VERY INSPIRATIONAL

While working for Metal Roofing Systems I have met some wonderful people not only at work, but also outside of work. The ladies at Peoples Bank and I have really gotten to know one another and I love going there daily to chat with them. One of the tellers has a niece who has a truly amazing story. She was updating me on her situation today and I had to check out her blog! If you have a chance please check out her amazing story! It will give you cold chills. It's one of those stories that will give you hope in even the darkest moments of your life. God is Great!!!

http://www.babydellinger.blogspot.com/

Update on the Bully

I broke down yesterday and called the director at Ashlyn's preschool. I kept telling myself to give it a few more days to see if things were getting better, but so far this week Ashlyn has cried every morning when I drop her off in fear of the little devil child. I expressed my concerns and let her know that it's hard to make a child aggressive if he/she does not have an aggressive personality. I've told Ashlyn everyday to stand up to him and tell him to LEAVE HER ALONE, but I think that he bothers her everyday which makes her that much more scared of him. She gets her feelings hurt very easily. That's just her personality, and you can't do much to change it. The issue that needs to be addressed is the physical and emotional harm that this boy is doing to my baby!

We decided that it would be best to keep Ashlyn and Dillon seperated, especially since they are only together maybe one hour each day. Ashlyn is going to go in a different room for about 30 minutes in the mornings. I think that she may be ok in the afternoons with him. Mornings are the hardest since she wakes up knowing that she has to face him first thing each day.

This morning when I dropped her off the assistant director was also walking in. She told me to bring Ashlyn into the office with her and her daughter for a little while. I sat and talked with her for a few minutes. I explained to her that I hope that they don't think that I'm overreacting, but that it's terrible for a mother to hear her child say that she's scared to go to school because of another child's actions towards him/her, ESPECIALLY at 3 years old. She completely understood and told me that she wanted not only Ashlyn to feel safe, but for me to feel that my child is getting the attention that she needs and feels safe while at preschool. I feel much better about the situation today than I did yesterday. At least I've expressed my concerns, and the director is fully aware of the situation at hand.

Baby Bedding

I have decided on this fabric for the crib bedding.

The sports fabric will be used for the bumper and the striped for the crib skirt.

I'm also using a few other fabrics, but these are the primary fabrics for his nursery.

A lady that lives in my friend Renee's neighborhood

has offered to custom make the bedding for me since I'm so

picky and can't find anything in the stores that appeal to me.

So Much to Blog About, So Little Time

First off let me start off with Ashlyn. She is such a little princess. All girl for sure! She is growing up so fast! I can't belive that she will be 4 in June! WOW! She is the sweetest little thing, most of the time. =) Of course she has her melt downs, but for the most part she has really grown up this past year. I think that alot of it has to do with her starting preschool back in August. She loves everything about it except for 1 HUGE THING. You see there's this little boy who's in the 4 year old class. She's only around him in the early mornings and late afternoons when all of the teachers haven't gotten there yet. He is such a bully. This is the same little boy that pinched Ashlyn on 2 seperate occasions at the beginning of the school year. I'm not just talking about a little pinch. He pinched her so hard that it left marks on her arm and hand. Starting back around November/December she would come home EVERY AFTERNOON talking about how Dillon pinched her, hit her, pushed her, etc. I figured that these stories were made up since this incident happened earlier in the year. I hadn't been getting any notes sent home with a message of my child being harmed. Finally about a week and a half ago I took her to school and she has gotten to the point where she won't even go and play due to her fear of this little boy. I talked to her teacher that morning about the situation and she informed me that he is very MEAN to my little girl. Why has nothing been done before now about this situation? The very next day I went to pick Ashlyn up from school and I talked to her head teacher about her FEAR. That day the little boy had shoved her out of the doorway and nearly knocked her down. I know that kids will be kids, but when this is going on day after day, and Ashlyn is fearing going to school because she has to be the target of a bully EVERY SINGLE DAY, something needs to be done! Ashlyn does absolutely NOTHING to bring this on. He targets her because she's the smallest and he knows that it bothers her big time. I'm heartbroken for my little girl to fear going to school at 3 years old. These should be the best years. She shouldn't have to deal with this at 3! It also PISSES me off to an unimaginable level! I finally told her to hit him back. This is her response - "But mom, I'm too little!" How pitiful! I also told her to tell him that her daddy's a policeman and if he doesn't leave her alone then he'll come and arrest him. Hey........whatever works! I really want Britt to drop her off one morning in his uniform. That would probably scare the you know what out of him.

The baby.............He's doing great, I'm doing great! I really couldn't ask for a better pregnancy. I went for my glucose test last week. I remembered that drink being bad, but I didn't remember it being THAT BAD! YUCK!!!! I nearly puked drinking it, and then after I drank it I was light-headed, hot, sick, and just felt HORRIBLE!
Still no definite name yet for the baby. So far we've narrowed our choices down to 3 - Walker, Locke, or Brynnan/Brennan. The middle name is definitely going to be Reid. How is it that we have his middle name but no first name? lol!
He is definitely a kicker. I think that he may be the next big punter for the NFL! =) He kicks and punches SO HARD! Sometimes it actually hurts. Ashlyn was very gentle while in the womb, not this little guy. It's funny how you can already tell a little about their personality from their actions and movements inside of your belly.

Life is good!

My sweet, sweet baby!

Christmas Memories

Ashlyn, Alaina, and Reid

Christmas Family Photo

Another with Britt's sister Kerry, her husband Ryan, Reid, Alaina, and Britt's mom Joyce

Silly cousins

Ashlyn finishing off the half eaten cookie that Santa had left behind. ;)

Ashlyn and the drunk Santa that Pappaw Lewis got her. LOL! (He didn't know that it was really a drunk Santa.) We lauged sooooooo hard Christmas day at this gift!

Ashlyn didn't like the drunk Santa. Notice she's holding her ears. =)

She LOVED her My Little Pony!

How did I get so far behind in blogger world? I guess it starts with being sick with a stomach bug the week before Christmas, and as for Christmas on...............well, let's just say that we've been running here, there, and everywhere up until today. Christmas was wonderful this year! Ashlyn is finally at the age where she truly understands what Christmas is all about. It went by way too fast, but other than that it was great. Ashlyn got SO MUCH STUFF! I was a little stressed trying to figure out where in the world we were going to put everything. I ended up going and buying one of those storage shelves with the containers that go on the shelves. That helped take care of alot of the little stuff and all of her baby dolls. We've finally gotten everything in it's place. The tree came down today along with all of the other Christmas decorations. sigh............it's over until next year, which shouldn't take that long to get here considering how fast this year flew by!

I hope that everyone had a very happy New Year! This was the first year since Ashlyn's been born that I've spent the New Year without Britt. He worked this New Year's Eve, so Ashlyn and I went out to eat with Mom, Dad, Pam, and Mike. Then Ashlyn and I went to watch Enchanted. What a great movie! We both thouroughly enjoyed it! After the movie we went grocery shopping (yes on New Year's Eve) at Wal-mart. That was the best experience that I've ever had at Wal-mart. NO ONE was there....Well mayble like 2o other people, but for Wal-mart that is D-E-A-D!!!! We made it home just in time to watch the ball drop.

Now for making my New Year's Resolutions and trying to stick to them. I'll post more about them later. Ta ta for now.

oh.............I'll try to get my Christmas pictures posted this evening!

Proceed With Caution

I am about to just breakdown at any given minute! For one I'm pregnant. That's should be reason enough, but I am so entirely stressed out. I'm going to go ahead and apologize before I blow off some steam. I just need to get some things off of my chest, so sorry for being in such a damper mood!


Ashlyn is a wonderful child........until you try to put her to bed at night and wake her up in the morning. She never wants to get up in the morning, so I've been putting her to bed earlier. She still won't go to sleep until after 10:00 each night. She sits in her bed and plays school with all of her animals. Even though I go in her room every 5-10 minutes with the same spill - "Ashlyn you need to go to bed because you aren't going to be a happy camper in the morning, and that makes mommy very upset.", she still WILL NOT go to sleep. Then the morning rolls around and we have world war III every morning at the Cody house. She won't get out of bed, she won't go to the potty, she won't brush her teeth, she won't get dressed. Do you see a pattern here? It is beyond frustrating! It doesn't matter if I get up 15 minutes earlier or an hour earlier, it's still a battle with her EVERY morning, which makes me late and starts my day off terribly!


I feel like I've got a million things on my plate at this very moment.........................Christmas shopping, which I did get most of it taken care of on Saturday. Mom and I went to Gaffney for an ALL DAY shopping trip. I've still got to get Ashlyn a few more gifts and 2-3 other people, so I've really knocked most of that out. Thank goodness!

My car has about a bunch of small things that need to be fixed. My headliner is falling down, my brakes need to be replaced, I need new tires, my passenger side window is leaking. UGGGHHHH!!!! I just spoke to Britt, who is also annoying the pee out of me, and he got an attitude with me on the phone because I have ANOTHER screw in one of my tires. I have completely lost count of how many times this has happened to me. I honestly have the WORST LUCK WITH TIRES!!!!!!! Of course it's MY fault that this keeps happening. I mean I intentionally drive through construction sites on a daily basis to see how many nails I can run over!?!?!? I'm stressed, so you could see where his little attitude doesn't help the situation at all!

Then we've got the nursery that we HAVE NOT EVEN started on yet! That's going to be a nightmare because all of Britt's clothes are in that closet and in both dressers in that bedroom. We'll have to move all of his clothes to the downstairs closet, which means that we'll have to move everything from the downstairs closet to the garage in the basement. Now do you see why I'm so stressed?

On top off ALL OF THIS my husband is having an affair on me with a little girl by the name of GOLF! =) He lives and breathes it! On his free days, other than today and yesterday - honey, he plays golf, so I come home to a messy house nearly EVERY SINGLE AFTERNOON! I am so freaking tired of having to come home, give Ashlyn a bath, get my shower, either fix supper or pick something up to eat, pick up HIS mess, do the laundry, and a bunch of other crap. I barely have time to sit down and get off of my feet because it's time to go to bed. Oh and by the way I'm pregnant in case you forgot, because I'm pretty sure that he forgets that his wife is pregnant and could use a little extra help. I'm not trying to use pregnancy as an excuse to get out of doing something, but it wouldn't hurt for him to help me out around the house a little.

So now you see why I'm stressed to the MAX! I'm trying to just bite my tongue and be pleasant, but it's becoming nearly impossible! Again.........sorry for the foul mood, but I just needed to vent. I CAN'T WAIT FOR OUR GIRL'S NIGHT OUT! I desperately need it!

My Little Model

Work Christmas Party

Ashlyn and Santa

Tonight we went to Marshal (where my dad works) with

Mom and Dad for their company Christmas party.

Santa was there to meet the kids.

Ashlyn asked for a computer and a tv for the car.

Santa was a little surprised by her request. Frankly I was too. =)

She's just a little high maintenance. LOL!

I honestly have no clue where she came up with either of these gifts.

If she's asking for this now we're in trouble when she becomes a teenager!

Polar Express Pics

True family photo.....

Me - "Smile Ashlyn."

Ashlyn being Ashlyn

Britt thinking - "When is this train ride going to end?"

LOL!

A little better

Terrible picture of Ashlyn and Santa since I couldn't use a flash. =(

The Lail's

Who............Me????

Lovin' on Daddy

Do you think she's gotta go?

What a beautiful face! =) LOL!

The Polar Express

Sunday was a fun-filled day in Bryson City for a trip to the North Pole aboard the Polar Express. What a wonderful experience! We made the trip with Ashley, Jon, and Grayson. When we first arrived we went through the train museum. I was SHOCKED to see the price tags for some of these trainsets. We're talking in the thousands$$$!?!?! After the museum we got our tickets and headed to the car to get the kids in their pj's. It was finally time to board the train. Once aboard we were given hot chocolate and a chocolate covered marshmallow. We were off to pick up Santa. On the way to the North Pole the Polar Express was read to all of the children. We finally made it. Just seeing Ashlyn's face when Santa stepped onto the train made the trip worth every penny spent! Her eyes lit up and were as big as saucers. She couldn't contain her excitement. Santa stopped and visited with every child and gave each of them a special momento, a jingle bell, as a reminder of their special trip to see Santa Claus. The only downside was that we were instructed that we could take pictures, but we couldn't use a flash. Alot of good that does when you're on a dim train at 6:00 in the evening. Needless to say our pictures with Santa didn't turn out. =( That stunk! On the way back to the station we sang Christmas carols and were up dancing the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was a hoot! LOL! It was time to grab some dinner and head back down the mountain. I highly recommend taking a trip on the Polar Express next year! We thoroughly enjoyed it!

I'll try to post pictures from the trip when I get home this evening.

Inner Joy

Day 3 of Moriah's challenge...................What brings you inner joy?

Every night snuggling with Ashlyn at bedtime.

Winning the football pool at work, especially since I'm the only girl. LOL!

Getting flowers for no reason at all.

Finding extra money that you forgot you even had.

Getting belly kisses from both Britt and Ashlyn.

Having someone let me go in front of them in line at the grocery store since I only have 3 items compared to their 50.

The first night of sleep on clean 800 thread count sheets.

A compliment from someone out of the blue.

Bargain shopping!

Coming home from work to a clean house.

Kobes.....YUM!

My bare feet in the sand with a magazine in one hand and a frozen drink in the other.

Having a girls night out.

Hearing Ashlyn's laugh.

Sunsets at the beach.

Getting a phone call from a long lost friend.

Seeing your baby smile for the first time.

The list could go on and on, but these are just a few of the things that bring me inner joy.

Be You!

Gosh.........this is a tough one Moriah!

I am a neat freak who tries to be messy in order to get over my obsession with cleaning. And it's not necessarily the cleanliness that gets me fired up, it's the tidiness and things being out of order and that drive me up the wall! For example............I cannot sit down and relax at night if there is an object, like a toy or even a stray leaf carried in from outside, laying in the middle of the floor. I never used to be like this, but I have transformed into this obsessive person after having Ashlyn. I, unlike most, strive to be messy instead of clean. What is up with that? It's humorous to me now, but once I get home in the eveinings I am overwhelmed with STRESS if one thing is not put back into it's original spot, or an empty plastic cup has not been thrown in the trash. I literally can't relax until I've straightened the house up and swiffered the floors. So I'm clean, and I'm good at it, but I don't want to be SOOOO obsessed with things that I get my panties all in a wad over toys not being picked up immediately after Ashlyn's pulled them out. I need to get a grip, especially with a little boy on the way! This little guy is going to ROCK MY WORLD if I can't get over this little cleaning obsession before he arrives. LOL!
There are many many other things that make up who I am, but right now at this very moment, this is a huge part of me that I'm trying to overcome. So, today I'm a neat freak, but hopefully down the road I can turn into that messy person who drives me batty today! =)

Speaking of inspiration................

Lately I've been watching the show Jon & Kate plus 8. Have any of you ever seen it? That lady is a true inspiration to all mothers in this world! The show is definitely one of my favorites; I'm so addicted! They have twin 6 year olds and sextuplets that are 3! I don't know how parents of twins do it, but could you imagine having SIX 3 YEAR OLDS plus a set of twins!!??!!?? I mean this lady is a true SUPERMOM! She not only takes care of the kids 24/7, but she also does all that's possible to ensure that they have the healthiest and happiest life possible. She is such an inspiration to me. I myself find it hard to stay organized with one child, let alone 8. She cuts coupons and saves close to $100 each week on groceries. She spends close to $100-$150 dollars a week on food to feed the entire family of 10. I spend close to $100 dollars a week for just Britt, Ashlyn, and myself. Not only does she save money but she tries to buy the healthiest food possible for her family. She buys as much organic food as possible and cooks for her family EVERYDAY! The family do as much together as possible. They even take all 8 kids out to go Christmas shopping. I nearly lose my mind if I take Ashlyn shopping with me even if it's a short trip to Target and back. I HAVE NO CLUE HOW SHE DOES IT! She is AMAZING! If you have never watched the show you should definitely check it out.