when I focus on something up close. Like reading or driving at night..the longer I'm looking at something the more my eyes fight each other, then comes the blurry vision, eye strain and burning which leads to a headache. Avery told me they make me look like a teacher :) Good thing the temps look like my new frames.

(Again, my daughter is just awesome.)

I guess I have no big entry for this week. We've been homebodies with the potty training process and my eye appointment was my biggest outing this week. I know, I live a wild and crazy life. *shrug*

I'll end with yet another awesome picture of Avery, she was being super sneaky trying to not go to bed last night when I caught her in the hallway wearing one of Evans work hats. "What do you think you are doing out of bed?" I asked her in which she put the hat on her head and raised her head in a matter of fact way and then in the most adorable little bossy way a 3 year old could say. "Mommy, I no go bed! I go work wif daddy, kay!?" So of course I had to do what any good mommy would do....I went and grabbed my phone to take a picture of her.

I know, I know...

-Brittnye

The Secrets Out...If You Wanna Call It One...

So if you stalk me on FB like you do on here you've probably noticed how so many of my status updates involve babies and pregnancy. I've been asked by a few people if we are pregnant and the answer is NO.

However...

Evan and I have decided we're ready for Baby#2. Yes, Avery is 3 now and she definitely needs a sibling. I mean, with all that cuteness on one little being...if we don't add a sibling to the mix that cuteness can turn into one lethal bratty mess as she gets older! Not to mention she is no longer throwing a huge fit every time we mention getting her a baby brother or sister. In fact, tonight while she was watching the family episode of Yo Gabba Gabba she came over to me and said "You have a baby mommy?"  when I told her not yet she kinda stared at me then said "Okay! You have baby mommy." so I asked her..."Do you want a baby sister or a baby brother?" her answer "BRUDDER, BRUDDER!!" When she told Evan this at dinner he simply looked up at me and said "Well that's that. Let's start trying for a boy."

I'm very excited about this new chapter for our family and yet, to be honest..I'm scared. Do I want another baby, you betcha. Do I want another complicated pregnancy? Absolutely not! I don't even want to think of another miscarriage because that alone will have me backing out of this plan. Selfish, I know, but I just don't wish that pain on anyone.

I know God has great things planned for us this year. We're already set for Portland in April and England in August is already scheduled and Evan already has the work time off for vacation!! I just don't want to be really pregnant on either trip nor do I want another Dec. baby so actually getting to plan this out and go about it in an organized and planned way versus "Surprise!!! We're pregnant" will be a nice change for us. :)

So there you have it. Hopefully in a few months I'll be able to share a sweet post with you all. Trust me, I will not be sharing every little detail on this process (I get confused by all the TTC lingo frankly) and I refuse to be one of those weird charting crazy women. God has a baby waiting for me and he'll plant the seed when it's time for us.

Wish us Luck.
-Brittnye

New Mexico, Colorado & NYE Oh My!! Part 3- NYE

So Saturday we woke up bright and early from a few hours sleep in Dumas at I might say, a very nice Holiday Inn express. Since Evan was super sweet and drove the majority of the evening and into the night the day before to get us safely to Dumas (I can no longer drive at night due to my vision, getting glasses next week since he is now convinced I don't want to drive at night just because...) I took the wheel and off we went.

Pretty much a dull day on the road, we had breakfast in Amarillo and the day was BEAUTIFUL. So much so that we pulled off outside of Childress and let Avery play at a playground for an hour to enjoy the sunshine (and wind!).

Once we got to Wichita Falls we stopped for a late lunch and a little shopping at Kohl's. Avery picked out two very cute dresses and a pair of Hello Kitty jammies and proceeded to walk around the store with them hanging behind her back like a little diva. Evan and I thought it was so cute because she was being so girly and the dresses she picked out were fancy. Evan bought 2 shirts and I got a pair of boots. It was fun, especially since I'm usually alone when shopping because all 3 of us together never seems to work so it was an extra treat for me. :)

We got to Denton around 6:30. unpacked, started laundry, thanked my mom for house-sitting and then hopped in the shower while Gary came over to watch Avery for us. We had two parties to attend despite being on the road all day and we were determined to go to both and be home before midnight. Success.

I'll spare the party details but it was nice to semi-dress up, put on some heels and be around people I don't see often enough. The main party was for a friend of mine who lives in Hong Kong, he was back in the states for the holidays so a NYE party seemed fitting for a going away party as well. I've been friends with Daniel for over 13 years. It's always good to see him.

Evan and I had a lot of fun but we're just not as young as we used to be and were home in our jammies by 11:30 and rang in the New Year with Evan playing a game and me doing laundry (we stopped to share a kiss). Such is the life. Ha!

-Brittnye

New Mexico, Colorado & NYE. Oh MY! Part 2- Colorado

We didn't get to stay in Colorado nearly as long as we had wanted to but we still had a great time visiting with Evans Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Jim and Cousins Emma and Cal. Evans Grandmother lives with them and we drove her home from New Mexico.

The drive wasn't too bad at all. I drove us the first 3 hours until we stopped for lunch in Albuquerque at this really fun and neat diner called Route 66 Diner.So neat, try one.

After lunch I sat in the back with Avery and we watched several Disney movies and her new Princess and the Pop Star VeggieTale movie. She is seriously a VeggieTale fanatic and we're A-okay with that.

We watched it 4 times in the car to Colorado.

I wish I had taken more pictures but we seriously had a very relaxed and laid back visit. The one thing we did that Avery LOVED was we went to the Denver Zoo and went through their "Zoo Lights". After the zoo closes they re-open later and the entire zoo is covered in beautiful color changing lights through out the entire park. They have hot chocolate and lights for the kids to play with and a few of the animal exhibits stay open like the penguins, giraffes, elephants and hippos. It was really pretty and Cal and Emma were super cute with Avery as they chased after her. We really had a good time. :)

After we went through we meandered in the gift show for awhile where we bought Avery and Cal these neat Tiger light sabers in which Avery quickly challenged Cal to a duel and won. Hehehe

                                                           Such sweet cousins she has.

On Friday it was Evan and I's Anniversary. 6 years!!! Hard to believe that we've been married that long but it's been amazing and even thought we didn't get to celebrate it he still sent me off with the other ladies and we went and got manicures and pedicures something I have not enjoyed in months!

I was a happy momma/wifey.

After my pampering we were back on the road and headed to Texas. We decided not to drive all night with Avery in the car so we reserved a room in Dumas and took our time on the road. We also stopped in Pueblo Co. for our Anniversary dinner at Cracker Barrel where we also celebrated Avery going tee tee and poopie in the potty (it's the little things, I tell ya!) all in all a nice Anniversary. We plan on going away a weekend soon and letting Avery hang out with Nina and Pawpa to officially celebrate.

BragBox*

I might add that my 3yr old was FANTASTIC in the car! She never cried, never struggled, never fussed she was so chill and relaxed in her new booster seat. She literally made the trip worth it. She just kept busy with her dvd player and her leapster explorer (best gifts ever!) and occasionally asked for a book to be read to her or for a snack. SO awesome and I am beyond impressed with her. Just sayin'

-Brittnye





New Mexico, Colorado & NYE. OH MY! Part 1: New Mexico

   No need to lie when I say that coming back to reality has been a bit of a bummer. We had such a good time in New Mexico playing in all the snow and enjoying a nice fire every night. The driving part was a bit much but you know, the scenery was like nothing Texas has to offer.

Day 1: Dec.23rd

So Avery left around 6am with Evans parents and grandmother because Evan couldn't get off work. So off she went while we had the car loaded with all the Christmas gifts and every ones luggage. Jarrods flight was arriving in Albuquerque that evening and dad was set to pick him up. So that left me with the majority of the day to finish packing, making my lists and getting amped up over this amazing trip. What we didn't expect was a huge snow storm to hit New Mexico and parts of west Texas...it took mom and dad a very long time to get to New Mexico and due to the weather all 3 main ways to get to Jarrod were closed due to snow and ice!! So dad calls me and asks if we can pick up Jarrod by going north to Amarillo and taking I-40 (an extra 4 hours in the car, no biggie) so I call Evan and explain how mom and dad got to the cabin but the roads were closed and Jarrod was stranded at the airport 3 hours away from them for the night. Evan talks to his boss and within 10 minutes is on his way home and rather than hitting the road at 1am we're on the road by 9:45pm heading to Amarillo to head west on i-40 to get Jarrod. We knew we'd be driving through the night and wouldn't get to the cabin until close to noon the following day.

Day 2- Christmas Eve:

 Everything is going great, we're making great time, we realize about Witchita Falls that we forgot Evans coat and the majority of the snacks and plan to stop in Childress to buy what we forgot so we don't have to delay any further once we get Jarrod. The roads are very  EMPTY.  One funny thing that happened was Evan bought me a 5 hour energy shot (he takes them from time to time for work). I've never had them or had a desire to try them but since we were driving through the night I figured, why not? Those things are so nasty!!! It wasn't so much the taste when you shoot them down but the after taste! Not to mention about 30minutes after I took it I suddenly kept burping and every time I burped I was revisited by that nasty taste that made me shudder and spaz out to Evans delight. By the time we got to the Wal*mart in Childress I was ridiculously jittery, enough to have me worried about being behind the wheel so Evan bought me a water and a snack to eat and took over once we bought what we needed. (We were also the ONLY customers in the wal*mart, WEIRD!)

 We got to Amarillo by  2:30am and again I note how EMPTY the hwy is, I mean we were all alone! It was so bizarre to me. We stop in Vega, TX to fill up before crossing into New Mexico and at this point I'm drowsy and in and out of sleep. Evan is super paranoid about things and tells me he thinks the tire on the front passenger side is low and asks around for a air gauge. Checks the tires and figures we're okay and he's just being how he is. (much to my annoyance) So on we go and I am delirious almost since I kept asking Evan about this building on the side of the road and yet we were in the middle of NOWHERE! Seriously he thought it was funny but there's a reason I do not sleep in the car and that was part of it.

We were on the road maybe 30minutes when suddenly....we got a flat tire!
Yep. Flat tire. 4am. Middle of nowhere. Christmas eve. Awesome.
 So Evan gets us to this entrance ramp for one of those picnic rest areas you never really wanna stop at and we pull off since the tire is just shredded. We sit for a few minutes, try to asses where we are to begin with, if we have a spare, who can we call, etc. Luckily (so we thought) Evan had just signed me up for AT&T road side service from my cell phone (which had barely any service at all!) so we call them.... TWO hours later they call us back to let us know they are not sure where we are and the nearest tow they can find is 60miles away and it'll be $400. Excuse me?! What are we paying for if it's $400 for a tow driver to come out and help us change a flat?! (apparently it being Christmas eve made the difference) So I tell Evan we'll just sleep until the sun comes up because it's pitch black and we can't see what we're doing anyways.....we also realize we moved into mountain time so it wasn't 6am but really 5am! wonderful.
 I didn't sleep. Evan did though and I was so glad because it allowed me to have my inner freak out and to just let the tears flow. I was cold, I missed Avery, poor Jarrod was waiting for us, we had everyones presents and clothes with us, it was Christmas eve...you can get why I got emotional. I also called Evans dad, Gary to let him know what had happened and he was immedietly upset and determined to come rescue us (in true Gary fashion) but I told him I had a plan, we were fine and I'd call him once we were on the road but he would have to go get Jarrod if the roads were opened. Thankfully one way opened up and he went off to get Jarrod very slowly.

I remembered something my friend Beth had told me about the back of your Texas Drivers License having a 800 number to call for help.

Oh. My. Goodness. Never again will I forget this number. I collected myself, called the number and within 5 minutes I had a state trooper dispatch tell me exactly where I was, how far we were to the nearest town and how a Trooper was on the way to help us!!! (We needed a lug wrench to get the spare free and remove the old tire) 15minutes pass when the dispatch calls me and asks me what landmarks are near me because the trooper can't find us, I tell them the mile marker in front of us and he was on his way.

 The trooper arrived right at sunrise where we had already unloaded all the presents to the side of the highway (in the melting snow!) and were trying to unlock the spare from the bottom console. The first thing out of his mouth was "How long have you two been out here like this?!" to which I just started crying while Evan looked at his phone and said with a shrug..."4 hours?". In which he stared at us then said "Why didn't you call 911!?" well.....I didn't see this as an emergency to be honest. Sure we were stranded and yes, nobody had stopped to help in the middle of nowheresville but was it an emergency that would require 911? no. He then rubbed my back and told me the dispatch was urgent to get me help because "They said you sounded like you were scared and very young and they thought you were alone." haha

 Over the next 2 hours that trooper not only fixed our flat using 2 jacks, OU jokes and pushing me out of harms way when the jack fell and the car moved towards us! but he totally went above and beyond his duty!! He was determined to get us on the road and to our family for Christmas!!! He was so sweet and wouldn't let Evan and I help much, he even called a buddy who owned a towing company in Vega but told him nevermind because he wasn't going to have us towed when he could get the tire off. He was a muddy mess when it was all said an done and he hated seeing me cry as much as Evan did and begged me to stop haha (I was just exhausted and cold). He helped us load all the gifts back in, get the shredded tire where the spare went and then gave us specific directions to the better tire shop for us not the nearest 2 (27 miles away!). He was so amazing and kept us smiling through it all and by 9:15 we were slowly on the road to the NM border. (we got his card and will be sending a gift soon to his PO Box)

 2 hours later after the tire shop he sent us too didn't have the tire we needed (but we're waiting for us!). We were in Clovis, NM at a Discount Tire where we got 2 new tires (to go with the other 2 new tires we bought the day before the trip) and warranty on all of them and were headed south to Roswell to get to Ruidoso where Avery and our family were. I passed out from exhuastion and awoke to a very tense evan driving in this!

When we left Clovis, there was ZERO snow on the ground but in the time of my 20minute nap we were suddenly in a white out! To add to that, the roads hadn't been plowed and people were sliding everywhere and going about 15-25mph. We got behind a huge 18 wheeler hauling new vehicles and were stuck behind him for an hour with a huge line of traffic behind us on the hwy to Roswell. I tried to lighten the mood by proclaiming "I spy with my little eye...something white!" but Evan was not amused. After awhile I finally convinced Evan to go around the truck (slowly). Once we did we were soon on our way to Roswell and watched as the snow plow had cleared the other side of the hwy but not ours until we got to Roswell! *Sigh* an hour later it was lightly snowing but we finally made it to Ruidoso only to be stuck by this hill leading us to the cabin since we didn't have 4 wheel drive only 2. Evan lost it then for a few minutes and who could blame him!? 18 hours in the car and we got 100 feet from the cabin only to know we couldn't drive up that stupid hill! We parked at a nearby house that the owner was gone for the holidays and Evans dad and Jarrod (who arrived 20 minutes before us) unloaded the car while we just walked in and grabbed Avery.

We didn't do a single thing the rest of the day except play in the snow with Avery and enjoy an amazing dinner of Dads chili and Jarrods Red Velvet cake balls. I'm pretty sure the hot shower I had that night was the best I've had in years!!!!

Day 3- Christmas Day:

 We all woke up around 7:45-8am and set up the gifts by the fireplace. Avery was the last to wake up (she's not a morning person) and then the wrapping paper flew like crazy!

Needless to say I was spoiled yet again my my amazing In-Loves and I have been using my new Kuerig everyday! Avery got so many barbies and dolls and Hello Kitty clothes it's like a mall exploded in her room now. Such a fun Christmas and full of so many sweet memories.

Shortly after lunch it was time to take Jarrod back to the airport. :( so everyone said their goodbyes while Evan, Gary and I did the 3 hour drive there and back for the day but at least the roads were plowed and safe to travel on!

 He is so amazing and even though it was only for a day and a half we LOVED getting to have him with us. Avery sure misses her uncle Jarrod and the pictures of them playing in the snow are some of my favorites!!!

Day 4 & 5:
We played in the snow a lot, Avery tried sledding for the first time and is a mountain girl! She is such a pro daredevil and just giggled like crazy every time she zipped down the hill. We had Deer a plenty all around our cabin and I took some neat shots very close to them before a buck rounded everyone up and let me know I was getting too close. :) We also wet into town for a little shopping and I really like Ruidoso, such a fun little town and if you ever go be sure to eat at Grace O'Malleys Irish Pub. Super yummy food.

Day 6- Off to Colorado:
 We cleaned the cabin and packed up in the morning before saying bye to Nan and Gary and continuing on to Colorado to take Evans grandmother back home since  she was visiting us for the holidays. As we were loading up the deer came to the front of the cabin! Avery was barefoot and in her jammies rushing out the door to say hi to them while I asked dad to give me some left over bread. I started sweetly baby talking them and before you know it this happened!!!

 It was so sweet. I loved it and the one brave deer who kept coming right up to me only had half an ear on one side so he was extra adorable. Evan geeked out about how all week I was the only one able to get so close to them and then to feed him I just told him it's because I'm a mom...


Ruidoso is so much fun and our cabin was awesome!! Check out Dan Dee Cabins, you'll love it. I think we're going to plan an after Christmas trip for the family as a new tradition whenever we can. It was so worth it, even with the craziness getting us there. Being a family, having so much fun and enjoying a truly white Christmas was just spactacular! Hard to compete with that for Avery she is so spoiled on Christmases.

Up Next Part 2!

-Brittnye :)

Brace Yourselves....

I'm off to spend some last minute fam-fam time but prepare yourselves for one MASSIVE blog post coming VERY soon. I'm talking pictures, videos and 11 days worth of catching up. You may even need a snack break in between reading it.

You've been warned.

Xoxo-
Brittnye & Avery
(she's sitting in my lap)