Girls Night Out..

Last night was quite the treat for me and vaughnie. My best friend Shannon and I agreed that we were in much need of some girl time. Her fiance works as a chef for Granite City so we (me, vaughn and shannon) went in and hung out. There were a few crazy people talking about kidnapping my girlie and taking her home with them so we had to keep a close eye on the little beauty. People from all over the restaurant kept coming up and saying how cute she was, how much they loved her hair, how they wanted to steal her. It was funny- and scary!! Shannon was going to get names just in case she ever shows up missing. Afterwards we killed some time at walmart and hit up the dollar rack and scored some pretty cute clothes. I always have such a blast when i hang out with Shannon and it refreshes me and always brings me back to who i want to be...she just has that effect on people. You cant not have a great time when your with her, Vaughn and i are so glad we have reconnected. She is so great with Vaughn too, already knowing her ticks and cues and exactly how to calm her. Its a nice break-without taking a break.

Tonight is family time...the first night of our new kinney family traditions....we have all picked out yummy recipes and will meet at mom and dads to cook them and then mow down. i am super excited!!!

Sunday is Maria's birthday and we are doing a big birthday dinner for her after church since her family is so far away. We love having her around. Its going to be a great weekend overall. I cant wait!

Can you find the baby??

My little girl decide this morning that she was a big girl and didnt want to be held or put to sleep by me holding her or rocking her. It broke my heart a little but once I laid her down, she pulled her "buddy" (aka her favorite blanket) over her face and was out like a light. SO much for all my hard work! The poor girl just wanted to stretch out and be left alone! I gotta say, I know the feeling. :)

cabin fever...

I am ready for spring...big time. I a, ready to accessorize and decorate with bright fun colors and i am ready to be outside. This morning we had some major cabin fever. Rudy had a root canal and by the time he got home , both vaughn and myself were pretty grouchy. I either wanted to go back to bed or get the heck outta the apartment. SO, we did. We went and visited my mom and dad at their offices and then did some target runarounds. I think vaughn had her fair share of in and out of the carseat, being passed around, asleep then awake-ness. By the time we got to target she was pretty mad. But I did the amazing push the cart with my stomach manueaver while i held her until she fell asleep. She pulled the blanket over her head and was out. Sometimes i wonder what babies think of all the touching by strangers and poking at them and trying to get them to smile when they're mad. I cant imagine how anyone who could talk would ever let that happen...so i feel badly for her sometimes. I feel like she just thinks.."what right do you strange people have pulling my blanket off my face, poking my stomach and telling me Im fat...one of these days- Ill get you back!!"

Tomorrow we are visiting ms barbs house to see how vaughn (and i) will do. then its hanging with amanda and gabs while she still feels up to our company. hurry dre, your cousin and aunt meg cant wait any longer to meet you!

old mcdonnald had a farm....

E-I-E-I-O...

spending time...

I have been spending every second i can with my lil baby girl before i start my new job. I start on the 21st and just excepted the position today. I tell ya, it has to be the hardest thing a mommy has to do to leave her baby girl- with anyone, even someone you trust 100%. I am worried she will get scared and i wont be there to comfort her, or she will do something new for the first time and i wont see it, or she will think i am choosing to not be with her. It breaks me and i have to say i have had a very emotional time with it. Before, i think i was pretending iwould never go back to work, but I know i have to. If anyone hears of any jobs opening up at a school- as an associate or whatever, please please please let me know!! The hours at a school would be perfect and i would have the summers to spend with her- sigh. I will miss her dearly and will probably spend most of the first few weeks crying in the bathroom all day!

She really is changing so fast, teething already we think, nearly sitting up, and smiling at everything. She has yet to belly laugh and i cant wait to hear that. I am already looking forward to our trip to Arizona to spend all of my time with her. That is so far away though- so for now i am enjoying every single moment i have with her....

less than one week until baby andre comes and i am SO excited. It is going to be weird not to just have Gabs as a niece, but dre as a nephew. it just hit me today in the shower that he isnt just my sisters baby, but my NEPHEW! CRAZY- but i LOVE IT.

I am ready for spring. I am ready to open the windows and get some fresh air. I am ready to go for walks with vaughn and show her the outside world, no blankets covering her face. She has never been outside with no blanket over her... i cant wait to show her that.

I bought these sunglasses for her for our trip to Arizona since its an outside wedding and all:) We tried them on and she thoguht it was pretty funny to see the world in blue... she really looked around like she noticed the difference. What a doll!

breathe in...breathe out....

Its been a stressful past few days/weeks etc and i have not been faithful at blogging. Im sorry about that.

It has been off again on again with a job...yes i have one, no i dont, wait...wait..yes i do, oh- gotcha, no i dont. so that has REALLY stressed me out. Im hoping the current job offer will go through- however, the hours i was hired on are now being switched to night hours (which i obviously cant and dont want to do.) So i am hoping we can work something out.

Things with my past job at LA have been a mess- no communication, everything there is complete disaster which makes switching over insuance etc a real challenge.

My sweet sweet gorgeous little baby girl has been getting her ngihts and days mixed up (although she did A+ last night, only getting up once. She is changing so rapidly i think it confuses her on everything- how much her body needs to sleep, how much and how often she needs to eat. .... just when she gets a good schedule, her body demands changes. She is doing great thouhg. Learning to sit up (already?? I know!!) She doesnt want to sit in her swing because she is constantly trying to push herself into an upright sitting position...she loves to stand on her legs with us holding onto her hands...she is SO strong. I fear she will be walking by six months at this rate. Its so much fun to watch her grow though- i really am loving every single second of being a mommy.

Baby Dre Comes in just a week and a few days... ICANT WAIT. I told rudy this morning taht i feel like i cant show on the outside how excited i am on the inside and its frustrating me. I just want to jump up and down. I tell complete strangers when they ask how i am...." Good, and my sister is having a baby in a week." They look at me like..girl, get some friends!! But i just trully cant wait to love on him. Gabriela is such a great cousin, i cant wait to see her in the big sister roll! Its all so exciting. They will be the three muskateers!!!

I had a jewelry show tonight that was a complete bust! I love doing them but when i dont even sell enough to enter it in for a show, its dissappointing, frustrating and alot of work for nothing. oh well, im home now and waiting for chicken manicotti to come out of the oven. Im starving...

P.S. Who didnt love the glimpse of spring we had today..it was gorgeous, i even went to the carwash!!!

A New Year- How refreshing...

New years is always so refreshing for me...a new beginning-(and a great time to make a HUGE to do list...my fav.) Even though it was a bum night spent alone with my baby girl (we didnt even make it til midnight.) I was thankful to be home with her, out of the cold and snuggling on the couch.

The last job I thought i was going to get was a complete disaster...a communication firm who hightly lacks communication skills... bad news..

But, i have another interview tomorrow- so wish me luck. Hopefully something wonderful will come up quickly. :)

I always wonder how the year will go. What goals will I reach, will it be a good year for everyone I love? So far, things look great...baby andre will be here in no time at all. I cant wait for this! I cant stop thinking about him- about everydetail of him....I am so glad that vaughn-elise will have someone so close in age to her to grow up with. We will have the three muskateers- how much fun is that?? We are making a trip to Arizona the first of April for my cousins wedding and we are all so excited for that!

My new years resolution is to "go green" in 5-10 different areas...we will see how well i do. Im thinking of convincing my dad to plant a small orchard in the back yard (just a few fruit trees and berry bushes.) but its quite possible i should start smaller- like switching out my lightbulbs, maybe.

I hope this year holds more time with the ones we love and less stress all around.

PS...Little ms Vaughn-elise has learned..wait, mastered..sucking her thumb. Im so proud!! She has been working and working on this since she was born and is now using it to comfort herself!!! Hopefully before long- we can toss those binks!