Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

I just have to admit that I LOVE following Sarah Scott Broadus's blog when she has "Wednesday Words." I've been thinking....I wanna do something like that!!! hehe :) So, I have come up with "Friday's thoughts." This will just be a fun time for me to be completely random (which I love), and share whatever is on my mind :)
So...today's thoughts:


~I love drink mixes that you add to bottled water! Since I am prone to getting 20 kidney stones a year, I have to drink LOTS of water. BARF! I hate water!! So, thank God for these little packets that turn boring water into a tolerable way to fight off kidney stones!


~Pizza Hut in McComb has TERRIBLE service!!!!!!! We went there last night and waited, NO LIE, 30 minutes for someone to just come get our drink orders! And when you have a very thirsty 3 year old...that is no fun! Not to mention: the phone was constantly ringing off the hook, our waiter was 10 years old, he was also waiting on his family (which got VIP service), the delivery guy looked like he was high on something (not good to drive while high), and it took about 2 hours to get our 2 pizzas! However...Abby did meet a friend (in the bathroom haha) and they played together the entire time we were there (not in the bathroom the whole time). And we were there with some friends, so at least it was a good time to visit...just not a good time to be hungry.


~I cannot, not, not stay on top of household chores! My goal has gone from: having a clean house, to having a clean living room and kitchen! haha!! I just give up on Abby's room, because as soon as I clean it, she comes in and destroys it! And our room is the gathering place every morning for breakfast, cartoons, dressing room, etc. So, it's pointless to clean our room because every morning it's back to mass chaos!!! Oh well....such is life!


~My husband just called and asked me on a date! WOOHOOO!!! The in-laws will keep the kids, we're going to eat at Biaggi's, and going to see a movie! LOVE DATE NIGHTS!


~I am incredibly excited about starting our new "Dave Ramsey Budget" this month!I am a "nerd" when it comes to making a budget and living by it. I love checking our account everyday to see what bill has been paid so that I can put a check by it on our budget excel! hahaha :)


~I get off at 12:00 today! I was going to take the kids to Jackson to see my dad, but the weather is just too blah :( So, instead...I'm going to leave the kids at daycare until 4:00, and enjoy 4 hours to myself. WHAT!?!?!?!? What will I do? I dont know...but I've already promised myself not to clean or be productive. I think I'll go pick up some fast food and a chick flick, get in my pjs, and lay around until the kids get home. Ahhhhhhhhh......


~My hair is out of control! My roots are starting to show, the length is bothersome, and it has NO body! But.....I go Tuesday to get it done. I don't think a $100 hairstyle is on the Dave Ramsey budget...but...I. don't. care. That will be my splurge for the month :)


~I counted weight watcher points this week just for the fun of it. HAHAHAHA!!! There is NO way I could ever do weight watchers! I am allowed 20 points a day...and apparently, I eat that many points in ONE MEAL! I really admire those that do weight watchers, because that takes a lot of self discipline. YOU GO GIRLS!

~The calendar on my desk is still sitting on January 13th, and that's only because a student changed it from September to January. And while we're on that subject, this is what January 13th says..."Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God's best gifts."

~Why is it that I have 1,000's of pictures on my camera or saved to my computer, but all my frames have way outdated pics in them???


~I need advice/tips/encouragement. Michael won a trip to Austria through Farm Bureau. We leave April 25 and come back May 3!!!!!!!!!!! The kids are not allowed to go, so I am stressing about leaving them for so long. Can anyone give me any advice on this? I'm having a real hard time with it :(

Thanks for wasting 5 minutes of your day reading my thoughts for today. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend. And I challenge you to--date your spouse at some point this weekend. It doesn't have to be a dinner/movie date. It could just be a TV date after the kids have gone to bed. But make a point to set aside some time for just yall this weekend.

a random thinker,
Tonya

ABBY'S 3RD BIRTHDAY SLIDESHOW!

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I can finally breathe!!!!

I am SO excited that I can finally breathe and rest for "a minute!!" In August, I was busy with a new full-time job, being 9 months pregnant, being in a new house, and getting ready for all the changes that 2 kids bring you. From September to November, I had Parker and kept Abby home from school because of the swine flu. So, needless to say, I had my hands full and didn't have time to think, much less REST! In November, I started back to work and was busy cramming 3 months of recruitment into ONE! Then in December, I was buying and wrapping presents, hosting Christmas parties, going to Christmas parties, watching Christmas movies, being Santa Claus, and just trying to enjoy the holidays in my "spare time!" In January, I started back to work, got Parker settled in at Co-Lin daycare, advised/registered a billion students, finished up my College Preps at the high schools, started Abby in gymnastics, planned a birthday party, HAD a birthday party, hosted a baby shower, and now....I can finally breathe!!!!!

Whew...I think I just now realzied how crazy busy my life has been over the past 6 months!!!!!!! I'm really looking forward to just taking it easy for a while and maybe getting to rest a little. I was asked to join Junior Auxillary of Brookhaven this past week and I was soooooooooo excited about it, because it's something I've wanted to do since I moved here. But after someone explained it to me in great detail, I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it right now? I don't like to commit to something and only be able to give 10%, and I don't like to over-commit. So, JA just might have to wait another year or two...but it is DEFLY something that I want to do!

So, Michael and I started a Dave Ramsey "class" at FBC of Brookhaven. We've only met twice, but I am SO excited about learning how to manage our money a little better. For those of yall who KNOW me, you know that I am O-C-D about everything...but especially money!! I have a strict budget that I write out every month, we do the "envelope system", and we always have money saved (well, until Christmas wiped us out). But one thing I've never been good at is--paying off debt. We don't have much debt at all, but I get so stressed out about it. SO, I'm really excited to let Dave take over and have financial peace!

The kids:

*Abby- Like I said earlier, Abby has started gymnastics! And she is loving it!! She is the youngest and smallest in her class, but she can hold her own! She keeps up with the big girls and does everything they do! In between her class meetings, I "practice" with Abby. We practice cartwheels, flips, splits, balance, and toe touches (more like spread eagles hahaha). She LOVES practicing and showing me and her daddy all her "tricks."

*Parker- is eating BABY FOOD!! I can't believe it...but Dr. Smith gave us the go ahead on baby food at Parker's 4 month check up. We started him with rice for a couple weeks and then introduced CARROTS! Well, actually I introduced carrot apple mango first....BIG MISTAKE! He was obsessed...and wouldn't take his bottle for 2 or 3 feedings! But then I got him some plain carrots, and he has done so good with them...and is still continuing to suck down his bottle. I nursed Parker for 4 months and then switched to formula. He started off taking 4 oz, but now he takes 5 or 6 oz! Him and Abby have both had congestion/cough for the past week. Probably because this stupid MS weather keeps going from 15 to 50 to 70 to 45 to 60. UGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I hate when my babies don't feel good! Parker started daycare at Co-Lin this month. His teacher is Mrs. Maragaret and he LOVES her!!!!! Parker is one of 3 babies in his class, so he gets lots of attention. The childcare is right across the street from my office, so I go check on him alot :) I am so blessed to have both my kids on campus with me, and I am forever grateful to Mrs. Mary Price for making it happen!

So, I keep forgetting to "dump" my pictures onto my computer so I can share them with everyone! I'll try to do that later today and have a "picture post" to share soon!

ready to rest,
Tonya

My babies are growing up soooooooo fast!!!

Ok, so we just celebrated Abby's 3rd....yes, THIRD...birthday!!!!! And we've also celebrated Parker turning 4 months...sigh! It seriously feels like just yesterday Abby was learning to crawl...and now we're almost ready for Parker to begin that journey! Wow....



Abigail Roselynn Bishop
-27 lb, 34 in
-She starts gymnastics TOMORROW!! I can't wait for her to have a little "hobby" that's an hour focused on just her! I'm so excited because her class is every Tuesday at 5:30, so that means I'll be able to take her every week and watch :)))
-She LOVES her baby brother. Of course she gets jealous sometimes, but for the most part she is a great help!
-She has so many friends...and she talks about them all the time. She gets so excited when we have play dates with them. And Michael and I don't mind these play dates one bit, because the parents of Abby's friends are some of our best friends in the world!
-She is very creative. However, she doesn't like to play by herself very much. She wants Michael and I to be part of her pretend play at all times, so there really is never a dull moment around here. I can't wait til Parker can play with her!
-She is sassyyyyyyyyyy and acts just like me! It really cracks me up, so I end up laughing when I should be getting on to her for certain things.
-I could go on and on about how precious she is, but all summed up....she is a pure joy!

Brandon "Parker" Bishop
-13 lb 2 oz, 25 in
-He is laughing!!! We just found out, like 10 minutes ago, how to make him laugh hysterically!! (SP??) It's the most precious sound in the world.
-He is such a happy, laid back, chill baby! He has his moments, but really the only time you'll hear him cry is when he's hungry....and sometimes he fights sleep like WHOA!
-He is FINALLY sleeping in his crib (a little ha!). For the first 4 months of his life, he slept right next to me in our bed every night. I loved that time (and still do), but I knew that it was time to get him in his crib :( So, he sleeps in his crib from about 10-4, and then when (if) he wakes up crying, I just put him in bed with me. I'm not the kind of mom that will wake up in the middle of the night and try to rock him back to sleep....or just listen to him cry himself back to sleep....he goes right back to sleep when I lay him down with me, so that's what we do!
-He's rolling over! From front to back...and occassionally back to front.
-He smiles nonstop...melts my heart every time!
-He lovessssssss watching T.V., so I got him some Baby Einstein movies and he'll watch the entire movie!
-He's getting alot more hair on the top of his head...my mom made a mohawk with it today :)
-His doctor told us to go ahead and start him on cereal and some veggies, so I can't wait to see how that goes!
-He is a total mama's boy...and I'm okay with that! When he's upset, he doesn't want anyone but me.

Okay...it's taken me an hour to write this blog...trying to cook dinner, then eat dinner, playing with Abby, watching The Bachelor, and trying to just relax a little. I'll try to be more consistent with these blogging updates....but I'll go ahead and apologize when I'm not :)

I love my life as a mommy and a wife,
Tonya

These are a FEW of my favorite things...

I'm a random blogger....I can't help it! haha!!! I have no rhyme or reason for anything I blog about...or anything I do, for that matter :) But I've just been on a kick of finding happiness and excitement in little silly things. Such as:

*Snuggies- obviously snuggies were the #1 Christmas gift of 2009 (well, maybe not #1), because I ordered 4 in the beginning of November and they were on backorder until Jan 17! SERIOUSLY!?!? No thanks! So, I cancelled those and went and bought some to give as gifts. Well, then I wanted one REAL bad....but...all the stores were sold out?? Soooo...finally Wal-Mart got some in and I about pee'd in my pants when I saw it. It's like a light from God shone down around it. The box with the pink snuggie on the front, so warm and cuddly, ahhhh....I've been snuggled up in it ever since :)
*Carmex- there is no greater feeling than the burning sensation of Carmex on your chapped lips. LOVE IT!
*Germ X- thank you, swine freakin flu for making me a crazy germ person!!!! Not just me, but I make Michael and Abby disinfect their hands after they touch anything that may have a germ on it! But it's been good, because for the most part we've stayed pretty healthy...just a mild cold and about 303402834 kidney stones (but germ x doesn't help with those)
*Fire- i am loving having a fireplace in our new house! and michael is undeniably obsessed!!!!!! there's just something about getting in your pjs, wrapping up in your snuggie, starting a fire, and watching TV with your hubby, or playing on the floor with the kiddos.
*Fried rice- YUMMY!!!!!! I could probably eat Bonsai every day of my life. But since we live an hour from Bonsai, it just can't happen that way. But...I have a husband that makes the 2nd best fried rice EVER! It just makes my tummy so happy! :)
*Getting my eyebrows waxed- I'm not sure there are many people out there that love putting hot wax on their eyebrows, followed by putting a piece of paper over that hot wax, and then ripping it off with no warning. But i LOVE it....and i also love having the stray ones plucked. HAHA!! I love freshly waxed eyebrows....even though mine stay red for about a week afterwards!
*Clean babies- I love giving my babies a bath. First of all, it's probably good for them to stay clean. Secondly, i love the smell and sight of a clean baby.
*Facebook- I'm just not sure what I'd do without it. I love to stalk people and their photos. Confession: I have about 10 people that I search for right when I sign in, to see if they've added new pics or to see what they're up to...but I will never say who! heehee!
*Sweet tea- It has become a treat for me, since sweet tea is a kidney stone's worst enemy. I mainly drink water, but sometimes I'll splurge for a large sweet tea....and I enjoy every drop!
*Wheel of fortune- I'm so good at this game! I wish they'd come to Brookhaven so I could win millions.
*XM radio- Michael got me XM for the 'burban for Christmas, and I'm obsessed. POP 2K and 90's on 90 are my favorites.
*A clean house- I'm real OCD about having a clean house. I cannot stand for things to be out of place. But I get it honestly. However, I have just recently found someone to come once a week to clean for me. I cannot wait!!!!

there are many more, but the Bachelor just came on so I must go watch! Happy New Year, by the way! I hope God blesses each one of you in 2010.

easily amused,
Tonya