The cutest thing...

I mean, seriously is this not the cutest thing?!!!!
How come I can NEVER capture pictures like this?

My incredibly biased opinions on President Obama...

I went to bed the night of the election knowing that Obama was going to win although I did not wait up for the official announcement. I had been expecting it for a couple weeks now. I usually listen to the news or the radio every hour of the day but the last two weeks I stopped caring. I never wanted McCain in the first place, he was my least favorite of the Republican candidates in the primary. I just couldn't get fired up over him (although when Palin was announced I did get excited for a few days until the media tore the poor girl apart). Despite that, I could NEVER vote or support Obama. I refused to jump on the annoying "CHANGE" bandwagon or the "HISTORY" bandwagon. I certainly, like everyone I know, want change but I don't want Obama's form of change. I am fundamentally opposed to everything about him. Everything he stands for. But I haven't found myself 'depressed' over his winning either. I worry about the future with Obama. I worry about gay marriage (which will be 'legalized' under his administration). I can't worry about abortion because it is already legal but I am sad to know that it will continue under this administration. I worry about his tax plan. And I really worry about his health care plan. I worry about his associations with TERRIBLE people. But I know one good thing will come out of this, at least it should. Racism should end. There is nothing to talk about. There is no repression or unequal rights. It is time to move on. Anyone can achieve what they want to irregardless of color. I hope he will motivate many of our African American citizens and I really hope he will put Jesse Jackson out of a job (and Al Sharpton) (oh and Jeremiah Wright).
I am so frustrated that McCain won the Republican nomination. No one I knew liked or supported him so how did he end up winning?!!! I just can't get over that. Oh, how I wish Mitt Romney would have won. All I can do at this point is wait four years and then hope Mitt Romney (or some other great conservative) will fix this mess. But honestly I hope it isn't a mess. I hope Obama surrounds himself with smart intuitive people unlike himself and his previous associations. Opps that was mean, I am sure Obama is smart but I don't feel that he always acts it and of course since I disagree with him, he must be the stupid one! LOL. But seriously I hope in four years I will look back on this blog and say "Man, I sure was wrong about him". Any chance of that happening?
The reason I didn't stay up all night to watch the official announcement of Obama being the next president is because I saw a clip of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid celebrating their majorities in the House and Senate and I did get depressed. They scare me. They are loons. True loons.
Sorry for the lack of facts in this blog, I just wanted to say what I wanted to say without much thought. That is why it is so scattered. Maybe I will edit this blog one day when I get some motivation again. I really just don't' care. I have never been so apathetic about politics in my life, except for every single day before I turned 23 when I didn't care. So I guess the correct statement would have been "I have never been so apathetic about politics in the last five years". Thanks alot, Bush!
Now that I have posted four blogs tonight, I must go to bed. Good night!

Riley and Jada's updates...

Riley really enjoys pushing Jada in the stroller! It is soooo funny because we will be walking down a hallway and Riley will run into one wall then straighten out and head straight for the other wall. When I go to try and help him just by holding on to one handle, he pushes my hand away and says "No touch"! So I let him continually run into walls. Jada likes it too as long as I say 'boom' each time she is collides with the wall so that she knows everything is okay. This pictures was taken at the doctors office in the waiting room. It was the easiest entertainement EVER!!!


This was taken after I just got back from joining the YMCA after a FREE 6 week trial membership. I was reading all the paperwork and Jada was playing with the balloon and LOW AND BEHOLD Brett actually took a picture without me asking him to. It was a momentous event!!! Anyway, the YMCA is so awesome! Our family was awarding financial assistance which means we go for SUPER cheap and it includes child care while I work out and personal trainer advice. Their child care facility is sooo huge and nice that I feel it has helped Riley get over the stranger anxiety that plaqued our family for six months. He loves the Y and the big SUN sculptrue that sits infront of the entrance. Oh and he loves pushing the handicap button to open the doors for me and Jada. And he loves to push the elevator button and then run over the people coming out so he can push the buttons inside the elevator before I can stop him. How does he always find the alarm button?! He likes to make pit stops on the way to the play center to watch the old men playing raquetball and then the teenagers shooting hoops. And then when we go home, he likes to eat at "bus". Translation for "bus" is Chickfila. I have NO idea where that came from but he consistantly calls Chickfila "bus". Jada cries the ENTIRE time at the Y. I think the attendents hate it when I come but I don't know what to do. There is no other time during the day that I can go and we end up going during her nap time. She truly is a beast if she doesn't get to nap when she is ready!

Here is Jada's close up. I actually think she looks real pretty here. I don't usually say that about her out loud because everyone thinks their kids are cute but I really think this in one of the best pictures of her. I am so glad that she is becoming a happy baby finally! Jada is crawling nowadays and pulling herself up onto furniture and whatever else. She can't get down once she is up so she just whines for help until I can rescue her from her apprently incredibly stressful ordeal! She and Riley are playing together a little now that she can get around but he is becoming increasing jealous of her. He didn't care when she was the little blob that lies on the floor but now that she is getting around it makes him upset. When he gets caught digging her head into the floor, he gives me this look that is surprising so innocent that I really wonder if he knows what he is doing is bad or if he is just acting off instinct and can't understand why I am upset.


Our ward play group went to Zoo Atlanta last week and at the end they have this awesome playground that I have never been to (even though I have been to the Zoo about five times)! Riley only recently learned to jump with two feet (maybe about a month ago) so he really loved this thing. It is kind on like a trampoline, I don't really know how to describe it but I thought the pictures was cute.

So that is our family update....

Non contact sports-

Brett's bruise from playing racquetball!

Halloween

So now that Halloween is old news, I am ready to post my pictures. Figures that is how it would work out!
Riley and Jada were both monkeys because they are both monkeys- all over the place and into everything imaginable. Plus they were super cheap on Craigslist!
For Halloween we met up with some friends (and people I didn't know) and went to a local neighborhood where it is a requirement that you go ALL OUT for Halloween! They had shows, animated dummies that looked super real, chainsaws, tombstones, everything (even candy). It was real fun but so many people are there that I found myself more stressed out trying to stay out of others way that I would forget to look around.
Riley's favorite candy this Halloween- suckers! Jada's favorite- formula!

This was Jada before her nose got rubbed off.

This was AFTER trick or treating, since we forgot to take pictures of Riley beforehand. I know monkeys don't have whiskers but I started with the noses and it was sooooo cute that I just kept going and then I still thought it was cute so I didn't wipe it off. By the way, Brett's shirt is visible from space!

Riley is 2!

We didn't do much for Riley's second birthday, unlike his first. We started the morning off by going to a friend's house so Brett and I could get some exercise. Then we went straight to my dad's house to help him with his computer. Then we came home so he could take a FOUR hour nap and when he woke up I took him to Toys R US. They have a HUGE Thomas the Train set that Riley HAS to play when we are there. I don't know how he fell in love with trains so much but none the less, he did. We got a balloon and crown from Geoffrey and high tailed it home to get ready for the ward Trunk or Treat. Even still we were an hour late so we missed most of the activities.
And that was it. Next year will be a whole other story. I think by then he will understand more of what is going on.
Oh. I do have to mention that the weekend before his birthday my family had a family reunion and my sister threw a birthday party for Riley while we were there. He had gifts, cake, games, and all that fun stuff. He mostly just looked frightened from all the attention! I had to leave in the middle of it to feed Jada. I can't believe I forgot to bring a bottle to a family reunion- BIG MISTAKE!!!!!! I thought "well I will be around her the whole time, there is no need for a bottle" but in reality I would be in the middle of some fun game or a freakin birthday party and I would have to dismiss myself! But now I know.

I love you Riley!

I wish he knew how to fake smile! We are working on it!

Diaper Dash

This is a very embarrassing story, actually, but I think I will share it anyway. Brett and I went to the YMCA and they were having some sort of party and train rides. They had an event called the Diaper Dash but I quickly dismissed it because Jada is not even crawling yet. Some how Riley had gotten away from me and I started looking frantically for him. I turned around and there was Brett and Riley standing at the start line of the Diaper Dash. I quickly grabbed my camera just in time to catch Riley SMOKING the competition. I mean, he smoked them by about five minutes! That's because they were all crawlers or barely walking, doing the Frankenstein walk! I couldn't believe Brett entered him into a competition where everyone else was a baby! MEN!!!!

This is the man congratulating us on our incredibly stiff and challenging victory. We actually won a baby proofing consultation where they come to our house and help us make our house a little bit more safe for the babies. Heck, I don't want them to come though. What would they say about a baby sleeping in a closet? That would probably be against their rules!

On the free train ride. Riley really didn't enjoy it too much, as you can tell. He would rather chase down babies leaving a breeze so strong it knocks over the competition (since they can hardly stand, you know!!!!)!

Riley and the conductor.

Five kids!

A few weeks ago, I volunteered to drive to Alabama and watch my sister's kids while her and her husband went away for the weekend. Kid count...five!! But it was awesomely fun!! Her kids are mostly older so they took care of themself and gave someone for Riley to play with. And they LOVED Jada! Oh, and my dog Shadow was there too and they LOVE Shadow! Brett was there too but no one really cared about him (ha ha just kidding).
I only was able to manage getting out of the house twice because it is ALOT harder and significantly more time consuming with five kids. The two outings were on going to the park on Saturday and to church on Sunday. Church was very interesting and much better than I thought it would be. Jaeden and Merigan just colored the whole Sacrament meeting which entertained Riley. Rhiannon enjoyed playing in the aisle and I just let her (hey, they aren't my kids)! Jada almost made it through Sacrament but I had to leave the last five minutes (and Rhiannon trailed right behind me). Rhiannon is three days older than Riley but they couldn't be more different. She actually likes me!!!

Well here are some photos...This was a HUGE slide that Riley was scared to death to go down.

Little Diva Merigan and Jaeden in the background.

Jaeden and Riley playing together. It looks sweet but Jaeden was REALLY annoyed with Riley cause he kept distroying what she was trying to build. She is not the first kid to complain of Riley doing that.

Here is cute Rhiannon, Jaeden, and Riley having a choclate lovers snack.

I thought it was a good idea to throw all the kids in one bath but maybe not...

Has it been that long?

I know everyone has been anxiously waiting for me to make a posting and I am sorry to keep ya'll waiting so long! LOL. Let me explain where I have been the last month... Facebook! I became obsessed with Facebook because I was preparing for my high school reunion. I was searching for people and trying to update myself as to what others have been up to. I was soooo nervous about the reunion and I wanted to have some information to help with conversation pieces.

What a waste!

There was two parts to the reunion. The first was my high school's homecoming football game and the second was an after party at a club. I couldn't make it to the football game because Brett had class til 9pm. I didn't want to deal with trying to find a sitter for the game but I did have a sitter for the after party, Angie Douglas (who also lent me clothes, shoes, and jewerly). So I went to the party and there were only about five people were there and they weren't people I was interested in reconnecting with. So Brett and I just stood around. Finally someone came that I was interested in talking to and while talking with her two more people came that I wanted to talk with and so on. In total, I only reconnected with six friends, certainly not worth all the time and stress I spent preparing for the reunion. I left at 1am and was glad I went but disappointed with the lack of friends that came to the reunion.

I recruited myself to be on the planning committee for the 15 year reunion. I would like to do something during the mid day so that kids can come and we can have a BBQ and just a real casual good time. Then in the evening go somewhere else, I am not sure where but certainly not a club where you have to scream into each others ears to hear one another.

Yucky Day

I have been very blessed with two babies that hardly ever spit up, especially Jada (even though they say she has reflux). I can handle the nasty dirty diapers (though I don't love them) but I can't stand yucky nasty spit up. I don't know what is going on but Jada has been spitting up like crazy today. Not really on me, thank goodness, but all over the floor and herself. I have wiped her down like twelve times today! So disgusting.

24

Here is the link for the trailer of '24'!
Looks very different but good! I am so stoked for the new season. I've missed Jack!!!!

http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

Which one is Riley and which one is Jada?

It is sooooo obvious to me but I am wondering if it is obvious to anyone else.

Both are 5 months in the picture.

Take a guess...

Family Photo

Our most recent family photo:

Brett, Jessica, Riley, and Jada

Jada's 6 month photo!

Fun things

Here are some fun things we have done recently.

Riley and Jada at Chastain Park.

Jada's first 'solids' feeding.
















One day last week, Riley was really into doing the things that Jada does. All day long, he wanted to do everything she did. Either be wrapped in the blanket, watch tv on the couch, or take a nap with her. The one with him leaning over her happened when I went to the back for a few minutes. I came out and Riley was just sitting next to her on the floor, giving her toys. Sorry, if it isn't a clear picture.


























I went to Monkey Joes on Tuesday with Lindy and Camille from my ward. At first I was skeptical as to whether or not it would be fun for Riley. He is so reserved and clingy. But it was only $2.50 with a coupon Lindy had so I figured it would be worth a try! It was so awesome. Riley really liked it. I can't wait to go back! While I was there I got a coupon for $2.00 off so hopefully I will go back soon. The cute 6 year old is my neice Madison who I was also babyistting.






Best friends!!!
Jada with Madi Douglas!

I didn't put Madi on Jada. She crawled over to Jada and started kissing her and putting her arm around her! I ran as fast as I could to grab my camara!

Brett is making me some money!!

Brett had a summer associate position at a local law firm but it was only for 6 weeks. Well, those six weeks came and went and the last several weeks/months we've had no income and no student loans. It has been SOOOOOO difficult and stressful. Finally, mid last week, Brett got an email from the same law firm he worked at earlier in the summer, asking if he would be willing to come in for a few days to help them meet a deadline. Of course he said yes!!! He has worked everyday and long hours too. Today he is working 15 hours all the way til 1 am (the filing dead line). Then he has been asked by a few other lawyers to come in some the rest of the week to help with various other tasks! Today has been hard on me to be alone all day and deal with the babies but it will be so worth it when Brett gets paid! I have no idea when that will be or what is hourly rate is but anything is better than nothing.

So, I have such a crazy busy week this week that I think I will write it down.
Tuesday- Monky Joes in the am with Camille and Lindy. Babysit my neice from 9:30 til late. Braves Game at night

Wednesday-Babysit Trey and Madi Douglas (two more babies). Brett has something to do for a few hours but mostly he will be there the whole day to help me. A surprise birthday party for one of our friends at night. Then even later that night we are going to the airport to pick up my sister in law, Natasha.

Thursday- wakeboarding in the am. Playground in the early afternoon. Bring dinner to Jen Ayers who just had a baby. Hopefully I can go visit my dad for a few minutes after that. Then we are taking Tasha to the Lazer show for a late night.

Friday- Aquarium in the morning. Then the Varsity for lunch. Then the late afternoon, I am starting a temp job where I will go and take care of an elderly man everynight for the next ten days. Since Tasha is in town, I plan on leaving Riley with her and if Brett isn't working then I will leave Jada too. That would be awesome! It would be like free time even though I would be working. A change in pace is just as good. Oh, and Shadow has to go to the vet to get his ear cleaned out since he has chronic ear infections. But Brett will have to do that since I am being the breadwinner for the night!!! :)

Saturday- supporting Brett in a wakeboarding competition. And of course taking care of the elderly man at night.

Did anyone even care about that? I bet that was boring. Maybe Tasha will like it, because she likes anything, especially if it has her name in it!!

Jada sitting up!

I forgot to post pictures of Jada sitting up. Her first time sitting up was when she was 5 months and one week. It is funny because I always had kept in mind that Riley sat up around 5 and a 1/2 months so there was no reason to rush. But I was looking at my photo album and I realized that Riley actually sat up at 5 months. So I plopped her up and she sat up. First try. She kind of leans on her hands like in the picture but she balances herself so that she won't fall over.
Can you believe that even though she is sitting up she still hasn't rolled over? She just lies on her back without even trying to be on her tummy! She realllllllly hates tummy time! Who am I kidding? She hates tummy time, back time, or any other time! My little cry baby!



This is Jada smiling big in the jumper. This is truly a rare moment because usually she cries when I put her in it. Who am I kidding? She cries if I put her down whether on the floor, jumpers, or anything else! My little cry baby!











Now, this is more like the baby I know!

Awesome pool (and bee stings)!

Check out this awesome pool I went to off Sugarloaf Parkway yesterday! It took me almost an hour to get there but it was soooo awesome! Not pictured is a HUGE slide that curved and twisted! Riley is a scardy cat so he only went down it twice and I had to force him both times.
Jada really liked the pool. She kind of splashed around. Riley hates the water so he just walked around and followed Trey Douglas (except for when Trey went into the deep end). At the end of the fun day, Riley stepped on a bee and I grabbed him and sat him down to check out the site. The bee was stuck to the underside of his foot so I swiped it off (it was dead) and had to remove the stinger and all the muscle tissue that was attached (I know it was muscle tissue because I looked it up online). Riley was walking around on his tiptoe for a little bit but quickly forgot about it.
At 5:45 am this morning, Riley woke up screaming. We thought he feel off the bed, so I sent Brett in to get him and we found out that Riley had thrown up all over his bed. Brett cleaned it up and changed his clothes and then I remembered about the bee sting. So we took off his PJ's and examined his foot but nothing was wrong with it. The actual sting mark was nearly gone. Riley has been soooo sick all day with a temp of 101.2 . Sleeping and pucking and whining and I have no idea what is wrong with him! He won't eat or drink. Nothing. Tomorrow I will go to the doctor if he has another bad night.

Utah/ San Francisco Vacation

On the 4th of July we traveled to Utah for two weeks of free babysitting, I mean visiting family. I decided to take care of Jada during the flight and felt like I was being nice to Brett in giving him Riley. Usually a newborn would be easier but Jada is a VERY fussy baby and I was dreading it. Well she turned out to be perfect and I guess Brett had a terrible time. He ranked the flight on a scale of 0-10, a 0.5. I guess it doesn't get much worse than that. Jada just slept the whole time and I was sitting next to a cool couple who had young children and they didn't mind if Jada got fussy or kicky or if I had to feed her. So we get to Utah safe and sound and head down to Lehi to spend the night with Brett's brother, Ben and his wife Marie. And their two young kids (11 months apart if you can believe that). I tried to visit my long time friend Robin who coincidentally lives next door but she was gone for the holiday festivities. The next day, Saturday, we went to Bear Lake and hung out with Brett's cousins, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, EVERYONE! It was a long drive for one day but I figured the kids would not sleep well in a trailer with a million people around all the time. So we headed home.
Sunday we went to church so Brett could show off the kiddies to all his friends. Somewhere during the day I got food poisoning because I woke up in the middle of the night puking. I had to cancel my plans with my dear friend, Ruth, who happened to be visiting Utah too.
So Monday I was sick all day and on Tuesday we headed out to San Francisco. I had been preparing for this trip for months because we wanted to leave the kids behind with Brett's parents. I had to spend lots of time pumping breastmilk and then teaching Jada how to drink out of a bottle. And I had to get her used to formula because there was no way that I was going to be able to pump enough milk for four whole days. It was hard leaving my itty bitty baby behind but I am so glad I did! I had the best vacation! Brett had meetings to go to all day so I just slept, watched TV, went swimming, worked out, whatever I wanted! It was so awesome!
We got back from San Fran on Friday night and Saturday we just lounged around all day and played with the kids. Sunday, after church, we drove down to Lake Powell, a seven hour drive. I was also nervous about this drive and the whole trip being in the extreme heat with no shade. The drive down was great, Jada slept for four hours and Riley was in a great mood. Boating was tons of fun too! Our trip was cut short because while my huge butt was wakeboarding, the boat broke down. We had to call the marina and be towed back. I was freaking out because there was no breeze to keep the kids cool and it was sooooo hot. Brett played with Riley in the water and I kept pouring water on Jada's head and trying to give her water from my finger. I tried to get her to drink out of a cup but she was way too young for that but I think she enjoyed it running down her body. We only waited an hour and the kids were great. I am very pleased to inform you that neither of the kids got burned from both days we went on the lake. Actually, Riley got burned in the corner of his eyes where I didn't dare put sunscreen. But all the family members were great in allowing me and the kids to be in the shade of the biminy the whole time. And I put tons of sunscreen on them. So, the boat had to go into the shop and we just sat around the hotel the whole day and the kids were already restless but they had to sit through another seven hour drive home. They weren't very good especially the last couple hours. It was so late at night but yet the kids just wouldn't sleep and they just cried. But that was nothing compared to the flight home. Brett and I had agreed to switch kids this time but that didn't help. They were awful! Riley couldn't sit still and Jada wouldn't stop crying. Yes, we were the parents of the annoying kids that people dread when they board the plane.
So, now we are home and the kids still have not adjusted back to GA time. It is 11:20p and I am holding Jada and typing with one hand. Brett is cuddling with Riley and watching Batman. Man, I miss my babysitters!

How come my friends are such good photographers and I am not?

So I am frustrated today because recently I gave up on going to the portrait studio and getting professional pictures every month. I have to drive all the way to Tucker to take them, usually wait 30 minutes (because they run on 'baby time'), and then drive all the way back two weeks later to pick them up. On top of all that, I am NEVER happy with the photos! The screen that you view them on is really bad and unclear so I kind of guess which picture I like best. The reason why I go to JC PENNY is because I always have coupons which give me an 8x10, 5x7, and 4 wallets for less than $5. And since I go every month, I need it to be cheap. Well I decided to start doing it myself and editing them and sending them off to winkflash/snapfish to be printed. This only takes a few days turnaround time and I don't have to leave my house. However the pictures are turning out AWEFUL! I am using a super nice camera so I don't understand why all my friends are taking beautful pictures of their kids and mine SUCK! There are always bad shadows and the skin looks bad! I am doing it outside to get natural light. I mean can I only take pictures during a certain time of the day to get pictures without shadows? So I give up. Back to the portrait studio next month...

Some videos

Here are some videos we've taken in the last 6 months.

Jada Chuckles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhbDeJ2lx4Y

Riley the monkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etj0HPCHHRs

Riley and Jada Sleeping
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYrQWfj1kxo

Riley saying some words
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOQBgfst4Oo

Riley on the Trampoline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeqKdAb4WsM

Riley at the Park - 18 months
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0oi8xlpsN4

Riley Boarding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cye9Z1OQW2E

So we got Riley a wakeboard, yeah, we are crazy - well I am crazy. I just wanted to get him comfortable swimming, floating, wearing a life jacket, and of course wearing a wakeboard.

He did have some fun. He freaked out a little in the middle. But overall, I think he had fun.

Thumb Sucker

Recently I went to get Jada out of her new room, the laundry room, and I saw her sucking her thumb. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to see her sucking her thumb. I have been trying desperately to get her to take a pacifier since the day she was born but she has always refused one. Jada cries ALOT and needs some sort of pacification. It seems to be helping some. She will start screaming and then put her thumb in and be calm for a few minutes but often will continue screaming. She likes to have her left thumb in her mouth and then hold on to something with her right hand. Usually her clothes or a blanket, but today it was her toes (or maybe her socks is what she was going for).