Dear Liz,

I just wanted to write you back publicly, and say you got me back ten fold. Kudos to you. Here is my ultimatum....If you want this friendship to continue you will take the pic of me on your blog off and replace it with one that looks more like me. (See the pic below for example.) You have exactly 24 hrs or I will announce to everyone how old you really are, and I will also tell them how you spend your time knitting, crocheting, and putting together jigsaw puzzles secretly while your kids are at school. Thank you for your immediate attention to this problem.

Your friend (for now)

Whittney

The Arrival of Chico

Our little guy "Cheeks" is here. We did give him a real name which is
Campbell Garn Chilcote
Born October 29 at 7:55am he was 7lbs 9oz and 20.5 inches long.

I know...I know...I know....

You all are dying to see a picture of me, and I have decided it is time to unveil what I look like in my 9th month of pregnancy. Keep in mind that my job is such that I sit a lot, I had surgery so I missed quite a bit of my workouts, and lets face it...pregnancy makes ya hungry and makes me wanna eat more. Try not to judge, and please try not to be jealous. Oh yeah, btw, for those of you whom I have sucked at keeping in touch with (which would be any of you who I don't happen to run into around town)....the baby is a boy. Without further ado...I present, a portrait of myself....

by Abigail Chilcote

By Livy Chilcote

Cooler Than Me....

So I have been doing some catching up on blogs lately, and I realized the majority of people are cooler than me....You know who you are. So instead of writing a blog about what I have been doing I thought I would let you all in on a few things We/I didn't do:

For instance:
I did finally make it to Long Beach, but I didn't put any sunscreen on anyone, (it wasn't hot)! I did receive an award for Mother of The Year, though it wasn't an official award, but I could see it in people's eyes that they wanted to nominate me.

Easter did come and go but we didn't make, buy, or even attempt to have any Easter attire this year...We didn't meet Obama, hear his speech and shake his hand, but we did pass this guy on the street and take his picture...
I didn't take Abi to Preschool one time this year, but thanks to a wonderful Grandma and cousin she still graduated with honors. Thank you, thank you....
I didn't miss the first school performance Olivia has ever actually engaged in....

We did make it to the Chilcote Family vacation, but we didn't all fit in our tent....

We didn't go to stadium of fire, or the Rodeo, or even a block party....but we did see these:
For all of you who are feeling better about your lives after reading this post, just know this....I have truly in under a year mastered the art of "simplifying". Goal accomplished. If you don't do anything, nothing is complicated and everything becomes simple. Peace out.

Riddle Me This....

Wish I was there....

Jason said my last post was too depressing so I need to spice it up...Well its not that life is depressing, but I just don't have time for many thoughts right now.

So I thought I would give you a peek into my thoughts...:

*When I get to go on my next vacation

*When my next day off from work is

*What and How to decorate Parker's wedding

*Livy is turning 8 on Tuesday, and all my big plans for it are suddenly vanishing

*How to get to Long Beach, walk the beach, feel the sun, and get back in time to work my amazing job.

I know I am not very deep...Crap now I am depressed...Sorry I'll think of something better...

To Be Continued....

Simplify...Follow up

sim⋅pli⋅fy

  [sim-pluh-fahy] Show IPA

–verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.

to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier: to simplify a problem. So I guess you wouldn't really say that is something that I have done..at all. So I say simplifying is for the birds.... My steps to simplifying were simple. Fail proof, I thought. My life was about to become so crazily simple everyone would ask me how I did it, and I would give lessons. I would become an idol. :) Well my life is anything but simple right now. A few people asked why we were doing it, and quite a few people looked at me like I had gone crazy. Moving away from friends I love, a school my daughter loved, moving from a job I loved, and a house we loved. But I wanted to do it because I felt my life spinning out of control, I felt so crazy busy, I wasn't enjoying life. I was living, but not living. I spent my days waiting for the next to come and go so I could say I made it through one more week, month or year. I wanted to take my life to a level where I could feel a semblance of control. We moved closer to Jason's work so his long hours wouldn't be quite as long, we cut our bills significantly (or so we thought we were), we moved to a smaller home where I don't feel I have to clean every *!@#$day!, I got rid of anything I hadn't used or think I would use in the immediate future, I weeded through toys, books, decorations, cooking stuff, and memories. I definitely feel a little calmer, but the change hasn't gone exactly as planned. I actually have more to worry about and less time to worry about it. But here is the crazy thing about this whole experience. I have learned, and grown more than I ever have. Since we made this change there have been days I have been on the floor weeping, not knowing how I could possibly make it one more day, wondering why I made a choice that seemed so easy and brilliant at the time, but had turned out to be so brutally hard and painful. But I will tell you what...I realized how much I took for granted, I realized I made myself busy, and I made myself not enjoy life. The pieces were there, but I didn't use them. I didn't take time to enjoy the "simple" parts of life. So the moral of the story is: In making my life more complicated by simplifying, I am finally grateful for the simple pleasures of life. The End...Lesson learned.