Movin' On Up

Well, it's official. I'm catching up with the rest of the world. In 3-5 days, I will have this wonderful little 1G MP3 Player in my hands. I'm all excited about it, if you can't tell! ; ) And best thing of all is the incredible deal I got on it. Let me just say, tigerdirect.com rocks!!!

Now, in a related note....please let me know what online music services you guys use, what they charge, etc.

A little insight

I consider myself a nice, friendly person. But I do have a "dark side."

This can be quite evident when standing in a check out line. If I have a buggy full of items, I will often let the person with one or two things go ahead of me. I've even been known to give a stranger in front of me some change when they come up short. I'll chat with people sometimes, and I'll usually tell the cashier it's OK when they apologize for my wait.

But woe unto the idiot who pisses me off.

The other day, in Dollar General (for cryin' out loud!) there was an extremely rude woman. You could hear her being rude all over the little store. Well, it was lunch time and the check out line was sort of long. There were 3 people in front of me, a nice lady behind me, then Rude Woman, and some people behind her. The cashier was doing the best she could, and Rude Woman was yelling at her things like "Can you go faster?" and "Isn't there someone else who can check?" It got so bad, the lady between me and Rude Woman decided she needed to do some more shopping. I got to the register and placed my Gain Island Fresh Fabric Softener and gum on the counter. I pulled out my checkbook as my items were rang up and had the suspected amount of cash in my hand. Keep that in mind. The money was in my hand. The cashier told me the total and as I was handing her the money, Rude Woman says, "Would you hurry up?!" OH NO, SHE DID NOT! I turned and looked at her, giving her the Death Glare. I then smiled at the cashier and told her I thought I had exact change for that 42¢. I slowly dug through my bag and found my little change purse. I then dumped it on the counter and counted out the 42¢ in nickels and pennies. I had quarters. But explained I had to use those for the drink machine at work. OH.....I thought Rude Woman was going to have a stroke! But everyone else thought it was pretty darn funny. I'll admit that I made my way to my vehicle quickly afterward, for fear of retribution. (For any Dane Cook fans, I was NOT gazelle like, though!)

So there is a little insight into me. I'm really nice, unless you piss me off. ; )

Christmas

Well, this Christmas wasn't without a few "bad" things,(Kenneth and I were sicke) but it was a wonderful one. And I know it wasn't technically Ashleigh's first Christmas, but it was the first one where she could participate!

She doesn't really "get" Santa yet, but she loved what he left her under the tree!

It might not look like alot, but it was hard to find stuff she didn't already have:


She really seemed to like everything!





Then it was off to see my parents, sister and future brother-in-law, where she got even MORE toys and clothes. (Of course, Kenneth and I werent' left out either!





OH!!! Can't forget the Taylor family Christmas gathering. Below is an overall shot of the mass chaos after the gifts were exchanged. Also is a pic of Ashleigh and her cousin Elana with Mamaw & Grandpa Taylor. I'm so blessed to have wonderful in-laws AND wonderful parents. How does a girl get so lucky?



My family was so blessed with gifts and love from family members and friends. I was left feeling a little bad, because we couldn't give nearly what we'd like to everyone else. But that's what $1,000's in baby doctor bills will do to ya! Not to mention the everyday expenses of said baby. But I wouldn't trade her for all the money in the world.

Glad I finally got to share some photos with you all!

Merry Christmas!

Santa Visit 12.22 3.jpg
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Well, Santa came by early last night to make sure Ashleigh was being a good girl and deserved a visit on Christmas eve. She was a little unsure of Santa at first, but decided she liked him, and didn't want him to leave! Check out theother photos from his visit.

The doctor called her in a prescription decongestant/antihistimine yesterday because the OTC stuff wasn't even helping, she was steadily getting worse. I don't know if you can tell in the photos, but her little eyes are all red a puffy. But she was in a really good mood until about 9:30 last night. Oh well....that's life with a one year old, I suppose.

I'm loving Advil Cold & Sinus. It has saved me. Try it, trust me. Too bad it can't help my stress from a messy house and lots to do and no time to do it. I'll just try to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and all the blessings in my life. And not let dirty laundry and a cluttered dining room table bother me too much.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping in Recliner 12.21.jpg
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Wednesday, Ashleigh went to sleep while sitting in the recliner with Daddy. He got up, not and she just fell over like this. I was met at the back door with something like this: Be really quiet. Where's the camera? Be really quiet, go look in the living room. Why's the camera back there?

Missing Grandma

{I wrote this months ago and never posted it. But when I was going through gift bags the other night (yes, I recycle) I found one with the tag intact and it was a gift from my Grandma and I just cried and cried. So I decided it was time to post this. I'll have to find a good photo of her to post sometime.}

I miss her so much sometimes my heart hurts. She’s been gone just over a year now, I realized last week. I’m so glad I didn’t think of it on the actual anniversary of her death. I’ll never forget our phone ringing early that morning. I knew my Grandma was gone. Daddy told Kenneth and he had to tell me, even though I already knew.

I didn’t love her more than any of my other grandparents. It’s just that we were so alike in so many ways. I spoke to her several times a week and we’d talk about anything and everything (almost). I still find myself wanting to talk to “someone” and realize it’s Grandma I want to talk to.

I didn’t allow myself to become despondent with grief. I didn’t feel like I could; I was about 7 months pregnant and was not going to do anything to jeopardize the well-being of our unborn daughter. I think that’s why I still cry sometimes. That and I think it’s so damn unfair that she was so close to meeting her first great-grandchild. I wanted her to know my baby. I wanted my baby to know her. Of course, if we’d had Ashleigh 8 or 9 years ago, she could have known all my grandparents. But Kenneth and I did what was right for us and I don’t regret that. We’ll just have to make sure that she knows all our grandparents through our memories.

I also have to realize that my wanting Grandma to keep hanging on was quite selfish. My grandfather passed away two years before her and she was very lonely. She’d been battling cancer off and on for 19 years. (It was actually the treatments that basically killed her.) She was ready to go.

I know that she knew I loved her very much. She knew I was happy with my life and that I had a good husband. She knew that we were having a girl and naming her Ashleigh Reagan. She wanted to buy her going home outfit which made me having to buy it really hard to do. But I was sure to buy something she would have approved of.

A few things about my Grandma:
::She looked great in red.
::She loved looking her best and being around people, socializing.
::She made awesome strawberry pies. (And other desserts, too.)
::She’d buy me things and tell me that “nobody has to know about this.”
::She loved to gossip. I’d get such a kick out of her telling me about all the latest scandles.
::She was TERRIFIED of storms. She fussed at me when I’d complain about Kenneth staying up until all hours watching the weather during storms.
::She said all sorts of funny things. One that comes to mind is “drunk as Cooter Brown.” This could be because someone was intoxicated, or referring to herself during an inner ear infection.
::She loved to sit on her front porch.
::She was stronger than she thought she was.

Sorry to be such a downer with this post, but it’s been on my mind for a long time and I had to finally do it.

Just a Quick Note...

to let everyone know I'm alive and well! Just super-busy! When you work in advertising, life is extremely hectic at work and at home, unfortunately.

I did have a very nice birthday, got nice gifts--including cards that Kenneth made with my scrapbooking supplies! One from him, one from Ashleigh. Thanks to everyone for the great loot! ; )

Friday I went to an unbelievably awesome Adobe Photoshop seminar and learned LOADS of cool stuff. Now just have to find the time to practice. Friday night was my company's Christmas party. It was nice, the food was great, and...it was the first "date" Kenneth and I have had since Ashleigh was born. (Just to clarify, we weren't exactly party animals before!)

Saturday was a family Christmas gathering and that morning my beloved daughter woke up with a personality disorder. Whiney, grumpy and SUCH a mama's girl. Oh my! In the afternoon she started behaving a little more normally. Then she screamed for the last 45 minutes home. THAT was fun. Sunday wasn't alot better.

I've decided I must do my Christmas shopping. LOL! (Yes, I AM serious!) Trust me, it wasn't by choice. Being poor kinda sucks and I was waiting on my Christmas bonus! (And I did have some done already.)

At work we are swamped, but I think we'll be OK.

I got my first "official" Christmas gift yesterday! Kelley, I tore into that box like nobody's business! I LOVE the cute little tin sign and I'm afraid I might have to hide that Santa from my mother-in-law. {I'll have to take photos to post on here, the stuff is just WAY too cute!}

Today has been a long day. I got to Wal-Mart at 6:30 am to try to get everything I needed from there this morning. That went fairly well. Now I just a have a few loose ends to tie up and I'll be finished. I better get to "tying", huh?!?

Hope you are all doing well. I'll catch up on blogging soon. Really. I promise!

Today I am 33...

Me&Ash
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Yep, I'm gettin' old alright! But that certainly beats the alternative! ; )

On my birthday, I am:
::Very thankful for my family
::Thrilled that God blessed me with a healthy daughter
::Wishing I had lipstick on in this photo (Aimee!)
::Tickled at how you can tell Ashleigh just woke up in this photo
::Stressing about getting everything done for Christmas
::Really trying to "live in the moment" and enjoy all the good things in my life (Kelley!)
::Determined to have a good day today, darn it!
::Not so happy it's raining and I have to get my photo made for our Christmas Greetings ad
::Glad I got my hair cut & colored last night.
::Determined to weigh a good bit less by the time I'm 34
::Thankful for all my wonderful friends
::Wondering how the last year flew by so quickly

Great Birthday Party

Lots of Loot
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

The party was wonderful! There were 27 people (including the three of us) and I think we all had a great time. There were 9 children who came and they were all so well-behaved. Ashleigh was just a little doll and I was so proud of her! (She wouldn't take a nap, so I feared a total meltdown!)

She got lots of presents which she loves! She's really kept herself busy playing with all of them. She got lots of clothes too, so she'll be quite the little fashion plate.

Sorry I don't have time to do all the links to photos like I normally would. Just double click on this photo, and it'll take you to flikr. Then you can look at the pictures I uploaded. They go onto the second page, be sure to look at them all!

I'm just so happy that everything went well. I think the table and sign Regina & I made turned out nicely. Of course, I thought of about 20 things I forgot to do-like get the ice cream out, take photos of all the guests, get everyone to sign a page for her birthday album I'm going to do (a few pages for each year), straighten the towels up in the bathroom....I could go on, but you get the idea.

Now, Santa just has to find something she doesn't already have to bring her!

First Year

First Year
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Well, I don't know why the colors seem so washed out on this now that I've uploaded it, but you get the idea. I've always taken Ashleigh's photo on the 8th of each month and this is a way I've come up with to display them. I'm going to have an 8x10 printed for the grandparents for a little Christmas gift. Think I'll print one out to display at her birthday party tomorrow.

If you haven't seen the photos from last night, be sure to scroll down!

Big Girl

Year Old 1
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Oh my baby is a year old. I just can't believe it. While her birthday evening didn't really go anything like I envisioned, it was pretty good. She was cooperative long enough to get a couple of good shots, with the help of her Daddy making her laugh. Of course, we had to deal with a nosey cat, not to mention camera delays that resulted in lots of great shots of the back of her head! And when we wanted her to stand in front of the tree, she wouldn't!

Oh well. Lot's of "personality shots!" ;-)

She did love her spaghetti for dinner though. (It just doesn't look like it in the photo because she's she's done, she is done!! Don't you just love the mess? Oh, the joys of learning to self-feed...

Her gifts were a huge hit! They might give us a headache, but what's a little noise when you have a happy, occupied baby?

Then came the cake. Oh boy. at first, she didnt' know what to think of her cupcake, but before long, she wasdigging in, offering us some, and ended up just making a big ole mess!

After that, it was bath time. We had another poop incident, much worse than the first one. Ick.

My house is a wreck.
I have to get it ready for a party tomorrow.
I have to get the food ready for said party.
I have to shop after work. Which means less time for preparations.

I couldn't be happier!

Hard to believe....

Ashleigh Reagan Taylor 004
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

that my sweet daughter was born a year ago!! This photo was taken when she was just hours old. She has changed so much! And our lives have changed so much, for the better, since this wonderful little girl arrived.

I could just gush on for quite a while, but I'll spare you all! ; )

Oh, and since I never got around to posting on the one year anniversary of my due date, you can at least see how huge my belly was!

I can't wait til tonight! to see her dig into her little cupcake (the cake is Saturday) and get her gifts from Mommy & Daddy. I'm such a goof.

{Also, I promise I'm not snubbing anyone, blog-wise. I've just been super-duper busy! But I promise to try to get back into the swing of things soon. I really miss all you guys!}

Another weekend gone too soon

Cute Grin
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

Well, don't really have time to "post," but please go to see my other photos because I did write a little bit of stuff on the comments underneath.

I'm feeling a bit better, although I fear it's been my nerves, not a virus making me sick. I've been working hard on getting myself in a better place mentally. I think it's working. If not, I'll be visiting the doctor soon...ugh!

Feeling Icky

Well, Thursday afternoon, I did a horrible thing--in a horrible place. I threw up (repeatedly) AT WORK! In the restroom, but still EEWWWW!

I hung in at work until 4:15 and was in bed last night by 7. I don't have what Ashleigh had, because I don't have a fever. Rachel and a few others think it is my nerves. Maybe. I know I've been stressed out, but to the point of physical illness? I'm just not sure.

All I can hope for is some weight loss out of the deal. ;-)

My mom is coming down (unrelated to my sickness) to keep Ashleigh today and should be here any minute. She has the day off and wanted to see her granddaughter.

I will hopefully make it through the day at work...wish me luck!!

When Life Throws You Curves

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my due date. I have a photo of me on that day, and had a blog entry prepared to post. It was really sweet and I might share it sometime in the future. But when I got home last night, I didn't want to see a computer.

For many reasons, I cannot go into any details, but things at work have gotten very hectic and complicated. Things will be OK eventually, but I was blindsided with something and it will take me quite awhile to adjust. Add to that the feeling of being in over my head because I don't understand the techinical aspects of computers as well as I wish I did and well....I've been in happier places. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? LOL.

Meanwhile, I'l lost my appetite. I truly hope this trend continues.

Ashleigh is back to her sweet, wonderful HEALTHY self. Kenneth and I are doing well, although I'm starting to seriously stress about money again. You know how when it seems everything just falls on you at once?

But this morning I feel better than last night. And hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better than today.

Maybe I'll soon have time to do some more blogging and get caught up on everyone's lives. So if I'm not commenting, I haven't forgotten about you! I miss you guys!!!!

Thanksgiving...not what I planned...

Well, Thursday started off fine. Got to my in-law's home around 12 (they live next door, NOT a big journey!) and all was well. Got a few photos of Ashleigh and Elana in their matching outfits, and before long it was time to eat. Ashleigh wasn't hungry. Then I realized she was burning up. Gave her some medicine and shortly thereafter was thrown up on. (All in my hair, downmy shirt, etc.) But I think I handled that unfortunate event with dignity and grace. And a quick exit.

She seemed to feel better and played some at home. Then she'd be pitiful again. Then play some more. Friday morning, when her temp was 104.8, I knew I had to find a pediatrician. Ours was closed, but the best one in Columbus was open. We were told it was a stomach virus, that would last 3-5 days. No 24 or 48 hour virus for us! Good news: only contagious through saliva. So nobobdy had to worry. Bad news: except me. I was trying to get her to eat off my plate, with my fork. Ugh.

Spent alot of time getting my check, going to the bank, then tracking down needed medicine, Pedialyte, etc. And a one-second ear thermometer. That thing rocks!

Missed my family's Thanksgiving dinner, which they postponed to Saturday for us, pretty much. Had lots of ups and downs over the weekend with Ashleigh, but she's getting better, just has a way to go before she's back to 100%. Maybe a lot of Grandma's TLC today will do the trick!

My parents decided to give us an early Christmas gift, so we now have a new stove! And with help from Kenneth's Dad, it's installed, ready to go. Haven't used it yet, the fridge is full of leftovers. (We might have missed my family's dinner, but Mom sent plenty of food to us via my sister and her fiancé.

Also got my Christmas tree up. It's a work in progress, but it's up! (And it's actually the 7.5' pre-lit tree my mother-in-law got last year and didn't like. I like it just fine.) Also put some other stuff out/up. There's more stuff on the bookcases, but it's mostly scattered among the regular stuff. I can't take all that stuff down! I know I'm not a HGTV candidate, but I'm decorating at least. Kenneth isn't too happy about the tree, I don't think. He was eyeballing it last night and I asked him what and he said he was wondering how long it would take Ashleigh to pull it down on top of her. Geez. I plan on supervising her just a bit. I even tried really hard to put larger non-choking hazard stuff close to the bottom.

I think my mother-in-law might come over to help me put some finishing touches on my tree tonight. She just does the prettiest stuff! I was liking my stuff until I went in her house this morning. Now I feel like I have Charlie Brown decorations! LOL.

Thankful....

OK, I "have" to do a list of things I'm thankful for since it's the day before Thanksgiving. (Actually I don't really have anything interesting to say, LOL!)

I am thankful
::That I'm not a tacky, thoughtless idiot like the woman who blatantly cut line in front of me at Wal-Mart last night, just because she knew the woman in front of me. (And for you Dane Cook fans-I was not doing the "floaty-dance!")

::That I at least have a stove top that works, and a microwave. (My oven's been out a few weeks in case I didn't mention that.)

::That I have a dependable vehicle with a CD player and and radio that picks up all the stations. (My old car only picked up stations up to about 95--ACK!)

::That I have a home with central heat & air.

::That our home has 2 bathrooms (with 2 working toilets again, LOL)

::That I have a job, a pretty decent job actually. (I know I complain about it some, but don't we all?)

::That I am married to my bestest-ever friend, who has turned out to be a great Dadddy.

::That I have a wonderful, healthy, happy daughter.

::That Ashleigh's eye surgery seems to have worked like a charm!

::That my husband's family doesn't treat me like an in-law--I'm one of them.

::That my family loves my hubby and treats him like "one of us."

::That I have wonderful friends I can always confide in and depend on.

::That my mother-in-law keeps my daughter while I'm at work every day. I never have to worry about her care & safety.

::That Kelley introduced me to scrapbooking AND blogging. (I'm addicted to both, but feel my life is enriched because of it.)

::That we have satellite tv.

::For cell phones.

::For digial cameras.

::Can't believe I almost forgot this: hand-me-down clothes and toys for Ashleigh. (This would be much closer to the top if the list was in order of "importance.")

OK, I know it's a long list and I really should have just said I'm thankful for everything! Let me know what you're thankful for.

And have a great Turkey day!

Living the Good Life

It's so easy to get bogged down in the negative, depressed over the way money evaporates into thin air, how hard it is to lose weight...you know.

But when you really stop and think, it's easy to boost yourself up by realizing how lucky you are. This morning on the news they did a little story about a couple of hurricane evacuees who've permanently relocated to the area. This year, their daughter died of cancer, their son drowned in a swimming pool accident and then they lost EVERYTHING when Katrina hit the coast. Yet they were telling all the things they were thankful for! Oh my...makes my dread of steam cleaning the carpets seem really trivial.

LAST NIGHT was wonderful. Diane sent food over for dinner AND for our lunches today. YUM. So we just played and played. Our little tornado realized she can drag more toys out, not just be content with what I've set out for her to play with. Nice. ; )

I'm really excited about this cute little santa suit Diane got for Ashleigh this weekend. It even has a little hat! I've wanted to do a family photo for our Christmas cards, but might just get a photo of Ashleigh in this outfit to send out. She's who people really want to see anyway! Along with lots of other cute stuff, she also brought her this dress that I think might be her Christmas dress. The dresses I really like cost way too much. Or are sleeveless. I know we live in Mississippi, but the high for today is about 50. I don't want my baby to get sick for the sake of fashion. Besides, this is still a "little girl" dress and she's growing up so fast, I won't get to put her in these much longer. What do you think?

Odds & Ends

Ash BDay Invite upload
Originally uploaded by Sunshyn93.

This is the birthday invite I designed for Ashleigh's party. I'd love to have done really nice scrapbook-ish invites, but I just don't have the time for all that. So I designed 4x6 invitations and had them printed today. Now, to find suitable envelopes and get them in the mail!

Train Wreck In A Skillet
I learned the hard way Saturday morning that Blue Bonnet Light does NOT do well to make grilled cheese sandwiches. I hate to blame in on the margarine, but that was the only variable that changed. They wouldn't brown well, but yet stuck and got all mangled. I said that they looked like a train wreck happened in my skillet! But they tasted good.

Christmas Fun
We took Ashleigh to look at lots of Christmas toys and decorations. We turned on all those singing dancing obnoxious things. You know, the things that are fun in the store but you'd never want to bring home? She loved it.

Housework
Got some stuff done this weekend-the kind of stuff that has to be done, but nobody notices unless they're doing a home inspection. Like cleaning light fixtures, scrubbing cabinet doors, changing a light bulb that's been out for over a year. (Laugh, but I'm dead serious!)

Got some serious hanging out quality family time in too. All in all a good weekend, but way too short!

Rite of Passage

Let me set the scene for you:

It's bathtime. Ashleigh has been washed up and rinsed clean, now we've entered the playtime portion of the bath. I'm singing my made-up second verse of "You Are My Sunshine":
You are my sweetie
You are my darlin'
You are my honey, you are my pal
I'll love you always and forev..noNONONONO!!!!!!

I jerk Ashleigh up because I see the look.

As I lift her, I hear plops in the water below. She dropped the kids off in the pool. (For those of you slow on the uptake...she pooped.)

I started yelling for Kenneth, but had to go to him, with Ashleigh wrapped in her towel.

He had to deal with her.

I had to decontaminate everything.

So I've been through another of Motherhood's Rites of Passage. Poop in the tub.

P.S. I don't want to jinx it, but Ashleigh's eye is looking very good--no goop, no excess tears. Keep your fingers crossed!