Walt Disney World 2010

I cannot believe how fast our Disney trip went! :( We came home today. Pictures soon, I promise. We did not rent a stroller- our Ava walked miles and miles on her little 4 year old legs - we kept them out til midnight just about every night and walked around and around and they were little troupers! So proud of my angels. Now it is back to the old grind. I came home and did load after load of laundry and Monday I start my summer classes.

Memphis Zoo

My oldest child and I at the Memphis Zoo!

Sara's class in front of a gorilla!

Sara and I went to Memphis TN on her field trip today. We rode on a tour bus and had an awesome time just the two of us! I was pretty tired, I stayed up late last night watching the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and then we had to get up at 5 am to get to the bus by 6:15, but luckily it is about 3.5-4 hours to Memphis so I got a little nap on the bus. The kids watched Hannah Montana on the DVD player on the bus and seeing a bunch of little girls in the aisle doing the "Hoedown Throwdown" was pretty amusing.

Once we got to the zoo Sara and I split up and investigated things on our own. We booked it and were able to see everything - every single exhibit. Her favorite animals are the zebras, giraffes and pandas. I love the cheetahs of course.

the pagoda in "China"

After we arrived home from Memphis we rushed to Ava's school to see her graduate from pre-school. Her teacher gave her the award and told her now you are a kindergartener. :( I cried. Ava also recieved the "Most Improved" award. My precious precious baby!

Tomorrow is pack for Disney day. . . . Sunday we are OFF! :) Very exited!!!

Getting Excited! :)

Today I got a cavity filled because tomorrow is the last day of school for the year! I don't want to have to hire a babysitter to get a cavity filled! So that was my big plan for this morning. At 1 is Julie's end of the year party - looking forward to going to that.

After the dentist I went to buy snacks and drinks for Sara and I. Tomorrow morning - EARLY - we are getting on a tour bus to go to the Memphis zoo! Its going to be a long long day, but it is going to be FUN!

Really looking forward to having that time with my Sara! Sad about missing the beginning of Ava's 4K graduation though. Looks like we will get back in time to sneak over there and see the end of it, so at least I won't miss the whole thing.

And then Sunday - it's off to DISNEY WORLD!! :) So excited!!

Pictures coming soon!

So Proud of my Sara!

Today was Oakdale's 3rd grade awards ceremony. My precious Sara won 5 awards! She got good citizenship/good conduct, all As, student government, creative writing, and top reader in her class with 130 AR points. :) I was so so proud of my precious girl! Pictures coming soon! :)

10 Years Ago . . .

May 11, 2000. A day that would change my life. It started 3 days earlier - May 8, 2000, my due date with my first child. I did not know what I was having, boy or girl, I was thrilled with either. I felt huge and uncomfortable, and ready to pop. I had my 40 week checkup and he agreed that I should come in at 6 pm the following night for an induction. May 9, 2000 I showed up ready for my induction. They put in the cervidil and I ate a light supper. I finally fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night with contractions. They were becoming painful, so I told the nurse I wanted to rest in the Jacuzzi. A few hours later Jimmy was awake and we were in the shower and my light supper came back up. :(

May 10 I stayed at 1.5 centimeters all day. May 11 first thing in the morning the doctor came in and broke my water and let me have an epidural. By 6 or 7 pm that night I was at 10 centimeters, so the dr turned the epidural off and I began pushing. Immediately when I started pushing I sensed something was wrong. It felt like my hips were breaking. My pelvis felt like it was coming apart. I had read that when you are pushing you should feel the baby moving, but when I pushed I did not feel that baby going anywhere. When I complained to the dr, he tried to convince me that I was wrong, that everything was okay. I was insistent so he checked my cervix and it had swollen to 6.5 centimeters. :( It was determined that my baby was too big for my pelvis and I was prepped for a ceasarian section. During the c-section I discovered that I could feel the doctor cutting into me. The epidural that had been turned off for pushing was no longer sufficient for a c-section. They ended up putting me under general anesthesia and I had my baby while I was unconscious and while my husband was kicked out to the waiting room.

I woke up in the recovery room, groggy and not knowing whether my baby was male or female. The nurse in the recovery room told me that my husband wanted to be the one to tell me the gender. I waited and he came to me to tell me IT'S A GIRL!! :)

We were so excited about our precious baby. We were both really young and inexperienced but when they put that pink baby in my arms I fell in love!! I realized that this was what I was meant to do - be a mom.

It is hard for me to believe that it was 10 years ago. It's hard to believe that the baby that was handed to me 10 years ago has become this big beautiful wonderful smart daughter that I love so much. She is a precious precious gift to me. I cannot wait to see how she grows up and who she grows up to be!

Tiny Horse!

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Originally uploaded by sarajulieava

These little horses are amazing! :) SOO precious!

Ava's Fishing Field Trip!

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So much fun! Ava and I fished, and played with teeny tiny miniature horses (I want one!) and ate a picnic lunch! Now I am EXHAUSTED! LOL!

Last But Not Least . . .

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Originally uploaded by sarajulieava

My sweet Sara. I love her. Super smart. Super sweet. :)

We were. . .

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beginning to wonder if Julie would EVER have teeth! :) From September 2009 - March/April 2010 Juliana was toothless. FINALLY she has a tooth coming in! :)

Me (and Princess Julie)

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Originally uploaded by sarajulieava

Hal and Mal's St. Patrick's Day Parade. FUN! :) Love doing fun things with my girlies! SOOO excited that in 18 days we are leaving for DISNEY WORLD!!!!!

my Ava

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Originally uploaded by sarajulieava

Precious Ava. 4 1/2. Cannot believe it.

Down

I am doing great this semester. The two classes that I have already taken finals in (Chem 2 Lab and Bio 2 Lab) I have my final grade, and they are both As. In Statistics I had a test last week, and I got a 99, which means in Stats my test grades are 99, 100, 98, and 96. I only need a 58 on the final to get an A. In Art Appreciation all of my grades are really high as well, and I fully expect to pull out an A in that class. Biology 2 lecture same thing -really high A not so worried about the final.

Chem 2. . . . I had a test in there tonight and i got a B. SOOO down. Last test I made a 99 and I was really hoping for another A to take some of the pressure off of me for finals. Now I have to ace the final to get an A in the class. . . . See y'all next week, mama has some studying to do!!

First post on my new MacBook Pro! :)

This semester is almost over! PRAISE THE LORD!!! SO excited to say that in a 9 days it will all be over - and I get a whole 20 days off!

I paid my tuition for my summer classes and realized I had an extra $6500 in student loan money! I still have to buy my books for summer semester, but I soon realized there was plenty of money for a brand-new laptop. Of course my hubby wanted me to get a MacBook so that he could have my old laptop. So now in our house we have 3 laptops and a desktop. :)

Tomorrow night is my Bio Lab final. Anxious to get an A on that test to cement my A in that class - that is the only one i am worried about. Hoping I did well on my research paper.