Discipline & Training

One day last week, I woke up and thought "I do NOT want to discipline and train ANYONE today!!!!" Life with a wild and crazy 3 year old has been wearing me down. I have been getting really frustrated with Braylen and seem to have a very short fuse. He is learning to be more independent and more "I do want I want!" Not cool........ I have been reading this book called "Don't Make Me Count to Three" which is all about getting to the heart of discipline. It shows you how to discipline without threatening your child (hence the title of the book). My friend Jessica recommended it to me and I never finished it. It's really awesome. 

Potty training is super hard too. For some reason he wants nothing to do with it. I know that it doesn't help when I am showing my frustration but I can't help it! He knows how to do it but he just doesn't care. We did have a few break throughs today-he went on the potty twice! Yay! He walked around in his Diego underwear and didn't have a single accident. He kept walking by the mirror in our room and checking himself out. So funny. He was so happy with himself.

What I love about Braylen is that he really has no clue right now when I am upset with him. If I have a short fuse or just talk to him in an unloving way (like this morning he woke up at 6:45am and I was so tired that I kept telling him to leave me alone-so mean of me), he continues to treat me with kindness. He loves  me unconditionally-no matter what. It's amazing. I love thinking that that is how the Lord feels about us. Unconditional love. No matter what. Thank goodness that we have a Heavenly Father that feels that way about us.

Being a mom is so hard sometimes. I love it though. This great responsibility continues to teach me about patience, kindness, endurance, selfishness........to name a FEW! It's all worth it.

It is getting close to Braylen's bedtime. Better get off here and get him to bed. Here is a picture of Bray during one of his naps. He was having a hard time winding down but finally fell asleep at some point. I decided to check on him and this is what I found. 

That's one way to fall asleep! Good night! 

He was still breathing by the way! And yes I took the tote off of him after the pictures.

Lately.......

I feel like I am constantly saying things like "we've been so busy" or "what a few weeks it has been" but literally...............what a few weeks it has been! 

3 weeks ago Braylen started to lose his appetite and was having really terrible diarrhea (not to be gross just wanting to keep track of our crazy weeks). This was on a Monday which was also the same day that I was working hard on potty training! Thank the GOOD Lord that when he had a TERRIBLE accident he was in a training diaper and I happened to change him on the hardwood floor and not the carpet. Nasty. The poor kid had a week of no appetite and diarrhea. Well, then I started feeling sick! I also felt very, very stressed out. I couldn't eat or sleep. I just kept feeling very sorry for myself and hurt (for things that I don't really want to talk about now but maybe later). 

I finally started to feel better but Braylen started to have an asthma "flair up." I took him to the doctors and they gave him a prescription for cough medicine and told me to start giving him his inhaler again. Not fun! This was last Wednesday, and the next day we were flying down with my mom to see my sister and brother in law. Braylen seemed to cough less and less as the week ended. 

Que Friday- we were in Charlotte having a great time and got super cheap tickets to an NBA game ($3 bucks a piece!). We came home later and I put Braylen to bed. I decided to take some sleeping pills to help me sleep because I just felt unrested. Well it totally back fired. I can't really explain what happened but my mom and brother in law ended up taking my to the hospital. It was really really scary and we just didn't know what was going on. I ended up having a reverse reaction to the medicine because of stress and lack of sleep. :( Thankfully I was fine after resting and letting the medicine out of my system. Oh I forgot to mention that our basement started to flood while this was going on. My poor husband had to deal with that on top of me losing my mind. I am so thankful that we live close to our family because Guy's precious mom and dad really came to the rescue!! 

The next day we were all so tired but also knew that a certain 3 year old wakes up at 7am on the dot. Braylen was acting very strange Saturday morning and later threw up 4 times that day! Ugh. Poor thing. He continued to get sick a few times each day for over 4 days! Once we got back to NKY I was able to get him to see the doctors and the only thing he came up with was that Braylen had a reaction to the cough medicine he was taking. Braylen did not have a fever and was fine before and after he got sick. We stopped giving him the medicine and he is back to himself. However, now Guy is sick! Stay away from our family. :(

As I type all of this out, I really can't believe all that has happened these last few weeks. I am thankful that nothing worse happened and that God is constant and compassionate to our family. I have learned so much about my thought life and that I need to constantly fight to believe what is true. I get myself so worked up about things or worried that it affects everything about me. I've been feeling very misunderstood and I so badly what to voice what is true in my life but God is the one true Judge, and I am learning that I am justified by him. I can only imagine how his Son felt misunderstood his entire life. That brings me comfort! I am hopeful that instead of feeling sorry for myself or mistreated or stressed, I will just grow stronger. Stronger in my walk with the Lord and stronger in relationships. 

Big sigh of relief. 

Maybe next week will bring a "lighter" post. One about.............laughter and..........flowers.....or something like that. 

By the way, even though our trip to Charlotte was beyond CRAZY!!!, we still had a great time. My super cute sis is having a boy! Yay! I envision Braylen and baby Meiman as best buddies forever. I'm so excited to be an aunt! 

Here are the only 2 pictures that I took-which were on my phone! 

Paparazzi. :)

Just chillin' at the airport. Waiting for our ride. 

Thank you for reading! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us next! 

One Full Month

January is always a really fun month for us (as we celebrate 3 birthdays) but it is also super busy! This month Guy went out of town the first weekend of January, the second weekend we celebrated Braylen's 3rd birthday, and the third weekend we attended the Annual YL Winter Retreat at Great Wolf Lodge. Throw in a few fun bday dinners, a UK basketball game, playing in the snow, and a bridal show-you've got yourself one full month! And now here it is the end of January! This past weekend, after Guy came home from work on Saturday, we had a fun evening of just hanging out together! It seems like with Guy's work schedule, full-time school schedule and YL, family time is hard to come by so it was so nice to just be together. Guy is our hero! He works so hard for our family and Master Provisions, all the while serving and loving those around him. 

Braylen's birthday this year was a little different. We had a small gathering of family and we also celebrated my birthday and Guy's the same night! It just seemed like a lot to throw a huge bday party this year-especially right after Christmas! We have come up with a few creative parties that we can throw him in the future but this year it was nice to have something small. We did a Mickey Mouse theme and my mom made a MMouse cake. It was so fun to see Braylen's reaction to it all. Here are a few pics from the night.

 This is the Mickey blanket I made him. 

Super homemade but it works. 

We had some friends stop by afterwards!  

A few fun things about Braylen right now:

-He tells random strangers that they are cute.

-If there is a puddle of water, he has to stomp in it.

-He has memorized a few stories and can "read" them to you.

-He talks himself out of being sad or of crying: "I'm not going to do it (cry)"

-He is using his imagination while playing with toys! So fun.

A few not so fun things about Braylen:

-He wants to watch TV all the time! We limit it everyday.

-He does NOT want to potty train.

-He sometimes says "yucky" after we kiss him. 

Happy January Birthday's Everyone!!

Happy Birthday Braylen!

Braylen! At exactly 7:43pm, you turn 3 years old!! I cannot believe how quickly you have grown. You are sweet, loving, cuddly, funny, energetic and musically gifted! You have waited for this day all week and we so look forward to celebrate with you tonight with a few family members! 

Exactly 3 years ago, Guy rushed me to the hospital after my water broke around 7am. 12 hours later, along with lots of popsicles, itunes mixes, visitors, jokes, naps-oh and my epidural running out- you came!!!!!!!!!! All 9 pounds and 21.5 inches of you! The cutest, biggest baby boy. You were a joy then and even more so today. Being a mother to a boy continues to be sweeter and sweeter. 

So you just keep on taking that nap right now Bray...........

because when you wake up, it's party time!

Just a few days old. How quickly time has flown by.

A New Recipe for Each Week

I didn't really plan to do this but for the past two weeks, I have made a new recipe at least one time for dinner. I have been really inspired to continue to do this every week (we'll see how long I can do it for at least!!). My mom gave me the Pioneer Woman Cookbook for Christmas and I love it! She is a very good cook. I can't wait to try lots of recipes (including Spicy Pulled Pork with tortillas, Cinnamon Rolls, and pico de gallo-which I am making this weekend for Bray's small family party). I also have a ton of recipes from when I had a subscription to Cook's Country. They have awesome recipes! They tend to be somewhat intimidating but I have found that if you organize your ingredients ahead of time, they are very easy to follow. Just last week I made Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes for Guy's birthday dinner. It was from Cook's Country. It was delicious and super, super easy. Here is the recipe:


Steak with Crispy Spiced Potatoes
1 pound red potatoes, quartered
2 tbsps veg. oil
2 strip steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed of fat and halved crosswise
Salt and pepper
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if using hot paprika)


1) Toss potatoes and 1 tbsp oil in large bowl. Wrap tightly with plastic and microwave until edges of potatoes are translucent, 4 to 7 minutes, shaking bowl (without removing plastic) to redistribute potatoes halfway through cooking.


2) Pat steaks dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cook steaks until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.


3) Drain potatoes and cook in empty skillet until browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Add butter, oregano, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Serve to your hungry husband!!


Or if you'd rather, just pull up a chair, relax and snack on some cheerios!

Braylen's Birthday Week!

Hello family and friends! My little boy is turning 3 this Friday! As Little Einstein's would say "I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!" These 3 years have gone by so quickly! Braylen has grown a ton this year! He has turned into a little toddler. He continues to surprise us everyday with his vocabulary and speech (a few weeks ago he told me that our Christmas tree was beautiful-now he says that word all the time). He LOVES music and LOVES to come up with songs. His favorite instruments are drums and trumpets. He will use whatever is on hand to make music-spoons, cooking utensils, toy golf clubs.....you name it. His new interests are playing tackle and pretending to be a cowboy (he says, "come on partner!"). 

Braylen is as sweet as can be. He is still very cuddly and loving; giving us hugs and kisses. Sometimes he'll just put his arm around me and say, "mommy, I love you." He seems to be very kind towards other kids and wants to play with everyone. He has his moments but for the most part he is very considerate of those around him. 

We look forward to him learning more about God's word and applying it to his life. It's never too early to start right? The way that he memorizes songs shows me that he is ready to memorize some bible verses. 

This year will bring so many new challenges and experiences (he wants nothing to do with potty training! ugh!!) and we look forward to this age group. He is able to sign up for soccer, t-ball, preschool, music lessons.......... so many new things!

Here is one of my favorite videos of Braylen around 8 months old! Braylen and I had a fun time going through videos of him as a baby. We laughed and laughed. I told him that he was the baby in the video but he doesn't believe me. :) 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYLEN! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! 

P.S. Braylen does not want anything for his birthday except for a yellow Mickey Mouse cake.  It's the small things. Good thing my mom is an excellent cake baker. 

A Southern Christmas

Wow. It has been a long time since I have posted anything. I do not like going weeks without updating our blog! Did you know that you can upload your blog and "X" company will create a book out of your blog posts? I really want to do that one day. How fun it will be to look back through the years!

Since we last left off.......over a month ago......Guy and I had celebrated our 4 year anniversary! We enjoyed dinner at Brio's and it was delicious. Guy's steak came out over cooked so when our bill came they said we weren't being charged for it! We talked about favorite moments in our relationship and things that we love about our family. God has certainly challenged and blessed us these last few years. I never, ever could have planned what has happened but I am thankful for where we are today. 

We enjoyed spending time with our family during Thanksgiving! Jess and Vince came in town too. We ate with Guy's family for lunch and then headed over to my grandparents house (my dad's side) for dinner. Then we all went to the movies! Including Braylen! This is a tradition that we've had for years! I love it. We saw Megamind and it was really funny. This year we had Thanksgiving on my mom's side on Friday instead of Thurs. I'm so glad we did that this year! We're normally running around to three different places on Thanksgiving but we were able to slow down, visit, and enjoy our time this year. 

We had a great time and Eric and Kristan's wedding on Dec. 10th-Jess and Vince came in town for the weekend so we had more time with them! Did I mention my sister is pregnant??????? I don't think so. She is about 13 weeks right now and we are so excited for them! We also celebrated my dad's birthday on that Saturday which was so nice having us all together. We went to watch my dad's bball game (he is a ref for varsity high school games) and it was at the Bank of KY Center. They were having a charity game and were giving away prizes through a raffle. Well my number was picked! We won a $150 grocery gift card to Remke's! How cool is that? I was excited. It's actually a really neat story. Ask me about it. :) 

We also managed to play in the snow one day! It was freezing. 

Braylen has been painting more. He is wearing his "painting" hat. 

Here were are at the library for Christmas crafts. 

With our leader team at the YL Christmas Party!

The next week (Dec. 16th) we left for our family trip to New Orleans! We drove all day and finally arrived at 2am our time. The next few days were PACKED seeing family, friends, eating, shopping, eating, walking, eating.....did I mention that we ATE down there? I use to have very boring taste buds until I started dating Guy that is! Now I am more open to trying new things (not oysters! or much seafood for that matter) but I now like foods with more flavor and spice! I had my fair share of red beans and rice, gumbo, and beignets. We had a wonderful trip and were so thankful to be down there with Guy's family! 

A few highlights: the family reunion with the Domec's, lunch with the Noffsinger's in the quarter, seeing my super-cute/gonna-have-a-baby-soon friend Kelly (her hubby works for the Saints which raised my cool factor with Guy's fam), finally meeting baby Ava!, taking Bray on a street car, and walking around the quarter.  

Guy and Bray on a street car! Bray loved it. 

Guy with his grandma, Mommy I, at Peggy Joy's house

Guy and Braylen watching Polar Express at Mommy I's house (where we stayed).

Just make yourself comfy!

Braylen showing off his musical talents.  

"Braylen, do you want to play soccer?"

"No!"

"Basketball? Baseball? Football?"

"No! No! No! I want to be in the band and march."

I'm doomed.......... :)

At lunch in the French Quarter!

We came home at midnight on the 23rd and were quickly thrown into the busyness of Christmas the next day! Which sadly made things go by quickly but we were thankful to be home. We missed our YL friends and family in KY. It was nice to have snow on the ground and having a white Christmas. We worked hard this year teaching Braylen that Jesus is why we have Christmas and not Santa. We read the story of his birth on Christmas Eve and talked about it before Bray went to sleep. He wore these PJ's to bed..........

Poor kid. I got a 4T and they were still too tight. We laughed so hard! He will be so mad at me one day. Worth it. 

On Christmas morning

 Christmas night

We had a wonderful Christmas! God is so good to our family and we continue to seek his guidance for our family. We are looking forward to what He has in store for us this year. We pray that he will motivate us to love those around us and seek Him out in all that we do.

Merry Christmas! 

I mean, happy new year! 

I mean, happy birthday Guy! 

We have a lot going on this month. :)

Cheers!