Decisions, Decisions...

So, I have written time and time again how severely homesick I am. I have said it until I am blue in the face. Until recently, it just didn't seem feasible to try to move home. I mean, I lost my job which is what moved us here to begin with but since that time we purchased our first home and Ray started a new career. So, it isn't as easy as giving 30 days notice and moving home. We have a home to sell. My husband has established a career here that he loves and is damn good at. I was beginning to think that we would be stuck here until retirement. Don't get me wrong, Houston is a great place to live, the problem is my heart isn't here.

But now there is a silver lining. A bright and shiny silver lining! The career my husband is so blessed to have, well you can do it anywhere. In fact, he would probably make more money if we were to move back to Louisiana because there is less competition and he is the absolute BEST at what he does. So we made a decision. A huge one. We are starting our own company. We are going for it. It is scary and exciting all at the same time. We will start slow and I am in the process of creating a website. I will include Louisiana on the website and we will advertise there. That way he can schedule things there all in one week and we can go and then come back and work here until we build a client base that will allow us to move there full time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive. I know this will take time. Not just because it will take some time to build the business there, but because in this market I am going to have a really hard time selling my house. But, we are committed and I KNOW we can do it.

That being said...if you need a good garage door installed, repaired, or service than please let me know! He really is the greatest at what he does.

I am so super stoked right now. It will take time but we are on the path home, and it feels so right.

Until next time...CNS

OUCH!

I HATE burns! I really do. And today I burned my hand...my right hand. It should be against the laws of nature to allow a mother of small children to burn her dominate hand....No BEUNO

Until next time...CNS

I'm Baaack...

So, it's been a while. Like a REALLY long while and it that long while, LOTS of things have changed. My life is completely different than it was, or than it EVER has been for that matter.

I stopped working on February 7th, 2009. I'm gonna give you a minute to let that sink in because I have NEVER, EVER not worked in my life. The days I turned 16, I started a job and have been gainfully employed ever since. At first, I thought I would never make it without my career. It was part of me. A huge part of me that I enjoyed and thrived on. But, over the last year or so, it had turned into something much less enjoyable and a ton more stressful. I knew it was time to go. But, I also knew that I didn't think I was cut from the mold that stay at home moms are made from. Turns out, I may be cut from that mold after all. I like and enjoyed it more than I thought. I haven't been committed just yet. And, my daughter is starting Kindergarten in less than a week and I am so thankful that I got these last few months to spend with her and not worry about the hustle and bustle of my 9 to 5. I have had all this time to just enjoy my kids like I have never been able to before. It was amazing!

Hunter will be 2 on Sept 11th and I can't believe it has been 2 years! He is getting huge and starting to talk. He is an amazing soul. One that truly completed this family and I have gotten to raise him and nurture him in different ways than I was able to with Chloe because I have not been busy trying to rush him to school so I can get to work, so I can rush home to pick him up, so I can rush to feed him, so I can rush to get him to bed. For this, I will be forever grateful.

I am super stoked about this new chapter in my life. Something that was so unpredicted, so unexpected, and so scary just 7 months ago...has become one of the biggest blessings in my life. God really does work in mysterious ways!
i will be back blogging as much as possible and can't wait to catch everyone up on where things come from here!

Until next time...CNS

Where does the time go?

I can tell you where the last half hour went. It went to me writing a beautiful post about my baby girl turning five. Then, blogger crashed and deleted the whole thing and the last 5 minutes consisted of me saying some less than ladylike things to the computer monitor. Let me try to re-create if I can.

I know the statement "where does the time go?" is overused and quite cliche. However, it is the statement that I find myself either wondering aloud or to myself several times a day.

When I try to dress Hunter in an outfit that he has outgrown, even though it seems like just yesterday it was enormous on him.

When Chloe's shoe size creeps closer and closer to the size that I wear, I wonder it aloud. She CAN'T wear that size! She is my baby.

We celebrated that baby girl's FIFTH birthday last weekend. Every year, on her birthday I get hit with HUGE waves of nostalgia. It just doesn't seem like she should be growing up so fast. And while I am happy for her, and I am proud of the person she is becoming, I am just a little sad that she is less and less like a baby and more and more like her own little person.

She is a beautiful, sweet, sassy, loving, compassionate, brave and talented little girl. My heart swells with emotion every single time I look at her.

I adore her and I have since that Saturday afternoon at 2:17pm when I laid eyes on her for the first time after she was delivered my emergency c-section after 14 hours of labor and THREE hours of pushing. She was worth every single second.

I love you Chloe Laine, you inspire me.

Where does the time go?

Until next time...CNS

*PS - I know the yellow background is a little obnoxious, but I wanted Mardi Gras colors and that's the only yellow they have! I love Mardi Gras!

Even though I swore I wouldn't, I did...

Well, I swore I wouldn't make ANY New Years resolutions. Furthermore, I would definitely NOT make a list and post it on my blog. That was my first resolution and here I go breaking it already. See, this is a REALLY bad idea. Oh well, following the rules has never been my strong suite.

So, here goes. A few things I would like to do more of or improve on in 2009.

1- I will spend more QUALITY time with my kids. Quiet time, with few distractions.

2- I will keep in better touch with my friends. Sometimes, I get so caught up in my life, I forget to call people back or call them first for that matter.

3- I will try to reach out to my siblings more and stay better connected with them.

4- I will allow less TV in my home for Chloe and try to find more outside or productive ideas for here on the weekends.

5- I will get back into shape. Something happened toward the end of 2008 and I kinda let myself go a bit.

I am sure there is much more I could improve on, but five is plenty for me. Hey, I told you I wasn't even gonna do a list to begin with, so five is plenty for me at this time.

What about you, what do you want to change in 2009?

Until next time...CNS

So this is Christmas...

Wow! What a whirlwind this past month has been! It started with my 30th birthday around the beginning of the month and has been non-stop since then. We still have New Years and Ray's birthday to go before all the madness ends.

Like I said, it began at the beginning of the month with my birthday. I thought it would be a rather quiet set of holidays as my in laws were going to Hawaii to spend Christmas with my sister in law and we usually go there for Christmas. So, I thought we'd just spend a quaint little day or two at home by ourselves with the kiddos. I was nervous it might not feel like Christmas but confident we'd get through it.

Boy, was I wrong?

About it all.

Have I learned nothing these past 30 years??

My in laws did indeed go to Hawaii. But they flew out of ,like they always do, and they took the opportunity to spend the night with us before their flight, like they always do. We love having them and it was our chance to have a little pre-Christmas Christmas with them. It was a lot of fun and the kids started the first round of getting loaded down. Chloe and Hunter were super excited with all of the new stuff Meme and Pawpaw bought them for Christmas. And, so were Ray and I. To top it off, Pawpaw cooked an AWESOME meal...who can top that??

I thought the rest of the holiday would go fairly quickly and uneventful. I had 99% of my Christmas shopping finished so I figured I was out of the stores and the mayhem.

Have I mentioned how wrong I was?

Last minute plans fell through, and instead of just showing up on Christmas Eve at my moms with kids and eating a meal she cooked...we changed the plans and I now had 10-12 people showing up at MY house for a meal I was expected (well, I offered) to prepare. THE NEXT DAY...aka, CHRISTMAS EVE.

I panicked a bit but headed to the store. I swear I barely made it out of Target alive. I am not being dramatic. They were trying to apprehend a shoplifter near the produce section. I happened to be in the line of fire for the RACK OF RIBS he decided to hurl from the interior of his coat before fleeing the front doors. WOW!

At the end of the day, I had all I needed to prepare said dinner. Now, I just needed to clean my mess of a house and start the meal.

I worked all day on the turkey and the casseroles. Everyone arrived around 6 and we had a blast. It was all worth it. The kids got spoiled as usual and they loved every second of it. It was such a blessing to be with everyone and I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, maybe we'll change the past tradition of Christmas Eve at my moms and start having it here every year.

Santa passed and the kids got more junk, I mean toys, this morning. Every single thing on Chloe's list in fact. And we played and played and played all day.

We didn't go anywhere. I didn't cook a turkey since I had the night before. I actually cooked a spaghetti and we had a nice, quiet day at home.

I am so thankful for the things that I am blessed with. My family and friends are irreplaceable. Everyone is healthy and for the most part happy. What else could this little cajun girl ask for??

I hope you were all just as lucky and blessed as me this holiday season.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Until next time...CNS

I am so lame...

I just figured out how easy it is to post photos on here. I mean really, there is actually an Icon that I have never noticed. I feel like an idiot.

So, here are a few pics of the kids I so often brag, I mean, talk about.

Enjoy!