My Crazy, Beautiful Life

Chick-Fil-A Kids Night

2010-07-13T23:30:00.007-05:00

The boys decided they wanted Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight. We were just going to pick some up and bring it back home to eat, but Papaw decided to tag along, so we thought it would be fun to eat there. Turns out we picked an awesome night! They informed us that it was Kids Night. They provided a craft, painting cows, and gave the kids free ice cream! My kids had a great time! They even had a drawing and Jack actually won a box of twistable crayons and a cow! Thanks Chick-Fil-A, and thanks Papaw, for treating us to a great night! These pictures were all taken with my iPhone, so don't judge! ;)

Family Pictures

2010-07-13T00:15:00.010-05:00

We recently had some family pictures taken by the talented Sara McDaniel, of Beloved Photography out of Belle, Missouri. She is a friend of our friend Devin, and was gracious enough to come down to Tulsa to photograph us and some of our church friends. Sara did a beautiful job! It's pretty hard to get decent shots of my "active" family, but I think they turned out pretty great! We also used this session as Evelyn's first birthday pictures. Here is a small sampling of some of my favorites.

Amazing, all three looking and smiling!

Goodness! Look at those chunky legs!

Happy Birthday, Evy!

2010-07-08T00:32:00.005-05:00

My precious girl, you are truly the light of our life! Everytime I look at you, my heart flutters and I cannot help but think how blessed I am to have you! I adore you! You have brought so much joy to our family, at a time when it was so very needed! Thank you for letting me be your Mommy! I don't know what I would do without you. Happy 1st Birthday! I love you! P.S. You are growing up way too fast! ;)

Thanks, Sara McDaniel of Beloved Photography, for the beautiful pictures! Check her out!

One year ago...

2010-07-07T14:44:00.008-05:00

July 7, 2009-It feels like just yesterday. We pulled up to the hospital at 8:00 am in nervous anticipation. Up the elevator we went, to the maternity floor where Sissy got us checked-in and settled into the room where we would spend the next few days. My c-section was scheduled for 10:00 am and I was so excited I could barely contain myself. In just a couple of hours, I would be meeting my baby girl! Family started filtering in as we axiously awaited our new baby's arrival! The boys were getting antsy and so was I, as all of those IV fluids ran through my body! The minutes went by and soon turned into hours. We learned that my doctor had been called to Ashley, the patient down the hall, to deliver her baby girl! Since my delivery was a c-section, I was just gonna have to wait! Finally, Evelyn was born at 11:50 am, to Aerosmith's "Pink," a perfectly fitting song! Sissy got to be in the OR for the whole thing and even got to "catch" Evy! How awesome is that?! Our precious girl weighed in at 6 lb 8 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Brandon left my side to be with her as the nurses cleaned her up and checked her out. Evelyn was having a little trouble breathing, so I only got a brief look at her before they wisked her away. I remember so clearly, though, how beautiful she was! Brandon exclaimed, "She's pink! She got my coloring!" Both of the boys came out practically with a tan, but not Evelyn! She was completely different: blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and fair-skinned!!! I kept joking, "Are you sure this is my baby?" Of course, she still resembled the boys. They are all so beautiful, if I do say so, but I am partial! Check out Kasey's blog for more on Evy's birth day! Here are a few more photos from Evelyn's birth.

A family of five! Proud big brothers!

Proud Grandparents and Sissy (aka Mommy #2) Meeting Nana and Papa Platt Some visitors

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-05T23:38:00.004-05:00

As I write, I listen for the sounds of a screaming Jack... For some reason he has been waking up crying several times a night, for the past few nights. He has done this before, in fact, over and over it seems. My other two kiddos are wonderful sleepers; for that I am extremely thankful. Jack has been a different story. He usually ends up being my bed buddy. I don't mind it too much, since Daddy is at work most nights. Sometimes it can get pretty exhausting though... More on that some other time...

It has been forever since I last blogged. I hate it, but things are just so crazy busy right now. I'll try and do better. (I know, you've heard that before...)

Our fourth of July weekend was pretty good, even though it rained on our parade! We had a family cookout Saturday evening, which was supposed to be a swim party. It was still fun! The food was good and the company, even better! Sunday, we hung out at Mimi and Papaw's house most of the day. The boys got to do a few firecrackers (mostly snap pops) with Papaw and Alex. Then, Mommy took Evy home for bed and the boys watched the neighbors set off fireworks at the neighborhood block party! Here are a few pictures from the day.

Going to the hospital...

2009-10-06T00:30:00.004-05:00

July 7, 2009

So here are our thoughts from the day of Evelyn's arrival...

Well today is the big day! Today, our life will change forever, yet again. We will go from a family of four (3 boys:1 girl) to a family of five (3 boys:2 girls)! I am so excited to welcome my daughter into the world! I can't wait to experience all of the girly stuff!!! I'm also a little nervous, since she will be born via c-section; my other two went so well, I hope I'm just as lucky this time. Brandon is a nervous wreck! For a big, tough police officer, he sure is bothered by the whole birthing experience! He keeps telling me that I better not die in surgery (yeah, I know, morbid...) because there is no way he could raise our children without me...I'll take that as a complement! I'm really not that worried though; I'm in God's able hands and I'm pretty sure that my work on Earth is nowhere near done...

Here's how I looked-Last shot of the big belly!!!
Here's how Brandon looked
Looking strangely peaceful during the c-section (Must have been the meds!)

My Church Baby Shower

2009-10-05T22:52:00.005-05:00

June 14, 2009

My sweet church friends threw me a precious baby shower. Everything was very vintage and girly! They did a great job and I am thankful for each one of them. I got a lot of great stuff for Evelyn, whose name we finally settled on just days before (with much reluctance from Brandon). I can't believe how much trouble I had picking a name for my baby girl! When I was pregnant with the boys, all I could come up with were girl names! Here are a few of the names on my list. Looking back, I am SO HAPPY with the name we chose! It's the perfect mix of old and new! We came really close to using Stella Ruth, but I'm glad we went with Evelyn Reese instead!

Evelyn Reese

Stella

Ruth

Sophia

Piper

Audrey

Harper

Ava

Isobel

Eleanor

Stella Ruth

Stella Grace

Evelyn Grace

Evelyn Rose

Evelyn Poppy

Evelyn Ivy

Evelyn Maddy

Evelyn Sophia

The sign-in table
The cake tableMe and my hostesses. Such a precious group of women! I am blessed to know them!
The only decent picture of me opening my gifts (thanks Kasey)!

This is what my hostesses got me: my bouncer, some really cute burpies that coordinate with Evy's room, a birdie onesie, and a sweet covered wipes case that matches as well (not pictured)! The burpies are from Lilacs&Lollipops and the onesie and wipes case is from ModTotSpot.

Bad morning...

2009-09-29T12:43:00.003-05:00

I just have to whine a bit about my embarrassing morning. Brady had yet another meltdown at preschool. For those of you who do not know, Brady has been having issues with preschool lately. He does not want to go. We think it's because he doesn't want to use the bathroom at school. He is pretty much completely potty trained now---goes in the potty all of the time now, except for at night. He will not use the school bathroom, though! I tried something new, taking him inside and staying with him for a few minutes. I tried to take him in the bathroom to use it and wash his hands, thinking he wouldn't be afraid if I showed him it was fine. He just screamed and cried the whole time! It was really embarrassing! I feel so sorry for him that he is having trouble with this, but at the same time, I am so frustrated that he is acting so ridiculously! He has not been my sweet little boy lately. I don't know what is up with him!

So, on my way home, I stop by Starbucks for a coffee. As I'm ordering, I'm looking through my wallet for my card---which is not there! I had nothing, no card and not a single dollar! Somebody had been messing with my wallet again, the hubby or perhaps one of the boys! So, I tell the guy to cancel my order and he tells me not to worry about it! "We already started making it so we've got 'ya this time." Can you believe that?! I was so embarrassed! I told him I would be back later to pay...

On a side note, this is the lovely view of our back yard now...

Don't you just love it?! I think that building is seriously like 5 feet from our fence! There's a window, so I'm wondering if someone will be living up there. It seems like an infringement on our privacy to me! I mean, they will be able to see right into our windows! Wonder how they got that permitted?????

Last Day of Preschool/Program

2009-09-29T01:16:00.003-05:00

May 21, 2009

Brady's last day of preschool was a short one, followed by the end of the year program. All of the family who could, came. It was so adorable! The theme was "Monkeying Around". They all entered to The Lion King's "Circle of Life" and sang all kinds of cute animal songs! Brady did such a great job! He was so cute up there singing and doing all of his motions---I laughed; I cried. It was awesome to see how far he had come! The begining of the year was full of tears, his and mine. He grew into such a big boy this year and I am so proud of him! His teachers sent home a sweet memory book filled with pictures from the year. Of course, I cried when I read that too! I was kinda far away from the stage, so unfortunately, the pictures didn't really turn out...

Brady's first day of preschool

Brady's last day of preschool

Brady and a very pregnant Mommy

Easter 2009

2009-09-29T00:32:00.004-05:00

We didn't get to do everything Mommy had planned, but it wasn't too bad. On Saturday, Brady went to a friend's birthday party and they had a pirate treasure "egg" hunt. We had a mini egg hunt at our house later that evening. Of course, it was cold...What kind of Oklahoma Easter would it be if it wasn't cold??? Poor Jack was sick too. Fun!

Hunting eggs

Digging into the Easter baskets

YUM! Candy is my favorite!

Mine too!

Our little family

Happy 30th Birthday, Daddy!

2009-09-28T23:54:00.008-05:00

Okay, you'll have to bare with me...I have so many posts to catch up on...

April 3, 2009

Brandon turned 30 this year. He was stoked! He decided he didn't want a big party or anything, so we had a small family gathering instead! I made him a yellow cake with fudge icing and we had dinner at his parents. YUM! I could go for some of that cake right now! Here are a few pictures...

Brandon and the boys

Blowing out the candles...I was nice and just used a 3 and a 0...or maybe just lazy...

Brandon and his parents

Three generations of Teners

You can't really tell in this picture, but I'm 7 months pregnant! LOVELY!

Almost Back

2009-09-09T10:32:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I've recently been inspired by some other busy mommies who have blogs. They do such a great job keeping up with their blogs. I figure if they can do it I can do it too! So anyway, I'm working on a new look for my blog and I've got some other ideas in the making. Hint: it has something to do with my favorite site on the internet! I also have SO MUCH to write about: this past spring and summer, the birth of my daughter, my hubby's new schedule, and of course, all of the crazy things that go on daily around this household! I'll be back soon, so check back frequently! (This post is dedicated to Mom and Kasey who are sometimes bored at work and need something to read!!! Love you!)

Greening Up

2009-03-03T00:42:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let everyone know of a new blog I started. It's called Greening Up and, in it, I plan to write reviews on all of the natural and organic products I've tried over the past few years (since there are probably hundreds!). Bookmark it and tell anyone who you think might be interested to check it out. I don't want to go to all of the trouble and have no one read it! :( It's still in the preliminary stages, but hopefully I'll get some reviews up soon. Thanks. Hope you enjoy!

She's still a girl...

2009-03-02T23:59:00.003-06:00

I had another Dr appt today and, to my relief, the doctor said my baby is definitely a girl! I am thrilled! Everything looked perfect and she is measuring right on, give or take a week! It looks like the prospective c-section date will be July 7, 2009. Sounds good to me---7 is my favorite number! ;)

I woke up a little early this morning and came downstairs to check the weather before taking a bath. I hear this THUMP THUMP THUMP and look over at the stairs, where I see Brady tromping down! Now, this is odd because he is still in a crib and has never even attempted to get out---until today! I said "Brady, how did you get out of your bed?" Then, he proceeds to tell me this long, cute story of how he climbed out of his bed, gestures included! I guess it's FINALLY time to get him in a big boy bed! UGH, no more leaving him in his crib while I get dressed!!! Oh well, I knew the day would come one of these days. I bet this is going to complicate nap time for sure!

So, since I hadn't gotten my bath yet, I gave Brady a Nutrigrain bar (grainbar, as he calls them) and told him to be a good boy and watch TV for a few minutes while I'm upstairs. Well, several minutes later, of course, he waltzes into my bathroom saying "Mommy, baby Jackie awake." Then, he notices my c-section scar and says "Mommy, what's that thing?" I told him it's where the doctor took him and Jack out of my belly and where our new baby was going to come out. Later, he tells me he has a scar too and lifts up his shirt (to reveal nothing, that I saw). After all, he has a baby sister is his tummy too, as he's always telling me!

Another Brady quickie...He's been doing really well with potty-training lately (YAY), but goes---seriously---every 10 minutes or so (BOO)! I let him go by himself most of the time, unless he needs to poopoo. Anyway, he comes out of the bathroom, rubbing his hands with sanitizer, saying his mouth hurts. I look, and sure enough, it's cut. I'm asking him what happened, trying to dab it with a tissue, and he starts bawling. He tells me he needs medicine to make it feel better, so I finally give him a gummy vitamin. ;) We get him calmed down and he goes to bed. The next morning, his upper lip is all scratched and scabbed. He says "Mommy, my mouth hurt." I'm like, "I know, how did you do that?" He tells me, "I show you" and then goes into the bathroom. I look over and he's coming out with Brandon's razor!!!! Apparently, he had tried to shave!!! I said a little prayer that he hadn't been hurt even worse and promptly put the razor in the cabinet over the toilet. Yikes, that could have been bad!

Back to normal!

2009-02-16T20:57:00.002-06:00

We found out today that, tomorrow, Brandon gets to go back to dayshift!!! I am thrilled to get to be a "normal" family again! The evening shift just wasn't working out for us. It was really starting to wear me down, especially now being pregnant. It's going to be so nice having Daddy at home in the evenings to help tame the monsters! Next fall, Brandon is hoping to get back on the streets where all of the action happens! We're praying he'll be able to get Sundays off so he will still be able to go to church in the morning. It's a bit of a stretch, but hopefully everything will work out in our favor!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-15T16:25:00.011-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Here are a few of our Valentine's week photos.

My 3 loves

Brady and his 2 loves, his precious babies!!!

Brady and Jack, decked out in red and looking oh so brotherly!

Me and my boys

Brady's preschool class Valentine's Day party. Notice how everyone is wearing red and pink---except Brady, who's mommy dressed him in blue! What a dorky mom! Oh well, at least he stands out in the crowd!

Honeybee class

CHEESE Mommy!

Photo tag

2009-02-02T23:16:00.005-06:00

Devin tagged me to post the fourth photo in the fourth folder on my computer. Apparently I haven't had this laptop that long, because this photo is only from last July. It's a picture of my chunky monkey, Jack, playing in his exersaucer. Boy, I wish I could still put him in that! It sure would be handy now and then! I'm sure Brady would be relieved that it wasn't the picture before this one, since that was of him on the potty! Anyway, here Jack is at about 9 months old!

I don't have very many bloggers that follow mine, and these two haven't been on in a while, but I hope they accept the tag...I tag Carrie and Nadia.

The doctor says...

2009-02-02T22:46:00.002-06:00

Well, I went to the doctor today and he says he's 99% sure I'm having a GIRL!!! I still am having a hard time believing it! You see, Brandon's side of the family is very boy-heavy and, as I've read, he determines the sex. After having already had two boys, I figured I was just destined to be a mama of boys. Right now, I find myself feeling really guarded. I want to jump up and down and start buying everything pink in sight but I'm still in disbelief. Could it really be true? I sure hope so! I keep telling myself it is still a little early. After all, I'm only 17 weeks. Although, I was looking at some of the boys' ultrasound pictures from the same time and they do look quite different than this baby's. One of them actually had boy parts pointed out at 14 weeks. Anyway, I'm crazy excited about the prospect a having a sweet little girl! Phew, I'm just glad to know something already! The suspense was killing me! I hardly slept a wink last night because I was so nervous! I should sleep like a rock tonight!

I know it's been a while...

2009-01-29T12:52:00.002-06:00

It's been so long since my last blog. I figure, I better explain a little why. For any who still may not know, Brandon and I are expecting another baby!!! The official due date is July 12, 2009. In all honesty, I was a teeny bit freaked out by the prospect at first. My thought was to space our next child out a little more, since Brady and Jack are 22 months apart. I figured a 3 year gap would be perfect. Well, God had other plans for us! If all goes as expected, the age difference between this baby and Jack will be 21 months! We are so excited and can't wait to welcome another teeny Tener into the household! I know it's going to be challenging (to say the least) taking care of three children under the age of 4, but I know we can do it.

So, along with all of the excitment has come an enormous amount of exhaustion! As some of you may know, my body doesn't quite handle pregnancy as well as I would like. I am such a gripey pregnant woman! I never quite feel good. The first trimester has been full of nausea, horrible sensitvity to smell, lack of appetite and, of course, an unceasing tiredness. All of these symptoms have been worse in the evening, unfortunately, which is when Brandon is at work. So, it's been quite difficult, to say the least, dealing with these things and taking care of a "vibrant" aka defiant 3-year-old and a 1-year-old who is into everything! I just haven't had the strength to write lately. When it comes down to sleeping or blogging, I choose sleeping every time! Plus, it hasn't helped that all of this came during the absolute most hectic time of year, the holidays! (I will have to talk about all of that in a future post...this year seriously lacked in holiday cheer...) I truly can't complain too much, though. I haven't been nearly as sick with this pregnancy as I was with my other two (We're talking mega pukefests). I'm hoping, crossing every finger and toe, and praying like crazy that this might mean I'm finally going to get my girl this time! Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE my sweet boys more than life!

Stay tuned...I find out the sex of the baby on Monday, if the little stinker cooperates!

Hopefully, now that I'm feeling a little better I will be able to keep up a little better! After all there's something new to blog about every day!

Pay if Forward, Win a Prize

2008-12-15T17:29:00.002-06:00

Several weeks ago, I partictipated in a Pay it Forward contest on my friend Devin's blog. I won a beautiful new Christmas CD (thanks Devin)!

Now it is my turn to "pay it forward." What am I talking about, you ask? I am paying it forward with a premeditated act of kindness. Would you like to receive a fun gift and then give a gift in return? THE RULES: The focus of this is to do an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and "pay it forward." I will send a small, fun gift to the first 3 bloggers who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and then the game will continue!! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found, anything you want!! Just a gift that will make the person's day!! If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment!! You have to promise that you will then post about this on your blog, link back to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. Doesn't this sound like fun!!?? All of you lurkers out there who never comment, now is your chance to prove to me that you read my blog. :) Let the games begin! Good luck!

Thanksgiving Fun

2008-12-04T11:33:00.003-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was good---crazy as usual. We always go to both of our family's Thanksgiving dinners which, unfortunately, is always a tiring and stressful feat. We thought it was going to go smoothly this year because the times started out different. That soon changed and we ended up having two places to be at once. We did our best and made it to both. The kids were very tired by the end of the day! I think out all that food, all Brady had to eat was a pb&j and "punkie pie". Jack, on the other hand, had no problem eating his dinner! Then, on Saturday we went to Inola for my Dad's family's Thanksgiving. Jack finally took his first few steps. It was fun having the whole family there to witness it!

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of Thanksgiving this year. I left my camera at home like a dingbat!

Here's a recipe I wanted to share. It's what I always take to Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is easy and very yummy!

Corn Casserole

1 stick of butter, melted
1- 8.5 oz pkg Jiffy corn muffin mix
2 eggs, beaten
1-15 oz can of sweet cream-style corn
1-15 oz can of whole kernel sweet corn, partially drained
8 oz sour cream

Combine butter, corn muffin mix, eggs, corn and sour cream
Spoon into a lightly greased 9X9 or other smaller casserole dish
Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 min or until top is golden

This can be double and baked in a 13X9

Enjoy!

Some things to note about Jack...

2008-11-25T16:02:00.004-06:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I don't really have much time right now, but did want to share a few things. Within the past week or two, Jack has finally begun to wave bye-bye and claps for himself now. He is just at such a precious age! He is still having a lot of trouble sleeping, though! That's not so precious! He has been spending most of the night in our bed lately. That makes for a great night's sleep! He did sleep all night long on the other night---12 hours, actually! It was so unusual that Brandon and I kept checking in on him all night long to make sure he was still breathing. He also says what sounds like "thank you" now! He'll hand you something and say "ta too"!!! So cute!!! He's also a dancer---like brother---and loves to move & groove any time he hears music. Let's hope he gets his sleep schedule normalized soon. He needs to take a que from Brady, who has been sleeping 12 hours a night since he was 6 months old!

Reality Check...

2008-11-11T00:31:00.002-06:00

I've been depressed and overwhelmed all day today. I don't know if it's the cold, rainy weather, or what. I feel like my life is so out of control. I can't ever seem to get anything done around the house---it's constantly utter chaos; Jack won't let me out of his sight; Brady will not obey ONE THING I say and, in fact, defies my every word; I feel like I never see my husband anymore, although I know that's probably not completely true. To say the least, I was having quite the pity-party! I'm still pretty dissatisfied with the way things are going right now, but a phone call from my mom helped to quickly snap me back into the reality of my precious life. She called to tell me that my sweet OBGYN's 19-year-old son who was going to school at OU had decided to kill himself last Thursday. Obviously, I was quite shaken. It's sad any time you hear about a young person's untimely death, but for this to have happened to Dr. W, such a kind, caring and hard-working man, really upset me. I immediately wanted to grab my boys up, kiss and hug them, and tell them how much I love them (and I did)! Those two boys make my life worth living. My world revolves around them and I don't know what I would do if I ever lost one of them. I can't even begin to imagine that. Despite the chaos that is my life right now, I am so blessed and I am grateful for all that I have. Thank you so much God! I will be praying dilligently for Dr. W. I hope he is able to deal with this unimaginable loss, and come out of his grief stronger and more thankful for all that he does have. I'm sure it will be a long process...

Off to comfort a screaming Jack...

2008-11-04T21:49:00.001-06:00

Today was quite a busy and exciting day! I took Brady to preschool as usual, then went to vote. I couldn't believe that it took 45 minutes! I've never seen the polls so crowded. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking! I found myself praying several times today for God's will to be done in this election. Whatever the outcome, I know He is in control.

We had Jack's 1-year-old pictures taken today by Betsy Gregory. She was so great! I'm really excited to see how they turned out and I'm afraid I'll be buying a ton of pictures! Even though Jack still wasn't quite feeling or acting like himself, he did a great job and managed some beautiful smiles! He is such a precious boy! I'm so in love with him! He clapped for the first time today. My baby is growing up way too fast!

After we picked Brady up from school, we stopped for a late lunch at Taco Bueno. Brady couldn't get enough of the "Sprawberry Pot" (strawberry pop!) and kept calling it "Spaucy" (spicy!). Some of the things he says are so cute! He has really turned into a "big boy" lately. I can't believe he's almost 3!

Right now I'm watching the election coverage and wondering what's next...

Tomorrow's a new day...

First Blog

2008-11-03T23:40:00.000-06:00

Well here it is, my first blog! I'm so excited to finally start recording the precious moments of my everyday life that I will someday forget. Let's hope I can keep up with it!

Today was a pretty normal day: brunch with the hubby & boys (oh, and Uncle Alex came along too), a little shopping at Target, playtime and naptime (not for me, unfortunately). Jack has been a pill, though! He started getting sick last Friday and he's still quite the cranky boy today. Tonight, he just screamed and cried. Nothing I did was right. I hope he sleeps well tonight because I could really use a good night's sleep! We're still trying to adjust to Daddy's new work schedule. He's working 3-11 now. It's definitely different! I sure hope it works out for us in the end, because it's sure hard on mama! Now, off to bed...