For Days When I feel like a Bad Mom

No, not today. Today has been a very good day, and a sweet lady made it even better.

    June and I were at the dollar store getting random things, when an older lady, maybe mid 50's, stepped in front of my cart. She had tears in her eyes, and looked at June, then at me. She said "You are a wonderful mother."She said that she couldn't help but stop and watch us, as we went up and down the isles, and how much we communicated with each other. She was so happy to see a mother engaged in her daughters wants and not just simply saying no. She told me again, "you are a wonderful mother" She started to cry a little bit, and just continued to tell me how she can see how much I love my daughter, and to cherish her. That a mother and daughter relationship is very special. 

    I honestly didn't know what to say. Her words really touched my heart, and really made me feel so good inside. That without even knowing it, people see me as a good mother. I am not writing this to toot my own horn, but I do give myself a pat on the back. I feel like sometimes we are so hard on ourselves as mothers, when really, we are wonderful moms. I am not perfect. I am not a perfect mom, but I am a wonderful mom. I was meant to be a mom. This truly is my calling, and I am happy that it reflects to other people. There will be days when I will need to read this. To remember how a complete stranger saw me, and could see that I am doing my best, and that I am a wonderful mother. 

P.S. June and I went and got a shaved ice this afternoon, and let me just say, getting a shaved ice is NEVER a wrong decision. 

Just to Remember our Daily Odds and Ends

 Here we are, a few weeks into the Month of June, and summer has officially started. Our crazy summer plans don't begin until the week of the 4th of July, but that has not stopped us from having small adventures here at home. Though we are getting excited for all of our travel adventures coming up! 

This is a little bit of a picture overload of small pieces of our daily life. Just for me to remember our day to day life, and how good it is! 

*Side note: To all my instagram followers, just a warning, you probably have seen a lot of these. 

We are outside 90% of the day. Other than naps, and eating, we are outside enjoying the hot summer sun, and we are even taking our meals outside when we can stand the heat. Our swimsuits have become the main choice of clothing around our house. 

We have been loving the pool! June has learned how to blow bubbles, and we are working on bobbing in and out of the water. She is getting so good at holding her breath. 

We are getting lots of daddy time, which of course we prefer. 

June and Dan are inseparable when they are together. She wants him to do everything with her! Which makes for a nice break for me!

 The moment she wakes up, it's straight to the door, banging on the glass saying "Swimsuit and bubbles"

 Our weather has been a little crazy this past spring/summer. We definitely have had hotter days, and we seem to be getting more rain, but it's warm rain and she loves playing in it.

 When the rain falls consecutive days, we have to plan a little more, and go out on more outings. Usually it's to a play place, or the Perot museum.

When the rain isn't taking over our day, like I said we are either in the pool, or at the splash park. I try to mix it up a bit, more for June, but we are probably at the splash pad 3 to 4 times a week. It's so close to our house, and even just spending an hour there is worth it. June loves it and is getting so brave going under the water falls and running around!

Of course Sally, June's doll, gets played with on a regular basis. An everyday regular basis. 

June has recently learned how to climb up and down from our bed. This is no easy task. Our bed is super high, but she loves climbing up there, and bringing her books and Sally along with her. I love it, because it means I can keep an eye on her while I am getting ready in the mornings. 

 Dinner with friends at Babe's Chicken

Much needed library time. I asked her if she wanted to go start looking for books, while Daddy checked her other ones in, but she just said no and would not leave his side. 

                          A little light reading in the bath tub. 

We had a special bath this past Sunday. We were just too tired to give two baths, and both of them really needed a bath, so we threw June and Ranger in together. June LOVED it! Ranger always hates his baths, so nothing really changed there. It was pretty funny though, having them in together.

Summer has not been a bore to us so far and we are so excited for what's to come. It's going by too fast already and before we know it, our little man is going to be here! We are trying to soak in as much time with just our little family as we can, and always trying to make life a little more interesting!

Her 20 Day

June's special "20" day seemed so far away that day we learned that 20 was her number. 

When June was born, a friend of Dan's, realized how significant the number 20 was to June's life. Remember This Post? 

Well the day has arrived, where June is 20 months, on the 20th, in the month of her name. 

I thought I would take this opportunity and write down 20 things that make June, June. 

• She is so friendly. She is shy, but in a friendly way. She say's "hi guys" to everyone, and does a tiny wave.
• She get's super sad when she knows that she has hurt you, like stepped on a toe, or hit you on accident.  Super people pleaser
• She understands when asked a question, and responds rather well
• She loves to climb onto our bed by herself and read her books
• She says no very clearly, and shakes her head and points, for yes
• She loves playing with shoes. Any shoes. She puts them on her feet and yours 
• She falls asleep while reading a book in her crib with Tinker Bell tucked under her arm
• She loves to go places. Anywhere. All day she says "Go"
• She can say many words, and right now her favorite is "Swimsuit" and "backpack"
• She is learning her letter's and colors
• She knows that "baby" is in mommy's tummy.
• She loves playing on the iPad 
• She dances to every kind of music, She twirls all the time saying "Row, Row, Row" which can mean "Ring around the Rosies" or "Row, Row, Row your boat" It just depends 
• She gives super slobbery kisses, and only gives kisses when they are deserved. She is kind of a picky kisser. 
• She knows who her little friends are, and get's really excited when she get's to play with them 
• Her best friend is her doll Sally, which goes all places with us. 
• She is very good with small objects. She loves holding little things in her hands, and carrying them in her backpack
• She loves's taking lids on and off of things
• She love's chasing Ranger around the house, and throwing toys to him, mostly they just hit him and he get's scared, but he seems to always continue to play with her 
• She is simply everything to us. 

I could go on forever, but for now I will stop at 20. I just don't want to forget a thing she does that makes me so grateful to be this girls mother. Love her beyond explanation.

20 months today.

Bubble Blowing

June love's bubbles, but what little kid doesn't?
We went to a birthday party yesterday, and of course they had bubbles. June was trying so hard to blow them herself, and she finally was able to do it!
Don't mind the obnoxious mother in the background making really excited noises... A.K.A. Me.


2013-06-15 18.14.27 from Lesli Lancaster on Vimeo.

We're Half Way!

It's true, that the second pregnancy is a little bit different. You are still beyond excited to be having a baby, but I feel a little more distracted this go around, chasing after a 20 month old, and I guess just having a little more confidence in myself that everything is going to be ok. Not everything has to be planned and figured out right at this moment. It's  a good feeling, but I also feel bad because I seem to not keep track of the little guy as much as I did with June, and I am always forgetting how far along I am. With June I felt I was counting the minutes, but it definitely has made this pregnancy go by so much faster. 

I mean, I haven't even taken a single belly shot until 20 weeks with this guy. I do feel really bad about it, and I told myself that from here on out I would be better at documenting this pregnancy. My poor little boy, I don't want him feeling left out. 

 Today, we had a doctor's appointment. It was an ultrasound day, and those are the best days. I LOVE seeing him on that screen, just constantly moving and thrashing around. And I feel it! Dan was able to make it today, so he got to see him also. 

June just patiently waiting until we are called to the back. 

When we were in the ultrasound room, and the tech put on the heartbeat, June got so excited. Mostly because of the noise, but her reaction was the best. The Ultrasound tech, could not get over how funny June was being about it. Ah! I love her. 

Ok, so now that we now a little more measurements, here is a full scale pregnancy update on myself, and the babe. 

UPDATE: ME

FAR ALONG AND MEASUREMENTS: I am 20 weeks and 4 days along. My stomach is at 11cm, and I have lost a total of 6 pounds, but gained 2 back at this last appointment. I Love being told to put on weight. I am measuring right where I am supposed to be. I am carrying a lot lower with the mister, than I was with June, so my pants are starting to get a little snug, but no maternity clothes yet! I am feeling fat, and knowing that it's just pregnancy, but this part of pregnancy always gets me down a bit, because I don't like people thinking I'm fat. Therefore the thing to do, is just announce your pregnant to everyone. It helps. Ya, I really do just blurt it out to complete strangers. haha I'll stop once the belly becomes a bit more noticeable. 

EMOTIONS: Totally back to normal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being pregnant. I really do. Especially the 2nd trimester. I am full swing with energy, and I am a bottomless pit when it comes to food. I don't have any irrational breakdowns, and I only have cried over two commercials. Especially the cheerios commercial with the baby?! Oh Man, That one is a real tear jerker, get's me every time.  I really am feeling fantastic and very happy about it. 

CRAVINGS: Really any food is hitting the spot right now. I eat lot's of cereal, especially at night. I have a bowl... or two, every night before going to bed.  I have really been downing cucumbers with vinegar, and just a dash of salt and pepper. I have that with 90% of my meals. Vinegar on really anything at this point is good, but then again, I have always been a vinegar girl. 

LOVE MOST: Obviously at this point, my most favorite thing is feeling him move. It's always at night while laying on my back, or when June sits on my lap for too long. I am so excited for those kicks to get stronger, so Dan and June can feel them. 

SCARED ABOUT: At this point I am mostly scared about what kind of personality he will have. I know I have said this a hundred times, but June is such a good and easy little girl, and she was such an easy baby. There is no way I can luck out twice. I am worried he is just going to be a little devil, and be a path of destruction. I know it's stupid, because I will love him to matter what, but right now, It's a fear I have. Oh and the penis... A little worried about the pee situation. 

UPDATE: BABY BOY

HOW FAR ALONG AND MEASUREMENTS: He is measuring at 20 weeks and 2 days, weighing at 12oz. He is the size of a banana. About 7 in long. Head and body measurements are all right on track. His heart is beating at 150bpm


BODY PARTS: He has two legs and two arms, and it appears to have all 10 fingers and all 10 toes. That of course is not guaranteed, but it's looking pretty good. His stomach looks good, and he has all four chambers in his heart that are just beating away. All of his organs are placed in the proper place, and we saw two eyes, a nose and a mouth. (A little creepy...)

NAME: No name. Not even close. Boy names are way harder than girl names. Girl names can be cute and weird, but a boy name needs to hold a certain amount of manhood to it. Our biggest thing is giving him a name that, yes is cute as a little boy, but will be respected as a man later on in life. Any suggestions would be great... Oh, but also no weird Utah names. You know the ones with weird spellings, and that really don't make any sense as a name at all?!? Ya, I know you are thinking of a few! haha.

So there you have it. We are half way, and so far it's been a smooth ride. We really are so excited to really start getting things prepared for the little guy.

The Girls came to Texas

Just sitting here, with a blank page and curser flashing, thinking to myself how in the world do I put this past week with my sister's and mom here into words. So much to write about, but I can't stop laughing. 

Lot's to say and Loads of pictures. 

I have a very special bond with my sister's and mom. We are a very close bunch. In fact my whole family is very close, but us girls seem to always keep things interesting. I love how close we are, I truly can say that they are my best friends. 

The Texas plan started 6 months ago, when the decision was made to make the trip to Texas, to see where I live and what life is like down here in the south. I hardly slept a wink the night before, because I was so excited, and just wanted them to get here so bad. I mean 6 months is a long time to wait, so when the day arrived I was full of anticipation! 

Meg was the first to arrive with Sammi, and the fun started instantly. June and Sammi are only 3 months apart so we love getting these girls together. We hope that they stay close cousins, even though we live so far apart. We spent the day, shopping for supplies for Sammi, and getting ready for the next load of girls to come. The little ones went to bed, and Me and Meg, headed to the airport. 

There they were. Waiting for their luggage, and I just ran to them and started yelling, HELLO HELLO!! It's been six months since I have seen these girls and that is way to long! In fact that's the longest  I have ever gone not seeing my sisters and mom. Hoping that, that is the longest. We made the drive with lots of chatter and catching up. We didn't want to miss a beat. Though they came in on Wednesday, and weren't leaving until Sunday, We knew how fast the week would go, and seriously didn't want to waste anytime! 

We arrived at the house, and headed straight for the backyard. It was a beautiful night, so it was fun to wade our feet in the pool, and just let the girls relax from the flight. 

Michelle, and Meg

Our problem is, never knowing when to call it a night. We could stay up until the crack of dawn, talking, and just hanging out, but we eventually forced ourselves to go to bed, and getting an early start in the morning. That night, we had a huge thunder and lightening storm. It was great! A little bit of a rough night sleep for everyone, especially those who were thinking a tornado was going to hit any second, but we made it through the storm, and laughed about it the next morning. 

If you know my family, they are no slackers. They run, and workout no matter where they are. I feel like I didn't get that gene. Though I pretend, and continue to run, and workout, I don't think i enjoy it as much as they do. Lucky me, I am pregnant and couldn't go as hard core as they do. They are a great inspiration to me, though not enough to run a marathon, or a ragnar, or climb a mountain. Maybe someday. 

We took off down the trails near my house, and while they all went for a run, I stayed behind with the little girls, and walked to the park with them. 

We got home, and didn't waste a minute. We prettied ourselves up, and we were ready to hit the town, and get our shop on! 

My sister brooke, is seriously the child whisperer. I have never seen someone who is so good with little kids, and every little kid loves her. No really though, I am not just saying this. It's so crazy how much little kids flock to her. 

June and Sam. Yes, June is the older one, but my daughter is just a pebble in your pocket. 

We started our shopping at "The Galleria". A HUGE mall that has every store. It just is massive. We had lunch, did our damage, and decided to head over to the outlets. 

weird

We continued to do our damage, as we made our way around Grapevine. I always love shopping with my sister's. I love being the little devil in their ear telling them that they need to buy something, and they usually do. It's just fun.

Dan had to work on Thursday, so we took the little ones shopping with us. They were so good, for having no naps, and constantly being on the go. They hardly made a peep the whole day! 

June and her little shopping buddies. 

So it was raining, and it was a little dark out on the way to the outlets. I turned the lights on, and since I was driving Dan's car, completely forgot to to turn them off since I was used to my car lights. The battery died....

Of course it did. We had a little moment of panic and then we handled the situation quite well. There was a man there who came to our rescue and helped us. "Michelle's boyfriend" and the car started right up. Just something to add to the list. 

We came home and rested up a bit from so much shopping! Got the girls calmed down, and then got ready to go to dinner.... First a little play time at the pool. 

One of Dan and I's favorite restaurant is a Japanese place called Abi's. I took them there for our first night out. They all loved it. And even Meg, the New Yorker, called it authentic, and she knows her food. Trust me. It was fun to just eat and catch up. 

That night, we stayed up way to late, talking and laughing until our stomachs hurt. We are so random at what we talk about, but some how it ends up with all of us laughing to tears, and having a hard time catching our breath.

Of course that next morning, we went for another run. My mom stayed with me, and the girls, and just took a little stroll. It was a lot nicer of a day. We didn't have the rain pelting in our faces, so we went to our little park and played for a while.

Sammi LOVED ranger. She followed him around all week, and would get so excited when he would let her pet him. 

The girls came back to the park, and did a little more exercising, "Challenge style" and I watched and made fun of them. Gosh I am so lazy. 

Dan had to work until noon, so we decided to just take it easy, and get some sun rays by the pool. We set up a little spot for the girls, so we could enjoy some pool time. These two just melt my heart when they are together. 

It was a beautiful day, and we were loving the sun!

Dan came home, and us girls headed to "Spa Castle". I made all the girls swag bags, and inside were tickets to spend a day at the spa. This place is incredible and We had a blast. My dad pitched in so that we could all get pedicures, manicures, massages or whatever we really wanted to do. THANKS DAD!! 

I honestly, truly honestly, can't post on here what this day was like. Us Mendenhall girls took this spa day to a whole new level. I really can't even write about it, it's just to0 much. I know, that's super annoying to those who weren't there, but just trust me, this day changed things. 

Oh man, this day was amazing. My abs were literally sore from laughing so hard. 

We relaxed and enjoyed all the amenities that this place has to offer. There wasn't a thing that we missed doing. The girls were able to take advantage of a little more than me, because of the growing belly, but it was fun to just hangout, and let them enjoy it all. Anything for these girls.  

Though it was a very relaxing day, we were all pretty water logged and exhausted, so we decided to do some grilling. Dan threw some chicken on the BBQ and we had fresh fruit, and veggies  It was VERY delicious! 

That night was a movie and party mix kind of night. We were all so tired, we could barley keep our eyes open. 

I love watching June interact with her aunts. There is just so much love in my family, that it's overwhelming! 

Saturday, We decided to let Dan take the girls for one more time in the morning and went shopping. The Galleria was our first stop. There were a few things that were needed that didn't get bought the first day, so we took another trip over there. Then made our way to "Sam moon". We took that shopping center by storm...

Wigs make everyone feel happy

The morning was coming to a close and we thought we better get back before the girls needed to be put down for naps. Once they were down, we took another dip into the pool, and took in more sun. After the spa day, I didn't know how we could stand swimming again, but we did and we loved it. Dan was even able to head out for the afternoon and go golfing with his crew. 

We stayed out there until the girls woke up from their naps and splashed around some more with them. 

My sister used to be a life guard/ swim teacher, so she was teaching June some new tricks for the pool, and giving me pointers on how to teach her how to swim.

Michelle teaching June the "hang loose" Sign. Too many marshmellows in her hand! 

After another long day of swimming and sun, we decided it would be best to not let our last night go to waste. The girlies got ready for bed, and us older girls got ready to head downtown Dallas. 

My sister's and mom are so beautiful! We are similar, but so different in different ways. We definitely are sister's and people always comment on how much a like we are. I love it. 

Down town Dallas was fun to walk around in, and flash a few more pics. We went to the spot where John F. Kennedy was shot, and we took a few pics of the landscapes and what was around. We were starving though, So we didn't spend to much time down there. 

Dinner was eaten down on Mckinney Ave. Where we laughed some more, and more inside jokes, that probably no one else will find funny, so I will spare you, but just thinking back I am laughing so hard. 

We got home about eleven, and the girls sadly started getting ready to head home the next day. I made some caramel popcorn and we stayed up way to late again, but it was just sad knowing that tonight was the last night. 

The next morning, I woke up with a bit of sadness, knowing that this trip, that has been planned for 6 months, is finally coming to an end. I drove them all to the airport and then just like that they were gone. It went by way to fast. 

I came home, and started getting everything cleaned up. Finding little bits and pieces of them that were left behind. It's always a sad day when fun things end, but of course it must. 

The pool was looking so lonely without all of them in it. I miss them. 

Like I said. There are so many things that I just can't write on here. There are too many inside jokes, small moments that literally made you stop breathing because you are laughing to hard, and just things that are meant to be kept between us girls. It seriously was a trip of a lifetime for me to have them here, and experience the things we did. I love them all so much, and I love the relationship that I have with them. We truly have an exceptional family, and I am so grateful to be apart of it.