Tough.

Not only is Brooke one tough cookie.....I am wondering if the doctor's that prescribe eye drops for a three year old have ever TRIED to actually put them in a toddler's eyes?! MAN, talk about a task! I have heard the analogy of trying to nail Jell-o to the wall before, but never before now did I think I had done anything to compare. It's not too hard as long as Steven holds her down and I hold the eye open.....but I tried it by myself and well, that wasn't pretty.

Brooke is doing MUCH better already this morning from only 5 drops of eye drops. I am very impressed with how much better her eye already looks. Her allergies are better this morning too, so all in all a great start to our weekend!

It IS that time of year again.

My poor Brooke is once again under the weather. Hit by West Texas allergies. And, yes I know they don't just happen in West Texas. I sent Brooke to preschool doped up on Benadryl Wednesday and the teacher said she did really well until story time. She was staring with a glazed over look off into space instead of listening. Go figure. Since then, her allergies are still horrible. She has drainage and the cough. I really hate it when my baby is sick, and there is not much out there I will use the word hate with either.

Wednesday afternoon she came up to me rubbing her eye and told me she just scratched it. It turned red immediately, I didn't think much about it because she never slowed down. Insert this morning. She woke up with her eye super swollen and the entire thing red. I was afraid she has pink eye, and yes since she always gets sick on the weekends I was determined to get her in to a doctor today! I went to an urgent care clinic because all doctors we know were booked solid. I was pleasantly surprised by only waiting about 5 minutes before we were in WITH the doctor! She does not have pink eye, but instead a bacterial infection caused by when she scratched her eye. The doc said it would have likely spread to the other eye within about 12 hours, so I am very glad we went when we did. Now, antibiotic drops for the next 5 days and hopefully those beautiful baby blues will be well again!

I did include a pitiful pic of my babies baby blues.....red included. It hasn't stopped her, but the allergies have slowed her down quite a bit.

I will make myself go take pictures of all of the dirt work Steven has done this week while on 'vacation'. Since the dirt work is done he has now nearly completed our back fence. He is behind me taking his first break while Brooke is napping because where he needs to work is right outside her bedroom window.

The rest of the post just has some fun pictures of Brooke.....go figure!

We try to eat healthy around here. And try to leave sweets as an occasional treat, so when I ask Brooke what she wants for a snack and she says 'candy bar', she gets a granola bar and loves them. I am dreading the day she asks someone else for a candy bar and actually gets one!

Brooke does not share our feeling about dandelions. She loves them and thinks they are "BEautiful!"

Steven's folks went on a late anniversary trip last week and we kept their little dog, Nipper. He is a miniature version of our dog Cooper, so everyone thinks he is just a puppy. I put him up on top of Brooke's table to pet him and when I turned around to get something I looked back over and he had hopped into our storage trunk and was lying on the seat cushions. He's no dummy! Well, you know who else had to climb in!

They would both disappear and when I hollered at them to make sure they were behaving this is the look I got.

I have told you in previous posts about Brooke wanting to pick out her clothes nowadays. Some days she couldn't care less, but Tuesday was another story. It was cool Tuesday morning and Steven was doing dirtwork with the tractor and Brooke wanted to ride with him for a while. So, I got out some jeans I got a great deal on and then added bling to, which she's admired now for weeks. When I put them on her you would have thought I shot her. She was devasted, tears rolling down her face. When I asked what on earth was wrong her response was, "Momma I needed PINK pants." Oh my....yes, I gave in and let her pick her outfit and below is what she wore. What she's doing in the picture is something else she's started doing. She will stop in the strangest places (insert Home Depot paint isle while Mommy and Daddy both had their hands full) and do ballet.....her words not mine, so here is our little pink pant wearing ballerina!

I am hoping she is on the mend and the weekend and the next week with Steven off will be uneventful and restful! Have a great weekend!

Vacation, schmaycation.

Webster's Dictionary defines vacation as:
1. a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday.
2. freedom or release from duty, business, or activity.

My husband defines vacation as the following:

1. anything to get him out of the hospital for a few days.

Here is what he did on his FIRST day of vacation:

When Brooke got home from preschool she GLADLY hopped on to help.

If you're wondering what he's doing, he scraped up part of our yard where we cannot keep the grass in good shape. Here in Lubbock water is going sky high, so we decided a long time ago to quit watering anything we could.....and this patch of grass has been neglected. We haven't decided yet what we're going to do with it for sure, but it won't have to be watered whatever we do. While Steven was doing this he was asked and he basically volunteered to do at least 3 neighbors of ours so far. He started right after 8 this morning. He is in hog heaven. This sort of manual labor is so relaxing to him. After he finishes the 3 other yards he is going to replace the last section of our fence.....sounds like a wonderful vacation don't you think?! HA!

On to a few pictures from the last week. This is Miss Brooke in an outfit she picked out all on her own. Very well color coordinated, yet still has tons of attitude to go with it....gotta love that!

The look on her face is the look I got when I asked if she wanted to play with her buddy Aiden....of course she did!

We all needed a play date! These 'glasses' are now doctor glasses. Whoever wears them is the doctor in the house. First Aiden was the doctor, and they were putting little pieces of tape on the stuffed animals bo-bo's. Yep, it was cute. I love listening to them talk and hearing their wild imaginations....

Now it was Brooke's turn to be the doctor.

More pics to come...I won't dwell on the OUTCOME of this game, but this was Steven and Brooke watching the Tech vs. Texas game Saturday night. You can tell whatever is going on is NOT great by the look on Steven's face. Brooke, however still yells anytime ANYONE gets tackled, so she keeps things entertaining to say the least.

I take it back.

So, on the blog yesterday I mentioned I sometimes wonder what they do at preschool besides sing and make macaroni necklaces. Well, this morning Brooke was sitting beside me at the computer and while I was playing online she very easily drew these. Now granted, we've worked with her on this stuff before preschool, to do it without me prompting her to or helping was a great mommy moment for me. You know now that I have seen this she is the smartest 3 year old ever in my book....haha, which all mommies feel about their kids anyway (I hope).

Post it note on the left, the Letter A of course. But, the cutest thing is the post it note on the right. She said, "Momma I drew Daddy WITH glasses." I assure you he does have arms in real life, but I think it's an awesome start!

Happy Friday everyone! It is especially happy for us around here.....all decisions seem to have been made for us and Steven is off on vacation for the next two weeks. No, we have NO plans and that is why I am SO looking forward to it!

I cannot believe I have forgotten....

I was asked yesterday by someone who actually reads this blog how Brooke is doing in school, and I cannot believe I have forgotten to even tell you about preschool! I showed pictures of us dropping her off on the first day....but that is it!

Well, here goes. First day jitters, well Steven and I were the only two that had them. Brooke walked right in and started socializing. When I went to pick her up the first few days she was thrilled to see me and more than ready for me to take her home. She was worn out from the non-stop going while there, so it has been all I can do to get her fed before she passes out for a nap on those days. Yesterday, however was the first day I had to keep telling her "come on, let's go home." It might bother some mom's, but I know this is a great sign.....she likes it there and is finally feeling more comfortable there as well. She's been learning some great songs, and although she already knows her colors and alphabet she's learning more things ABOUT them and it's fascinating to hear all about her day.

This new phase in her life has however NOT been without resistance. At least once a week she has been placed in time out at preschool for not listening. Her biggest problem is figuring out SHE is not boss....go figure?! I have always thought she is very well behaved, so this really bothered me to hear she was getting in trouble. The teacher seems to be very soft spoken and sometimes I wonder if she's handling her right. I've been praying a lot more these days....for a number of reasons, knowing how to handle Brooke in these situations is one of them. She's even been threatened to have to go to Miss Loraine's office up front for a time out. The teacher didn't tell me this, Brooke did.....so, I know she isn't listening as she should. I was seriously worried about it so I talked to the Director for some insight....is this normal, how should I handle it, etc....because the teacher cannot and will not tell me about the other kids misbehaving, so I felt as though Brooke was the ONLY one getting in trouble. Well, I feel better after the Director let me know she isn't the only one going through this. It's a normal phase MOST kids get out of their system in day care, but since she's never been in day care she is learning here.

The director let me know that Brooke is very 'strong-willed' which totally cracked me up and I asked her if she'd ever met my husband....hahaha, you know I love you Steven. Basically Steven cannot be FORCED to do anything.....insert Brooke now. At age 3 this might seem like a bad thing, but the director has helped me realize she might be bull headed right now, but that could be a great thing as she gets older.....she will most likely be more a leader than a follower. Thanks for the bit of insight and encouragement! We have been working on Brooke listening, and I mean DOING what is asked of her the first time she's asked. Most days she is very cooperative, and the teacher and I have been working together to figure out ways to help drive this home with Brooke. We think she's doing really well, just already showing signs of wanting to talk when she gets bored, therefore interrupting class.....hehe, sound familiar Mom and Dad?!

All in all, preschool is going well. I would much rather her learn these life lessons now, than when she is in Kindergarten. I have never once regretted putting her in school, in fact I think it is good for ALL of us in this household. Some days I question what she's learning....but I have to remind myself it's PREschool and it's okay to make macaroni necklaces, she is there to also learn the way to act in social situations, as well as her alphabet! ;o)

Just some random pics because my Momma will have a fit if I typed all of that up and didn't include any pictures!

While I work out I put this baby gate up so she won't get konked in the head by weights or the elliptical.

She has always loved to talk on the phone, especially to her Daddy or grandparents. Note the newest hairbow's I am making.....yep, been under a little bit of stress and nothing makes me feel better than making something for a sweetie pie.

This picture didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. It doesn't show very well the gobs of eyeshadow she has smeared all over her cheeks. Blue, green, brown, pink, etc.....she was putting on her makeup.

Just chillin' after school one day in her 'reading glasses'......

Feeling Sentimental.

This was the first time I got to touch my baby girl. My how time flies!

Proof of several things....she was a big baby and she's never been follicly challenged!

I love being a mommy!!

Nothing.

To explain the title: It has become a weekend tradition to have lunch with Uncle Bro and Elise. While we were sitting at the table visiting this past weekend, somehow it came up that Steven is always working. Brooke's response was, "Yep, he does EVERYTHING." To which Uncle Bro asked what she does, and she proceeded to name "go to school, color, dress up" and lots of other things. Then Uncle Bro asked what Momma does....her response came way too quickly for my comfort, "Nothing" and she just kept eating. WHAT?! Everyone at the table knew better so they kept prodding in an attempt to make me feel more appreciated and she finally changed her answer to "Well, Momma always makes dinner." Um, maybe a little better.....but why on earth am I so worn out over doing NOTHING all the time?! I know any other mother knows how much of nothing I truly do.....but man staying busy all day apparently doesn't sink in with a three year old! HA! As if Mom's ever feel over appreciated.....times like that remind me that being a mother isn't about recognition. Being a mom is about the unconditional love in our hearts for our child, it's about teaching them right from wrong (somedays harder than others), and it's about being there! To my own mother, thank you for all the times you did "nothing" for it showed me what is most important in life. And to all the other mom's out there.....if you ever feel unappreciated, know you're not....it just may take your child a while to figure out what all you've done for them.

NOW, on to the fun stuff. A few pictures from our week of doing 'nothing'. All of the pictures show a budding imagination, which I L O V E!

Daddy wears contacts, so on weekend mornings he wears his glasses. She begged and begged for her own pair of glasses, so I finally popped the lenses out of an old pair of sunglasses and wah lah, her favorite 'reading glasses' were born.

Grandad is an infamous Sam's shopper. One of his latest trips brought Brooke an awesome swim suit with built in floaties. She naturally wanted to try it on and was running around flexing her new 'muscles'.

When I am working on the computer she is almost always in the room with me. Well, Nana and Paw got this booster seat a week or so back and we use it in their car when they come and will eventually use it in ours....yes, she is already SO tall that our child seats that claim to fit her up to 100 pounds are almost too short for her....the only down side to being so tall. She loves her pink seat and always wants to sit in it.....so, of course this is now where she reads her stories while I am working.

Thanks to farming being in a 'laid bye' state (farming terms....I just learned it means just waiting on the cotton to grow) we have had Steven home more a lot lately. We've spent the evenings covered in bug spray enjoying the beautiful weather, and Steven has been repainting some needed spots with help of course. Here he was scraping off the old paint and Brooke was cleaning it up.....my guess is this cleaning phase will be gone by the time she's a teenager.

Long story short, due to health issues my sweet Dad is wearing an eye patch until his eye is fully functioning again. He smarted off that all he needed was some bubba teeth and he'd look like a pirate. Well, I didn't find any bubba teeth but this is what we sent in his care package instead.....Argh Grandad.

As I've said before Brooke's imagination is always in full swing. The other night I had the TV on the movie Enchanted. Of course it has a princess in it and Brooke ran to get her princess garb on. Anytime Daddy walked by she asked, "Daddy will you dance wif me?" and of course he never turned it down.

Like her princess outfit?

This was just yesterday. I've been starting to finally let go a little bit and let her choose more of her own outfits when she wants to......which I let her fully choose yesterday. She doesn't clash.....and she left the tiara and skirt at home when we ventured out, but when Nana and Paw showed up with these cute toe socks, well the outfit was complete!