the wilkins' weekly

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Lost Edens

this is my friend jamie.....

i've known jamie for about 8 years now.....i actually met her through my hubby and she's become a dear friend of ours.

a few years ago she had written a book about her marriage and would you believe it.....she got PUBLISHED.......well today is the day the book is getting released....WHOOT WHOOT!!! i was privileged enough to get an advanced copy and it truly is an incredibly story. it's very hard to tell a story like she has and i'm very proud of her and very proud to call her a friend.

so everyone needs to go out a buy her book today.......you can buy it through amazon, barnes and noble or through her publisher. it's only $12.99

jamie, i hope your book is a success and I'm looking forward to reading your next one!!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

has it really been almost 3 months.....

(****WARNING**** this is a pretty long post with a lot of pics…..you’ve been warned)

I know, I know….it’s been like FOREVER since I posted anything……did you miss me???

Well, I’m hoping to get back in the groove of things and start posting more….I don’t know how some people post things everyday (I can’t even read posts everyday)…..I just don’t have enough time….with work, mom duties, wife duties…..HA I said doodie (childish I know….but I can’t help it)…..hehehe.

Wow…it’s been since May 15^th since I posted something…..i didn’t think that it was that long ago…..time flies!!!

Anyway

So, what have the Wilkins’ been doing for the past 3 months…..

1. Ellie had her first experience in a “school” setting. Being an only child I wanted to make sure that she was getting plenty of interaction with other kids. We signed her up for a 6 weeks Children’s Day Out (CDO) program. It was twice a week from 10-1:30….and she loved every minute of it. She is always asking when she goes back to school…..she’ll start Pre-School this Fall 3 days a week.

2. We added a new addition to our family. Ellie named him Sweet Heart (don’t be fooled by the name….cuz he is NOT that sweet)!! A lady at work had a few litters of kittens that she was giving away so we decided to get one for Ellie….cuz she is FINALLY POTTY TRAINED…..WHOOT WHOOT!!!

3. I finally organized my craft room (although you wouldn’t know that now). I still want to paint it and I want to cover one of the walls in cork and peg board…..I’ll just have to add that to my HUGE to do list.

4. I had my 32nd Birthday. I didn’t do much, had a family dinner with a little lemon cake.

5. Ellie’s cousins from Tulsa (Hubby’s Brother’s Kids) came up to Wichita for a few weeks and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. A is 14 and J is 10 and Ellie was attached to A at all times and she was so patient and took the time the play with Ellie. Thanks A!!

6. 4^TH of July was a lot of fun!!! As a family we celebrated on the 2^nd. Tons and tons for fireworks. Ellie liked to watch all of them….but felt a little safer watching them from inside the house or inside a car. On the 4^th, the Rouse’s and Joseph’s came over and we had more fireworks. It was kinda a crazy night for me; Ellie burnt her hand on a hot grill while playing outside with all the kids…..so her hands were stuck in ice water most of the night….but everything is fine now…you can’t even tell she burnt her hand.

7. A couple weeks after the 4^th, Ellie went and stayed at my Mom’s for a long weekend. So Russell and I lived it up for a few nights…..yeah…not really!!! We did enjoy a really nice meal at Newport Grill and we went to two movies that weekend. It was nice just to relax for a few days!!

8. At the end of July, the Wilkins’ Family took a vacation together (13 people). This is the first time we did this and to be completely honest…..I was a little nervous…..but it all turned out great. No fighting, no arguing (well the kids still argued but no adults did) it was truly a great vacation. First we traveled up and saw Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, and Custer National park and then we ended up on Glacier National Park. While we were there the hottest it got was about 77 and the lowest it got I think was 39 or close to that. It was HEAVEN….cuz back in KS….we’re on our 40 something day of 100 degrees….I’ve stopped counting. We saw beautiful scenery, saw some wild life and even hiked a little.

9. The last day of our vacation happened to be Ellie’s 3^rd Birthday (July 31^st). We drove from Denver to Wichita that day and got home around 4….we took Ellie to Build A Bear and out for Chinese food (one of her favs) and stopped at Dillons and got her a cupcake so she could blow out some candles. She loved it!!

Well, that’s about it….i think…..I’m sure I’m forgetting a TON of things!!!!

Hopefully it won’t be another 3 months before I post again!!

TaTa for now.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

ellie's 1st hair cut

she was ubber excited.....and she was FANTASTIC......jumped right up in that chair and sat pretty still....she only turned her head when she heard a blow dryer going and wanted to see what the noise was....(warning....lot of pics)

before her cut

during her cut

after her cut...she got a sucker too!!

no more mullet....YAY!!!

once we got home, ellie had a bath and a change of clothes and she let me put a bow in her hair.....but it only lasted about 30 minutes.....oh well, at least i got a few pics before she took it out

i'm so happy at how the cut turned out

Friday, May 13, 2011

things i want....

you know…..sometimes i just want things…..not anything in particular but just want them cuz they either look fun, cool or just simply cuz i want them…..maybe that’s the “youngest in my family” syndrome that’s coming out…..but darn it…..i want it…..but alas….as my parents said to me many times growing up……”put s#*t in one hand and want in the other and see which one fills up faster”…..so here a just a few things that i have to admire from a far…..i call it…..things i want…..

iPad….. i don’t need an iPad….i’m perfectly happy with my laptop and iTouch….but darn it…..it looks fun…..and i want one……

this zebra rug…..

i want this rug for my dinning room…..the dinning room that’s in my head anyway……hopefully someday, i’ll be able to afford a $1200.00 rug….and not feel sick or guilty about it…..doubt it

to be a size 6 again…..HA……but i would settle for a 10 or 12……this one is very doable….but i don’t want to do the work involved……seriously when are they going to invent a pill you can take……we can put a man on the moon and find bin laden…..but we can’t invent a magical weight loss pill that doesn’t affect your heart or kidneys…..seriously

a new spring and summer wardrobe…….in my size 6 frame, of course

this shower curtain….. it’s it FANTASTIC……i just love it…..i’m currently updating my bathroom with a beach/ocean them…..and this would look AMAZING in it….but it’s $120 bucks……seriously…..it’s a SHOWER CURTAIN…..who pays that…….but i still want it….

a live in housekeeper……..just imagine it for a second………no more dishes, laundry, dusting vaccuming……o…..wouldn’t it be heavenly…...know snap back into reality and go fold that basket of laundry…….

a craft room that looks like this……. FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC…..isn’t it…… a girl can dream…….

this post could go on and on and on…..cuz there is A LOT of stuff out there that I want……but we’ll save that for another day…..

Friday, May 6, 2011

happy mom's day

i’m gonna be completely honest….i wasn’t prepared to be a mom….i didn’t know what to do or how to do it. i was scared when i learned that i was having a baby. being the youngest in my entire family….i was never around babies….i didn’t babysit…heck i only had changed a handful of diapers (thanks to kalinda)….i was completely and utterly clueless….and then my life completely changed on july 31st 2008 at 1:07pm……i was a mom….A MOM….i was now responsible for someone other than myself…..and then it just clicked….i knew what to do (except the bathing thing….i was terrified of giving her a bath…..she just was so darn slippery)….i knew when we she was hungry, when she needed a diaper change, when she had gas or if something was wrong....i just knew….it just clicked……..

i’m sure i don’t do everything “right”….in fact….i know i don’t do everything “right”….but i do know that i do the best i can….and that i love my daughter with everything i have….she’s the love of my life!!

i’ve learned a lot about myself since becoming a mom and i’ve learned a lot about being a mom….although i make mistakes on a daily basis….here are just a few things i’ve learned…..

set a good example – ellie says things and does things and i think were does she pick these things up….duh lisa, from you…..she learns from watching and listening…even when i don’t think she’s listening or watching ….i think she learns more from the stuff we are not intentionally trying to teach her than the lessons we focus on teaching her

humor – if i didn’t have a healthy dose of humor towards the role of being a mom than the path would certainly be a tough one. without humor everything becomes a little harder and more frustrating than it probably needs to be….and let me tell ya….i laugh a lot…at me, my husband and ellie

disappointment – not everything about being a mom is fun….there is disappointment….disappointment with something your child has done, disappointment with yourself because you messed up…..but with every disappointment comes experience and learning….and has much as it breaks my heart seeing my daughter disappointed….it’s good for her…not everything in life is jelly beans and balloons….disappointment is something she needs to learn no matter how much is sucks….

humiliation, tolerance and patience – on more than one occasion i have been that mom who had to stand by “patiently” while watching ellie kick and scream on the floor or in the cart in the middle of a store….while people are looking and talking…..most people understand and say “o honey i’ve been there” but there is that moment when you are just so embarrassed by the way your child is acting that you just want to curl up and hide away

take the time to listen and ask questions – when ellie wants to talk to me, i try to take the time and drop everything and listen….i know that these moments are going to come few and far between as she gets older so i try to cherish these moments and just sit and talk

time away - i believe that every mom out there needs time away from their kids…..spend time with their partner or family, away from the kids, away from your everyday life….i think it’s a key aspect in creating a good environment for your family….

love, love, love – the beatles said it best “ all you need is love, love is all you need”…..being a mom as opened my heart and i never knew that i could love someone as much as i do….there just isn’t words to describe it

so, to all you mom’s out there….may your day be filled with disappointment, tolerance, humiliation, patience and most of all LOVE, laugher, hugs, and kisses.