Back to the real world.......

So, I can't even describe how wonderful my trip to CA with my girlfriends was. While I am sad to be back I also very much missed my family....at least the last day I did!!!!

I also somehow broke my camera while there so I don't have any pictures to post. HOWEVER, Rhonda took some great shots so here is the link to her blog so you can check them out:
http://worsethingscouldhappen.blogspot.com/

I have to thank Dustin for "allowing" me a girls weekend and for taking care of the kiddos while I was away. My parents for taking care of the kids and the dogs and Marilyn for helping Dustin in Houston!!! (yes, dustin took 2 kids on a road trip without me...he did GREAT!)

It truly was a wonderful weekend with absolutely NO schedules or time frames, no diapers or bottles and no timeouts but we all missed our babies.

If only I could bring the weather and scenery with me back to Texas.

California here we come....

So, I leave today with two girlfriends for 3 nights and 2 days in the beautiful state of California. I came to the realization last night that you could be sending me to Po-dunk, Arkansas and I wouldn't care.....the destination doesn't matter, the time away will!

I know I will miss my kids and Dustin but I truly think I need a little "me" time. The ONLY time I have been away from Bryson since he was born is a few times at the gym (which you know I wasn't enjoying that "me" time), one night out for dinner, church on Sunday, a few bunko and pokeno nights and a few trips to the grocery store. Looking back, that is probably a grand total of 15 hours away from him. Now, don't you start thinking I am complaining about staying at home with them because I LOVE IT and wouldn't have it any other way right now......I just think mom's deserve a little time apart to "renew" themselves. (We are choosing to "renew" ourselves this weekend with a few drinks, a little shopping, laying by the beach and sleeping.....I tear up just thinking about it!)

I think the whole family will be in better spirits when I return!!! For now, I must go so I can pack for myself and the kids. Dustin is taking them on a road trip all by himself to Houston to visit family and friends and take Rams to her first Astros game. If you feel the need to call and check on him, DON'T...he will be way too busy!!! Just pray for all of us!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ramsey.......

So, exactly 16 minutes from now 3 years ago our sweet little Ramsey was born. I hope I never forget all the details of that day....so many emotions running through me as it finally hit me that I was going to be a mommy from that day on. Those emotions still run through me as we go through all the new phases of life. I know that I am beyond blessed to have a healthy and happy little girl and for that blessing I thank God every night.

It amazes me how much she has matured and grown just since her brother has come along. She is quite the little helper (when she wants to be) and I think she sincerely loves her brother. I can't wait to see what a beautiful person she will turn out to be.

Her favorite things as she turns 3:
swimming
singing...."twinkle twinkle" is her favorite closely followed by "jingle bells"
reading at bedtime
playing her new piano...thanks Logan and Lucas!
wearing dresses
giving Bryson his paci
ravioli
snacks
playing dress-up
peanut butter and jelly
ice cream...said "I creem"
waffles
chocolate milk
princess shoes
flip-flops
make-up, especially chap stick
ringing doorbells

Things she doesn't like:
being told "NO"
timeout
being woken up
being pushed or hit....from other kids, we try not to abuse her :)
SHARING
being licked by the dogs

We also learned yesterday at her dance "recital" she does not like to perform in front of crowds!!! She either sat in my lap or had to hold the teacher's hand the whole time.

Happy Birthday sweet Ramsey! We love you always and forever!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Ramsey's Birthday party....

We invited a few of Ramsey's friends to join us at ASI Gymnastics for her 3rd birthday party today. We are celebrating a few days early since 1.) her real birthday doesn't fall on the weekend 2.) I will be in California next weekend so we couldn't do it then 3.) she didn't care when we did it as long as she got her mermaid party!!!!!

Anyway, it was a huge success! What have I been thinking doing parties at our house the past 2 years? It was FABULOUS to just walk in and walk out....no mess to clean before or after, no worries about spilled anything on the carpet (not that it would matter on our carpet this year). I HIGHLY recommend the location party and not the house party.

Oh, and as for California...I am going with 2 girlfriends for a long weekend. Our husbands are letting us free for the weekend....aren't they brave and wonderful?? Erin is a Cali native so she is taking Rhonda and I there for the first time. She said it best a few weeks ago when this was planned that she "was excited to see CA thru our eyes". It will basically be a weekend of shopping, hittin' the beach and OF COURSE hittin' the bars!!!!!!

3 moms + no kids + no husbands + alcohol = a damn good time!!!!!

Supermom: She gives birth to six, runs marathon

well, if that news article isn't enough to get me to the gym today nothing will do it.

seriously???? 6 babies and training for a marathon?????

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25258388/?GT1=43001

I guess I will have to take baby steps...the first one being getting to the gym on time! Must go get ready now, the elliptical is calling my name.

Dear Lord--Beer me strength......

The title says it all....I hope you know "The Office" reference, if not it still says it all!

I think Kate from the TLC Show "John and Kate plus 8" nailed what I am going thru on the head when she told Oprah "Don't you know 3's are the new 2's???"

I don't want this blog to be a rant on how my sweet little Ramsey has turned into a "NO" shouting, arms-crossing, attitude-throwing, screaming little girl BUT that seems to be going on a lot lately. I am pretty sure she is just sick of hanging out with me but I honestly don't think I can do much more to entertain her. Swim lessons, play groups, running errands, dance lessons and going to the gym keep us VERY busy so I don't know why she is that sick of me. Maybe I am keeping her too busy?? I just don't want her to be a TV girl so I try to keep her entertained. By the way, I would LOVE suggestions from you on how to kill time without breaking the bank OR making a huge mess!!!!

She still is a sweet little girl and I am truly amazed at how much she has grown up over the last few months. She wasn't much a talker there for awhile so now that we can carry on conversations with her is so much fun! She loves to "talk" on her phone and it is hilarious to hear her carry on these conversations with her Grammie, Lolli, Reece and Ava.....you would think they really were on the other end of the line.

So, of course I love her with all my heart....I just wish she was more sweet than sassy these days!!!!!! I will continue to pray to God to bring (or beer) me strength.

Things I would rather not hear.....

"Brother awake".....see prior post

"It's OK mommy"....that usually means something has been spilled or Ramsey has done something on her own that she shouldn't have.

"I want to paint"...I am so glad that my daughter thinks she is a little artist but I am tired of wiping up water colors from my table plus she usually wants to paint right before we sit down to eat.

"I don't want (one of the following) breffast, lunch or deenner".....but she has NEVER turned down a snack, which is why they aren't offered anymore, she has to instigate that one.

"NO"....this is without a doubt my least favorite word in the english dictionary when it is coming out my daughters mouth. I pretty much hear it 100 times a day and I am OVER IT! It is now usually followed with a sassy look and her arms crossed...when did my almost 3 yr old turn 13? We are in for an interesting ride!

On another note: I think Bryson is started to teeth? How early does that start??? He is drooling like a mad man and will now put ANYTHING he can grab into his mouth. If only I would have found my camera earlier today I would have taken a picture of him with his mouth wrapped around one of the little poles on his playmat.

I am off to look up babycenter or some other baby sites to see how early this whole process starts! Wish me luck!

Happy Father's Day.....

I am blessed to have wonderful men in my life. My husband is a wonderful father to our kids, they couldn't ask for a better dad! He loves our kids and would do anything for them and the betterment of their lives. What more could a mom ask for? I love to sit back and watch Dustin interact with them, they both light up in his presence.

Both of our dads are wonderful men too....always there for us and supporting us. Our kids are blessed to have such great Gramps and Pops! So, Happy Father's day to Dustin, Pops and Gramps! We love you!

Early Saturday morning.....

I am awake for some unknown reason so I thought I would post a blog....I know you are just waiting on pins and needles for us to update!

If you are in the mood for a good cry and a VERY inspirational story check out this blog:
http://jessiekelley.blogspot.com/
this little girl is amazing and her families faith in God is such a wonderful testimony.

Ramsey is becoming more and more obsessed with her birthday. She talks about it all the time and asks everyday if it is her birthday. She stole a Learning Express magazine from my sister's house last week and when we get in the car she looks at it and tells me everything she wants in it.....obsessed and spoiled!

Not too much to update about Bryson, he still just eats, sleeps and poops. I think he is getting close to rolling over and his head control is getting better but he still isn't ready for the Bumbo yet. I have to quit calling him "fatty" bc Dustin swears he heard Ramsey walk up to him and say "hey fatty". I hope I am not giving him a complex.....I wish I was that cute with all of my fat!

To all the dad's that read this blog (are there any?) we wish you all a very Happy Father's day. To our dad's.....we love and admire you. Thanks for being such strong pillars in our lives and for always loving and supporting us. (by the way, your cards will be late)

If I could talk.......

I would tell Ramsey a few things:

Please don't place your CareBears, babies, purses or anything else you are playing with at the time in my lap. I am not your personal belongings holder and soon I will probably throw them at you.

I do not need my paci shoved in my face...especially if I am content or sleeping.

If I am sleeping, please don't yell "WAKE-UP" 3 inches from my face.

When I do wake-up, please stop yelling "BROTHER AWAKE" to mommy...odds are she is trying to get my bottle ready and you are just slowing down the process.

I would tell the dogs a few things as well:

Maddi- your breath is HOT and stinks...please don't pant near me

Chi-Chi- your breath is awful too and I certainly don't want you licking me! Mommy has told me stories about you and you are gross.

To both of you, I am NOT going anywhere so please don't look so sad when mommy or daddy comes in the house carrying me. I am here to stay and soon I will throw something at you too!

To Mommy and Daddy:

Mommy- you are not a good singer so please stop making up lame songs and singing them to me. I know I smile and laugh at you but it is only because I feel sorry for you (and the rest of the family).

Daddy- I am going to need you to stop putting so much sports pressure on me. Yes, I know Ramsey got the Astros to the World Series and Tech to the Cotton Bowl but there is only so much this one little baby can do. I will try for the Astros but lets get real here, you aren't even taking me to their game in a few weeks. I can't promise you anything right now except that I will gladly watch sports with you anytime you want.....as long as you have a bottle close by.

I TOTALLY stole this blog idea from Erin but it was such a cute idea I just had to the same thing.....thanks Dunkles!

Always in the car seat....

Looking back at most of the pictures we have of Bryson we started to notice he is in his car seat most of the time. The poor kid is always being carried around with his sister's busy schedule. This picture was taken at cousin Davis' baseball game.....he really was in a good mood that night, you just can't tell by the picture! Daddy LOVES this hat on him!!!

Ramsey and Ava before their dance class today. They both look so cute in their "ball-a-weena" outfits! Ramsey refuses to take off her tap shoes after class so we wear them home and "tap" our way to the car.

That's all I got!

Best day ever......

well, not really but you know your day is going to be ok when you look in the back of your car and find a bottle of wine you had no idea you had!

Actually today has not been that great on the whole mommy/ramsey front. She has been EXTRA whiny today and pretty much says "NO" to anything I say or do. Such is life for an almost 3 year old I suppose. Please tell me that some you mommies go thru the same thing!

Bryson only wants to be fed so I can keep him pretty happy most of the day! Heaven forbid though if you don't have his bottle ready the second he wakes up....then he will let you know how disappointed he is in you.

That's all I got!

Hello slacker....

Yes, I know it has been awhile since my last post. HOWEVER I do have a pretty good excuse.....wait for it......Dustin was out of town this week so I only had time to stalk the blogs I love to read, no time to post!!!

We did have a great week though. Ramsey made it thru her first dance class (thanks to an ice cream bribe). We went swimming a few times - thanks a bunch to Jen and Paul for having us over! Plus, Grammie, Gramps and Great-Grammie A came into town to celebrate cousin Davis' 6th Birthday!!!

We had a great time hanging out with the family and Ramsey got some good sugars from her grandparents.

No pictures to post.....I had no time! (I am riding that excuse train as long as I can)

Teaser alert: I'm going to California!!!! More about that later!

Busy weekend, yet again!

Dustin and Ramsey swimming again. Ramsey can't wait for Grammie and Gramps to take her swimming this weekend! She is signed up for swimming lessons in June and we might do July as well. In the Bettencourt household we now spell s-w-i-m-s-u-i-t otherwise we little miss is stripped down ready to get in it!

This is the face Bryson loves to give you....it just melts my heart and makes me want to squeeze him!

Bryson and Ramsey at the Frisco Rough Riders baseball game. We went with the Maywald's and had a great time sitting in the outfield. As you can tell, Ramsey was in Bryson's face yet again and he is just so thrilled about it!