Seven Years, Seven Amazing Years

7 years, 2,556 days, 61,361 hours, 3,681,641 minutes.  Seven years ago I was a young lady with butterflies in my stomach, intense excitement about the future and the unknown and had an amazing best friend that would soon be my husband.  Seven years ago I had no idea what it really meant to stand side-by-side with someone through the ups and downs of life.  Seven years ago I was unsure what it was to be a wife, to own a house, to have a pet that I actually had to take care of, to hold a "real" job, to have mail in the mailbox with my name on it and then to have to pay that 'mail' in the box, to cook dinner nightly, to have children, to raise children and to balance.  Seven years ago I was very naive, so young, so ambitious and so eager to get on with life.

So, in seven years what has happened?  I did marry my best friend who is still my best friend, confidant, safe place and best thing that I have going.  We have had some ups and downs.  There were times that we were unsure that all of our 'mail' would be paid at the end of the month and just how in the heck we were going to do it.  We have gone through career changes and times of uncertainty with work.  I think that I am growing and understanding more each day what it means to be a wife and I strive to be the best wife that I can be - supportive, loving, enduring, resilient, encouraging and always there.  We own a house, yep, we own it and it is all ours.  We actually have 4 pets now, 2 cats and 2 dogs.  A few fish here and there that now take up residence either in the sewer or heaven.  I have been at Google for seven years and I could write a book about what a 'real' job has come to mean.  We have enough mail weekly to grow a forest.  I try to cook dinner nightly, sometimes dinner is toast, but it is something in your belly.  And, we have multiplied we have two little cherubs that are amazing, simply amazing.  So, in seven years so much has happened, but most of all, in the last seven years I have learned what is truly important.  Family, immediate and extended is the most important thing to me and is what drives me daily.  My husband, kiddos, parents and in-laws are amazing.

Chad, you are amazing and have made these last seven years possible.  Thank you so much for the last seven years of patience, love, support, encouragement and just for being you.  For growing with me, for loving me and for being there day in and day out.  There is no way that I would make it through this crazy world without you by my side.  You are irreplaceable and I am forever grateful for all that you have brought to my life.  I love you and look forward to many, many more years in the future!

Bubbles Galore

We love bathtime in the Lackey house - it is about 20 minutes that my kids are contained and cannot get out. An absolute mandatory time for the kiddos! Sometimes we pitch a fit, sometimes we throw water balloons, sometimes we tinkle in the water but we never ever have a boring time. Here is a picture of a recent bathtime that we had - bubbles and bubbles and more bubbles. One HUGE mess to clean up but one elated little boy made it worth all of the 'bubble trouble'.

Sarah Bug is One

We made it to a year. As a mother I feel a sense of accomplishment when we reach one year - we obviously did something right over the last year to make it this far. Sarah has been crying less, laughing more and growing into her personality a little more each day. She puts up a good fight with her brother and has a really strong will. We had our one year appointment at the pediatrician today and she checked out very well. She is a little over 20 pounds and 30 inches long, for those of you that know percentages - she is 41% for weight and 74% for height....maybe she will be a slim, tall one when she grows up! We have been having "episodes" with Sarah lately. Apparently, she is just a dramatic little girl but here is her latest trick. When she gets mad she has decided to hold her breath. Not just for a second, she plays out the full episode by turning blue, falling over, going limp, gives Chad and I a heart attack and after about 30-45 seconds finally takes a breath and starts audibly crying again. She has done this twice and each time is a little more dramatic. The doctor said that she is perfect, just has an attitude when she gets mad but hopefully by age 3 or so she will grow out of it. If this lasts for 3 years, I will look 60 by the time that I am 32. I love her to pieces but I really wish that she would be dramatic in another way....we will see how this develops!

The Power of a Water Balloon

Sunday afternoon was beautiful, overcast skies, breezy and not too hot for mid-June. I was sitting in the driveway painting some chairrail for a frame we are building and the kids across the street were out in their driveway playing with water balloons. They had this launcher contraption that would fling the water balloons up the street. It was like a super-slingshot just for water balloons. They shot a few at me and they only made it half-way through the cul-de-sac. Then the Dad came out to help and shot one across the street. It zoomed through the cul-de-sac and right through the glass in our front door. BOOM! The glass exploded and there was glass and water everywhere. Chad was standing on our stairs and heard the explosion and got hit with glass and liquid. He thought something had happened to me since I was outside and came running. I still don't think he has laughed too much about the incident. We get a new one in 2 weeks.....the joys of homeownership!

No More Excuses

Most of my posts are about my kids but occassionally I do have a thought that is not kid-centered. That is my stomach in all its glory - you could easily play connect the dots with my moles but it is what it is. I recently had my 10th mole removed for biopsy at 28. 8 of the 10 have been pre-cancer and the other 2 were just for kicks I guess. As most of you know, my Mom has had 2 stage 4 melanomas and numerous other skin cancers. I am probably more diligent than most 28 year olds about going to the dermatologist but I should not be. Here are some fun facts about melanoma, the fastest growing cancer in the USA and one of the cancers that people have the least knowledge about. Consider this among the things that you learn today and go to the dermatologist. I have a great one, Cynthia Dolan or if you prefer a man (yes, guys, men can get skin cancer as well) then you can see Dr. Friedman - North Ga Dermatology: 770.962.5040. No more excuses - you don't even have to look up the number.

• Melanoma is now the fastest growing cancer in the U.S
• There have been no significant advances in the medical treatment or survival rate in the last 30 years.
• Melanoma cases are increasing at an epidemic rate of 3% a year.
• In the U.S. there are as many new cases of melanoma each year than there are of AIDS.
• There were 59,000 new case of melanoma in the U.S. in 2005.
• Melanoma is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S.
• Melanoma is the most common cancer in men and women ages 20-29.
• In women 25-29, melanoma is the primary cause of cancer death, and in women 30-34 it is the second most common cause of cancer death.
• In the U.S. your chance of getting melanoma in 1940 was 1 in 1500. By 2004, it was 1 in 67. By 2010, scientists predict it will be 1 in 50.
• If caught in the earliest stages, melanoma is entirely treatable with a survival rate of nearly 100%. If untreated and allowed to spread, there is no known treatment or cure.
• Wear suncreen, put sunscreen on your kids and DON'T go to the tanning bed. Remember that tan skin looks good but it is in no way healthy. I would rather be pale and cancer free than tan and covered with cancer.

Coming down from my soap box now, please just make the appointment to go. A few stitches and a little discomfort is really not that big of a deal.

Sarah Jane.....

There is just something about a little girl. She is so much fun (now), yes she screamed for about 6 months but at the ripe old age of 9 months she has decided to shape up! She is crawling, attempting to walk, talking and squealing. That is one huge difference between boys and girls. From an early age, girls have that ability to imitate a screeching parakeet that ear piercing squeal that makes the dogs cover their ears. It is usually when she is the happiest that it is the loudest. She loves to wave bye-bye and definitely knows her Da-Da. He walks in the room and she says 'Hey Da-Da' as for Mama, she calls me Neh-Neh. No clue where that one came from. One day I will be Mom but for now I will take Neh-Neh with that sweet, almost toothless grin!

Please tell me why we spend so much money on toys? To stimulate the economy? An empty egg carton works WONDERS in this house!

In Touch with Our Feminine Side

Tyler is my side-kick and we do pretty much everything together. Even though he is ALL boy, I try to introduce the softer side of life as well. I want him to be well-rounded and masculine with a sensitive side. He has a gazillion trucks, plays in the dirt, squishes bugs, the whole nine yards. He also loves to paint. The other morning he decided that he would join me in painting his toes. I ended up leaving the house with no polish on - do you know how hard it is to remove nail polish from in between a ticklish 2 year olds toes? FOREVER! He still has polish on his feet and for the life of me there is no amount of scrubbing that can get it off those sweet little toes.