Blizzard 09

Christmas Eve met us with what our weather men were saying is "a blizzard like Oklahoma hasn't seen in 100 years!" It dropped 12-14 inches of snow on us and ruined our travel plans, but we have some pretty cool 3 foot snow drifts to play in. :)

That 3rd picture down is our CR-V stuck in a snow drift and that's Chris' shovel handle sticking out of the snow beside it. We finally made it to Tulsa Christmas Day. It took us about 3 and a half hours to get there between the road conditions and delays caused by accidents along the turnpike. It was really good to see family and show off our newest addition to the family once we got there though!

The first of 4 Christmases

We had Christmas with Chris' extended family on Saturday. There were 29 of us and the kids had a BLAST. I didn't see Isla for like 7 hours. She got passed around like a bowl of popcorn. Most of the family hadn't seen her yet. :) We still have Christmas with Chris' immediate family, our family Christmas, and Christmas with my family in Tulsa. Whew! It's going to be a crazy week! I love it!

Selah Jade played until she couldn't hold her eyes open anymore and Noah never did slow down long enough for me to catch a picture of him. He played with his cousins for 10 straight hours. He was crashed in the car before we pulled off the street.

Then today, I took Chris to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. He was surprised and he loved it. :) I'm surprised I could keep a secret from him - HA! Merry Christmas, Lovey. I love you!

Isla Morgan Mendez

December 8th at 3:30pm we welcomed Isla into the world. She was 20 inches long, 7 pounds and 5 ounces. She's perfect in every way.

Our babymoon date

Our friends, the Butenhoffs, were very kind to us today and watched Noah and Selah Jade while Chris and I caught a movie and got some Jamba Juice.

We saw Armored. It was really good. Not what I thought it was going to be, but it was a really good movie. Jamba was awesome as is to be expected. :)

We got home and the kids were still alive so it was a success. The kids had a blast and I think poor Rebekah was wiped out. I know Selah Jade was. At 5:40 when we got home she could barely keep her eyes open. Bedtime promises to be short and painless tonight. :) Love it.

2 more days! I'm really not so sure I've absorbed the gravity of what's happening. We're having another baby. Maybe when I'm holding her at 3am my mind will wrap around it.

Danforth & Bryant got robbed

Chris' branch where he worked until about 3 weeks ago was robbed today. As far as I know, they haven't caught anyone and the place is on lockdown. The store was evacuated and the police had people go out and sit in their cars to be questioned.

It's just really scary that this would happen at all when we're supposed to live in a very low crime area. The bank he works at now is only 2 miles from there. No one was hurt, but my mind can't help but dance around the possibilities. I don't know what I would do if anything were to happen to Chris.

I thought I may be in labor earlier today. I was hurting a lot. If that wasn't enough to stress me out, this bank thing sure is. I'll be glad when he gets home tonight. This is his last day of work before he's off for the baby. It will be nice having him home all week. It will be nice not to be pregnant too.

It's December 1st already?!

A week from today, we'll have a new baby! It's so exciting :)

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was good. We got to see lots of family. I didn't do much because... well, I'm 9 months pregnant and not good for much. 

We got Selah Jade's 18 month pictures back. They turned out really cute. I'm always so bummed that I only got one pose. There was one I really liked of her holding a flower, but I only liked it in black and white and they wanted to charge me like $20/sheet for it. No thanks.

Christmas tree is up and all but a handfull of presents are bought. Have to finish up this week. I don't want to have ANYTHING left to do after this baby comes. I need to go ahead and het them wrapped, but Selah Jade can't even leave the ornaments on the tree. How can I trust her not to open everyone's gifts?!

We're getting Noah a Leapfrog Leapster 2. If you're looking for a gift idea for him, he'll need some games to go with it. Selah Jade is getting a play kitchen, so she could use some fake food or dishes.

crazy morning

It's 8:30am and so far this morning:

Cook 106 servings of mashed potatoes - Check.
106 servings of stuffing - Check.
Set the kitchen on fire - Check.

Thanksgiving meal for the inner city? Check.

little happy things

Kool-Aid. It's pretty much amazing. I've never made it with as much sugar as it calls for so my kids don't know the difference and I usually put more water than is required also. Basically, when I make it for them, it's more like flavored water. Cruel? Maybe, but they love it. I have to admit, I'm a pretty big fan myself. :) I'm not a huge fan of "sweet" so it suits my purposes just fine.


Dry erase boards & markers. I'm a list making mama. If I can have a list to check things off of, I'm 1000% more productive. There's just something wonderful about dry erase. They're colorful and catch your attention. They are also more my style because plans can change SO fast around here. I need to be able to change the game plan without an act of congress... or white out.



Bibs with pockets at the bottom to catch dropped food. Really, what good is a bib if their lap is full of macaroni and cheese when they finish? They're easy to clean and cute to boot. The kids love them almost as much as I do.


Straws. I have sensitive teeth and tilting a glass to where the ice is pressed against my teeth while I get a drink is no fun. Straws are amazing. The bendy ones are even better.

We haven't died, I've just been pregnant

I don't update much when I'm busy feeling like a beached whale. Either that or I spend every free moment resting. Either way, my bad. 


We have less than 3 weeks until Isla makes her grand entrance into the world! I think everything is going to go beautifully with our hospital choice and doctor combo. :) We're all set to be induced at 7:30am on Tuesday, December 8th! All of my babies will have been born on a Tuesday. Interesting. I'm expecting this delivery to go off without a hitch and for her to be here sometime in the early afternoon. 

We bought a van last night. It's official. I'm a mom. Yes, just now. Yes, I know I'll have 3 kids in a matter of days, but I am just now a "mom." It's a 2004 Nissan Quest. I really like it (scary much?) and I'm really excited to have a vehicle that will be big enough to hold our family should it keep expanding. I'd really rather not buy another vehicle while big and pregnant. I've done that 3 times now. 


Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Thank goodness! Pregnant on Thanksgiving - can you think of a better reason to stuff yourself? I can't! Ha!


I tried to put the kids down for a nap a little while ago and Selah Jade kept saying "poo poos, poo poos" so I looked in her diaper (she usually goes around this time) and it was clean. I asked her if she needed to poo poo and she said yes. Okay... I do NOT want to start potty training just a few weeks before a new baby joins us (for energy and regression reasons) or before she's physically capable of holding her bladder all night long, but when the girl says I need to go and insists upon doing the business on the toilet, what do you do?! I took her in there and set her on the potty. She never did anything, but she tried. Man, oh man. I guess I'm going to be forced to bring in the potty chair. Noah was so proud that she even tried. I made him stay in his bed while I took her and he was yelling through the house"Has she poo pooed yet?! Let me know!" lol What did he ever do for entertainment before she came along? :)

I guess I'm proud, even if I don't want this to be happening quite yet. The goal was to start potty training in March. Oh my goodness.


Noah is getting really big. I can't believe he's gaining on 4 years old. It's really insane. I'm an old woman! Complete with a mi... no. We can't call it that. It's a Mommy-van.

half way there!

We're over half way done with this pregnancy and no one is happier about that than I am! We're getting all settled in our house and trying to get unpacked on the days when it's not 100+ degrees as our air conditioner has been teetering on the edge (and has taken a few personal days.) We really can't wait for the weather to cool down (show me the snow!) but we'll probably be fretting about our heater when it does. Ce la vie.

Noah is really learning a lot as of late. We're putting extra effort into his "studies" as he prepares to take on an actual curriculum. He's also going to start tumbling classes this Thursday. He's super excited and truth be told, I am too :)

Selah Jade is so grown up now. If she's in a bad mood, I just offer to fix her hair and she trots off to the bathroom to grab her comb. So little and so big at the same time.

Chris is doing really well on his job and he's also taking classes 3 nights a week. I'm not sure how he manages all of it, but he hangs in there.

my little SayJay is ONE!

My sincerest apologies for not making a post in so long. So much has happened in so little time.

We had Mother's Day (which was wonderful.) Chris sent me a card to Tulsa and it was the sweetest thing ever. I just love him so much!

Selah Jade turned ONE on May 13th. We had a small party on the 9th with my side of the fam. (Hi fam!) and it turned out great! I think they really enjoyed it since they don't get to see the kids all that much.


A good time was had by all.

I also had my first doctor's appointment of this newest pregnancy this afternoon. They pushed my due date back to December 19th. That would put me at 9 weeks 4 days. Not excited about having a baby at Christmas, but what can you do?! Nothing! Overall, I think I'm in love...

I'm boring today

If only there were a chiropractor in the family... I've had this headache forever. It's a dull kinda swimmy one so it's not really slowing me down, but it's annoying as all get out.

Chris' job is getting on our nerves. He trys to hard and then they refuse to acknowledge what he's done. God will lead us to where we're supposed to be. Maybe this just isn't where we're supposed to be in our lives. We'll get there eventually!

Sissy took one more step. She's going to be walking before you know it. She can walk behind her push toys or push something like a laundry basket all over the house. She's so close she can taste it. She wants to walk so bad that she's started crawling on her feet instead of her knees with her butt straight up in the air! Soon. Soon.

I know I'm not very exciting today. I blame the headache and the fact that I meant to put Noah down for a nap and ended up falling asleep next to him - missing Chris when he came home for lunch! AGH! I can't wait to see him every time he walks through the door. <3

This is love <3<3<3<3<3

just bragging on my babes

On Tuesday, Selah Jade took her first step! She took one step right into my arms. I was so proud! :) She's getting so big. In less than two weeks she's going to be one year old. Her party with my side of the family is on May 9th. I have no idea what to even get her. What do you get for the kid who isn't a year old and already has everything!?

Noah is getting really tall! He's going to be big like his Daddy before he knows it. :) At church the other day he saw a girl from his class and ran up to her. I thought he was going to tell her good-bye, but he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss right on the face! It was so sweet! Her 300 pound, 6'5" dad was standing right there too. Scary. I told Noah that he better watch it or her daddy would squish him! He said it was cute but that he better not try that in about 12 years. LOL

the pool

I got the pool ready for the kids yesterday! Of course it was 90 degrees while we're setting it up and then clouds come out and it drops to like 65 when we're ready to get in, but it was a fun time for both of the kids :) I didn't get to take any pictures between trying to keep Noah from drowning his sister wanting to "get her hair wet" and holding her under the water and fighting off the bugs who invited themselves to our party. We're planning on getting back out there today for a little bit since the rest of the week is supposed to be cooler. Pics coming soon!

A fresh beginning

Today is the first day of this new blog. We're sad to see the old one go, but it has more than served it's purpose and it's time to move on. I hope this new blog will live up to it's potential and become what I hope for it to be. We're looking to a bigger, brighter, better future and what awaits us there.