it’s nearly 4 am here and i can’t go to sleeeep! insomnia sux :(
just fyi.

~toni

last saturday, gary and i took alayna to ranch day at the ranching heritage center in lubbock. she had a great time, and really got into the activities ;)…i took a bunch of pictures, but rather than weighing this post down with them, i decided to kinda put them all into two pics. well, the best ones we took anyway lol!

the first one with the wool and the corn in the pic…

1. she got to comb the wool..she loved it because it was so soft…she said it felt like a cloud ;) the lady gave her a peice to take home. 2. daddy helped her grind corn. we told her that is how they used to do it, to make bread and even tortillas. 3. branding the cow. it took me a minute to figure out exactly what they were doing here, but once alayna got the brush in her hand, she knew exactly what to do lol! 4. this was churning the butter. she told me that she loved it LOL, wouldn’t surprise me…the other day, i caught her with her finger in the middle of the margarine tub in the fridge. oh i know it’s not the same as butter but ;)

the second grouping…

1. roping the “steer” 2. getting to ride the horse..she got scared, and had to get off half way around the pen. strange, considering she has ridden a horse twice before this…3. daddy and alayna looking out of the caboose on a train…4. dancing with daddy in the barn.

i mainly just got a bad sunburn around where the top of my shirt sits (around the collarbone area)…but it was worth it to see layna so happy. sunday did nothing much, just stayed around the house. i got to watch one of my fav shows, law and order svu…one i hadn’t seen before… i just love mariska hargitay’s acting..she is so good. gary made yummy chocolate cookies too. mmmm….he is such a good cook…

sooo…how was yall’s weekend?

hugs!
~toni

okay, lemme start..my sister and law and i have never “truly” been friends, in fact most of the time, we barely tolerate each other for the sake of our husbands’ family and our children.

fast forward. first it started when last year, gary and i bought two smellters (those electric candle burners..no flame) from them for my nephews fund raiser for his gymnastics. that’s fine. well they never brought it, never brought it, kept forgetting to bring it when we were all together (holiday, birthday, etc..) and we ended up having to go and get it ourselves. to me, that is not right. their thing is well we have two kids and we both work full time jobs we are good if we remember our names…yada, yada. i understand that but to me it is just an excuse for them. it’s understandable to have a hectic household with kids and work, but c’mon, if my friend with 4 kids can remember things, surely they can at least attempt it.

now, even more recently…i had planned 3 parties around dh’s family and my dd…his parents’ aniversary party, my sil couldn’t go to and i understood that just fine…after all she works for cps and was called down to help with the polygymast (sp?) situation that’s been splashed over the news. she “wanted” to be there, but had to work. that one wasn’t an issue, my bil and the kids came.

we found out a week or two ago, thru my sil’s mother at nephew’s tball game (she didn’t even bother to tell us, neither did bil) that sil, her mom, and their two kids would be going to a wedding on the day of alayna’s carnival party may 10th. this wedding is not even a family wedding, and i was a lil bit miffed cuz i mean this is their neice. but i guess to be fair, they probably had this trip to this wedding planned out for months before i even knew for sure when i was going to have this party….but….

i also had a tea party last saturday for layna…and they knew about it. never rsvp’d (they never ever do, just show up, and i find that rude…but i am used to that) or anything… in fact we found out at the party, after it had already started…from my mil that my sil and my neice wouldn’t be at the party. why? because the kids were taken to a party where “both” kids were invited. um wtf? they knew wayyyy ahead of time, this was only a tea party to celebrate alayna and her life…she is starting school and i am just celebrating her growing up. this was not the actual birthday party itself. they could have taken my nephew to the other party and had my neice go to this tea party. this was for little girls, and i planned it that way.

maybe i am over reacting, and it hasn’t affected alayna…she remains the happy wonderful little girl she is. she had a blast at the tea party and that’s all that truly matters i know. but i was very very hurt by this. i mean it’s like this all the time…we even have to practically beg them for Christmas cards and birthday invites and such. that is ridiculous. i am sick of it…

my nephew’s bday party is on may 3rd. every time i go, she just ignores me and doesn’t even listen to me or my dh..barely says two words to my dd. she is just there for a filler to them. dh says i need to go. i have been contemplating not going and letting my dd go if she wanted to. but to do that, just not go, feels juvenile to me. but why go if i am just going to be ignored and tossed aside. i want my dd to stay with me and let dh go if he wants to. but i know that isn’t fair to my dd or my nephew. they are caught up in sil’s stupidity, and i am not sure how to handle this situation.

and oh yeah…they never once came to any of alayna’s soccer games at all, but just expect that we are going to be going to nephew’s tball games. yeah that’s fair.

my online friends are telling me to take it as a blessing that she isn’t coming since we obviously don’t get along, but what is the most unfair about it is they act all offended when we don’t come to their “parties” and then my mil and fil act like we are being stupid when we “don’t show up”…

as if they think their reasoning for not going to ours are valid and we are just getting back at them…which would be exactly what it would be if i don’t show up for this party coming up, but still…just hacks me off lol

i know it’s a bit silly all of this, but i had to get it off my chest….and if you made it this far, thanks sooo much for being a good friend and putting up with this post LOL!

~toni

my bff is getting married next year in april, and i am doing the invitation as a gift to her! i am sooo excited for her, i just love weddings! she sounds so happy and truly deserves it!…

hugs to you sweetie!

~toni

well, the first of the three parties i have been planning is going to happen tmw evening. i am so ready…it’s been a long time planning ;)…it’s a 40th anniversary party for my inlaws, and we are going to a steakhouse. they have done so much for us, i’m so glad to get this opportunity to recognize them. i did the invitation for it, my dd’s tea party a week from tmw, and her carnival party on may 10th. i’ve decided to call my new little business “Invitation Station”. i’m opening an online shop and a booth at my local craft mall..(wait did i say that in my last post? LOL). i’m super excited and hoping this brings a little extra cash our way!

i cannot believe it’s the middle of april already! alayna will begin kindergarten in august…where has the time gone? it feels like i just got home from the hospital with her :(…my lil baby girl…

well, i just wanted to catch yall up on the goings on, since a couple of people had asked me. i’ll be going ’round and trying to catch up with everyone. i’m sorry i don’t get on here as often as i should. i take on too much in my personal life, and it’s eating up a lot of my spare time ;)

hugs to you all!
~toni