Birthday

The day started out pretty uneventful. It was a Sunday, 5 days before I was due to have my first baby. We went to church. I remember sitting in the back on a hard chair feeling very uncomfortable. After church we went to our friends' house for dinner.
It was 9 pm and we were watching a movie. Suddenly, I felt a dull pain. I wondered, "is this what I think it is?" I didnt say anything just yet, I wanted to enjoy this feeling all by myself for just a few moments. About an hour later, my suspisions were confirmed. I knew I was in labor. We left for home and I told Dane that I was pretty sure I was in labor.
The next few hours were uneventful. I told Dane to go to sleep and I stayed up and watched tv. There was no way I could go to sleep. At about 1:30 I woke him up and told him that I thought we should go to the hospital because my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. Dane grabbed my bag and we set out to the hospital, stopping first to get some gas. We laughed about how calm we were, taking a leisurly drive, getting gas. We arrived and got checked in. After a few hours of watching tv, sitting in the hot tub, and finally, the wonderful epidural, and 50 minutes of pushing, Ethan Christian Barlow was born at 11:28 am, March 11, 2002, 6lbs, 11 oz, 19 inches long. It was one of the greatest days of my life. He gave me the special title of 'mother'. I feel so lucky to have him. What a joy he has been in our lives! I am so proud of my little boy who is growing up so fast. Happy birthday, Ethan! I hope all your dreams come true!

Sail away sail away sail away...

Earlier this year I went on a cruise to the Bahamas and to Disney World with my stepdad Warren, my mom, my sister Kim, Warren's daughter Julie, and his sister Kathy. We had so much fun! It was nice being away from the snow for 10 days but I really misssed Dane and my kids. Here a few fun pics from our trip.

This is Julie, me, Kim and my mom waiting for a show to start.

The waiters on the ship are so awesome! This was our waiter, Allen, from the Philippines. Here he is dancing to "YMCA".

Kim and I at dinner

Mom and Warren

Julie and Kathy

This is us after we got off of the ship in the Bahamas.





Enjoying the view...


After the cruise we went to Orlando to Universal studios, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom


Here is a pic of Kim and I modeling these shirts. We were too cheap
to pay the $50 so we just had our pic taken with them :)






Julie, Kim and I with these characters. Its funny, I thought they were so cute
even though I hate Winnie the Pooh...

kids say the darndest things!

Kids say the funniest things about Moms...
This is an interview I did with my three kids; Ethan-7, Paige-5, and Lexi-3. It was so funny to hear some of their answers!!!


1. What is something mom always says to you?
Lexi- Eat your food all gone
Paige - No
Ethan - I love you

2. What makes mom happy?
Lexi - When I dont suck my thumb and when you love me, too
Paige - When we say please
Ethan - When I am nice and when I say please

3. What makes mom sad?
Lexi - When I suck my thumb
Paige - When we get ants in the house
Ethan - When Daddy is far away

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Lexi - Putting on a mask that's a monster
Ethan - By tickling me

5. Who are your mom's close friends?
Lexi - Aunt Kim
Paige - Jenn, Kim, Jana, and the other Kim
Ethan - Jessica and Aunt Kim

6. How old is your mom?
Lexi - thirty
Paige - thirty
Ethan - 23, oh wait its 31

7. How tall is your mom?
Lexi - that big (she puts her hands above her head)
Paige - 10feet
Ethan - 15 feet

8. What is Moms favorite thing to do?
Lexi - Color
Paige - Kissing dad
Ethan -Going shopping

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Ethan - Go do something with your friends. I know you do that all the time, mom!

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Ethan - Getting a bunch of money

11. What is your mom really good at?
Lexi - Coloring and saying "Yes you can have candy"
Paige - Putting on your clothes
Ethan - Doing math

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Lexi - saying "No you cannot have candy"
Paige - lifting me up
Ethan - acting

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Lexi - look for my water baby
Paige - pay the bills
Ethan - get money

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Lexi - hamburgers
Paige - candy
Ethan - esophagus? No, I mean asparagus!

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Paige - when you kiss me
Ethan - getting me ice cream

16. Who is your mom's favorite cartoon character?
Lexi - Giselle from Enchanted
Paige - Enchanted (we were watching this movie when I asked them!)
Ethan - Dr. Seuss

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Lexi - clean up
Paige - go shopping
Ethan - go shopping

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Paige - we have light hair
Ethan - we love eachother

19. How are you and your mom different?
Lexi - I am tiny. I dont want to get big, mommy!
Paige - We dont have the same clothes
Ethan - I like to play with trains and you dont.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
P. When you give me hugs
E. Because I am your son

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Lexi - when daddy's at work
Paige - that he makes you breakfast and he buys you flowers
Ethan - that he is our dad.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Lexi - Albertsons to buy food with me when Bubba and Pay-Pay are at school
Paige - to restaurants
Ethan - out with dad.

BSU here I come!!!

SO I recently started considering going back to school. Its been 10 years since I have gone to college. But I am ready to go back and finally get a degree. I just received my acceptance letter last week. I will start in the fall. I will major in elementary education with an endorsement in math, which will allow me to teach mathematics up to ninth grade, if I so desire. I already have quite a few credits under my belt, so I only have to take a few core courses before I can start the upper division classes. I am hoping that I am not too "old" and that school will still come easy to me like it used too, but you know what happens as we get older, our brains become a little slower! Wish me luck!!!