remaining Easter pics

Rasco Easter

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a blessed Easter. I know we did. First of all, I worked on Friday night. I came home and took a nap. I woke up at lunch to find that Chris had made homemade biscuits. They were great! His wonderful parents came down to visit since we couldn't go up to Cullman. Terry spent the day playing with Madelyn as always. Debbie and I went shopping for last minute easter clothes. We also went to Kids market and mom for their last day, which was 50% off black marked items. I bought over 20 full outfits for Madelyn for less than $73.00!!! I couldn't believe I could still find that many items on the last day. The clothes are usually so picked oer by that time, I don't normally bother with going. Saturday night, the girls and I dyed easter eggs. I got up from the table to get more water, and Madelyn quickly took all the eggs, threw them on the ground, and Buelah ate them, shells and all!!! I was so frustrated at first, but then I realized that it was just eggs and we can dye more. So, we did. Except this time the dog was in the garage and Madelyn was strapped into her chair. Sunday morning we all got up early and went to the 9am church service. It reminded me of how important it is to have my family in church. It is something I struggle with since I work on weekend nights. Anyway, after church, we drove to my Nani and Paw Paw's house in Adger. It is the house I lived in until I was seven. We had a wonderful lunch and took lots of pictures. Afterwards, I came home, took a nap, and then left for work. It was a busy day, but worth it. Below are some of my favorite pics I took of the family.

more pics

She's always eating!!

What has been going on at the Rasco house?

First of all, Makenzie finally was able to cut her hair now that the wedding is over. It is ever so cute!!!! She went on her 4th grade field trip to Montgomery. Of course I went with her. It was exhausting, but fun. It brought back alot of memories from my own field trip to the state capitol. Wow! Time flies by soooo fast! Next week is spring break. Yessss, I don't have to wake up at 6:15 to wake up Kenz. We might all actually get to sleep until 8am, unless Maddie is in one of morning moods. If so, it will Barney until I pull my hair out! We don't have any special plans fr te break. Makenzie is going to catch up on a couple missed days at Sylvans. I plan on cleaning out both girls' rooms. Makenzie has so much stuff, it is just pushed up against the walls. She hasn't even opened all her toys from Christmas. It is time for a MAJOR clean out! Madelyn is growing bigger everyday. She talks nonstop. And if I had to bet on her future carreer, it would be a singer. She can sing along with you on any lullaby. Plus, she knows "I love you" all by herself, and it is in perfect pitch! It is the sweetest thing to hear. I am having problems though, with the passy! We were down to only having one at nap time and bed time. Well, she got sick awhile back, and now needs two at all times. At night she has one in her mouth, and the other one- she rubbs along her face! When I can't find them, she has a melt down! I know it is time to get rid of it, but I don't know if my husband is willing to help me fight this battle. He gives in to her every need! He jokingly said" you and Maddie need to go on a sabattical when you plan on getting rid of the pow pow." I really want to take the passy away because I also want to start potty training. I can't have a potty trained toddler that still walks around with a passy! Too funny! Of course, potty training this kid is going to be a feat all on its own. Makenzie was easy. All I had to do was sit her in front of the tv, and give her reese cups. Madelyn acts like I'm flushing her down the toilet if I make her stay on it any longer than a minute. I tried running water. She then thought it was time for a bath. I have poured warm water on her belly. She thinks that is standard now- everytime we have to play the water game, but never pees! Plus, there is something inside of me that feels like I need her to stay a baby for just a little bit longer. I don't want her to grow up! She just got here. Chris and I do want another baby, but we can't until we sell our house. That probably won't happen for a while!
Anyway, here are some pics to catch you up on the girls.

Crystal

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the nice comments- I really appreciate it. Madelyn is feelig much better now. She still has a nasty cough, but the antibiotics are starting to work. I'm trying to get my voice back, and yesterday was really rough. But I woke up today feelig less stopped up, which makes me 100% better! Jenn's wedding is this weekend, so the wedding festivities start tonight. I'm soo excited to see her finally get married. Plus, Makenzie is a flowergirl and I love to see her all dressed up. I just wish my bridesmaid dress wasn't so tight on my bum! I'll post lots of pics next week. Thankfully, the Rasco's are coming to get Maddie today. I couldn't go through this weekend with an active toddler even with the help of my husband! Till next time....

XOXO,
Crystal

Ranting!

I like to read every one's posts, and I'm trying to blog more. It is hard though-do you guys really care? I mean my last post was a month ago. I guess that means I'm doing better, right? It's not like I don't have time. Actually, I have too much time, and I generally waste it on the couch! I guess that is part of my problem. I sometimes feel like I'm not an active participant in "life". I work on the weekends at night. Generally it takes until Wednesday to get back into a normal sleep schedule. But I can't seem to ever get motivated to do anything. It's like my crappy sleep schedule is now affecting me all the time. You would think that only two night shifts wouldn't be that bad, and it isn't really unless you let it, like I have. To make matters worse, I had the flu last week, Chris caught it, and Madelyn has been battling something as well, and still is. Now I think I have what she has! Every week I tell myself "Gonna have the house cleaned by Tuesday afternoon and spend the rest of the week being productive with Maddie, and also eat lunch with Mak. P.S. GO TO THE GYM!!! Quit wasting your money if you're not gonna go!" It is the same speech every week, and I almost follow through, until Maddie refuses to nap unless I'm napping with her. If I nap before lunch, then my day is pretty much wasted. Then I shove everything to Friday- the day before I go to work. I know you people probably think I'm crazy. I mean, is housework really that important? It is to me, and I get ill when it is not done, but I also don't want to do it either. You know, it's weird, I don't go out much during the day if my weekly housework is not done. I feel like I should be at home cleaning, and that it is just piling up while I'm not there.
Really??? This post is crazy. If this is the worst I have to worry about, I have a pretty good life, right? What I need to do is quit whining, get off my lazy butt, get out of the house with Maddie during the day, get my house cleaned and keep it that way! I need to step up and be a better mom without complaint! I just wish all this came naturally to me like it does for others! Does anyone ever get in a rutt like me? If so, I would love to hear it. Right now, I think I'm a crazy woman! HA! My husband probably thinks so too! "Love you honey"!
Anyway, now that I have finished ranting and gotten everything off my chest, I'm going to go be a "big girl" now! I promise to post something soon that is a bit more positive! Till then- Crystal

weekend

This was my first weekend at work on my new strict diet. HA! I should have known it wouldn't be easy. Friday I slept most of the day, so all I had to eat was a bowl of cereal and a banana parfait. Eating healthy at work was the easy part. I packed a lunch of tuna salad, pita bread, soup, and an orange. When I got home Saturday morning, I went straight to bed. When I woke up Chris had brought home McDonalds. Ugggggh! After I ate that I binge ate sweets. It has to be my work schedule that keeps messing me up, because I do good during the week. I am just so tired after working all night, all I want to do is find the easiest thing to eat and go back to bed. I hope I can be stronger next weekend or I won't be in that dress in six weeks!

day 2

I didn't do so well today with my eating. I was doing great until my husband begged me to not cook so that we could order pizza!
Breakfast- bowl of special k
Lunch- tuna with 1/2 slice of pita bread, almonds, one slice of cheese
snack- handful of mnm's
dinner- dominos pizza
I drank around 40 oz water and 1/2 cup coffee.
Gym time: I did 35 minutes of cardio and an hour long bodypump class. It was a killer! The instructor's name was Crystal, and she was very motivational.
I have to work Friday and Sunday night, so I'm not sure how the weekend will go. also, Kenzie has a competition on Sunday. We'll see!

Crystal

starting a food diary

Okay- I am in a wedding at the end of Febuary and my dress it too tight! When I bought it, I was ten pounds lighter. Since the holidays, I have gained it all back. SUCKS!! For the next six weeks, I am going to post my daily food intake and if I exercised or not. If anyone wants to give me any advise, that would be great! So here it goes....
Wednesday Jan.6th:
Breakfast- bowl of cheerios
Lunch- sandwich with one slice of bread and a tangerine, 8oz tea
snack- 90 cal granola bar and 1/2 of a poptart
dinner- chicken with corn and broccoli, diet green tea
snack- bowl of special k
AND..... 40oz water
I did a whole hour of cardio at the gym: 1/2 on the treadmill and 1/2 on the arc.
Things I need to improve on: drink more water(yuck) and eat more in the morning and less at night. It is so hard though. I don't know why, but I am much hungrier at night. Am I the only one?
I thought about doing a low carb diet, but when I read the cereal labels, well, that was out of the question. Everyone that knows me knows that mini wheats are a staple item in my home.
I would love it if someone would join me. We could complain to each other, encourage, and swap food ideas. It could be fun!

Crystal

hello blogging world!!

I promise I'm still here. The Rasco's have been sooooo busy this year! Well, here's to a more peaceful 2010. My resolution is to use my gym membership more than once a week, be more productive at home, and blog more! We will see if I can keep all three. All in all, it has been a really good year. I got to see Maddie grow by leaps and bounds physically and mentally. At 23 months, her vocabulary exploded! She can finally effectively communicate with words. It's amazing how much they learn! Makenzie is on her last year of single digit numbers. I can't belive she will be ten in 2010! She is really turning into a little lady! Chris and I are great! He has been working from home for over a year now and we still haven't killed each other! HA! We actually have a great system. The best part is that he gets to be an active part of the girls' everyday routine. I love teamwork!! We had a wonderful holiday. We spent Christmas day in our PJ's making pancakes, riding scooters, eating chocolate, and napping. It was great! I am looking foward to Madelyn's 2nd birthday in two weeks. It is a Barney themed party, since she loooveesss Barney. She calls him "I you". So sweet. Also,my bff Jenn, is getting married on 2/27. We have a fun filled bachelorette weekend planned in Nashville coming up at the end of January. Eight girls, one hotel suite- It should be interesting! Okay, that's all for now. I'll post more soon.

Crystal