thirty-one & what have we been up to

today i am 31. and i am taking it alot better than last year turning 30. translation - i did not cry in the shower this morning. haha. funny, i don't feel 31. and i really don't know what 31 should feel like. i feel the same as yesterday and the day before. meh.

so what have we been up to?

this man has been busy with harvest since the middle of august. and these girls miss him terribly.

so when they get the chance to snuggle with daddy, they get super excited.

we have had more rain in the last month than we did all stinking summer. and when it rains, this beastly dog gets scared. and he thinks he's a lap dog. he was never like that before Pooch died. so i think he was just saving face for his ol' man. and now that he is gone, he feels free to be a whiney, shakey mess when the rain starts. so he has been spending more time inside with his best gal.

i stumbled upon a garage sale on saturday. i had intended to go to wal-mart then at the last second olivia wanted to go to the library. so i dipped down a side-street & found the sale. there were tons of furniture pieces. i get out & look. everything is priced super high for a garage sale...except this beauty

it had $2 marked on it. i didn't question it, even though a table similar to this was priced at $35. i'm thinking a kid stuck the $2 sticker on it. i gave the lady my $2 and got the hell out of there. a $3 can of black spray paint later & it's beautiful.

these sisters have been getting along great. except for when they aren't. then they scream & yell. and i hear "she touched me" & a lot of "that's mine". exhibit A:

"mah-aaaahm, rachel won't quit looking at me"

with harvest hours, daddy is missing a lot of our usual evening time. he got home right at bedtime & read the girls a story monday night.

olivia is all about being a little fashionista these days.

the girls tried on super cute winter hats when we were at the dollar store.

so that is what we have been up to. busy living a busy life. 

oh mah word...mah hair

I have talked before about my battle vs. genetics. I am destined to have a full head of white hair. I have been fighting it off since high school. I color my hair at home, the white hairs are back within a couple of days now. I have a hair appointment scheduled for next Saturday. But because my roots are OUT OF CONTROL. I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I cut myself some bangs last night. My thought was, if I have bangs, maybe the roots & white hair in the front of my head will not be as noticeable.

However, at work today I'm experiencing several stares. A few "something is different today" & a lot of "you got your hair colored". Ummmm not so much. See pictures below as evidence by the inch of new growth and all the white hairs.

I bet I said "the only thing different is bangs" probably 20 times or more.

Also, I am very impatiently growing my hair out. I cannot stand this lovely in-between Carol Brady flip kind of thing it is starting to do. But I really do want to grow it out.

And I decided, the lighter I go, the less evident the whites are. I want to go blond. All over blond. Then hopefully just scrape by with half highlites once it starts to grow out. Who knows. It's only hair.

wordless wednesday

when Jarrett met Natalie {part 4}

Building Our Family
(aka: living the dream/the failed 3 year plan)

it wasn't a question of if we wanted children. it was when do we want to have children. we are both home-bodies by nature. we were young. we had young friends. we just didn't do the whole "going out" thing all the time. we didn't have a wild side. (well, maybe i did, but i worked most of that out before drinking was legal for me. sorry again, mom.)

we didn't live together before we got married. even though we bought our house in August before we were married. in fact, i think jar maybe spent a total of 1 week living there before we were married. so for all intents & purposes, we both went from our parents' homes to our home together as a married couple.

i think the fact that we both went straight from our parents' homes to our married life & home together made the transition to married life more of a learning experience. we had to learn each other's habits & over all living ways. we already knew each other quite well, obviously, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. it was just getting to know every single thing about each other. for example, jar snores. jar is a neat freak. jar is a bear in the morning before he has coffee. jar doesn't like to talk much in the morning at all. i, on the other hand, not so much a neat freak. i hate coffee. i would prefer to just sit & chat all morning long while we are getting ourselves ready for the day.

see how young we were...

but anyway, we set out a plan. when we were married, we were so young. i had just turned 21, jarrett was just shy of 22. we set out a 3 year plan. we were going to be married for 3 years before we had children. we were just enjoying being married & having fur babies.

we took a trip to New Jersey together in April 2003. we took several weekend trips to Chicago. it was nice to not have to plan really. we just up & went. if we wanted to go see a movie, we went. if we wanted to go out to dinner, we went. (sidenote: if you are married & don't have kids at home, you cannot refer to such nights out as "date nights" - but that is just my personal opinion.) if i miss anything from that time in our life, it was that. to not have to plan.

buuuuuuuut....then i got baby fever. a beautiful little niece that we would watch every so often may have contributed.

plans, schmans. truth be told, this husband of mine really does hate to tell me no. it didn't take much convincing to have him stray from our 3 year plan. we were so blessed to not have any trouble at all conceiving either of the girls. to quote my very witty husband when asked how long we tried to get pregnant with Olivia, he said "about 15 minutes". he speaks the truth. haha

a wonderful blessing in the form of Miss Olivia Grace came June 14, 2004. a few months shy of your 2nd anniversary (if y'all are keeping track).

i do have to say, even though we were trying, it was still a bit of shock to jar. he got all nervous. he was a little scared to tell his parents.

i think it was a HUGE shock to vanessa when we announced we were expecting. she sort of stared at us in disbelief. not that she wasn't absolutely thrilled for us & for them becoming grandparents. my parents weren't as shocked. i mean, it was still a surprise for them because we hadn't told anyone we were trying.

what can i say about Olivia that I haven't already said on here? she's my world. she made my whole life worth living when she made her big arrival into this world. we didn't find out if she was a boy or girl before she was born. that was my idea. jar wanted to know, but the mother-to-be has an executive veto when it comes to that. we loved Olivia so much before we even knew she was an Olivia. we had so many little yellow outfits washed & ready to go.

prego with Liv at a friend's wedding 6/5/2004



and then a second blessing in the form of Miss Rachel Claire came October 26, 2007. what a wonderful 5th anniversary gift she was & continues to be. no big shocker for the grandparents-to-be when we announced Rachel was on the way. we did succeed in our 3 year plan between children. Olivia turned 3 in June then Rachel was born in October. that is definitely the way to go.

what can i say about Rachel that i haven't already on here? when we told people we knew we were expecting another little girl, i was appauled when people would say "oh, too bad you didn't get that boy". i was really close to punching some people in the throat every time i heard that. seriously, we didn't care boy or girl. we wanted a healthy baby. how anyone could be disappointed in the gender of their child is beyond me. 2 girls is all we know. 2 girls suit our family to a tee. jar & i were made to be parents to little girls.

when i think back at our plan to be married 3 years before we had children, i guess i always knew that would never happen. i cannot even remember our life before we had kids. and i know people say that all the time, but it is so true. really, what did we do with our time before we had the girls? what did i think about every second of every single day? how did i live without them? i think back to a quote from a Roseanne episode, "we had our kids when we were young & stupid like you're supposed to". haha! if you wait for the perfect time to have children, you will be waiting forever. i wouldn't change anything about the way we have built our family.

10 years seems like a very long time for us to be married. and i know 10 years really isn't that long in the grand scheme of things. but, these first 10 years of our marriage have been, without exception, the very best of my entire life.

we laugh. we yell. we fight. we love. we are not perfect. we are still completely in love. we have 2 gorgeous girls. i always joke with Jarrett that we are "living the dream". but, honestly, this has always been my dream. fall in love. get married. have kids. i was born to do what i am doing right now.

we have a crazy-busy-hectic-sometimes stressful life. but who doesn't? life is that way for everyone & if you say not you, you are a big fat liar. we are surrounded by naked barbies & babydolls. crayons & markers. little girls singing & dancing. so much nick jr & disney jr that it makes my eyes want to bleed somedays. and i wouldn't have it any other way. when i worry about things, i have to stop & ask myself - are the girls happy? yes, yes they are.

and we all know how this story ends.....

we live happily ever after.

i hope you enjoyed our love story. we definitely have enjoyed living it.

and jar, i know you are going to read this. so i want to officially tell you, you are the best thing that has happened to me. you have given me the life i have always dreamt of. i love you with all of my heart. thank you for supporting me, giving me our 2 daughters, and most of all, loving me. i look forward to "making the best of a bad situation" with you for the rest of my life.

when Jarrett met Natalie {part 3}

The Big Day

(aka - the best day of Jarrett's life)

October 26, 2002

thought for this post, pictures are enough. enjoy.

grandmothers

Sarah                                    Jennifer                                       April                                         Haley

flower girl Cassie & flower man Brad 

Mr & Mrs Totten

yea, I think that's the hand jive (bottom left) 

[stay tuned for more tomorrow]

when Jarrett met Natalie {part 2}

The Engagement
{aka: bad omen, i think not}

after a brief stint in the hospital in late October 2001 for a kidney infection i was home still recovering. i distinctly remember being mad that jarrett did not come to the hospital to visit me on one night when i was there. little did i know, the reason he didn't come visit me was because he was doing a little shopping. i was released on thursday, and home resting the following days. i remember i was up watching tv in my bedroom & the phone rang. i didn't answer it, but had a feeling it was jarrett - but when i wasn't told to pick up the phone immediately, i assumed it wasn't him. after a few minutes my mom comes up to tell me jar is on the phone for me. i remember thinking, why did he talk to my mom for like 5 minutes, that never happens.

he asks if i am feeling up for going out to dinner. i say absolutely, i am ready to get out of this house. he was supposed to be there to pick me up at 6:00. at like 6:30 he calls from his cell phone & thought it was me that picked up. it was my sister. he is just belligerent yelling that he hit a deer & would be late. sarah relays the message to me - cussing tyrade & all. we all have a good laugh. jarrett is always easily worked up.

so i sit & wait...patience is a virtue, i do not possess. he arrives, i go outside to see the damage to his truck. but he had switched vehicles with his brother after he hit the deer. my mom convinces me to go back inside & take my medicine with the full glass of water it requires. i begrudgingly obey & go back in the house as they go out to the garage to talk to my dad about, what we now call, the bad omen.

i never make my way out to the garage, after about 10 minutes he comes inside to ask if i am ready to head to bloomington for dinner. we leave & i think nothing of it. while driving he seems super nervous. i assume it is because an hour ago he slammed into a huge buck & did a ton of damage to his beloved pick-up. we arrive at the olive garden & put our names in. we go next door to walk around toys r us, do a little light shopping for my soon-to-be-born niece, cassidy. the whole time he is walking around with his hand in his pocket. i remember i slapped his hand & said something like "what are you doing playing a little pocket pool or something" joking (you know, that is what i do). he tenses up & says, "don't do that" & got a little bent out of shape. whatever...

we eat our dinner. he takes me home. we go up to my room & watch a little SNL. he sits up & is just sweating like crazy. i assume he is going to throw-up. i grab my garbage can & shove it towards him. he drops to one knee & i say "what are you doing?"

he says to me "my time with you has been the best time of my whole life. you have made me so happy. and if you give me the chance, i will spend the rest of my life making you just as happy. will you marry me?"

SHOCK OF THE CENTURY!!!!

i don't even remember saying yes. i remember crying like a baby. i remember throwing myself at him & wrapping my arms around his neck. i remember nodding like a fool, still unable to speak. i remember him sliding the beautiful ring on my finger with shaking hands. i will remember it always. i will cherish those 10 or so minutes for my entire life. i am rarely at a loss for words. he totally & completely caught me off guard. i wasn't prepared for this. i was in ratty old sweat pants & a t-shirt. it wasn't what i had pictured in my mind at all. but it was PERFECT.

Saturday, November 3, 2001. the day he asked me to be his bride. the day he made me the happiest girl in the world.  the day he asked both my mom & dad for permission to ask me to marry him. the day that he hit a deer. and the day my brother-in-law brad told him in the garage, "the day you pick to ask nat to marry you, you hit a deer & total your truck -- that's got to be a bad omen."

bad omen, i think not.

my mom later told me she was waiting to hear me scream. but i was utterly & completely speechless. i knew an engagement was coming - i assumed christmas or thanksgiving. but on a saturday night after eating olive garden & in the middle of weekend update on SNL my loving boyfriend of only 9 months asked me to marry him.

everyone said it was a very speedy courtship. "you haven't been dating long" ask me how many times people said that to me when i told them we got engaged. the answer would be A LOT. no we haven't been dating since our freshman year in high school like sarah & brad. no we didn't date for a whole year before we got engaged. we didn't have to. we knew. and when you know, you just know. i always think it's stupid when people say that you will just know. it's true though.

we bought our first home...which is the same house we still live in

let the wedding planning begin. i don't know for certain when, but i know within the next several days, we had already set a date for our wedding. it was to be October 26, 2002. i think i called the church on the following monday or tuesday to ask if they had that date available. we had the wedding party picked out by thanksgiving. my mom, sister, & i went dress shopping in january. we had every detail planned. i was not bridezilla by any means. if i had been, i'm sure somebody would have told me.

[to be continued...]

when Jarrett met Natalie {part 1}

as we approach our 10th wedding anniversary next month, i thought it would be fun to document our love story. enjoy...

The Beginning

(aka: stalking & catching your prey)

let me set the scene for you...summer of 2000.

a devilishly handsome boy racing motocross. his naturally dark brown hair has been bleached blond (not your best look, Jar). he is all muscle & tan skin - this is what a full summer of working hay does to a young man. i went to every single race that summer. not to watch jarrett, that was just an added bonus. i went because a) i love racing - still to this day, b) all my friends were going, & c) what else are you going to do on a sunday afternoon? working a part-time job that was not open on sundays, i had plenty of time to hang out with my friends & do absolutely nothing. so we went to wapella to the motocross track.

here's a little fun fact: i was video taping a race my friend stephen was in - and i very noticeably followed jarrett walking by with the camera. so when you watch the tape it is stephen riding & doing quite well in the race then cut to jarrett walking shirtless to the concession stand. one of my finer moments.

jarrett & i went to different high schools. our paths crossed occasionally on the square in clinton. i met his younger brother kyle & contributed to the delinquency of a minor by purchasing him a pack of cigarettes (sorry vanessa). i remember very clearly, i spoke to jarrett a total of 4 times at the race track the entire summer. it was always super clever & witty things like "what's up" or "man, it's hot out here isn't it". you know, i was just the coolest, i still cannot believe it.

then....then, my stalker like tendencies showed through when i spotted him at wal-mart after the race season was over. i was with my brother (hi timmy-so-cool). i may or may not have followed him. not closely, or noticeably. i'm not that weird. but i definitely did follow him. he bought lawn fertilizer & dog food. why i remember that, i have no idea.

the fall came. i didn't see him around town at all. (insert sad face) his absence on the square is explained by his new & very long houred job as a grain hauler during harvest. in january, there was an indoor arenacross in springfield. i went to cheer on my friends, secretly hoping to catch a peek at the handsome totten boy. after a race, i went down into the pit area to find my friends and i ran into jarrett. literally, ran right into him. bounced off his chest. he had to grab my arms to keep me from falling. a little dazed & confused (i may have participated in some under-age drinking. so sorry, mom.)

i looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes and he said "careful now, you got it?" i giggled like a school girl. we talked a little bit about how i'm a clutz by nature. and i told him he did really good in the race. he pointed out that he crashed & ran off the track. then i felt like a total ass. i said, "well up until that point, you did good". he laughed. oh his laugh. i love it. it warmed my heart. i think i fell in love right there, friends. his laugh is infectious. my friend mandy came & grabbed my arm & said are you just going to stand here like an idiot are you going to leave with us. i left with them said "see ya around". and walked away. i snuck a glimpse back at him & he was watching me walk away...

it was the thick of high school basketball season. my brother & his youngest brother both played. i went to games to watch tim. he went to games to watch ryan. or so he claims. after a game, our paths crossed again...i purposely left before one of the games was over. i quickly walked down the bleachers. you know, just to see if he would follow me. and he did, like a little lost puppy.

we spent a very cold 3 hours outside in the high school parking lot talking about everything under the sun, or moon, since it was very dark. finally at like 11:30 he says, "could i maybe call you up & take you on a date some time?" i stutter like a fool. i finally get out the word "absolutely" & give him my phone number. he called the next day, friends. (mission accomplished)

first date: Saturday, February 3, 2001. i have forgiven him for being a half hour late, he couldn't find our house. and he left my phone number at his house. when he was late, i called my mom's cell phone & told her not to be surprised that if he didn't show at all that i would most likely be drunk & wallowing in self-pity when she arrived back home. but as luck would have it, he did arrive. we went & killed some time walking around the mall. he asked me who i had voted for in the previous year's presidential election (should have been a red flag - the man loves politics). we went to see hannibal - i still have the very faded ticket stub. (for those who said that is not a very good first date movie, i believe we have proved you all wrong now. so you can go suck an egg.) we ate at steak n shake afterwards. and when he drove me home, he asked if he could kiss me. always the gentleman. it was one hell of a first kiss - i will spare you the details.

dates. dates. & more dates. i introduced him to my family. he introduced me to his family. he told me he loved me on May 19, 2001. in june he went to new jersey to visit & work hay. i rode out east with his parents & brother kyle in july. i spent a week with him in jersey at his gram's house. he took me to see the ocean for my very first time. we had a blast. i went with him to each & every single race that summer. the long drives to taylorville or casey to & from the races were perfect. he heard me sing horribly & still wanted to be around me. we laughed all the time together.

i took him with my family to 6 flags. he went on his very first big roller coaster with me & screamed "MOMMY" - i laughed so hard. who am i kidding, my whole family laughed so hard. we had so much fun getting to know each other. and we were absolutely head-over-heels in love with each other.

we were inseparable. we were young & in love. we were probably pretty sickening to be around. i knew by august that i was going to marry him. i wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. we never went & looked at rings. we never talked about an engagement or wedding. i just knew he was the one for me. after a series of unfortunate events: i was in a minor car accident - i called jarrett crying. i was sick & hospitalized. these 2 things, although completely not planned or enjoyable for any party involved, possibly pushed him towards a quicker proposal than he had planned.

[to be continued...]