living it up...

For moms...all moms

2012-02-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

A post for me to remember. For Sadie to grow up and not feel guilty about her choice as a woman and mother, whatever she choses to do, or has to do, that she does it to her best ability and with a happy and peaceful outlook.

And that God willing, I help her see that and not whatever insecurities I may have.

Friendly Fire

I'm thankful because I am....

2012-02-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

So I have been losing it lately. Random outbursts at these kids. Mine.

Poor kids.

Feeling like nothing is getting done. Must be winter blues? Must be. Well get out of the house you say? I do. Is it enough. Seems not.

So I write to remind myself of everything I am thankful for this week. Many things that get side swept in the whirlwind of stay at home mother-dom.

Thankful list for the week of Feb 1st.

-I got to see some long lost friends this week!

(Ya for Nancy, Becca, and Kari! Two hours of undisturbed kid free time at Panera is priceless. Goes so fast. But I smile because it happened! )

- Getting a few (very few here people) decorations done around the house.

- Making Valentines with Sadie

-Having great, Great, GREAT family time last night as Brett Kung Fu wrestled with the kids and they just ate it up!

- Getting out with the kids and their friends to a new place to play indoors.

- Having a little girl asleep in my bed... that I get to carry in my arms... and place back in her own bed. Hearing her say in her sleep "thank you Mommy" while I tuck her back in. Memories I will never forget.

- Hanging out with my family (you know, Mom, sibs...)

I have to many things on my to-do list. Drives me nuts not getting it done. Being a mom really sucks up your time. I need a bigger thankful list and smaller to do list.

So thank you thankful post. I am thankful.

Pandora bracelet got nothing...

2012-01-28T17:22:00.000-08:00

...on Sadie's bracelet.
Handmade kid jewelry is the best. Sadie got a shrinky dink kit for Christmas and we got into this week. Wow. Like, whoa. These things are neat! They really do shrink up a ton. I couldn't help but stare into the oven for the entire 3 minutes it took every time we put another tray in. Sadie, bored after watching twice. Me, nope. Too cool. First they start to curl up everywhere, and you get all worried they are getting warped or are going to fold over and stick to themselves. Nail biting I tell ya. But then, oh then they flatten back out as they simultaneously shrink to a third of their size.

Should've taken pics huh?

Sadie turned a few of her gems into a her very own pandora bracelet. Jingling every where she went. Add a few necklaces into the mix, a keychain for her purse, a book bag, and you've got a full blown walking musical. I'm sure she couldn't have been more excited to wear her new accessories to the movies with Daddy. I'm sure Daddy was just as excited to hear her jingling all the way.

After filling her up on slushies and popcorn at the movies, I'm sure to make her work it off.

Now you know my secret of keeping her slender ;)

Tangled up in Cars

2012-01-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

Our neighbors had a lantern release party to celebrate two of their kids b-days this past weekend. It was awesome! Despite the 20 degree weather, layer of long john's, gloves, hats, etc...we still froze our butts off. And then they did a second release...

It was Tangled up in Cars. A great name I thought anyway. Tangled for her daughter's b-day and Cars for her sons. There were about 30 people there (postponed from the previous windy night when 60 would have shown up!).

There lanterns are not what I was expecting. I though they were little round balls of tissue paper things we let lift off. Nope. They were about two feet tall mini hot air balloons! For $3 each, they were well worth the price.

When you release them you are suppose to make a wish or send it up to someone who has passed away. I let Sadie make a wish. What was it you ask?

"I wish we could go inside and get some cake!"

Not Sadie.
About to let go. On the first round I didn't wait...I let mine go first, like way before everyone else. I have listening issues. Ask Brett. Second time, I got it right.

There is fire burning right by your hands, it's kinda scary holding on to these things.
And here they go.
Overhead view.
And away they go.

It was seriously neat. So glad we made it.

So not glad they had a second release!

Bedhead

2012-01-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

Why is it Bryer wakes up with the cutest bedhead, but when I try to style it, it never stays? What's the trick?

Say Cheese!

2012 Let's Get it on.

2011-12-31T05:15:00.000-08:00

I thought 2010 was a good year. I guess I have been blessed because '11 was even better. And if '12 surpasses '11, then life is gonna be pretty good :)

I can't say enough how fast each year goes by with little tots running around. It's like (what's that saying? Oh yes...) a blink of an eye. Yes, a blink of an eye baby. Time flies when you are having fun right? And so does your memory. I swear, unless I write everything down (or blog) I wouldn't remember half of my life. So I blog for myself. So when I am 80 years old and have no idea what happened the day before, I can read my blog to myself and bring my life back to me. Is that sad?

Anyway, 2011 was a good year for the Fishers, filled with lots of good times.

Some documented events from 2011:

We started off the year taking a family vaca to Disney World. (as sick as this sounds, in all of Sadie's 4 years she has been to Disney World twice, Disney Land twice, and on a plane five times..sheesh, kiddo gets around. I was 18 when I went on my first plane ride. Wait, hold up. I was 13 when I had my first plane ride. Memory going already. )

Bryer learned to walk this year :)

Bryer turned 1. The last of my children to ever have a first birthday. Hallelujah!

We took our first family camping trip to Knoebels.

We used and abused our boat all summer!! Just the best time with family filled with awesome memories.

Brett learned to wake board. This year is suppose to be my turn, but let's face it: I'm a wimp. Tubing is enough for me. Maybe, maybe, and oh ya, maybe I will try knee boarding.

Sadie turned 4! Each new year with her is so exciting!

This was my girl on her third bday...from last year....I thought she looked like she was a Preschooler then.
Sadie started Preschool!! Here she is at 4 starting Preschool!!

(I will always remember this as the year of the hat. She wore a knit hat almost every day. Even in 85 degree heat. This hat, in this pic, is special. It's the hat I made for her. She loves it and wears it well. Of course I just love this!).

I turned 30 this year!!

I had the best weekend get away with my closest friends (some were sorely missed!) to celebrate our big accomplishment! Best birthday to date... Here's to rivaling it at 31 :)

Brett and I ran our first mud run. His last. Just the beginning for me.

We flew to CA to visit the "other" Fishers, and survived.

Lots of good memories from 2011. Seriously, it was a good one.

2012 already looks promising with some perrrrty good things lined up :) Let's get it on.

Tis' the Season...

2011-12-28T13:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas= nuts.
I barely have any pics to document. You will think there is a lot after looking at this post. But no, this is pretty much ALL the pics I got from three Christmas get togethers...which is just not enough. And I think maybe two of me altogether. It's almost like I wasn't there. I was too busy trying to get good pics of my kids, but those little buggers move 100 times every second. There is no sitting still on Christmas in this family.

To top it off I am in no mood to do anything this week. Like nothing. Sure I got the presents put away, sifted through old toys, cleaned the house, and started using my Cricut machine. But it's Weds already. Normally I would have that done by Monday. I just feel in a blah mood (I don't even want to blog, but I must. I must) and I can't wait to Christmas to be put away and done. It's still out at my house. I am counting down till New Years...not for the ball, not for the resolutions, not for the excitement, but for the OK to put Christmas away for another 340 something days. Yahoo!

Anyway, here is our Christmas in pictures:

First feast your eyes on this eye candy. Single ladies.
Second, feast your eyes on this cuteness. Handsome is as Handsome does.

Cheese!!! With Pop Pop. So glad Bryer still lets us take pictures of him. Good little guy. (thanks to my mother in law for all the photos from the Fisher Christmas. I don't think I got one good one).

Uncle Jer and his two favorite nieces. He really is a good uncle. Loves his nieces! Watched the entire Grinch with Sadie. Plays with the girls, reads them book after book, pays them undivided attention and lets them know what they are saying is very important. He listens. Sadie loves her Uncle Jer!
Bryer's most fav gift of the year. His Hot Wheels carrying case. He has been dragging that thing around all weekend. Putting cars in. Taking cars out.

What is it about little boys in ties?
Gabriel. Cutie pie :)
Okay. This is my fav pic!! My sibs and mom. But what really makes this is the green tattoo on Jer's face. When I fixed the red eye, it put that green mark on his face. It's really not there...just some fluke from the editing. The other; is Jonathan's eyes that look cross, lol. Or my mom's Chinese eyes. Yes, this is the perfect pic of my family. Not to mention that me, Julie and Jacqui look just fine...that has nothing to do with it being my fav pic. There were other pictures with Brett and Daniel and Julie's boyfriend in it...but I deleted them all. Yup. They were horrible. The funny part is, my mom took the pictures and cropped Shawn (Julie's boy toy) out of them all, lol, supposedly by accident.
Hello there.
Jer and Julie felt the need to take many pictures of themselves. We won't forget they were there.
Some of my cousins. Don't you love how I am in exactly the same pose in all of my two pictures? Creativity lacking. You could just cut and paste me into any picture from the holiday. No problem.
Here is one pic with Julie's boyfriend...lol...but I also had cropped him out. Julie is so photogenic. She's modeling now. She looks awesome from her hard work for over a year to look how she does now. She's awesome. And her straight white teeth help a lot. Man, why didn't' I ever get braces? Who wants to whiten my teeth? It's now my birthday, oh, or mother's day present! Ya.
Jacqui's kids never stop eating!

The best part of Christmas was my sibling Pollyanna. We all brought in a $20 gift and stole from each other. Of course our gifts included lots of alcohol and erotic cook books. Guess who got the erotic cook book. You're welcome Brett.

FAMILY

2011-12-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

So I had this awesome idea to take a fun family photo. (Insert props to Pinterest here). Same family photo I saw on there. Ya, I didn't even deviate from their picture at all. I had a few minutes, two rowdy kids, and a very unhelpful husband who hates having pictures taken. But I pushed us all through it. And came out with this....which I thought was good....but,
My oh-so-good friend, lets just call her Lara for now, Lara Taylor, informed me that everyone else looked good in the picture, just not me. That I looked weird. That it wasnt' a good angle for me. I think that about covers all of her comments. So I made it black and white hoping it would look better. That I would be less noticeable. Did it work? I have no idea. But I did blow it up (just a little bit), print it out, and frame it on our shelf. Yup. I did that.
This shot would have been better if Bryer was facing the right way. And if there werent' a million shadows everywhere.

I love Sadie holding her hat on in this shot. But Bryer is all crazy, and again, the shadows.

Same can be said for this picture. Ah!

Whatever. I got one semi-decent picture. An improvement from our last family picture that's a year old sitting on our shelf. At least we all look older now, yay!

The 4th light.

2011-12-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

My kids are my life. Literally. If I didn't' have them I would be lost. I forget that sometimes. Like when they broke the fourth candle light in the window in two weeks. Two weeks. Four lights. Mommy patience gone.

Or like when I constantly lose my patience. Snot all over the couches anyone? Crumbs dropped on the floor after I just swept and mopped. Or the pieces of snacks that somehow get all over the house.

((Somehow? ))I know how. There is always food stuck to my kids somewhere that I dont' see (ie: their butt, their thighs, a roll in their pants) and it makes its way around my once clean home, to prove that two little toddlers live here. In case anyone might forget. Or to prove to the world that it doesn't matter how often I clean (try to clean), my home will always look like I haven't. Brett will always wonder what I do all day. I will always wonder what I do all day. That's when I start to wonder why I dont' have a real job. One where I actually do something.

Why am I not one of those moms who have it all together? Who's house always looks like a maid just left, has her kids sitting nicely at the table practicing preschool work, and newly made crafts hanging from the fridge and the smell of a homemade meal is wafting through the air? Why can't that be me? Why do I always feel like I am one step behind? Like my kids need more from me. Like I am not up to par?

I know why. It's this darn blogging world. I can see all these countless other moms doing awesome things with their kids, just another way to compare myself. Uh. Comparing. How can you not? I'm just thankful my kids are still blind and love me no matter what. Look up to me. Dont' care if other moms are doing cooler crafts, activities with their kids. They still think that whatever I do with them is the best. No matter what it is. Well, most of the time anyway :)

Just being there with them is enough right? I mean, actually being there. In the moment. That's what important, not what we are doing. But that I am there, totally there with them. (dont get me wrong, I'm not there all the time. There are many times my head is somewhere else...but I try...I try. I should try some more).

If I didn't have my kids... then I would really feel lost. Like whatever job I was doing wasn't as important as being a mother. I would long for dirty floors and hectic days filled with the noises of toddlers running around. I would long for something with real importance in my life, raising a family, not whatever job I would have. That would go out the window. I would be teaching, but I know the whole time I would thinking I dont' want to only be helping these other kids, I want my own kids to help. And I would give anything to be at home with my children.

I am thankful for my gift of motherhood. That I get to experience this. Because, this too will pass, and I will long once again for the days of two little toddlers running around my house. When they are grown and out every night with their friends instead of asking to snuggle on the couch , making something of themselves instead of crafts at home, having fun with friends and not with me, I will long for these days.

I dont' want to get so caught up in the little things that dont' matter (uh hum, four candle lights) and forget about the million of little things that do matter. It's always the little things. The "I love you Mommy" all throughout the day for no reason. The little kid laughs. The non-stop questions about the world. The climbing up on my lap. The snuggles, the hugs, the smiles, the remarks, and on and on.

I've got two of my own little things that matter more than anything in the world. I love my Sadie, my Bryer.

I love that I had to buy four candle lights. That I don't have four perfect candles in my window. It's perfect having one candle broken at all times. Wouldn't have it any other way.

(I'll probably cry when my kids are older and I do have four perfect candles in my windows)

Tree Hunting

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas tree hunting circa 2008. A little 16 month old girl held her daddy's hand as they searched for a tree.

Skip forward three years. A four year old preschooler follows next to daddy. Sniff sniff.

This warm weather was kinda nice for walking around in the afternoon. I overdressed the kids as mid 60's doesn't' warrant a warm hoodie. But it was a good time. No pee accidents to walk around in in the freezing cold = a great experience for all.

Fake hug time!
No pee= sitting on Santa's lap this year. And perfect smiles to boot. And what does she ask Santa for? A giant doll house. First I have heard her ask for this. Sorry Sadie, Santa might disappoint this year. Think a new bike will do?

Thanks for interupting

2011-11-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a blast at my mom's house this year. We always play family games and this time was no different. Brett bought a new game, The Resistance, and no one was excited about it. Kind of rolled our eyes, smiled, and said nice things to make Brett feel okay about his game choice. By the end of the game, we had all lost our voices (and by all, I mean me). The phrase "excuse me" doesn't exist at family functions. Whoever talks the loudest gets heard. End of story. My vocal chords are in pain. They hate me for my persistence in trying to be heard over 8 other people. I literally yelled as loud as I could at times to be heard. The Resistance won. We liked the game...as proof of our weak voices. Nice Brett, nice.

What I am most thankful for is my kids playing without me for most of the day! Say what?! Ya baby. Sadie always runs off playing with her cuz Isabelle. I never have to worry about her. Bryer usually is attached to my leg or whining or needs something. Not this Thanksgiving. He actually played with his cousins, didn't cry when he saw my mom, and entertained himself. This is all I could ask for!

And now some pictures to remember.

Chilling outside. Waiting to get some family pics. Hopefully got some for our Christmas card.
Taking charge.
Uncle Jer.
Aunt Jacqui and her newest, Abigail.
Momma and Sadie-bean. Don't' know why this girl is so camera shy. She hates having her pic taken. No bribery will work.
Unless she doesn't know her pic is being taken. Ha Ha Ha (loud booming voice).
Bryer buddy.
A great picture of all five grand kids. You can't even see Jacqui in the back holding Abigail up. And two kids are smiling! That is a victory.
This is Sadie's signature hat. Which I love. Why you ask? Because I made this for her last year and she never takes it off. She wears it with every outfit. She wore it in 85 degree heat. She wore it in her preschool picture. She wore it till it unraveled and I had to fix it.
Uncle Jon Jon.

Who babysat my two kiddos last week and did a great job! He may or may not have put Bryer's diaper on backwards, but they were both happy, fed, and healthy when I got home. So that's another win. Thanks Uncle Jon Jon.

Halloween 5

2011-10-31T19:10:00.001-07:00

Arrrr! Give me your bounty!
My girl is one creative chick. She wanted to be a pirate princess for Halloween. Stinkin' cute! She wanted the eye patch, the sword, the hat, the scar and a pretty princess dress. She knows how to rock it. Although this is after three costume change ideas...this was her first idea, then she went on to a purple unicorn, then a pink sparkly superhero, and then back to pirate princess. Don't ask your kids 6 weeks in advance what they want...it didnt' help me out at all.

Bryer got the privilege of being a skeleton. Creative? We just happen to have these pj's and it fit pretty well with a pirate princess so there you have it. He even let us hold him down kicking and screaming, wiggling all over the place, to put makeup on his face. Nice kid :) It was worth it! Another cute one.

This is one of Sadie's good friend, Madison. They love trick or treating together! They left Bryer and Madison's little brother in the dust. This was a fun year going out. We actually hit more than 5 houses! Unfortunately I always under dress my kids. I am sure they were cold. But I heard no complaints. Bryer loved running around and shoving perfectly good wrapped candy in his mouth all night. I think the excitement and running kept them warm enough.
Waiting at a house with a bunch of random kids...these people ran out of candy and didn't even answer their door. They flashed their lights at us. I guess the kids got a trick.
Score.

White October

2011-10-31T18:54:00.000-07:00

not really liking the fall trees with snow. somewhat depressing. bring back my beautiful crisp fall air and scenery!!

i will not make it if this is what is coming for the next 5 months!

( although if i have a puppy to look forward i will have some hope ;)

last year her coat was too big. this year = perfect. props to mom. i'm glad i just happened to buy them snowsuits. didn't know how lucky i was. except Sadie had no boots yet, so she wore her rain boots. and guess what? they work perfect! she loved it and said her feet were warm the whole time. score. no need to buy snow boots for her this year!
hallowed snowman. more time and this big boy would have been more decked out! a vampire? a homeless snowman? endless...
there's no stopping the puff ball look. is this what i look like all dresses up, lol? rhetorical.

at least they can move around fine. the biggest problems is the gloves. they always slide off a little or get soaked or they can't grab their shovels. once that is solved we will be golden!

so far the kids love the snow. last year, well for both of their entire existence's, they have both only lasted about 5 minutes in the snow. this time you couldn't drag them in with hopes of hot chocolate.
it was fun. for a one time thing.

Websters Dictionary

2011-10-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cuteness:

Much more our style!

2011-10-16T11:40:00.001-07:00

This was fun. Fall festivals are always fun.

Big hay towers to climb.

Sadie hauled herself up each huge haystack and jumped down the entire tower all by herself.
Very proud smile.
Another hit. Barrel train rides. The train went out of our view but thankfully Bryer sat the whole time. Didnt' need any stitches from a last minute ditch.
Slides, slides everywhere.
Ah, a really fun great family day!

CA bound

2011-10-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

And we're back..... (thank goodness). Funny thing, kids. You spend so much time worrying about one thing. And that one thing ends up being nothing, nothing at all to worry about. It was EVERYTHING else I should have been worrying, stressing, losing sleep over, dreading....ah.

The flight. That was the one thing I was really concerned about. I mean, how was I going to expect Bryer to sit through 7 hours on a plane ride (not to mention the hour car ride to get the airport...oh oh...or the time strapped in the stroller as we walked all over the airport). He's a boy. He needs to run, jump, and basically reek havoc.

So being the prepared mom I am; I had a backpack for each child on the plane. Sadie's being so heavy she fell backwards when I put it on her. Anyway, each pack was loaded with new toys/gadgets/wrapped gifts/snacks/dvd's/coloring to get us through the flight. And I had a whole new slew of toys/gifts/snacks for the way home. There was no way these kids were getting bored on the plane ride. What would I do if Bryer through a tantrum on the flight? I would be stuck. NO WHERE TO GO! No where to spank him, yell at him... lol. Maybe in the tiny bathroom? Where everyone would hear me anyway?

Well, after all the wasted time worrying about the plane ride, that was the easiest part of the trip!! Seriously. Seriously seriously. No need to speak for Sadie. She is four and was fine on the flights, the lay overs...the everything. Bryer did aw- to the -awesomeness. Better than I expected. (just what Brett expected). A few times of crying here and there but no meltdowns. No one yelling at us on the plane to shut our kids up. No death threatening stares from anyone. Yay! (cut throwing my hands in the air and shaking around a little).

So now that you have read all that...I would go on the plane in a heartbeat compared to our stay in CA. That was supposed to be the easier part. Nope.

Again, the thing I worried about was getting Bryer to sleep in a strange place. No prob-lamo. He went right to sleep in the pack n play for naps and night without a fuss. Most of the time. lol.

What I should've been worried about was our entire stay in CA. We already knew what a pain in the a** Bryer is at restaurants. He didnt' let us down there. But what we didn't' expect was the constant abuse he gave to his cousin Adarra (also 1 1/2). It was hit after hit after hit...after hit. Push after push. And tantrum after tantrum. Time out after time out. Spank after spank.

Brett and I were so drained at the end of each day from Bryer buns. You would think this kid runs around Scot free everyday with no repercussions for his actions. It was embarrassing and frustrating. I couldn't wait to go home. And boy, is it different now that we are back home. I forgot what Bryer was like. He plays by himself, no hitting (well not nearly as much), and all around so much much much better. It just goes to prove our point, we are not meant to live in CA, sorry Bradd and Heather! PA to the end..(fist pound on the chest).

There is nothing like coming home :)

I love PA. I love the roads, the scenery, the crisp air, the country, and most of all my PA kids!

Notice I dont' really say anything about Sadie. That's a good thing. She was a good kid!

Anyways, that all being recorded down, we had a great time seeing Bradd, Heather, Taytum, Kaelan, and Adarra. And their new pup they bought when we were there...(only to hear it crying all night long...after finally getting the kids to stop waking up at 4:30am from the time change). It was a sleep deprived trip for sure. After the kids were in bed every night, that was when we really enjoyed our stay, lol.

On a good note, swimming and sitting in the hot tub was great. The beach was great. The kids loved it! And playing outside at the park was nice too.

Disney Land~ not so much.

So I leave the blogging world with some pictures that look like we had a great stay there, lol.

Disney Land.
Sadie's favorite part. ~She rocked her glasses all day~
Playin' at the park. Awesome views!

Kaelan~ soccer star~
Bryer's fav part by far. Throwing sand with Adarra in the water, over and over and over. And in his hair, down his diaper...you name it.

Oh Taytum. Your expressions are getting so old already. lol.
#4 on the way.

Dear CA family,

We will see you again. Maybe not real soon. Maybe not for long. But when the new little comes, and Bryer has grown up (way way up) we will return.

Don't wait up for us.

Love,

Your PA lovin' fam.

Old Dirty Bashters

2011-09-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

Our first mud run. Shall we say... awesome? Yes, yes I think we will. So glad I talked Brett into doing this with me. I read somewhere that married couples who experience new things together are happier. So I was just trying to keep us happy, ya know? Brett had some suggestions of new "things" we could try...but I will spare you.

Our neighbors, a few years older than us, could have smoked us on this run. 3 miles. Not too long. But hard. The obstacles actually weren't bad, but the running, oh the running...let's just say we are not runners. I thought for sure, for sure, my knees would punish me on this. As they did on a 5K walk...but nope. Alieve, a few prayers, and a dirt trail seem to make all the difference. Sorry to say I can't say the same for Brett. His knees yelled at him, and he twisted one on the run. But he kept going and finished with us. Trooper.

Our neighbors, the Burtons, took us on this adventure. They are mud run elites. They have done a 10 mile run, which we will happily decline. 3 is good. Anyway, they brought along a family member to take pics of this glorious event. Nice.

It was slightly cool on the run and mud was cold, the water we walked through was cold, and most importantly the fire hose that sprays you down at the end was cold! Ya baby.

It was a great great day. Great memories, and hey, I improved my marriage with a new experience together. Score.

Enough talk. Time to look at us in action.

Group shot: SEXY LEGS

Group shot: GOOD ONE
Group shot: MUSCLES
And we're off...
Tire run. Legs lifts. Thanking Tony Horton: P90X.
Pure sweetness. Who touched me?
Up top. Scaling 4 military transports.
Wading across sub-zero water. Oh this brings back memories (mission impossible at Calvary anyone?)
Half-way. Brettster and I keeping it up.
Getting down and dirty.
He loved it.
UP and over. Thanks for the push Dan. The UP side of the wall is all flat. No way I would make it on my own. Brett did though. Good man. The down side has steps for you as you can see. I did bruise my ribs here.
The finale. Slip and slide.

Some shots were missed. Such as a pitch black tunnel 30 feet long under ground we had to crawl under. Or the huge haystack we had to climb. Or the many many hurdles we had to jump. But you get the idea. Who's coming next time?

Jer, you missed out!

Side note.....this was the Big BAsh Obstacle Mud Run. And our neighbors created our awesome team name: The Old Dirty Bashters :) Again, sweetness.

To Pre- School she goes.

2011-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

It was all excitement on Weds Sept 7th at the Fisher household. First Day of Pre-School! Our church has a pre-school where we wanted to send Sadie, admittedly more for her social needs rather than academic. This girl can't get enough interaction! So three days a week she goes to Lakeside for a few hours of socializing and learning (hopefully). And three days a week Bryer and I get some one on one time (or I get some peace and quite time). Either way, it's a win.

Apparently you really have to write hard on chalkboards... believe it or not this is bright pink chalk which was bright as day...to the normal eye.
It was a beautiful rainy day that day. Perfect.

-Bryer give Sadie a hug good-bye

-I'll get him Mom! Bryer come here!
-Give me a hug Bryer!
-Here Mom. You happy now!
At school. So happy!
Hanging up her backpack. She couldn't wait to start school and barely said good-bye to me. She was on her way!

And no tears here. I had no problem dropping her off and leaving for a few hours! One child down, one more to go!!

(Ask me next year how I handle it when my little 5 year old gets on the big yellow bus all by herself :(

Longwood virgins no more...

2011-09-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

That's right. We finally took our very FIRST visit to Longwood Gardens. Awesome-ness I tell ya. Don't' know why we haven't gone before (maybe the hour drive is the deterrent).

Anyway, we weren't completely prepared. I brought my camera along with my huge purse...which I had to carry with me while trying to takes pics of running kids, my running kids, amongst the million other running kids. Next time, no purse. And a picnic lunch. Save my huge purse from paying a huge fortune for a not so appetizing ritzy lunch. Yuck. Pb$J would've been just perfect for us.

But we had a great time regardless. Bryer and Sadie loved the kids water area. Who doesn't'?

Bryer would've been fine staying there the entire time.

There second fav place? The topiary garden. I felt like my kids were in the Secret Garden.

Here they are trying to find a way into the bushes...

Found a way...I wondered as I stared and took pictures of them if it was against the rules? I laughed and took more pics anyway. No one said anything, so we were good right?

They ran and ran and played chase and laughed and bothered other kids. It was great. I love when they get to stretch their legs. I chased a little bit too, but my huge purse sitting in the stroller kept me from chasing too far as I always had one eye glued to it. Again, no purse next time.

Thanks Groupon.

diRTy thiRTy

2011-08-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

So it begins...the 'adult' stage of my life. Oh wait, did that start already? Married, kids, mortgage...maybe it did. But either way, I have officially crossed over from my young 20's to my middle aged 30's. How does it feel you ask? Freakin awesome!! Seriously! I love it...so far.

I am exactly where I want to be in life at 30. Like I said, married (for 7 years!), two kids (and done baby!), a house, and so on. I feel great.

I get to look forward to my awesome 30's of raising my babies, starting school and the whole homeroom mom thing, sports, family vacations (where the kids can actually do stuff), and basically just relaxing into my mom/wife role. I mean in my 20's there were so many changes....graduate college, get married, get pregnant, dealing with newborns, buying a house, decorating a house...lots of changes. 30's should be more relaxing, right?

Anyway, if my birthday week was any foreshadowing of what's to come, I'm gonna love the next ten years. I had the best time with my bestest girlfriends for a whole two days! I miss them so much already! We went to a fantastic B&B in Hershey. No kids..no hubs. Awesome I tell ya. We talked, we laughed, we shared, we laughed, we had a few drinks, we tried to take some shots, we laughed, we were just 'us' and it rocked. Here is the B&B.

We stayed in the Carriage House to the left here. All to ourselves. Ya, we did it up.

I forget how many acres this place had...I think it was like 35 or something. And they had 22 horses just roaming about. A few dogs...cats. You could even help feed the horses if you wanted...but 7:30 in the morning wasn't agreeing with any of us.

They even had special parking for us. Sweet.
Some of our 'drinking' good times fun. We try, we really do. Even poor Lara tried...even had to pump and dump her precious baby milk. She was a real trooper.

Ya, we drink the hard stuff.
Of course I was the only one to bring a little class to the show.
We also spent a day at Hershey Park where the weather was perfect...It only rained during lunch, which is when we decided it was time for an ice cream break anyway. We were told by some strange men at the ice cream parlor that we didn't' look 30, and that there was no way we had 5 kids between us...they also told us they thought we were a bunch of softball girls (not taken as a compliment, by any of us, lol).

The lines at Hershey were short and we flew through the rides. Went to chocolate world and bought out the store. Hopefully walked off 1/4 of the calories we ate. Don't have any pictures of Hershey.

We didn't have our cameras in the park so we bought a very reasonably priced picture of us. You would think by this pic we were headed down a horrific hill. If you could have seen it, you would be saddened by how small it was and how scared poor Lara looks. It was so funny. It was one of the only rides that scared her...and it was so small. I think me and Nancy were just laughing at her.

Before we left we went to Hershey Spa and got a relaxing chocolate sweet feet pedicure. Seriously the perfect get away. So turning 30 wasn't bad at all. Having someone rub and scrub your feet to perfection = nice.

Nancy got red of some sort. Lara went surprisingly with a flashy sparkly stripper red, and I went with good ol' coral. Decisions, decisions.
Oh so flattering robes.
Cute booties we got to wear.
I also...I've said that a lot this post, "also".....got to go to The Cheesecake Factory with Brett and the kids and then my family took me out to dinner as well. So I might have gained 30 pounds this week...but well worth it. So do we both look 30? I think we still look 29.

Yup, I threw out the peace sign. I must be getting old.

I have so many great memories of my birthday bash. We were actually celebrating all of us girls turning 30 this year. I miss them already! Can't wait till my 31st bday bash.

So missed Kari and Becca!!!! Next time girls, for sure.

Early Birthday Fun

2011-08-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

It's so easy snapping pics when you have nothing else to do. I give props to anyone who shoots good (not a blurry mess....someone actually in the picture)pictures when they have twenty million other things going on. This scene is BEFORE the party began. Just me and my daughter spending some quite time together. No one else around. Peaceful. It gets harder and harder to spend time with just her. To really soak her up and enjoy her. I miss our alone time. I need to make more of an effort to have dates with her this year. I mean, she is 4 already (well, in a few more days)!
And the chaos begins...
Can't you just see Bryer saying, "not another Barbie gift..."
It's so easy to please kids and make them happy. I love the overly-excited-kid-squeals from the simplest things. What if adults reacted like this every time we got something from someone...ah, we lose it somewhere along the line.
Pink was the theme...along with princess. IF we have another lake bday. I will be sure to skip this part. And to re-read this post to remember NOT to do this! No bringing cute pink serving dishes, no bringing many balloons, no making cute little tags for the food and princess decorations. The wind, the flies...they ruin it all.
As I said earlier, pics are easy when there is nothing else to do. Here I am just catching the pic, as others have already snapped away while I was busy doing other party duties, and missed this picture opportunity. So alas, I get what I can get....which is nothing. Hopefully others did.

Time to hit the lake.

"CHEESE"

Happy "almost" 4th birthday Sadie bean.

100 and counting

2011-07-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

What we did when the heat kept climbing, the humidity kept thickening, and the rain kept drought-ing.

1. 7am dandelion picking

2. Paint....tried and true

(ate paint)

3. Cool down

Summer Summer Summer time! Time to sit back and unwind...

2011-07-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

So I know. Summer is flying by. I mean flying this year. Weren't we just waiting for it to finally warm up after a long-a** winter, and now we've been kickin' it in the heat for months. The Fishers' have been completely livin' it up this summer. Boating just about every weekend. It's seriously, seriously, some serious fun. It's not too hard having fun with the hubs, the kids, and my sibs every weekend. It's not hard to blow through money either....sheesh, between eating every Sat night with everyone from the boat and then the gas, oh the gas for the boat. Ya, that's no fun. But the memories are more than worth it.

I'm sure Sadie will always remember Uncle Jer climbing the cliff and diving off. Well, jumping off technically.(don't mind the green water or leaves floating around..hey, it's lake, it's nature)

Or learning to swim with Daddy.

Mema and Steve were there to witness the miraculous feat of Sadie actually floating around, aka: swimming, in the water all by herself. Rewind to the beginning of this summer (and all of last year) when Sadie wouldn't even get in the lake...and now she literally wants to swim for hours upon glorious hours. As soon as we get out of the water to eat, heat up a little, enjoy the peaceful boat, she asks when we can get back in to swim. It's all good though. Better than her sitting alone on the boat while we swim away.

Bryer loves the lake too. Anytime we get in, he wants in. He hates missing the action.

Oh, and my mom and Steve rocked the tube. Well Steve did. Brett tried to knock him off, it didn't work.
My mom? Ya, we went about 10 miles an hour with her (slow) as she screamed the whole way and bounced along on the tube. No throwing mom off.

We took an adventure with our boat to the Chesapeake. Wow. The swells were two feet and rocking the boat like no tomorrow. At first we all loved it. And by we I mean me, Brett, Jer, Jonathan, Julie...somewhat Sadie. The water splashing onto the boat and soaking us and we pounded into wave after wave. It was great. Our own water ride. Fast forward a couple hours. Sadie " I'm not happy anymore"

Jonathan "Get me off this ride!"

Brett " We are out of gas"

It was a little rough that day. But somehow the boys still managed to wake board through it all. Brett, Jer, and Jonathan have come quite far from not being able to get up at all for weeks on end to now doing some jumps (you know, slightly lifting their boards off the water and calling it a jump). Hey, they love it and it's fun to watch, now that they get up.I am happy enough sticking to tubing and swimming.

We are still working up the courage to use "the" rope swing. At our lake there is this huge rope swing high in the air off a cliff that has teens lined up to use it continuously. We really want to. When is the last time you got to jump off a rope swing like a little kid on a hot summer day? Not since I was a little kid. But, and this is a big but. A few weeks ago a teen, who didn't know how to swim, decided to jump off the rope swing and drown. So...needless to say we are not throwing ourselves in line to jump off a rope swing into that water that just housed a deceased person. Kinda creepy. But if we do, I'll be sure to post pics.

Oh ya...Brett and I also took a little trip to see U2! His Christmas present arrived at last ;) It was freakin' awesome!! I'm not a huge U2 fan (add booing and hissing here), but I had a blast at the concert. Best concert I've ever been too. Not that that is saying much considering my list of concerts consists of (in order from worst to best) N'Sync, John Mayer, and U2. Ya, U2 hands down.

http://www.u2.com/gigapixelfancam/110714/2244374-brett-fisher

So all in all I'm done blabbing now. Just needed to blog our endless summer of fun...so far.

flowers girls and goggles

2011-07-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sadie and her cousin, Isabelle, were flower girls at my Dad's wedding last weekend. And to every one's surprise they did an AWESOME job. Seriously, my girl hates being the center of attention so I thought for sure, for sure, she was going to scream and cry and not even walk down the isle. (I also had my money on the bride doing the same thing...haha...joke, joke).

But Sadie and Isabelle both walked down together and daintily threw flowers petals along the way, topping it off at the end of the isle by dumping the rest of their flowers on the floor. Cuteness.

And this, this is more cute I think ;) I l-o-v-e it! Reminds me of the geeky kid from The Sandlot for some reason? You know, the really skinny kid with the glasses. I can't stop laughing when I see these pics. They must be forever blogged in my memory! I tried getting a cute pic of her with her goggles on (which she absolutely loved) but I got about twenty different types of these expressions. And I love them more! This is from our 4th of July family picnic.
I'll throw in one "real" cute pic here too...ah, my handsome, handsome boy!

Roughing it

2011-06-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

To Knoebels we went...

Camping we did...

Fun we had.

Next time? There might never be a next time :)

Thanks to Brett's parents for coming out one day to help us out at the park. Brett and I actually got to go on s0me water rides together. That was fun.

The park was fun. The kids LOVED it! Sadie has gotten so brave over the past year and went on rides all by herself. Big accomplishment here people!

In true Bryer fashion he didn't go to sleep till it was dark out, aka 9:30, and he woke with the sun, aka 5:45. Good times. Good times. Thankfully Brett slept next to squirmy Bryer all night while I laid peacefully next to Sadie.

Camping is way less relaxing with a baby in tow, but what is relaxing with a baby??

Ahhh, memories.

Oh, and that storm, ya that big storm hit us. Barely though. It was a flash storm with extremely loud thunder and lightning and high winds...for all of ten minutes. But in those ten minutes it managed to take out the power lines at Knoebels, knock over some trees, soak our sleeping bags (as we scrambled to close up our tent) and scare our children. Oh, and make dinner late :) What a storm.

All in all a good vacation with fun for all.

Now get me back on my boat :)

Butterfly Experiment

2011-06-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Buying a butterfly kit and watching them grow, cocoon, hatch ( right term?), and fly away is awesome and disgusting all rolled into one. I didn't realize how neat a cocoon looks up close. It has so many iridescent colors. When they hatch though...yuck. They wiggle out and red, blood-like fluid spews out on the netting cage they are in. Supposedly it's not blood...it's leftover caterpillar things and colors the butterfly's don't need. Yum.

The cocoons....the container the caterpillars come in has all the food they need. You literally do NOTHING.
Hatching time...they have been moved to their net cage thingy.

Release time....couldn't get a pic of them flying away. The suckers are fast.
Here is one in the grass.
I think I found it more interesting than Sadie did. But all in all it was fun. I tried to do something educational...tried :) Maybe next year we will hatch baby chicks!

BFF's

2011-05-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

**little Morby, little Taylor, little Walsh, little Fishers**

It's getting crazy getting together with my girlfriends. It's more about kid control than typical girl talk. This isn't even the whole gang. Two little trouble makers were missing in action. And...another is in the making! Like Kari, I'll gladly say 'NOT ME.'

Easter

2011-04-25T08:21:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful Easter! The storm held out just in time for us to get outside and find some eggs. It seems every year it doesn't get warm outside until Easter arrives. Last year Easter was the very beginning of April and it was warm right away...I remember very distinctly since I was fully pregnant and can recall wearing tank tops and Capri's. This year Easter was really late and it is just now getting warm outside. As I made this comment to my little bro, Jonathan, he made the very intellectual comment that God won't let it get nice outside till after Jesus comes back every year. Smart boy. There may be some truth to that.

Sadie loves going to Mema's house and especially seeing her best cuz Isabelle.

We were hard pressed to get a picture without them eating candy.

Sadie loved getting Uncle Jer wet from the stream. She loves her Uncle Jer.

Cutest 12 month old I know ;)

My newest niece, less than a week old, Abigail Anna. This will be the last niece/nephew until Jer, Jonathan, or Julie gets in the race.

Easter Egg adventures...

Happy Easter!

rain rain go away...

2011-04-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

we're running out of things to play...

she picked out the dress and shoes. good sense of matching! she has a little angelina jolie thing going on with the tatoo on her arm.

making crafts...

Bryer Andrew

2011-04-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

So to try and follow suit....I want to make a top ten list of what I will remember this first year of Bryer's life. Here was Sadie's list from a long ago post...

Sadie, what I'll always remember from this past year:
1.how hard you were to push out!
2.how daddy and I cried and were so ecstatic when you were born
3.acid reflux is no joke and Prevacid is a wonder drug
4.how beautiful I thought you were everyday of your life
5.how much better my life is because of you
6.you take a lot of my energy and time (and I mean a LOT)... I couldn't imagine giving it to anything more important
7.you fulfilled my dream of being a mother
8.it does get easier
9.every time I blink you change
10.I love you

BRYER, what I will always remember from your first twelve months:

1. How easy it was to push you out. I cheated. I felt nothing and it was great!
2. How Daddy and I didn't' cry when you were born. I almost, almost had a tear, but it never came.
3. I knew you were gonna have acid reflux. You did. I figured it out much quicker then I did with your sister and we beat it together.
4. How I thought you were bald and fat at first...but came to find out how handsome you were...are. You are so handsome I can't stand it anymore!
5. How much better my life is with you and how you complete our family. You make me stop and play everyday, stop from getting too wrapped up in the un-important things (like cleaning).
6. You take a lot more of my precious energy. But again, is there anything more important?
7. You fulfilled my dream of being a mother. I may have wanted another girl, but God knew I NEEDED you! I can't imagine not having my precious little guy!
8. It does get easier....each month that passes is an award winning achievement in my book.
9.You change so fast. I can't keep up. I love it though!
10. I love you!

....some extras...
you love to hug
you love love love your daddy you are a man baby.
you much prefer any man to hold you over a woman (daddy says it's cuz your around two crazy women all day)
you are a better,much better eater than Sadie

Bryer's Birthday Bash

2011-04-12T12:38:00.001-07:00

The theme for Bryer's was easy. Phineas and Ferb. It's his favorite favorite show. Anytime he is fussy, pop on P&F and he sits content for the entire show. Phineas and Ferb= lifer saver for mommy. Of course I HAD to make him a Phineas and Ferb cake. It's there fenced in backyard with the tree they always sit under. Basic, but it got the job done. I also made it half chocolate and half vanilla, a task I had never done before and have no idea why, it's genius! Bryer got his own little monster cupcake to chow down on. As you can see, at first he wasn't so excited. First bite... And the rest was history... Chillin' with Mema. A bat made for 4 year olds from Grandpa. He loves it. Yay, a family pic! And this was a dancing party...with a side of Bryer's first B-Day. My Dad got into it... Steve got into it... Even my Mom got into it...

But the award for the night goes to my old man. This one's for you Dad :)

In case you were all wondering where I got my sweet moves from...you've now seen.

Don't worry. Sadie and Isabelle got in on the fun too. They were dancing to the game in the playroom all by themselves. It was really cute.

Good times :)

45 minutes

2011-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

The loud bang of the toilet seat slamming shut woke me from my restful nap. I already knew it was Sadie. She is constantly letting the toilet seat slam when she's done. I don't get up from the couch, where I was peacefully napping a few seconds ago. I can see her little shadow running around the house, up the stairs, and back down to bathroom. I pull myself from my comfy spot to check on what trouble is going on. I am so not glad I did this.
It's everywhere. EV-ERY-WHERE! The walls, the floor, the carpet... it even makes a trail up the steps. I can't believe my eyes. How did Sadie possibly have this much diarrhea? Where did it all come from and how did she manage to get it, literally, everywhere? She even slipped all over it in the bathroom. I can see the feet sliding marks on the floor. For some reason though, I can't smell it. Strange.
Sadie is naked at this point. I decide to let her stay that way and start wiping up the floor. I notice water puddled on the floor, thinking it must be Sadie trying to clean up after herself, I start to wipe up the water too. Until I see water leaking out of the bathroom wall. Really strange, and worrisome. From the ceiling to the floor there is a stream of water dripping down in the bathroom. I touch the wall and notice it's very wet and soft. Water is ruining our wall and the floor! What is going on? And why am I still not napping? Ahh.
A little light bulb goes off in my head, after what seems like minutes. There must be a busted pipe in the wall. Thank goodness Bryer is napping through all of this. I run as fast as my 29 year old legs can carry me down to the basement storage, where our water tank is. I needed to turn off our water. Not that I know how to do this. I've never done it before, but I thought I could figure it out in a pinch.
As I throw open the storage door a bright flashlight is pointed at me. I freeze. A strange man is standing there holding a flashlight in my face, another man is behind him, he tells me, "It's about time you got here."
My heart is pounding. This is my worst nightmare. A burglar in the house. I am thanking God the kids are upstairs and praying Sadie doesn't come down.
The strange man asks me where something is...I can't remember what he asked for, something he was trying to steal. I tell him it's in our backyard and he seems to believe me. I run out our walkout basement door, thank goodness we had one, and see my neighbors mother outside with her grand kids. I yell to her to call 911 and turn around just in time to see the men come outside. Somehow they didn't hear me yell for help. I try to act like everything is okay. We talk a little as I try to distract the men from my neighbors and seconds later I hear the police siren. My heart, which hasn't stop racing, begins to skip beats as I haul ass to my front yard. I run into the cop car and throw my arms around the police officer. I can't stop saying thank you, thank you, thank you over and over and over again. I can't believe how fast they got there.
I don't seem to find it weird at all that the police officer is a bear. I mean a real bear. He walks on two feet and moves like a human, but he's not. And his cub is with him. The burglars never come to the front yard so I lead the police to the basement door inside my house. The bear police man wants me to start walking down the basement steps, but I've seen movies and I'm no dummy. I make the bear police man walk down first. He starts to descend the stairs, followed by the cub bear and lastly me.
Then I hear Bryer crying. I wake up from my nap. My dream ends. Weird right?? This was all my dream in the 45 min nap I had while Bryer napped. I never dream anymore, let alone remember them, so I had to document this one. I have to say I was pretty scared in the dream and I think my heart was racing when I woke up, but I am so glad Bryer got up from his nap to stop this insane dream.

Franken-walker

2011-03-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

Bryer is starting to really take off now. He went from about 5-10 steps when Brett left for Ohio almost two weeks ago to walking across large rooms with no problem. Needless to say this delights me...yes, I said delights me. Now we can play outside, when it finally warms up, and I don't have to worry about muddy pant knees or scrapped up knees. Bryer will be walking away and that rocks. It's kind of sad that Brett missed some of this. But there is no holding the little guy back. He just wants to take off. I'm sure Bryer will be so proud to show off his new moves when Daddy comes home this week!

Bryer is our Frankenstein walker. He walks with his arms straight out in front of him and kind of pounds his heavy little feet as he slowly thumps along. So manly. Cracks me up!

Sadie was our tiptoe walker.
She walked on her tiptoes for awhile to the point I thought something might possibly be wrong...she walks just fine now :) So lady-like. She was our little ballerina.

I couldn't have asked for more of a girl or more of a boy. Each of my kids is just that, all girl, and all boy.

Nancy Pants Time

2011-03-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

So to take up some time while Brett's away on his torturous two week job...I threw the kids in the car and headed off to MD to see one of my bestest friends before she pops. I happened to only get pics when we went to the park on the cold and blustery March morning. This was quite an accomplishment. Nancy and I, and probably Chloe, froze our little, or big pregnancy, butts off. Lol! Jk Nancy...you look crazy good ;)

Justin is quite the little man climbing on everything! No fear little man! Except of Bryer, he screamed every time Bryer got near him, lol. It was the funniest thing. I guess he is kinda scary.

I got a new hand held digital camera which can apply a fish eye effect. I didn't use it too much, but snapped one pic, and I find it hilarious already! Something about Justin's body in this pic makes me laugh.

Bryer Bryer Bryer!! Slept great the first night in the pack and play...but night two, well there was no night two. What is the major malfunction here kid?? He was up at 1:30 basically until I got fed up and we all "woke up" at 7:30 in the morning. No matter what I did, hold him, walk him, let him cry....he just stayed up. I guess he is super hyper sensitive to new environments?? Not good anyway.

Hopefully the last pic of Miss Nancy Pants preggo! I tried my best to stress her out and push her into labor, but my best efforts weren't enough.

The Tire Dragon at the park. Neato.

A Homage to all my kick-ass momma friends

2011-03-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own. ~Aristotle
(lol, enough said)

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan
(for those of you who know me...this is the greatest act of love I could do)

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

Any mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease. ~Lisa Alther

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

(This is so beautiful. My Sadie and My Bryer will always be My babies, no matter what age they may be. Just as I am sure we are still our mama's babies)

It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

(so beautiful and so true...I just need to remind myself sometimes, lol)

fReSh aiR

2011-03-18T04:04:00.000-07:00

Finally we got outside for a good bit!! Ahhhh, it felt so good. No chilly air, no snow, no rain, just beautiful sunshine on our white little faces and a breath of fresh air in our dusty lungs. Loved it! Sadie has always always loved being outside since she was born, and Bryer is definitely following in his big sister's footsteps. He was as a happy as a newborn babe (although my newborn babes were never happy, lol)...the whole time we were outside. But boy did he cry when it was time to go in. I wonder how long he would stay out if I let him.

I have to say he is becoming stubborn. He took his first step about three weeks ago...and still isn't walking yet. He's up to about 5 steps on average, he's done a few long strides, like ten steps in a row; but just not interested anymore in walking. What? Not to compare, but to compare.... Sadie was walking one month after she took her first step. Bryer is starting to crawl to me when I am try to get him to walk. It's like he gave up, lol. I hate when babies crawl outside. Their knees get all beat up and the pants, oh the pants, that's what really gets me; destroying the cute, money eating pants I buy for them. Sigh. Come on Bryer, practice makes perfect!

I'm also looking for some tips here. What to do with Bryer's hair? How do I cut it?? I can't imagine him sitting still for a haircut from a professional, let alone from me. I know, I know, Mom haircuts are the best, but I can't. I have no idea how to cut boy hair. Just ask Jer. I tried a few times on him years ago and I think he had deep regrets about it, lol.

Saturday Night Pictures

2011-02-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

Daily Exercise

2011-02-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

http://youtu.be/uoC7N7y500U

Dedication, work-a-holism, determination, persistence, stubbornness...call it what you will. This is what we have been up to the past few days...all day. By choice of Bryer Boy, not me, that's for sure. The cries of frustration every time he hits a wall, or toy, or dead end persist until I redirect him. And believe me, this is only cute once, then it's an annoying torture. But his huge smile and squeals of delight somewhat make up for it. You just know he is thinking " how cool am I?" And truth be told, he is pretty cool ;)

Disney or Bust.....BUST

2011-02-18T16:30:00.000-08:00

This is me before vacation.
Home.
Happy.
Sledding with my boy.
Relaxed.
Well rested.

This is me during...and after our so-called vacation:
Why do we put ourselves through such torture with two young kids in tow? I mean, really...walking for hours upon hours each day, waiting in line after line and for what? Our kids enjoyment? You bet, and Sadie had a blast. The best time of her life so far I would bet. I have to give her praise as she was so stinkin' good the whole trip. Couldn't ask for a better kid on the plane, at the parks, or back at our rental place. I think my sweet girl is back and our horrible three year old has passed silently away.

Sadie had many highlights from the week.

Exhibit one:
Watching parades from Daddy's shoulders while waving at every single princess/character. She even got to see her favorite Disney character and was so thrilled. Maleficent. For those of you who aren't up on all the princess stories...she is the evil fairy from Sleeping beauty. Go figure. Sadie informs me as soon as we saw her...."See Mom! I told you Maleficent would be here!" With a big smile on her face.

Exhibit two:

She met Curious George. No fear, surprisingly. She gave high fives and enjoyed seeing the Disney characters.

Exhibit three:
She rocked the awesome playgrounds at Disney. Me and Brett went through the playgrounds with her. Let's just say, my knees aren't as good as they use to be. Ouch! Crawling through hard plastic tubes is a pain, literally!

Rocking her hot shades courtesy of Mom-Mom.

Notice the wonderful sunny skies? We had perfect weather; 70's and sunny everyday. God kept the rain from falling from the skies as the snot fell from our noses :)

Exhibit four:
Her second most favorite activity was the water park. This was day one at Disney, and day one of her cold.
She started her fever this day and runny nose. I was so worried the kids would get sick before we left, nope, they got sick while we were there. Must have been from that clean, sparkly, fresh, germ-free plane we flew over on. So what better way for Sadie to get better than run herself to exhaustion in water only to shiver from the chills afterwards? Ahhh...you can't win them all.

But like I said, even with her fever/cold/runny nose/sore throat...she was a trooper and never complained. She was having SO much fun in the water we just had to let her play in it.

Thankfully she got sick in the beginning of the week and it wasn't so bad. It dwindled fast as well. UN-thankfully Daddy got sick too....and Mommy a little. And then...Bryer. Uhhhh. Not fun at all. I'm the mom, so of course I am a trooper :) I won't speak for Brett, although he did better than usual. Poor Bryer stole a sip out of Sadie's cup one night, I had the horror of seeing it and not being able to stop it. I knew he was gonna get sick, and low and behold that night he started. A fever popped up. Runny nose. The worst was the sleep, or lack of it. He was up a few times the first night and then up at 5:30am for the day. I could handle that. We still went to the parks and walked around all day. Then he was up a few times the next night, but he also woke up at 1am until 3:30am and then was up at 5am for the day. I was starting to really feel it, and my sick body wasn't too happy either. The next night, basically a repeat. The last and final night, oh my, basically an all nighter! He was up a few times until 1:30am, then he was up from 1:30 until 3:45am! He fell asleep till 4:30 and then was up altogether!! We had our flight home that morning. So I went from 1:30am straight into our flight home. Thank God that was the end of our vacation. I had enough vacation for one week.

I managed to get a few shots of Bryer through the week. Not so easy when you are juggling two strollers, a backpack that constantly gets disorganized, two kids constantly needing something...and so on and so on. Snapping a pic here and there is a real task.

Here are Bryer and Daddy at the shark tank. We walked through a glass tunnel while sharks and fish swam all around us. Pretty stinkin' neat. Not too many smiles from our tired boy for our pictures though. (and by tired boy, I mean Bryer)
Walking through Disney to see a show. I wish I brought a counter to see how many steps I took this week.

Waiting for Sadie and Daddy to defeat Zurg from Toy Story. Bryer did a lot of waiting.

I kept wondering if he had an ear infection keeping him up ALL night. But he never pulled his ears or screamed when I layed him down. So we rolled with it. We all must have had the same thing. Plus sore throats on top. Ya!
So to conclude this part of the story; I did take Bryer to the doc when we got home. He in fact did have an ear infection. I did in fact did take him a plane with an ear infection!!! I can't believe he didn't scream. Due to his lack of sleep he pretty much slept the entire plane ride home; despite the family from hell behind us whose kids threw trash at us, and a bottle which hit Bryer in the head. Those kids were a screaming, yelling mess which meant Brett and I weren't getting any sleep on that flight. Thanks irresponsible parents.

To end our vacation on a high note, Sadie got to meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. It was our last day at Disney and her most favorite activity! And oh her hair...Sadie's I mean. I was trying to fix it, I got one side done when Bryer fell and hit his head so I had to leave with him for awhile to soothe him. By time I got back it was Sadie's turn to meet Rapunzel and I never got to fix the other side of her hair. Of course Daddy would never think about her hair or how it looks so he didn't fix it. So we got what we got in her pictures. I guess that's part of growing up, having disheveled hair pics. At least she was smiling!! A huge feat!

Rapunzel and Flynn put on a little show and the kids got to color and sing and all kinds of cool stuff. They toke time with each kid to talk to them and take pictures. Sadie loved it. She slapped Rapunzel high five and you could just see the excitement inside her. It was great. And the actors were awesome! So nice and talkative. I guess Disney only hires the best!

So all in all it was a long and exhausting vacation that was totally worth it for Sadie. Maybe next time we will leave the kids at home and go to a secluded beach. Who wants to watch our little angels?? Anyone? Anyone?

The Big and Little of it.

2011-02-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

My, my, my...It really is funny how different your own two kids can be. I mean, they both came from the same genes, the same mother, the same father ( I think ;) but Sadie is so incredibly smaller than Bryer! Here's what I mean;

I took Bryer to his 9 month appt today, granted he is almost ten months but whatever. He weighs 20 lbs 15 oz. He feels heavy to me, but he is only 50% for weight. Now Sadie, Sadie didn't reach 20 lbs until she was a year and a half old!! Twice Bryer's age.

They were both in the 90% for height though.

I decided to do some measurements of my own, for fun you know? I was thinking I could just barley wrap my fingers around Bryer's thigh, and I could just barely wrap my fingers around Sadie's thigh. I thought, no way. It can't be.

Well, it can be.

I measured.

The proof:

Bryer's 9 month old thigh is 10 1/4 inches.
Sadie's 3 1/2 year old thigh is.....wait for it....10 1/4 inches!!!!

Seriously?

Bryer's 9 month old arm is 6 1/2 inches.
Sadie's 3 1/2 year old arm is 5 1/4 inches!!!

The girl is seriously watching her figure!

Look closely, you can see her ribs. You would think we starve this child. And yes, you can hardly see her little hiney, because she has no hiney. What can I say? She is her mother's daughter. Bryer? Not a chance that you would see his ribs with how much this kid eats! He eats the same amount as Sadie, and then finishes her food! I have to say, I do cut him off...sometimes. I think he might never stop. I don't know what he is trying to prove.
And his little thighs!! They are so thick and muscular! Where does a 9 month old get muscles from?
It was hard getting this pic...two kids are impossible to get any picture with! Bryer kept squeezing his tush! I have no idea why. It's half way squeezed here, but good enough.

And as far as Sadie's weight goes...she is currently 30 1/2 lbs. Which makes her exactly ten pounds heavier then her baby brother. I predict very, very, very ,very soon he will over take her.

Other interesting facts...Bryer's new favorite spot.
He loves going under the kitchen table. He has learned to watch his head and maneuver around. I don't get the excitement of it.
I tell everyone we don't need a dog. We already have one. Bryer comes when I call him, eats all the crumbs (and other objects, such as lint and hairballs) off the floor, and now hangs out under the table. Oh, and when he crawls people say he looks like a bulldog. He puts his head down, so he is looking at the ground, his arms and shoulders are out to the side, like a bulldog's, and he speed crawls along. What is in his DNA?

Now if I can just get him to bark...

Alone time...

2011-01-28T04:44:00.000-08:00

The only time I get left in peace. Sometimes I just sit in here with my computer for ten minutes so I can have some quiet.

Maybe I should get this for my bathroom...

You wouldn't believe how many disturbing toilet pictures are online. Some are really funny, but others might find offensive; I restrained myself from posting.

Ice cream anyone?

We asked for it...

2011-01-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

We wanted snow. We wanted to run around, build snowmen, throw snowballs, and drink hot chocolate. We got it. And got it. And got it. Please go away now snow. I'm ready for spring.
The worst part, when it snows an inch or so the plow comes right away down our road. When it snows a ton, the plow forgets about us, always. So while yesterday all the major roads were cleared we were stuck at home with over a foot of snow still laying on our road. The plow guy forgot us, literally. Our neighbors called at least four times and one even drove by the plow place to make them come over. It worked. They finally plowed late last night. Just in time for the snow today and tomorrow!

Of course I had to put Bryer in the snow for his first real experience.
He loved it. Flapping his arms and everything! Laughing, smiling.

Then he tried to crawl. The laughter stopped. Smiles turned into frowns. At least he got to feel the snow. And he's so easy to get ready to take out. All I have to do is slip him into this one piece outfit, zip it up, and away we go. Not so much for Sadie and me. Takes at least ten minutes of getting ready, all for ten minutes of playing. And we did this twice yesterday! Ya, I dressed us all up twice and we played outside for ten minutes each just to come in and get all undressed, again. So not worth it...at least we got hot chocolate, twice.

Sadie is more into the snow this year than last year. As you can see, nothing is gonna stop her from pushing her stroller, not even a little snow.

We also had a fun snowball fight with Daddy. Daddy got taken down. I gotta teach my girl how to defend herself, right?

Now we are all tired of the snow and dying to get out. I can only take so much of being stuck at home. We're gonna turn into The Shining over here. Please send help.

Mr. Handsome

2011-01-26T03:55:00.000-08:00

And his mom's not too bad either...she's just missing a head.

Monkey Love

2011-01-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

A little mommy gift for my babies. I love it, if I do say so myself. It's so fun learning to knit something new...or something besides a hat, lol. I decided to make monkeys for my kids that they can hopefully keep forever. We will see how well I actually knit them and how much abuse they get. Obviously Sadie has the girl monkey. She picked out the pink shirt, surprise, surprise. I don't know where this girl gets her love for pink. I put the squiggly S on it for Sadie. She loves her monkey. I should say loved, once I got Bryer's done she now wants his. Typical girl changing her mind and of course being jealous.
Bryer's monkey has a heart. Why you say? Well, he is my sweat heart...cheesy. It kind of represents the heart birthmark on his nose I guess. Look, they are holding hands in this pic. They are so easy to pose and snap away, not like two little children. See, no kids in these pics?

Sadie's monkey hammed it up a little. She has no name, well, her name is Monkey. That is what Sadie picked for her. Clearly her creative genes haven't emerged yet. Although I am shocked she didn't name her Curly. That is what she seams to be naming all the toys in her room. I think we have 10 different Curlys.

Such a classic picture. A little monkey love. Inside each monkey I put a little love note to each of my kids. In case they are ever ripped open for some reason, hopefully not, they will get to read a note their mom wrote from years ago. Wishful thinking here...that it will take years for these monkeys to get ripped open. I'm sure they will be reading these notes in a few months time, lol.

Anyway, can't wait to find another cool project to start. My kids are going to have an entire knit bedroom by time I am done.

365 new days

2011-01-03T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yeah! A new year awaits! I get excited for the new year, I don't know why. It' s exciting thinking about the future I guess. 2010 was a great year, just like I though it would be. I just went back and re-read my new years post from last year. I was excited to have a new baby and stay at home with my kids, and, it was awesome. 2010 was a really good year.

I stopped working in Jan, for good, wow, I can't believe I have been home for a year already. Once you have kids time flies sooooo fast! I crashed my suv in a snow storm last winter with Sadie in the car and Bryer in my belly. I remember being terrified I did something to Bryer, but he was just fine in there.

Both of my grandfathers passed away within a few months of each other. So there was a few sad moments this year, expected I guess. One passed while I was pregnant, the other when I had a newborn. I remember I started cramping at my one grandfather's funeral. That was the beginning of the start of Bryer's coming I guess. I didn't stop cramping till I had him a week or so later. But I had the easiest labor and delivery in history, well, in my history anyway.

It's funny, my two grandfathers passed away within two months of each other, and two baby boys were born within two months of each other. My sister and I had both had a boy in between the funerals.

You would think my sister and I would name our boys after our grandfathers....Harold Frederick, Kenneth Eugene. Sorry, couldn't do it. Needed something a little more hip :) Oh well. Anyway, summer brought an awesome, awesome time for us Fisher's! We enjoyed going to Blue Marsh Lake by our house with both our kids. Sadie turned three and had her party there. And yes, I can't believe how big she has gotten since last year....and yes, I said the same thing last year. When do they stop growing so fast?? Not that I am complaining about Bryer, he is almost one and I am ecstatic!

Here is Sadie when she turned two....

And now when she turned three this past year! Good-bye my little toddler girl...she is really turning into a pre-schooler now.

I am sad thinking about her turning four. It means pre-school is coming, schedules to set, learning to do, growing up.... :( I could keep her home, but I feel she needs the interaction and needs to start learning to sit still and pay attention. I don't need her repeating Kindergarten like me cuz I couldn't sit still and distracted other kids.

We also bought a boat this summer and absolutely fell in love with it. We took it out every chance we had, for about a month before Fall hit. We can't wait to use it all summer this year!! Can't wait to teach Sadie to swim, keep Bryer from falling off the boat, get sunburned (repeatedly), and make tons and tons of family memories.

Oh, and Brett left his 20's this year. He is an old man now. With me following soon this year! No worries though, me and the girls are all going away to celebrate the big turn over, as we all are turning 30! It feels sooooo weird saying 30. How did this happen?? I know our weekend get away is going to be tons of fun with awesome memories!! We just have to plan it.

2011 promises to hold lots of good times! Good bye 2010, you were good to us...

Holiday, Oh Holiday....It's the best time of the year!

2010-12-31T03:23:00.000-08:00

My handsome guys.
Yes, this is what it looks like.

Only shot I got of Bryer in his cute tie. It's surprising how few pics you take when there is chaos all around.

Candy sculpture Uncle Jer made for the girls.

Bryer's pile of gifts from Mom Mom and Pop Pop.

My favorite kids in the whole world.

Mom Mom and the huge Toy Story book, meant for Bryer, but we re-gifted to Sadie. Sorry Mom.

Christmas morning shot...from the 80's.

Craziness.

Next year we are x-ing people off our Christmas schedule. It's a must. We have way too many people to visit at Christmas. Grinch-like? Maybe, but it's our only option. I don't think I saw my children more than two hours on Christmas morning during the whole holiday weekend, call me a dork, but I like to spend a little more time with my kids during Christmas.

This year we went to a Christmas Eve service...ON Christmas Eve. It was at a new church we don't attend, it's an Assembly of God church, I guess that's okay right? It was a good service...until Brett, super dad, took his eyes off Bryer for half a sec and he grabbed the candle. You know, the candle you light at the end of the service? Poor little guy. He barely cried so we didn't treat his hand at all, only to notice a few days later he had a popped blister on the inside of his thumb. And I am sure I wiped his hands a million times after eating, and I know I wasn't' gentle, so his little thumb probably got more beat up from me, supermom.

After church we had Christmas with Brett's parents, then we woke up Christmas morning and had our family Christmas, then we went over to my Mom's for her Christmas after lunch, and then, the day after Christmas, we had 20 plus people over to our house for my Dad's family Christmas, and then..whoo...we had Christmas with just my Dad after we kicked out the 20 plus people. Run on sentence? My life.

It was all fun and went well though. Well, most of it was fun, lol. I have to admit it's somewhat nice just handing my kids over to someone and walking away for the afternoon and not seeing them for awhile. Somewhat...nice...

Side note:

I tried to pound into Sadie's head how Christmas is about Jesus and it's his birthday. Which she got the point...I think. Until after all the Christmas festivities she says, "I LOVE Christmas!" To which I say, "Oh yeah? Why?" and she says, wait for it......."Cuz it's all about ME!"

Merry Christmas.

I told her not to touch the socket!

2010-12-17T14:39:00.000-08:00

Time Flies and Excitement Lives On

2010-12-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

Where oh where has the time gone?

The first six months of Sadie's life dragged on and on and oooooooooooooooooonnnnn! I couldn't wait to hit every mile stone and for her to get older and older. After those slow 6 months, the rest has flown by, so fast I can't think straight and I realize I am not getting to do things I wanted to do with her by this age....time is cruising on and I cant catch up anymore. Like I wanted to start preschool books...I tried in the summer a little, gave up, and wanted to restart by now......ya, whoops.
And Bryer's first six months has gone lightening fast. It didn't feel insanely slow like with Sadie. Now I want to savor some time and let it slow down, but it's mean, and it won't let me. It just keeps ticking away....
Although I am so excited for the upcoming few years and everything I want to do with two little kids...if time lets me and doesn't pass by so quickly that I cant fit it in.......what am I doing with all this time? Oh yes, planning gourmet dinners, making an immaculate house, and serving every need of Brett's whim....NOT! lol....oh, I don't know. Living I guess.

Sadie is growing up so fast. My Sadie. My girl. And she is ALL me. From her every physical feature ((fine hair, flat rear end, skinny minnie(well I like to think that's from me anyways), her eyes, face shape, long legs and arms, red birthmark on her thigh(mine is on my left hers is right), large freckle on her foot(mine is on the right, hers is left)), to her personality that is all me. She is definitely a mini me in the truest sense of the word. When she gets excited, she squeals and her hands turn into little fists, she bends her elbows and shakes...ahhh...just like me. Or else she jumps up and down and claps her hands really fast with excitement... just like me...to Brett's utter despair. He can't stand it. But we cant help it. We are emotional girls and we get really exited very easily, lol.
When we went to see Twisted at the movie theater, just me and Sadie, she would turn to me every so often, at an exiting, happy part of the movie, and give a little squeal, shake her hands in the air, then turn around and continue to watch. I smile. I smile big. I love my little mini me. At least I will have great advice for her as she grows up...I will just tell her what I wish I knew.

And Bryer, poor poor Bryer. I am scared to tell Brett...but I think Bryer has the emotional gene as well. Somehow this girl gene has seeped into his poor unfortunate little boy body. I can see it already beginning to develop. When he gets excited..he, well....he gives a deep throat-ed squeal and his little muscular legs and arms get all tense and straighten out, he smiles, and begins to laugh loudly......he is just one step away from shaking his fists in excitement....I have to start plotting how to stop this...cute for girls (or at least somewhat normal anyway)...HORRIBLE and not so cute for boys. I would not find it very cute to see Brett squealing in excitement, jumping up and down, and clapping really fast. In fact, I would probably slap the happy out of him. Seriously. Not a good guy trait. lol. Oh Bryer....what have we created? At least you are a happy boy.

One day I will capture these overly emotional happy moments....they only happen every 3.5 seconds....sad part, I did have some on camera but deleted them because they were so freaky looking, lol. But I will have to post, if only to prove my story true.

PS
This is a hereditary trait, as I have received this gene from my mother, who, I think received this from her mother, and BOTH of my mother's sisters have the gene. As far as I know, no man has this gene in the family, until now?
It is strong my friend. Beware and pray it doesn't run in your family!

2010-12-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

can you smell it?

It's LIVE!!

A new endeavour in the Fisher Family business......

http://scentaday.net/

Check it out when you get a minute...

----

oh ya...and be sure to tell alllllllllll your friends, lol.

Tiiiiiiiiiiimber!

2010-11-28T05:14:00.000-08:00

I LOVE getting the Christmas tree every year! I love being in the cold outside, hearing the Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate (although I haven't done this in years...I guess I like watching other people drink hot chocolate...it's always so freaking HOT), riding in the horse drawn wagon,watching Brett cut the tree, and just feeling in the holiday spirit.
This year was perfect. It was even flurrying, just barely, as we picked out our tree. Nice. It wasn't too cold. Brett was in a great mood ;) Sadie was so excited and Bryer was quiet the whole time..perfect.

Wagon ride to the trees....

Sadie and Daddy picking out the perfect tree for us...

Here is where I think "it" happened.

Sadie "I have to pee Mommy"

Me "Can you hold it. We're almost done."

Sadie "Yes"

We continue to cut down the tree and frolic around. Three minutes later...

Sadie "Mommy"

Me "Yes Sadie"

Sadie "I peed my pants"

Mind you, she went before we left the house and had nothing to drink since. She hasn't peed her pants in months and months...Why now?

Of course she didn't have pee JUST on her pants. I tried to dress her warm in layers...not good with pee.

A layer of thick warm tights under her pants and knee high socks on top. She managed to soak her underwear and the entire back side of her tights and jeans. At first I couldn't even see the pee on her pants...her wet jeans looked like the style with a darker color fading into a lighter color, lol. So at least no one else knew she had wet pants...out in the cold...and did I say very windy day? Poor girl.

She didn't complain though. And being the good mom, I am I took her in between of bunch of prime cutting trees to finish peeing, if she had any left. And she did.....she squatted...she peed even more...and even more on her pants....ahhh, can't win. Why can't three year olds aim?

Needless to say we rushed out of there...but first we shot a few more pics, lol.

"MERRY Christmas!"

On our wagon ride back to the car....

Sadie " Can I sit on Santa's lap and tell him what I want for Christmas?"

Me "I don't' think Santa would like that Sadie...."

Sadie "Okay. Maybe next time when I have new pants and they aren't all wet"

I hope the people next to us on the wagon weren't listening :)

Love family outings!

First bath together

2010-11-27T17:08:00.001-08:00

Pictures...had to do it.

It was an udder success! No drownings, chokings, crying sessions or disasters of any kind! Say what? Now that Bryer can sit up in the tub without slipping I can plop them in the tub together, saving myself extra time and...water.
I thought this was going to be great. One bath, both kids together...entertaining each other while I knit or cleaned the bathroom. Nope. Five minutes into it..."I'm cold Mom. I wanna get out."
No room to lay down in the tub anymore and it's "get me outta here Mom..." What are ya gonna do?
Maybe I'll go back to separate baths...

Shutterfly Christmas Baby...

2010-11-20T11:24:00.001-08:00

That's right...it's my turn to blog it.
Shutterfly's Christmas card promotion...gotta love it!!

Shutterfly is the site I have used to make our awesome Christmas cards for at least the past 3-4 years. I think since I've been married even...I love how easy it is to just click away and make your cards to send out. You can pick from any of your photos on your computer...edited and all...and import them onto your card.
There are TONS of designs to choose from and new better ones each year. It takes anal me forever to pick out the exact card I want....there are so many to choose from. I probably waste too much valuable child napping time trying to make a card decision, lol. I'm using Shutterfly again this year to put a cute pic of the kids on there to send out to all my wonderful friends and family ;)

Here is where I go to pick out my Christmas card...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Can't wait to pick out my 2010 Christmas card this year!! Now, I just need to decide on a family picture, lol.

actually playing nice....

2010-11-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

I love Bryer's laugh...it's so cute! To me anyway. Sadie can make him laugh so easily...when she wants to of course. He loves his big sister, which is so nice. Unfortunately most of the time she could care less about him...but this is not one of those times, lol.
This is one of those..."i love my kids...they get along so well...I love being a mother...isn't it great being home with the kids?" times. A very rare time.

My mom voice is on this video...yuck...but I had to make sure Bryer wasn't suffocating. And don't mind the messy house......it's all Sadie's fault ;)

knidiot

2010-11-17T09:53:00.001-08:00

all in a days work.....
for a few years i have dabbled in learning to knit...getting frustrated i cant understand what these stupid books are saying...giving up...then the next winter getting interested again.
this year i found an online instruction place that has turned on the knitting light bulb in my head. and now i cant stop knitting....

a hat for bryer...

a hat for sadie...

a preemie hat...

a jingle bell hat...i was learning different techniques with each hat..i have a few more hats in the works that are totally cute! but i need some wooden buttons and am on a hunt to find some the right size....
i've also made earwarmers for myself...but no pic :( ...one sock with a snowflake pattern (didnt do the other sock cuz it wasnt' very fun)...and a newborn hat for little miss pledger...pic to come later.
now i just need 100 more colors of yarn and more needle sizes to have some more fun...am i a dork? yes, yes i am.

7 months

2010-11-09T09:32:00.001-08:00

7 months and more handsome then ever ! Bryer is getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth...a few more weeks and I think we will have a crawler. Yay! I'm trying to force him to eat finger foods but I don't think we are quite there yet...soon.

Bryer is our little smiler and laugher :) So opposite of our little Sadie-bean. Couldn' t make her smile or laugh for the life of us!! Bryer will crack up at the littlest things! It's so fun.
After bath shot...baby fresh.

Here is Sadie at 7 months...
It's fun to see how they compare....

Sadie had darker and longer hair at this age and darker eyes. And much chubber cheeks!! I don't remember thinking she ever had chubby cheeks...funny.

Halloween 4

2010-10-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

Yes we celebrated already. Our crazy town trick or treated last night instead of ON Halloween. This is Sadie's fourth year trick or treating!! Wow!
I decided to make her a clown. I made the costume weeks ago...and since then she has thrown fits wanted to be the Grinch but a pink Grinch, a witch (most requested), Stephanie from Lazy town, a princess....everyday it was something new. Oh the bribe us Mom's go through to make our kids where the cute outfit we picked out :)
Sadie got to boss Bryer around as a lion telling him to roll over or do tricks. I told that was the clown's job. That seemed to work.
Truth be told Sadie was way more excited to see all her friends on Halloween rather than get candy. This is a huge shock!

Look at this crazy clown??? Are you scared yet?? Man, she really takes after her mother ;)

Bryer was a circus lion. Although he looked more like the cowardly lion, lol. What is it about babies in animal costumes that makes you want to hug and squeeze them until they can't breathe anymore?

Ahhh....sibling love.

I guess this pic will do :)

30 on 30

2010-10-30T05:31:00.001-07:00

30 years ago today little Brett was cut out of his mother's belly and blessed this world with his presence :) To celebrate we went out on the town!
It was the most fun we have had in a long time....a whole day without the kids??? Unheard of!
We went to the Walnut Street Theatre and saw the best play to date. It was a funny murder mystery...I loved it! Brett fell asleep through part of it, hum, getting old and tired?? Then Brett drove me through his old neighborhood that he grew up in. Showing me all of his old hotspots. It was a good old time....how many times can I put "old" into this post ;
Then we hustled over to the Philly casino where Brett taught me how to play craps. We one $100 before I wanted to quit while we were ahead...I did an awesome job rolling the dice while Brett made the bets. What team work :)
We ate at Chicky Pete's in the casino. The Philly's were on and everyone was cheering and Brett and I were snuggling up in a booth..it was awesome!
Here we are eating famous Chicky Pete's crab fries with cheese...cheesy pic taken on my phone....

Brett programmed everything at Chicky Pete's...that's what this pic is of. The touch panel next to the tv is one of RSD's!

One of a kind pic :)

I'd have to say the best gift of the night...for me...was the kids slept in till 8:30!! What? That is unheard of...thanks to Brett's mom for watching them and putting a magic sleep spell on them. She put one on herself too..she was snoring on the couch when we came home!

2010-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

a day at the park...

2010-10-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

Gifts from God

2010-09-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

This blog is horrible and wonderful at the same time. I read if from Angie Weldon's' blog and don't' know if I am glad I did or if I shouldn't have. Brett would say I shouldn't have, lol. This is extremely hard for any mother to read...and if you are about to have a baby, uh huh...(Lara) please don't' read the link to the blog!! Seriously.

Click on the title of this blog post....((gifts from God)) to go to the site....I can't seem to make a link otherwise....ahhh...annoying. IF that doesn't work....which it seems to not be....go here...http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/search/label/Cohen%27s%20Story

I cried and cried while I read this blog this morning....as I was feeding Bryer his oatmeal and he was just staring at me crying.

I wept for the baby who had to endure pain/difficulties for 12 days....mostly I wept for the mother who only got to hold her baby twice. Once when he was born, and once when he was going to heaven. For the unimaginable pain to know that you can do nothing for your baby....It seems so unfair for a mother to have to go through this....

It made me look at my children differently today. To smile at them and love them EVEN MORE!! To realize I am LUCKY to get up at 5:45am and see my son smiling, safe and healthy, here with me. (instead of saying..."why Bryer...why 5:45am??? but to be thankful he is here to get up at 5:45am...)
That I am LUCKY to have a 3 year old daughter who never stops asking questions....that I get to hear her voice every day...every second for that matter, lol.

Brett doesn't like to hear sad stories and thinks I am morbid to read them....I can't help myself. It's too sad not to read...and it makes me appreciate what I have even more!!!

I love my babies so much and I love being a mother! I am so blessed to have perfectly healthy children! Praise God!

The LAST one....

2010-09-13T03:42:00.000-07:00

Lara Taylor.....stuck it out as long as she could. In just a couple months she's gonna be a momma. The last of my friends to take the plunge. You probably have to look closely at the pic to see who is even pregnant....(the one with the blue ribbon that says 'it's a boy').
Can't wait to meet the new addition to the Taylor family! And to see Miss Lara as a mother :)

Thar' She Blows!

2010-08-25T14:19:00.000-07:00

Say hello to "the stink ray"...or until I can come up with a cooler name. Yes, we did it. We were crazy. Some might say delusional. In one weeks time we decided to buy a boat and bought one. Seven days to find and purchase a boat before the weekend. All good ol' Brett's idea if I do say so. Me? I was nervous making such a huge purchase so quickly....our neighbors looked for a year and a half! Not us...nope. We are too impatient I guess.
That being said.....I am so happy we made this purchase. It is such an awesome, awesome...wait did I say awesome? family activity. We have gone out every weekend we have had it...about three weeks now, and have had a great time every time.
It's an open bow and fits about 7 people....or 950lbs to be exact. It's the largest boat my little Murano can haul...and yes..in the same week we bought the boat I had to go out and get a hitch put on my car....Brett had to learn everything about boating...learn how to tow the boat..reverse with the boat (still learning that one).... we were stressed to no end. It took three hours to put the hitch on....they told me an hour...as I waited in the NON air conditioned Uhaul store with Bryer...it was a great time.

Sadie-bean 'fishing' off the back of the boat. There is a purple plastic fish on the end of the line, she reels it in, we all shout "yeah! you caught a fish".....repeat over and over.

What's a few more tubing pics! These ones are all from our boat this time! The boys definitely are more adventurous on the tube then me....of course they all fell off this time while trying new tricks...me? Nope, I laid low on the tube and played it safe. Baby?..yes, yes I was :)

Poor Jul cracked her already messed up TMJ jaw on her ride. Of course me and Jul make Brett go about 10 miles an hour slower then the boys go on the tube, and we still scream like babies....but like I said, we're girls. She still had fun though...I think.
Brett is beginning to become quite the show off on the tube....always using one or no hands and new positions....I'm talking about boating here people...lol. I've never seen him smile so big...or have so much fun...again..talking about boating.

By the end of the day we all looked like this pretty much. It's hard work...this tubing thing. Sadie was pulling daddy in to the boat since he was clearly done.
Can't wait till next summer!

To the doctors we went...

2010-08-25T13:50:00.001-07:00

Let's see...where do I begin? Well my Mom took me to the doctors today...and I got some pretty cool bandaids.

Now where are they...

Oh here they are!! Anyway, you'll never guess what they did to me today!! First, they laid me down on this table...

Like this....and it had this crinkly paper on it that I couldn't stop touching. And the doctor seemed nice and I smiled and cooed at her.

I didn't know it was a trick!! I didn't know she would stab me...three times!! Oh the horror!!

uhhh huhhhh.. but I'm cool now. I took it like a real baby.

like mother like daughter...

2010-08-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

early 1980's.....

2010...

4 MONTHS....

2010-08-09T07:14:00.000-07:00

Bryer- Buddy is now 4 months! Praise the Lord! We made it!
He's a pretty good boy. Smiles a lot and laughs very easily. He talks while he falls asleep...it sounds like "ahhhhhh ahhhhhh ahhhhh" and then his head just slumps down. That's on a good day though...otherwise it's crying and fussing until his head slumps down, lol. Actually, it's not very funny when it's happening :) haha
Bryer loves attention. All you have to do is talk to him and he's all yours. He's also very ticklish!
He got two bottom teeth at 15 weeks, and yes I missed it. I had no idea they were coming in. He wasn't extra fussy. He was drooling... I thought it was just his saliva glands starting to work. I just happened to feel his gums one day and bam, two sharp little teeth bit me. Sadie got her two bottom teeth at 4 1/2 months so I was waiting till at least then for teeth to start....guess he showed me!
I guess our next step is starting baby food...oh joy! The mess! Here it comes :)
Anyway...here are some four month pics of my handsome little man! He is so cute I could just eat him up...if I do say so myself :)

Lake Bday for Sadie

2010-08-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

Sadie is 3! Has it really been three years since I pushed, screamed, grunted, and squeezed her out? (well technically it's tomorrow )To celebrate we took our families to the lake (surprise surprise) for her birthday. It was a perfect day outside. We grilled some lunch, opened gifts, had a Dora cake, and went swimming in the warm lake.

Bryer got Sadie a Phineas and Ferb tee shirt, which as you can see she LOVED! It's her favorite show as of now...it's all she watches.

It was also the year of Toy Story. Sadie got Woody, Buzz, and Jessie. We took her to see TS3 in the theater for her first movie experience early this summer, and she Loved it. She loved the candy, the slushy, and the movie too, lol.

She still loves princess stuff too. She is just the perfect mix between little girl and tomboy. Don't mind her cock-eyed smile. I don't know what this kids problem is... when we tell her to smile her lips are all over the place :)

"If I have to smile again Mom...."

Here we are, grown adults, throwing each other in the water. Here I go....

(look at my freakishly long arm....ewww)
Here goes my Dad....(he'll love this pic. He looks buff...the key word being "looks"..lol)

Here goes Julie....

It was a blast, but the lake always is :)
And Bryer was there too....lol.

Merrily we ride along....

2010-08-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

I think our next investment is going to be a boat. Anyone want to urge us to get one??
Our neighbors took us on theirs and we had a blast! I love going to the lake to swim and just hang out...but going out on the lake for the day is sooooo much more fun! Minus the getting horribly burnt part.
The kids had to wear life vests....as you can see Bryer's vest was wearing him and not the other way around. He cried at first when it was on but as soon as the boat took off he fell asleep with all the water noise and motion. He did great. I think he wants us to get a boat.
He looked so darn cute in his life vest!

Even if he was trying to chew his way out....
We got to go tubing. Even little Sadie-bean braved up and went out with Daddy. Of course the boat was going about 2 miles an hour. But I am so proud she had the courage to go out!

Here is me going out on the tube...haha. This was my face the whole time! I loved it. I kept telling Dan, our neighbor driving the boat, not to let me fall off. He said no one has fallen yet and he tries to be careful of that.

Guess what?? I was the first person to fall off :) And I almost lost my bottoms!! It was awesome though!
Then Brett got a turn tubing. His ride was much more fun. He could actually turn the tube while riding and he was all over the place.

.....he was the second person ever to fall off the tube...lol, we were really on a role. We ruined Dan's perfect fall- free summer.

Here's Dan.....before he flew off the tube! That makes three....of course Brett was driving the boat at this point so I can't really blame Dan for falling off.

We got to do some swimming in the lake also. Our neighbor Tonya told us not to worry about any fish touching us....the lake was so polluted that all the fish had died :) Yummy.

Of course with all of our kids peeing in the lake I'm sure any surviving fish stayed away from us.
Again, I was proud of Sadie for getting IN the lake. It only lasted maybe 3 minutes, but hey, it was something.

We also had the option to water ski. Only Tonya had the guts, and the legs to do that! She loves it. I shudder just thinking about it. No thanks.

To end the perfect day, it down poured and lightening and thundered. We all huddled under the boat canopy and waited while everyone on the lake was trying to get off the dock. Sadie and the other girls on the boat all hid in their little cave (a canvas cover over the front part of the boat that you have to be three feet or shorter to fit under) on the boat during the storm, giggling and having a great time. The rain drenched everything we had on the boat...towels, extra clothes, us...but it was great regardless!

Before we went on the lake I asked Tonya if boats every broke down and how they got off the lake. She said she had never seen a boat break down but you had to rely on another boat to tow you off the lake. Well guess what happened? A boat with three teens broke down, in the middle of the lightening and downpour, and we had to tow them to safety.

So I go back to my first thought.....I want to get a boat!

making me laugh

2010-07-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

I'm sure why but I can't stop laughing when I see this pic I took today....

I think maybe it's Sadie's quirky smile that looks like The Joker or maybe it's Bryer's possessed eyes....

I guess Sadie really does take after me and Bryer takes after Brett...haha!

Summer

2010-07-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

You know it's summer when your kids' feet are permanently black...

(oh they get so much worse than this...it was just too gross to show :)

After 3 years....finally

2010-07-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

We took Sadie to get her first "real" haircut. No more Mommy cuts! I tried last night and it was horrible! She kept moving her head around and wouldn't listen to me at all. I ACCIDENTALLY nipped her neck ONE time with the scissors and she freaked out and wouldn't trust me anymore. Jeez kid, cut me some slack... lol. It's not like there was blood or anything.

So we took her to Great Clips today, as you can see, and she did great! She totally listened to the lady cutting her hair and waited patiently for her lolly pop. It's so easy to bribe a toddler. Wish I would've taken her sooner to get real haircuts.

the other fishers

2010-07-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Bryer and his cousin Adarra meet for the first time...her at five months, Bryer at 3 1/2 months ( and yes, Bryer trumps her by two pounds already). Notice Bryer's fists...he always has them clenched still. Like he is ready to punch at any given time. Tough boy. Just don't punch Adarra...sweet girl is smiling and totally unaware.

Is there such a thing as a good picture with five young kids? Maybe in a few years we will get one :)
'

Brett's brother Bradd and his baby girl...

Meet, in order from left to right....Mrs.Fisher, Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Fisher.

Getting a pic of Sadie looking at the camera or even stopping to let us take a pic is impossible. Here is the only clear decent one of her at the park. I don't even know what she was doing... It was almost 100 degrees out but we still took the kids to the park... funny how kids never complain about the heat, just us old folks.

Taytum playing in the tire tube...such a girl with her flower in her hair. Already a styling California chica!

Kaelan being a boy and eating the fan :)

Grandpop and Adarra...

Hard to believe we haven't seen Brett's brothers' family in almost a year and a half. I know it will be a little while before we see them again...I am not the type of person to fly 7 hours to CA with a baby! No thanks....maybe when Bryer is a year old I will be able to handle it :) By then I am sure Heather will be pregnant again...thankfully I won't!! Ever :)

Mt. Gretna

2010-07-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

We took a cheesy family photo on the over sized beach chair :) Family memories for our kids to make fun of us for!

A new lake....Mt. Gretna. This place is awesome! Well, in my opinion anyway. We had to pay to get in, but they have so much cool stuff to do. Granted, Brett and I couldn't do any of the cool stuff with the two kids and just us... but WHEN we bring people with us it will be awesome!
They have a huge trapeze type swing over the water, a diving board in the middle of the lake, a high dive, tubes to rent, canoes and such....and more. It's like a local beach. Sand leads into the lake where you swim. We had a great relaxing day with the kids. I have to say though, we were the whitest people there! We glowed next to all the oiled up regulars who go there. Even the elderly people were all tan.

Brett took a turn flying off the trapeze.................

NOT! I think he would throw his back out, in his defense...so would I :) Needless to say we had a great time WATCHING people fly off the trapeze.
Here is a real pic of what Brett and his boy did at the lake :P

Good ol' Sadie loving her playtime in the sand. Maybe next time she'll actually get in the lake.

Later that night at home we did our little family fireworks.

Sadie had no fear holding the fire shooting sparklers. She was super hyper and excited for our "fireworks."

My stud lighting our fancy sparklers.

i heart u

2010-06-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

a better picture of his "heart"...

the daddy dance...

2010-06-20T04:23:00.001-07:00

2010-06-20T04:20:00.001-07:00

heart stealers

2010-06-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Really, was this really my night??

2010-06-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Brett's out of town leaving me to fend on my own with the two little ankle biters. Let's just say bedtime is not even close to easy.
Starting at 7pm Bryer gets his usual fussiness. So I put on Sadie's new favorite show, "Phineas and Ferb" while I take care of Bryer. I know bottle time is coming, but at first he is fussing because he has gas, so I work some out but he is still fussing and now full blown crying. The crying makes him swallow air which in turns creates more gas pains and the cycle continues. His reflux is now acting up from all the crying and he is having horrible swallowing noises and crying more from that. Meanwhile Sadie is still mesmerized by the Phineas and Ferb....going on an hour now. It's 8pm and Bryer is hungry and trying to eat but his reflux is still acting up making him annoyed he can't eat and, well, you guessed it, crying some more. I finally get him to sleep at 8:30pm only to have Sadie come in the room holding wet underwear and shorts telling me she peed on the couch. I put down Bryer and he magically wakes up and cries right away. I clean the pee and return to Bryer only after putting on yet another Phineas and Ferb...going on an hour and half of straight tv for Sadie now! Try dealing with a fussing/crying baby for an hour and a half. You almost lose your mind. I have to say I am proud of myself. Not only did I not lose my patience, I didn't curse or yell or do anything mean to either of my children! Yeah! Good Mommy!
I get Bryer to sleep two more times and two times he wakes as soon as I lay him down...I am thinking he is still having gas pains and I am just about getting tired of this. My back is killing me from walking him around for an hour....
So to change things up a bit Sadie decides to go poop in the potty AND on the floor of the bathroom! Awesome, just what I need right? What can I do...I let it sit there.
Finally we make our way up to Bryer's room at 9pm and get him to sleep yet again while Sadie sits on her bed reading books to herself. I lay Bryer down in his crib, asleep, finally. I go to Sadie's room and get her ready for bed just to hear Bryer screaming....he spit up all over his crib. Again, I say awesome!!
I leave Sadie alone, again, and tend to the baby boy. Just as he falls asleep in my arms it starts to thunder storm and Sadie starts crying and yelling for me from her room...really, is this really happening now?
I bring her into Bryer's room to get him back to sleep from her crying. I am holding him in the rocker and somehow Sadie is laying across my legs and shoulder as well in fear from the thunder.
Finally, finally, finally, at 9:15 I get Bryer to bed and go lay down with Sadie in her bed until she falls asleep ten minutes later. Just as I leave her room...I hear Bryer fuss!! This really happened. I can't believe it at this point and almost (almost) laugh. I go in his room and he has quieted himself and is staring at the owls on his wall, so I just leave and lay down in my own glorious bed.
I notice the monitor keeps going off for Bryer so I check on him and he is still staring at the owls...for a good 20 minutes...and then....believe it or not....the little stinker puts himself to sleep.
I'm done for the night at 9:20 and so exhausted from the past two and a half hours.

My dad tells me when my babies are teenagers I will wish I had these problems instead of teenager attitude/sex/weird trends/mouthy problems....the grass is always greener right?

I am so excited for Brett to get home from traveling... understatement of the year!!
I really appreciate him!!

Wish I had a pic to post from last night, but it would have been of me pulling out my hair, which I didn't get....or poop on the floor

2010-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Can you see the heart-shaped birth mark on Bryer's nose?

Sibling photo shoot...the first time Sadie wanted to hold Bryer. I think Bryer is playing dead hoping Sadie won't bother him...

"Bryer, don't eat your hand."

"Good boy Bryer."

Lake Day

2010-05-23T04:33:00.001-07:00

Nothing like a day at the lake with good friends! A little windy yesterday...but still fun. A dead fish on the lake shore leaving a nice smell...but still fun.
It's so hard getting any STILL pictures of Sadie. She had a blast with her little boyfriends, Seth and Kyle, running around, screaming, and getting wet. Good think I know better when we go to the lake and I always pack an extra outfit!

Here Sadie fell in the lake. As Brett and I waited for the screaming and crying to start....she surprised us and just got up and kept running. Good girl!

Brett, always full of great ideas, brought kites to the lake for the kids, well everyone, to enjoy. Here is Sean helping Seth fly his kite.

And a new updated and recent pic of me and my better half.

Of course Bryer slept the entire time we were at the lake again. I guess this is a good thing :) Here he is in all of his glory.

3 Weeks

2010-05-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

My poor little man has started losing his hair! So glad he's not a girl or this would be even worse :)This pic was taken the day before it started happening....not sure when I'll upload new bald pics of him. He won't wear a hat either. He screams as soon as I put it on him! Little stinker!! He must be proud of his baldness.
On a side note...my other grandfather just passed away this weekend. It's weird because in the past three months both of my grandfathers have passed away and my sister and I both had a little boy.
So far the first month has gone by fast....thank God! Hope the next two months go just as fast! The first month was pretty easy. It's pretty hard getting Bryer to nap during the morning and evening, but in the afternoon and at night he goes right down. I can't figure out what his sweet spot is to get him to sleep...hopefully I will soon get it.
Bryer has acid reflux like Sadie did, but thankfully I caught it much sooner this time so there is no screaming during the bottle. We started on medicine and I am hoping that that fixes it and we don't have to keep playing around with different medicines and formulas.
Sadie is adjusting well. At first she ignored Bryer, then she didn't like him and would pull the bottle out of his mouth and not want to touch him, and now she somewhat likes him and realized he is here to stay. She likes to rub his head and say "hi buddy" which has caused a ton of hair loss on the top of his head. Poor guy.
She has thrown some tantrums and is very possessive of her toys but she seems to be getting better. Why didn't someone tell me it was so much harder having two kids than it was with just one? :)

Deja Vue

2010-04-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sadie's first bath.....

Bryer's first bath...

Naked Time

2010-04-29T07:37:00.001-07:00

I can't seem to get her to keep her clothes on!!

What's in a name?

2010-04-18T04:45:00.000-07:00

Forgot to mention about his name in my last post...

We just randomly chose Bryer... I searched to find the Canadian meaning of the name means sweet and gentle, which I am totally on board with! I really want a sweet and gentle boy :) Brett wasn't so excited about the meaning, but hey, it's what Mommy thinks that matters right?

We chose Andrew as his middle name since that is Brett's middle name and which also gives Bryer the same initials as his daddy. Too cute right?

Sadie has my middle name and looks like Mommy, and Bryer has Daddy's middle name and, I think anyways, looks like Brett. Could it be anymore perfect ;)

Bryer Andrew Fisher

2010-04-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Well the time came and went already. It's been a week ...I can' t believe it. Last week I was induced to try to keep the size of my little boy to a decent weight, since Sadie was so large and I had trouble getting her out. Sadie was 9lb 2oz and five days late, so I thought a whole week early is going to put Bryer at 8 and a half pounds or something nice....NOPE, he was 9lbs 5oz. Thank goodness I didn't go till my due date or I would have been pushing out a watermelon at 10 pounds.

But I have to say, God was good to me. I guess he heard my million prayers and the hundreds sent up by my friends for a easy and quick delivery, cuz that's what I got! I knew my little man would take it easy on Mommy :)

So here's my short easy story of how Bryer came into this world.

I'll start off by saying this pregnancy was not as easy as the one with Sadie. My stomach ached a lot, I had 5 freaking cavities, I couldn't stop drinking for the life of me or peeing every hour for that matter, I had insomnia for two months before delivering, I gained more weight this time, and I had cramping for weeks before delivery as well.

But all that more than makes up for my great delivery!!

Brett and I went to the hospital Friday morning 4/9/10 at 8 am to be induced. I was soooo sooooo soooo tired because of course I didn't sleep the night before. Because of awesome pregnancy insomnia and because I was so nervous about the induction, I was extremely tired going into the induction. I was given pitocin at 9:30am to start contractions and about ten minutes later given an epidural. I hadn't even felt any contractions yet, but got my pain meds in advance :) This was because I heard how horrible it is to have your water broken. My water was broken, pain free, at 10:30am. Then I just laid there for a few hours waiting to fully dilate, which happened around 1:30pm. I waited to push till 2:30 cuz we were waiting for my doctor who was in a c-section at the time. But she didn't make it and another doctor delivered my baby instead.

Mind you, I am still not feeling any pain. I started to feel slight cramping before I had to push so the anesthesiologist topped me off and back to pain free I was. I felt like I was cheating, this giving birth thing seemed too easy this time!!

Anyway, I pushed for about 20 minutes. Which was all I really had in me since I was so stinkin tired from no sleep the night before. There was no way I was pushing for three hours like I did with Sadie. After Bryer's head was out the doctor pretty much gently pulled him the rest of the way out. She knew how paranoid I was of ripping again and she was a miracle worker as I had not one stitch needed!! Answered prayer...thank you God!

Bryer Andrew Fisher came screaming into the world at 2:51pm on 4/9/10 at 9lbs 5oz. It was awesome!

I'm recovering well...felt completely normal after a day or two. Just waiting for nature to take the weight off of me that it put on me ;) Glad to say I am done being pregnant! Never do I have to do that again! I love being pregnant free :)

Sadie is slowly adjusting to her role as a big sister. At first she ignored Bryer pretty much and was attached to my hip when I got home from the hospital. Now she is starting to kiss him and pat his head and tell him it's okay when he cries.

I love my new family! Life is good :)

Best family pic we could get so far....

Right Now....

2010-03-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Right now I can't wait to be done being pregnant
right now I have a 2 year old toddler and 2 weeks till I have an infant
right now is a great time in my life....young, happy, married, one child here and one on the way
right now I love where my life is

right now I want to remember forever
right now I want to appreciate
right now I have a family of three
right now will go by fast I know

right now will soon be back then
right now will soon be a memory
right now I want to cherish
right now....I am content

right now....I wish I had a picture to post :) I need our last family picture before this baby is born!!

Gramps

2010-03-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

"God saw you getting tired, and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around you and whispered "come to me". With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you pass away. Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best. "

Taken from his funeral pamphlet....

May 1932- March 2010

Snowed in....

2010-02-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

Two, I guess you would call "great," snow storms of the season this year....so far. The first one fell on Julie's 18th birthday. Just in time for Brett and I to drive home in the storm. It was a very expensive birthday for us. The dinner was great, the drive home not so much. I followed Brett in his car, a little Honda Fit, which did just fine in the snow. My Murano did not do so well in the snow. I guess having two tires that I knew needed replaced soon as well as brake pads didn't help much. Anyway, while on the turnpike, going a slow 35 miles per hour in the storm, my tires lost traction and slide me into the median dividing the highway. Then, after slamming into the median my car spun around and the passenger side hit the median so I got a great view of the oncoming traffic.
Well needless to say Sadie starting crying after we hit and I tried not to freak out as a tractor trailer and four other cars swerved around us. Something was smoking from the front of my car but I still managed to pull it over onto the shoulder. This is what makes sense right? Who in there right mind would keep their car in that situation? Putting myself and daughter as well as the other cars in danger? Well according to the police officer he should have given me a ticket for moving from the scene of the accident. But he didn't, I only got a ticket for driving reckless in inclement weather! Now I get to try to fight this awesome ticket. Scared am I? You bet. He didn't even give me the ticket that night....he just wanted to get out of there, he is going to mail it to me. What a nice guy. Oh ya, and he never even asked me if I was alright or Sadie or anything. He only spoke to Brett.
Thank goodness we were all alright...including my unborn baby, who we got checked out the next morning.
Poor Brett saw the whole thing happen in his rear view mirror and had to slowly stop his car and come running back to get us. Although I was shaken up, Brett acted like it was no big deal and was calm. It only took us just under 3 hours to get home from Exton...normally a 35 min drive. Never again....

So now I am driving around a rental mini van. Needless to say, with this second huge storm I haven't driven around yet :) We have been stuck in the house the past three days with homemade chocolate cake, pumpkin cheesecake muffins, homemade sticky buns and other baked goods I can't seem to stop making and eating. I will look like a round little ball by time we make out of this house!
With this second storm I think we must have a total of over three feet....cuz the snow is over Sadie's head. How long till this all melts? Sadie doesn't even like the snow so it's a waste of my time and energy to dress her up and myself, which puts me out of breathe, just to stay outside for 10 minutes. Ahhhh, snow.
Here is the snow after the second storm, just under the mailbox. And our deck which we should have shoveled I guess. Where is my table??

I also have two stinkin cavities I have to get filled asap. Lord knows I won't have any time once this little monster comes :) I haven't had a cavity in over 10 years. And in other news, my mom was in the hospital over the storm due to a stroke warning she had. She was so miffed about how much money the hospital stay was costing her and how bored she was in the hospital...but thankfully she is alright now. Feb is always the worst month with the worst luck. Can't wait for March!!

Well, except this Feb Jacqui had her son, Gabriel Elijah born Feb 2nd. So one good thing in Feb :)

Her Royal Highness

2010-01-27T13:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks Daddy!

Computer time.

2010-01-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

2009...going, going....gone!

2010-01-03T10:26:00.000-08:00

It's hard trying to remember what happens in an entire year....at least things worthy of writing about.

Let's see....well Sadie turned two this summer. She has learned to talk non-stop, non-stop, non-stop...did I mention non-stop? Brett calls it 24-7 commentary by Sadie. Thank goodness for TV. As soon as I put on a show for her the house becomes blissfully quiet and I can get some things done in peace. She has perfected some of her words. No longer "strawbabies" she now says "strawberries," but she has also already grown past the mommy stage and now calls me mom, which just seems a little early to me. Sadie also recently became potty trained and has learned to somewhat clean up her toys. Here is Sadie last winter and then this winter....I thought she looked so big last winter and now I can see how she still had her chubby little kid face. Wonder how much older she will look to me next year.

Last winter

This winter

I had stopped working this past year and then re-started working in spring for the same family I have been sitting for for four years. Of course I will be stopping again very shortly as I am pregnant again! Due this April with a little brother for Sadie. Lots of imaging what he will be like.

This pregnancy is exactly like the one I experienced with Sadie. Smooth sailing and very easy. No problems so far. I just pray the delivery is a little easier on me :)

Brett had a rough year with his health. I can't even think about how much money we spent in doctor's bills, medicine, ER visits....and so on and so on and so on. It was hard on the whole family but praise the Lord that has pretty much ended and 2010 seems to be looking much better health wise. But he is still skinny and hot looking...unlike me who is looking more and more like an umpa lumpa everyday :) Can't wait to be skinny again in 2010!

This was the year of the hard recession I guess...we made it through without too much pain. Pinched some pennies here and there but none the less we made it just fine. Another praise.

We were able to go on vacation with the Pledgers to NC and had a great time....except for Brett's health ;) We also went on a last minute cruise in Oct which was a huge mistake!! As you can read in my previous blogs from Oct.

I am just very excited for 2010!! Good health, a new baby, staying at home, and hopefully staying financially stable. It's all looking up and up for now...oh ya, and B-rett turns the big 3-0 this year!!

Christmas

2009-12-29T06:18:00.001-08:00

MERRY STINKIN' CHRISTMAS!

Pretty Christmas dress... thanks Kmart!

Isabelle and Aunt Jacqui... and the two cousins to come...

Family photo, can't forget Sadie's new Wiggles guitar she got for Christmas...

We had such a great time celebrating Christmas this year. 5 Christmas get-togethers that were all fun and exhausting!! Sadie loved playing with her cousin, Isabelle, and all of her aunts and uncles. Then she would pass out every night and sleep in nice and long for Mommy ;) Oh this is such a good age....it's going to be a shock reverting back to newborn nuisances.

A good memory made this Christmas not to be forgotten involves Jeremiah, Jonathan, and Brett....downing shots of Chinese hot sauce and red hot sauce..... acting like men as eyes water and turn red...needing urgently to use the bathroom over and over again...and then "the" event.

Involving a toilet, Jeremiah, water and flour thrown through the air, a naked body, a shower to clean up.....and left over clothes (shown below...quite the outfit) Bryse looks thrilled at how sexy her man looks!

We don't have any pictures during "the" event, but fortunately Brett got some on camera ;) Maybe once he edits it I can post it...

We also had way too much fun playing the new Super Mario for the Wii. Great game. What a great way to end 2009. Looking forward to next year.

23 1/2 weeks

2009-12-22T10:24:00.000-08:00

Only 16 1/2 weeks left till "D" day. Here's to hoping I am able to be induced a week early...if my body cooperates. I remember when I had 11 weeks left to go with Sadie and it flew by....now I have 16 weekends left of freedom, of being a mother of one, of doing whatever I want (mostly), of sleeping in, of being a good person :) I am going to miss these 16 weekends to come. After that, my relaxing weekends wont' be so relaxing.

Well here's my pregnant bump at 23 weeks. Starting to get past that "do I look pregnant?" "oh I love having a pregnant belly" to the point of " oh my goodness, I've grown again??" " how much bigger will I get??"

And here I am at 23 weeks with Sadie...I like to compare and see if I looked any different. I guessssss my belly was higher with Sadie and lower with this little boy.

Well I better soak in this pregnancy for all it's worth. I love feeling my little boy kick inside :) It's such a precious feeling. I love knowing that I am about to be someone's mother...and they are waiting for me.
This will all be over before I know it!! I have to say I am blessed with easy pregnancies, but I sure pay for it once they're out!

Keeping you up to date...

2009-11-18T07:16:00.001-08:00

So it's been a few weeks since we went on our Bermuda cruise...it has taken me this long to recover from it and try to forget it before I posted. I haven't gotten sick from this pregnancy, but I got sick on this boat. 100 mile per hour winds, 15-20 swells, ya it was not so fun some of the time.
We got one good family picture taken on the trip. Although since we had to tickle Sadie to make her smile, she looks like she has some sort of mental problem with her hands all cock eyed. But Brett and I look good, which is more important for this picture, lol.

Sadie and Daddy touching an ice thing on the ship.

Bermuda. Which was actually okay. Except for the traveling to the beach and shopping, not so much fun, it was a nice island with really nice people.

Sadie, who hated the beach just 5 short months ago, loved it this time. She couldn't stop throwing seashells in the water and didn't mind getting wet. A huge improvement from last time.

Anyway, the next time I get on a cruise will be too soon. Fortunately, with this new baby coming, we won't have to worry about a vacation for awhile :)

In more exciting news, I am feeling the baby move around :) One more week till we find out the sex!! Can we keep it a secret from everyone else? I don't know.....probably not.

We are trying to find a good family name for this kid, since Sadie Christine is a family name. Here are some names I have found in my digging.....

Ellsworth
Frederick
Howard
Donald

Elizabeth ( all over the place in our family)
Joyce
Margaret
Elsbeth

I think I will keep looking :)

Halloween 3

2009-11-01T05:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe this is Sadie's third Halloween. This will be her last one alone....next year she'll be sharing the attention with her new little sibling.

This year Sadie was an awesome Garden Gnome, and no I didn't make it. It was cheaper to buy this thing. I love picking out her costumes and dread the day she wants to make her own choices....can't I just do that for her forever?

Anyway, this year she finally got the hang of knocking on doors and getting candy, and even saying thank you to everyone. I just hope she doesn't keep up this habit of thinking she can knock on doors and get candy! She was so polite too, she would only take one piece of candy from the baskets until we would force her to take more and more. It was a great Halloween this year!

neighborhood kids.....

cheese....

cutest gnome I have ever seen!

14 weeks...

2009-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't have facebook to see :)

I kept a picture update of my bulging body when I was pregnant with Sadie, so I figured to be fair I should do it with this baby. Can't start skimping out on baby number two already :)

Here I am with Sadie....

Here I am with baby #2.....
(wow, I am ten pounds lighter than I was last time before I got pregnant...mental note...keep the ten pounds off...)

I felt like I am so much bigger than last time...but now that I can compare I would say I might be slightly smaller? Or at least the same size. Thank goodness....

puMpKin pAinTing

2009-10-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Intensely working.....

hmmmm, something is still missing....
there we go.
finished products!
Ah but of course......everything has to end in tears!