ABC's

A: ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached
B: BEST FRIENDS? Michele, Tim and Brynlee
C: CAKE OR PIE? Definitely cake! Any flavor, preferably chocolate, but no forsting, I hate frosting.
D: DAY OF CHOICE: Saturday and Sunday because I get to spend more time with Tim and Brynn and not at work.
E: ESSENTIAL ITEMS: Binkies, cell phone, Baby Einsteins sing-a-long CD
F: FAVORITE COLORS: Depends on what it's for. I like to wear certain colors but I like to decorate and stuff with other colors.
G: GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Gummy bears! But I like to dump them out of the bag on a plate and leave them out overnite to get hard, Tim thinks I'm crazy. Yummy!
H: HOMETOWN? Salt Lake City, UT, oh how I miss thee!!!
I: FAVORITE INDULGENCE: Me time, whether it's the gym, hot showers, a good book, tanning(yes I know it's bad for me), I just like to get away from the madness that comes with having a 2 year old for a while.
J: JANUARY OR JULY? I would have to say January down south but July anywhere else in the world. This place is the worst place ever in July!
K: KIDS? Just Miss Brynlee Kaye for right now but I would love another one soon, they grow up too darn fast!
L: LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT..... Family
M: MARRIAGE DATE? October 28, 2006
N: NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 5 sisters and 2 brothers
O: ORANGES OR APPLES? I love Clementines so I guess I would have to say oranges. I like apples if I can dip them in the yummy cream cheese fruit dip.
P: PHOBIA OR FEARS: My biggest fear is marrying the wrong person. I also really, really, really don't like bugs, any bugs. I don't mind them if I'm camping because there are supposed to be bugs when you go camping but I don't want them in my house and down south all bugs are monster-sized!
Q: QUOTE: "You can't call me a whore," it's the start of a wonderful speech that Meredith gave Derek on Grey's Anatomy 2 seasons ago. I can't wait for new episodes next month!!!!
R: REASONS TO SMILE: Brynn is getting her 2 yr old molars so she's been extra snuggly(thats a good and a bad thing), I lost 3lbs last week, I'm going to Dallas with my hubby in 11 days.
S:SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? Wonder woman
T: TAG 3 PEOPLE: Callee, Nan, Sarah
U: UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I've never broken a bone and I've never had the chicken pox
V: VEGETABLE: Peas, corn on the cobb, sweet potato fries (do those count?)
W: WORST HABIT: Biting my nails. I really wish I could stop but I seriously don't know how! I'll bite through acrylic and bite them even if they have that grossI tasting stuff on them that's supposed to keep me from biting them. Also, I critique house flippers on house flipping shows because I know sooo much about anything that has to do with houses. Right......
X: X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? Definately ultrasound . . . 3D ultrasound of Brynn at 37 weeks to be specific. That was the best thing ever. And the funny guy that did mine could barely speak english and said, "she has brain, is good". We still laugh about it.
Y: YOUR FAVORITE FOOD: Lately, sushi from Samurai. I can't get enough. I dream about it. I also love alot of foods I only get like twice a year now when we go to Utah: Cafe Rio pork salad, turkey sandwich and house salad from the Dodo, walnut shrimp from Asian Star......... mmmmmm so good. Oh and anything from Del Taco, random I know but I don't have one of those down here either!
Z: ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces, though it doesn't fit me very well, I do not have a creative bone in my body and I guess that's a big thing for Pisces.

More Easter Pictures

Sears.com

Ok, I think that I am a very passive person, it takes alot to get me upset and when I do it doesn't last long. Tim has a 3 strikes rule with most places we go, meaning, every restaurant or store or whatever has 3 chances to prove they don't suck. Well lets just say sears.com used all 3 of their strikes at one time. My very sweet, loving, genrous, best mother-in-law in the world tried to surprise Tim and I and order us a new washer from sears.com because we have been having major problems with ours. She placed the order online on March 11th and even paid for delivery and pickup of our old washer. (did I mention she's the best?) Anyway, last week neither she nor us had heard anything from Sears regaurding setting up delivery or anything else having to do with the washer. She contacted them and they wouldn't even answer the phone, I called them later and they said they had no record of the order. Carla (my mother-in-law) called back and talked to someone and they said everything was figured out and fine and they sent me an email confirmation saying the estimated delivery date would be March 25th and that someone would be calling me the night before to set up the exact delivery time. Well this morning (the 25th) we still had not been contacted by sears so I started calling as soon as the store opened at 10. I called 13 times before someone actually answered!! Then they told me that they still had no record of our order. She told me the delivery manager would be in at 12:30 and she took my information and told me the manager would call me then. Well 2:30 comes along and I still had not heard from anyone so I start calling again, now no one will answer. So I call the general store number and talk to an operator. This young man goes on to tell me that this is a special order and that Sears would not be delivering in, fabulous, more idiots to deal with. He then gives me another 800 number and tells me to ask for a shipping specialist. So I call the number,to say this nicely it was not in America. I could not understand anything the woman I spoke with said and I'm pretty sure she could not understand me either. We finally came to the conclusing that she would transfer me to a delivery specialist, close enough I guess to the shipping specialist I was looking for. Thankfully I end up with someone in America but after I gave this lady all of the information I have she tells me she has never heard of me and refers me back to the store! This was the last straw for me. I hung up the phone and told Tim to see if we can cancel the shipping altogether and we will take the truck and pick it up ourselves. It's rediculous because they turned a nice jesture into a huge pain in the butt! As of right now I don't know if we will be getting a washer or not but one thing I know is that I am NEVER buying anything from sears.com again. I have never dealt with a more incompetent company in my life. I guess it's true what they say, if you have a good experience with a company you tell one person and if you have a bad one you tell anyone that will listen. So, thanks for listening.:)

Easter Weekend

We went to my parents house for Easter weekend and Brynn had a ball. We haven't been there forever so it was fun to get some down time. They watched Brynn so that Tim and I could go to lunch and go golfing which was so nice and the weather was perfect. Aunt Dani and soon-to-be Uncle Cody came down also and Brynn can not get enough of Dani.

She was extremely spoiled for Easter, just like she is with everything else. She got alot of new books, a play vaccuum (because she is terrified of them so I'm hoping having a toy one will make them less scary), a little people school bus with little people in it, an Easter dress and alot of snacks that I ended up hiding from her so she wouldn't eat them all at once. She loved the Easter egg hunt and was very annoyed when there were no more to find so we just kept taking the ones out of her basket so she could find them again. Grandma also bought her a little shopping cart that she pushes around everywhere and has decided she wants to ride in even thought there is no way her chunky butt would fit in it. She has become much more brave around Ragan, my parents big, fat black lab. She will follow her around all day and tell her what to do and attempts to mimic all of the sitting and laying positions the dog does. So funny. I'm sure she has a buddy for life.

I forgot that one bad thing did happen. Brynn has pretty bad allergies and has been taking a prescription everyday for a few months because the pollen is so bad down here, anyway, I thought it would be nice to bring my mom an Easter lily. I guess it would've been smart to buy the lily once we got into town but I'm a little slow and had it sitting in the car with us the whole 2 hour drive. Brynn basically had an allergy attack all night on friday because I trapped in the car with a flower for an hour. Poor girl. Other than that it was a very nice weekend and we can't wait to go to Dallas in a few weeks. Thanks in advance for watching Brynn Grandma Jillyn and Grandpa Dwight!!

The Binks

My name is Brynlee and I am a binkie-holic. I'll take them anyway I can get them in any color shape or size. I never go far without one and I am usually carrying 3 or 6 at all times. Yes my parents own stock in them. Seriously though, I get so sad because everyone has pictures of their smiling babies and mine smiles but you can't see her cute crooked smile because there is always a binkie in her mouth! These things are her livelihood. She takes 3 to school everyday and won't go to bed without at least 4. I hear horror stories about how they are going to mess up her teeth but I don't dare take them away. Everyone has told me that if I just have her throw them away she'll get over it in a few days. I'm thinking that this is an obsession I'm not going to mess with but I'll take any helpful hints I can get!

Future Hygenist

This is for you Aunt Mogi! Tim decided to pick his teeth with his straw after dinner, I know, such good manners. Anyway, Brynn of course then has to pick Tim's teeth with a straw too. I thought this picture was so funny because she looks very focussed on her work! I can just imagine what she would be saying outloud, "yes I see the problem is right here with your bottom right bicuspid, and you need to floss more". (I have no idea what I'm saying so sorry if I butcher the dental lingo) Another thing that is so funny about Brynn is that she looovvveesss spicey food. She will eat blazin hot buffalo dorritos until the cows come home and tonight she decided she's taken a liking to guacamole. Everything I give her to taste hoping she won't like she ends up loving, it's so odd.

Birthday Cake Pics

Look how sweet my hubby is! He made me my favorite, dark chocolate cake with cool whip on top! ( I am not a fan of frosting) I hate this picture of me but Timmy worked hard on the cake so I gave in and posed. So lovely.

Husband Tag

What is his name? Timothy Robert Hopkins
How long have you been married? 1 year and 5 months
How long did you date? Hmmm we were friends for a year before we dated then we did that off and on thing for a while but I'd say we dated about 2 years total
How old is he? 30
Who eats more? I think I eat more often but he eats more in one sitting
Who said I love you first? Tim did, over the phone while I was in Costa Rica because he couldn't wait for me to get home!
Who is smarter? depends on the subject, Tim thinks he's more street smart but he's from Price and they only have like 5 streets so I think I win that one hahahaha
Who's temper is worse? I am short tempered and Tim holds it in then explodes so that probably isn't good for either of us!
Who does the laundry? I do it generally but I don't think Tim likes it when I do it because I hate folding so I end up leaving everything in the dryer for days at a time. Poor guy.
Who does the dishes? Tim usually does but that's because I cook
Who pays the bills? He makes the money, I write the checks so we both do
Who cooks dinner? I usually do unless I'm having a lazy day or Tim surprises me and cooks me dinner! So sweet.
Who drives when you are together? Depends on whose seat Brynn says is the driver seat that day. She thinks everyone has a designated seat in the car.
Who is more stubborn? I would have to say I take the cake on that one. Sorry babe!
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine but only because they live so close, we would LOVE to see his family much more often!
Who proposed? Tim
Who has more friends? I do
Who has more siblings? I do by quite a few. Does anyone have more siblings than me?!
Who wears the pants in the family? He would hate to admit that I do so I'll let him have his moment and say he does. You're welcome honey:)

SHOUT OUT!!!!

I know my bestest friend ever Michele checks the blog every once in a while even though she isn't a blogger herself. I found this picture on her niece Kaia's website and it made me miss her sooooo much!!!!!!! We are meeting in Utah the last week of May and I am counting down the days. Even though we text pretty much every day I wish we could live closer and see eachother more. I haven't seen her since last April! So sad. I miss you slut! Can't wait to see ya! (oh and for those of you that don't know, this is her cutie boyfriend Iron, they have been dating for a few years and he is a great guy and super adorable!:)

Unfamiliar Territory

Poor Brynn. This weekend she experienced something she's never had to before. Constipation. I guess I should be counting my blessings that she didn't have it the first 22 months of her life but it's still so sad to see! She was such a little trooper, even when I had to use a supository. Yuck. It's kind of funny because it's times like this I would love to be a fly on the wall and see how Tim would handle the situation. I admit that being the oldest of 8 has given me a very unfair advantage over him when it comes to kids but this is the kind of thing that would've given him an anxiety attack. Sometimes I'll stand back and watch him handle rough situations and just wait for him to ask me what to do, then I'll call my mom. Hahaha He is so cute with Brynn and the poor guy can not get a break lately. She is going through a "daddy do it" phase and as much as I hate to admit it I'm really enjoying it! Brynn will not let me change her or feed her or dress her or bathe her, she wants Tim to do it all or she wants to do it herself. She is deffinately a little daddy's girl and she wants everything to be done the way daddy does it. (I just have to add this on here. My daughter has never been a big fan of smiling when you tell her to but we have finally found a sure fire way to make her laugh while I'm taking a picture. Tim has to pretend he is going to stick his tongue in my ear and she will die laughing. She's such a ham!)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Let the fun begin! My wonderful hubby bought me a gift card to a spa for Valentines day and this was the first chance I had to use it. So I got off work early and had a massage, a pedicure a facial and had my hair done. I can honestly say it was the best 4 hours of my life! Then Aunt Dani and Uncle Cody came to watch Brynn so Tim and I could go to dinner all by ourselves at my favorite sushi restaurant here in Monroe. We had an amazing waitress and discovered a new favorite drink, the Nunchuck:) They even brought me a cake!! (see picture) I can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings!

UPDATE: The rest of my weekend was so great. Tim bought me some new shox and other shoes and clothes that I wanted, he also made me a cake! It was so cute and he did a really good job at making my birthday extra special. He set the bar pretty high for his birthday next month! I have pictures I'll add of the cake and Brynn finishing off the extra cake batter.

Footsy Jammies

I love love love footsey jammies! I told Tim I am going to order us all some for christmas next year and the picture is going on our christmas card. Brynn says they are jammies with socks and she won't wear any other kind. I took this picture one morning this week hoping that the flash would wake her up because this time change is killing her! She wants to stay up way too late and she will not wake up in the morning. I'll open her door and turn on the hall light and she'll start screaming,"shut it! no light! Brynnee sleeping! Shut it!" It really is pretty funny, she's like a teenager already. I think that's why I love the footsy jammies, they make her look so little! So different from the 5 year old she thinks she is. Oh and I don't know if you can tell but we bought her a crib pillow when we bought her new bedding and she lays it next to her and still uses her bear as her pillow. I am going to have to ask grandma Trish where she found him because the world will stop if anything ever happened to him.

House Pictures

Ok impatient Callee, here are a few house pics. You will notice there are no pictures of the walls because I haven't hung everything yet. There is part of the living room furniture, (including my favorite ottomans), a picture of our room, the theme for the kitchen and Brynnee helping me measure where to put pictures. Now remember guys, this is an old house, not a new house. (we are reminded of that daily when we find little defects lol) I'm just posting the basics, maybe one day I'll get it all together and when I do the blog will be the first to know.

Leaves, Sidewalk Chalk and the Squirel

Well in true Louisiana fashion sundays weather was sunny and in the 70's so Tim and I decided to bag the leaf piles that have consumed our backyard for the past few weeks. We still have two piles left, the back half of the backyard to rake, we haven't even started the front yard yet and we have already filled 24 bags! Brynn has discovered a few little friends in the backyard. Thanks to the 7 giant trees we have there are alot of birds and alot of squirels. One in particular will let her get within a few feet of him and then she is usually the one to run away first! We call it Brynlee's zoo and she thinks that's pretty neat. And I know it's really hard to miss our ghetto neighbors full for months plastic swimming pool in their backyard. You can't leave stuff like that around your yard down here or who knows what will end up living in it! If we see any snakes in our yard I'll know where they came from. Tim found her some sidewalk chalk so she made some beautiful pieces of artwork all over the back patio. And yes she is very smart but I wrote her name in the picture. LOL She loves the chalk but she has a hard time understanding why she can't bring it in the house to color on the floor. And last but not least, we have a potty update! Brynn went potty in her potty 2 times last week! It is sensored and plays a song when she goes and the seond time it scared her so bad she started running away in mid-pee. We are actually lucky there was a second time because the first time between us making a big deal about it and the song scaring her to death she was pretty terrified to go anywhere near the potty for a few days!

Brynlee's Spoiled Weekend

Grandma Jillyn came up to visit Saturday night and we all got a little spoiled! She bought me the ottomans I have been wanting forever for my birthday and the runner that matches my living room rug to go in front of the fireplace. Brynn got a new pair of pants, an adorable chair that I have been looking for for months, a swimsuit, new Nike's (that were on clearance for $9!!), and 2 books! My goodness! She loves her new chair and she told me yesterday that the reason it doesn't rock like daddy's is because her's is too big.... of course..... My mom also took us to one of our favorite restaurants, Tokyo, for mine and Dani's birthday dinner. It's alot like Benihanas but the salad dressing isn't as good. Brynn was clapping and telling the cook he was doing a good job the whole time. It's always good to see the family and we are excited to get down there for Easter in a few weeks.

Friday

We had quite the eventful weekend! Friday it actually snowed here, yes you heard me right, snowed. Nothing even stuck to the ground and it was a balmy 27 degrees outside but that put the city of Monroe in a state of panic! They closed the schools before noon and I was even sent home from work because of the "hazardous weather". I was excited because I had the rest of the day off and Tim was on a mission to find logs for the fireplace, which we didn't find until 6 stores later! I tried to get a picture of the snow but the flakes weren't even big enough to see very well with the camera. It's so funny to hear people talk becuase they haven't seen weather like this in 10 years. Hahaha!

BIRTHDAYS!!!!

Well all of you know I'm a little obsessed with my birthday. Yes this is one of the only times during the year that I act like a typical girl. I will find any excuse possible to be able to celebrate for the entire week of my birthday. I'm actually thinking that because my birthday is on a sunday this year, (the 16th in case any of you forgot:) that I should be able to celebrate the week before AND the week after! I don't think Tim will be up for it but it's worth a try. I will be the big 26 and I still consider myself safe because I'm still in my mid-20's, once I hit 27 it's all down hill from there! J/K Tim will be turning 31 on April 16th and I am taking him to Dallas for 3 days to see the Dallas Desperados take on the New Orleans Voo-Doo in arena football, am I a great wife or what?? The trip will actually be for both of us. We are hoping to do a little golfing and sleeping in as well so I'm counting down the days. Then in May Brynn turns 2 and Aunt Dani is getting married! We have a busy next few months but that's how I like it.

Tim's Big Challenge

Well Tim decided to be brave this weekend and tackle the leaves that have overcome our yard, (our yard, that's so fun to say!). You can tell by this picture that we have alot of bagging to do. Brynn wanted to be a big "helper" but she was way too stressed out from the dirt on her shoes and the bug she found on a stick. We ended up in the house watching Shrek and I think we were more help in there then if we would've stayed outside with Tim. The good news is I think she is starting to get used to the house which is so nice because my 21 month old is finally sleeping through the night again AND we got her on a prescription for her allergies so she's finally healthy for longer than a day, YAY!!! Oh and one more random thing, Brynn's favorite teacher at school just told us she wants to start babysitting on the weekends. This is such good news because Tim and I need all the time away we can get and Brynn llloooovvveessss Angela!