The MamaCanon Blog

Day 29 of Gratitude

2012-01-29T15:54:00.000-06:00

29/366 Today, I'm grateful for pet sitting in my neighborhood. It has allowed me to meet a lot of new people and a lot of really cool critters. Here's one of them.

Day 25, 26, and 27 of Gratitude

2012-01-29T15:12:00.000-06:00

Day 27:366
I'm thankful for my sewing machine. I made myself a teapot cozy today and it made my tea taste better. :)

Day 26:366
I'm grateful today for sore muscles! I didn't hurt myself at all last night at derby!

Day 25:366
Today I am grateful for blowing raspberries on my daughter's chubby cheeks and listening to her squeal in happiness. Absolutely nothing more pure than that love!!

Day 25 of Gratitude

2012-01-25T11:33:00.001-06:00

Day 25: I am grateful for blowing raspberries on my daughter's chubby cheeks and listening to her squeal in happiness. Absolutely nothing more pure than that love.

Day 22 of Gratitude

2012-01-22T14:42:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty grateful today for Roger Hargreaves and his Little Miss characters, finally the Little Miss is getting some love after being exclusive to Mr Men! I'm pretty sure Little Miss Bad is going to be my new Roller Derby name. I love it!

Day 19 of Gratitude

2012-01-19T15:28:00.000-06:00

Today, I'm really excited to report that my bum is not broken like we originally thought. Hooray!!!!

Instead, I have just bruised it. While this does not really affect the amount of discomfort I'm in, it does make me feel better about pushing through the pain knowing I'm not about to poop out my own broken bones.

Day 18 of Gratitude

2012-01-19T15:24:00.002-06:00

Day 18, I'm grateful for my husband. He hasn't teased me too much about hurting myself and didn't mind me going down the street last night to drink margaritas until I could barely stagger home. He didn't even mind playing around with me while I was silly drunk and trying to tickle him. He's just a really good guy and is amazingly patient with me. Not to mention what a fantastically amazing father he is.

Day 16 and 17 of Gratitude

2012-01-17T15:23:00.000-06:00

Day 16 and 17, I'm grateful for Roller Derby. It was hella fun last night and even though I'm hurting today, it still puts a smile on my face. :)

Day 14 and 15 of Gratitude

2012-01-15T13:13:00.000-06:00

Day 14:

I'm grateful for this preciousness today. She had to go along to a big girl bday party today and

she was a total angel. Totally stole the show.

Day 15:

Something we should all remember.
A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'
'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.
Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time
Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. 'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.
'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Day 13 of Gratitude

2012-01-14T10:15:00.002-06:00

Day 13 and I can't find anything spectacular to be grateful for. I had a horrible day so I guess I

should just say that I'm grateful for the kid's health. :)

Day 10, 11 and 12 of Gratitude

2012-01-12T12:00:00.000-06:00

Day 10:

Today I'm grateful for good advice from my mom-

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things that I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Day 11:

Today, I feel very grateful for beautiful days and walks with my most excitable little girl. Pointing and shrieking over every blowing leaf and bird.

Day 12:

Today I am grateful for a garage door that opens when it is supposed to!! After fighting with the garage door every winter for 3 years, I received some profound advice from my mother...."why don't you call a garage repair place and get that fixed??" $35 later, the door works perfectly and I'm happy as a clam. :)

Day 9 of Gratitude

2012-01-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

Day 9: Today I am thankful for a big mug of tea, a good book and fresh bird seed out for the birds. I like watching them from my kitchen window while I drink my tea. :)

My 4 year old, Olivia, is thankful for this 1/2 burned candle. *shrugs* Whatever floats her boat!

Day 7 and 8 of Gratitude

2012-01-08T11:19:00.002-06:00

Day 7: I'm grateful for the best part of my day yesterday, an apple crostada with ice cream for dessert!
Day 8: Today I'm grateful for playing the Wii with my son, he is so much fun!

Day 5 and 6 of Gratitude

2012-01-06T11:18:00.000-06:00

Day 5: Today I am grateful for bedtime. Some little people in this house are too big for their britches and should NEVER have learned to talk.

Day 6: I am grateful to have such healthy teeth. Until recently, I had never even had a filling, but last year they did find a tiny cavity to fill. Otherwise, wonderful, healthy teeth that don't give me a single trouble!

Day 4 of Gratitude

2012-01-04T15:21:00.000-06:00

Today, I am most grateful for a hot bath with a good book in the middle of the day. Relaxing in the sun, I feel like a cat!

What are you grateful for?

Day 3 of Gratitude

2012-01-03T10:30:00.000-06:00

Day 3

Today I'm grateful that I can wiggle my toes. I was laying in bed watching them go and realized that some people can't do that and how much we take our health for granted.

Day 2 of Gratitude

2012-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

Everyone needs to get pushed around the house in a box and today was Becca's day. I'm truly grateful that Rebecca has a big brother that is so devoted to her, he started pushing her without anyone suggesting it to him. What a prince!
*I added clothing to them to protect their modesty, if you couldn't tell. ;)

365 Days of Gratitude

2012-01-01T20:41:00.000-06:00

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank

you," that would suffice.

-Meister Eckhart

In light of recent events in my life, I've decided to participate in a project documenting what people are grateful for for an entire year. I think in ~~this~~ my busy life, it is be really easy to take what you have for granted and I am making a conscious effort to change that! I know I have been terribly guilty of this in the past.

So please, leave me a note, let me know if you'd like to join in and we can all share what we are grateful for in this new year of 2012! It can be in pictures, words, or a mixture of both.

I will start off with IHOP. I love IHOP and after drinking heavily with hubby last night, I'm really happy to have had a bacon omlette this morning with pancakes, boysenberry syrup, and iced tea!

Withdrawl

2011-08-09T15:53:00.000-05:00

Is withdrawl and ugly word? Is it a scary word? For me it is a realistic word, something I deal with more frequently than I'd like. No, I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol, instead I'm on antidepressants. If things don't go right, like I forget to pick up my script or forget to fill it, something scary and ugly can happen to me.

I don't know how common it is to experience withdrawl symptoms when you suddenly stop taking antidepressants, but it happens to me. I'm not even on a super high dose or anything that would seem to cause such a strong reaction from my body, but within a few days of stopping my medications, I can feel it.
This time, I thought I was getting sick. I had a quick temper, didn't feel well and couldn't sleep, I thought I was coming down with whatever Mr Canon is sick with. The next day, my temper was worse, I started feeling queasy, stomach craps, shaking, hot flashes and dizzy spells. By the third day, I realize my emotions are out of control. I yell at the kids and then almost immediately start bawling because I feel so awful for yelling at them. I have a hard time forming coherent thoughts and a hard time even getting my hands to pick up small things. My nerves are shot. My patience is gone. I can barely contain the extreme feelings of rage and sadness that tremor through my body. I feel like shit. I see it now...I remember that I have my pills waiting at the pharmacy and I had forgotten to pick them up the past few days.

I've done it to myself again.

Oh, I haven't blogged in so long!

2011-07-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

But you know, it isn't because I haven't thought about it! I'd like to say it was because I've been off traveling the world, teaching the kids to speak Italian or French or something, but we've been pretty lazy lately.

We went on vacation to the Texas coast. It was fun. We hung out at the beach, got ridiculously tanned and eaten up by mosquitoes. We (hubby and I!) drank a lot, ate a lot of bad food and tried to entertain the kids as best we could. We made a few trips into Galveston and played around there. Ate some good food, visited Moody Gardens and had a private penguin encounter. We got to pet a freakin' penguin!! Her name was Moe and she was pretty awesome. She made the funniest noises and made cooing noises when the keeper would talk to her.

We also visited some free museums in the Brazosport area. Natural history, an art museum and a fish hatchery run by the state. We got a lot of learnin' done where we could.

There was also time for sand castles, getting stung by jellyfish and playing in the sargassum sea weed that came in with some storms. Next time we visit a beach, we'll go to one that isn't known for its sea weed!

Really though, for the biologist in me, the sea weed was quite fascinating. There really is an entire complete ecosystem within it and while I won't bore you with the details, there were a ton of unique critters living in it. Stuff I'd never seen before, that's for sure. Amazing shrimp, fish, crabs and turtles that are made to live in such a place were found in it and it was fun to show it to the kids.

Since we've been back, we've done swimming lessons. Riley is quite a fish himself now and Olivia is still fearful, which is really ok with me because having 2 swimming at this point scares me to death! At least I can keep an eye on Livi in the shallows and really only have to freak out over Riley being a daredevil.

Becca walks.

Olivia's therapy is going well.

Riley, Olivia and Rebecca all had their birthdays. I am now a mother of a 6, 4, and 1 year old. In 10 years, Riley will be driving. In less than 12 years, Livi will want to date. Becca will talk at some point in there besides yelling 'HEY!' at all of us. Time passes by and the future scares me. They're going to get bigger, I just know it.

I've been nurturing some trees in my garden that I received from joining the Arbor Day Foundation, I got 10 trees when I joined. They were all bare root trees so they're all pretty iffy on whether they'll live. So far, 4 of them are still alive. Sucks, huh? I was hoping more would live. Oh well.

I've sure had a lot of fun in my super awesome neighborhood lately. Oh wait. I'm lying. I have been doing a lot of pet sitting, which has been pretty awesome. Not only has it been a really great way to get to know folks I don't usually run into, but I get to make a little extra money as well.

I haven't had much fun or much luck with the other moms in the neighborhood. I feel like I moved into a clique and I'm not with the 'in crowd.' My mom thinks that since I do some work in the neighborhood, my uppity neighbors think of me as 'help' instead of as friend material. But wait....could these stay at home moms really be that shallow? Answer: yes.
Dunno what's up with that, but if I let it bother me, where would I be then? As it stands, I watch the group get together for drinks, dinners, parties, vacations and game nights. They call on me for if their kids are selling things or if they need something, like food donations when someone has a baby or whatever. Otherwise....yup.

We have been pretty busy with Cub Scouts this summer!! I almost forgot. Riley's a cub scout and we've welcomed troops home at the airport, gotten donations for a food bank, gone on hikes, made pizza at a restaurant and eaten free at pizza hut's corporate office. Being with the Cub Scouts is gooooood, and the ladies and gents in there....not catty! No cliques! Nice people. What a blessing.....really.

Mary Kay vs. Spa Facial

2011-05-17T14:04:00.000-05:00

I've recently had the opportunity to have a spa facial and microdermabrasion at a local skincare/spa chain. My Hubby bought me the facial on sale on Groupon. If you haven't checked out that site, you should because there are some good deals to be had!!

So anyway, I got my facial. They set you under a smothering steam wand for 10-15 minutes and then they start inspecting your skin. Intimidating!!! When that's done, they start cleaning and cleaning and cleaning your face, which is great, don't get me wrong and it feels awesome. Kinda like a face massage and I'm all over massages! Then comes the microdermabrasion which was a little scary, but really didn't hurt. It felt a little rougher than a cat's tongue, if you've ever had an opportunity to get licked by your cat. We have a few that are lickers around here. But unexpectedly, the microdermabrasion machine SUCKS your face as it sucks!! Totally weird, but true. So it is like a cat's mouth mixed with the hose of your vacuum. I opted to add on a lactic acid peel, which burned quite a bit. The theory behind the peel is thus: Lactic acid peels are excellent for gently resurfacing the skin, maintaining skin's moisture levels and treating fine lines, hyperpigmentation and uneven texture.
Then comes the lotion and the sunscreen and by the time you're all done, your face feels like a grease pit.

A few days later, the real fun begins. Your skin is so whacked-out crazy from all the crud they put on it, toxins they pulled out and skin they've scraped and peeled off, you now get the unparalleled joy of a skin break out you have rarely seen on someone over the age of 15. It was bad. Make up hardly covered how 'resurfaced, moist, and even textured' my face looked now.

I got to thinking about my good friend, Mary Kay. I don't know if you've heard of her or not? What? No you haven't?? Well, this lady, Mary Kay, was a pretty kick-ass business woman. In fact, her business strategies are being taught at some pretty sweet colleges around the USA, not to drop names or whatever, but think, SMU for one. So, my friend, Mary Kay, has some pretty awesome skin care stuff that she sells, among them,
A microdermabrasion set. A 2-step program to refinish your face, exfoliate off those dead, stinky skin cells and a refining moisturizer to soothe and moisturize your skin.
Now, Mary Kay doesn't sell anything like chemical peels, but I think that is ok, because Mary Kay does sell other stuff to make your skin look awesome. Like a replenishing serum with Vitamin C in it. This serum helps your skin look more toned, lifted and firm. Mary Kay also sells an even complexion essence and mask which help even out skin tone.

So let me tell you, the biggest thing I noticed from the spa and with Mary Kay....NO BREAKOUTS with Mary Kay. Like....ever. Still the same great results and a helluva lot cheaper!! Dim the lights, have a bath, light some candles and give yourself a facial at home for a quarter of the cost. That's my $.02!

Party Planning

2011-04-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

Someone around here is fast approaching her first birthday!!

Yep, you guessed it! Baby Becca turns ONE next month! I can hardly believe it, time has sure flown over this past year. Here is a look at how far we've come.

Look at that tiny girl!!! Look at her now...

Yeah, that's my little sunshine in the blue bonnets. I can't tell you how wonderful a field full of those flowers smells but I think I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I could have stayed there forever.

Plans are coming together for our First Birthday Extravaganza and I'm excited to do a ballerina theme for this one. Little girl parties are so much fun!!

Ballerina cupcake toppers and birthday garland by Meri Meri.

Hat by Creative Converting. All found on diapers.com.

I also found her a ballerina onsie with a tutu on it to wear to the party. Also here are some great ballerina bows I'm thinking of for the girls to wear. Luckily for Riley, they don't make much boy ballerina stuff or I'd have him dressed up in theme too!

From Hollis Blossoms

From TootyFruityBoutique

From BeaCreative

So much cuteness!! I'm dying from squeeeee over here. ;)

Pale Preoccupation

2011-03-17T11:32:00.000-05:00

Check out this beautiful artwork. I love it.

Spring

2011-03-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

Around here, Spring has Sprung! Welcome!!

The time has changed, the sun is out and the flowers arre pretty sure that Spring is here. In North Texas, there isn't much winter but there's a chance for another frost before we're done with the cold. I'm holding off on planting seeds in my garden until next month. The asparagus crowns in the garden are going crazy, giving us lots of yummy asparagus to eat.

Soccer season has begun

2011-03-05T15:51:00.000-06:00

Slowly, it has been getting warmer here. Flowers and trees are beginning to bloom and my asparagus is starting to grow in the garden. By golly, I think spring is on her way!!
So with the arrival of spring comes SOCCER! We have never participated in soccer before with our kids so we were happy that Riley decided to give it a go this season. He is 5 and he has never played before.
Riley is a Tornado this season and it is fortunate that the team colors are green and black because otherwise, I don't think he'd want to wear the jersey. Now our lives are full of practices and games, snacks and water bottles, folding chairs and grass.

Today was coooooold! We had jackets and blankets to keep us warm, which figures, we'd been having such beautiful warm days and on our soccer game day, we get a cold front!

Riley practices. They play red light, green light to practice controlling the ball. He's pretty good!

Riley and his best friend Ethan practicing hard.

Riley gives the ball a kick.

In between plays, #45 takes a breather. I think he had fun today, even if it was cold and windy!

Coming together

2011-01-07T17:24:00.000-06:00

I am very happy that this summer we will have our first *major* vacation as a family. I could even say that it is our first vacation as a family, we did go camping 2 summers ago.....BUT we didn't have Becca so it wasn't our whole family so I could still say that. Well, at any rate, we have decided to go to the beach.

All last summer, the kids were dogging me about going to the beach. There were several shows on, Handy Manny went to the beach, Mickey and Minnie went too, probably Caillou too! Everyone went...'Mommy, when can we go to the beach!!??!?' I told them the truth, we can go to the beach after Becca is born (remember the high risk pregnancy, bed rest, etc.) So day one after having a baby, sitting in my super-comfy hospital bed, the kids come in, take one look at me and say, 'Can we go to the beach now?'
*smacks self in forehead*

No kids, next summer! Imagine the looks of despair and disappointment on their little faces. Yep, mom lets us down ....AGAIN. ;)

This year, I'm coming through, BIG TIME! I have been searching the internet for weeks, comparing properties and amenities and finally, I have found what we need for a price we can afford.

! I am super stoked to spend an entire week at the beach and do as little as possible. There are NO phones here, people!! No phones!! We are staying in a non-resort area so there won't even be a lot of tourists clogging the beaches, a tiny little beach community that only has 6 police officers.

We are planning a few day trips to Galveston to get the kids into some 'real' clothes during our vacation. Maybe some shopping, some eating out, some dolphin watching and riding a ferry.

Life is good.

Come on summer, get here fast!!

Instead of praising NFL star who tortured, killed dogs, applaud one of his victims | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist Jacquielynn Floyd | Dallas-Fort Worth News

2011-01-02T22:41:00.000-06:00

Instead of praising NFL star who tortured, killed dogs, applaud one of his victims | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist Jacquielynn Floyd | Dallas-Fort Worth News

Love, love, love this news article. Super insightful and poignant.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T17:31:00.000-06:00

I'm really stuck in my memories this year.

Last year, on Christmas Eve, I was in L & D with bleeding. I was about 3 months pregnant and the staff on duty at that time were a bunch of interns and nurses that would rather have been home in their beds! They quickly shuttled me off to an empty room to continue to bleed and, as they thought, have my miscarriage. I quickly realized that they believed that was what was happening and I started to cry. My mother drove me to the hospital and she sat with me all night. I cried and cried!

I also worried about making it home to be with my other children on Christmas morning.

As it turned out, I had a major bleeding event at that time, a sub chorionic hematoma they call it, and it was that event that made my pregnancy high-risk for the duration. I was on strict bed rest and my only hope for a long time was to make it to viability with my baby before she was born.

Anyway, long story short, I did make it home to see my babies open presents on that Christmas morning, they woke up **right** after I walked in that morning. I did make it to viability with that baby girl. She made it to 33 weeks and is now a happy, healthy 7 month old.

I know Christmas isn't exactly the time for being thankful, but I can't help but look back on things and snuggle my babies a little closer.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Becca -7 months

2010-12-20T17:55:00.000-06:00

She is just too precious!!

Not crawling yet, but rolling around the floor as fast as she can. :)

Surgery update

2010-12-20T11:04:00.000-06:00

Here we are now at 9 days post-op. I'm feeling *ok* but not great.

The past 9 days have been frustrating. I want to eat, darn it!! I just can't. The pain hasn't been unbearable, just uncomfortable. The feeling is like I have cotton balls in my throat. When I try to swallow something too hot or too color or too big, then there is pain, but otherwise not. Also, talking hurts. I feel better when I don't talk and my voice still sounds REALLY odd.

A few days ago, my hydrocodone ran out. I did not get a refill. I'm taking regular tylenol now. Not taking something for pain is not really an option, though I don't have to stay on top of it and take more every 4 hours. With my TMJ, I'm feeling a lot of pain through my jaw. Sometimes I also feel some pain in my ears. More of an ache than super painful, but I do have a high pain tolerance so I'm not sure how someone else would handle it.

So far, so good. I'm not feeling better as fast as I expected I would. I'm usually a really fast healer. The past few days, I haven't felt much improvement at all, maybe even more discomfort than before. So I'm a little disappointed in that, especially with Christmas coming up. I would really like to eat some real food on Christmas day. Doesn't seem likely.

Mostly, I'm eating popsicles, buttered pasta, applesauce, and soup. I am not liking things like mashed potatoes, the potatoes get all around my mouth and are hard to swallow when your tongue doesn't work very well.

Surgery

2010-12-12T08:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning, I had surgery to remove my tonsils.

I know, I know, boy does that hurt when you're an adult! So-and-so said that was the worst pain they'd ever been in! Right before Christmas? Are you crazy!?! Just a few examples of what I've heard lately. LOL

Let me tell you how its been because not many people actually have actually written about the 'Real Life: I Had My Tonsils Out at 30!' You won't be seeing a special about it on MTV.

Yesterday morning we woke up at 4:30 am, for surgery at 7:30, a time I never want to see as the alarm goes off. It might be ok to wake and nurse the baby at that time knowing I'll be headed back to bed soon, but NOT as the final, lights on thing. I was scared to death of the surgery. We had my MIL watch kids First and Middle and had planned to take Last over in the morning. We had a change of plans and took Last with us to the surgery center. It worked out ok, she slept the whole time, nursed a bit before I went in for the procedure and was a little charmer when she was awake. She's a super good baby.
I don't remember the surgery. I remember all the stuff prior. No catheter into my bladder (thank goodness) and no breathing tube either. Super short surgery- in and out in less than 45 minutes. I got on the gurney in the super bright operating room under a warm blanket, they put some meds in my IV line, put on a blood pressure cuff and then.......I woke up in my recovery room.

Immediately, I'm really out of it. Not quite awake, not sleeping, woozey, can't talk, can't swallow! I got to go home pretty quick, we were in the car on the way home before 10 am. I ended up sleeping all day yesterday, just so exhausted from the whole experience. I got up a few times to visit with everyone, but mostly stayed in my bed with the cats. I didn't nurse the baby for about 12 hours after the surgery, which was hard, because she was crying for me for almost the entire day. She wouldn't take a bottle much at all. I was able to feed her a little bit of baby food but we just started that and she doesn't eat a whole lot.

I am able to nurse while taking the Lortab pain meds they prescribed but I think they make the baby sleepy. The Lortab is from the devil. It hurts to swallow, somehow gets up into your sinuses when you take it and burns like a mo-fo. Probably the worst part of this whole experience so far. Last night, it hurt so bad to take it that I got extremely nauseated and had to take medicine for my nausea too! I also inadvertently went more than the recommend time between pain medicine doses last night too and woke up to quite the horrors. My whole neck and jaw were swollen like crazy, I couldn't breathe very well and I hurt! The meds and some ice packs helped that out pretty quickly and knocked me back out to sleep as well.

Other things to note, the surgery has made my tongue swell and numb. Not sure how long that will last but it sure complicates eating, talking and drinking. Also, I itch from the anesthesia. I always do that it it super annoying.

Have to keep eating and drinking as much as I can, not only for myself, but also to keep my milk supply available for Becca.

Mr. Mom:

TMJD

2010-11-13T17:07:00.000-06:00

It sucks. Those of you that have it, you know what I mean! I have had problems with my jaw since I got braces as a child. Let's see....I was about 14 years old when I got my braces off and I'm 30 now.....WOW!! That's a long time to be dealing with pain!

Well, I'm sick and tired of it. For a long time, I would just take LOADS of motrin to try to relieve the discomfort and when I say loads, I mean it. Literally about 4-5 pills, several times a day.

Later, my orthodontist recommended some sort of joint scraping surgery that required pulling back the skin on my face...possible nerve damage and all sorts of scary business! I politely declined. LOL

Recently, I did some acupuncture to help relieve the pain of the TMJ, which for those skeptics among us, really worked! It was also a nice rest during my week to unplug, relax in the dark a while and enjoy some 'needle' time. It didn't hurt and I was surprised at how fast I saw results. In addition to the needles, I was also on some crazy Chinese pills, which I have no idea what they were, the bottles were in Chinese and no real explanations were given as to what they were, but whatever, they helped!

But that got to be too expensive so I had to quit! I went to the dentist and my teeth were getting beat up by my condition so now we're trying a mouth guard. Basically, I hate the mouth guard. I find I clench my teeth all the time and now, I *have* to wear the guard or else I'm killing myself. I'm not really happy with it.

Next stop, botox! I've heard that botox can help with TMJ so as soon as I'm done nursing Becca we'll try that.

What do you do for your TMJ? Have you tried botox? What works for you?

The nursery

2010-10-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

Baby Rebecca is 5 months old now, can you believe it!?!?

Well, it seems only fitting that after 5 months of life, her mommy has finally gotten off her tukas to set up a nursery for her. So a few weeks ago, we all worked together to move our office out of one of the bedrooms to make that Riley's room and then Riley's room became Rebecca's room. Olivia's room is getting a make over soon. I have already bought paint to paint it a soft yellow with a bright yellow accent wall. She also has 5 yellow tissue poms for her room.

I have to admit, I went a little nuts in her room, She has her painted accent wall (which everyone seems to have in our house, we're too chicken to paint a whole room a crazy color, but we *will* commit to one wall per room!) She has her tissue poms from Prost to the Host, where the shipping was quite fast and communication was phenom.

Let me show you some of what I've been doing...

I love the pompoms but I'm thinking the peach colored one might be hung too high.....still looking at it and deciding! I thought these would be a cool grow-with-me kind of mobile to put above her bed. They're interesting to look at and completely awesome, if I'm being honest. ;)

I put up fabric in embroidery hoops a la Sara's Art House. She's such an inspiration to me, I wish I could be as gutsy and colorful as her. If you haven't been over to Sara's blog, check it out, here whole house is amazing and everything she touches is beautiful.

Maybe even Sara would be proud of my polka-dot fabric mixed with flowers AND hummingbirds!

I have a Sarah + Abraham print on its way, well actually, *another* print coming, my first one came in protrait orientation but was supposed to be landscape! OOops! Sara over there is sending me another one for me to use.

I think these prints are adorable and I'm happy to have one for Becca's room. :)

I went kinda nutso on Etsy with my baby's room decorating. I also bought Rebecca a bunting banner for her window treatment. I'm not really big on heavy window treatments and the window is small/room is dark so I wanted something light. Enter the bunting!!!

I was also happy to incorporate a little lamp I had in my own room growing up. I knew it would be perfect in her space as soon as I started putting it all together. This lamp is beyond antique and I remember fiddling with the mom and baby for hours as a child, trying to make the mom look like she was walking to the cradle and then walking away after tending to her child. :)

I think Becca likes it. And I am really proud of how it is all coming together. :)

Have a great day!!

Life is good, playing musical rooms, furniture re-hab and more

2010-10-06T12:09:00.000-05:00

Life is good here.

Riley likes school, Olivia says her teacher, Ms. Wafa, is the best teacher in the whole world, and Becca is growing like a weed (13.7 lbs!!)
I have been reading several blogs lately written by mothers and fathers that have had children born with congenital heart defects. These blogs, though deeply heart-wrenching at times, also give me perspective. Though Ewan and Sawyer have passed, their lives are still very much a part of me even though I have never met them or their parents! More than that though, I am grateful and appreciative of how healthy my children are. So many things can go wrong and we have been so fortunate.

To mention a few:
Team Ewan
Sawyer's Heart
Bowen's Heart

My own children are so precious to me, I can only imagine how hard it would be to go through illness like this. At any rate, my deep attachment to my little boogers aside, things are happening around here that I wanted to tell you about.

We have some furniture re-hab in the works. I have been working on a china display shelf that I got for FREE a few months ago. Super cute piece but it was a super chippy, paint peeling off mess and Jason does not enjoy painted wood much. Many hours later, after sore muscles, cracked cuticles, HIVES, steroids, and saw dust, I have finished cleaning up the piece. Now I need to smooth it out before I start staining it.

Turns out it hasn't been so FREE after all! With the Dr visits and the prescriptions, now we're finally getting somewhere with this beauty! Eventually, it will be have a bead board backing on it and a rail for plates.

It really was quite a mess before. The white paint wasn't sticking well at all and it was chipping off all over the place. Not exactly a great paint job!

We're also playing musical rooms with our bedrooms and office spaces. What was Riley's room will become Becca's room. What was our office will become Riley's room and what was our formal living room (but has had my desk and computer in it) will become our office. Whew! Did you keep up with all that?? Also on the agenda....painting Olivia's room a light yellow and buying decor for Becca's room.

Check these out...

Jamie Mancilla

Prost the Host

Sarah + Abraham

Oh boy!! Mama's got some shopping to do now!!

Also, today we'll be planting tulips and daffodils in our yard. I am not going to worry about a garden next year, I'm going to just plant some green beans and work my asparagus well. Perhaps we'll produce more strawberries and black berries, but I'm not going crazy planting things next year. I'm just not feelin' it!

What have you been up too? Drop me a comment and let me know!

Cutest little bonnet you've ever made....

2010-09-27T14:15:00.000-05:00

in 20 minutes flat!!

Be prepared to love how cute this turns out!!

It seiously took me longer to type this blog post and wrestle with all the pictures than it did to make this bonnet. Plus just look how adorable Becca looks in it!! Too precious!

Items needed for this project:
a hankie
a sewing machine or your hands with a needle and thread
and some ribbon

Step 1: Iron your handkerchief

Go ahead and starch it too so it'll stand up a little better. I did not and it still works ok, but starch would do better!

Step 2: Fold one side in 1/3 and then sew.

Step 3: Fold other end over by about 3/4". Then sew.

Step 4: Thread ribbon through this 3/4" sleeve you made and tie it up super tight. This is the back of your bonnet.

Step 5: Sew on 2 pieces of ribbon (or whatever) to the front of the bonnet to hold it on/closed.

Tadaaaa!! There's your finished product. All done. Super easy, right? Anyone can do this, you just need to sew in a straight line. :)

Now have your own little cutie pie model it for you.

Tinkerbell

2010-09-21T14:25:00.000-05:00

My daughter sure loves Tinkerbell, in fact, we just bought her the Great Fairy Rescue today and she is currently enthralled with it right now. Look at this cool deal we found and redeemed for her....

Go here to score a Tinkerbell bracelet and charm for your little girl too!

Need I say what Miss Olivia will be for Halloween or can you guess??? ;)

Becoming a Better Parent: Challenge #4

2010-09-13T15:38:00.000-05:00

Are you keeping up? Are you a better parent yet?

I just yelled at my son for being too noisy. I'm worried he'll wake up his baby sister that just fell asleep after screaming for the past hour! It was without anger though, so I guess it was allowed. Meh.

I've been working on using other words besides 'great job' to praise the kids and I have to say, I like it! It does sometimes take me a minute to think of something else, but I think the kids enjoy hearing how **mah-velous** they are and how they did something perfectly. It is a nice change!

Challenge #4: Get Down On Their Level

Everything goes down smoother when someone gets down on your level to speak to you. Try not to reprimand the top of your child's head, squat down and look 'em in the eye!

I promise they'll listen better.

Becca is 4 months old!

2010-09-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

Howdy!!
Becca turned 4 months old yesterday and today we had our well baby visit. The pediatrician was very taken with her. She sees all 3 of the kids and she says that although all my children are beautiful, :) Becca is the prettiest yet! Becca just squealed and babbled at her the whole time she was getting examined.
She is 12 lbs 1 oz today and 24 1/2" long. She's tall and skinny...but still on the growth charts and doing great, especially for a scrawny little preemie!
We've been getting mail from a developmental pediatrician that wants us to bring in Becca but I talked with our Dr today and she didn't see any reason at this time to follow up with that other Pediatrician since there are no obvious delays at this time. They like to follow up with preemies I guess but we're not having any issues.
Becca doesn't roll, she doesn't laugh, and she doesn't hold herself up really well yet. She's a little slower than Livi was at this age...or Livi was just more advanced, more likely! She DOES smile all day long, coo at us, babble, squeal and wave her arms and legs around a lot. She seems pretty happy and just on the verge of laughing at us sometimes but nothing yet! I can't wait to hear one though.
Um....she has a flat head in the back so if that gets any worse, she's going to need a helmet. Riley had one of those so that wouldn't be something we've never had to deal with before.
She got her IPV and Hib shots, we go in next month for our DTaP and we also start our Synagis shots next month for her RSV prevention. We're delaying her shots so today was the first time for her getting any injections except from her Vit K at birth.
Good visit!!

Becoming a Better Parent: Challenge #3

2010-09-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Ok so punishing without anger wasn't too hard over the weekend. How was it for you? I felt like it was easier for me to detach myself from the immediate emotional response of the kids pissing me off so that I didn't react with anger. I just waited a minute and told them to go to time out. No freaking out needed.

Challenge #3: No more 'Good Job!'

What has your child done that's really awesome? Be specific and point it out to them. No more generic praise!! Here are some ideas:

Grandfather Clock drool fest

2010-09-06T17:50:00.001-05:00

I know I have said it before but I am in love with Swedish Mora grandfather clocks. I am in love like Bella and Edward with these clocks. It is crazy and obsessive, almost *too* crazy maybe.

or maybe more like this:

But that's silly. :-P

Here is some eye candy to enjoy, which I pulled from a google image search.

Aren't they dreamy!?!? That last one, the one just above here....in MINE!!! I found one on craigslist!! It isn't a super-duper pricey antique, but it was made by Thomasville and I love it. Never in a million years did I think I would ever be able to get one of these clocks but I still hoped....and it happened! I am so happy. My clock is the first thing I've ever bought with my Mary Kay earnings and I believe she'll look even more beautiful after I touch up some scratches on the front. :) I love the sound of a clock chiming every hour. Pure bliss.

The becoming a better parent challenge continues tomorrow!!

Becoming a Better Parent: Challenge #2

2010-09-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

So day one wasn't too hard. It was actually pretty easy to be present most of the day. I say most of the day because I inadvertently knocked myself unconscious with an antihistamine for an hour or so late this morning. This cold you see, it is getting worse!

I'm reading a book called Parenting the Strong-Willed Child. A must read for someone that has a difficult little person under their roof!! The book goes through a 5 week plan to improve the behaviour and relationships with the difficult little person. I found this book to be a lot better to put to use than The Difficult Child because as good of a book as TDC is, it doesn't really give concise instructions on how to deal with the issues. It is more of an explanation of the behaviors, which though helpful, still left me feeling frustrated with my child. PSWC has steps on ways to change your parenting behaviors to become more effective. So far so good, I'm liking it!

Anyway, I bring up those books because the first step in PSWC is attending, which is basically being present with your child and making the child realize you **SEE** them, you notice them, you acknowledge what they're doing. Instead of ignoring them until they start to act bad. It makes a big difference for your child. Trust me. I know this from experience.

Challenge #2: Punish without anger

Its the weekend now so I should have TONS more patience than usual....well maybe, if my hubby gets some soon with my nasal decongestant!

The kinds of punishments we use around here are mostly in the form of pom-poms. When the kids do well:

staying in their rooms at night
putting dishes in the sink after breakfast
picking up toys without being asked
saying 'yes, ma'am'
eating all their lunch
feeding the dog/cats

They get a pom-pom, anything 'bad' and they can loose a pom-pom. Usually, I will also count to 3 before I get really bent out of shape, the kids jump to action at about 1 1/2-2. Sometimes I'll also give time outs, depending on the offense. We're still trying to find out what works the best and I find that it is a constantly evolving area in my house. As they age, obviously, the punishments and discipline tactics change!

Good luck!

Becoming a Better Parent: The Challenge

2010-09-02T20:14:00.000-05:00

We all love our kids, well most of us do and the rest of us lie about it. But at any rate, we almost always want to be a better parent, right?

I can think of about 100 different things I did today that probably damaged my children in some long term way, like when I coarsely told my daughter to move it so I could walk or when I told my son to leave me alone while I tried to shove a bite of reheated pizza in my mouth at dinner time. I have a cold and my fuse is short, the days are long, and I just don't have any patience for anything -- even on a good day. Seriously, I admit to be a little lacking on my relating to others, being 100% caring towards others and having patience for the age 2-5 drama.

Perhaps I should have thought of all that before I started popping out kids, right? Eh, well...I digress. On with the challenge!!! Feel free to play along, link back to me and/or make fun of me. Its all good.

Challenge #1: Being present for my kids

I am guilty of saying whatever to the kids to get them to be quiet sometimes, often not really paying attention to the 682nd thing they've said "Look at this, Mommy!!" about in an hour. Agreeing with whatever they just said to me because I'm *just trying to get some grocery shopping done!!* and sometimes not even hearing/understanding what is being babbled at me.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to listen and interact with my children as if I didn't have about a billion other things going on in my head. I'll let them finish their ideas before telling them to go feed the dog and stop flapping their gums at me.

Sounds really easy and like I should be doing that already, but like I said, I may not be the best parent ever created, but I'm working on it!!

Adapted from Motherhood Uncensored

What I Wore Wednesday

2010-08-10T19:42:00.001-05:00

So, I decided to participate in What I Wore Wednesday this week. I don't wear anything too flashy or fancy, but this challenge did make me think about what I was wearing and I tried **at first** to think of something new to wear instead of just wearing what was on top of the clean clothes pile! I'm linking this to Lindsey's WIWW posts.

Wednesday:
Camera strap by SheyB
Scarf by GAP (not a good choice in 105 degree weather)
Tank by Target
Skirt by Target
Necklace from the Rusted Chain

Thursday:
Tank by Wet Seal
Jeans by GAP
Shoes Target
Watch I dunno

Friday:

Work out day!!

Tank tops by Target

Shorts by GAP

Saturday and Sunday and Monday, I forgot!!

Monday was just a pair of Motherhood jean shorts and a tank top from Kohls, you didn't miss much. ;-)

Tuesday:

Tank top from a garage sale

Capris from Kohls

New hair color from a box

Ok, so I guess I'm still functioning out of the clean clothes pile and not really thinking up anything new right now. I'll try harder for next week!!

Olivia

2010-08-02T16:21:00.000-05:00

My daughter Olivia is a wickedly righteous pain in the butt. A really tough pill to swallow at times and completely challenging to parent!!

I love her to death because not only is she all of those things, she is kind, loving, cuddley, FUNNY, and energetic.

We had a clinical social worker tell us today that they don't have many options to help Olivia, the only thing they can do is help *us* deal with her. I guess that's a start! Goodness knows, I'm totally clueless as a parent so I will take all the help I can get. :)

A lot of folks look at us and probably judge us when we're out with Livi. She'll yell or have a tantrum because, as it so happens, we do not give in to her demands out in public. Sometimes we end up with a scene in a store and having to leave. If you see us, don't give us an ugly look. Trust me, I'm feeling enough stress without your looks and I know how awful things are going right now, but I'm trying to work it out!

In The Difficult Child, I'm reminded that sometimes children are just born with difficult temperaments and there's nothing we, as parents, can do to change it. We can change our own reactions but not our children. So though no fault of our own, sometimes we are blessed with less than perfect children. Instead of looking at the situation and blaming ourselves, sometimes I think it is best to realize that whatever difficulty you're having with your child, there is only so much you can control.

Well, it has been a while!

2010-07-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

It is summer time here in Texas, which means, my garden has died from the intense heat, the kids are in swimming lessons, and we are trying to stay cool! It is about this time every year that I *really* think about moving some place cooler. This heat is miserable! Even the rain is hot!

We have been busy with lots of kid stuff. Riley and Olivia have both had a birthday in the past month and we have been celebrating for a very long time. We had a joint party at Chuck-e-Cheese and individual parties with family. The kids had a blast and my house is now, officially, bursting at the seams with kid's toys. I don't love that.

The baby has been growing! When we went in for her 2 month visit, she was nearly 9 lbs, which is so huge! If you remember, she was 4 lbs 14 oz when she was born. She is an eater, she thrives, and she has the sweetest temperament. She is not smiling yet, but she does have 'pleasant' faces (for lack of better word!) and she looks like she will smile any second. I can't wait. I've seen her smile in her sleep and it is a sweet one. She also laughs in her sleep, so I can't wait for that to come out either. I love baby laughs. :)

We have been having some issues with our sweet Olivia lately. Behavioral stuff. She loves her sister and she loves us, but she is being very difficult right now. I was remarking to my mother the other day about her behavior and my mother pointed out that Livi has been a more difficult personality since birth and it was just more obvious to everyone else! Apparently, I was in her good graces for a long time and didn't notice what a pill she was being to everyone else! I can see that now. She's a loving little girl, to certain people at certain times, but otherwise, she's a tough cookie to crack. She plays favorites and gives people a hard time when she's in a mood. She'll also argue about the color of the sky and can really give us a run for our money. Not sure what we're going to do with her, but we're working on managing it all better. I don't want her to feel neglected or unloved with the addition of a new baby. The thing is, with strangers, she is a lot easier to handle but within the family it is a whole 'nother story! I've read that is common with temperamentally difficult children.

Riley starts Kindergarten next month. EEK! I'm starting to freak out about it slightly.

Becca is becoming more and more beautiful. I can hardly stand to put her down, she is such a love. She's sleeping pretty well and just makes me so happy!! Here's a slew of pictures of the sweet Becca. :)

Enjoy your day!!

2 weeks!

2010-05-27T15:51:00.000-05:00

2 weeks old already!!

I wish I could take a picture of how soft your feet are.

I wish I could bottle the softness of your breathe. Those sweet breathy kisses as you try to nurse from my cheek are adorable.

I wish I could record the sounds you make in such a way that I could feel you in my arms as you're making them.

I wish I could keep you small and tiny in my arms forever but I know you have to grow.

I wish I could always remember how soft and silky your hair is. I never get tired of touching your sweet head.

I never get tired of kissing your sweet cheeks, your dimpled chin and your soft rose lips.

I could hold your tiny hands forever as you sleep on my chest, which is as close as I can get to the memory of you, while you were still safe in my belly.

I wish I could get away with holding you constantly and snuggling with you in the softness of my bed. I would love to hide away with you and forget the whole world. You know your brother and sister would come looking for us!

I love you Becca and I treasure every minute of you!

Rebecca Jane

2010-05-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

I very much wish I had been able to post last week! I tried and tried and it never worked.

I have been in the hospital for the past week. My water broke unexpectedly last Friday at 33 weeks.

I wanted to post about my concerns over my unborn child and the amazing surge of love I was having for this little person I had never met or knew at all. It was an amazing time for me and I wanted so much to share! To say the least, this child came into this world VERY much loved, cherished, and adored. So many sacrifices were made to get her here, so many members of our families contributed to making her incubation possible, it really amazes me that we had such a family effort to make this little person happen! So much love hardly seems possible and it is so overwhelming and awesome to feel.

So after 5 days in the hospital preparing ourselves for the inevitable premature birth of this little girl, Rebecca Jane was born. She is small, only 4 lbs and 14 oz at birth but nearly 18 1/2 inches long!! She's a bean pole like her mama! She is just amazing. Healthy and a fighter, just like I knew she would be. She amazes me and I'm already so proud of her. I can hardly imagine how proud I'll be when she walks, talks, graduates from college and the like. If her being born and thriving already makes me so proud, I know this little girl will have me wrapped around her finger in no time at all.

So, without further delays, here is my newest precious angel. :) She is IV fluid free, she is breathing room air, and taking 2 bottles a day. She is so perfect and wonderful! Just tiny.

Mother's Day Ideas

2010-05-04T14:02:00.000-05:00

I follow a lot of blogs, no surprise there, right? I'm a stay at home mom, my house is a wreck, the kids are fighting, still in their jammies, and I'm reading blogs. :-D
So, I've noticed a few posts on Mother's Day gifts and I'm going to run down my favorites. There are SO many to choose from!

How cute is this!!??! If you have a mom like I have, she doesn't appreciate flowers too much, they just die. It seems like a big waste of money if you think about it. My mom's too practical for stuff like that. How about this alternative? No-Sew Flowers tutorial from MADE. Great idea!

Or maybe a flower corsage that could go anywhere and do anything? If you have a feminine, frilly mom, a gift like this would be perfect!! I found this great tutorial on V and Co.

Speaking of the super practical, why not a hand made mail sorter? It might seem like a lame gift, but even dumb flowers that will die would look better when given with a mail sorter your mom can actually use all year! Bright and Blithe has a cool tutorial on making these.

Everyone loves shoes, so why not make your mom some super cute shoes with a little personality. These are easy to make and an easy to follow tutorial for them can be found on a new blog I love called Everything Etsy.

Ok, who doesn't use dish towels?! Anyone!?! These are inexpensively priced and come in pairs, and even can come with oven mits. Super cute! I'll probably score some of these for my mother and mother in law for Christmas! Look, they're made by GRANDMAS!!!

This little number is made by a sassy little shop called Picard Creative with is FUNctional Art with Attitude! I love it. I'm dying for a check book cover like this one above. I LOVE it! If you have a sassy little mama, she might like this too. It makes me smile every time I look at it. :)

So, do I need to say anything here? Go check these peapods out at Sudlow.

So, obviously, I sell Mary Kay cosmetics, skin care, etc, the whole she-bang! They have some wonderful Mother's Day gifts available these days! Not only can you score with our classic Satin Hands set, which leaves your hands baby-butt soft, but now they have a pedicure set too! What mom doesn't want to have soft, refreshed, lovely hands and feet!?!

Birds

2010-05-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

In our back yard, I have become quite the bird watcher. You'd think with 2 noisy kids, we wouldn't have many birds around here, but that just isn't true!
Here's some of the neat ones that I've seen this spring:

Our state bird, the mockingbird. Last year, we had a nest in our yard and if the resident male is successful in finding a mate, I suspect we'll have another batch of babies this summer!

Cardinals!! We love these guys! Their distinctive chirps always bring us running to the window to see who we can see out there. Seems like we have a pair like last year. Our cardinals last year had a terrible time and lost their nest in a wind storm. It was awful to find those beautiful eggs all broken on the ground. :(

Blue Jays! I have never seen one in my yard before but yesterday, I did. It was only here for a minute so I think it must have been lost or something. I believe our mockingbird patrol keeps these territorial birds out of out back yard.

Mallard ducks hang out around here too! The field out back has a lot of standing water when it rains and we end up with these quackers swimming in the puddles. Let me tell you, if you don't know, ducks are LOUD! The quack when they fly, walk, poop, eat, whatever. All the time! I don't mind it, but I sure was surprised by how noisy they can be.

We have barn swallows roosting on our back porch. Every night they come in to roost and have been here 2 years now. They poop a lot but they also eat a lot of bugs so they're worth the trouble.

Mourning doves by the handful!

And today, we had a bird like I've never seen before. The above picture is a white throated thrush, which I'm not sure was what I saw, but it was a brown bird with a lighter belly and a longer tail. It was using its head like a hammer and trying to break open a seed. I tried to get a picture but the pair of them flew away! At any rate, we might have discovered a new species of bird because I can't find anything that resembles it but this thrush and I don't think they've ever been seen this far into Texas. :)

Enjoy the spring everyone and remember to take a look around you to experience the life all around.

No Phone Zone

2010-04-29T20:40:00.001-05:00

Have you heard about this?

I don't know how many of you watch Oprah. Sometimes she really grates on me, but this time, she's onto something. Something BIG, like ahh-ha (!!!) big. A few months ago, Oprah had a show about talking or texting on cell phones while driving and oh my gosh! What a huge thing that is!
Did you know that driving while talking or texting on the phone is equivalent to drinking 4 beers before hitting the road?? With your mind distracted like that, it is no wonder that cell phones contribute, if not cause, most accidents on the roads today.

Is your phone call worth someone's life?

Make your car a No Phone Zone.

Think you have the texting and driving thing down? You do not. Save a life—maybe even your own—and sign Oprah's No Phone Zone pledge.

Tell your friends and family!

Etsy Swoons of the Day

2010-04-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I'm on Etsy tonight, but I know it *is* an addiction. I know I have a problem, but I kind of enjoy it. :-P

I now present to you....the things I have found on Etsy that make me swoon.

From Vesselsandwares, I found this gorgeous cake stand that literally took my breath away, seriously, I love the color and I *need* this, right? Dear golly, there are a ton of things on that store that I swoon for...

I also just really love the Elm Studios shop. They have the coolest, coolest items for sale! My favorite:

My immeasurable love for The Shabby Chic Cottage is well known in my home, I have purchased several things from that shop. All come as perfect as they are pictured and true to their description.

I also love My Sweet Savannah's shop. I have my eye on several things here but I'll only show you one. :) Great, awesome vintage finds in this Etsy store. Very cool!

So everyone, go out and get some shopping done! It is fun to window shop or window surf on Etsy. Great stuff lives there.

Julian & Co Custom Jewelry Giveaway!!

2010-04-23T12:30:00.000-05:00

One lucky reader of Make it and Love it will win this awesome necklace!!

School Pictures

2010-04-22T17:15:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh, what a buncha cutie pies!!

I guess I'll keep them if they're going to be this cute. LOL ;-)

Jeezle Peezle!!!

2010-04-17T17:39:00.000-05:00

In the past 24 hours, I have been to no less than ONE MILLION garage sales. Between yesterday and today, it seems that every neighborhood near me has organized neighborhood garage sales and people have some out in droves to shop. It has been mayhem!!

A few bargains were to be had. I got a new Talbot's purse for $2. We got a Little Tykes slide for $3. I found maternity clothes to cover my girth for $1 each. However, my main goal evaded me. It never fails with garage sales that the ONE thing you're looking for is never for sale at any place until you just give up and go buy one, spending more in the process. Right?

I want another chest of drawers. I know it was my intention to give a little furniture rehab to my little $15 dresser (remember the one?) but it isn't realistic for me right now. The chemicals are too much for me, the work is too much for me and I just really don't want to! I'd have my husband do it but he doesn't want to do it either. He has a lot on his plate already so whatever. We'll have a garage sale soon and I'll just sell the booger for $15 and be done with it!

I looked on craigslist, I looked in garage sales, I asked friends and neighbors. No one had one they were willing to part with for a price I was willing to pay. The pickings were slim. But I think I got lucky....finally!!

Look at this little beauty!! The family selling it posted on CL that they were having a sale today so I went and found nothing. Boo, but having nothing to loose, I went and knocked on the door to ask about it, see if the sale was rescheduled, whatever. They chickened out of their garage sale and invited me inside to see this chest.

I'll take it!!

Outside Stuff

2010-04-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

Things are turning green here and blooming. Spring is here!! I love it. I'm enjoying the outside so much more than inside right now.

I've planted flats of flowers, we've had lunches outside, gotten out our hammock, started the garden and dreamed about plants I want to plant in the future! Spring time is a time rich with possibilities.

My iris are blooming for the first time. I'm happy to see they are yellow! We had a bunch of purple ones growing up and I always envied the other colors (what a weird thing to be envious of!) Olivia loves them because yellow is her favorite color. :)

We have cows in the field behind the house right now and they are very funny. They love to eat weeds and since our yard happens to be FULL of them, they run to beg from us when they notice us in the backyard.

They are shameless beggars! Livi likes to put weeds in the hair on top of their heads. She finds it hillarious!

My little garden is off to a great start. Everything in there is trial and error. I passed on growing a few of the things I grew last year. No cantaloupe, watermelon or broccoli this year! They didn't do too great last year and the cantaloupe ended up trying to grow over half my yard.

This year, we have some herbs. Thyme, chamomile, and oregano in my tiered planter.

Plus a whole bunch of ambitious plants getting started in the main raised bed. We have a few strawberry plants, my blackberry bush came back loud 'n proud, and we got a few asparagus to try this year.

The asparagus is kind of interesting. It starts off looking a little like this:

But you put it in your garden anyway, even though it looks like an alien. I covered it with a little dirt and as it grew, put more and more dirt over it. Supposedly, it will take a few years to see any product from this new garden element, but it sure is interesting to watch it grow. It is kind of looking like a thinned out bush right now. We'll see how it does!

I'm also growing some wild onions, carrots, peas, green beans, grape tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin and cauliflower!! My only worry now is how the garden will fare with me having a baby in the middle of growing season!

The kids had a fun time at the nursery. They each picked out plants that they liked, and we got some new flowers for our flower beds. All of our begonias died from last year because of our harsh winter. Usually they come back here because Texas is so mild, but with more than a foot of snow during the winter, it killed 'em! We bought some dianthis, snapdragons, and lantana, plus some other kind of mystery flower that Riley picked out. It is purple and weird looking but I didn't see where he got it or what it was. LOL

Today, I had an impulse buy at Walmart. There was a beautiful purple rose bush for sale for $9 which I snapped up. It looked like it needed some love and I have just the place for it. It says it needs 8+ hours of full sun a day so I hope it will like the spot I picked for it. It doesn't exactly have the sun requirements but here's hoping!!

So many things...

2010-04-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

We have many plans in the works for the coming year and I'm just so excited, I have to share them with you. :-)

This year, we will take a huge step toward becoming debt free. Our credit cards will be paid off and one of our mortgage loans will be paid off as well. All that done, we'll just be down to 'regular' debts which we'll be able to pay off more quickly. I'm super excited about all of that. It has been a major goal of mine for a while and I'm happy to see a big break through in sight.

Also, next year, we'll have hardwood floors installed in the major living areas in our home. I'm SO excited about this because our carpet is looking ratty and we know that the wood floors will not only look awesome, but will add to the resale value of our home when (if) we ever decide to move!! Not to mention that if the cat's have accidents or puke or poop or whatever on the wood floors, it won't be half as worrisome as it is on our carpet! Never mind potty training accidents or dog accidents! Wood floors are going to be freakin' awesome. We have LOTS of accidents here.

Also next late winter/early spring, we're going to be adding onto our outdoor living space. We spend so much time outside, it is time we had something a bit more usable. We'll add a pergola back there, extend the patio (either with concrete, pavers or flagstone), move the swing set and start enjoying the back yard more.

I really can't wait to get all these things started. The next year is going to be a busy one for us, but really exciting also. Not to mention that we're getting a new member of the family within the next few months as well! My pregnancy is going great, I'm 7 months pregnant now and getting very, very round. Here is a kind of recent photo of my growth, but I'm bigger now.

I'm no longer on bed rest but I seem to have been released too late. Now I'm so winded and tired, I hardly have the 'oomph' to do much! I try to walk and stay active though which is quite a chore. I'm hanging in there and doing pretty well actually so I won't complain too much. Just regular pregnancy stuff now.

I hope everyone had a very blessed Easter. We had a wonderful day as a family. It was fabulous.

Fret. fret, fret over SILLY things!!

2010-03-26T13:22:00.000-05:00

How silly is this!?! All day today, I've been fretting over if I picked the right dress for my daughter.

I won a super cute giveaway from Shey B and my prize is an Addelyn twirly dress, which I KNOW Olivia will freak out over. These were my 2 finalists:

Which one would you choose?

Priceless lesson from a fortune cookie

2010-03-25T20:40:00.000-05:00

I found this in my fortune cookie the other day. To me, it was an amazing fortune to find. It really spoke to me.

In my life, I rush around doing house work, caring for the kids, yelling at the kids, being busy, busy, busy. I'm often too busy to appreciate the important things that are right in front of me. Like many mom's (or people for that matter!) it is easy to start taking things for granted when you see them every day. I feel like this little message was just for me.

Key to My Heart

2010-03-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

The Vintage Pearl is having a giveaway!!

Go SEE!!

PolkaDot Spots Giveaway!!!

2010-03-08T21:47:00.000-06:00

Look at this beauty!! Go check out the giveaway over at Happily Domestic!!

Ideas

2010-03-07T16:30:00.000-06:00

Chest of Drawers in need of CPR

2010-03-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

On Criagslist this morning, I found this dejected piece. They were asking $20 and I got it for $15. Yay bargain!!

Bad paint job. No knobs. Blank slate!! Perfect height for a changing table on top and with drawers for Baby Becca's clothes!

I think I'm going to paint is a nice sea foam blue color and distress it. I also need some new pulls for it! I wish the drawers had knobs instead of pulls but OH WELL! Beggars can't be choosers. What a fun new project!

What would YOU do with this blank slate??

Birthday

2010-03-02T09:39:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me!! Today I am 30!!

Matting pictures using Construction paper

2010-03-01T16:39:00.002-06:00

I made it!

My DIY skills are pretty slim, but I'm kinda proud of myself this time. Ha ha ha

My limited budget and grandiose ideas force me to get creative sometimes.

For this project, you will need:

-construction paper
-elmer's type glue
-a picture frame
-a picture in need of matting

Got all that!?!? Ok.

Here's what I did. I found a picture on that nice Vintage Printables website. I printed them on plain 'ole printer paper and then trimmed them down some. Then placed the picture in the middle of my 11x14 frame and measured out to the sides. Cut out your construction paper to fit and VOILA!! You are done. I just glued my construction paper to my pictures so I could switch out the pictures and mats as needed. The frames cost $5 at Walmart and the rest I had on hand.

Very easy. I messed up TONS but construction paper and elmer's glue are VERY forgiving. It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful and it doesn't have to be hard to do to be beautiful either!

Here they are, all done and in place. My choices were all bunny pictures. My daughter loves them and they are cute too. My daughter just thought they were "WOW." Perfect! :)

Making a Princess's Room

2010-02-27T16:26:00.000-06:00

Today we moved my daughter into her 'big bed' which really isn't big except to her. It is just a toddler bed and previously she was sleeping in a 3 sided crib! I'm having a lot of fun attempting to decorate her space. Little girls are so much fun to shop for!!

I dug out her butterflies and flowers comforter and sham set that I got on sale last year. It belongs on a twin sized bed, but she doesn't know the difference. I just tuck the extra under the mattress.

The bedding matches the butterflies and flowers from her wall stickers perfectly and I've decided to add pictures of bunnies around the room because Livi 'really likes bunnies.'

I found these pictures on this neat Vintage prints site. The prints are free and I just printed them on regular printer paper and I plan to mat them all with construction paper, like I did the one here in green. We're really high-tech around here. ;)

A few years ago, I was in a resale shop and found this really cute net canopy, I liked it better than the flimsy ones I had seen for sale before and since I knew its future lay in a little girl's room, I wanted it to be sturdy. Today, we took the leap of faith that Livi was a big enough girl to not pull it out of the ceiling and we're giving it a try! I still have some ribbons to add to the top, in various colors coordinating with her bedding but I really love the whimsy it adds to the room. She LOVES it. :)

We are headed to IKEA tomorrow and I'm hoping to find some mirrors to hang on either side of her bed and on the opposite wall, I need to get the 2 other bunny pictures matted and framed today, then I'll post my progress. I'm terrible at the nick-nack details hanging out on flat surfaces, so I'll probably just leave things blank for now. After all, the room is for a 2 year old and what she doesn't break, she will futz with every day!

What do you think so far?? I'm kinda proud of our day's work.

New Personal Office

2010-02-25T10:33:00.000-06:00

Ok, so maybe calling it new is an overstatement, but whatever. It is new to me. :-D

In our formal living area, we had struggled to find a purpose. We don't have any formal living furniture and we didn't really have a clue what to put in there. We had a nice gallery of photographs on one wall and a cabinet that doesn't match anything else we have in the house. We also had a dinning room table and 6 chairs, which we never use since we are not formal dining people either!

The hubby wants to get rid of the non-matching cabinet and the dinning room table and buy some formal living stuff including a sofa bed in case we have company stay the night. I'm on board with that if I can find a sofa bed that we like. That's been the biggest challenge!

In the mean time, since the hubby is working at home more now, I've moved most of my office stuff out of our designated 'office' and made a space for myself in the formal living room. This way, the oldest can use the computer when he wants to and while I'm on the computer, I can be closer to the kids since the formal dining room (our play room) is attached to the formal living room.

At any rate, I'm happy to have a new space to call my own and to make use of a previously ignored area of my home. Yay! :)

Everyone, enjoy your day! It looks like another beautiful one here in Texas, sunny but still a bit chilly.

BOOYA!!!

2010-02-19T18:04:00.000-06:00

Hey guess what...I'm super lazy. Maybe you might even call it 'Crazy Lazy.' The worst part of my laziness is that I own things made of silver, which means.....I NEVER polish them and they're all nearly brown/black with tarnish and looking WAY beyond a 'light shabby-chic patina', if you know what I mean.

Here's an example:

These were hanging in my dining room, right by the entry way of my home, basically anyone that comes to visit sees these and cringes.

Today, for whatever reason, I decided I'd had enough of all that and I cleaned the little buggers. Here's what I did. Ahem....it is the LAZY way. LOL

1) Get a pan that will fit your silver in it.

2) Put tin foil inside the pan.

3) Put your silver piece(s) inside the pan.

4) Get a buncha hot water.

5) Add 1-2 cups of baking soda.

6) Add a little bit salt.

7) Pour baking soda/salt water over the silver.

8) Watch in amazement as your silver transforms right before your eyes!!!

WOOOOOOOO-ooooooooooooooo!! Look at these results!!

PICK YOUR JAW UP OFF THE FLOOR!!! It was so easy, you can do it too, I promise.

This weekend, our family picture wall is getting a make-over. This is no longer working for me.

The HUGE reveal will come soon. :) Enjoy your weekend!!

Maybe this summer??

2010-02-17T09:33:00.000-06:00

HA HA HA, I jest!! Maybe NEXT summer! ;-) But isn't this a cute suit from victoria's secret!?!?

Perhaps this is what my body will look like by next summer. LOL Right after I finish spitting out this 6 lb watermelon I've got growing in me now.

It is so much fun to dream, right!?!?

Necklace Display & Storage

2010-02-16T16:28:00.003-06:00

I made one today!! I'm so super handy and crafty that I did this in about 30 minutes. Now, stop laughing, we all know I'm not handy or crafty but it still only took about 30 minutes.

Here's what I did.

Here are all my supplies, I have an old picture frame that my hubby knocked off the wall and broke the glass, some poultry wire, my wire cutter tool thingie (which sucked for this project, so use something better), my ruler and my staple gun. I put it all on the floor in my living room to 'get ready.'

The hardest part was cutting the darn chicken wire, it was a royal PITA with the cutters I have, which are actually fence cutters! Here's the next step.

I had to clean up this frame, I pulled out old staples and the paper remnants that were on it and primed it for its new life in the spotlight.

I started laying out the chicken wire that I had cut. My piece was about 7"x16" to fit the frame so I could staple it on the back. I started at the bottom, pulling it tight and stapling it down, it wasn't hard at all. When I got to the top, I cut the extra off and stapled it down some more. Nice and tight. Nice and secure. Perfect!

Here it is with some precious gems hanging. I'll rotate them out with my current favorites periodically. I love it and I plan on hanging it on the wall, but I had to fill in some holes and while I wait for my spackle to dry, I'll just lean it up against a wall.

Tomorrow, I'll paint my spackle and hang my jewelry display frame and towel holder.....getting one step closer to master bathroom detail completion!

I hope you enjoyed our little project. It was an easy-peasy one!!

We’re taking part in the I Made It! Blog Party at Everything Etsy!!

Vintage Pearl Giveaway!!

2010-02-16T16:05:00.000-06:00

I always seem to find these....mostly because I covet VP stuff and never seem to win any!! I love their beautiful hand stamped wonderfulness.....

Centsationall Girl is having a Vintage Pearl Giveaway right now!!

More snowy wonderland pictures...

2010-02-16T10:51:00.000-06:00

It is a Texas Blizzard!!

2010-02-11T15:48:00.000-06:00

It has been snowing here all day today!! It is practically unheard of, but we have about 5" of accumulation so far. It has been so much fun to see the kids playing out in the snow, throwing snow balls, eating the snow, and making snow men. I will tell you, I have lived in Texas my whole life and I've never been able to make snow men as big as these before EVER!

I want to go out later and get some real shots of the snow, but it hasn't stopped snowing yet and it is hard to get pictures without those white flecks in them. :) Life is so hard. LOL

So freakin' CUTE!

2010-02-11T13:09:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I tell you guys about things I find online, just so I don't forget about them. I have so much 'stuff' that I try to keep up with and sometimes it helps to write them all down. Like this. Check this out.

I love, love, love it. I found this little beauty and a how-to on how to make one for yourself HERE. I found this cute little site called A Little Great a couple of days ago because they had a giveaway or something. This pillow blows me away. It is perfect!

They grow so fast, I love ways to memorialize their tininess.

Giveaway Time!

2010-02-10T12:54:00.002-06:00

Mint-Grapefruit Granita

2010-02-02T18:24:00.000-06:00

Mmm-mmm-MMM!!!
What a tasty sweet snack for a winter day. Kinda helps you pretend it is summer time already! I made these fruit juice granitas in about 20 minutes and then popped them into the freezer to enjoy the next day.

The recipe is so easy! Brought to you by Martha! Enjoy!!

Mint-Grapefruit Granita
Makes 4 servings
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cups fresh grapefruit juice (from about 3 medium grapefruits), strained
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), strained
1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar, mint and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes to 5 minutes. In a blender, combine fruit juices and mint syrup. Purée on high to combine, about 30 seconds. Pour mixture into a nonreactive shallow 2-quart baking dish and freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or up to 3 days).
2. With a fork, break granita into large chunks. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to form small crystals. Serve immediately with mint leaves (or cover and freeze, up to 2 hours).

Rag Quilt and Good News!!

2010-01-29T12:27:00.000-06:00

It seems like it has been a while since I posted, but nothing much is happening here and I didn't want to just put in a filler fluff post. Those are boring and lame. ;o)

A few days ago, I finally got up the nerve to start on a rag quilt for the new baby. I found this awesome tutorial from Creations by Kara which was simple enough to follow, even for lil 'ole me! I'm not sure I'll ever be able to make one without Kara telling me all the measurements to use because I'm math-dumb, but since Kara did all the hard work for me, I did it!! I made mine 32"x32" just like Kara.

I headed off to Hancock the other day, spoke with an old lady that teaches the quilting classes they have there. I didn't realize until about 1/2 way through our conversation that she was WAY more into quilting than I was at that point. She was sweet. Instead of buying any batting for inside my quilt, she instructed me to buy some Northern Lights fleece to use instead. Cheaper than batting, works just as well, I was sold! I also splurged on a self healing rotary mat. I sew on the floor most of the time and it is big enough to keep all my sewing stuff off the carpet while I work. And it was AWESOME while I was using the rotary cutter to cut my squares.

I hadn't used a rotary cutter before. Have you? You should. They're awesome. I love it. I can't believe I lived all this time without one. Here are the squares I cut from my fabric stash.

Kinda quirky and a mis-mash of patterns and similar colors, but I liked how it went together. Here's the finished product:

I used scraps for the whole thing. The bright pink squares are a jersey cotton (which I don't recommend using, it stretches too much) and the other squares on the front are just cotton scraps. The minkee dot fabric is just scraps from making dolls. I cleared out a lot of room in my fabric box!

So, that's the blanket I made for Rebecca Elizabeth. Yep! That's right! We named the baby! It came down to Rebecca or Charlotte, but I liked the idea of calling the baby Becca.

Speaking of baby Becca, we went yesterday to see the perinatologist. She is 9" long and 11 oz now, getting big in there. The Dr. kept making comments about how active she is. Yeah, I know. LOL She kicks me all the time. :) Also, they were able to confirm that the blood clot is getting smaller. So everyone's prayers and positive thoughts have paid off! I'm getting better. Still on bed rest, but at least there's a light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps I'll be off sometime in the near future.

Olivia has been using the 'big potty' for the past 2 weeks. She still needs a diaper while she sleeps, but otherwise, she stays dry and does her thing like a big girl!! WOOHOO!! This means that I won't have 2 babies in diapers when the new baby arrives.

Vintage Pearl Giveaway!!

2010-01-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

Check it out!!

The Vintage Pearl

Guess what!?!?

2010-01-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

This is how I look now - round. LOL

Here's the baby today too. The condition I have is still there and I have to spend the next 2 weeks until my next check up on the couch or in bed.

The baby has its legs up over its head with ankles crossed. Too cute!! And.... its a GIRL!!!

My Sweeties

2010-01-11T11:15:00.000-06:00

Here's the best from our photo session from the other day. :) Enjoy!!

Boy Howdy..

2010-01-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

We have been so busy here. And by 'we', I don't really mean me, but everyone else around here sure looks busy. My Mom and my Mother in law have been coming by to pitch in and distract the kids for me.

Having other people grocery shop for me is fun. Actually, it isn't. People see my highly anal-retentive grocery list and they then offer to drive me and then push my cart while I drive in the motorized cart like I'm an elderly disabled person. I seriously want to fly by the oldsters at WalMart in my motorized chair and give them the 'rock' fingers.

....and then zoom off in my chair, white-smoking my tires and peeling out. LOLLOLLOL

Enough of that. That annoyance isn't productive to anyone! Gotta stay positive and drink lots of water. HA

Today, I saw my new OB, she's nice and my Mom works in the ER with her husband so she came highly recommended. She basically repeated everything that my other OB said. I didn't switch to the new OB because the last one was stupid or anything, but this new OB is about 20 minutes closer to my home and I thought with the possibility of a long term hospitalization for myself or a micro-preemie, I thought closer would be better! I'll also be switching perinatologists for one that is closer. I have Dr appointments every week now.

16 weeks now! At least 5 more weeks of bed rest to go. I can do this, that's only 5 more Dr. visits.

I'm taking the kids (not by myself) to get their pictures made tomorrow. It has been a ridiculous amount of time since I've had professional shots of them so I'm taking them back up to WalMart. Does that count as professional? LOL We'll see how they turn out. Be prepared for unlimited cuteness in pictures tomorrow. ;)

Let me also just say how AWESOME Michelle is. She runs this little blog called From House to Home. She is amazing at little crafty projects around her house and I think I've probably been begging her for years to come and re-do my own home since I suck at accessories and she just makes it look too easy.
Michelle is a good friend of mine. And I love her. She recently wrote a blog post about me that made me cry.
Thanks for inviting people to pray or send some positive vibes my way. I really appreciate them and I'm feeling the effects. So far, so good (relatively!) with this troublesome pregnancy...as hard as this is on me right now, things could be a LOT worse than they are! Every week I'm pregnant is a week closer to my baby and I making it through this serious complication.

Thank you EVERYONE for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T14:43:00.001-06:00

Did I tell you that I'm basically on bed rest now?

Yes, it is true. I say basically because the Dr. has all but said it. I have to lay on the couch or bed, not lift anything, limit my activity and be still! Sounds like bed rest, right? My hubby is working from home to help me wrangle the babies while I sit around on my buns. I'm bored and tired of laying around. I want to do something and I'm anxious from sitting still.

Yes.....and it has only been a week. *sigh*

I had an ultrasound last week with a perinatologist who explained that I do not have placenta previa, which was what was previously thought. Instead, I have something called SCH, which in english means I have a big, honkin' blood clot between the uterus and the baby. My pregnancy is now high risk, more than it was before, because this SCH carries more risks for mom and baby. Scary stuff but hopefully the resting I'm doing now will make a big difference in the outcome of things later. I hope!

There's a picture of the baby from last week. Looking pretty good in there, even though we're having problems. Baby's growing perfectly and bouncing around in there like he/she's supposed to. There was a glimpse of a penis in one shot of the baby but we couldn't confirm. Of course, in my mind anyway, now I'm thinking of the baby as a boy. We still can't decide on a name. My favorite is Graham David if only I could get Hubby on board, he doesn't hate it but he won't commit to anything. He told me today he wanted to name the baby Chicken Tender. You can see how much help he's being about picking names, right?

The blog I'm loving most right now:

Hip2Save The best deals on the internet are listed here. I LOVE IT!!

Perfect distraction for me who can't go out and shop! I can do it from my computer in my jammies if I want.

Well, anyway, I hope that you're new year is full of many blessings and exciting times, health and prosperity.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-28T10:25:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas! We sure were busy and the kids had a wonderful time unwrapping presents and playing with their new things.

What a mess we made! I'm still working on getting everything put away, our play room is wayyyy overstocked now.

My big present for Christmas was a new Kindle! I love it. Now I can read books all I want without having to find a place to store them in my house. Did I mention how much I love it? I've been reading like crazy since I got it.

I started with Wings By Aprilynne Pike and now I can't wait for the sequel, Spells, to come out. The best part about the Kindle is how I get to 'try' books before I buy them, by downloading the first few chapters for free. It helps me make triple-sure that I want to continue the story. Awesome feature. I'm quickly starting a wish list on Amazon of all the books I want to read. I have a sweet little cover coming to protect my new baby too, isn't it pretty?

Early, early Christmas morning, about 1 am, I woke up to some unsettling events happening with my pregnancy. To make a long story shorter and as TMI free as possible, I'll just say I had a spontaneous bleed caused apparently by placenta previa. I had the same type of placenta issues with my first pregnancy, which never resolved, leading to a c-section. This time, the problem seems to be more severe and the bleeding is pretty significant. I have an appointment with a specialist sometime soon. My main hope is that I won't have any difficulties carrying this pregnancy to term and that the baby will continue to be healthy.

Amazingly enough, the kids happened to sleep in a bit on Christmas morning and only woke up about 10 minutes after I got home from L & D. What luck!! They never even knew I was gone. Boy was I tired though. Whew.

I'm pet sitting a pretty low maintenance dog down the street for the rest of the week. It is nice to play Mommy to someone else's dog for a while. My dogs are such hooligans, it is nice to hang out with another dog every now and then. It reminds me how much I like dogs....I tend to forget when I deal with my own turkeys so much.

I hope all of your Holiday celebrations were wonderful. And I will be wishing for all of you to have a prosperous new year!!

Holiday Decorations

2009-12-17T17:32:00.000-06:00

The kids had their last day of MDO today and had a small holiday party too. While we were there, we got all of the crafts that the kids had been working on for the past 2 weeks. I came home and promptly hung them up in a prominent place in my home.

The kids are over the moon to have their art hanging up.

I love it.

So, what do you think??

2009-12-17T09:16:00.000-06:00

I think I like it. :)

Want to know how Mrs. Creative (scoff) over here figured out how to make 46" long curtains, which is not a standard length for curtains around here? Or well, it isn't in Target and that's the only place I looked. LOL
Well (!!) I bought a twin xl crisp white flat sheet and turned it into two curtains. :-D I didn't want curtains to cover the whole window, just the patch of blue that was on either side of the window. It didn't matter to me exactly how wide the curtains were, just how long they were. They needed to cover the whole space, right?

So I bought the sheet, washed it, cut it, hemmed it, made a pocket for the rod and threw those babies up there. Even Mr. Skeptical was pretty impressed with how it turned out. I even fooled him with the curtains! He didn't realize that the windows didn't go all the way over to the wall.

That just shows how you can look at something for over a year and never really see it. LOL

Here are the windows before:

And now after with the curtains softening the whole thing:

Do you notice that I'm starting to accessorize? Hold onto your nickers, gals!!!

I have a vase full of green pears. Woah.

I have an expresso tealight holder from The Shabby Chic Cottage, which if you haven't checked out Gina's Etsy shop, you really should. I've purchased a couple of things from there and the shipping is always fast and Gina's just a sweetie.

And I have a wrought iron basket full of Bath and Body works junk that I really hate using. I just hate B&B works. Their stuff usually makes me itch or stink or get a UTI. Bleeeck!

I was happy to have this tiny part of the master bath project completed before Christmas. There's still more to do, but it is coming along!! :)

People tell me that my kids are funny.

2009-12-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

If that were true, why don't I laugh more?

Instead, I'm just frustrated with their crazy antics. But that could be my hormones talking.

Today, instead of going quietly into that sweet nap time, Riley fussed at me. He wanted a chair. I peeked in his room, he had a chair. I said, 'You have a chair.'

He said, 'Yes, but I need another chair for my babies.' Ugh. Sigh. Ugh. Darn it. Not those guys again. I think that Riley's babies must be the most demanding inanimate objects in my entire house. They ALWAYS need something. It is annoying.

What? You don't know what the Babies are? Lucky you! Let me learn you on the Babies. The babies came about when Riley was brand new, he nursed all messy-like and I had to use diaper flats or prefolds between me and him to catch all the spills or we'd both get soaked. Over time, the little towels got all ratty and stained but Riley loved them. Inevitably, they'd get in his bed for naps or what not after being stuck in his neck for a feeding. He got used to them being near him and that was that. The Babies were born. At some point, I sent the little nasty things out to get tie-dyed for extra beauty. Riley loved that too!

So now, we have about 3 Babies that are, at any point in time, sneaking around my house. Today they caused trouble at lunch when they needed their own chair to watch Riley eat his macaroni and cheese.

ANYWAY, I got off track. The babies needed a chair for quiet time, remember? I said, 'No, your babies do not need a chair. This is silly. Don't be silly.' Insert amazing amounts of whining from a little pitiful, whining face that only a mother (possibly only this mother) could find annoying. 'Please mommy, they need a chair, but I waaaaaaannnnnnnt a chair for them.'
'No.'
Then, I had second thoughts. Perhaps I was crushing his spirit or something and I should make some kind of accommodations for these fussy Babies. So, I said, 'Hey, there's a little stool in the bathroom, why don't you use that for your babies. They aren't very big, I bet they'd like that one because it is closer to the floor. Their legs aren't very long, you know.'
The boy looks at me and says, 'That's why they want a big chair. They want to be up high.'

SIGH. I can't win here. I tried to be nice to those stupid Babies but they still try to sucker punch me.

So I told him to chuck his Babies up on top of his loft bed if they wanted to be high. I was through messing with it. I turned around, closed his bedroom door and began to retreat to the other room. As I was walking away, he threw one of his tennis shoes at the door. I suppose that was meant for me, but I just let it go. I bet the Babies made him do it.

Bathroom starting

2009-12-08T16:55:00.001-06:00

No pictures today but a little minor set-back. I bought my curtain rods and some curtains. My rods will work but I think I'll have to either make some curtains or buy some 94" curtains and cut them in half.

I don't have time for this!!! I need 48" long curtains. Gah!

Still on the hunt for beachy-type decor that doesn't require me to sell one of my arms or legs to pay for it. ;)

A few constants around here:

2009-12-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

#1. There is always a random bug on this shelf. It freaks me out in the dark. Every. Time.

#2. Crayon drawings end up in the most inappropriate places (on furniture.)

#3. My garden tub is always full of bath toys.

#4. And my mirrors all look like this, thanks to little tiny hands covered in slobber, snot or food-goo.

And I don't mind one bit. Happy Holidays everyone!!

Christmas tree...O.....Christmas tree.....

2009-12-06T18:58:00.001-06:00

Isn't it lovely?!?

This is the 2nd year we've been in this house for our Christmas and we're still experimenting with the best placement for our tree. Last year, it landed in some front window, squashed in a small corner, without much room for present opening around it.
This year, we decided to move our living room furniture around and put the tree in there. I think I like it a lot better. You sure can't miss the tree now!! It is almost dead center in the room. You have to walk around it to get anywhere. It is a pain, but I love it.

This is the first yeara the kids have been big enough to help decorate. I have to admit, they want to put about 200 ornaments in the same 4" square of tree. I made it my job to re-home the ornaments from where the kids placed them and spread them around the tree. I would have left them, but they were right near the bottom, some were breakable, and we have cats that bat at things, kwim?
We have a green star because Riley's favorite color is green. :)

And here it is in the dark because that is the true beauty of a Christmas tree, right? I can't wait to lounge on the couch and stare at our family's tree in the coming weeks. What a treat!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had an enormous garage sale Saturday and it was a success! I made a lot of money and got rid of a lot of clutter around here. We got rid of our corner desk from the office, making room for 'Thing 3', and our office looks huge. I'm still working on accessorizing my master bathroom though I notoriously suck at such tasks, I'm trying to stay positive. I don't have a lot of inspiration or space to work with so it is slow going.

Such is life around here!! Happy Holidays!!

So many posts all in one

2009-12-01T08:55:00.000-06:00

I was realizing today as I was flipping through my old posts that I painted and 'redecorated' my laundry room and never posted my after shots. Now, now gentle readers, how could you let me slip up like that??

Also! I painted.....er...hubby painted... the master bathroom. I'm still pulling that together but I've got some big ideas. I'm having some trouble with a window treatments over my huge windows in the bathroom. There isn't any room for a curtain rod so I think I'm going to have to use a tension rod to hang curtains in the space. I hate tension rods. Bleh. Any other ideas, ladies??

You can see the paint color in the room there a little bit too, it is a Valspar color called peaceful slumber. I love it. It is a great blue/gray color, very relaxing. It kind of reminds me of a stormy day. I love it...did I say that already? We left the water closet the chocolate/tan color that used to cover both rooms. I kinda like how it looks that way but painting it is always an option. :)

Never mind our towels hanging on their wrack on the door. LOL Yes, we actually live here.

Here now, take a look at the laundry room. How it was:

So, there's a few before shots. It wasn't that pretty or anything. Just a bunch of stuff shoved in a tiny space because I had no other place to put it. I'm sure you can all relate!

Here it is now, which I think is a huge improvement. I used Behr's grasscloth for the color. It is a nice, happy green.

There you can see my super clever (scoff) laundry sorting system. I fold all the laundry straight from the dryer and everyone has a cubby. I did a bunch of laundry over the weekend and I haven't put it all away yet! You can pick your excuse for why I haven't done it from the following:

A. too tired

B. too busy

C. hate putting laundry away

If you picked C, you're a winner!! That floral thingie is on the wall there because I don't have any place to put it right now!

So that's it. Aren't you all impressed with my decorating skillz? Ok, I guess not. I'm no Nester or Southern Hospitality and I don't decorate from Southern living catalogs or Pottery Barn. But, I'm happy with it. :) It looks good to me and I proudly show it off to everyone that comes and visits and they oooh and ahhh appropriately. LOL

Have a great day ya'll!!

Baby

2009-11-23T19:21:00.000-06:00

We're starting to look like a real baby now. In this picture, we're head to the right with booty to the left, legs and one arm are visible too. :)

Injuries

2009-11-20T18:30:00.000-06:00

I'm fine.

However, I did fall off my 6' ladder twice yesterday and now my legs (not to mention my arms and back!) are all sore from catching my fall. Don't even ask about the paint catastrophe that happened when I fell. Not one of my prouder moments as a parent as I'm sure I taught my children a few words they had not heard before!

Anyway, now Mr. Hubby will be helping with the painting and I will be keeping, more or less, on the ground!

I'm taking a break for my legs to recover and for me to get my nerve back. Then I will tackle the bathroom again! Most is already painted though, just some edging and details left to do.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Too Blue!

2009-11-18T10:04:00.000-06:00

So I painted a portion of the master bath yesterday to surprise the hubby with how awesome I am.

The only problem was that I wasn't super impressed with my color choice! After the paint dried, it really looked bright and almost neon. It didn't look nice with our off-white-ish counter tops and bathtub. Hubby thought the color was too baby blue and looked more like a nursery than a bathroom. Perhaps if the other surfaces were bright white the neon blue would have looked nice and sharp.

Instead. Um....no. It just looked crappy.

Our master bedroom is painted this dark gray color called Siene, which is super dark. I found some left over that the previous owners left in the garage when they moved. I thought that adding some gray would tone down the color some and make it mesh with the stuff I can't change in the bathroom.

I think this modified color is perfect! The color now compliments the other surfaces instead of conflicting with them. As an added bonus, I still get the blue I love. The color is definately more blue than gray but has just enough gray to 'fix' it.

Bathroom Re-do Begins

2009-11-17T17:34:00.002-06:00

Over the weekend, I went to Lowes and scored some paint for my master bathroom. Let me show you how important it is to use a semi-gloss or glossy paint or even just a paint made for bathrooms or kitchens in a high humidity area. Without that paint, your paint does
THIS after a while:

Not super pretty in my opinion. Streaky and helll-ooo nails in the sheet rock! Nice to see you again, it has been too long! Oh wait, no it hasn't.

The paint color I decided to use is the same Tropical Surf found in Glidden paints but since I got the paint at Lowes, I had to have it paint matched and went with another brand. Same difference to me, I haven't done enough home improvements yet to really know any difference between paints. We got Valspar this time. I'll let you know how it goes.
Here's a shot of the comparison between what was and what will be. It is really light and bright. I think I fluffy heart it. :)

I can't wait to get it all trimmed out and start laying it on these walls. I think it is really going to change the space. I'm also thinking about getting some really pretty sheer-ish curtains to soften the large windows in my master bathroom. Not to mention soften the light coming through the windows! Wow, it is bright!

Here's more of it done and you can see how much light is flooding the room. I can't wait for this to get done it is going to be awesome! :) Here's the chandy that's going to hang in the room:

I'm having Blogger picture issues over here (the one above is supposed to be centered-yeah right!)....not to mention blog issues in general, my formatting is all wonky now! I'll have to call the Hubby to come fix it for me tonight. :)

So for the master bathroom, here's what is planned:

paint

simple window treatments

ceiling fan

chandelier

live, laugh, love artwork

accessories

Be the Scooter

2009-11-13T09:21:00.000-06:00

My children love the movie Bolt, almost to the point of obsession. They run around the house shouting 'Zoom-zoom' before they kick their runs into turbo. Loads of fun.

Recently, they've started role-playing with the movie, assigning characters to every person they know and then playing pretend within their characters. Here's what they've decided.

Olivia is the natural choice for Penny.
Riley is Bolt.
My hubby is the scientist father of Penny.

And dear old mom?? I'm the scooter Penny rides on. *shakes head* I don't even get to be an animate object. Boo. That stings.

Life is soooo good. :-)

2009-11-07T19:50:00.001-06:00

SO, I promised Halloween pics, rite? Well, my kids were dolls. I mean, not literally, but they were stinkin' cute....which I say without bias.
They tuckered out pretty fast so we covered about 1/4 of our neighborhood and then had to drag them home in a stroller after they couldn't walk any further! Wimps! LOL

Riley was Superman and Olivia was a ladybug. They had so much fun knocking on doors, yelling "Trick-Freat" and telling people Happy Halloween. They loved everyone's spooky decorations and the other kid's costumes. I love Halloween!!

I went to see my midwife for the first time this week for my pregnancy confirmation exam. It is so silly that they think I need them to confirm that I'm pregnant. As if the absence of my period, nausea and insane sense of smell didn't kinda tip me off. LOL This ain't my first rodeo....see previous pics as proof! But I enjoy the appointment anyway, it is nice to see the baby and get some peace of mind that everything is on track so far.

But anyway, I went, got all my tests and had an ultrasound to date the pregnancy and check in on the little bugger in there. Wouldn't you know it, the baby is just as old as I told them it'd be. And they said everything looked perfect. The ultrasound didn't look like much, just a tadpole with a fluttering heart, but that's a life in there all the same. I wonder who it will become?

We are having a dandy of a time even thinking of prospective names, my husband pretty much hates everything I like. We do have middle names picked out, David and Elizabeth so I guess 2/3 of the name is settled on either way!
I wish I could say that I feel great, but unlike my previous pregnancies, I have morning sickness this time! I HATE IT! I have this horrible queasy feeling in my stomach all day, like I just ate too many sweets and I'm going to be sick. I don't want to eat and I don't want to do anything! A few more weeks and I'll feel better, I keep telling myself. I went to Target today to find some quick snacks for myself when I'm not feeling well but at the time I was looking, I wasn't feeling well at all so I searched up and down all the isles not finding a single appetizing thing on any shelf. I went home empty handed. I should shop when I'm feeling queasy more often, it saves a lot of money. ;)

I haven't done any new improvements around the house lately, I'm starting to organize things here and there to find hidden space. Our house is closing in on us so I know organization will rescue us. That's my new project in the works. I need to hit up the Container Store for some ideas. I'm thinking a storage system for our sheets, blankets and pillows in the closet will free up a lot of space. Just ONE of the places where we need help.

So that's that around here, how are you and what is new?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, plus, check out this awesome Lisa Leonard giveaway going on at Centsational girl!!

Who doesn't love Lisa Leonard's designs? They're freakin' awesome!

Fussy-butt today!

2009-11-03T17:34:00.000-06:00

I'm in a fussy mood. Super fussy. And now currently, I have a sobbing 2 year old contributing to my foul mood...but maybe I contributed to hers first!

I haven't disappeared, I'm still here, just busy! Halloween was a lot of fun here and we had a great time. I'll post pictures later.

Thursday I go see my midwife so I'll have pictures to share from that as well!

So, I'm fussy now.....with a forecast of sunny skies in the near future. Today....watch out for sudden thunderstorms!

Things are 'a changin'.

2009-10-22T17:25:00.000-05:00

In Texas, we really only have two seasons: HOT and COLD. Right now, it seems like we're done with hot for today. It is in the 50's here today but tomorrow it could just as easily be 90 again. Who knows! But for today, I'm enjoying the brisk air, the clouds and snuggling up with a good book (when the kids will let me.) It is really starting to feel like Fall!

Tomorrow, I'm going to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. Hopefully we'll bring some pumpkins home and we can start feeling festive. I'm not one that really decorates with pumpkins much. My luck is that I'd get a rotten one that would leak black goo all over my furniture and stink up my house. No thank you!! Been there, done that! I'll just stick with nonperishable decorations! Like these:

Check these bats out on Its the little things that make a house a home. Totally awesome. Next year, my friend, next year......

I might even bring those bad boys into my home and plaster bats all over my walls, you just never know. ;)

The kids are healthy, which is a nice thing for me. I'm worried about the piggy flu with my asthmatic boy. I still need to go get their flu shots done. Maybe tomorrow morning! Riley's been coughing for the past 3 months, not a severe cough, just a slight one that comes up with physical activity and in the mornings. I'm letting it slide. Livi has a similar one so I suspect she might have some sort of airway issues as well, though apparently very slight at this point. Riley is experimenting with making his sneezes more fun. Instead of your regular A-tchooo! we're getting silly A-tchooo-ooOOOOooooooo!! Very amusing.

That's about it for the 'cute' things that are happening around here. Otherwise, we're dealing with a bit of the 4 year old whines and the 2 year old aggression. Off to read about parenting without spanking or shouting.

Have you ever done something that you regretted? I mean like really regretted?

I just finished a book called Thirteen Reasons Why about how our actions can affect other people. It really makes me stop and think.

Pick it up the next time you're looking for a thought provoking read. It is in the teen section, which is where all the best books are popping up these days!!

Take a peek at the Halloween costume Riley's rockin' this year. It is too funny!!

Why, yes, those are inflatable muscles. Why do you ask? ;) My 30 lb four year old needs all the help he can get!
Here's Olivia, just yesterday, clowning around in the mall play area. We were enjoying some time together since Riley was in school. Wednesday's are our day and Thursdays are **MY** day since both kids are gone. Woop!

Well....

2009-10-17T20:22:00.001-05:00

I go see my midwife in 3 weeks for an ultrasound and gobs of blood-work. We haven't told anyone besides our mothers and online people we don't know in real life. We'll wait another 3 weeks until we see a heart beating in there. Cross fingers it is only one, ya'll, because Riley's been asking for 2 new babies...a little boy and a little girl. My boy has a way of getting what he wants. He must have the ear of someone important!

I should have taken pictures of my work today....maybe I'll take some tomorrow as proof of how awesome I am. ;) I cleaned out our shed and I cleaned up our patio. You should have seen the chaotic mess that was my patio. I blame it all on the kids. LOL There were toys and a kiddie pool covering all useable space but NO LONGER!!!

I cleaned out the shed, threw away things, organized things and was able to fit more things inside it! I also found some droppings from some little mousy friends that have been crashing in there. Everyone say 'Yay!' for living with a big field behind our house. We get to enjoy all sorts of visitors here.

I found the patio! I swept away all the snails and I even dug out my bike!

Today, Riley and I went for a bike ride, which he enjoyed SO much. It was a beautiful day here and I enjoyed it tremendously. :)

::::On my home improvement agenda::::
Paint master bathroom
Hang chandelier in bathroom
Hang shelf in laundry room

I made an apricot cream pie today. My first one. I got the recipe from Hubby's Grandmother. It looked like a hot mess but it tastes pretty good! I used too many apricots and I burned the custard, otherwise, just like Grama's. LOL!!

Don't Laugh...

2009-10-05T17:57:00.000-05:00

I got a personal email from Vicki's Secret the other day. By personal, of course, I mean that it was sent to me and about a billion of my real close friends.

Apparently, Vicki is having an open call for their runway fashion show in December. (pants into paper bag)

Have I told you how I'm 5'11" tall and about 130 lbs? Have I told you how everyone always tells me I should be a model? Have I told you how several times growing up, I've gone to open calls, been chosen and then asked to pay several thousands for a book, etc....at which point I've bailed on the whole modeling idea?? And then of course, you know that since then, I've gotten married, gained 15 lbs and had 2 kids...not in that order. But did I ever mention all that? I always wanted to be a model. I could totally mark this off my bucket list and die happy if by some miracle I was able to score a spot in a real LIVE VS fashion show. I mean. For. Real. Can you imagine!?!? Anyway.

Well!! I'm going to enter. I'm only *just* under the age cut off. Cough30Cough.

I'm thinking of my entry video, all 90 seconds of it. I'm working out...to get rid of my 2" of baby flab on my belly and tone up my tushie. I'm going for it. Why the hell not!!??! If nothing else, the motivation is there. I'll shape up for Vicki!

I expect you all to vote for me if I make it. Hear me? ;-P

Nail polish confession:

2009-10-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

I love it black. It may seem petty and shallow to even talk about nail polish, but today I discovered a new love.

I went for my annual (scoff) mani/pedi and went out on a limb. I went with black. Check out these pigs!!

I found out I'm not alone, apparently there's a big trend here, that I did not know about. Now, let me say. Here's a huge disclaimer. I am in no way a fashionista. If something is 'in style' I'll probably learn about it in Parenting magazine....the one for babies and toddlers.

Look, I'm not alone!!

Eva Mendez

Anne Hathaway

See!?!? I'm cool....this time. ;-)

Sick!

2009-09-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA, I have been terribly sick! I had/have tonsilitis and yesterday, I thought I was dying. Seriously, my fever was 104 and I couldn't get out of bed. I thought I was a gonner.

Now I have antibiotics on board and I'm staying quiet today to let my body rest some more.

I got my wonderful soaps from the Soap Store giveaway I won last month, I love it. I have these delicious soaps sitting here on my desk and they smell divine.

I'm still waiting on my winnings that are coming from abeachcottage in Australia. I keep anxiously checking my mail box! I'll let you know when it arrives.

Thanks to everyone that's sent emails and inquired about me, I'll be back to normal in no time, I promise!