i hate falafels

365 Days of Pictures: 4 June 2011

2011-06-05T00:56:00.000-05:00

Elias was given his first cereal this evening...he was too happy to eat. He kept smiling and drooling and sticking his hands in his mouth instead of swallowing (even though he was hungry). Jeshua wanted what Elias was eating (he kept calling it "ice cream") so he had oatmeal for dinner (:

365 Days of Pictures: 3 June 2011

2011-06-05T00:29:00.000-05:00

Like I said, he likes his train (:

365 Days of Pictures: 2 June 2011

2011-06-05T00:22:00.000-05:00

We took out the VeggieTales train that Jeshua received for his birthday. Jeshua was so excited! He didn't sit still for 20 minutes chasing it and running with it, etc. I remember why we put it up though...it didn't take an hour until pieces were broken. But, until then, we had a very happy two year old.

365 Days of Pictures: 1 June 2011

2011-06-05T00:19:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we had one of our neighbors visit us most of the day while her mom is on a mission trip. We watched Cars, played with trains and went outside.

365 Days of Pictures: 31 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:42:00.000-05:00

Playing in the sprinkler while watering the garden (:

365 Days of Pictures: 30 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

We had a Bring Your Own Beef Cookout at our house for Memorial Day yesterday. A few friends of ours from church came over.

365 Days of Pictures: 26 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:35:00.000-05:00

Playing in the Splash Jets at Bridge Street

365 Days of Pictures: 25 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:29:00.000-05:00

I should have a label set up just for Jeshua's train layouts (:

365 Days of Pictures: 13 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:28:00.000-05:00

Planting the onions in our garden

Elias and Daddy

Mowing the grass in his rain boots (:

365 Days of Pictures: 12 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:24:00.000-05:00

365 Days of Pictures: 9 May 2011

2011-05-31T23:23:00.003-05:00

On May 9 Jeshua had his adenoids taken out and his left tube replaced. He did well in the surgery, just sleepy all day.

That evening we worked on our garden.

365 Days of Pictures: 8 May 2011

2011-05-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

Today was Jeshua and Elias' dedication at church. The pics are a little fuzzy, hopefully they ones the church took are better.

Proverbs 22.6 "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."

365 Days of Pictures: 7 May 2011

2011-05-07T23:50:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow Jeshua and Elias are being dedicated at church. Pam and Gary and Steph all came today so they could be here. We decided to go the North Alabama Railroad Museum and ride the train. It was worth riding once...an hour ride is a bit long for a two year old though.

365 Days of Pictures: 6 May 2011

2011-05-07T23:35:00.000-05:00

We came home on Thursday--our power was back on Wednesday. On Friday, May 6 I had a job interview. With no money coming in still, one of us needs a job. After the interview we headed to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens (it was free admission day). Overall we enjoyed it. We didn't explore much of the garden except the kids area--it was crowded. Harvest Elementary was having a field trip day. Jeshua is definitely trying to exert his independence by running away. Elias slept about half of the time. :)

365 Days of Pictures: 4 May 2011

2011-05-07T23:11:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday we went to church at Longview Point. After church Jeshua and I played on their playground--Jeshua missed being able to slide and swing. He thought Bubbie needed to slide too :)

365 Days of Pictures: 3 May 2011

2011-05-07T23:10:00.000-05:00

On Monday we went to Gary and Pam's house.

Tuesday, Willard game over for dinner. This was the first time he met Elias.

Jeshua playing with his trains.

Elias did not want his picture taken.

But he was all smiles for Mommy later. :)

365 Days of Pictures: 2 May 2011

2011-05-07T23:01:00.000-05:00

We spent Friday through Monday with my mom. This is her dog, Maggie. Maggie thinks she needs to be on the furniture (even outside). :) Jeshua likes Maggie.

365 Days of Pictures: 28 April 2011

2011-05-07T22:59:00.000-05:00

Jeshua filling his swimming pool for the first swim of the summer :)

365 Days of Pictures: 27 April 2011

2011-05-07T22:57:00.001-05:00

So I've missed a few days. And April 27 is why. The morning started out normal, Josh took Jeshua to Mother's Morning Out and then it started raining. And hailing.

It looked like a gumball machine exploded. Then the power went out about 11:30. Josh went and picked up Jeshua from MMO.

Jeshua read Elias a book.

The rain came and went most of the day. Then about five o'clock it picked up pretty good. Josh and I stood at the back window and watched as an F5 tornado (winds 210 miles+) passed by a half mile from our house.

We didn't really know what it was, we just thought it was really strong wind. Since our power still wasn't back on Josh and Jeshua tried to go to the grocery store. He couldn't get there--too many trees and power lines were down on the roads, or cops had the roads blocked because of other debris. Then we found out it was a tornado.

The next three pics were taken by a youth at our church, Savannah, of our town:

The pharmacy

The grocery store

A family at our church's house

This is how we spent the next two days:

We had no electricity for 8 days.

On Friday we decided to go to our parents in Mississippi until we had power again :) Our parents were sweet and gave us gas money to get home and back. We are definitely blessed: we only had a section of fence that was leaning anyways fall over (not even a limb down). No electricity was just a minor inconvenience that we didn't really feel, we just didn't have enough charcoal to last a whole week.

365 Days of Pictures: 24 April 2011

2011-04-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

Elias' Easter Basket
Jeshua dismantled his before I took a picture. His had a tub toy, cars, bubbles, a Thomas the Train carrying case for all his trains and chocolate

Elias slept through the Easter egg hunt

Jeshua had to carry all of the eggs at once...

...and eat the candy as he found the eggs.

Before he would put an egg in the basket he opened it to see what was inside. If it was good enough he ate it right then :)

Jeshua decided we needed some eggs in the bushes too

Trying to fit all the eggs in one basket

Jeshua decided Maggie needed an egg too

Happy Easter!

365 Days of Pictures: 22 April 2011

2011-04-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

Josh, Jeshua and Elias at Bridge Street Town Center

On Friday we went and got Jeshua's hair cut at Spoiled Rockin Kidz. They used the razor for the first time--he's getting better about getting his hair cut. He didn't cry or scream and I didn't have to sit and hold him. He did still squirm though :)

We then went to Starbucks and got our free coffee (because it was Earth Day). I still swear Josh's tasted like dirt. I put 8 packs of Splenda in mine and it was still bitter. :)

We told Jeshua that we would go get a cheeseburger for lunch. We passed by McDonald's on the way to Starbucks. While I was inside, Jeshua was telling Josh how to get back to the cheeseburger place by pointing and giving directions.

We then went to Bridge Street (the outdoor mall) for their Earth Day activities. Jeshua got a bag of trail mix from one store, cheese and crackers from another and planted a seed at a third. I got a free perfume from Victoria's Secret and a free bracelet from Coldwater Creek. I like coupons :)

Steph came Friday night for Easter weekend.

365 Days of Pictures: 20 April 2011

2011-04-20T23:57:00.001-05:00

The first clematis bloom (a bit muddy from last night's rain)

After last week's yard disaster (the lawn mower had a bent blade, the weed eater won't start, the tiller died, the hoe broke, etc.) we had a better day. The lawnmower blade came in the mail so Josh was able to mow the grass again and it's almost level (which is a major improvement over the last blade). I'm also very thankful for a handy husband. :) Jeshua and I weeded part of the front flower bed and I planted more cosmos by the mailbox. We also trimmed the crepe myrtles.

Watching his bears on the swing

Elias, 2 months 16 days

Josh's favorite picture of Elias from today

Elias is sitting in the swing a bit more. He likes watching the teddy bears on the mobile.

Jeshua helping Mommy cook dinner

Jeshua helped me make dinner tonight. He likes pouring and sprinkling and stirring. It doesn't all always land in the pot though :) The corn on the cob was thrown in the pan of water (thankfully not boiling yet) but most of the couscous made it in the pan. He's a good sprinkler--he likes pepper. I ask him if he wants to help, and when he does he goes and gets a chair from the table and pushes it over to the counter. He gets distracted by the fruit bowl and bread box easily though :)

365 Days of Pictures: 19 April 2011

2011-04-20T23:46:00.002-05:00

Tummy Time. Right before this picture he was up on his hands with his belly off the mat! Then he decided to lay down while I reached for the camera :)

Elias and Mommy

Today we took Jeshua to the ENT. He's going to have to have another set of tubes and his adenoids taken out. They're going to take his current set of tubes out as well. Hopefully this will help with the frequent ear infections. The doctor said some kids tubes can breed bacteria and cause more ear infections instead of helping them and that this is mostly likely the case with Jeshua. We're going to have to have the surgery at the hospital instead of the outpatient surgery center because of his allergic reaction when his tubes were put in last time. He's possibly allergic to latex, we're not sure.

Josh helped an elderly couple change a flat tire in the parking lot on our way out of the ENT. He also had a cop and a surgeon helping him. He says there's a joke there.

We had a mini-conference at the church this evening on parenting. While there wasn't any info we hadn't heard before the refresher was nice--it was a good reminder of the responsibility we have to our boys. It was also the sixth church event in four days. That's enough for a while.

Elias was smiling and laughing at Josh during the presentation. He wasn't making any sound but he was so excited to be looking at his Daddy :)

365 Days of Pictures: 18 April 2011

2011-04-20T23:39:00.001-05:00

Skyping with Paw-Paw, Bubbie and the kittens

Josh went to a youth pastor's lunch and left me home with both boys by myself for the first time. Thankfully they both slept for part of the time :) I think we'll survive when Josh goes back to work. Maybe :)

365 Days of Pictures: 16 April 2011

2011-04-16T22:32:00.000-05:00

Today was the Easter Eggstravaganza at The Brook. They had games, crafts, cookies and an Easter presentation where the kids got to fill an egg carton with resurrection eggs.

Elias and our friend, Tommy, who was in the presentation

Jeshua decorating a sun catcher

Eating the sprinkles off his cookie

Playing his own version of the ring toss :)

365 Days of Pictures: 15 April 2011

2011-04-16T22:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we ran a few errands and went shopping. We stopped by Arby's and picked up free french fries. Jeshua decided to unwind his curly ones before eating them :)

365 Days of Pictures: 14 April 2011

2011-04-14T23:48:00.000-05:00

We spent the majority of the afternoon and evening playing outside :)

365 Days of Pictures: 13 April 2011

2011-04-13T23:37:00.001-05:00

Josh made chocolate gravy for breakfast...Jeshua loved it :)

I have a really cute pic of Josh, Jeshua and Elias taking a nap together but I can't get it to upload. I'll try again tomorrow. OKAY: HERE IT IS :)

365 Days of Pictures: 12 April 2011

2011-04-13T00:37:00.000-05:00

no picture today...we didn't do a whole lot. we played outside for a while on the swing, i tried to get our printer to print and elias and i went to a pampered chef party (i won a paring knife)

365 Days of Pictures: April 11, 2011

2011-04-12T01:17:00.000-05:00

This evening we went to The Melting Pot for dinner (yea for free cheese fondue day) and stopped by Petsmart on our way home to get some cat stuff for our upcoming adoption (more about that later). It started raining as we left the restaurant and was pouring by the time we got to Petsmart. When I was done in the store the rain had paused for a moment and the sun was peeking through the clouds.

I couldn't get a better picture in the parking lot with my phone :)

365 Days of Pictures: 10 April 2011

2011-04-10T22:33:00.000-05:00

Elias, 2 months 6 days

Meet the Newest Member of the Loyd Family

2011-01-21T21:56:00.003-06:00

Meet "Bad Horsie," the newest member of our family!!

Probably a good thing we didn't let Jeshua pick Elias' name :)

This was our compromise--Josh wanted to get Jeshua a bird. I thought a $2.50 Beta Fish (and $2.50 food) sounded like a better idea with the agreement that when Josh's parents cat has kittens we'll get one.

Maybe. :)

Ultrasound Pics

2010-09-24T22:35:00.001-05:00

Here's all the ultrasound pics we've had taken so far.

14 July 2010 (8 weeks)

This pic was just to confirm that I was pregnant.

29 July 2010 (10 weeks)

The baby was active during this photo session--we could see his arms and legs waving around.

23 September 2010 (18 weeks)

This was an unscheduled photo session to see why I have been having cramps--they discovered my placenta is low. Since she was looking around anyways, I asked if we could find out if it's a boy or girl--it's a boy! He wasn't moving as much this time.

17 September 2010

2010-09-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Big Spring Park in Huntsville and fed popcorn to the geese. Jeshua liked looking at them, but we didn't want to let him get too close. The geese hissed.

Then we went to a craft show at the Von Braun Center. Jeshua was content sampling everyone's food. :) I wasn't much impressed with the show though, there was nothing out of the ordinary and everything was pretty expensive in my opinion.

After dinner we went outside and picked today's okra. One of the stalks was done producing so we pulled it up. Jeshua then decided to grab a corn stalk and fence with daddy and the okra stalk. Pretty sure Jeshua won. :) Then he wanted mommy and daddy to hit the sticks together--he would bend over and hold his knees and laugh when we did.

No pictures today, but Jeshua has a really nice skinned knee from falling in the driveway. He kept putting his hand on his knee and saying "ouch" and then bending down and kissing it.

15 September 2010

2010-09-15T15:24:00.001-05:00

Wow, I haven't posted in a while :)

So, what's happened in the last six weeks:

Playing in the water fountain at Bridge Street Town Center, September 8, 2010

Jeshua is 20 months now. Yesterday he weighed 19 lbs, 5 ounces with a diaper on. He's 31.5 inches. So 10% in height and well below the chart on weight. He's stayed the same weight since January now. We pulled out his 12 month summer stuff because of his height and have put away all his long sleeved 9 month shirts and pants (they're too short). He doesn't look small though--he's well proportioned.

We had his Pediatric Endocrinologist visit on August 25. The doctor thinks he has Russell-Silver syndrome (I linked to Wikipedia if you're interested). Basically, it just means he's small. There's nothing we have to do about it, most kids will grow out of it eventually, but will remain small throughout childhood. We can give him medicine to increase his appetite or give him growth hormone shots, but for now they're going to wait and see before deciding on a treatment option. We have a follow up visit in January for him to make a more official decision on the syndrome.

Jeshua's fingerprint painting at MMO, September 8, 2010

Jeshua really enjoys playing will balls and still loves being outside. He likes to read and is talking constantly. His vocabulary is expanding daily. He likes to Skype with his grandparents and aunt every night before bed. He watches tv some now--he likes it when there's singing and animals. He really loves animals, especially if they'll pay attention to him. We'd still like to get a dog for him sometime soon. He colors some now and enjoys play dough (squishy). His favorite foods are fruit and anything with sugar :) This morning he ate all the jelly off his biscuit and left the biscuit.

Jeshua talking to Gigi on the phone, August 27, 2010

I've updated Shutterfly with pictures through the end of August.

I am 17 weeks pregnant tomorrow. The baby is starting to kick some, especially if you put pressure on my tummy (like when Jeshua sits in my lap). I've lost 15 pounds now--I'm still sick occasionally (like last night). I have my 18 week visit next week and then have to go back at 20 weeks for an ultrasound--we'll find out if it's a boy or girl then. For a while they thought I had gestational diabetes already--my blood sugar was high three tests in a row (one test was really high), but a fourth test was fine. I couldn't take the official gestational diabetes test with the sugar water stuff--I threw it up :) Otherwise I'm enjoying Josh being home and am finding new excuses to procrastinate my thesis.

Josh is still looking for a job. Please keep praying--we have enough money to pay our mortgage and health insurance come October 1 but nothing after that and no known money coming in. He's still looking around here 'cause we can't really move, but he's pretty much given up on finding a job in this area. Yesterday he applied for a job in Brazil. :)

Our entire potato crop :)

The ginormous size of our potatoes (this was one of the biggest!)

Our garden is almost done--we still have our bell pepper plants, okra and cantaloupe. We'll have enough okra to last for a while :) Now that we've had our trial year, we know better what we want for next. First, I really want to do a raised bed. We missed weeding one week and were never really able to catch back up, and it killed a couple of our plants (we didn't get a single green bean). We need a better system for keeping rabbits, bugs and worms out of our garden. Rabbits ate all of our watermelon and lettuce. Supposedly if you have clover around your garden it can help keep the rabbits out (didn't work) or if you plant onions around the outside (didn't work). Maybe we just need a dog. :) As for the worms and bugs, I just need to keep pesticide on the plants better. We didn't get any corn because the worms got every single ear. We got one tomato off the entire plant because of bugs and no broccoli 'cause of bugs. I'm not really sure what happened to the onions, they just kinda died. Our potatoes were puny and we didn't get very many, but they tasted good. Only two strawberry plants survived the summer, so I need to plant more for next year to have strawberries in two. Our jalapeno plant did really well. The cantaloupes haven't been sweet enough to eat, even though they're ripe. Not sure what to do about that. For everything except okra we need more plants for next year.

I guess that's about all for now--with no money we have nothing to do and nowhere to go so we're pretty boring :)

Jeshua's Eighteen Month Photos

2010-07-23T17:21:00.000-05:00

365 Days of Pictures -- 21 June 2010

2010-06-22T22:30:00.000-05:00

This is a random assortment of pics I took on Monday.

This is our first jalapeno!!

Jeshua sitting at the edge of the garden playing with a rock. And eating dirt. :)

Jeshua and I play peek a boo under the willow tree. He hides by the trunk and I have to find him through the leaves. :)

This is my herb garden. Well, was my herb garden. All the seeds I planted came up and then promptly died after their first two leaves. I'm thinking I should replant since obviously nothing is happening. Then, if they won't come up the second time I can use the flower pot for something else. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 19 June 2010

2010-06-22T22:12:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I hosted a Hasbro Family Game Night House Party. Initially I was going to have the youth group over but since Josh lost his job (and given a no-contact order) that plan was scrapped. My plan B was to invite my MOPS group but they weren't interested. Plan C was to go to Mississippi and invite our friends there to come over, but Pam and Gary were out of town and none of them responded to our invite. So Plan D was play games with Mom and Steph. :) Not that we didn't want to, but I was supposed to invite at least 10 people as part of the agreement with House Party.

It was a lot of fun. I won Trivial Pursuit :) Then we played Taboo...Steph and I won the first game, Steph and Mom won the second.

Jeshua discovered the rocking horse :) He's a big fan...at church the next day he had to ride the horsey in the nursery--the workers said he did that most of the time. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 12 June 2010

2010-06-19T00:52:00.000-05:00

365 Days of Pictures -- 17 June 2010

2010-06-19T00:33:00.000-05:00

The Many Faces of Jeshua

(a.k.a. Jeshua eating a Snickers and telling Daddy about it while Daddy took pictures)

365 Days of Pictures -- 18 June 2010

2010-06-18T23:09:00.000-05:00

I really need to post my pics I take each day instead of playing catchup :)

Today's pics are of our garden. I would have taken more (and will later), but my camera battery died.

We planted onions, lettuce, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, corn, green beans, okra, potatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe. The lettuce and watermelon were eaten by the rabbits. We took our first tomato off the vine today--one other one was closer to ready but it was eaten by bugs so we just left it. Seven Dust doesn't last long around here--it rains too much.

We also have three or four blackberry bushes growing in our fence. Josh is trying to convince me to keep one or two. As much as I hate thorns, it would be nice to have blackberries. I just don't want to get pricked or have to mow around them.

This evening we went to a Huntsville Stars baseball game. After going to so many Rangers games, and even Redbirds games, it was pretty pathetic. Lots of errors on the part of the players, an unruly crowd (with lots of little leagues teams wanting foul balls) and a stadium in poor condition. But we had free tickets (we had to pay to park though) so we tried it. Jeshua kept wanting to climb up and down the bleachers. We left after the third inning--it was his bed time.

My quest for the perfect red lipstick...

2010-06-12T01:45:00.002-05:00

This is what I want...bright RED lipstick. Now, I know I don't normally wear red lipstick, just gloss, but it would be nice to have a red lipstick for every now and then. The problem is I can't find one. Every time I try a new shade when I put it on it turns out pink.

Here's my newest attempt:

Granted, I got it for free for taking a survey from Walgreens. I didn't get to pick the color. But in the tube it looks deep, dark red. I got excited. Then, I put it on. On me, it is HOT PINK. Like, what I used to wear in seventh grade before I learned any better hot pink.

Oh well. The search continues...

365 Days of Pictures -- 11 June 2010

2010-06-12T01:27:00.001-05:00

Today about noon Josh and I decided to go to the zoo. :) While not having a job sucks, it is nice that he is home and we can go places on a whim. So we drove up to Nashville (the closest zoo) for the afternoon. I've put all the pics up on jeshuadavidloyd.shutterfly.com but here are a couple of the better ones.

Going into the zoo

Looking at the Macaws. Everything today was a "doggie." He tried to get them to come to him by motioning his hand and making sounds with his mouth. :)

Looking at the meerkats. It was naptime. The meerkat laying on its back was dreaming--it's paws were moving. :)

Petting the goats in the petting zoo. Jeshua wanted him to lick his hand.

The red panda came really close to the glass. It was a "doggie" too.

They have a bird house where you can feed them. One guy next to us had three on his shoulders.

Overall, we were unimpressed. The zoo is very poorly laid out and requires a lot of walking with very little to look at. And they are remodeling one area which required even more walking. It was worth going once, but I don't think we'll go back to this zoo again.

Weight Loss Update

2010-06-07T23:16:00.000-05:00

So I haven't lost any more weight--I'm hovering right at the same weight as my last post.

So, this means I need to start doing something different. I've plans to get up and exercise with the Wii Active and then go for a walk with Jeshua but that works in theory--I'd actually have to get up (and get Josh up) about 6:00 am. And that means going to bed about 10:00. Which is likely not going to happen since I'm a night owl. Even if I work up at six (like I did this morning 'cause Jeshua woke up at six) I'm not sleepy and it's 11:15 at night.

So I'll figure something out. Maybe. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- Catching Up

2010-06-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

I realized I have a bunch of pictures on my iPhone I haven't posted yet, so here's some catching up :)

May 21, 2010: Shopping at Target. We tried on hats and Jeshua decided he wanted to push the cart :)

June 6, 2010: We went to Chuck E Cheese. Jeshua helped Daddy roll the balls in Skee Ball (when not munching on Wheat Thins).

365 Days of Pictures --uh, oh

2010-06-04T01:09:00.001-05:00

so i kinda deleted all my pictures from april and may :( so, no nyc trip pics until i go to my mom's house again and copy hers. i'm still mad at myself--there's got to be a way to recover them off our computer but i don't know how to or know anyone who does or anywhere to take it that would.

anyways, i have a couple new pics

May 16, 2010:

Jeshua decided to play in the puddle outside Zadie and Bubbie's house (Josh's parents). He walked out of his pants. Of course this was about 5 minutes before time to leave for church. I didn't get a picture of the part where he sat down. :)

June 3, 2010:

Jeshua's new favorite thing is to dress himself. Now he doesn't always get where the clothes should go (or even pick his own) but he enjoys it :)

New Mantle Decorations

2010-06-04T00:21:00.000-05:00

My sister was very sweet and gave us her tv. (yes, we're watching star wars). :) While there is nothing wrong with our old one it is rather big. We've been wanting to get a flat screen tv to put above our fireplace since we moved in. The one thing I didn't think about was how to run the cables for our dvd player, etc. Right now we have them sitting beside the tv. They're okay there, but I can't leave them AND the candles AND the arrangement. The other option is to find a media tower to set beside the fireplace. We looked at Target but didn't see anything. Again, we'll have to figure out how to run the cords down the side of the mantle without looking bad. We're thinking about adding a panel behind the tv in the wall and running the cords in the wall. We're going to look at Lowe's tomorrow to see if there is something like that.

So, should we look for a media tower and rewire the house, or leave everything up there and get rid of the arrangement or candles?

2010-05-19T01:59:00.000-05:00

So I'm really behind updating this blog.

Basically, it's been a long two weeks. Not bad (all of it), just long.

We went to Pennsylvania for Steph's graduation (it still stinks that my younger sister finished her master's before I did). The five of us (Mom, Steph, Josh, Jeshua and I) took a mini-vacation to NYC! I'm glad I went...I really enjoyed it. I think Josh and Jeshua would be perfectly happy living there, until they missed having a yard and quiet.

I gained 5 pounds while we were gone. Seriously how? We walked everywhere, I ate less than normal and i gained 5 pounds. grr...

We arrived back on Sunday, rested Monday, on Tuesday my grandfather passed away, Josh lost his job and Steph lost her job offer. The personnel committee asked Josh to resign (with severance) or be fired (with no severance). Anyone know how to find a job in an area where you don't know anyone?

Then Jeshua was sick--he ran a 101+ fever for three days. He's on antibiotic still but is feeling better.

We went to Arkansas for the funeral on Thursday and spent the rest of the weekend in Mississippi. It was nice seeing our friends again--we went to McAlister's with Andy, Matt and Jarrod for dinner Sunday night before coming back to Alabama.

Today we found out Jeshua is considered "failure to thrive." I had to look up what that meant--I always thought it meant the kid decided not to live. It's not that bad. (Can be though). Basically it just means his weight gain (or lack thereof) is significantly below what it should be. Well we already knew that. Now they have to try and find a reason for it. So this just means a long round of tests for Jeshua. He had three vials of blood drawn today--it took me and three nurses to hold him down. It was actually kinda funny--he was just mad he was being held down, not because he was getting blood drawn. As soon as I picked him up he stopped crying and looked at the nurses and raised his eyebrows like "ha, I got what I wanted." :)

We have to go later this week to the hospital for a sweat test to see if he has cystic fibrosis.

And then if all those are normal, more tests.

Oh yeah, and I'm not pregnant. So we have to decide when I go back to the doctor next month if we want to try fertility drugs. There's a 10% chance of twins and a 1% chance of triplets. And I think one baby at a time is a handful. But the doctor is fairly convinced I won't get pregnant without it--gotta love cystic ovarian whatever it is I have. Our insurance should cover it and Josh should (hopefully) find a job soon. It's just do I really want to mess with fertility drugs. I asked, and this isn't the kind that gives you 8 at a time. So we'll see.

We started planting our garden--with the past two weeks being crazy busy we haven't gotten the plants in the garden yet. The onions, watermelon and sweet potatoes don't look too good. It's on our to do list for this week.

So, that's the past two weeks. Now to get caught up on posting pictures. Probably later since it's two in the morning :)

Well, that and dishes, laundry, cleaning, etc....

Vacation!

2010-05-03T22:50:00.003-05:00

This was our last visit to see my sister back in September. Jeshua was so little! Okay, so he's still little, but he was even smaller :) This pic was taken beside the Nittany Lion where you have to get your pic taken when you come to Penn State.

We drove up yesterday night (we left after evening church) and arrived about 10:30 this morning eastern time, so about 13 hours. That did include a stop at Burger King waaaay too early this morning. But since my mom was up she thought the rest of us needed to be too :) Jeshua found a buddy. We were in the play area so he could run around for a while and another baby a month younger was in the restaurant area and the found each other through the glass door. They had fun but couldn't figure out why they couldn't touch hands or go play with each other.

Today we napped and then went shoe shopping and out to eat. I bought a pair of Toms! I was wanting a pair of shoes to go with some brown shirts I brought and while looking around a shoe store in the mall realized the reason I didn't like any of them was because I wanted Toms instead. I've been wanting a pair for about three years and Josh has two pair and even Jeshua has a pair so I broke down and bought them. :) And I like green.

Tomorrow we're driving to Harrisburg and riding the train ("training" as my sister and Carrie call it) to NYC. A three hour train ride with Jeshua should be interesting but hopefully he'll enjoy it. I haven't been on a train in about 8 years...yea for motion sickness :)

Monday shopping trip = decor ideas

2010-04-23T16:30:00.001-05:00

On Monday, Mandy, Cindy, Jeshua and I went shopping. We went to a couple stores in Senatobia, then headed to the mall area thingie in Southaven.

We stopped in Kirklands for a minute and I saw some things I'm thinking about incorporating into my living room.

I'm not sure about blue lamps. It would tie in my kitchen, and I love blue. I really like the bases--they have scroll work on the bottom and I really don't like the lamps we currently have. I like the shades with the swirls. I'm just not sure I want more blue. They're like $30 for the pair.

I love this console! It is blue :) and 12 inches deep--perfect for my entryway. It is 8 inches from the baseboard to the door jamb, so i don't think 12 inches will stick out too far. The only thing I don't like it the price--$250.00. It's not available in blue online, so I'll just have to go by the Kirklands here and see if they have it so I can watch for it to go on clearance. :)

I think I was in a blue mood on Monday or something. I know the pic is fuzzy, sorry, Jeshua didn't want me to put him down and so it was hard taking a clean pic with an iPhone and a screaming baby at the same time. I figured I could make this--it's two pieces of wood (painted) and a piece of glass held on by two brackets and screws. They were charging $30 at Mimi's On Main in Senatobia. Pretty sure I can do it for less.

And my favorite find of the day at Pier 1. I love polka dots and teapots...it's perfect! And only $18. Again, I'm waiting for a coupon or a sale or clearance or someone else to buy it for me :)

Weight Loss Update

2010-04-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

So, since I started keeping track I have lost 16 pounds.

I'm just about going to have to buy new pants.

Josh has lost over 25. It stinks that guys can lose weight much faster and easier than girls can. But he looks good. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- um, yeah.

2010-04-23T15:22:00.000-05:00

So, as my sister recently pointed out I haven't been keeping up with posting pics. I have been taking them, just not posting them. So here are all the pics from the past couple weeks so I can get caught up. For the rest, go to jeshuadavidloyd.shutterfly.com

April 16, 2010

Jeshua's new big boy car seat. He is a much happier baby in the car now :)

April 17, 2010

We went to Josh's grandfather's house and fished and went out on the lake. Josh's parents and Aunt and Uncle and their granddaughter were there.

April 18, 2010

Mom and Cindy seriously couldn't take a good picutre 'cause they kept talking and laughing. It really wasn't that funny. :) Cindy and Mandy came down for a quick visit.

April 21, 2010

Jeshua opened Josh's bag of golf balls, dumped them in his lap, and then dropped them one by one from the chair to the patio. He likes to bounce balls :)

April 22, 2010

Jeshua and I ate macaroni and cheese for lunch. Apparently it tastes better if you eat it directly from the bowl and skip the spoon. :) Jeshua likes helping mow. His favorite part is steering. He'll go into the garage and sit down and wait for us to take him for a ride.

365 Days of Pictures -- 12 April 2010

2010-04-13T00:31:00.002-05:00

This is our guest/Jeshua's bathroom. (It's really difficult to take good picture of such a small space!)

This is the shower curtain. The towels and bath mats match the darkest blue.

This is the sink. I don't like the sink. I don't like the color, it's extremely banged up (we really just need to buy a whole new one), I don't like the mirror (too plain) and I HATE the light fixture (it's broken anyways). And I don't like the faucet. And yes, I know, I need to move the towel bar up.

Notice there is no lightbulb on the left side. That's because it doesn't work.

This is the light fixture I've picked out I like.

So...the whole point. The walls are grey. Grey is boring. Keeping in mind that this is our guest bathroom as well as Jeshua's bathroom, any ideas? Nothing on the back of the toilet 'cause that won't last long with Jeshua around (I need to move the reed diffuser now...if Jeshua climbs he can reach it). And I want a clock somewhere in the room (then again I need a new clock--this one is broken too--notice a pattern?). :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 11 April 2010

2010-04-12T23:29:00.000-05:00

Youth Sunday was yesterday. For very little practice they did very well. :)

Josh and I were at church 14 hours straight yesterday getting everything ready...

365 Days of Pictures -- 7 April 2010

2010-04-08T21:40:00.001-05:00

We were at the doctor's office yesterday and they have a little play area. Jeshua decided he needed to climb inside the toy box. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 4 April 2010

2010-04-08T21:37:00.003-05:00

Easter Sunday

yes, i know these are out of order. oh well.

Josh and Jeshua looked handsome in their suits :) (Thanks MOM!)

I watched Jeshua in the nursery Sunday evening...we went and bought some younger baby toys inculding this bouncer in case we had families with younger children come. Mind you, Jeshua refused to sit in his after about four months old. Now he's decided he likes the vibrating chair. He turned it on and sat down. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 8 April 2010

2010-04-08T21:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry...I didn't realize the picture was fuzzy...bad lighting and I used my phone. :)

Anyways, Josh, Jeshua and I went to Charm Thai restaurant with our Sunday School Class (one other person). I've never had Pad Thai before--I really liked it. Josh had octupus sushi and coconut soup and Jeshua ate a bit of everything. We had mango and sweet rice for dessert.

365 Days of Pictures -- 6 April 2010

2010-04-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

We have a robin's nest in our willow tree :)

I had to have Josh take this picture because I wasn't tall enough to see in it.

365 Days of Pictures -- 3 April 2010

2010-04-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

Jeshua at the Easter Egg Hunt at church today. :)

He liked picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket, and then taking them back out. He also liked opening them up and eating what was inside.

HE STARTED WALKING TODAY!!

And about two hours after he figured out how to walk, he learned to run....

And he got a sandbox this week and his Easter basket from Mommy and Daddy was full of sandbox toys :)

He doesn't want to sit in it--we tried. He doesn't like getting dirty. But he did put a scoop full or two in his mouth.

365 Days of Pictures -- 31 March 2010

2010-03-31T22:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, so technically I didn't take these pictures. Josh and Catherine Daniel (one of our youth) did. :) But I woud have taken pics of these events if I had a camera with me. :)

Since it was Wedneseday Josh, Jeshua and I headed to Madison about noon. Jeshua and I went shopping while Josh worked. When we were done, we went to the church and played outside. Jeshua found the rock pile. :)

After Bible Study we played ultimate frisbee with the youth. :) I kept getting knocked down...I play way too aggresively for someone as clumsly as I am. :)

Weight Loss Update

2010-03-31T00:16:00.002-05:00

So I said one of my goals for this blog was to keep me accountable to losing weight. Well, I don't know what I've been doing but as of today I've lost 10 pounds!! :)

Now, to lose the next 60....

365 Days of Pictures -- 30 March 2010

2010-03-30T21:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we mowed. Our yard looks really nice mowed. :) I like our yard. Josh hates this willow tree (and the other one). Actually, if he has his way the only tree left in our yard would be our pine tree. Two days ago I pruned and removed all the low lying branches in both willows. I can stand under them now. :)

I went around today and took pictures of all of the flowering trees and bushes in our yard. I love spring. :)

Now, the non-fun things about our yard. First, the fence needs to be moved. It's a mess--boards are twisted, missing and weathered. I don't like the gaps in between them either...it looks cheap. But to enclose the area we want will be expensive. Our property line goes back much further than our fence.

The entire area behind our fence is completely filled with thorn bushes. And they hurt!! They ripped Josh's t-shirt and put holes in my jeans. :( And they need to go. Along with every other thorn bush (and there's a lot) including roses and a couple trees with thorns. But, at least the grass looks nice. :)

I want to add a garden. It's on my to-do list for the next couple weeks but I have to borrow a tiller from someone (I'm not going to go buy one anyways). So I need to pick a spot.

And there are a gagillion (is that a word?) holes in our yard that need filled in, and it needs weed and feed really bad.

And there are random trees growing everywhere, especially in our fence. Then there are the dead trees and bushes that need cut down/pulled out of the ground. And the live ones that need cut down/pulled out of the ground. :) A few we'll move--but we have to move the fence first. (Josh likes pulling them out of the ground--he uses the mountaineer. I think it's a guy thing).

Finally, we need to mulch around every tree and shrub we're keeping. And then I can plant flowers. :)

Rocket City Savings

2010-03-29T00:29:00.000-05:00

So it's official. I started a couponing blog. I've done about seven posts so far and have been working on local coupon policies. I've still got a bit of work to do on the site before I'm ready for it to be public--and advertise it.

I still need to contact some of the local stores and get their individual policy info--specifically Publix since their stores vary by location, same for CVS. I also want to contact some smaller stores and see if they want some free advertising in exchange for advertising me.

Star Market, a local chain, is interested in partnering with me! :) I just need to get the site up and running and then call them back. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 27 March 2010

2010-03-28T22:34:00.001-05:00

So I was bad and didn't take a picture on the 26th. But I had a girls' night in at our house for our youth group (we watched New Moon, ate chocolate fondue and chatted) and Josh had a guys' night out at the church--they ate hot wings and played video games. :)

Saturday we went to a Huntsville Havoc hockey game. I like hockey. :) They won 6-2. We left early 'cause Jeshua didn't take a nap (for the second day in a row--third counting today) and was getting fussy but not wanting to go to sleep.

365 Days of Pictures -- 25 March 2010

2010-03-28T21:55:00.002-05:00

Thursday Jeshua and Josh were playing with the camera. Jeshua likes having his picture taken and looking through the eye piece.

Thursday night we went and saw Casting Crowns, Kutless and Caleb in concert at the Von Braun Center with the youth group. I like Kutless :) I bought their new cd....

Help!!

2010-03-25T00:34:00.000-05:00

So, it's official. I started a couponing blog today, complete with a store matchup (which actually didn't take me as long as i thought it would--it was everything else that took time). But, I need a name!!!

I want to cover stores in Madison, Huntsville, and Athens (and possibly Decatur) that aren't being covered--(which is like 200,000 people) but also other local events and savings.

Any ideas??

365 Days of Pictures -- 24 March 2010

2010-03-25T00:24:00.001-05:00

I could not take a good picture today. I tried, it just didn't happen.

Anyways, Josh and Jeshua played outside most of the morning. Josh and I were practicing our golf swing and Jeshua thought he needed to practice his too. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 23 March 2010

2010-03-23T22:22:00.002-05:00

Jeshua woke up happy from his (short) nap so we went outside and played and then walked around looking at all the flowers (weeds) in the yard and the buds on the trees. He liked playing with the dandylions (and trying to eat them...he had yellow all over his face).

And the awesome vintage shirt is mine from when I was his age. Thanks Mom for saving it! :)

Couponing Blog

2010-03-23T14:45:00.002-05:00

So, I think I've officially decided to start a separate couponing website devoted to the Madison area.

Here's why.

Madison has Publix, Kroger, Super Target, Super Wal-Mart, Dollar General Market and Star Market grocery stores. In Harvest there is a Piggly Wiggly, a Publix and a Shop Rite (unfortunately not affiliated with the stores of the same name in the northeast). We also have CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid pharmacies. In Harvest there's a Sur Save pharmacy. Plus, there's an Earth Fare opening up and a bunch of other smaller grocery stores (international foods and natural food stores mostly).

Publix and Piggly Wiggly in Athens (which has different sales than the one in Harvest) are covered by Two Thrifty Sisters and Publix in Madison is covered by Publix Penny Pincher. But no one is covering the others.

I doubt I'll cover Wal-Mart, but there's no reason not to cover the others. Publix and Kroger can't be the only places to save money around this area.

So I need a name, and a design, and the motivation to keep up with it (and with everything else in my life like my thesis I'm still not working on regularly). But I think I'll give it a try. :)

365 Days of Pictures -- 22 March 2010

2010-03-22T11:38:00.002-05:00

(So this post is up early since today isn't even half over).

But, it's snowing. In Alabama. During the last week of March. :(

I was enjoying my 70 degree weekend!

oh well...at least it's not sticking....

365 Days of Pictures -- 21 March 2010

2010-03-22T11:16:00.002-05:00

So technically, I took this picture today. But it was what I was going to take a picture of yesterday (if I hadn't spent most of the evening revamping my blog design). :)

I bought this iron scroll thingie at a Mexican pottery place outside of Corinth. I thought it was expensive, my mom said I got a good deal. Anyways, I'm wondering if I hung it too low on the wall? (And yes I know, the picture is crooked...).

And is there anything you can do with an ugly green vinyl loveseat? (Besides just throw it away and start over that is...).

And I'm ready for new throw pillows...

New Design...

2010-03-22T01:26:00.001-05:00

So, have you noticed the new design? Thanks to my friend Hollie for pointing me to Shabby Blogs and my sister Stephanie for helping me pick a design out I'm working on it. :) Too much to do in one night (since it's almost 1:30 and there goes my resolution to go to bed early tonight) so I'm headed to bed. More tomorrow!!

365 Days of Pictures -- March 20 2010

2010-03-21T13:33:00.002-05:00

Since it was still gorgeous yesterday (it's cold and rainy today) we went to Bridge Street Mall in Madison. We ate lunch at Cantina Laredo out on their patio and I decided that since I never have pictures of me taken (cause I delete them all 'cause I look awful in them) that Josh should try to get a pic of Jeshua and I. Jeshua didn't want to look at the camera though. :)

Question

2010-03-19T21:51:00.004-05:00

so, i'm debating posting pics showing my family and i. i'm a big personal privacy person when it comes to pictures (i'm actually really weird about it) and am thinking of deleting all the pics so far that show us in them. or is there a way so the pics can't be downloaded or copied?

my hubby says its okay but i'm not sure.

any thoughts?

365 Days of Pictures -- 19 March 2010

2010-03-19T20:46:00.006-05:00

So Josh and I went and tried to play golf today but they didn't have a tee time for four hours so we went to the driving range instead...I'm awful at driving. Out of about 50 balls I hit three correctly. I even had a guy come up and give me his card--he teaches lessons :) But I'm much better at putting...all the mini-golf practice. :) When we got home it was a nice day so I decided we needed to do yard work. :)

The previous owner didn't take very good care of the yard and in four different places these pavers were around dead and/or no longer there bushes and trees. And it looked awful. So we dug them up and moved them to the back yard. We want to expand our back patio--its way too tiny for as much time as we plan to spend outside (and is already crowded with firewood, three flower pots, the fire bowl, the grill and Jeshua's castle). So this is what I'm thinking of doing.

Obviously, the pavers are upside down. But we can't leave them here anyways...the ground's not level, they need to be slightly buried, we don't have the money for the rest of the pavers, etc. I'm not sure if I want to leave the pavers in front of the existing patio in a straight line or if I want them to curve out a bit. We started out with three straight lines and an almost 90 degree angle...it looked bad. So I changed the corner angels and added the curve in front of our dining room window--as long as the fire bowl is there it's not bad. It looks kinda funny without it. We have to leave the pavers in a straight line coming from the north side of the house so we can use the gate.

It's going to be a pain to dig up all the bushes and transplant them on the south and west sides of our house--but I don't like them where they are (up next to the windows) and don't want to throw them away. Josh was sweet and dug up two dead bushes and a bunch of rose bushes I don't want (I don't do thorns--I have a four inch scratch on my arm today from picking up a piece of trash by one of them). Granted, he had fun doing it--he used his truck. :)

So, what do you think of the design? Should I curve the pavers out in front of the patio or leave them in a straight line? We have a few more still we can use (right now they're stacked up on top of the others just for a place to put them).

(oh yeah, and you can see the doggie door in the side of the house we haven't fixed yet) :(

365 Days of Pictures -- 18 March 2010

2010-03-18T20:39:00.003-05:00

It was warm today so Jeshua wanted to swing. He likes being pushed high (Josh pushes him higher than I do) and likes playing with the ring next to his swing.

He kept squinting when the swing would go forward 'cause the sun would be in his eyes...it was pretty cute. :)

The rest of the pics from today are on jeshuadavidloyd.shutterfly.com

365 Days of Pictures -- 17 March 2010

2010-03-17T22:24:00.006-05:00

We've lived in our house about six months and I decided it was time to start decorating. So I started with my mantle.

I am not a knick-knack person. I hate clutter and I hate dusting (let alone dusting around stuff). So, I chose family pictures. :)

My husband found the window pane while cleaning out our attic. I liked the blue color--it ties in well with our kitchen color.

My mother made the arrangement for me.

I'm not sure about the cross thingie yet...I need something with height and it's what I have for now.

I'm thinking about adding a ribbon or band of paper around the candles for some color. Any thoughts?

My Blog

2010-03-16T23:22:00.001-05:00

So, I've been debating about starting a blog for quite some time now. This isn't the one I've been debating about, but it's a start. Mainly, I'm using this as a way to keep myself accountable with a few goals.

First, I want to take a picture a day. Doesn't really matter of what--something we did, someone in my family, the weather outside, how I rearranged my pots and pans, whatever. But it will keep me getting my camera out--Jeshua isn't getting any younger and I sometimes let a whole month go by and only take two or three photos.

Second, I need to lose weight. I need to start walking every afternoon and I want to start getting up and using the Wii Active Willard gave me. However, this means going to bed at a decent hour (i.e. before midnight) so I can get up at six happily instead of begrudgingly.

Third, I really want to finish my thesis!!! I've already put it off two whole semesters and I really don't want to pay more tuition! So, this is to keep me accountable to read at least one article a day or write two pages a day (minimum for both). This means I need to spend less time in front of the tv and computer (for non-thesis related activities) and more time studying.

Finally, I want to keep up with my housework better. My first goal right now I'm working on is to load and run the dishwasher every night and unload it every morning so the dishes don't pile up. Baby steps. :) I haven't decided on goal number two yet...

Oh yeah, and Josh doesn't like the name of this blog, so anyone have a better suggestion? 'Cause I don't...hence the name :)