WE'VE MOVED!!

Hi All,

We've moved!!

I have followed one of my longtime dreams of opening a baby boutique! You may now visit our new blog at www.jackandcoledesigns.blogspot.com

Our website is www.jackandcoledesigns.com Please be patient with us as we have MANY more products to add and lots of adjustments to make to our site. We are very excited to see where God will take us! FYI-Jack and Cole are the middle names of my two beautiful boys! ;)

Anyhow, please visit our site and PLEASE check our blog daily; I want to get back into the bloggin' world! I miss all of you!

Love and blessings,
Rachel Marquez
www.jackandcoledesigns.com

Listen up Moms!!

A great product find! All you Mom's out there can appreciate this one! From http://www.inchbug.com/, you can get these personalized rubber labels to fit your childs sippy cup, regular cup or even bottle! You can put your child's first and/or last name so that there is no confusion about who's cup belongs to whom!

Check them out at http://www.inchbug.com/! They are reasonably priced too!

Listen up Moms!!

A loooong day.

Today was such a long day. For whatever reason, I felt major stress. It's so weird how I can be so tired during the day yet when night comes, I am up for hours not able to sleep. After my kids are in bed seems to be the only time I can even think in peace and quiet...I suppose that's why I stay up as late as possible. To linger in the quiet and enjoy it!

I wanted to post some recent pictures for you guys to see. After this, I am off to bed! Tomorrow is Shelby and Savannah's last day of school! Shelby is sad she's leaving Elementary. Jr. High can be a very scary thing... I wonder if she'll be embarrassed of me going to eat lunch with her in the 6th grade?! Goodnight!

Me and My Honey!

A must have!!!

My dearest friend Amanda has a jewelry business and makes the most gorgeous jewelry you will find!! She is the sweetest gal you'll ever meet! She is so talented!



You MUST check out her website below to view some of her gorgeous jewelry! She does home and office parties if you are interested...she can do custom designs! There is no limit to what she can make!



Please contact her if you have questions or would like to see more jewelry! I'll post a picture below to "entice" you to view more! ;)

http://www.somethingsassydesigns.com/

Humbled

Lord,

Tonight I lift to you in prayer the Smith family. God I can't even begin to explain to you the blessing they have been personally in my life. Audrey~six letters to her name...yet such a huge voice of life. I am thankful that because you created her, one day, people will see Your face.

I pray also Lord that you be with the parents and family of Luke. God I may not know all the names to list Lord but you do; You created all of them. I pray for peace.

I pray Lord that you bless richly the families listed above. Lord I want to thank you for allowing me the privilege of finding these wonderful, amazing families..

Lord, give me a big faith. God, I don't want it to be at the loss of a child Lord...does it sound selfish of me to pray that? As a mother, I can't bring myself to utter those words...even for a "big faith." Show me Your spirit Lord. I love you.. I want to draw closer to you.

In Jesus name,
Amen.

It's been a while huh?

Hey guys! I know it's been forever since I have posted...my apologies for that. I am guess that by now I have no readers.. can't say I blame ya. Who wants to come to this blog everyday if there is nothing to read!?

Anyhow, here's what's going on these days: Bryce is 2!! Can you beleive it? Tomorrow is his birthday party!! We are very excited! I can't wait for you to see the cake! A dear girlfriend of mine is making it...judging from her past work it's going to be nothing short of marvelous! I'll post pictures tomorrow! Britton is almost 9 months....9 months! I have no excuse for still having the extra baby weight... it seems like only yesterday I was telling myself, "He's only 2 months old, I'll lose the weight eventually."

Enjoy the recent pics!!

Prayer Request

Can I ask you all to pray for my family?

My cousin shot himself in the head early Saturday morning on the beach in La Porte. He was 24 years old. Nobody has a clue why he did this... All they know is that he drove to the beach, sent his dad a text message that said, " I love you dad, I'm sorry." and then shot himself. I found out about it on Sunday morning right before church started. Not exactly the Easter we had hoped for.

He has a 3 year old daughter who lived with him. I am having a hard time dealing with this because I was very close to him growing up but since I got married I didn't see him as often. He was a very sweet person.

My hope and prayer is that he knew the Lord..I feel much guilt that I didn't share the Lord with him when I had so many chances.. maybe somewhere, someone along the way shared Jesus with him.

My uncle had no life insurance on him so he is struggling trying to find a way to pay for the funeral and burial. My parents are trying to help him out with this..

Pray for the family please.. his daughter, his parents and his younger brother. His brother is 3 years younger and is in the Army. He flew home yesterday for the services.. he is married and he is due to have a baby boy on April 10th that he is naming after his brother.

Thanks-Rachel

Hi Rita!

I saw a dear friend today that I haven't seen in so long! She mentioned that she reads my blog so I wanted to get on here and say hi to her! Hi Rita! You look great! I love and miss ya!

~Rachel

Down in the dumps..

Do you ever have those days? I'm having one. I don't know exactly what is wrong but something is wrong...ever feel like that? I can't pin-point what it is that is bothering me and it's driving me nuts!

I prayed about it se we'll see if the Lord will open my heart a little more...

Hmm... not much else to say. Oh, I'm baking a cake right now and it smells yummy! It's for Victor to take to work so he and his coworkers can enjoy it!

Creepy Crawlers..

I hate spiders! They freak me out! We have a family of them living in our garage. They have their webs right above our entrance from our garage to our house. For several months now I've found myself running through the door and slamming it shut before one can drop on one of my children.

Today, I was tired of running. I took a broom and swiped them all down and scooped them into a plastic container. I got all but one of them.. now my fear is that spider is somewhere running free waiting for me to open the back door so it can run it and seek revenge on me! Yikes!!

Anyhow, I looked up this spider online because it has strange markings and I've never seen it before...turns out--it's a Brown Widow. Yes it's related to the Black Widow--only more dangerous. What great news. I was hoping it would just be a house or garden spider... but it wasn't.

I'm calling pest control. I don't know if they can rid my house/garage of spiders but I am going to make them try..

A Dream Come True!!

I know...and odd title huh? You might expect me to name it that if I got a Mercedes Benz or maybe a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes right? Not quite!

We got a minivan!! Oh yes!! I am so very excited! I nearly cried at the car dealership over a van! It's such a huge blessing you have no idea! My PT Cruiser (bless it's heart) left me stranded again on Sunday after church in the burning heat with my two kids and no air! No more! Those days are behind me! I owe it all to the Good Lord! He has blessed us!!

It has plenty of room! Power sliding doors--this was my favorite part about the van--I walk up to it with my two kids in my arms and push a little button on the key chain and the doors slide open!!

I can fit 8 people in it, my double stroller AND MY GROCERIES!!!

The van is beautiful! It's a charcoal gray! I have nicknamed my beauty, "Oddy" because it's a Honda Oddessy!! Vic now calls me, Hottie in the Oddy----how appropriate! ;)

Thank you Jesus for this much needed blessing!!

I'll post pics soon..

Trip to the ER

Well today we had another trip to the ER. What fun.. I shouldn't complain because at least my child is okay.

I was folding laundry today...there was a huge pile. Britton was in his jumpy and Bryce was roaming around the living room tearing through the piles I had already folded. I walked away for TWO SECONDS to put some towels in the bathroom when I hear a sound that sounds much like a pot or pan. Then I hear Britton SCREAM! I could tell by his scream that he was in pain. I turn the corner just in time to see Bryce running the other direction and there is a pan lying on the floor next to Britton. I run over to him, pick him up and notice three very large red marks on his head! Bryce beat him on the head with a pan!!!

I was so upset. I was more upset with myself than anything.. Last week a child lock broke on the handle to the cabinet and look what happens!!

I called the doc and she said to take him to the ER because he is so young and his soft spot is still in place. He threw up a few times but they said it was probably because he was so upset.

The didn't do a CAT Scan or anything--the looked him over and said he was fine. But, being a mother I'm still nervous about it. I'm watching him like a hawk. I'm about to go into his room and check on him before I go to bed.

I hope this is the last ER trip for a very long time!
Thank you Lord for allowing him to be okay.

Anybody out there?!

Does anyone read my blog?!?!?!

Birthday party drama

Bryce had his first kid birthday party on Saturday. Two little girls from church, ReAnna and Emma had a birthday party at a jumping place. It was a cute idea taking Bryce to his first birthday party! The party iteself was a hit. They had these huge blow up jumping things--there were so many kids there!

I could hardly get his shoes off because he was tearing away from me to join the fun. The only downside was that he's a bit too little to just let go and be on his way. It was bound to happen. Bryce got knocked in the face by another child and there you have it---his first bloody nose!

I wish I would have had a camera. Thank goodness Victor was there beause I was a little overwhelmed by it all.

Did Bryce care about the pain of his nose? Nope..not one bit. He wanted to get right back out there and after we cleaned him up we decided to let him join the festivities again. 10 minutes later--the bloody nose was back. His time was up. As angry as he was, other parents probably wouldn't appreciate my child dripping blood all over the play area. I know I wouldn't have..

Anyhow, after cake and presents it was time to call it quits. I was worn out and I didn't even do anything! It was a fun time--Bryce slept well that night because he was so worn out!

So many things going on

Hello All.

It's been a while since my last post...sorry. Many things are going on. Let's start with Bryce. He is growing so big!! He talks in sentences!! Yes you heard me...sentences! His first sentence was, "Momma, I boke (broke) it!" It was precious. He's advancing at an alarming rate and I am just not ready for him to be a big boy yet! He says, "moon", "mammal" (apple), "koo-el" (school), "gape" (grape), "cokra" (okra), "luh-u" (love you), "I saw-e" ( I sorry), "Yeah-pam" (yes mam) and so many other adorable things. It's so cute to hear try to have an entire conversation with me his language! I love it!

Then there's little Mr. Britton. He's a big boy too! He's 5 and 1/2 months now and he can smile, laugh, coo, roll over and even scoot! And this past week we started cereal! Big boy food.. it was a little rough at the beginning. But, he's getting the hang of it! He makes the biggest mess but it's okay.

But as of right now, Bryce is laying in his bed crying and I am waiting for the on-call doctor to call back...they take forever. He has something wrong with his eyes. I think it's an infection and I have no idea where he got it. A little girl in his Sunday school class had it a few weeks ago but I'm pretty sure she was clear of it before she came back to church. Anyhow, it's like mucus in his eyes. He can hardly open them. It wasn't that bad when he went to bed but he woke up crying and it's so bad he cannot open his eyes.. I feel so bad for him. I wanted to take him to the ER but dad says I should just wait until morning. My response is that he isn't sleeping because he is miserable so thus we won't sleep much because it's highly likely he'll keep us (me) up. And I don't want him to suffer all night long and be in pain. But as I type this, dad is already back sound asleep as only a father could do!! Thank goodness for mother's!!

I must go now and await the call of whichever doctor that calls us back. Maybe they can call him in a perscriptoin. Just pray that none of us, especially Brit gets this.

Once upon a time...

Here are some pictures of Victor and I, before kids, stress, debt and weight gain...we look good huh?

The first one is of us on our wedding day at our hotel ;)

Valentine card

Aren't these two cupids precious?!

Pictures..

The Lion....

Well it's the morning already--I've been sitting at the computer for two hours. In the background I can hear a combination of two things: first, my husband is lying in bed two feet away SNORING and second, my sweet baby Britton is on the baby monitor 2 inches away and I can hear him snoring as well! So cute.. but obviously one is cuter than the other--guess which one (sorry honey)?

Anyhow, I read the blogs of many people and there is one that I am always touched by. Please take the time to read it--go back to the beginning when they first started the blog. I can guarantee that you will blessed by this family's story. I know I have been--I feel like I'm apart of their family! They don't even know me but I know them through a friend of a friend of a friend--they have blessed my life without knowing.

Their story is awesome--read it, think on it, and most importantly, pray for Kyle. He is a strong Lion.

http://www.prayforkyle.com/

Can we contain the excitement?!

Girls--lend a listening ear!

There is a new outlet mall opening here in Houston off 290! It will be open for business on March 27th!! How exciting!! They have a Coach outlet!

Check out the link to see if you like any of the stores...now maybe I won't have to make the long trip to San Marcos--even though I do love that shopping center!

Time to start digging those coins out of the couch(and the junk drawer)! Don't act like you don't have one too! =0)

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=77

Home Improvements..

Well, Victor and I painted our living room today--it looks so much better. The room feels warm and more inviting. They layout of the living room is a little odd so placing furniture the correct way is a little hard. Our couches are just bulky and weird so whichever way we position them they look odd.

I'm just glad we got to paint! I am going to make this house feel like a house! I just don't have many things to fill it up--but in time, I can make it look nice.

We also took the same paint color and painted the entire hallway--it looks wonderful. Cozy and nice.

I spent an hour with my mom pushing couches around and moving the seriously heavy entertainment center--my back is aching. Victor had left to run a few errands so I was left to figure things out on my own--which I can totally handle!

I was a backslider and stayed home from church because I was really really tired today--so I guess I thought it would be smart to move furnitre around. Not a good idea. Sorry Lord, I should have been in Your House tonight..

I will share with you guys a GREAT product that you just have to try! Those furniture sliders--from Bed Bath and Beyond---are awesome! And--they work!! After an hour of pushing around heavy furniture I ran up there, spent $14.99, and we were ever-so-lightly pushing our couches around with ease! The best $14.99 I've spent in a while!! It even works on carpet! I suggest you try them ladies when you need some furniture moved and your husband isn't available!!

Okay well I'm off to bed--my kids are both finally down asleep (praise Jesus!) and the comfy bed is calling my name. Night!

Update on quitting coke...

Well, I must say that I have totally failed thus far in quitting my favorite drink. I've had 2 today already. Is Diet Pepsi okay? I'm sure it still has all the same ingredients in it. I just love coke...I seriously have a problem. I honestly regret that first try---to settle my stomach--now look at me? I'm dependent on the darn thing! Geez...

What's worse--Bryce has heard me say, "coke" so now he has started asking for coke too! I cannot give in to this one... The last thing I want is my 2 year old having a coke! Nope! I am trying to get him off of juice now. My pediatrician has told me that juice is no good for him--even the Organic kind that I buy (see, I was trying to get the healthy kind--those labels are so deceiving!). Bryce is in the 78% on his weight and I suppose that means he needs to lose some of that? So the doc suggested no more juices. Bummer for Bryce.

Anyhow, I'm praying (don't laugh) for strength to let go of cokes. I know it sounds silly but the Lord can help me let go of this habit..

Off to conquer the world!!

Boys love their Mommas!!

Whoever said boys don't like to snuggle must not have a boy. Boys are so sweet and so cuddly.

Today I picked Bryce up from school and just ran into my arms and gave me what he calls a "big squeeze!" I love those..

All day today he's been so cuddly. I could hardly fold clothes because he wanted to sit in my lap and hug on me. At first I was thinking of ways to distract him so I could get my laundry done but then I thought, "Wait a minute, that's crazy...I'll let him sit here all night and not get one thing done if he wants to sit in my lap!" He's only momma's baby once... soon he'll be out the door to the movies with his friends, and on dates with a girlfriend and cuddling with mom will be a thing of the past.

My hope and prayer is that even though they'll be grown and independent, they'll always remember mom had time to love on them, and that she cared.

What a privilege it is to be called, Mom. A word that is only 3 letters long but has the responsibility greater than any other title. Lord, help me to always remember what an honor not a burden this title is.

Better late than never right?

Hi all!
Oh how I have missed you! Sorry I've been silent lately in the "blog world." There have been many things going on---but just not much time to sit at the computer (all moms out there understand what I just said). Life sometimes just gets hairy....

We had another poop episode the other night. I went into Bryce's room to say goodnight and turn off his movie and I smelled poop. I turned the light on and yep, there it was in all it's glory! He had taken of his pj pants, removed his diaper and continued to play with his poop. It was stuck all between his fingers, there was a (excuse me for this term) "patti" in the bed that he kept stepping on, so it was smashed between his toes. He then drew the cutest little "poop art" on the wall....disgusting, but cute.

It was all I could do to hold my composure. I was so tired and now I would have to go into disinfect mode. Victor being the germ-a-phobe that he is (all you who know my husband know how weirdo he is about germs--WAY above normal), gagged all the way down the hall. Luckily my mom and I (funny how women can handle just about anything) took him into the bathroom and scrubbed him down; and I do mean SCRUBBED. I bleached everything in sight, Lysoled the entire room, washed down the mattress, got a new cover and new bedding out, changed him into his new pj's, got a new "paci" and sippy cup and he was off to bed for the second time.

Whew...what an ending to a day huh? But, we survived it. It's happened before, so I'm sure it will happen again.

I hope everyone is doing well. Today was a great day. Sunday's are always great for me because I love to go to church. It's so refreshing for me...it's a break from this cruel and mean world in which we live.

I'm off to bed...much housework to be done tomorrow. If I opened the doors to my laundry room right now, I would be attacked by an avalanche of laundry....and since I don't envision myself dying that way, I'll have to get it done!

Blessings!

Just when you thought you'd seen it all...

On my way home from the grocery store tonight I saw the most um...let's just say interesting thing. I'm driving and minding my own business when an outrageous vehicle catches my attention. It was dark outside so this was obviously a pretty crazily colored vehicle to say the least.. Anyhow, as I drive closer I see something... no way, it CAN'T be..surely not...oh yes! IT IS! A truck with a vinyl sticker THE ENTIRE SIZE OF THE TRUCK of dog poop! Yep, you heard me.... DOG POOP! My mind is going nuts trying to figure out if this is some type of joke. Sure enough--it wasn't. It's an actual company...endorsed by the Better Business Bureau no less. A few things that I see on the truck are, "Scoopin' poop since 1988," "Too pooped to scoop? call us!" Wow, our society has reached a new form of weird. Someone actually made a business of scooping dog poop out of people's yards? And I sit here struggling with a business idea that would actually be successful?? Who would have ever believed that business would survive?

Want to hear the best part? Go to their website and you can actually buy merchandise to "sport" your support for the poop gatherers... shirts that say such things as, "God Poop?" Wow, pretty sure that statement tee will end up on What Not To Wear.

Well, kudos to them for having found a business that thrives--on the feces of an animal.

People, please humor me and go to this website--I laughed so hard I thought I might tinkle my panties (TMI I know--just being honest).

http://www.petbutler.com/pbx/

Interesting info...

Here is a website I found with some interesting natural fixes to illnesses kids have.

http://www.cookiemag.com/brain/kidhealth/2008/01/remedies

I thought it was pretty helpful.

New design!

Hi everyone, yes it's the second post of the day.. obviously I am bored. I am excited because tomorrow I will have a new template on our blog! I can't wait to see how it turns out! Let me know if you like it! Night!

Coke-A-Cola Addict...

Well, I never thought I'd say it, but I'm addicted to cokes. It's pretty sad. I was NEVER a coke drinker before I got pregnant with Bryce. I drank sprite--that was the only soda I would drink; and even then it was rare. But one day, while being pregnant and very sick, someone suggested that I try a coke to "settle my stomach." I was very hesitant to try this because #1-cokes are bad for your teeth and I was trying to maintain somewhat of a Miss America smile, and 2-don't you clean batteries of cars with Coke?! Imagine what it does to my intestines?!?!

Anyhow, it not only settled my stomach, it also gave me a new found craving that I have never quite gotten over. It's so bad now that I have at least one a day if not more, and if I don't drink one by noon, I have a major headache. Awesome. So, in an attempt to be healthy, I am going to try to quit the cokes. A friend of mine has lost 40 pounds on quitting cokes alone! Not even changing her food intake!!

Pray for me all of you, as I try to go "cold turkey" on my favorite drink!

My bittersweet moments of motherhood..

Well, it's 3:30 AM and Bryce is sick again. My poor baby. We went to church and he was fine. Came home and he played...I put him to bed and an hour later he was crying. It wasn't just any cry mind you, it was that poor, helpless I'm sick cry. Any mother can tell the different cries of her "cub." I knew instantly.

He has been up and down all night crying. It seems as though he is in pain and cannot rest. It may be his ear. I wanted to take him to the ER but Daddy says it will be okay and to just go in the morning. It's hard to explain to those you do not have children, but the pitiful cry of your child in pain is so heartbreaking..

I will say that it's bittersweet when a child is sick. For a moment, they stop, and want Mommy's touch. They want to cuddle, love and just be held....how precious. It's wonderful to be needed but at the same time so hard when your little one isn't feeling well. It's those moments when Bryce is clinging to me in the rocking chair that I feel guilt come over me. Guilt because of all the times I am so frustrated I just want to scream. Guilty because I know at times, I take my role of a mother for granted.

Lord, thank you for the wonderful blessing of children...I love my boys and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I ask that you put your hand upon them both..heal Bryce. Thank you God for entrusting me with these two little ones. Please give me the patience and knowledge I need to raise them to be like you. Amen.

A crazy few days...

Well, sorry I've been silent lately. I had a trip to the ER Sunday morning with a few issues. I am seeing my nerologist this week for an MRI. I was supposed to have one a few months back but chickened out..yep that's me...I'm a chicken. Anyhow, please pray that there is nothing major going on inside this head of mine.

Anyhow, for those of you who read my devotions, I'm back. I missed doing them. Love to all!

For such a time as this...

Hello all. I am asking for those of you who do read this..which at this point I think is like 3 people, please pray for me. I have an unspoken prayer request. I am just dealing with a tough issue right now.

Thanks and love,
Rachel

Advice anyone??

Help me! Can someone give me some advice on getting your toddler to bed around the same time every night???!! Bryce the past few nights has been going to bed at midnight or LATER! I try putting him to bed several times and he cries and cries and cires.. I've heard that letting him cry himself to sleep is okay but he doesn't go to sleep. He stands there and cries for Mommy and Daddy over and over again. It's getting really miserable because we can't go to bed. He's still awake. Victor is in there trying to rock him to sleep.

Advice please!!

So Blessed..

Tonight as I was studying the bible, a feeling of emotion came over. Maybe it was the Holy Spirit, maybe it was just me being emotional. But I just felt so blessed. Why does God love me so much? Is there truly one good thing in my soul that He could possibly love? Why does God care about the smallest details of my life? Who knows... what I do know is that God saw that man was vile and without hope... so he sent his one and only Son Jesus Christ to give his life so that I, Rachel Little Marquez could sit here in the corner of my bedroom on Monday night and feel truly blessed. Thank you Lord, for loving me and caring about the details of my life. I feel so blessed.

Arrgh...

It's 12:45 am and ask me if my son is still awake...the answer would be yes. Ask me if I am tired and about to throw a fit...the answer would be yes! Oh my goodness I will be a routine freak after this night (or morning I should say) is over.

I hope you all are enjoying your wonderful slumber.

Routine?? What routine??

Okay.. so I did have my oldest son Bryce on a routine. It was the best thing ever. His naps and eating were scheduled down to the minute almost and I could plan my day and activities around that. Well... I made a BIG mistake. The other night he was very hyper; so in trying to be the "fun mom", I let him stay up WAY past his bedtime (midnight). I know, I know...all you moms out there in bloggerland are shaking your head and thinking, "Duh! What did you think was going to happen?!"

Well I have learned my lesson. I tried to put him to bed two different times only to hear wailing and screaming and toys hitting the wall. Whoa is me. I mean whoa is US.. My husband and I were trying to do some "sprucing" of our house and now we have to sit up and watch Mickey Mouse. Oh well, there are worse things in life.

I will not make the "fun mom" mistake again. Scouts honor!

Resolutions anyone??

So, I made resolutions this year and ask me if I have done even ONE of them so far for 2008? The answer would shamefully be--- no. I feel like there aren't enough minutes in the day to take care of all my kids needs AND have time for myself... sigh.

Have a great 2008 (can you hear my sarcasm??)