LONG WEEK!

Last Wednesday Nola & I were getting a little lonely waiting for Jay to come home, so we called up the neighbors to see if they wanted to go to the park. Nola and Matthew had a fun time "driving the boat!"

On the swing...one of her favorites

Then Thursday night Aunt Susie invited us over for grilled cheese and tomato soup. Nola LOVED the grilled cheese and was double fisting the whole sandwich.
Then we were off to the mall for some window shopping but had to let Nola ride in the car, of course.

Jay made it home Friday night. He was only delayed 2 hours despite the horrible weather that would ruin our whole weekend. Read below!
Saturday morning was fun. Since it was raining Jay couldn't work outside so we both took Nola to class. I wish I could have gotten Jay's reaction when the teachers started singing. He started laughing nervously while looking right at me with "What the hell is going on? eyes."
By the end he got used to it! HAHA

Roller coaster ride!

This seems to be one of Nola's favorites, even though we've only been twice. She LOVES the puppets and singing together. She goes into a trance. I will try to get video next time!
It's sooo cute!

Nola & her Da-Da

After class it was time for Nola's lunch and then an early nap cause she was wiped out! Check out her new kicks! So cute huh!

Okay here is where the weekend is ruined. Since it was raining Jay had me trapped inside and there was nothing else to do but to CLEAN! Ughhhhhh! He tried to make it like a game and anyone who knows me knows I usually fall for that, but not with cleaning. It sucks and took forever! So, if anyone is looking for a birthday/Christmas present I would like to request a cleaning lady. OR, if you would like to contribute to my cleaning lady fund...which has approximately $5 right now, you can send those to my home address!


Since we cleaned what better than to have guests over right. Uncle Matt & Aunt Kate came over with their new dog, Addy, to watch the TIGAHS win! Nola's really into dogs right now, but NO we are not getting one till we finish having kids.

Nola watching the game and yelling at the tv. She really gets into it!

Nola helping her daddy set up the tv so I can start running on the treadmill.

I am trying to do little art projects with Nola and she is really not quite ready for colors or markers so I found this little water painting activity which I think she really liked. She kept wanting to dip the Q-tips in the water!

Look at our little Picasso!

P.S. Thank you sooo much to Aunt Peppy who came up every day this week to watch Nola. She had to wake up at 5am and I know it was a REALLY long week for her. Much appreciation!
Also to my mother in law for driving her. THANKS!

Great week this week. I am off Tues & Wed so hopefully you'll get another update later in the week!

Farm Weekend!

We headed out Thursday night to travel to VA to meet Nana & Grumps for a day before we headed to NC for our friends' Cassie & Blake's wedding. After a long drive with a few stops, including our first time at a rest stop (where only Jay rested because as soon as we stopped Nola woke up so she was crawling all over me and I was afraid a big scary man was going to bang on our window!) we finally made it to the farm at 4 am. Of course Nola was wide awake so Nana & Grumps played with her while Jay & I got some sleep. After a few hours of shut eye we were off to start our big day!
First stop was the pumpkin patch for some apples, potatoes, tomatoes, and pumpkins. I learned that we are really getting gyped at the grocery for our produce!

Nola had trouble picking out her pumpkin!

"This looks like my size but it doesn't quite resemble a pumpkin?!"

After those windy roads and mom almost throwing up from car sickness, we decided to honor our tradition...ice cream at Nester's (where you can still charge groceries old school). Nola got her first flinstones orange push up. I wish I could have gotten her on video. She was sucking her lips so loud we were cracking up!

Next, back for pictures at the farm!

"Say cheese!"

"Ooh what's this? I LOVE gadgets!"

"Alright a hayride! This is cool!"

Friday night we had fried shrimp for dinner. I can always get a taste of home when I'm with my parents! YUM! YUM!

Saturday morning we looked out the window and the cows had come down so we ran outside to feed them. Unfortunately, my camera battery died so we'll have to wait for Nana to get home to get the rest of the cow pics. Nola absolutely LOVED the cows. She petted them and kept trying to get back to them when we were walking away. She must have said and waved Bye 1,000 times. It was so cute!!!

Saturday night Jay and I went to the wedding. It was at the Speedway racetrack and I thought it was really cool! I'm not even into racing, at all, but we got a tour of the VIP sections and the ballroom where the wedding was was beautiful. However, after dinner, Jay & I spent pretty much the whole time watching the LSU game at the VIP club bar and we made friends with the bartender. GEAUX TIGERS! What a game!
Sunday morning came too fast and boy were we glad we had babysitters. I kept saying "I'm never drinking again!" Nola wanted to share her breakfast with us and as you can see, I didn't sleep much longer!

"Uh oh, how'd they get there?"

After a very long drive back we made it at about 11 pm last night. It was after midnight when we got in bed and the alarm went off so fast! I had school and Jay flew to Ohio for a conference this week. We miss him already!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A GREAT WEEKEND!
We all had a blast & can't wait to come back!

Here are a few bonus pics from dinner tonight!

More Pics

Starting to Adjust!

Nola's teething has definitely gotten better. But, all of a sudden last week she starting hating her regular routines like bath time (screaming up, up while clenching too me!), getting her hair brushed and her diaper changed. Since this continued for a second week I started asking for help because I was getting upset. Thanks to Aunt Siobhan who suggested a new bath toy. This was definitely the answer. So far (knock on wood) she has loved her bath the last two nights! Thank You! Now, how do I tackle hair and diaper??

We had a short playdate with Matthew today on his cool play set.

Thanks for sharing Matthew!

The other night I noticed Nola digging in my closet and I watched her pull out one of my purses and she knew exactly how to hold it on her shoulder. I almost peed my pants...I was laughing so hard! Isn't she adorable? Jay helped her put this purse across her shoulder and YES we are calling it a purse, not the New Jersey word.

"Let's go shopping!"

We are headed out tomorrow night to the farm to have a short visit with Nana & Grumps before we go to a friend's wedding in NC on Saturday. It will be a quick weekend and then Jay leaves early Monday for a week in Ohio. Check back next week for an update! Sorry, but I have to go pack and do some school work. Is it summer yet??

What a Mess!

Those of y'all who have seen our backyard know that it was in desperate need of being raised up with dirt before it could be seeded and the grass would grow. So we were very fortunate to get 3 truck loads of dirt delivered and THANK GOD my brother in law, Keith, is a mason and has access to cool toys, like a BOBCAT! Just when Jay thought it would be a piece of cake, mother nature had other plans. Since it rained pretty much all week the ground was REALLY soft and the bobcat kept sinking into the ground.

This is what the ground looks like now, even worse than before!

Jay has been really stressed out but I told him to let it all dry out before he tries to smooth it out.

Thank goodness he is going away for a little bit. He's headed to Ohio next week for a conference for work. He really needs the rest and I promised him it would still be here when he got back! :)

Thank you soooo much Keith & Mr. Kenny for all of your help last weekend! We love y'all!

First class at My Gym!

This morning we had our first class. We start out with warmups and welcome songs and right away I get emotional and cry as we are going around the circle making Choo Choo sounds. What is wrong with me? I mean I wasn't boohooing but tears were coming down. Good thing Nola isn't old enough to realize yet cause she would probably be embarrassed. Anyway after warmups was free play!
Nola loved the ball pit but of course I couldn't get a smiling picture.

She would try to cover herself in balls and then laugh but I missed the laugh! HAHA

After a few skills they do some gymastics. This was the swinging station with Mr. Ed (one of the teachers). I don't think she has decided if she likes it or not!

This was a balancing activity. Nola had to balance herself while Ms. Tina moved the ladder.

After more free time there is separation time where the parents go to the side of the room while the kids interact with each other and the teachers are there to watch. I like being able to watch her play. Some of the parents wouldn't separate though. Pretty funny!

After separation time everyone joins in to cleanup and we gather around the circle and sing a song with puppets and play with the parachute and then sing Bye Bye which brought more tears to my eyes. I know..I'm crazy! I just love Nola soooooo much!

P.S. EVERYONE commented on Nola's dress and I told them it was her game day outfit. HAHA!
Thanks GMomma!

Bonus Video:

LONG WEEK

This has honestly been the longest week ever. I guess I forget just how exhausting the first week of school is and when you throw in the pains of leaving your baby everyday it makes it that much more tiring. BUT it's over! Tonight Jay, Nola & I spent some quality family time together playing , dancing & laughing! We were playing with the camera and Nola knows exactly how to hold it. I let her take some pictures!
"Ode to the undone laundry"

"Her favorite dad"

She really took this one...good huh!

Okay, I took this one, but it came out cute!

I want to thank everyone who listened to me bitch, moan and cry this week. I really appreciate all of the ears and hugs. This will always be just an adjustment I guess. I really want to thank Aunt Peppy and Ms. Danette for deciding to come up two days a week from now on to help me get more Nola time. Yesterday Aunt Peppy came to us and the extra two hours REALLY helped
A LOT!
Thank you so much!

Week in Review!

I know I haven't written in a while and most of you are on edge because you got used to my DAILY updates, but guess what, I'm back at school! My two hours of quality will be spent with Nola and we'll be updating on the weekends. Sorry! So here is our last week in review..please be glad I'm writing this today instead of yesterday...I was too busy CRYING!

This is from last Wednesday at our last mom's club event. It was a back to school event and there was a Little Tykes spacewalk that Nola wanted to try. Not sure she's into the jumping thing yet!

Thursday Nola & I headed to Rootz to Endz so I could get a desperately needed haircut before school. Not so sure she is going to be a teacher. She really liked working at the salon. I think she earned a free haircut for next time. HAHA!On Friday, Jay had to work late so Caitlin came over and babysat Nola for the day. I picked her up at 3 and she helped me get my classroom ready. I think it was only fun for the first few minutes. Everyone was gone so she couldn't flirt with anyone.

Looks like a Natural!

Friday night was Lisa's 30th birthday party at a bar in Hawthorne. We had a great time catching up. Thanks for throwing such a great party!

My number one man!

On Saturday, Aunt Caitlin invited us over to watch the Penn State game and since LSU wasn't playing we agreed. Caitlin was having labor pains so it was fun watching someone else go through it. Great Job Caitlin!
Look at the smile on Ryan...that's cause he wasn't feeling a damn thing...guys! Poor Nola felt bad for Aunt Caitlin..her job was to entertain Bailey! Caitlin had labor pains all day Saturday and wasn't admitted to the hospital till Sunday and she didn't have the baby till 6:30 pm. What a trooper! So......
Here she is...Miss Lily Paige Smith...7 lbs., 8 oz., 20 1/2 in. long

So cute!

Uncle Jessie & Lily

Mom & Lily

Monday morning I had to go back to school. Not too bad! But Tuesday morning Nola decided she didn't feel good. Perfect Timing! I'm always good the first few days of school but then it hits me! And having Nola sick doesn't help. She still had a fever today but when Jay took her to the dr. of course..not temp. The dr said she could have had a virus. Sure enough this afternoon she is crying like crazy and not herself. Not too sure what's going on but I'll keep y'all posted! Gotta go get to my school work while Nola is napping!