Playing Catch Up

Enjoying some treats from the ghetto icecream truck.

Goodness Me! I really haven't posted anything important since February? Really? Just call me a slacker. In my defense a lot of times our life just seems really boring and dull. Same stuff different day. March, April, and May really didn't have much going on. The weather here in Louisiana always seems warm to me, even through January and February. I didn't even use a coat this winter. Long sleeve shirts were enough. And according to Joe's family who has lived here all their lives this was the worst winter they have ever seen. I have to laugh. But it sure beats chattering your teethe everytime you go outside. Or scraping ice off your windows in the morning. I'll take the worst winter here over a mild Utah winter anyday! It started warming up in March and it has just gotten Hotter! The humidity here makes it feel much Hotter than it actually is. Right now at 10:30 PM it is 84 degrees but it feels like the upper 90's.

In April we bought a pass for the Autobahn zoo that gets us in free for the year and to the aquarium too! We have used it twice so far and have had a blast everytime!

June was fun and I had a good friend from Vernal come visit me for a week. We had a lot of fun. In fact he loved it here so much he is working toward moving here himself. Joe's cousin Jenn got married on the eleventh of June and Ty and Irelyn were the ring bearer and flower girl. They did an awesome job. When Irelyn got to the end of the isle she said really loud " I did it, I did it" Ty was a little grumpy at first because his shoes hurt his feet, so we took them off and then he was embarassed because he didn't have shoes. But his socks were black and no one could tell. He walked down the isle with a mean look on his face and just stared at his feet the whole time. When he realized it wasn't that bad he did really well walking back up after it was over, even though his pants kept falling down and he had to pee during the very long ceremony. Thank goodness they got to come sit with us instead of haveing to stand there the whole time. After the ceremony they were the life of the party! They both danced the night away like fools. Ty only left the dance floor when we made him sit and drink and eat something. Everyone kept coming up to us and telling us how beautiful they were and how good they did! And the ever popular question "are they twins?" How many times will I answer that one in my life?

Sooo onward to the Pictures!

climbing one of the oaks at the zoo


getting eaten by a dinosaur!


Lots of swimming this summer.

I love this pic. He was so upset about his shoes.

Do you think he will act this way on his own wedding day?

Danceing the night away

Taking a break.

Finially Done

Well I have been working on this project since around November I think? I am so slow when it comes to stuff. Not that I don't try. It's so hard with 3 little ones running around. Joey's mom gave us this dresser for Irelyn when she was 8 months old.

It was old and a little yellow but it matched her nightstand and the cottage theme I was going for. Plus it was free. I always planned to give it a fresh coat of white paint but alas it did not happen. Well when we moved from Utah to Louisiana, Irelyn received a brand new bigger dresser and her room was just too cramped with both of them in there. But I hated to get rid of a decent dresser. So what did I do? I'll tell you.

I put that girly dresser in the boys room. I changed it of course. They already had one but they needed another, seeing as there are two of them. But the dresser took up so much space that they had no room for the shelves I wanted to put in there. So I came up with the idea of mounting shelves on the dresser and turning it into a hutch. I am so lucky to have such a handy husband he made the whole top part for me.

Then we slapped a couple thousand coats of colonial Red paint on it. and sprayed the hardware black. I want to get different hardware eventually to make it less girly but it works for now. I can keep certain toys up high away from the baby's reach, and Ty likes to put his special stuff up there too. I Love it! Hope you do too.

And now looking at this picture I see that the middle drawer pull is upside down. LoL. How did that happen. And I just went to look at the actual dresser and it is still that way. Must have still been a bit loopy from the paint fumes when I put those on. HaHa. Also having this shelf has made a huge difference in the clutter on the floor, that is presant in the photo. Don't judge me by my son's bedroom floor ;)

Happy Birthday Irelyn!

I feel kinda repetitive.....

I guess that's what happens when your kids are so close together. I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant with Irelyn, Ty was only 3 months old. I had just become a Mom! I didn't know if I was ready to do it all again (like I had a choice). I felt bad for Ty, He wasn't going to get to be the Baby for long. But after all the fear and troubled thoughts ( that lasted for like an hour) I got excited. My kids would be super close in age, which I thought would mean that they would be the best of friends (I was right).

It wasn't easy. I had had preterm labor with Ty starting at 7 months. Since my body didn't have time to properly heal. It started at around 4 months with Irelyn. I was scared I wouldn't get to meet my baby. But thanks to the wonderful care from Dr. B and all the wonderful nurses who knew me by name at the hospital we did OK. Irelyn came 5 weeks early. They induced me because I was already dilated to a 5, and I did not want to have my baby in wal-mart or some other public place. She was perfect. Tiny. But she had no health problems. Well besides being impatient and almost falling to the floor because the Doctor was still suiting up, thank goodness her Daddy was there to catch her head! (that's a memory Joe will never forget). I guess that wasn't a health problem but it sure was scary at first and then funny afterward.

My beautiful 6lb 1 oz baby girl is now a 30 lb sassy, funny,beautiful little girl. She loves to dance and boy she is so good at it. She Loves her brothers. She is a complete Daddy's girl. She is a night owl (just like me). And she is mine.......and Daddy's too.

Love you Irie!

Happy Birthday Ty

Four years ago today I recieved the best blessing. I became a Mommy. Since then I have been able to watch Ty grow and learn. He is so smart, sometimes the things that he says take me by such surprise, the other day his Paw Paw asked him a question and his reply was "I'll have to think about that." . He is so funny, and has the best sense of humor. He Loves his siblings, every night before bed he has to give both Hayes and Irelyn a kiss and a hug. He always watches out for them. When ever they get hurt he is there to hug them and pat them on the back and make sure they are ok.

There is so much that I love about Ty.

The way he talks with his hands, like he is so grown up.

How he cares so much about peoples feelings.

How much he loves his grandma Pam and his aunt Kay Kay.

That he begs me to paint his toenails.

That sometimes (not very often) we wake up and he is in between Joe and I.

I love his amazement when he hears Hayes say words or when he takes steps.

How he draws jelly fish.

But most of all I love his big cheesy smile. Whenever we try to take a picture he smiles so big that his eyes aren't even visible.

I cannot believe 4 years has gone by so fast. It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the Hospital. And he was so tiny. So helpless. And now he feeds himself, he uses the potty, he can dress himself. I have watched him grow into a little boy, he is in no way a baby anymore. It makes me so sad. But I am so proud that he is who he is. That he is such a smart and caring person.

I Love You Ty Morgan Greco. You are the light of my Life.

Miracles Happen

Even though ours was bittersweet. Ashley fought for 8 days, but her injuries were just too great to overcome. She slipped away and is now with our Lord and Savior. But although she left this world, she left a legacy that will live on. Ashley was an organ donor and through her 5 people were saved. A 13 month old baby girl, a 5 year old little boy in Canada, another baby girl in san francisco plus 2 more people that I haven't found out there ages yet. Normally the brave parents do not get to contact these people for a year. But in the instance of Ashley's family the Lord intervened, and we all got to meet the wonderful, beautiful parents of the 13 month old baby girl, London (aka LuLu). The whole time Ashley was at Primary Children's Hospital fighting for her life, just one floor above, little LuLu was too. What a miracle that Ashley was an exact match for her, and in the same hospital too. The Lord is truly Awesome. LuLu's parents attended Ashley's funeral, they grieved for her loss right along side Ashley's parents. They showed her unconditional Love, and I hope they understand that our Love is unconditional for them and little LuLu as well. They are part of our family now and forever will be. My deepest appreciation goes out to every single person who prayed for Ashley and her family. Please continue to pray for her family and please include the woman who hit her. Please Include little LuLu, and everyone else who received the gift that Ashley gave them. If you want to read more about Little LuLu go to http://www.liverforlulu.blogspot.com/ , your heart will just melt and you will fall in Love with this little girl.

Prayers Please

Yesterday I received bad news. My cousin's twelve year old daughter, Ashley was struck by a car while crossing the street to catch the bus. As of now she is is critical condition. They have a drain in her head to help alleviate the pressure in her brain and her lungs are severely bruised. They have kept her in a comatose state. We don't know what is going to happen and the doctors say it will take a few more days of watching and waiting til they can know what to do. Anyone who reads this blog whether you are a follower or just happen to come across it please take a few moments to pray for her and my entire family. Since October we have been dealing with the loss of My aunt Debbie (Ashley's Grandmother) and our grandmothers husband had a quadruple bypass. I just wonder how much more our family can take. Please pray for our strength to get through anything that comes our way. Please make a special prayer for Ashley to to recover fully. Pray that her Parents will remain strong and hopeful. And also please pray for the women who was driving the car. It was not her fault it was just a freak accident, I am sure she could use some prayers too.
I have been thinking a lot since yesterday at how quickly things can turn for the worse. And every time I had to raise my voice to my kids or scold them for something, a tiny voice inside my head said to me "can't you just let this one go? who knows how much time you have left?" I quietly bowed my head and said yet another prayer for Ashley, but also I thanked God for my children and for how much he has blessed me with them and asked him to watch over them and keep them safe. Yesterdays news was a reminder that even though they are young, they can be taken from us at any moment. I will now try and fully enjoy my children, temper tantrums and all.

Christmas Thoughts

This Christmas is going to be tough. It will be my very first without my family. I will miss the big family gatherings, the homemade chili on Christmas eve, The big family gift exchange that is always good for a laugh. I will miss watching my family open presents, and GULP, I will even miss the SNOW! (BUT ONLY ON CHRISTMAS)
It snowed here the other night (in Louisiana? yep) But of course it did not stick. Joe and I just sat on the front porch and watched it fall. I giggled a little :) I always took for granted having snow for the Holidays. I never thought how cheerful a fresh blanket of snow could be.
I never took my family for granted (and i hope that they know that). At times I miss them so much that my heart physically aches. I miss my Mom, her home cooked meals, her Christmas platters of goodies she always gave away, especially her Jalapeno cheese logs YUM! I miss my dad, he is always so caring and loving and can always bring a smile to your face. I miss my sister who is my Hero in every way. My Nieces and Nephew and the excitement they exude during the Holidays, they always make me laugh. I even miss the quiet nature of my brother in law. I will miss everything I have come to know over the last 25 years.
But gladly this Christmas won't be all about missing things and sadness. It would be far worse if we had moved somewhere where we knew no one. I am so thankful that Joe's family is here and that they are so welcoming and loving. I am excited to see what traditions they have and how much fun we will have.
I am also excited to begin some new traditions ourselves. Maybe making homemade cookies for Santa, or making some Christmas crafts as a family, or I might deviate from the opening all the presents on Christmas Eve (besides the ones Santa brings that night) and just wait til morning. But I have a feeling I won't have the patience for that one :) I am interested to know what fun Christmas traditions all you out there in Blog Land and your families share?
On an end note. I am so blessed to have my Husband and 3 little ones with me. To be surrounded by Love. And to know that I have already received the best gift of all.
Much Love to you all. Or should I say Y'all ( hey I'm southern now. lol.) And
MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Thanksgiving ( a little late, sorry)

Thanksgiving was fun. Not the same but fun. All of Joey's family here in Louisiana went to their other sides of family for the holiday so we just had a quiet holiday with ourselves. It was just Joe, the Kids, Myself, and Joey's Dad Vincent. I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner all by myself, I was a little scared. But it turned out great. I cooked a turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, candied yams, and cornbread dressing. We also had store bought rolls, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie.

I had never cooked a turkey before, but a after some google-ing I had a pretty good idea of what to do (thank you google). It turned out great. And the cornbread dressing was just like my moms, so it made me feel good. But I did miss what I am use to. I have a huge family on my mom's side and usually after we eat everyone talks and laughs and jokes. But since it was just us it was so quiet it didn't feel natural. I am thankful that I have a big family. I miss them so much.

But being out here, so far away, is going to give us the opportunity to start new family traditions, and to become part of different ones with Joe's family. I am thankful that we do have family here. It would be so much harder if we didn't.

Simple Joys

Need I say more?

Admiration and some help

Ok, so I happen to follow two amazing photography blogs. Simmons Moments and Tiffany Morton Photography. And Everyday that they have a new post is like christmas to me. Kristi at Moments does the most beautiful family portraits I have ever seen. She is so creative and I Love Love Love the way she positions her subjects. And Tiffany, Oh Tiffany The way she photographs babies makes me want to have another just to get pictures taken by her. So all this Photography looking, and staring and obsessing over wants me to learn how to take better photos not for a professional reason just so I can take great photos of my little ones that I will cherish and look at and be proud of. So any suggestions? What cameras are best to learn with? Is photoshop elements enough to start out with? How do use natural light to my advantage? Help me I am dying to learn!! And I need a new creative outlet, Painting and drawing is hard for me to do right now because of the little ones, I can't leave anything out or it will just get ruined. I thought photography would be nice to just turn on the computer and do my thing. So please anyone with any advice I would love to hear it.

Happy Birthday Hayes

My sweet little baby turned one on Sunday. I can't believe a year has gone by so fast. I feel so blessed to have Hayes in my life. When I was pregnant with him, I was so worried that I wouldn't Love him, and that is hard for me to admit. The only reason why is because he came as a big surprise, at a time in my life when things were not doing well. Joe was having trouble sorting out his life, and the kids and I were left on the back burner. I spent the most of my pregnancy alone, without Joe. I left him when I was three months pregnant and feared how things would turn out. Joe came around, and did all that I asked to let him come back into our lives. And on November 8, 2008 Hayes was born, and all the worry and fear that I had been feeling washed away. When I heard him cry my heart swelled and I knew I would always Love him unconditionally. The past year he has brought so many smiles, laughs, and moments of Love. I am so blessed to have my family, and I thank the Lord that he gave us Hayes and that he gave Joe and I a second chance. I look forward to watching all my children grow, learn, and explore. So Happy Birthday baby Hayes, I will love you forever, look out for you for always, always and ever my baby you'll be.

November 8, 2009

November 8,2008

I love you Hayes Joseph Greco.

Love,

Mommy

Halloween 2009

So I am a little sad that the holiday is over. But the kids sure had fun. I had to work that night but fortunately it wasn't until 8 so I had time to spend with my kids. Ty wanted to be scary so he was a skeleton. Irie was a fairy princess but when I took pictures of them I forgot to put her wings on. I was so frazzled. I needed to get pics done, she was headed for a melt down and I knew she was going to have to nap before we went trick or treating. So in the pics just pretend she has wings. They both were a little ornery when it was time to go, but after we hit that first house and they realized what it was all about, they were all about the CANDY! And they said thank you without being told :)

It was also way nice to have a WARM Halloween. The kids got to go out just like this. No huge coats covering up there costumes. It was so fun. But we've already had to hide the candy.

Irie with her "happy face" pumpkin.

Ty with his "scary zombie face" pumpkin. I forgot, I have to right this down. At about the 3rd house we went to, This cute little old lady oohed and awed over the kids, and she was so sweet, as we were walking down the drive way Ty yells back over his shoulder "Happy Halloween, thanks for the candy, see you next week!" All of us were laughing. He says the funniest things lately. And some really bizzare things too.

How cute our these!!!!!!!!

I found these cute little clothespin dolls on my favorite site Etsy. If you have never been to Etsy I totally suggest you visit. You can find just about anything that you are looking for and everything is handmade. These cute little dolls are from Lollipopworkshop and they are uber cute. I spent hours looking at her dolls. A lot of them are for cake toppers which I think is so awesome, how cute would it be to have one on your little girls birthday cake and then have it as a keepsake. I so totally want one for Irelyns birthday.

Look at her cute little balloon!!!!!

I love this ones cute little buns.

I believe she even hand sculpts all the little props for her dolls.

So cute my teeth hurt.

Loooooooooooooooooooove!

Their little earmuffs are so stinkin cute.

Little gingerbread men oh my gosh!!

I want one so bad!

This one is the best. Do you see the little mice? I love her attention to detail. So if you think these are as cute as I do stop on by to Etsy and check out Lollipop workshop.

Beach Babies

We went to the beach the last two Saturdays and we all really enjoyed it. I had only seen the ocean twice in my life and that was on the west coast and the water was really cold there. But here the water is warm. Irelyn was so fearless the first time we went but the second time she was more timid. Ty is my little water baby. He just walks out into the water like its no big deal, he just loves to sit in it all the way past his shoulders.

Hayes just sat on the beach with Paw Paw and watched everyone. He really loved the breeze blowing his hair.

We caught some Hermit Crabs and decided to take these four home. We kept them in a plastic storage tub in the kitchen for a week. But I didn't want them to die so we brought them back.

Poor Hayes was so tired when we got back. He didn't even make it through dinner. Poor guy.

Ok i tried and tried to make this picture turn the right way but it refused. Irelyn tried to catch things in the water. but all she got was sand.

The second trip Hayes just layed around and watched everything through the openings of his little pen.

Ty was Daddy's shadow on the second trip. Here my men are being Manley and hunting blue crabs.

It was time to say good-bye to our four little friends and release them back into the wild where they belong. Ty grabbed the first one and hucked it into the ocean with all his might while yelling "good-bye crabs!!!!!!!!!!!!" so we explained about being gentle and released the other three in a not so cruel of manner.

And they scurried off. every now and then while we were there we would come across one of them still trudgeing along in the water hundreds of feet away from the freedom zone.

then we filled up the tub with more animals. up above you will see two blue crabs. By the time we got home we had caught three red jelly fish (they don't sting), two clear shrimp, and ten blue crabs. We let the jelly fish and shrimp go. It was really fun and I hope we can go at least one more time before it gets to cold. I am so glad that so much interesting and fun stuff is so near.

Perfect ending to a perfect day.