12.21.2012

High Five for Friday - Claire Edition

Today is my baby's birthday. She's 2. TWO. How did that happen so fast?? It honestly feels like just yesterday I was in the hospital in labor... Last night, I kept remembering that experience. I kept looking at DH and sayin stuff like "at this time 2 years ago I had just started to push..." DH went to bed earlier than me, but I ended up being awake at 12:04am, which is when C made her appearance back on this day in 2010. I will never forget the intensity of that moment and the moments immediately after. Maybe one day I'll blog about it.

Having a daughter completely changed me. I've said that before. I look at the world totally different now. I try to see things from her perspective. I remind myself constantly to be calm and patient, that everything is new and exciting to her. She has taught me to find joy in even mundane things. She can make me smile when smiling is the last thing I feel like doing. My heart aches when I'm not with her. I literally feel like a piece of myself is missing. I never knew it would be like this. So wonderful and devastating all at the same time.

Every day she's a little more grown up. She learns so fast, its really amazing. I know all too soon she won't want to give me kisses when I drop her off at Grandma's in the morning, and she won't want me to rock her to sleep. And she won't run to me when something's wrong.

So I savor all those little moments with her now.

I treasure every time her little arms wrap around my neck. And every time those little lips pucker up to kiss mine. Every time she comes to me and says "Mama, hold me."

The only thing I regret not doing with her is starting a book to record the funny things she says. I always tell DH and other people and think I'll always remember it, but I don't. I'm going to start writing this stuff down, though.

I blogged recently that her newest thing is "Mama, my milk's not workin!" when she's drained a breast. At this point it feels like she's never gonna wean, and that's okay for now. I said I would breastfeed her until she decided she was ready to stop, and that's still the plan. When she was younger she never wanted to nurse from both sides in one sitting. Lately, though, she'll drain one side, tell me her milk doesn't work, then say, "Mama I want 'nother milk." And we'll switch sides. She's still so eager to nurse, like she really gets excited about it. Of course, she's always been like that. When she was an infant, she'd shake her head from side to side really fast while she was zeroing in on the breast. It was hilarious. I hope I never forget all the little moments we've shared while breastfeeding.

She's only 2, but she knows her ABCs, and she knows what sound each letter of the alphabet makes. We can hold up a letter and she'll name it and the sound. She can count to 10. She knows several colors. She understands things I never dreamed she'd understand at this age. She is constantly amazing all of us with her intellect. I know every parent thinks that about their child, but C is really special.

I feel so blessed that God decided I get to be C's mama. I pray that she always knows how much she is loved.

So for today's High Five for Friday post, I won't do a typical list of 5 good things that happened to me this week. I won't even make a list of 5 things I love about my daughter (like I originally intended to do). I'll just say that I'm grateful that she is my daughter and give a virtual high five for her birthday and her life. ( :









I'm linking in with Lauren at from my grey desk. ( :

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12.12.2012

Christmas card display

I follow a lot of blogs faithfully. I'm not big on commenting (which I have vowed to be better about - and I really have gotten better at it), but I'm a major lurker. ( :  I absolutely love looking at my reading list and seeing what new things bloggers have to say. I wish I could remember which blog I got this idea from, but I am sad to say I've forgotten. Probably I Heart Organizing. I get a lot of inspiration from her!

Anyway, some time last week I saw a post about creative ways to display Christmas cards. Normally, I just set mine up along the mantel and around the bookshelves on either side of the mantel. Which works just fine, though it does tend to make the living room look pretty cluttered. So this year I decided to try somethin different.

My inspiration was from a blogger who hung a piece of red ribbon down the front of a door and attached her cards to it with clothespins. I thought it was a really cute idea, but I don't have any doors that I keep shut that are in the living area of our house. And I wanted to be able to see all our cards when we are in the living room, which is where we spend most of our time. So I adapted the idea for our living room!
And once again blogger has so nicely rotated my picture for me and won't let me fix it. :( 

But hopefully you get the idea. You can't see it, but I had some leftover gold ribbon that I hung using a command hook thingy, and used clothespins to hang up the cards. DH was looking at me like I was crazy while I was setting everything up, but even he liked it when I was done. I'm pretty pleased with my little project. It took about 10 minutes and cost nothing since I already had what I needed on hand. If we get any more cards, though, I'll have to start another ribbon on the other side of the living room!

Advent and other musings

Well, we missed a few days of Advent celebration. Whoops! We had a very busy couple of days, and when we weren't busy, C wasn't in the right mood to sit down and hear a bible story. I sort of feel like an Advent failure since we haven't done a single craft from Truth In The Tinsel. But then I remind myself that its okay. I knew it would be tough this year with C so young. And like I've said before, she's not really into crafts yet (other than scribbling with her crayons - or a pen if she gets a hold of one!). I did look up a recipe for salt dough ornaments last night, though, and I think that's something we can do together that won't be too hard for her. That will have to be a weekend project, though, since them babies have to bake for 2 hours!

We did read from the Bible last night. C was sort of paying attention. When I grabbed my Bible, she grabbed hers and laid down beside me with it. Every few words I read she'd repeat, like she was reading along with me. It was precious! I hope she'll hear these words enough that one day she'll know the stories by heart.

We'll be celebrating her 2nd birthday this coming Sunday after church. I'm so excited for her birthday, but its such a bittersweet event for me. Every day she's another day closer to pulling away from me, which I know will happen eventually (hello teenage years). And every day she's another day farther from being the tiny newborn I held on my chest. *sniff* At our church, once a month we do a "birthday offering." We sing a hymn and if you have a birthday in that month, you go up to the front and give some money, which is donated to an orphanage. My husband has to take C up there because apparently it will be my tradition to completely loose it when C goes up there! Last year, as soon as he picked her up, I started crying, and it was the same this past Sunday. I couldn't even watch her put the money in the plate because I had so many tears in my eyes! I never used to be such a softy, so this is still strange to me. Next year she'll probably walk up there by herself, and I'll probably bawl even harder. Who knew I'd end up so in touch with my emotions? And I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

This is part of a series of posts about Advent, using the e-book Truth In The Tinsel. Check back here for an updated list of links of my posts.

12.07.2012

High 5 for Friday!

I haven't done this in a while. Not sure why, since its pretty fun to think back on my week and pick out the highlights for a blog post. Most of the good stuff happened last weekend, but I'll count it since this weekend hasn't started yet. ( :

1. Last Saturday, I took C to her first parade! She loved it. We met up with my friend Angela and her baby Ashton, who is super adorable. He just turned 1 and C used to be smitten with him, but now she thinks he needs to stay far away from her, which is hilarious. Anyway, my mama and my cousin also met us there. We all had a great time. After the parade, we played in the park, which was also fun. Saturday was a great day. C and I were busy the entire day, but we loved it. ( :

2. Sunday, DH and I took C to have her pictures taken. These are technically her 2 year shots, even though she's not quite 2 yet. We like to do them early so we can give prints as Christmas gifts. We use Erica at Erica Letchworth Photography and she is awesome (and if you go to her site, you'll most likely see pics of me, DH, and C!)! Erica's been taking pictures of me and DH since we got engaged. She did our engagement pics, my bridal portraits, family pics of me, my brother, and my sisters, my wedding, my maternity pics, and all of C's milestone pics. We love her! I haven't seen any sneak peaks yet (Erica is super busy with Christmas fast-approaching), but I know they're gonna be totally awesome. First, because Erica is the best photographer I've ever seen, and second, because C was in a great mood and had so much fun during the shoot. (Normally, she's pouty during a photo shoot, and we can't get smiles out of her.) I brought a bunch of balloons, we had bubbles, and her rocking horse and I cannot wait to see the results!!
3. After the photo session Sunday, we got our Christmas tree! We normally don't put it up quite this early, but I was ready, so I convinced DH. There's just somethin about a live tree in my house that really gets me in the Christmas spirit.

4. This week I started an Advent celebration. I've never observed Advent before, but I stumbled across Truth in the Tinsel and I couldn't resist. This is definitely a tradition that we will continue!
5. This is my cat Jordan. He just makes me happy.

This week I'm linking up with Lauren at from my grey desk blog. And I think its safe to assume that the button I attempted to post below was done incorrectly! I am so blog-posting-illiterate! ( :

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12.06.2012

Advent Day 5

Flexibility is the name of the game when you have a toddler. Luckily, I was already easy-going before I had C. She has certainly made me even more so, though! I like to just roll with the flow, ya know? (hehe) Anyway...! I knew when I started Truth In The Tinsel that we wouldn't do all the activities in the book, and I knew C probably wouldn't listen to most of the scripture readings, but that's okay. Exposing her to it is important to me. At some point, its bound to stick in her brain, right?

Last night, she didn't want any part of Advent. I started by asking her to sit with me on the couch while I read to her from the Bible, but after about 5 seconds she was up sayin "I be right back!" Take 2: I laid on my stomach on the floor and asked her to join me. She lasted a little longer in that position, but she still got up, sayin she had to get her Bible. (She has a board book Bible that she absolutely loves.) She brought her Bible back to me, laid down, and proceeded to sing "Jesus Loves Me." How could I argue with that?? So I gave her a quick toddler-speak summary of the scripture for the night. I'm not sure if she actually listened to me, but that's okay.

I'm still planning on going tomorrow to get some craft supplies, so maybe we can actually make some of the cute ornaments in the book!

On a completely unrelated topic...I just had to share this. I am (proudly) still nursing C, and plan to do so until she decides to wean (or before she goes to school...haha). She's not showing any signs of quitting yet! I'll blog more on this topic soon (I'm a huge breastfeeding advocate so I'm really shocked I haven't blogged about it before). But I guess I'm making quite a bit less milk than I used to. She's started asking for both sides lately, and she's never done that in her entire 2 years of life. This week, when she runs out of milk, she pulls back, looks at me and says "Mama, my milk's not workin!" It is so CUTE!! Even DH laughed, and he's not crazy about the fact that she's still breastfeeding. Had to share that adorable tidbit. ( :


This is part of a series of posts about Advent, using the e-book Truth In The Tinsel. Check back here for an updated list of links of my posts.

12.04.2012

We started our Advent celebration!

This will be quick since I'm on my iPhone. Yesterday I found the e-book "Truth in the Tinsel" and purchased it to start a new tradition with my daughter. Last night my husband left to go on a fishing trip and I took C to my mama's house to decorate her Christmas tree. My brother and I do it every year together. Anyway, so last night we got home late and C was too tired to do anything but pass out!

So I decided to start the advent celebration tonight. C is almost 2 but she's not really into crafts yet. She likes to color/scribble, but that's about it. I don't have any art supplies here yet anyway. So tonight we caught up on the scripture listed in the book. It was quite a lot for a toddler to sit through, and she didn't sit through most of it but I kept reading. After I do finished each passage I gave her a short summary in toddler-speak. She liked that part! Hopefully this week I'll get to a store and get some art supplies and I can help her do some of the projects. But for now just talking about Christmas and Jesus is great.

The second "lesson" in the book talks about Jesus being the king. C didn't know what a king was, so I told her it was kinda like a princess. After that, I told her to say "Jesus is king!" Like she said "Jesus is the light" earlier. Well, she smiled and said "Jesus is the princess!" I cracked up. Not quite right, but I think she got the idea that Jesus is special. ( :

I can't wait to see what else this month has in store for us! This is definitely a tradition I will continue with C and any other children we may have.

This is part of a series of posts about Advent, using the e-book Truth In The Tinsel. Check back here for an updated list of links of my posts.

12.03.2012

Advent - better late than never

I have never celebrated Advent. I've never really understood what it was. I'm still learning, but what I'm gathering is Advent is a time of celebration and anticipation leading up to the birth of Jesus. Its a time to slow down and really reflect on and enjoy this season. Awesome. I can totally get on board with that!

Now that C is almost 2 (in 18 days - yikes!!), I feel like she's old enough to start learning the true meaning of Christmas. I've said from Day 1 that I didn't want her growing up thinking that Christmas is just about getting a ton of presents. Today I stumbled across an e-book called Truth in the Tinsel. I purchased it right away, once I realized what it was. Its only $7.99, so it doesn't exactly break the bank, but its full of projects to do each day of Advent - and the best part is, these projects are for toddlers and little kids! I just finished the download and printed it off (so I can have quick access to it at home), and I haven't read any of it yet, but it looks fun. Every day, there is scripture to read with your child, a project to do together (simple, fun things that shouldn't be too hard for a toddler to do with help), and then some ideas for discussion on the topic. I'm so excited to start!

I know we're three days behind already, but that's okay. Better late than never, right? ( :

In hopes that I remember to blog about this experience, I'm linking up with Truth in the Tinsel in their advent experience page!

This is the first in a series of posts about Advent, using the e-book Truth In The Tinsel. Check back here for an updated list of links of my posts.

See my posts about our Advent experience:
 Days 1-4
 Day 5
 Day 11

11.29.2012

Done!!

Project bathroom makeover is complete!! Well, its not completely decorated, but that will take me a loooong time, judging from previous projects. I don't like to rush decor. ( :  Its finished enough that I'm showing it to people now. I have to say, I am very proud of this room. Sometimes I just stand in the door way with a smile on my face and just stare at it. Yes, I am aware that is weird. It just looks so much better!

Before I continue, let's take a moment to remember what it looked like not too long ago...

 *shudder*

I do not miss that ugliness at all!!

After several days of hard work, sweat, and getting accidentally high from paint fumes, I finally finished. When I first started painting the walls, I thought oh no, this color is hideous! I hate it! Luckily, after I finished one whole wall, I was in love. *whew* Once all the walls were painted, I loved it even more. Now that everything is back in place and the curtains are up, I can't even express how much I am in love!


Ahhhh. I moved the shelf to the other wall, since I couldn't reach it over the toilet. DH thinks its in the way here, but this is not *his* bathroom, so I'm not too concerned. It will be C's once she starts using a bathroom on her own (taking baths and stuff alone). Its also the guest bathroom, since its right off the living room. I doubt that mirror will stay there (it was originally behind the shelf), but we had it and DH painted it and I wanted something up there in that space, so for now its okay.

Next, I'll have to get a soap dish, toothbrush holder, and that kind of stuff. My intentions are to get clear glass containers to place on the shelf for holding cotton balls, q-tips, etc. I think that'll look pretty.

I'm not sure what kind of picture or art I want to do on the wall over the toilet. There's also a space beside the door, but its narrow. I'm searching for ideas!

I hate that you have to turn your head to see this one. Stupid blogger.

And see? Now the shower curtain looks like it belongs in here. It doesn't "match," but it "goes." Meaning, there are no stripes in there that are the color of the walls, but it blends well. Just like I envisioned 3 years ago when I hung it up! I love it. Its bright and cheery now. Almost makes me want to start using this bathroom instead of our master bath! ( :

11.26.2012

Another bathroom update

Almost done! I worked really hard over Thanksgiving break. I am quite proud of myself, because I really didn't think I'd get anything done in there!

One night early last week (Monday or Tuesday night), I stayed up super late finishing the wall prep. I think I said before that DH did most of the mudding that had to be done, but he missed one wallpaper seam, and then I decided to take out the 4 anchors in that same wall, so they had to be patched up, too. (The anchors were holding the metal shelf, and it will be going back up, but not in that spot.) Anyway, I got that done and then the bathroom took a little break (haha).

Because Wednesday night I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2! I am a total Twi-hard and I am not ashamed to admit that. It. was. awesome!! I can't wait for the DVD to come out so I can watch it again and again.... But back to the bathroom! ( :

So we had a really great Thanksgiving day. It wasn't nearly as hectic as I anticipated and we actually enjoyed the day. Late that afternoon, C went down for a loooong nap (like 3 hours!), and DH went outside, so I got to work again. I sanded down everything and spread out drop cloths. Then I got out the Kilz.

Word of advice: if you ever have to use Kilz in your house, do NOT buy the oil based one!! In other rooms, we used Kilz, but we got the water based. No idea how I managed to buy the oil based one this time, but I learned my lesson.

I noticed the smell immediately, but figured I'd get used to it. Well, I did, sort of. I painted for about an hour before I decided to step out and take a break. And WOAH. I was completely high. Everything was spinning, my eyes wouldn't focus, my head felt light....not good. I thought maybe a break would make me feel better, so I stayed outside for about 15 minutes. I was determined to finish that coat, though, so I went back and resumed painting. Then my head started hurting...I managed to finish all the walls with the roller, but of course there were spots I couldn't reach and had to use a paint brush. But I knew there was no way I could do any more that day.

It took me several hours to recover from the fumes. We all went to DH's mama's house for supper that night, and when we got back home the fumes were still terrible. I was worried about something catching on fire since we have gas logs, so I made C sleep in our room in a travel crib (which she thought was great - when I was setting it up she kept saying "thank you, Mama! I love it!" lol). Luckily, our room is at the other end of the house, so the fumes weren't too bad in there.

Friday, the fumes were still noticeable, but not headache-inducing anymore. When C went down for her nap that afternoon, I finished up the coat of Kilz with a paint brush. So, after all that torture, this is where I was:


Friday night I was really motivated. I got back in there after C went to bed and painted the walls GREEN! I think I was up until 1 or 1:30am, but it was worth it. I completely finished that part, but I don't want to post any more pictures until the bathroom is totally done. ( :

Saturday, I painted a lot of the trim, but then my friend in England called me on Skype, so I quit to talk to her. (Have I mentioned I love my new iPad?? Skype all around the house AND see my girl across the world? Yes please!!)

Yesterday (Sunday), I tackled the trim again while C took a nap. And I finished!! DH took all the hardware out to the shop to be spray painted. He got a coat of primer on everything, so now he just has to paint on the white. Hopefully that will happen tonight, and tomorrow night we can get everything hung up and put back together. I still haven't made up my mind how this place will be decorated, but I'm waiting until the shower curtain, shelf/mirror, and towel bar are up first before I make any decisions. I'm so excited and I can't wait to share the end result!

11.19.2012

Bathroom progress

I am happy to report that I actually did what I said I'd do this weekend - I started on the bathroom! I didn't get quite as far as I originally planned, but that's okay. I'm super excited about this project!
I had planned to get a lot of the prep work done Saturday afternoon while C took her nap. But the day turned out differently than I imagined, and in a good way. C and I met up Saturday morning with my friend Ashley and her daughter, who is 4 months younger than C. C says Aubrey is her best friend. ( :  Anyway, we went to a church in town that was having a craft fair. I found the perfect hair bow to go with C's birthday/Christmas dress (since her birthday is December 21 we do a two-fer in the dress department), and I even bought myself some adorable bobby pins with fabric flowers on them. After that, we ran errands around town and ate lunch at a local Mexican restaurant - yum! We finally ended up at Lowes where I bought a sample of the paint color me and C chose and a gallon of Killz (to cover up the wallpaper in the bathroom). On the way home, the babies fell asleep, so Ashley and I sat in the car for a while talking. It was so nice! When the babies woke up, we went inside Ashley's house and let them play a while before C and I headed home. So C didn't take her super long afternoon nap at home like I planned, and I didn't get anything done in the bathroom Saturday, but that's okay because we had so much fun that day.

Yesterday when C went down for her nap, I got to work. DH helped me. I kept telling him I could do it and he didn't have to help, but I think he's more excited than I am that this bathroom is finally getting redone! Before I continue, here's some "before" pictures. You can see why the bathroom desperately needs a makeover!

Edited to add: Okay, blogger originally rotated these pictures and wouldn't let me rotate them back. So I did a search for how to fix this problem. Clearly, the solution did not work. *sigh* Now they look all distorted...but at least you can get the idea now without straining your neck!

That shelf thingy over the toilet...I'm trying to decide if I want to use that again. If I do, I'll spray paint it white. I might end up hanging it lower on the wall, and hang a picture of some sort above it. I'm not sure yet. I do like it because it can hold a hand towel, but do I really want a towel hanging over the toilet??
I also plan to have a mirror cut to go between the sink and the medicine cabinet. This will be C's bathroom and she won't be able see herself in that high mirror for years. I would love to do away with that cabinet completely, but that would require much more work than we need to take on right now, since the lights are wired into it....so we'll just deal with it. (Plus, I do like the extra storage.)

That patch of green on the wall will be the new color. I was trying it out Saturday. I may end up going a shade darker, though. That's awfully light!

Oh, and you can see the lovely purplish counter top again. I told you, they're in almost every room of the house!! Even the built-in bookshelves in the living room have that same ugliness. *sigh*

This closet holds towels mainly. It also hides my cat's litter box. Thankfully, the closet is already solid white inside, so I won't be doing anything in there. *sigh* of relief!

And this shower curtain actually goes with the color I want the walls to be. Of course, it doesn't match at all now, but I've used it for 3 years because I knew eventually it would match the walls...lol. 

Once we got everything off the walls, I realized this won't be quite as bad as I originally thought. There is quite a bit of open space on the walls in here, so it will be pretty easy to paint. Not at all like the master bathroom. I'm not really looking forward to some places, like around the toilet, under the medicine cabinet, and above the shower, but it won't be that bad.

Yesterday, I took a razor blade and cut off all the edges of the wallpaper that were rolling up. We were going to glue them back down, but someone told DH last week its best to cut them off. You have to mud over it anyway, so I figured we might as well not worry about workin with glue. After that, I sanded everything so it was as smooth as possible. Then DH went behind me and slapped mud over all the wallpaper seams and all the imperfections in the walls. I did some of this, but DH did the majority for me. That's all we could do yesterday. The mud has to dry over night. The next time I have a chance to work in there, I'll sand everything down again, and then we'll be ready for the Killz!

Today I'm going to Lowes to buy the paint for the walls and the trim. Thank goodness I remember the name of the trim throughout the house (Betsy's Linen) because we have none left like I thought. I'd hoped to work in there tonight, but I just remembered that I'd planned to go to the La Leche League meeting tonight, so the bathroom will most likely be put off for another day this week. No worries. (I'm actually hoping that since C and I won't be home tonight, DH will jump in there and sand for me....hehe!)

So before I sign off, here's a pic I took this morning of one wall in there.


No, those aren't wallpaper seams running horizontally along that wall...at some point in the life of this bathroom, someone had something adhered to the wall there. The residue was left behind and I tried my hardest to scrape it off with the razor blade, but most of it wouldn't budge. If you look at the 2nd picture above you can see the brown line....yeah. Be kind to your walls, people. Someone else may have to deal with your mistakes someday!!

11.16.2012

Master Bath Makeover

I actually did this several years ago. We purchased our home in 2008 and it needed a LOT of work/love before it was habitable, so from August 2008 to February 2009 (which is when we got married and moved in), we did a ton of work in there. Every room got a makeover, and I really wish I had taken "before" pictures of every room, but I just didn't think about it. Before the wedding, we managed to repaint every single room except the two bathrooms. I totally despise painting bathrooms, so I procrastinated there. For months after we got married, we used the smaller second bathroom off the living room. Its ugly in there but we ignored it.

Because it wasn't nearly as atrocious as the hot mess that was our master bath:


Hideous, right? It was even worse in person, trust me. When we moved in, I shut that door and didn't open it for several months. Seriously.

Now, granted, it didn't look like this all the time. When I took this picture I had already started working on it. I attempted to remove the wallpaper, which is why you see so many white patches in that picture. Whoever applied the wallpaper did it incorrectly, and no matter what I did, when I pulled off wallpaper, I also pulled off sheet rock. Not good. I tried every method I found on Google, and nothing worked. So finally, I gave up. I patched up the edges of the remaining wallpaper, painted Killz over everything, and got to work. Much easier.

I originally envisioned this bathroom looking kind of like a personal spa. I wanted it very light and airy (the complete opposite of what it was!), and I wanted very pale walls, but not white. I was thinking a blue-grey. It had to "go" with the vibrant blue walls in our bedroom. Well, when you have half-wallpapered walls, you have uneven walls, and any imperfection in a wall is amplified when you paint over it, especially with a light color. So I decided to do an old-school technique. I painted the walls a soft bluish grey color, then got a sponge and sponged a lighter grey color on top. That way, the walls looked textured and kind of hid the actual imperfections. It works, as long as you don't look too closely!

I was extremely pleased with the results:


Much better, huh? So much nicer than the dungeon that used to be the master bath! Oh, and to make it even more dungeon-y, there used to be a cabinet over the tub. Yep, right on that bare wall back there. I'm sure it would have been nice to have extra storage in there, but I just couldn't imagine taking a bath with a cabinet looming over my head....*shudder* Plus, it just looked so cramped. DH took that out for me.

That wrinkly white curtain (I did later iron it, just FYI!) hides the closet, which used to have annoying accordion-type doors. I like the curtain because its more airy and just goes nicer with the room.

I would love to replace the light fixtures (there's another sink at the other end of the counter), those awful medicine cabinets, the counter tops (hard to see here, but they're purplish - and all over the entire house, ugh), and the floor (you can't see it, but its a dark green, which matched the ugly "before" wallpaper perfectly), but I've been ignoring them for 3 years now, so I suppose I will continue to do so. At least for now! ( :

Eventually, I added a little decor to the room, but not too much. Now, I wish I had done something a little different, but this is okay.

I decided to go with a "Charleston, SC" theme, but not an obvious one. It probably only has meaning to me and DH. But that's okay. Charleston is where we went for our honeymoon and we go there almost every year. LOVE that place!

I made this little cutie myself. Just a couple of hydrangea blooms from Michael's, some opaque accent rocks, and a glass bowl.

I decided to use shells I'd collected over the years to hold soap. I still love that idea. (I also use a shell to hold hair accessories that I use a lot, like bobby pins and clear elastics.) I took that picture myself. Its of a tulip tree blossom in, you guessed it, Charleston.

I took these two pictures, too. They're of camellias. The camellia should be the official flower of Charleston. I'm in love. On our honeymoon, we visited Magnolia Plantation, which we decided should be renamed Camilla Plantaion because there were so many camellias in bloom there. It was beautiful! Anyway, I really need to paint that flower pot white, but I never remember to! On the shelves there are also some smaller shells and smooth rocks, all meaningful. They were all collected on fun trips with my husband. ( :

So that's it. Even though its been over 3 years, every time I walk into the master bath I smile because I remember how ugly it used to be, and I love how pretty it is now! No, its not perfectly decorated, and no, I never have found a curtain for the window, but I still love it. And like I said earlier, there's still some changes I'd like to make in there, but is a house ever really finished? I don't think so.

This room was not easy to redo. Not at all. I worked so hard on it, and I really don't think I'll ever forget that work. Which is why I appreciate it all the more now. And I love that I did it completely by myself. I told DH I wanted to do this one alone, and I did. Well, almost. He helped patch up some really bad places in the drywall, and he did some sanding, but that's it. I just love that accomplished feeling.

The reason I'm posting this is because now I'm finally motivated to do the other bathroom. You know, the one that is ugly but not so ugly we feel the need to keep the door shut. After completing the master bath, I was so tired that I just couldn't bear to think of doing another bathroom. And I knew it would be the same issues, because that bathroom is wallpapered, too. So I put it off....for 3 years. I know. But I did get pregnant and have a baby during that time, so cut me some slack. (And let's not forget also during that time, I lost my job, started a new one, and finished my graduate degree, so its not like I wasn't busy!) A few months ago, C and I picked out a color for the other bathroom. It will be a pale green. Our living room is a really awesome green that is extremely hard to describe. I'll post a picture soon. Since the bathroom is off of the living room, and you can completely see it, it needs to flow. So a pale green it is, with white trim to match the rest of the house. As far as decorations go, I am clueless, but I know it'll come to me eventually, so I'm not stressing over that.

Anyway, I finally feel ready to tackle another bathroom. Thankfully, this time I know what not to do. I'm not even attempting to take down the wallpaper. I have a plan. And I'm excited! The goal is to start the prep work this weekend (when C takes her naps in the afternoons), and then get the painting done next weekend (I'll be home 4 days over Thanksgiving). I'll post pictures of my progress to keep me motivated! Wish me luck! ( :

11.12.2012

Again

I'm sick. Again. Again! Haven't I been sick pretty much since the beginning of October??! (Yes, I have, actually.) Okay, the very last "sickness" was self-imposed (the colonoscopy), but I felt bad for days with that. My daughter had a cold the week before last, and it wasn't too bad, though she did run a low-grade fever a few nights. After her symptoms were gone for a week and I felt fine, I just knew I'd escaped the sickness.

Nope.

To be fair, I can't say that I caught this crud from her. She just had a runny, stuffy nose and the fever a few nights. Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat. That's a common occurrence for me, though, so I didn't think much of it. What bothered me was when I realized that as the day progressed, my throat was getting worse, despite the hoards of ibuprofen I was taking. I didn't do a whole lot that day, just mostly hung out with C, which was wonderful. By that evening, I was feeling pretty crummy. When I went to bed, I was having chills and just felt basically like I'd been hit by a bus.

I had fevers the rest of that night. I do not get fevers. I think the last one I had was 7 years ago or so. Its just not my thing. Lots of sickness, yes, but no fevers associated with those sicknesses. So I'm basically a big baby when I get a fever. Sunday morning I started sweating the fever off, but then it would come right back. I was absolutely miserable. I couldn't do a thing but lay in the bed. My throat hurt so bad I couldn't even open my mouth without pain, and forget talking. (I think DH enjoyed my silence, haha!) So DH took care of C all day, and when they were in the house she was really good about leaving me alone. She'd come up to me and ask, "Mama feel bad? Her feel better." And she'd pat me when I coughed. So sweet.

Last night was rough. C woke up at 12:30 with a nightmare (we guess - she was screaming and it took a while for her to calm down), so she slept with us, and she was fitful the rest of the night. Which means I didn't get any sleep again. When I had another fever early this morning, I knew it was time to see a doctor.

After waiting in the waiting room of the doctor's office for an hour, and then another hour waiting in the exam room, I saw the doctor for approximately 6 minutes, and he told me I have a sinus infection and bronchitis. Wonderful. So after 45 more minutes of waiting at the pharmacy, I finally got my antibiotic and made it to work. Where I am sitting here wondering why I didn't just go back home and get in bed....seriously. I sound terrible and of course the phone keeps ringing, and when I talk it gets me coughing. I hurt everywhere and I'm so sleepy....poor, pitiful me, right?

I'm sure there's a reason God's put all this sickness on me lately. And really, I should be thankful I haven't had anything really serious. I mean, I'm probably not gonna die from a sinus infection. I don't need hospitalization. So, it could be much worse, so I'm grateful its not. But there's still got to be a purpose for me to have to go through this. Maybe its to teach my husband how to do some of my jobs around the house, like changing C's diaper, cause he's certainly had to step up!

Or maybe its to teach me to let go of some things. Like sweeping 3 times a day. I kid you not, I am obsessed with sweeping. Ever since we ripped up all the carpet in our house and put down laminate floors (they look like hardwood floors) 2 years ago, I just can't stand to see a speck of dirt on the floor. I vacuumed Friday night (which is my normal vacuuming day), but on Saturday I think I swept 4 times. No lie. (I told you I'm obsessed.) Yesterday, with DH and C going in and out (it was a beautiful day), of course some dirt got tracked on the floors, not to mention the crumbs from C's snacks....a few times I almost grabbed the broom, and then I thought, you idiot, get back in bed, you can barely walk, don't worry about the floor!! Even this mornin, when I felt a little better, I was tempted to sweep but forced myself not to. There are more important things than obsessing over a little dirt on your floor. Like rest.

Whatever the reason for this, I pray that this antibiotic works quickly and I feel better fast. I hate that I missed out on a perfect fall day yesterday, and I hate the empty tank feeling I have. This, too, shall pass!

11.09.2012

T: minus 47 days

I can't believe its almost Christmas again. Time seems to really fly by as I get older. And I'm only 29! It seems like every time I blink, its Christmastime. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Not because of the presents that I've always been fortunate enough to receive, but because we spend so much family time in the Christmas season. Growing up, I was blessed to live very close to several members of our family. My grandparents bought land and built a house on it, then gave land to each of their 3 daughters when they got married. (Their 2 sons chose to move elsewhere, though they've always been nearby.) So I lived on the same piece of land with my grandparents and two aunts. We started out in a single-wide trailer and my parents built a house when I was about 4, so I never really moved. I loved it. 

My husband's family is pretty similar. His parents' house is surrounded on both sides by DH's great aunts, and next to one great-aunt are the other two aunts, then his grandma. And a little bit further down the road is our own home. And all of this is 3 miles from where I grew up. To say we both come from close-knit families is an understatement! Our parents never lacked for babysitters when we were younger, and we always had cousins available to play with.

My point is that though DH and I both come from families that get together all the time (and were more often than not barging into each other's homes on a daily basis!), Christmas has always been special. At Christmas the whole family gets together, not just those that stuck close by. And we're all together at the same time for a big meal. I have so many fond memories of Christmas supper at Grandma's....When Papa was living, he made grape wine every year using grapes from his vines. That was some strong stuff! But so good. After eating a huge supper, we'd go to the living room, the adults would drink wine from tiny glasses, Mama would play the piano, and we'd all sing. I should stop typing in past tense, because this still happens, though now we use store-bought wine (preferably Duplin County wine!). Mama and her sisters always end up making up a silly song or two, which they sing for the rest of us with Mama accompanying on the piano. (We sound like a bunch of drunks, don't we? I promise, we're not! We act like that when there's no wine involved, too. We just like our wine on Christmas!)

At some point during the night, we exchange presents, but that's not the part I ever remember after the day is over. Sure, I enjoy getting gifts, and I love seeing someone open a present I picked out for them. But I really love (and crave) is the family time. Just being together, laughing, eating good food, enjoying each other's company. My family is not perfect, but we've always managed to put any differences aside at Christmas and have fun together. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if we all decided to skip presents this year and just hang out at Grandma's.

Which is the real reason for this post. One of the blogs I read recently posted about Christmas and mentioned something called The Advent Conspiracy. Of course I was intrigued so I looked it up. I encourage you to check out their website, but basically its just an informative website to encourage people to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, and forget about all the hustle and bustle of gift-giving. Their video sums is up nicely. Every time I watch this video I get chills!

This may not be the exact video that's on AC's website, but I don't think they change it much every year. The idea is the same. When I first watched the video and visited their website, I was completely on board. I talked to DH about it, and I really pushed for doing something meaningful, like donating our money and time to charity, at Christmas instead of buying a bunch of presents for everyone. He likes the idea, but he's realistic and knows that this is so hard to do.

Since we got married, every year at Christmas we make a loooooong list of people we "need" to buy presents for: our parents, siblings, my sisters' children, grandmothers (neither of us have grandfathers living), and each other. And then there's the "extras:" our bosses, DH's co-workers (I don't have any co-workers), a few friends and special cousins, and then one of my siblings usually has a significant other at Christmas that I feel compelled to buy for. We set a limit for each person, and of course different people have different limits. I am really good at sticking to the "Christmas budget" and I am an excellent sales-shopper. DH, not so much. He absolutely loves buying things for other people. Which tends to make him go overboard. We say every year that our limit for each other is $100, but he has never stuck to that limit for me. (I don't either anymore, because I felt bad he was spending so much more on me than I was on him!)

Usually, DH gives me the money (he's a great saver and saves all year for Christmas, while I am terrible at saving money - mainly because it takes everything I make to pay my half of the bills and my student loans! - and never have any at the end of the year - boo) and sets the budget, and I do all the shopping. He's a great shopping companion, but I am so much quicker than him. I usually know beforehand what I want to get for each person, so when I get to the store, I just pick it up and go. DH is a "browser." So when he does go with me, it takes twice as long, though we always have fun shopping together. He's also great at being a careful listener in the weeks before Christmas, so he knows what people want without having to ask them. So our system has worked well for us for years now.

Except its so wasteful. There are people that we buy presents for that we only see maybe 3 times a year. We don't know them well enough to have any idea what type of things they like, or even what size clothes they wear. So they get gift cards or generic gifts. Of course, who doesn't love a gift card (you can buy exactly what you want), but there's no love in a gift card. Or some stupid little something we randomly picked up because we didn't know what else to get you. We just end up buying something for the sake of having a present. And what happens to that present? Most likely it goes unused. Completely wasted. I know I receive gifts like that, I have no idea what to do with them because they are completely not "me," and then I feel guilty for not using them. (Because what if the gift giver sees you later on and asks how you like the gift?!) SO much stress! Unnecessary stress.

My proposition to DH was to cut back on the amount we spend on each person. Find truly meaningful gifts and not buy stuff just for filler. No one should be keeping up with how much others spent on you. Right?? And for the "extended" people on our gift-giving list, I plan to propose we don't do gifts at all, just get together and have a big meal and just spend time together. Which is what we do anyway. When we get together for Christmas with my sisters (step-sisters, actually), we all have so much fun together that if it weren't for the younger kids pushing us we wouldn't get around to opening gifts. And I think the main reason we do presents at all is because of the kids. But now my youngest nephew is 12, so they're all old enough to understand you don't need a ton of presents. (My daughter will be 2 by Christmas, but she hasn't yet learned that Christmas is a time of presents, so she wouldn't miss it.) I hope to talk to my sisters this weekend to get their thoughts and suggest we eat supper together as usual, and maybe do something fun afterwards (or before), like go ice skating in Raleigh or go see lights somewhere. I have a feeling they'll both be on board.

I also proposed to DH that we tell our parents not to buy me and him anything. Honestly, we don't need anything, and I'd rather they save their money. I'd like to set limits for them buying C presents, but I doubt that'll go over well. He thinks it'll make his parents feel too bad if we say don't buy us anything, like we're doin it out of pity or something. So I doubt that happens. I'd be perfectly happy, though, if no one bought me anything. C's birthday is a few days before Christmas, so she'll get plenty of gifts then, and really she doesn't need many Christmas presents either. But like I said, everyone wants to buy her stuff. (Maybe that'll change one day if we have more children!)

My final proposition is this: For the people we absolutely are buying presents for, we should purchase stuff from local businesses. Like Mary Kay reps (and conveniently, I am one, haha), local bakeries, local specialty stores, etc. That way we're not supporting Target and WalMart, but local people. And the gifts will have more meaning because it took more thought to get them. I'm really digging this idea! (It wasn't my idea, though; I saw a thing on facebook about it and shared the photo.)

So wish me luck on Operation Put CHRIST Back In Christmas around here! Maybe we'll gradually cut back and eventually not buy presents anymore. Whatever happens, I vow to make this Christmas less stressful and more fun and more Christ-focused. ( :

10.29.2012

Expectations

Today I'm sitting at home, propped up in my bed with my laptop, not doing much. Tomorrow morning I'm having a colonoscopy done (if you've ever had one, you know how much fun the day before is!), and the stuff I've had to take in preparation has made me nauseous and sick feeling. So I'm not doing much besides reading and blogging. And reflecting. Which can be a bad thing, but since my mood lately has been good, my reflections are positive. ( :

Our vacation last weekend was not quite what I expected or had hoped for, but we did have some good times. We just spent too much time in the car for my liking. The mountains were absolutely beautiful; we timed it perfectly at the peak of the leaves' fall colors. I would have loved to have stayed in a cabin in the woods and just soaked in all that beauty. We went to a place called Cade's Cove. Its a state park and is really gorgeous. It's where I took the most pictures.







Even though our vacation was less than perfect, this past week at home has almost been. I feel closer to my husband than I have in a really long time. I feel more at peace in general. I'm leaning on God more and trusting in Him. I can't say what happened, because nothing specifically did. I just finally realized I needed to let go and let God, as the saying goes. Let God worry about all the stuff I was worrying about. He's got it in His hands; its all good. I can't even say when exactly I made this realization, it was more gradual. But the past few days I feel so much lighter, and like I said, more at peace. God has a plan, and all I have to do is follow Him and remember that He's got it under control. Not always easy, but easier than tryin to do it on my own!

I guess the moral here is things don't always happen like you expect them to, but sometimes the end result is better than you expected.

10.18.2012

Almost Time...

Well, our vacation is almost here. Right this minute, I can't say that I'm very excited about it, if truth be told. I hate the preparations for a vacation, even a short one like ours (we'll leave tonight and return Sunday). With all our animals, we have a lot to do to make sure they're taken care of. My mother is feeding everything, but we try to make it as easy as possible for her. I measure out the horses' feed for each meal in Ziploc bags, so Mama won't have to measure anything. The chickens have a huge container full of feed, so they should be good at least until we get back. We've made lots of preparations like that.

But the animals aren't really that difficult. Actually, nothing we have to do is that difficult, really. But all the laundry that has to be done before we can go somewhere is really intimidating. And making sure I have everything for a toddler is stressful. I have to have extra outfits (cause you know she'll spill something on herself at some point!), warm outfits and cool outfits (the weather is supposed to be in the 60s, but if we spend a lot of time indoors somewhere she may get hot...), a variety of jackets (lightweight to heavy ones), plenty of diapers, medicine in case she gets sick....the list goes on and on. It takes careful planning on my part. I've always packed with a list, but now its essential. Yes, most everything can be purchased if we get in a bind, but I like to be prepared. Last year on our annual mountain trip, C got sick with a fever. Luckily, I had a thermometer and Children's Motrin on hand. (Turns out, she had a urinary tract infection.) Just goes to show that you never know what might happen!

All these preparations for our trip has us all tense and short on patience. Right now I'm wondering why on earth we do this to ourselves every October. But I know once we get there, I'll forget about all this. I always do! Once we get there, we'll all concentrate on just relaxing and having a good time together. That's what matters. But, until then I'm praying for patience for us all!

I'm praying that this weekend we stay safe driving in the mountains and that we don't run into any trouble. I also pray that we have a little fun, because we surely all need it! I know that just being in that crisp mountain air, surrounded by God's beautiful artwork (the leaves are supposed to be at their peak colors in TN this weekend), we'll all feel rejuvenated. I can't wait for that! And hopefully along the way I'll get some great pictures of us making some awesome memories. ( :

10.17.2012

Vote!

Everywhere I turn these days, whether its "real life" or facebook, people are talking about the upcoming election. I discuss it with my boss, my friends, and my family. I don't profess to be the most intelligent person discussing politics - heck, there's a lot I don't understand and don't claim to. But I know what I personally believe in, and I know what I like to see/hear/experience, so I know which candidates I like and which I don't.

I'm not one of those people who posts nothing except political stuff on facebook. I do post a fair amount, though. I believe that if you strongly believe in something, you should publicly support it, regardless of what other people say or think. And I believe that if you have an opinion, you're entitled to it and you have a right to express it on a public venue like facebook. After all, if people don't like what you say, they don't have to read it. In extreme cases, they can "unfriend" you, though that is pretty sad. I believe talking about these topics is important because so many people are mislead. So many people are easily swayed by a pretty face or a pretty voice, or what have you. And so many people vote solely on political party. Which is absolutely ridiculous.

Getting different viewpoints out there for others to read is a good thing, in my opinion. Sure, it can have the opposite effect. If you're sharing lies or misinformation, it can lead to even more confused people. From what I gather, truly confused people don't get to the polls and vote. They decide they don't like either candidate so they won't "waste their vote" on either of them. So sad.

Facebook is getting pretty hostile lately with all the political posts. The people who know who they're voting for are firm in their position, and most of them don't like to hear anything negative about their chosen candidate. Of course, no one likes to be "wrong," even if its really not wrong and others just perceive it as wrong.

Then there are people who keep posting about how sick they are of all the political talk on facebook. They say things like "I'm staying off facebook until after the election," or "I wish everyone would stop being so vocal about the stupid election."

Well, folks, the election is important. We're not voting for Prom Queen here. We should be talking about this, we should care deeply about it.

Here's my facebook status update tonight:

So many people keep sayin they're sick of all the election talk. I'm sick of it too. But this stuff is IMPORTANT. This is our future. Who we elect won't just affect our country for the next 4 years; their impact will last longer than that. We should all absolutely care about what's going on here. If affects us ALL. And I think talking about it is good because not everyone understands all the issue...
s; hearing what other people have to say (all sides of the issue) can help. True, it can hurt if what's being said is false. But I say stand behind what you believe in, get to the polls and vote and let your voice be heard, don't just sit back and complain about the way things are. We live in the greatest country in the world, let's make sure it stays that way!
Sure, it could have been more eloquent and I probably missed an opportunity to say something more profound. But I had just read several posts about how horrible all this election talk is, and it made me mad. If you don't want to talk about it, then fine, don't. But don't criticize those of us who actually care about our country.
If you're an Obama supporter, support him. If Romney's your man, vote for him. Just CARE! We have got to stop being complacent and just letting things happen to America. This is OUR country and we need to be passionate about it.
I said in my "About Me" tab, I believe, that I am a member of the Constitution Party of NC. Obviously, I'm extremely conservative. I do not support Obama. I also do not support Romney. In my eyes, they are one and the same. Romney may be the "lesser of two evils" as people say, but I say if you keep voting for evil, all we'll get in the White House is evil.
I am voting for Virgil Goode, the Constitution Party's candidate. Do I think he will win? No. But I believe in him and what he stands for. I can't vote for someone that I don't believe in. It has nothing to do with political party. If Goode were a Democrat, I'd still vote for him. His website tells about his view on the major issues. I stand behind Goode 100%.
Unfortunately, Goode didn't get on the ballot in NC. (Don't get me started on the ridiculous ballot access issues in my state!) But he can be a write-in. Most people don't know that. And not just anyone can be a write-in. You can write-in anyone you want, but it won't count unless that person has been approved. Goode is on the ballot in many states. My hope is that he at least does well enough to gain more people's attention, and then could have a real shot in the 2016 election.
And there have been many people who've told me that voting for Goode is voting for Obama. They say any vote against Romney is a vote for Obama. I beg to differ. My vote is for Goode, not Romney, not Obama. I have a right to vote for whomever I want. It doens't have to be one of the candidates from the two major parties. I will stand for what I believe in, no matter what the majority says. Didn't Jesus teach us that? Just because "everyone" is doing it, doesn't mean it's right. People just don't realize there's another option besides Obama or Romney. And the ones who know about third parties don't think they could ever garner enough support to actually win an election. But its happened before. I believe Lincoln was a third party candidate. That turned out pretty well, didn't it?
My prediction for the election changes almost daily. Sometimes I think people can't possibly vote Obama back for another term. And then I hear about another idiotic thing Romney's said, and I think people will vote for Obama simply because at least he's a known evil. Surely an evil that you already know and understand is better than an unknown evil, right? I'm anxious to see what actually happens. I foresee quite a few recounts, either way. Its gonna be close. And who knows, maybe a third party like Goode will surprise us all.
Whatever your opinion, please get to the polls and VOTE!!
GOD bless the USA!!!

10.15.2012

Making memories

One of my fall resolutions is to make more memories with my daughter and husband. We "do stuff" all the time, but so many weekends go by that we don't do anything memorable. Don't get me wrong, sometimes that's really nice! We enjoy having some weekends to do absolutely nothing, those are sweet memories, too. But like I told my husband the other day, I don't want to look back one day and think "Dang, I wish we had done more with C..." We already wasted a lot of opportunities this summer to go to the beach. We went twice, I believe. And I cherish those memories, but I wish we could have gone more. (Growing up, I was at the beach pretty much every weekend with my family, and I have so many great memories from those trips.) I'm so thankful that I now have an awesome camera so that I can capture all these memories and look back on them. (I have a Nikon D5000 if you're interested - totally worth the money!!!)

This weekend, we made plenty of memories. As you'll see, most of them were just plain, every day, around-the-house type memories, nothing "special." But they are precious to me. ( :

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day here in North Carolina, and me and C took advantage of it by going outside for several hours. It was one of those days where you need long sleeves and pants because the shade was pretty chilly, but in the sunshine it was glorious. Absolutely perfect. My mama came over with my cousin and another young girl and we all had fun playing on the swing set and in the grass.

I love this kid so much ( :
and I love how her diaper kept stickin out of her pants!

She has started doing flips...which really freaks this mama out!!

hehe ( :

She was kinda sad when everyone left us!
Yesterday, we decided to go to a pumpkin patch. I wanted to go to the State Fair, but DH didn't feel like driving that far, so I got online and tried to find a pumpkin patch close by. They are hard to come by around here! I did find one near us, but of course it doesn't open on Sundays. So I found a place about 30 minutes away.  Its mainly a corn maze, but the website said there was a pumpkin patch and lots of things for kids (including toddlers) to do. C didn't wake up from her nap until after 4pm, but we decided to go anyway.

This place wasn't anything like we were expecting. We were pretty disappointed. The arm bands we bought to get in didn't include any of the fun things, and we didn't discover that until it was too late. We didn't do the big 12-acre corn maze (well, its not really corn, but whatever) because you had to pay more for it, but we did do an itty-bitty toddler maze. I think if you're in a big group of older children/adults and you do the big maze and maybe the "haunted" trail at night, that would be a lot of fun. Or if you pay and arm and a leg to be able to have access to everything there! Despite our disappointment, we were determined to make the most of the trip. I think C enjoyed herself, and that's all that really mattered.  We won't be going back to that place, though!

Oh, and there wasn't even a pumpkin patch! That was the biggest disappointment for me. We're off to Gatlinburg, TN, this weekend and I am determined to find a pumpkin patch there!!

me and C in the "corn" maze
I need to teach my husband how to use the zoom! haha

C always twists her tongue like that...gets it from me ( :
Last night, we went grocery shopping and bought a ton of junk food for our upcoming trip. Normally, I don't like to have a lot of junk food sitting around the house. I mean, if its there, we're gonna eat it, right? And no one needs to eat that mess all the time! But when we go on vacation, that "rule" goes out the window. We eat at good restaurants while we're vacationing, but we make sure to pack a lot of goodies for the drive. We like to snack!

Our only mistake last night was me and DH were already hungry when we got there. Never go to the grocery store hungry!! We bought way more than we should have. But its okay; we had fun.

We got ingredients to make a homemade pizza (with store bought dough), and DH let C help him assemble it. She jumped right in like she'd done it a thousand times before, even though it was her first time.


yes, we make pizza in our diapers...don't you?
That pizza was pretty darn good, by the way. And I'm tellin myself its healthier than gettin frozen pizzas or ordering from Domino's....though its probably not. ( :

All in all, the weekend was excellent. This week will be crazy since I have a zillion things to do to prepare for our mountain trip, but I'm so excited to go. I have to go buy a new memory card because I know I'll fill my current one up. I don't even know what activities we have planned, but just being in the mountains will be enough for me, so who cares!