Home sweet home...

I apologize for not posting yesterday like I said but I couldn't get internet at the hotel and I'm not smart enough to post off my iphone. But.... Dad is doing so well. He's already walked and drank broth, jello and coffee and he's antsy which is very much my dad! He can't stand to sit and do nothing and I can image that now that he's not in the pain that he was before he is excited to get home and back to his life. I cannot say enough good things about Cleveland Clinic. That is unlike any other hospital that I have ever been in. The waiting area is so nice, I should know we were there for 12 hours yesterday. But they do make a terrible situation as comfortable as it can possibly be. You can even check the status of the patients on a screen that has their ID and see where they are at in their surgery. Mom had a beeper that texted messages from the surgeon on what was going on, which made it a lot easier and gave us something to concentrate on. This is an amazing facility where the people are so nice and accommodating. It made our journey as good as it could have been. I am exhausted I didn't get much sleep in that hard mattress that we had to sleep on so I am looking forward to crawling into my super soft bed and falling asleep QUICKLY!

Keep us in your thoughts.

Well "the" day has arrived. Me and my family are in the waiting room at the Cleveland Clinic waiting for my dad to get out of surgery. My dear daddy has been in a lot of discomfort and is more than ready to have this surgery so keep us in your thoughts! This is a beautiful facility and I am so confident that he is at the right place at the right time. But dad is very private man so that's all that I'm going to say about our time in Cleveland until he's out of surgery and in good shape.

So I'm hoping the time will go by quickly and I'll post again at the end of the day.

The best week of the year!

Sorry I have been slacking on my blog the past week I have got several things going on in my personal life right now that are consuming me. I have pictures to edit, the store, a baby boy and a hubby that is super busy too so that doesn't leave much time for anything else at the moment. I have been on a "vacation" of sorts this week (I don't have a sitter) but the time with Rees has been wonderful. I do worry about my work piling up at the store but I have wonderful ladies there and they take care of it very well! Rees is such a wonderful little man he has been in such a good mood and so happy all week. I have got to make dinner every night and we sit down at 8 and watch all the great season premieres together while we're having snack time :) I love snack time! Then at 9 he goes down and I'm usually not far behind. His energy exhausts me, just watching him. I wish I had 1/10 of his energy I could get so much done.

This is my favorite time of year....Fall Season Premiere. I used to be a tv junkie before I had Rees now that he is older I think I am reverting back to my old self. I love me some good tv. So let's talk tv... Mondays are my fav. Big Bang Theory, 2 1/2 Men, How I met your mother and now a new show with Jenna Elfman (Can't remember the name) it wasn't too bad. These are my fav sitcoms! Although did anyone see Cougar Town last night??? Channel 8 WOW it was hilarious. I laughed my butt off I think it's on again on Friday you've gotta watch it. And of course Survivor I love that show and how bout' Shambo she's gonna be a hoot I can already tell. I missed SUV lastnight thank goodness for TIVO!!!! Can you all tell how obsessed I am with my shows? I won't make a habit of discussing every episode :) The posts will be limited here for the next couple weeks as I will be out of town and I'm not sure about internet connection but after that I'll be back to sharing my bizarre life on a daily basis!

scrapbook love

Rees has been a sleepy head today. He didn't get up until 11:30 (when I went in and woke him up) then he went back down for a nap at 2:00 and he's still asleep so I have had the luxury of some uninterrupted scrapbooking. The pages with my dad and Rees are some of my favorite pictures from the year. That was over the course of the day and I can't describe how much fun we all had. Just one of those days that sticks in your memory. I love how my page turned out too.

Fall Fever

I LOVE THIS WEATHER! I can't get enough of the brisk breeze in the evenings, the "breads" that people are bringing to me (not sure why this is happening but it's been really yummy), my new plug-ins that are pumpkin spice, I got out a snuggly blanket yesterday evening and my winter jammies! I might be rushing into it, but I just want it to be here NOW. Amidst my fall bliss we have been dealing with an unknown thing that Rees is going through. I told you about his fever on Saturday night and all day Sunday he was like a limp noodle, then Sunday evening a wild man now today he has been in and out of complete and utter meltdowns and crying uncontrollably for no apparent reason. Nothing we do or say makes him feel better. We can't even look at him without him having a breakdown? I am thinking that it is a tooth because of the inconsistency of the symptoms and he will not eat...it's making me crazy so hopefully this will pass quickly. It so frustrating when he can't tell me what is going on in his little body. He doesn't know how to handle these emotions so he just goes bonkers...kinda reminds me of myself on a bad day :) It amazes me when I go over to my mom and dad's to pick him up and he doesn't even look happy to see me...he just whines because he knows he has to leave. I'm like ummmm I feed you, change your disgusting diapers, spoil you and I can't even get a hug. Seriously if I try to pick him up he goes limp so I can't life him. He loves it over! His grandpa spends a lot of time with him outside, which is his favorite place to be so that always perks him up, it even worked today amidst all the grumpiness. So I am beat, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night.

A rough night

Yesterday Rees wasn't acting right, I noticed he had the "tired" eyes, he wouldn't eat and he was cuddly so I figured some sort of sickness was coming. We were up from 12:00 on with the poor little guy. He had a temp of 103.5 and he was miserable. My heart breaks when he's sick. I know every parent would give their right arm to switch places with their babies when their sick. He was so hot it was scary. So this morning the fever broke and he is just worn out. I don't see us even getting dressed today! Lazy day on tap for the Toler family. I just pray that I can get him to eat something today. I'm obsessive about him eating, he is a finicky eater anyways so I always worry about his eating. Well I better go snuggle with my little man.

I'm learning to go with the flow

Okay so having a toddler is really teaching me a lot. I have learned very quickly that Rees is very strong willed (wonder where he got that?) and that if he has it in his mind I should just let him do it his way rather than trying to reason with an eighteen month old. Prime example. I got a pair of hilarious camo Rocky boots for him from Amy R. and he found them yesterday in the pile of stuff I had tucked away for winter. Just so happened that Mat came in with a pair of camo hunting boots on too so Rees now thinks that his camo boots are the greatest thing in the world since they are like daddy's. He picks his little boots up and brings them to me saying dad dad boots and makes me put them on him. He throws one heck of a tantrum if I don't put them on him. So at first I thought it was cute for him to truck around in pj's and camo boots but today it has gotten not so cute. We went into Chinese for lunch and we couldn't get out the door without wearing those boots. He had on shorts with his boots which made it even funnier. Abby just about croaked when she seen him :) But looking back I guess I just have to let go and roll with it since he has a new found independence and opinion. Yet another life lesson my son has taught me.

Oh the "productive" moods

I have been such a worker bee today and yesterday. I have gotten so much accomplished and all my fall decorations are out and I'm going to go buy some mums tomorrow for the patio I'm actually ahead of the game for once! I even have the restaurant falled' out! This is my favorite season although I do love Christmas decorations I don't like the weather as much so fall is just perfect to me. I even bought new plug-ins today that are pumpkin scented. I am in the mood for chilly evenings and hot chocolate maybe even a football game. Which leads to the current dilemma I am having...Halloween costumes??? Rees is too big for the cutesy baby outfits and I can't find anything good for toddlers so I am stumped even before I had Rees I always dressed my dog Bernie up. I love Halloween! So if anyone knows of good costumes and you want to share some ideas I would LOVE to hear them. Small insignificant things like this bother me, I'm better at dealing with big crisis than little things like Halloween costumes :) Other than those small things life is just truckin on and on nothing big to report thank goodness! Although just an FYI Walmart has these amazing cast iron molded pans on an end cap in the kitchen isle they are fall pans and there are several different designs I picked a bread loaf pan up that has pumpkins and gourds in a wagon it is so stinkin cute so my bread will be really pretty this year! Just thought I would pass that on there weren't too many left so if your interested hurry.

How cute it this...

I am in love with the Shabby Princess website. She has such a beautiful and whimsical style that is so unique and just makes you happy to look at her stuff. She has these "party packs" that are all printable items that include treat toppers for bags, cupcake papers, cupcake toppers, mini candy bar wrappers, invites, thank you notes etc.... tons of great stuff to host a party with that you can print yourself and they are cheap ($3)! Look at all this...

But.. these just wouldn't work for a little boy :( so hopefully someone else will find these useful. I just couldn't pass up sharing these with you! HERE is her website link.

Eek Grouchy is not the word

What is up with the mood swings? Is it terrible two's a little early? Maybe a tooth breaking through? Or just a bad mood? I wish Rees could talk. Aside from the words cheese, dog and please he really can't say anything significant yet. Although he gets his point across non-verbally really well. Today has been such a "trying" day to put it mildly. Everything has been a struggle and I think he's enjoying being a little turd today. I have taken up a new little hobby that I have enjoyed doing today while he is thrShow allowing his fits I just knit away...LOL. How funny is that? I made a little baby hat with some really pretty yarn that I've had for years and it turned out so cute. I really enjoyed making it aside from the shrill shrieks from my son in the background. He is trying to rip the keys off the laptop as I am typing this...wish me luck getting through the evening!

I'm in a funk today...

Labor Day thoughts??? It's just been a wonky day... The weather effects my moods and this overcast, misty rain dreary old day has really made me feel lazy and do-less. I did work this morning then I had to run to Walmart and came home to bake a cake for a family gathering this evening. In between all that Rees and I played and then laid around and watched tv. I just couldn't get motivated. I just despise these types of days because my body feels so exhausted just from being lazy. I have 2 photo shoots this week and I am really excited about them so I have been setting up my studio and "practicing" some new lighting techniques. I love taking on new projects and keeping my mind busy. I am so looking forward to the newborn shoot on Saturday, the baby will only be a couple weeks old so this should be a lot of fun. I am off tommorrow and I am planning on having another lazy day! I want to make a "Rees" day tommorrow and just do whatever, whenever he wants tommorrow. So I have a feeling that I will be shooting guns and throwing balls ALL DAY LONG! Which is fine with me, seems like we have done a lot of running this last week and I always feel guilty when I have to keep him on the run, he is such a move and shaker that I like to make sure he gets plenty of playtime inside and out so that's what the focus will be for tommorrow. It's funny that every night I plan the next day out. I don't always stick to it, but I always try to get a game plan in my mind. I'm not good with long term plans because I usually can't keep them but I love short term stuff!

Mall trip with Rees...

I am so happy to report that my little man has crossed over to the "good side" as in good little shopper! All past mall trips have been hectic, rushed and just plain unenjoyable, but as of yesterday that has all changed. We all 3 ventured to Huntington to purchase very specific things. I was already prepared (mentally) for this to be a challenge but to my surprise it was so much fun. He was an angel, and Rees was great too. Hehehehe. Since Rees decided to puke on our beloved bedspread that we have had since the beginning of our marriage 7 years ago that we were dearly attached to, I mean really we had discussions about how much we loved this comforter it was such a cozy thing that just made sleeping so much fun (but then again sleeping is always fun) we had to go get another one. We washed and washed this comforter and the puke was that bad, it wouldn't come off. But in Rees' defense it was so tattered and torn the seam was coming apart in multiple place and since I had already sewn it a number of times I guess he really did us a favor, it was time for a new one but we just couldn't let go. So anyways... he did find a new one that is acceptable I slept okay with it last night and Mat is still in bed so he must like it too. and we found the other stuff we were after so it was a great trip. Rees road in his stroller so well and he slept in the car he was good in the restaurant what more could a mom ask for? Well come to think of it a new purse would have been nice, but that didn't happen so I'll just be happy with Rees behaving! Hard to tell what we'll get into today...until next time!!!

Oh, I scrapped a page last night...

I'm on the watch for new recipes

While I was surfing around for some Labor day recipes to try I cam across this...

Don't these dumplings look yummy? Guess what they have in them..... Mt.Dew! I love the dew! I haven't tried these but they are now joining my Labor day menu! The are from the Best Bites site that I LOVE and Kate claims that they are super easy so I'm sure they are!

mommy brain?

Seriously being pregnant made me dumb! I have always had a sub par memory (which is also worse after being pregnant) but the forgetfulness that I suffer from on a daily basis is driving me crazy. The moment I was pregnant I started asking stupid questions and it has only went down hill from there. I consider myself an intelligent human being but the the things that I am struggling with after having a baby are crazy. Like what is my dog groomers name? Seriously I have gone to the same man for seven years how could I forget that? Then yesterday I actually had to ask myself where I kept the spare checks for our account...can you believe that they have been in the same place for seven years I go through checks frequently how could I forget something like that? Then sometimes I get so p'd off when I ask a completely lame question that I know better than to ask. Like with the HVAC guy the other day well it's too embarrassing I can't even repeat it. but you get the point. I have had several other ladies complain of the same thing. Is this a real condition? I would have to say yes I just wish I had a DR. degree to back it with LOL! Just a rant for the day as I am sitting here in my office trying to remember where the heck I stored the thousand's of rubber bands I bought???

Facebook or Blog add on

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Pictures from the weekend

I'm running a little behind already this week I wanted to put these up yesterday but couldn't find the time (no matter how hard I tried!) Rees and his Papaw road and road the 4 wheeler up and down the drive way. Here he is waving at his mama.

This is what it looks like in the mornings when I'm trying to get both of us ready for the day. I wear that headband thing to put my makeup on after I fix my hair so Rees thinks it's funny to take it out of my drawer and wear it...I have a feeling he might be upset about this picture down the road but for now we'll laugh about it!

And finally this was after our Sunday trip to town. We went as a family to Walmart to get a few groceries and we had to take care of some business stuff then we ate Mexican. We wanted to go shoe shopping but Rees was done, he couldn't take any more. This has NEVER happened before. I brought him in the house and changed his diaper and he stayed asleep??? I layed him in his bed and he slept for 3 hours. Little man was worn out!!!

We had an eventful weekend he had a bday party on Saturday for Lilee's 3rd birthday (I forgot my camera) and then I had to take Senior pictures at BE so his aunt Trish watched him for the evening so he was really worn down by Sunday evening!