"Big Gimpin"

I have decided that three is the perfect age! If I could keep my litte guy three forever, I would!! But he's getting big so fast, and everyday is a new adventure for him and us. This week Tanner and Daddy, decided to tackle the trees in the front yard. Tanner needed a little help--but it made for some adorable photos!!


For those of you who have said a prayer for me this week, Thank you! It's been rough, but I really feel like I am doing better. I have some feeling back in my leg now and can actually lift my foot off the floor. That is a HUGE improvement over Tuesday and Wednesday. I had to drive today and that was extremely painful for the first ten minutes or so, and then that blessed numbness took over. My goal is to make a miraculous recovery over the four day weekend. I know Jeremy and Tanner are tired of TV Dinners, so they REALLY want me to be all better soon. I myself would like to sleep in my own bed again instead of the floor. On the bright side, Dorothy told me today that my skin is looking fantastic! (I will attribute this to all of the water I have to drink in order to counteract the dry mouth from the pain medication.) Perhaps everyone will be so busy looking at my gorgeous glowing skin that they won't notice my limp. At least I haven't lost my sense of humor!!! I'll keep you all posted on the healing process--Keep the prayers coming!!!

"Not Me"

Do you all remember the comic strip "The Family Circus"? If you know the cartoon I speak of then you will know what I am talking about when I mention "Not Me", the ghostly little trouble maker that always seemed to be getting into something. Well, he has begun visiting Casa de Bradshaw. I know this because yesterday he ate three containers of chocolate pudding (which he then smeared on Tanner's face), and today he spilled some soda in the floor and tried to frame Tanner by sitting the can right beside his cup AND putting a pair of Tanner's socks in the refrigerator. Apparently, he is feeling very mischevious right now and poor innocent Tanner is his victim!
Ok--maybe not, but we did have our very first (and then our second) lesson about fibbing yesterday and today. I don't think I am prepared for parenting. Is it too late to rethink this??? I honestly didn't know how to handle it. Tanner kept insisting that he did not spill the soda and that he also didn't know who did. The frustration was not in that there was a mess on the floor--that was easy enough to take care of, I just wanted Tanner to admit that he had made the mess. He wouldn't budge so Jeremy and I sent him to his room to think about it for a little while. Then we asked again if he knew how the soda had gotten on the floor. This time when he told me no, I explained what lying was and how it was NOT acceptable. Tanner STILL wasn't fessing up. Fast forward ten minutes to Jeremy and I sitting on Tanner's floor eating ice cream cones and planning our afternoon while Tanner watched on. Is that wrong??? Perhaps, but it worked. He finally burst out, "I spilled the soda, but it was an accident!" FINALLY, something I can work with. We told him that it was ok that he had made a mess, (although we preferred that if he wanted something he would first ask for help), but as soon as the mess was made he should have asked Mommy and Daddy to help him clean it up instead of running off and hiding. We then explained again that it was NEVER ok to tell someone a lie. He apologized and got to enjoy some ice cream after all. Parenting is SCARY!!! I hope that I handled it well enough that in the future he will think twice about lying. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly and we got to enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Soon I will be posting some pictures taken with my SUPER COOL BRAND NEW DIGITAL CAMERA. I tried to take some after we got home from Best Buy, but it was getting too dark and they didn't turn out very well. I'm not sure what I did to deserve such an expensive gift today--but I really should do it more often--maybe it was ironing the placemats. Hmmm, maybe next week I'll vacuum! Thank you, Jeremy. You spoil me and I don't deserve it.

I have made a decision!

In a matter of weeks, I will be quitting my job. I can't take it anymore!!! It's been a really hard decision to make but I have decided it will be better for me (and my family) if I am no longer there. Don't get me wrong, I love the people I work with and there are even days when I love what I do, but I cannot continue working in an environment that stresses me out as completely as this one does. Yesterday was the last straw. I have busted my butt all week long, I even put in extra hours, and I did it for a part of the company that won't even be here in a month. We are putting a stop to the Residential Construction side of things. So I have been working extra hard so that we can get things wrapped up as quickly as possible. Kim walked into my office at about four and said, "I need you to step up." My mind immediately went numb. If you don't know the story then you don't know that I have heard this AT LEAST twice a month since January. It is never accompanied by constructive criticism or anything specific that she feels I could be doing a better job with, it always just "step up". And I honestly don't know how to do that anymore. I have stepped up SO much that the only thing I'm currently NOT doing is strapping on a tool belt and getting out in the field to help build. And for some reason, I can't see that happening. So the only thing that I can do at this point is move on and hope that Kim can find that one magical person that she is looking for. Good luck to her!

Today is Tanner and Mommy day. I have waited all week long for it--and what a magnificent day it is going to be! Today, I plan to cuddle my little boy, and play silly games, I plan to take some time to paint a picture and put together a puzzle. Today, I will play outside in the sunshine and when I am exhausted I will lay in the grass and stare up at the clouds, and Tanner will be right there every second! The stress of the week is gone and right now all that matters is spending time with my angel and putting yet more special memories in each of our hearts.

The MOST Disturbing Thing EVER!!!!

You will all have to forgive me for doing this, but I have to share it with you. I EAGERLY sit down at my desk this morning ready to begin the my day. Why?? Because I love my job so much that I can't wait to get started. (Are any of you buying this???) And I am normally greeted with the sight of my sweet little boy beaming at his mommy. Tanner is on my desktop at work right now, since I am taking a hiatus away from Thorsten Kaye (aka--the most gorgeous man ever!!!). I love to be able to be having a rough moment and look up to see my baby smiling at me. At least then, I can remember that it is all worth it. Today, I see this instead...

Meet John Birmingham. The Property Manager (and coincidentally my landlord) for the Miller Companies. He has been threatening to do this for some time--and with the help of Dorothy and Chyna in the office--it looks like he has finally succeeded. Lucky me! This all started one day when he walked past my office and noticed the picture of the hunky man on my desktop. I can't remember now if it was The Rock or Thorsten...doesn't really matter. We had a conversation about my affinity for a good looking torso...not the strangest conversation we've ever had, mind you. This was months ago--and every so often he'll just stop in my door and look at my computer screen and say "one day...". So now I must have some revenge. And I am NOT good at revenge at all. Except for that one time...but that's in the past and none of you need to know about it. I must maintain my halo. So if you have any ideas--feel free to leave one. As for the rest of the day, the picture will stay where it is and tomorrow I will go back to Tanner. And somewhere in between there will be a LONG scalding shower for cleansing!!!!

God Gives us the weekends...

...so we can make it through the most unbearable of weeks--this is what I have decided. Here it is, Monday morning, and I am already daydreaming of Friday afternoon. Technically, I should be working--but I am tired and I can't concentrate. Do you suppose my boss would mind if I just sat in my office all day and did nothing?? Probably...too many of my fellow co-workers already do that.

Let me draw you of picture of what I mean by that. Last Friday, the guys in the office behind me told me that it was "grout testing day." Ok, whatever, I work in a construction office, so I really don't see that as being a stretch. Four o' clock rolled around and, sure enough, the boys roll in with two grout buckets. Silly Juli asks innocently, "Can I help test grout??" Not that I had any intention of doing so, but it seemed to me like they were WAY to excited about grout testing, and I was really just wanting to give them a hard time about it. Todd, whom I adore, grinned his big, red-neck grin and said that if I wanted to test grout, then I was more than welcome to join the group. As he is saying this he is pulling off the lid to one of the two grout buckets to reveal...BEER!!! That's right folks, you heard it here first. What do you say to that???? I laughed and left them to their "grout testing". But it occurred to me that each of these individuals makes WAY more money than I do...SIGH!!! Since then it has also been revealed that they do this frequently--sometimes in the office, sometimes on the roof of the Wilhoit Building (which I think is a little too "Shawshank" for me). But hey, the building is on schedule and under budget so what can you do?? So my philosophy is that if they can take breaks to drink beer, then surely I can take breaks to daydream and blog!

I really wanted to share with you all why I am so tired today. You all know that Tanner has been having night terrors pretty frequently for the last three months or so. Well last week, he decided that this was not terrifying enough for his Mom. He is now sleepwalking. It's happened twice now. The first time being Thursday night at around 11:30 p.m. He walked into the dining room and just stood there. Jeremy was in the kitchen, and he asked Tanner if he was ok. Tanner just stood there and blinked several times and then it was as if he finally came around. He noticed Jeremy standing in the kitchen and said, "Daddy, what am I doing?" Jeremy tucked him back into bed and he slept soundly the rest of the night. Then yesterday, after playing pretty hard all day and having no nap, he had a pretty decent night terror around 10:30. I blame myself, because I meant to go wake him up and I got busy. After about 15 minutes, he finally woke up and we got him some water, and I sang him back to sleep. Then sometime around 2:30 this morning, I heard him start crying. So I got out of bed to go check and he was up standing next to the table in his room just sobbing. You're not supposed to wake them up, but I really didn't know what to do..so I just hugged him. When he woke up he asked me if he could go back to bed. I tucked him back in and returned to my own bed...but I didn't sleep very well the rest of the night. We're concerned enough that we have decided to try to find some alarms for all of the doors in case he should wonder around and try to open one of them. It's very scary...and I just feel so helpless. Hopefully, it is something he will grow out of quickly.

Well, I have delayed the inevitable long enough I guess, back to work for me. On the bright side, there are only four more days until Friday!!!

Happy Father's Day...

... to all of the wonderful men that I know who carry that title! Today is your special day. Happy Father's Day to you especially, Jeremy. Tanner is blessed to have such a wonderful daddy, you do a great job--and if I haven't told you lately how much I appreciate you, then know that I do!!!

I don't know how you all celebrated, but as I said in yesterday's blog we had a barbecue. It wasn't actually what we had hoped it would be. Jeremy's dad didn't come because he wasn't feeling well. So we entertained Jeremy's grandma Jewell and his Aunt Maggie. It was a fun time of just being together and exchanging what Jeremy likes to call "liver spot stories." As the three of us do not have any liver spots, you can guess who was doing all the talking.
Tanner did a lot of playing in the yard. Apparently, he, like myself isn't really into the liver spot stories. We invented a fun new game called "throw the ball on the roof and then run around the yard to find it after it lands in some mysterious location". Calorie Burning indeed!!!
That was our day here...nothing too out of the ordinary, kind of relaxing and very casual. The burgers were yummy, the conversation was...um...stimulating???, and the activities were lively.


To my own wonderful Dad: Sorry I couldn't be with you today. I know you wouldn't have told me any liver spot stories!!! I want you to know that I love you so very much. We have been through it all, haven't we?? I sat on your knee, and played silly games with you. I fought with you and screamed terrible things in the heat of an argument. I watched you grip the door handle tightly, the first time you let me drive. I learned that you knew way more than I gave you credit for. I watched your eyes well with tears at the thought of walking your little girl down the aisle. I saw your face beam with pride when you held Tanner for the first time. You have been there for every important moment in my life! You have loved me when I was at my most unloveable, and have been my hero since the very first day we met! What more could a girl ask for from her Daddy?
I am so proud of you Dad! You have worked harder than anyone else I have ever met, and you did it all for your family. If they handed out prizes for commitment, I am sure yours would be the biggest of all. I hope that today, you took the time to just relax and enjoy yourself. Go get a bowl of ice cream and pop in "Napoleon Dynamite". You Deserve it!!! I love you LOTS!

Art du jour...

Tanner is my treasure!!! I have been miserable for the last three days and he has been the most wonderful companion. Last night, I was chilling and he came and laid down on the couch with me. "Are you cold, Mommy??" I croaked out that I was. "I'll help keep you warm", he smiled. And he curled right up with me under the blanket until it was time for him to go to bed. I even let him stay up a LITTLE bit later than usual so I could just snuggle with him. Today, he has been his usual energetic self, oh so entertaining for Mom.

He colored a lovely picture for me from his Color Wonder paintbook and told me that he wanted me to hang it on the fridge. YES, I reminded him that he also needed to color one for Nana and Papa.
It is a masterpiece and is now proudly on display in our kitchen!!! We are currently not charging admission to see it, so if you're going to visit...I would say you should do it now. That way you're sure to get the best deal--who knows what tickets will cost later.

Tomorrow for Father's Day, we are having a Barbecue here at the Bradshaw Estate. I will be checking in with lots of pictures and a very special tribute to my own wonderful Dad!!!

Mack-Truckitis

I am fairly certain that if a Doctor hasn't yet coined the phrase "mack-truckitis" that it will soon happen. This, if you can't guess, is that mysterious illness that you get and the only way you can describe how you are feeling is the ever popular "I feel like a mack truck has backed over me." This is how I felt this morning when I woke up, and sadly it is how I still feel. Normally when I feel this crummy, I call the one person who can make me feel better--Mom. I know, it's kind of sad. I'm 26 years old and I still want my mommy when I am sick. Today, I feel bad enough that I don't want to talk to anyone!

Jeremy is trying really hard to make me feel better. He let me sleep pretty much all afternoon and he took on the task of entertaining Tanner. I understand Tanner helped Daddy change the spark plugs in his truck. I am extremely sorry that I missed that. Right before Tanner was tucked into bed tonight, he wondered into our room where I was sprawled face down on the bed. I was floating somewhere between dreams and reality when I heard his sweet little voice say, "Good Night Mommy, I love you." And I felt a little kiss on my foot. I am positive that no matter how long scientists try, they will never create a better medicine than that.

So I have now climbed out of bed--looking stunning, I assure you. I am rocking the infamous "dead bird hair" look, and coincidentally feeling a little like a dead bird. But I have a hot cup of tea in my hand (provided by my husband), a cozy blanket on the couch to crawl under (also provided by my husband), and a good book to finish. I think I am well on my way to recovery!

Sunday, Muddy Sunday

What can be more fun than playing with your three year old on a Sunday afternoon??? Playing with your three year old in the water on a Sunday afternoon! That was how our day ended yesterday here at the Bradshaw home. What a fun day we had together.

We started at the park. This was a bittersweet moment for Tanner. He was happy to be going to the park--but, he was a little upset that it was NOT the park that Nana and Papa had taken him to in St. Louis. Thanks Mom and Dad for being facilitators in that temper tantrum. After he realized that he could still have fun at this particular park the merriment commenced! Even Jeremy couldn't resist the fun. Notice the HUGE smile (eye roll).



After the park, it was time to go home for a little nap. We wouldn't want TW to get overtired. Tanner did NOT nap--Mommy did. For THREE HOURS!!! So I missed a huge hunk of the afternoon, but the long nap was quite needed and it gave Jeremy and Tanner some good father/son time. I woke up to a massive water balloon fight in the front yard. Side Note: The water balloons were purchased on a secret trip while Mommy was napping. Tanner was soaked and looked a little muddy. Jeremy did not look worse for the wear. This makes me wonder if emotional scarring can occur if your Dad pelts you with water balloons??? But Tanner was laughing so hard and having such a good time that it was hard not laugh ourselves. From the water balloons, he moved onto the sprinkler, because he wasn't wet enough. After awhile, he emerged blue and shivering with an appetite that could only be satisfied with the weekly Sunday evening barbecue. Later I will post some pics of Tanner "grilling". All in all it was a splendid day.

I cannot get over what a wonderful age three is. It is so much fun to interact with Tanner and know that what we are doing is building who he will be twenty years from now. It is nothing short of amazing to witness the fantastic little boy he already is!

I love being a Mommy!!!

Ah the Weekends...

Saturdays and Sundays are Fantastic aren't they?? They are almost sacred here--the weekend is really the only time we have to see each other. When Tanner and I leave in the mornings, Jeremy is still in bed and by the time he gets home of an evening Tanner is asleep and I am on my way to bed. So when the weekend rolls around we make every effort to spend as much time together as possible. It's true that Jeremy works on Saturdays. So Saturday is really a mom and Tanner day. We wake up together, because at some point in the morning he has crawled into bed with us, and the whole day is ours. I try never to take this day for granted. Yesterday was special because Uncle Hondo was here.
Aunt Jessica couldn't make it--but she'll be home really soon. We love you Aunt Jess--and we're awfully proud of your decision to serve our Country. Tanner can't wait to see you!!!

Yesterday, Uncle Hondo tried to teach Tanner how to play Horseshoes (Jeremy and I were "talked" into buying him a set one day when we were out shopping--hmmm, that happens a LOT). Hondo made a valiant effort and even ringed one--way to go Bro!!! But Tanner's attention span wasn't really where it needed to be to learn a new game. So we spent more time resetting the stakes after he had pulled them out of the ground. Horseshoes was a bust, so we quickly moved on to t-ball. Not to brag, (yeah right), but I think we've got the next big hitter!!!

As fun as yesterday was, today will be even more so. Jeremy, Tanner and I will have the whole day to just be a family and build memories that will last a life time. I can't wait to get started!!!

Welcome to "the Bradshow"

I would like to formally welcome everyone to "The Bradshow", a fun place to come and get the newest info on your favorite Bradshaw Bunch, Jeremy, Juli and Tanner (who is by far everyone's favorite Bradshaw).

A friend of mine recently started a blog and informed me that if I had a blog they would want to look at it every day. While I don't know that we are THAT exciting, I do know that many of you (Mom and Dad especially) will love getting to stay up to date on all the happenings in the Bradshaw home (ummm--the Bradshome???) Plus everyone else seems to have a blog right now, so why not us???

I hope that all of you will enjoy all of our posts as much as we will enjoy posting them! Lots of love to you all!!!!!