gmb

100 days...

2013-02-03T20:18:00.000-06:00

celebrating "100 days" is new to me.

it came about after my time in elementary school.

i think i recall vaguely it being a part of my heard girls school

but it's fuzzy...

anyway!

there will be a school party!

and a project!

so today we tackled the project.

and it was really, really fun.

i saw some perseverance where before there would have been tears

and an abrupt end to any 'fun'

we started with a little sorting.

thank goodness for cheerios!

i thought i happened to have 2 bags

of pompoms, 50 in each bag.

but, for some reason, when i opened one before,

i carefully resealed it. so much so, i fooled myself!

only after i asked giles to count 'to be sure' we had 100,

did i realize that we did not, in fact, have 100 as i was certain we did!

so we had to add 18 cheerios to the mix :)

giles had a big time sorting all of the colors

and counting how many of each color there were.

and when there wasn't a full tray,

we did some quick assessing to see just how many there were.

i know it is simple math, but his little brain was working!

and it was nothing but pure joy to watch.

i did some sneaky question asking too...

and he was quick!

made me so proud...

i had him use tweezers to pick up the cheerios & dip in glue.

he did a good job with that, which was tricky & again, i was proud :)

{oh, and please pardon the attire. it was super bowl, so of course we had

to wear the football helmet. and then alllllll of his & crawford's clean

laundry was in the nursery where crawford was sleeping!

so it was pj top & an apron until we found a random pair of pj pants a little later}

he placed them all by himself!

and he also painted in the red by himself.

i drew it and painted the top & outlined in red where he needed to paint.

but he did a good job not getting it all over the place!

i made the little place where a gumball would roll out

& i put the .25 on there.

giles noticed that i forgot to put a slot for the money!

i thought that was pretty good :)

and while it is hard to see,

i let HIM draw in the money slot.

OF COURSE i drew it on a scrap piece of paper first...

in hopes he wouldn't "mess up" the gumball machine.

isn't that SAD???

but, proud of myself here, i let him do it

and even though it is more square

and going in completely the opposite direction of how i drew my 'sample'

i got over it :)

and was so proud of him for wanting to do it

and trying hard to make it look nice. and it does :)

so there is the finished product.

we had a big time with this.

and even though i wasn't as patient as i should have been

at times, especially when he got silly with the sorting...

in the end, he was PLEASED and he said he had so much FUN!!!

i couldn't ask for it to have turned out any better than that.

thanks for letting me brag on my little fella.

he makes me so happy :)

so much, so fast...

2013-01-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

happy 7 months my sweet baby boy!!!

daddy was kind enough to step in & photo this month...

i think the late hour of the day

and the 'help' of his pre-schooler sidekick

left a little to be desired in the photography department...

but he normally knows his way around a camera pretty well! ;)

{thanks mikey...}

giles is working on getting used to being in a one-cat house...

tucker {in head lock, above...} says it is going to take him... a little longer.

we were so sad to lose our sweet iris earlier this month...

we live on a street that sees enough traffic that in some ways

we felt pretty fortunate that she never had any issues before now.

she somehow got in the street & sadly didn't make it across.

it was strange in that we were all around the front of the house

because mikey and giles were heading out with the dogs

to the park to exercise with the dogs.

no car ever attracted our attention, or stopped,

and we had just interacted with iris very shortly before.

sadly, giles was right in the midst of it all

but he handled it so well. he helped mikey have a little memorial

& short little prayer service in a special little place at the park.

she was the sister in the

roger & iris duo...

she was 14 years old... loved to find a comfy spot in the nursery

and have herself a little nap...

in looking for this picture, i came across one of roger...

he was so cute! i had forgotten just how sweet he was...

he was a little more snuggly than iris...

and definitely more curious... and you know what they say about curiosity...

roger learned that the hard way :(((

this was sweet roger back in april 2007...

so now we are a one cat, two dog family...

all rescues. all nuts in one way or another. all perfect for our little family :)

crawford has enjoyed starting to go for walks

sitting facing forward in the BOB... he gets all cozy in his fleecy suit

and he is ready to roll!

he doesn't even nap!

giles used to conk out... they are a little different in their sleep habits.

both are awesome sleepers, but giles really loved to sneak in a nap.

crawford will take one, but he has to be 'prepped' a little more :)

i can't wait to see all the differences and similarities come to light...

but just not too soon... time passes way too quickly as it is!

we did actually get to enjoy some snow already in 2013!

it was beautiful.

it came down in big snowflakes, it started sticking, everything was covered in white

for about 4 hours...

then it was gone!

the sun came out and the snow melted right up!

i have NO IDEA what makes schools close in this town, but it ain't much! ;)

we got a snow day out of it! lol...

i loved it because i love having my boys home with me,

but it was hilarious to me that our school was out.

giles was excited about the snow, but he got over that pretty fast.

it was wet, cold & there wasn't enough snow to do anything.

so here was our only real snowbird that day :)

so far january has brought lots of new & changes...

and crawford fits right in there...

this month he has changed the most noticeably to me.

he holds his bottle like it's no big deal.

he feeds himself puffs and graduated to cheerios.

he holds on to his paci and self-inserts as needed.

he intentionally rolls over during a diaper change

and it similar to taming a tiger during that process.

he talks. A LOT.

it's mumbo-jumbo to us,... but he knows exactly what he means!

he jumps forwards and backwards in his johnny jump up!

straight up and down got boring so he started bouncing

forward and then backward and it is hilarious!

and on jan 15th, his 7 month birthday,

he cut a tooth during the day.

see that cute little tooth on the bottom?

isn't it adorable?!??!

some stats

2013-01-03T21:13:00.000-06:00

a very cute site

had these on one of the deal sites recently.

when giles came along

i had more time and more $$$ to spend decorating his room

with crawford,

i just got around the dusting the nursery

for the second time

and he's 6 months.

nice.

so of course the decor,

save for the curtains,

has suffered a bit.

but we had friends coming over

for dinner over the holidays

and i used that as motivation to

spiff up both of the boy's rooms.

but here is a little addition i love

that i just added to the nursery.

i used one of the frames from

some art that i had had for giles

when he was in the nursery.

so it was a very cost efficient

spiffer-upper.

please excuse the terrible lighting.

i knew if i waited, it would never get taken.

crawford's new thing of late is his ever-changing

sleep routine. so, i guess that is not really a new thing.

sam's club formula has always been just fine for us.

neither child, praise the Lord, has had formula issues.

they actually have done better on sam's formula

than any of the name brands.

so, naturally, sam's picks NOW

to repackage their formula.

so our store was sold out.

thanks, sam's.

could you not have scheduled it to have a little overlap

so as not to run out on the shelves

and leave little baby tummies high and dry?

we don't have huge sensitivity issues with formula,

but yank the old reliable out from under them,

there is going to be trouble!

so, maybe it is coincidence.

maybe not.

but unless crawford has some strange 6th sense

that after he goes to bed all kinds of fun things start happening,

then the change in formula has resulted in a

change in sleep routine.

the new thing is when he would normally

be going down for the night,

that has now become his 'pre-sleep.'

he now likes to cat nap for 45min to an hour

then get up and be held, HELD,

not just awake and glad to be around us, no.

he wants human contact

for about a 30-60 minute session.

but, as much as it sounds like i am griping,

i am not.

just noting a noteworthy, to us, change in

the routine of our 6 month old.

because in a few weeks when he changes

it to a different time of day,

i won't even remember this.

and while i would love to go to sleep with my kitchen spotless

and all of the clothes folded and put away,

if i get side-tracked because i cuddled the little lump,

i hope i always remember how wonderful it is!!!

merry christmas!

2012-12-25T22:33:00.000-06:00

we wish you a merry christmas!

the actual card did go out without the watermark ;)

but it was 2-up for printing purposes

so the watermarked one is the only one that would work.

we are truly blessed.

i am tired.

it is late.

but i have found if i don't

'real time' blog it...

it is hard to catch up!

so mostly a picture recap

winston arrived at the beginning of december

and brought along his new friend wink

we went with friends to the christmas parade

we enjoyed breakfast with santa at the zone

and made reindeer food and wrote our christmas list

sweetest brother turned 6 months old!!!

decided on a wrapping color scheme for the season

our elves brought stockings for the whole crew!

and landed in silly places

we started off christmas in memphis at mimi janies and didi frank's

and played with new sets of lincoln logs...

talk about memories!

success!

cousin fun was the best!

loved getting more duplos to grow our collection!

daddy brought back some delicious cookies

from some of his travels to leave for ol' st nick...

and they were delicious!

i asked giles which one he wanted to try:

double chocoloate,

peanut butter chocolate,

chocolate peppermint,

or ginger.

he replied, "ginger."

well, of course he did. hahaha!

i tried one and while i have a fondness for chocolate

that goes wayyyy back,

i thought the ginger was very unique and definitely delish!

sprinkling reindeer food...

i had to sneak in for a little post-santa shot...

giles watches hours of marble runs on you tube

so it was a no-brainer for santa to leave

him this nice wooden set, an upgrade from his well-loved

plastic one from last year!

santa just knew little brother would love some jumpy fun

and he was right! he's enjoyed all the bells, whistles & jumps...

but just don't leave him alone.

he's definitely a most social baby!

i definitely believe i was the most excited about christmas as ever!

today was perfect. we attended a beautiful children's mass at church

after visiting with tuscaloosa family last night.

so today was just a lazy day- which was great because

it rained all. day. long.

mike set up and played

trains,

marble runs,

cars,&

dominoes...

as well as manned the house so i could take a 2 hour nap!

we just did a little something for each other...

i got my pizza cutter!

i think i threw my much-beloved one away with a pizza box :(

and mikey got this cool little gadget...

its called a POP phone

it is just a handset you attach to your cell phone

so retro, right?

but i think it will really be neat and functional too!

we'll see...

it was only $12.99 on amazon :)

merry christmas to each of you!!!

i am so entirely grateful that my savior was born on this day.

i am challenged to make sure giles understands how much this day

is soooo really not about presents and santa

but it is so hard to feel it is really sinking in.

however, in bed this morning, after giles saw what santa brought

but only briefly as he was heading to our room to get us,

he said, 'no computers or iphone or ipads today!

today it is allll about jesus and his birth!'

wow!

i loved hearing that!

at least his heart started in the right place...

about 10 minutes later we were knee deep in everything

that had nothing to do with jesus,

but... that's ok. we did get to enjoy some nice conversation

before we got too sidetracked with presents.

and we ended the day reading

the storybook of the birth of jesus.

thank you jesus, for coming to earth,

to set us free and save us.

merry christmas!!!

i want

2012-12-19T04:52:00.001-06:00

to win this camera!

and the kitchen aid stand mixer!

and, heck, the mini ipad too!

but for me to win,

i should share with you!

{a 'real' entry is coming soon ;)}

Very Jane fun giveaway!

time.

2012-10-25T21:55:00.000-05:00

time,

it has obviously gotten away from me...

i went and cutied up my blog

and then have not blogged!

and tonight is really no exception.

i am far too tired to make much of a post.

i have so many things to catch up on,

especially with all that crawford is doing these days.

it'll come.

sometime.

for now i will put up a few pictures,

and call it a post.

and these are in no particular order!

just all from this month :)

my adorable giles...

i love this shirt so much i bought it again this year.

and last years still fits!

erg.

the one from last year was not hanging

with all of the other long sleeve tees.

bummER.

so sweet to see how crawford

lights up when he sees giles...

just hanging out,

little and big

boo to you!!!

for some reason this picture rotated...

it may be hard to tell,

but daddy made gilesy a pumpkin shaped pancake!

not the best of luck

baking this pumpkin cake...

definitely not all it's cracked up to be.

ha.

sorry.

a moment of thought?...

he came up with this on his own

and it cracked me up!

he's playing mechanic...

with his plasma car.

this is the end of an era for giles.

no more smocked peter pan collared shirts.

i held out as long as i could.

he never once complained.

God love that child!

i only hope to get crawford to wear it half as long!!!

surely that baby will never tell his mama, 'no'

right???

one of many firsts...

first time to roll over.

::weep::

goodnight.

a rainbow of a makeover!

2012-10-05T12:21:00.000-05:00

oh my goodness! oh my goodness!

i am beyond excited!

my bloggy got a fun makeover!

i love it. i will share with you below a little bit about who made it happen.

life at #13 is busy and business as usual…

growing boys, busy schedules, laundry that multiplies,

dishes that have yet to learn to wash themselves, dogs that are dirty,

dust bunnies that reproduce at rapid-fire pace…..

nothing new or unusual, well, except my blog :)

read on about my new friend!

i don’t know if you have had the

pleasure of meeting anyone online

that you otherwise would have never met

if it weren’t for a message board, facebook, pinterest, etsy, etc.

i have.

the internet has opened up a whole new world for me.

gosh, that actually started back in 1998

when i met my hubby, mike, online!

and since then it has been so much fun

finding hidden gems all over the internet!

I have researched many things

for business & personal,

i have met friends with similar interests-

and we joke about how our IRL {that’s in real life}

friends would probably think we’re crazy if they knew

people we have never truly met

are people we consider really good friends.

it is pretty crazy, but given how hectic life can be,

the computer is my friend!

i can utilize its resources at a moment’s notice-

and often, that is all i have!

recently i was looking at my blog and wanting to update it.

i contacted my original designer but she could not ‘take the case.’

she recommended some designers and i checked out their work.

but, honestly, i knew exactly {for the most part} what i wanted

and i just felt that i would be paying for more than i needed.

my budget is so tight it squeaks!

so, shelling out a lot for a bloggy makeover wasn’t an option.

i started perusing etsy,

as i had before when i wanted my blog designed originally.

i sent out some convos to several people

and got several replies.

i narrowed it down to my new friend…

and soon, you’ll see why.

introducing...

tara from print smitten

i could stop there because once you click over to her blog,

you’ll know exactly why it was a very easy decision!

but, i like to chat, so i won’t.

tara has really neat ideas.

she is patient, professional, unique, original,

honest, easy-going, fun to work with

and very efficient!

she has a young family, a full time job

and she is a graphics designer on the side…

whew! i am tired just thinking of the mental bandwidth that requires.

i hope you will take a minute or two to visit her facebook page {& like it!}

and etsy page, as well as her blog.

i know she would love to spend more time on her blog,

but in the short time her shop has been open on etsy,

she is already taking on more design work!

so hopefully it won’t keep her so busy

she won’t be able to check in on her blog some,

i love her sharing!

if you have any design needs,

i recommend tara with FULL confidence,

she will WoW! you with her work.

and if you do use her, please let her know i sent you :)

{there are still one or two little tweaks to be made,

they are coming soon..}

A-HA moment...

2012-09-17T13:19:00.000-05:00

it happened.

i remembered.

and when i saw it, i said,

"a-ha!"

and then became slightly embarrassed

that i made any kind of deal about what i forgot

i wanted to blog about earlier.

these days, it's the little things.

or, in this case, the BIG!

as in real vanilla flavoring.

indeed.

that is what all the fuss was over.

i didn't know, so i can't assume you know either!

vanilla is one heck of a deal at sams!

i got a 16oz VAT of vanilla for about $7

normally i get a 2oz size for about $3-4.

say what?

yep.

i read on a blog a post about things that really are a good deal at sams.

vanilla was on the list.

i just ran out of vanilla.

it was on my shopping list.

therefore, i now own my very own lifetime supply of vanilla :)

i kid.

it won't last all that long.

i go through it faster than a lot of things around here

and with the holidays less than 100 days away...

well, i am prepared :)

and probably my most favorite part of all

is that WHEN i do finish this bottle,

it makes a GREAT homemade salad dressing bottle!

perfect for my greek or balsamic vinaigrette

or my very favorite mustardy mexican dressing!

go, me!

i remembered what i forgot,

shared with you,

and made the world a happier place by telling you all!

ha!

only kidding...

but i am glad i remembered.

it's like getting to sneeze.

it is frustrating when it was "just right there"

and then it goes away...

but when it comes back,

it was like it was so much better than

it ever would have been if you hadn't lost it in the first place.

agreed?

no memory.

2012-09-17T11:52:00.000-05:00

i hate it when this happens.

i woke up this morning and had a 'great' topic

i wanted to blog about.

*poof*

can't remember for the life of me what it was

so i will improvise.

first, i will start with a little happy 1/4 year birthday!

this little fella turned 3 months on saturday...

it is going by way too fast!

he is already starting to teethe...

made most noticeable by the ramming of both fists in his mouth

and lots of drooling!

he is going to earn the nickname 'bucky' pretty soon!

he has started bucking in what i believe is an effort to roll over

which makes me sad!

i keep trying to tell him,

once you roll, there's no going back!

he doesn't seem phased.

thus starts the inability to take a cute picture of the boys

together with both of them truly smiling and actually looking at me at the same time!

here is a little more evidence of the bucking trend.

he scoots and bucks all over the boppy now...

i know it will be a sad day when we retire this favorite!

here is a little handiwork...

i took a pair of giles' red gingham pants he had torn

and cut a "c" out and put it on a onesie for crawford.

it's rough, but, hey! it's art!

and i crafted this little travel wipes case

from leftover fabric from the curtains

i am kind of all over the map today with info,

but i guess that is what happens when you

lose your ability to remember anything!

crawford was seriously entralled with

the big screen tv, so much so he couldn't be bothered

with smiling with his mimi for the camera!

we were belatedly celebrating cousin lauren's birthday

she's a beautiful girl with a heart of gold!

see all that gorgeous hair?

she's growing it to donate to locks of love :)

giles is having a great school year!

he is loving working with numbers,

adding and subtracting all kinds of things.

he has made huge strides writing his name neatly

and remembering to use a capital G with lowercase i-l-e-s.

he knows many site words

and loves to practice them from his word ring.

well, the bell has rung...otherwise known as crawford

crying to wake up from his nap!

just in time to go get brother...

hello!

2012-09-09T19:39:00.000-05:00

how about just a random catch up?

we had so many fun visitors

to come and see crawford

and i have been meaning to put some of the pictures here...

here is the wonderful Mrs Cindy!

she is one of my dear friends

and was also giles' 4k preschool teacher...

she is one of those friends you can call on always!!!

{except when she goes and moves to kentucky over the summer...}

we miss mrs cindy terribly!

and of course auntie extraordinaire,

my sister, helen anne...
this was her meeting crawford for the first time...
and here she is meeting giles for the first time...

what a great comparison of hair!
i have never, ever seen a baby with hair like giles'
it was so unique!

and cousin anna jane...

she is the baby whisperer...

and she left me in a real pickle

seeing as she held crawford continously for hours...

once she was gone {back to memphis} and reality hit,

both crawford and i were some sad puppies.

the southern belles came for a visit :)

sandra, all the way from north carolina {originally from tuscaloosa}

and her sweet mama...

sandra and mike were friends in high school

and reconnected because of facebook several years ago...
sandra and barry have a daughter named elizabeth,

she and giles are besties

and love to play

sadly, elizabeth was sick this visit and giles was in memphis....

lots of catching up to do next time :)

here is a most precious friend of mine
mrs rachel...
she has two adorable kiddos,
one of which was in school with giles last year...
we met randomly at another friend's child's party
and found out we both had boys starting
the same preschool the following fall...
...love when we get to do a little catching up & the kids get to play!

sweet jeanne...

she brought dinner to feed an army

and it was all delicious!

MOMs group friend and most kind and humble heart ever!

we love mrs jeanne!

introducing

jennyfairygodmother

otherwise known as

jenny

fairy god mother...
click here and see, he asked her himself {with a little help from mama...}
{giles just saw this picture on my computer
and said, 'i like that picture, i love that picture of jenny!'}

here is sweet weezie...

louise is jenny's oldest daughter.

giles is a big fan of louise!

he thought she came to stay with us

just to play with him!

she was big fun for him :)

isn't she just adorably cute?

i love my bestie :)

sweet sarah came to visit
bearing gifts for not only crawford,
but giles too!
{clearly he didn't plan his outfit or hair for her visit...
mismatched pjs and hair with a serious party going on!!!}
she treated him to a personal story time
with the precious hardback book she brought him

it was adorable,
and she was soooo patient
with all of his many interruptions and questions!

we had other sweet and equally
special and loved visitors
that i just did not get pictures of!

everyone has been so kind and generous!
mike and i have never eaten so well!!!
we had greek, italian, bbq, breakfast...
you name it, someone brought it!
i have always loved making/taking meals
to new mamas...
in this case, payback was supreme!

we have officially worn out the boppy seat...

it's the one tried and true,
we can always count on...
but we've finally burned out the vibration feature, as well as the sound...
hopefully we can get a little more mileage out of it
before crawford is too long to use it,
which won't be long.
i distinctly remember coming to
the realization that giles had grown too long for boppy...
it was his favorite seat too....

unfortunately tummy time is a bust...

but we're still working on it......
it never seems like a good time
because we've either just eaten
{it's NEVER a good idea to follow a bottle with tummy time!},
or he's content hanging out
in the boppy,
or, his favorite, in someone's arms!,
or it's time to sleep...
but we will persevere..................

we get the biggest kick out of thinking back to giles' days at this age.
often i am sure my memory plays tricks on me.
and, clearly God knows what he's doing
in the 'mommy memory' department,
or lack thereof is more accurate.
{otherwise we just might not spring for a #2...}
in comparison of some things about the boys...
crawford and giles favor in looks some
giles had blonde, brown and red on his mop,
crawford is more brownish with hints of blonde to come.
both have gorgeous blue eyes...
giles has a kabillion thick eyelashes
and crawford's eyelashes are only about a mile long...
i loved giles in yellow
i love crawford in green and blue
giles was a little bit more 'fix it and forget it' ;)
or so i think i remember
with crawford, you need to get things a little more
'just right' before you take off and leave him in a boppy...
giles loved being held a lot,
crawford likes being held an extraordinary amount!
the nursery is about the same for both...
different window treatments would be about the biggest change...

giles'

crawford's

so... that's a little update for you...
trying to catch up a little at a time :)

peace.

open house n' such...

2012-08-20T22:29:00.000-05:00

giles met his sweet teachers today

at kiddie kollege open house

here is mrs sarah

and here is mrs williams

we had a fun scavenger hunt to take us all around the room

starting at the front door!

then we made our way to the 'name' door...

and to the snack table...

and to meet the classroom mascot, snoopy, himself!

we helped our teachers by putting away our supplies

and got to wear the birthday crown for a minute or two!

it was a great day... giles has a room full of sweet friends

with sweet families... he is so excited about the new year

and seeing his friends, old and new!

so tomorrow we 'go back to school'

for the last time at kiddie kollege...

here is to a great year gilesy!

delish!

2012-08-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

that is the response i got to dinner...

two nights in a row!

and it was the SAME THING!

and it was one dish.

i mean, come on... am i dreaming???

oh, and it cooked in essentially one dish,

the crock pot!

{there is a roux -please do not let that scare you- to make at the end...

i was on the phone with my bff when i was making my roux

and completely messed it all up

and i was able to 'fix it'

and it was STILL delicious!

that is sayin' somethin' about this recipe!}

and this is sayin' that it was

GOOD!

here is the recipe...

{original recipe}

Recipe slow cooker creamy chicken and wild rice soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package of Rice-a-Roni long grain and wild rice
1/2 tsp salt (plus more to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half (I used fat-free half and half)
1 cup grated carrots (I diced mine)
1 cup diced celery

Directions:

Combine broth, water, carrots, celery, chicken and rice (along with seasoning packet) in a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Take out chicken and shred with two forks and then add back into slow cooker. In a small bowl combine salt, pepper, and flour. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in flour mixture by tablespoon to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Stir cream mixture into slow cooker and then let cook on low for 15 more minutes.

Source: 365daysofcrockpot

some things i did differently...

added a chicken bullion cube to the 2c water,

next time if i have 6c chicken broth, i will just use the broth

used 1/2 STICK butter, so 1/4c

i had about 1/2c half and half {regular strength} and

added approximately 1c skim milk and a nice size dollop

of regular sour cream to the roux...

it was a little wonky but it was all i had and

since i reduced the amount of butter but not the

amount of flour AND i was on the phone with my bff,

i just sort of had to act fast and keep things moving...

so i added more sour cream because it was handy!

i added the leafy part of the celery and added a little more than 1c

i added a diced onion to the mix too!

this is a rich {but not too rich} extremely delightful soup...

it would make a fabulous dish to take to a friend

as a surprise dinner, to a new mama, a sick friend, etc...

giles isn't a *huge* fan of soups and casseroles,

he eats them but i think tends to prefer foods a little

more separate maybe? he's usually good for the first, original

night, but leftovers can sometimes be rebuffed...

as i said, he said this was delicious and ate every bite!

so.... make some!!!

introducing....

2012-08-12T22:04:00.000-05:00

my sweet boy!!!

daddy holding, to introduce,

CRAWFORD MATTHEW

June 15th, 2012

born at 10:10am

9# 6oz

{his big brother was 9# 7oz... talk about consistency!}

crawford is in honor of my daddy and matthew is in honor of mike's daddy

mike's daddy is so funny, he says "i'll just call him matthew"

{he goes by crawford :)}

here is our little bruiser all ready to go home!

complete with his own set of baby elephant ears!

all snuggly buggly hanging out in the hospital

{i do realize that the hanging out picture is after

the getting ready to go home picture...

there are some details that are just not that important!

order of pictures, not important,

getting this post done, now THAT is important :)}

mommy swooning over the preciousness that is my baby!

sweetest dr ingram...

love this woman!

she is dr extraordinnaire

we have enjoyed having her as a part

of our most special occasions twice now...

we owe her big time... and we owe her big time!
LOL...

so crawford nailed the delivery.

he was textbook.

i appreciate that. i really do! {smile}

giles had the fabulous opportunity to stay in memphis

for two weeks prior to crawford's arrival.

the thursday before crawford was to be induced

mama and daddy brought giles home and stayed the night.

on friday mike and i woke up bright and early,

well... more like dark and early... i do think it was 3am.

we had to be at st vincent's by 5am to start the induction

crawford was right at 40 weeks

and really wasn't planning on making an

appearance until much later, i am afraid.

i was comfortable with inducing.

having an hours drive makes any

possible planning appreciated, for sure.

i had all kinds of scenarios of how this experience would go

i had hopes of how it would go

and boy, did i get lucky!

dr ingram, both times, has prepped me

for the fact that one of her partners

would be to see me and get the ball rolling

before they ended their shift and she began hers.

that was a part i dreaded.

i love dr ingram, she knows me,

we have a rhythm, mike knows her,

i just had/have a strong preference for

not having to make small talk with a 'new' doctor

on the day i am to give birth...

so, ... you really needed to know all that, right?

well, this is a 'diary' of sorts...so some deets are more for me :)

anywho! allllll that to say, both times i have

been very blessed that dr ingram has showed up early

and i haven't had to have my 'birth day'

start with a stranger!

then i thought back to my delivery day with giles.

an extreme amount of pain and discomfort

towards the end of what felt like a very long day...

with giles we got started early, too,

but he didn't arrive until almost 5pm!

with that memory, i couldn't help but wish

a few things might turn out differently.

less pain, shorter day

one out of two ain't bad!

my sweet boy, while there was hardly

a shortage of discomfort and pain,

managed to arrive in the mid-morning!

i prayed to have an extra 'day' on this earth

with my sweet baby, and i got it!

i just hoped and prayed he wouldn't

take too long to make his grand entrance and he didn't!

when dr ingram was leaving after checking on me,

maybe around 9am, i asked ...

'what's the eta, dr ingram???'

she replied, 'lunch, maybe 2???'

so, close to lunch, or maybe closer to 2pm...

well... that was 'better'... but i was hoping for 'even better!'

much to both of our surprise,

we saw her back a little before 10am.

i was so dang glad to see her...

the relief that comes when the nurses

collaborate and decide to make 'the call'

...well, it's the saving grace as far as i am concerned.

i love that decision!

and her coming through that door?

well, she's the most welcomed guest

i have ever seen!!!

mama and daddy had on their agenda

for delivery day

to get giles to ms cindy's house

{his preschool teacher and our very, very dear friend}

and then head on to birmingham early in the day.

they weren't even to the hospital yet

when crawford made his most precious arrival!

they had a good 2hr wait to see us

after giles' was born, so this was a treat!

they got there just in time to be welcomed in

to meet the sweet boy.

{the first time they ever saw their precious crawford}

timing on june 15th was perfect in every single way.

i loved that day.

we got to hang out all day and visit

and love on a precious boy and

i got to recuperate and get my energy up

for another group of special company...

some of mike's family came to visit,

and they bought big brother!!!

aww.......... it was SUPER sweet

to see my boy meet his brother.

i had real mixed emotions about

having giles make the trip to st vincents, or not???

there were pros and cons to all of my thoughts.

i am so glad he was able to see me

in the hospital,

after all, "St Vincent's, it's where babies come from!"

--- won't have to say much more that that

for 'the talk' now will i? ha ha ha!

{for those not from here,

st vincent's has a commercial with lots of cute

babies and that is the tag line}

anyway, it was great to seeing him meet crawford

for the first time...

i love the down time that being

in the hospital brings...

there will be plenty of time for visitors

and we've had many and enjoyed each one!

but it is so special, to me, to share

the births of our children with some of

our immediate family

mike's mom, brother chris and his girlfriend skye

brought giles up friday evening.

he had such a ball being taken care of by them

and getting the special treat of coming to birmingham

to meet 'brudder'

and not only did he get to hang out for a good while

in the room with us,

he got to go out to eat in birmingham before

heading back to have a sleepover at skye and chris' house!

this was a fun deal for him all the way around!

he doesn't mind getting special treatment, at all- lol...

so, we took

and left

and drove back to

and woke up

and got life with crawford started in tuscaloosa!!!

thanks for sharing in this story

that makes us one very blessed family...

PS... and since this has seriously taken me TWO MONTHS

to get done, here is a picture of the cutie patootie yesterday...

a bad, very bad, day...

2012-07-23T19:54:00.001-05:00

so.

i typically feel like most days of my life are pretty darn good.

really good.

we're healthy, happy, loved,

fed, clothed, warmed by heat,

cooled by a/c...

we have it pretty good.

but, today. today was not good.

i mean, it actually ended up good.

it just started out not good and stayed not good for awhile.

i learned, make that re-learned, procrastination

can sometimes bite you... but yet, i still procrastinate...

i also learned, sometimes things are just a roll of the dice...

again, i guess i just re-learned that...

so, ride with me as we leave my driveway this morning at about 8:30 or so.

i thought, real quick-like i would go get

my now expired drivers license renewed,

before the 60 day 'grace' period was up.

in two days.

to back track a bit... sometime in the later spring i noticed

that my drivers license was going to expire on may 25.

about 20 days or so prior to me giving birth.

this means i was roughly nine months preggo when this

realization came to me.

who wants to go get a picture made,

that will be with you for four years,

when they are nine months pregnant?

i would not.

so, i procrastinated.

it was hot, i was ginormo preggy

and i was not up for the task of drivers license renewal.

so, it kept getting pushed off of the to-do list.

often.

this brings us to the present.

i still procrastinated. renewal was penciled in on my calendar

all last week... finally on monday's space in my calendar

it said, 'very last day to renew drivers license'

so i took heed of what my self was telling me.

i asked mike if he could please just work around my need

for his help with the boys this lovely monday morning.

who would have ever thought that more than half of the day

would be exhausted exhausting me of any bit of sanity i thought i had?

how is it that today i ran into every single

government employee who could be difficult?

i mean all. in. the. same. day.

there was no going from one snarly person

to a bright shiny person.

nope.

the bright shiny people were reserved for everyone ELSE.

not me. not today.

i got all the i-dotters and t-crossers.

in fact, i probably make some 'gray area'-ers

INTO

i-dotters and t-crossers.

i really think i did.

so.... where is the rest of my story you ask?

here.

here goes.

keep in mind, i am typing with a stabbing

head ache and eyes so entirely sore that i am certain

i will wake up in the morning with puff balls for eyes...

why? you ask?

because.... of those i-dotters and t-crossers i tell you!

8:30-ish... i stroll into the not too crowded dmv

i am greeted by a generally friendly looking

and sounding female in the lobby of the dmv.

after spinning around in a circle trying to figure out

where exactly i am to go, i find i am to 'check-in'

with this generally friendly looking dmv worker.

after showing her my license and telling her

i was in for a dl renewal,

she asks, "do you have in contacts?"

to which i reply, "no, i had lasik surgery"

to which she replies, "do you have that card they gave you?"

to which i reply, "card? um, no."

so i pass "go" and get a number and go sit to wait my turn.

as i start to speak to dmv worker #2,

i remember thinking,

"man, i wish the lady next to her had called my number"

she had been more "smiley" to her previous 'customers'

and i wanted a smiley, happy dmv worker...

o well.

so we chat for moment

and the whole eye 'card' thing comes up again...

and stalls the renewal process dead in its tracks.

dead. in. its. tracks.

why?

because i don't have the card and now i am being told i have to get

an eye exam completed in the next two days.

no big deal. i just have two small kids at home.

i can either ask my husband not to work

or just drag them all over creation, because let's face it,

why wouldn't that be a barrel of fun??????

so, i leave.

i decide that having a 'card' sounds familiar and i want to go

check into that in my trusty 'lasik' file folder at home.

once i get home and inspect the folder

i don't find it.

but, while the folder let me down, my purse didn't!

yes, the same purse i had with me at the dmv.

the one that had the card in my 'card' case.

yup.

i guess since four years have passed i just didn't

recall that i had one, much less where the heck it was...

so, back to the dmv.

the lobby desk worker deems card acceptable.

the dvm worker #2 chooses to zero in on

one. single. word. on the card

stating that laser vision correction MAY change your vision

well duh.

but since it didn't say it WOULD change your vision,

"teresa t-crosser" decided she needed to check

validity with her supervisor.

thank goodness this supervisor had half of a brain.

she deemed that if i could pass the eye exam,

it was good enough.

praise jesus, i thought.

so... i pass the eye exam.

YAHOO!

now we're getting ~~somewhere~~ nowhere.

through the process of renewal,

"teresa t-crosser" says that

my name and social security number do not match.

i cry.

i just cried.

i cried because i could tell that i was on the path of a loooooooong day.

i was at the mercy of "inga i-crosser and teresa t-crosser"

and they were out in full force today.

so, i pull myself together. somewhat.

and leave in a civil manner.

then i call poor mikey

and he got an earful like he's never gotten before from me,

close, but probably in the top two or three

"all hell has broken loose" moments of our lifetime.

{keep in mind, i don't hold back too often either,

so this was bad}

i was so not happy. not. happy.

why did i leave the dmv?

to go to the house to get my certified marriage license

so i can then go to the social security office,

DUH.

so... i learn where the ss office is in our town

and head on out...

find a place to park. walk. and walk.

go through security- airport style.

and finally arrive at the ss office

and take yet another number.

finally when my number is called

and i find "window 7"

i feel like i am making headway

in my unraveling day.

but, no.

no headway.

just head ache.

why, you ask????

because in order to change your name officially on your ss card,

you must have valid identification.

my drivers license {aka valid identification} was expired.

they don't do 'grace' at the ss office.

so after meeting window worker #7's supervisor

i leave to go to my doctors office!!!!!!!!!!!!

why?????????? you ask, why????????

what's wrong with you people?????????

so they could give me proof that i truly, really and truly,

exist on this god-forsaken planet.

i do not kid.

i had to go to my doctor and request them

to give me a page of my 'internal medical records' with

my name and date of birth on there to prove i am me.

i. am. dying. a. slow. death. by. now.

i return to the ss office thinking i have found a sweet close

parking spot only to find that the sidewalk is closed off for repairs

and i have to walk allllllllllllllll the way around the enormous
GREEN SPACE

they have made in front of the new court house.

god, help me.

please.

i return to take yet another number in a MUCH busier

ss office. at lunch time.

i meet another lovely ss worker at window #3.

the documents i got from my doctor...

are. not. certified.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

i asked for the supervisor, ...again.

she jets off and comes back a few minutes later.

apparently, they were going to "let me slide"

holy mother of god, take my hand.

i pray.

if i didn't have faith and prayer,

ugh. i will refrain from any tasteless referral to causing mass chaos

because it is not funny, or ok to joke,

but i do not kid. i was not mentally ok at this point.

i had checked out.

so, then, what to scrutinize now??????

because it couldn't be ok to just have the medical records

be enough and i move on with getting my married

name on my ss card after eleven YEARS.

nope. window worker #3

actually held my certified marriage license two inches

from her beady little eyes and asked me if my name was

BUNNETT.

she was angling towards the fact that my name as written

on my certified marriage license was possibly misspelled.

O. NO. WINDOW. WORKER. #3.

not today, you're not...

you are not taking was small amount of sanity

and brain matter i have left in my head and telling me

that a 'mis-spell' on my CERTIFIED. MARRIAGE. LICENSE.

was going to cause me an issue.

i took a pen, stood up from my seat,

leaned WELL into window worker #3s work window

and DISTINCTLY pointed out that

what she was certain was an errant N

was in fact a fully formed, albeit fancy!, cursive R.

problem solved, window worker #3.

she probably doesn't want to know how close

to calamity she came. no way. no how.

so, in completion of changing my name,

she informed me that it would not "take effect"

in "the system" until tomorrow

and that the dmv probably would not recognize it

until tomorrow.

o contrere.

but, i smiled and left.

and walked alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way back

around the lovely green space to my car.

to go back to the dmv. again.

for the third time, TODAY.

my third and final visit to the dmv

resulted in my actually getting my license renewed.

and when the first picture i took had

some crazy fly-away going on with my hair,

she actually asked if i would like to re-take the picture...

that was nice.

and so finally, at about 2pm, i had completed the task.

no biggie.

striving for perfection...

2012-07-21T06:49:00.000-05:00

will keep your blog blank.

i have been waiting for the PERFECT moments to blog

hoping for the PERFECT pictures to share...

as a result,

my sweet boy arrived and FIVE WEEKS later?

nada...

it's ridiculous...

but also, it's life.

few things happen these days as fast as i would like,

but i am ok with that, most of the time...

just so i can get my feet wet again,

this will be short and sweet

and the introduction of one sweet

Crawford Matthew

will come very soon!

but for now,

it's allllll about the 5 year old!

giles turned 5 yesterday, friday july 20th

we had a 5 week old birthday and a 5 year old birthday,

special day for sure!

we took giles and crawford to birmingham to celebrate

~~Chuck E Cheesey~~ Chuck E Cheese style

where it's alllllllll about the tickets. gotta earn tickets.

so, this month we've celebrated our boys well...

mikey even snuck in a birthday on thursday!

and sweetly didn't mind a bit being a little overshadowed

by all the excitement of everything else going on...

be back soon with a crawford recap!!!

oh my gosh. oh my gosh. oh my gosh!!!

2012-06-13T11:33:00.001-05:00

my life is soooooooooooooooooo

about to change!!!

all week long i have filled my brain with 'lasts'

this is the 'last Monday' i will wake up as a mom of ONE

this is the 'last Tuesday' i will go to sleep as a mom of ONE

this time 'next Wednesday' i will be referring to 'the boys'

in one way or another...

holy moly!

nine months and it STILL feels like

my stomach is back at the start of the roller coaster
{you do get that, right??? maybe not best

analogy given the current state of my stomach???}

i am so DARN EXCITED i can hardly stand it!!!

yesterday was our last weekly,

or prenatal for any reason for this go 'round, doctor visit

mikey went with me

dr ingram is very happy with how i am progressing

and only demanded that i do nothing different until friday morning

when she induces babyb2...

this is exactly how it went with giles... i was induced on a friday.

i skipped the option to be induced earlier in the week on a tuesday.

i like to know my babies have baked as long as possible.

there {ok, crossing fingers since there are about 48hrs left} have

been no real hiccups and things look on track to be similar

in experience to giles' delivery...

sans the intense, excruciating. debilitating,

make you never want to even THINK about having

another child, kind of back pain...

so i am feeling very grateful and blessed.

probably one of the most pleasant parts of this pregnancy

has been how my relationship with my hubby has been...

he annoys the shittake mushroom out of me from time to time,

but to his credit, he lets me tell him about it! ha! ha! ha!

and i DO!!!

but mostly all i can say i will possibly remember about him

from this pregnancy are all of the kind things he's said about my stamina

{especially given i pooped out on regular exercise, MUCH to his dismay,

about a year and half ago.... BIG MISTAKE- soon to be rectified with

mikey boot camp, post baby}, how many times he's talked about what a good

mom i already am and how i could have taken on 5 or 6 kids

{maybe HE has pregnancy brain???},

the meals he's prepared after looooooong days,

the times he's rolled out of bed

to help me with whatever ails me at the moment- at ungodly hours,

... oh i could go on and on {i think i did this recently already???}

but being blessed with a thoughtful {MOST of the time} hubbydaddy

is just the best... i feel so lucky that my boys will be raised by

my hubby who is relentless in his pursuits

and shows unconditional love like it was the only kind...

not to mention, he's incredibly handsome and all :)))

so room reveal...

it would seem fitting that that reveal would be the nursery.

but, it's not.

it is my BIG boy's room!!!

he's in for a surprise when he returns from his visit with my family.

we moved him out of his room

and into what used to be a guest/junk/office room...

before he left, he saw us painting the room and loved the color...

i hope he loves it A LOT! ha!ha!

because it is now home-base for him...

it still needs work, it is coming along...

here is a progress picture or two...

{i am most displeased with my photog skillz...

they lack. and so do my editing skillz...}

i love his industrial shelving... i hope he does too!

so... nothing has been put on the walls yet.

have no idea where the cork board will end up...

the chest belonged to my great aunt...

it was possibly a pharmacy cabinet?

it is OLD!

the drawer pulls are still in the works

and the paint was still drying, hence the open drawers...

the room is a little smaller, but cozy...

work still to be done, but a good start...

the nursery, well... i hope to have it in better shape after today...

but, surprisingly, it is not stressing me and so it may just get

finished in the coming weeks...

i am not letting that bundle out of my sight to be in his nursery

for awhile anyway, so there's no rush...

i have been pouring over pictures of giles

from his first days to first year...

talk about BABY FEVER!

it's bad...

i am *beyond* excited to meet baby...

and ready for those precious moments in the hospital

with just mike and the baby...

keeping the crazy hours while getting used to round the clock feedings...

getting reacquainted with all the poopy and tee tee diaper charting...

wondering, is this a hungry cry? a 'love me' cry? a tired cry?

a 'what the heck have i just been thru

and where is my cocoon i lived in for 9 months' cry?

i can't wait to decipher each one...

and perfect my swaddle...

and fetch a paci...

and send pictures off to loved ones near and far....

and share 'the name'

{i bleeped the name, there really isn't a black blob

in the middle of the door hanging

and i wonder... which of my family and friends

will be really analyzing the length of the blacked out blob

for hints of the name...

{helen anne? anna jane? ~~cagney?~~ i mean, jenny?- lol...}

anyway, that is the goings at #13...

as my bff says, we're at RE, waiting on ADY...

so, baby, we're ready!!!

whoopsy.

2012-06-08T05:55:00.001-05:00

i bet that is what gilesy said on sunday..
he took a little tumble and ended up in a fight with a wrought iron gate.
so, i had to miss his first 'incident'
god's most perfect plan at work, i am sure...
i couldn't even talk to him on the phone at first because i was so unsure of my voice.
but we all got through it.
three staples and a subdued vacation
with his grandparents and cousins later,
everything is a-ok.
giles is a mega-trooper... not that he shouldn't cry,
because he definitely does,
but when it comes to shots and trauma, he's calm & a model patient.
and that is a big blessing!
my family has nursed him back to health
and hopefully some good lessons were learned
and prayerfully i hope we haven't jumped on any kind of
bandwagon for adventure that ends up with needs of emergency care
again any time soon...
i keep hearing that this is just the first of many...

so time without many obligations has been SUPAH nice!!!
i am quite spoiled.
but OH so appreciative...
giles is being taken care of as if he were here with us
as far as routines, meals and play
{probably better!}
and he's the center of attention.

here we've been getting things done...
i wish i had a magic wand...
if for nothing else than to pick things up off the floor for me!
that one task can have me needing a nap if
i am not careful!
we've got a lot of 'stuff' and deeeep desire for lots less of it...
especially when you experience how stifling it is
when you try to make progress.
you definitely cannot organize junk.

in one week we will get to have baby, second act :)
we are so fortunate. i know this and try never to forget how many
would give much, if not everything, to be in our situation...
not perfect, by any means, but blessed.
to know that giles will have a sibling in this crazy world
is a source of comfort for me.
i cannot wait to watch that relationship unfold.

here's to one more week!
cheers :)

so, we're set... or are we?

2012-05-30T16:04:00.001-05:00

i guess that isn't really for me to know...

but, according the calendar at my drs office,

we're set for friday, june 15th to meet this little one.

i am sooo ready and soooo not!

we have still many things on our to-do list to be done,

but some things are starting to come along.

the room color i picked, which was originally for the nursery, i love...

it is 'sparrow' by behr

this is NOT our room, but it was the inspiration...

and since we've started the painting, it's now going to be giles' new room!

we're keeping the room that giles used as a nursery,

as a nursery for babyB2...

the location in our house is perfect,

we're actually reusing everything from when giles was a baby,

so the colors are already in place

and it just made good sense.

i feel so at peace and pleased with this decision.

when i was creating giles' nursery, i tried to be gender neutral.

we were having some things custom made

and i knew one day we'd love to have another baby.

not knowing if it would be a boy or girl,

but knowing our investment,

i had to tell myself that i would re-use it all.

i don't really think i believed myself.

if you know me at all, this would not surprise you :)

but, surprise! surprise! i *am* reusing it all...

thank goodness it's a boy though, because it would be hard to do

if baby had been a girl... just too much a fan of girlie things...

god knew.

so, once we get everything in place, i will photo and share.

i hope giles is surprised and happy about his new digs.

he's spending an indulgent amount of time with family

while we rest and work and work and rest

getting ready for bundle #2.

the gift of {hopefully} a 2 week kid-free staycation

is most invaluable... and nothing to take for granted.

{thanks mimi janie and didi frank, as well as all the

god-parents, cousins, & friends...}

giles finished his 4yr old preschool year in what felt like record time!

here he is on day 1

and on his last day...

he's 2 inches taller and one pound heavier

in his pjs for pajama day... a good way to end the year!

so, i will sign off with how i feel at 37 weeks, 4 days of being preggy with babyB2...

i am ready to not be pregnant,

but cherishing every single kick, hiccup and bump.

i love being pregnant, even though it is NOT easy...

issues with sciatic nerve pain have undone me a time or two

this go 'round...

i do NOT for one second feel like i could ever do this without mikey...

he has gotten up from a dead sleep to rub my back or hip countless times...

he has moved and carried more than a pack mule...

not to mention all of the times he's been called from one room to another

because i got in bed or sat down and had forgotten something

...in another room...

he's taken care of giles after long days at work so i could rest...

he shuts the bedroom door and entertains giles when my 5 minute rest

turned into a 2 hour nap...

he has done all kinds of errands for me

and called ahead to make sure i didn't need anything before coming home...

he's made many meals and cleaned up after a few too ;)

he's done sooo much to make this pregnancy easier for me...

i know there are women who do pregnancy solo all of the time...

i know there are men who are serving our country while their wives

are at home going through pregnancy solo who would give ANYTHING

to just be able to be there for her

and do these small but meaningful tasks...

i am more than extremely blessed.

i am so grateful to have a very dedicated partner in this

and know that every single day is a gift.

thank you mikey for making this fun and enjoyable,

even in the moments where there are challenges and pains...

i cannot wait to welcome giles' little brother into this world...

and talk about 'the boys'

and watch giles with his little brother...

and get to worry about whether his baby book

is as well-documented as giles' :)

and to see him wear all of the cute things that i saved from giles...

and to see what he does similarly and differently than giles...

and to be amazed at how much sooner he does things

because he'll have to keep up with big brother...

and to see what big brother thinks is soooo helpful,

that is totally not! lol...

we're ready for the adventure,

which i am so grateful for because,

ready or not.... we're about to be a family of FOUR!!!

a bday in may...

2012-05-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

well... we made it through the birthday for giles

with no rain and we had guests!!!

i was really worried we wouldn't have anyone come!

it was a bit nerve-wracking to find

i had picked a weekend with lots of conflicts...

but, it was well-attended, and while a bit on the cool side,

there was not a drop of rain to fall during the party...

to me, that was a success!!!

giles was tickled to see all of his friends

there to celebrate him and his special day

{albeit about 2 months early... this has proved to be a touch confusing...}

he had school friends, family/church friends there

and everyone seemed to have a nice time.

i wish i had taken MORE pictures,

but honestly, just getting my camera there and remembering to use it at all?

another success!

it was the very last thing that went on my party planning list,

and it only appeared there about 2 days before the party...

we set up {ha! who am i kidding, mikey set up...} a table

close to the water fountain and loaded it up with some goodies

we hoped would be good party fare that also

celebrated our 'have a ball' theme

we were really just going for a plain,

old-fashioned birthday party...

free, outside, simple food, no frills,

full out celebration of another year of a sweet little boy...

i think it worked out that way.

we had cheese balls, sausage balls, pretzel balls

for our 'have a ball' party fare

i made a sugar cookie cake with icing

instead of a traditional birthday cake or cupcakes...

it's so dense and soft- like a really good sugar cookie.

i want to find an icing that is hearty like this one,

but that does not use any shortening-

i feel like i can taste it

and that is not my desire...

the chocolate icing doesn't have shortening in it

and it is divine! {to me, but i love me some icing...}

i thought it would be so much better if we had some

sugar cookie already cut, to help with that initial rush of serving

the party-goers after a good ol' singing of happy birthday...
so i used my french wire tiered stand from willow house
to house some of the pre-cut sugar cookie...

this really turned out to be a big time saver
and i was glad i did it... it allowed for a friend to help me
get more people served faster!

http://youtu.be/RiiPpD3c300
click here to hear my beautiful voice singing giles happy birthday :)
{HA!}

despite how it may appear, my child was not pursuing
a person in this picture, just one of the waterfalls...

a little mingling with the moms and dads

it was cold when the wind blew, so it required a little
forethought before just racing in...

ella was not sure she was ready to join
in the water festivities just yet, she needed to hang with mom
for a bit to acclimate, but then, she was having a ball

greta and emily from MOMs :)

with a little help from an online friend,
we came up with these party favor tags
for our gumball party favors!

we definitely Had A Ball!!!

happy birthday, my sweet boy!
we won't forget your real birthday july 20th,
but your mommy loves you sooooooo much,
i wanted to make sure that nothing got in the way
of celebrating you in a special way :)
your brother will be a super special gift to all of us this summer
and i know you cannot wait to meet him!

this is the last week of school, much to my dismay.
i will not miss the carpool line or making a creative lunch every day...
but i will certainly miss having quiet in the morning hours,
and i know giles will really, really miss his friends and teachers...
although this morning in the car on the way to school
when we were talking about how school was coming to an end,
he was totally pumped for 'family time!!!' he said...
he must have forgotten the umpteen MILLION times i have yelled at him lately :(
he's good to me like that... forgiving and all... :)

HMD!

2012-05-11T11:53:00.003-05:00

happy mother's day

to all of the mommies out there,

especially mine!

here are the flowers i would give you if all the stars would align just right ;)

a big bouquet of ranunculus... my favorite!!!

my mama...

o how much i love you!!!

every girl should have the privilege of feeling

so completely loved

for every minute of her life!

i love the times when i can say,

"my mama always says..."

because those are always good words to go by...

i love that you are enjoying your retirement

and have friends calling you to join them in all kinds of fun adventures

i love that for all the hard work you put in to two very fine establishments

for many, many, many years...

you left them both knowing what an important part you played

while you were there... you were celebrated! and continue to be!!!

i love that you have gotten to experience

a lifelong romance with the best of the best!

i love that my son has been loved by you...

and taught by you...

and encouraged by you...

i love that you love my husband as an important part of the family,

and give to him generously in thought, prayer, word and deed...

i love that by your example of faith, i have come to love & depend on mine

so effortlessly and completely {most of the time :)}

i love that you have lived your life so content...

there are too many moments wasted wishing for different...

you have been a beautiful example to me of appreciating what you have,

enjoying what you have, being confident in who you are...

i feel i fall terribly short of following in your footsteps

but your path makes me confident in the direction to go...

i am sure there are more than a million more things

that i absolutely adore about you,

but i think i hit some highlights...

i'll never know what i did to deserve the very best,

but i am just going to take it and be very grateful to my god

for thinking enough of me to give me YOU!!!

and to switch gears only slightly,

my sweet little fella's daddy made sure to make my day

with these precious flowers that i just adore!

what a treat!!!

lightening fast!!!

2012-05-10T16:34:00.003-05:00

this school year has gone by just that fast for us!

it has been our very best year yet...

giles has enjoyed school sooooooooooooo much!

he LOVES his teachers, and i do too!!!!

they have loved on him, nurtured him, encouraged him,

taught him and supported him every step of the way this year.

i hate to have peaked with the 'best teachers ever' in pre-k4

for crying out loud, but gah! we just might have! lol...

today his class celebrated their end of year

with a fun day that ended in a lunch shared with parents...

my preggy brain forgot to even consider bringing my camera.

a friend was kind enough to supply me with a few pictures...

here is giles with all of his friends with summer birthdays!

the teachers kindly contributed a cake to celebrate

those who will not be in school for their special day.

i thought that was super sweet...

{ford, giles, elliot, tyler and ella kate}

we still have a week left, but i know it will fly too!

and i will be on my own with my little preschooler...

whipped as i have ever been,

pregnant out to 'there'

and i get to be the sole entertainment

for most hours of the day, for many days in a row!

whoo-hoo!!!!!

giles must just be giddy at the thought!

my hope of hopes is that we can get our house baby ready

{and it is woefully far from it}

this last week of school...

then we can have some fun times and

mom won't be nearly as preoccupied!

maybe i can be a pinterest scholar!

actually go back into all the boards i have made

and find some fun activities and really DO them!

hmm... like maybe...

painting some river rocks...

source

definitely, we need to try this! i have a million old t's

i was just thinking of getting rid of!

of course most all of them have things on the back,

but we'll figure something out!

super hero cape from old t's!

source

there are soooo many cute things

on pinterest that we could try!

but while i looooove crafty stuff,

giles can lose interest quickly, much to my dismay...

so i don't plan elaborate or expensive {as in, things that cost anything!}

activities for him... it just has to be that we have it

and i have the energy to do it!

there is one more little craft idea i have,

but i am saving it, it's possibly a birthday present...

it's really cute though! i hope i get around to it!!!

the easter bunny brought giles some fabulous watercolors

that i have been dying to give a try,

i bet we'll be doing some painting for sure!

birthday bash is in countdown mode... t-minus 48 hrs...

and giles knows it too!

he's SUPAH! excited! i hope the weather holds out

and we have people show up :)

may has got to be the busiest month of the year,

coming in neck and neck with december...

but, we're ready and are going to HAVE A BALL!!!

good news is GOOD news!!!

2012-05-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

so after having a little bit of a scare,

getting good news is GOOD news!!!

saw my dr today, love her!

she's right down the middle of the road.

she's not too intense or cautious that everything is a big deal,

but she's not so laid back that you feel like nothing is a big deal.

a perfect mix and just right for me.

today i was wanting to see

bp down,

iron up,

an exam with more definitive results

{and MUCH less discomfort},

and to leave with a good idea

of what to expect- fully aware that that really means nothing :)

so.....

bp was down... WAY down,

iron was up.... enough,

exam came with the results that

i am not really dilated and effacement is maybe in the 50% range,

but not really anything noteworthy...

and just going by how the dr talked, acted

and the course of action going forward...

i am feeling good about not meeting this cute little bundle until june,

at least.

i know anything is possible.

but, the idea of 4 more weeks, possibly 5-6 is good by me!

progress is slow around here as far as getting things done,

considering it is almost all getting done by mike as he continues to work,

do many, many things to contribute to giles' wants and needs,

my myriad wants and needs, aches and pains,

trying to eat well and exercise,

and maintain his commitments to several things every week....

so, that being said, i'd say we're doing pretty darn good!

i will take slow and steady any day!

so! yay mikey.... thank you for your help and support!

i cannot WAIT to see the nursery put together and ready for bebe :)

while we're really not doing much as far as decor goes,

it will be nice to just have a landing place for all things baby

and see 'his' space!

we're gearing up for an early birthday party this weekend.

it will be our first 'friend' party.

we've had a few friends at our previous parties,

but this time we invited the class and our MOMs group from church.

giles is SUPER pumped!

he's a party happy kid if there ever was one!

{he comes by it naturally :)))}

i hope i remember to take pictures,

that is something that has been super easy for me to forget lately...

sidelined...

2012-05-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

well, at least partially sidelined.

it seems as though babyB2 wanted to be a little dramatic!

on wednesday, i was definitely experiencing a good case of braxton hicks.

or, so i thought.

it's become a pretty regular occurrence to have braxton hicks.

so i wasn't really alarmed,

but i was in a good bit more discomfort from them.

and they just kept on all day.

definitely, like braxton hicks usually are for me,

the later in the day,

the worse they got.

which could just be because i am more tired?

i am not sure.

but, wednesday, it was definitely a little different.

like i said, most all of the day i was experiencing contractions.

mike was going to do some freelance work out of town

{only 30 min away}

but before he left, he double checked, was it ok for him to go?

i waved him off, literally, and was like, 'of course!'

i don't care to be a difficult preggy girl

{although at times, i am sure he'd beg to differ}

so, even though i would MUCH rather have him here

with me,

it seemed fine to 'wave him off' and tell him to go,

with no worries!

so towards the end of my day,

which included dinner & bath for giles,

we concluded the day by reading some new library books

{my boy is starting to READ!!! so exciting!!!}

and by the end of those {long...} dr seuss books,

i was one tired and hurtin' mama!

i logged on to facebook and was chatting with some mom friends

mentioning my disdain for braxton hicks...

they were super supportive, as usual...

there to listen, encourage, commiserate and advise.

one piece of advice was, 'be careful, i thought i had

braxton hicks with one of mine and it turned out to be pre-term labor'

huh?

heard that term but never really checked into or knew what it was...

google, i love you.

with google and the march of dimes, i learned.

and then i called my sister.

we decided i should time my contractions and lie down for awhile.

then after working through thoughts about how i was feeling,

what this meant, etc, etc...

we decided it was a good idea to at least check in with my doctor.

so, i call.

it took 10 minutes for the answering service to pick up!

then they take down all my info and tell me the dr on call will be calling.

but, instead, the answering service calls me back stating,

'the on call nurse said because you are 34 weeks, you need to go to the ER'

HUH?

NOT what this preggy was willing to hear.

so, that sweet little gal got AN EAR-FULLLLL.

i was a little more than perturbed that the doctor wasn't called

and that, in turn, i wasn't called.

AND i was told to 'go to the ER'??????????????????????????????

eek.

sorry, sweet deliverer of news i did not want to hear,

you got a little of my wrath... but, i did end the call letting her know

that i knew she was just the messenger.

but also, that i would kindly be expecting another call in the near future.

FROM THE DOCTOR.

well, i did get a call. from the nurse.

and just so you know, it went well. for the most part.

i told her the message that i was given and she assured me

that being told to just go to the ER was not the message she sent.

actually, she said that i needed to come to st vincent's...

well, given the circumstances: mike was out of town, it was 11pm,

my child was asleep, my car was scheduled for repairs the next day and

was not highway driveable, NOR filled with gas, and i had not showered...

AND the fact that it has loooong been my understanding

from my favorite ob/gyn practice that

if you have a question, at any time, for any reason, you just call

and you will be put in touch with someone right away

and i was not treated that way...

i was still a little miffed that i wasn't personally called.

i had questions for pete's sake!!!

anywho... long story loooong...

it was definitely in the best interest of babyB2 to head on in and get checked out

so... i made the dreaded and tearful call to mike

that despite the sweet work situation he had and

the fact he'd only been there 2 of the 6-8hrs he was planning on being there,

it was time to come home...

he took it well enough and broke the news to his people and

headed home in the pouring rain not knowing what we were really dealing with

-other than a blubbering wife.

...as an aside... as IF we needed any more drama for the evening...

mike's coming home down the interstate and the car ahead of him {a good ways}

starts losing control.

he sees the lights on the car going side to side and then watches

helplessly as the guy crashes into the

concrete barrier down the middle of the road.

so, in true mikey fashion, he pulls over to help get the guy, who is now

parallel in the road {as in, oncoming traffic wouldn't be able to see him

until it was possibly too late} out of the road to avoid further disaster

{after calling 911, of course}

so, he assesses that the guy is going to make it, knows help is on the way,

gets the guy out of imminent danger and gets back in his car,

out of the pouring down rain,

to come home to wifey in possible labor.

amen, what a day.

so, we gather 'stuff'

pluck giles from dead sleep.

deliver him to his preschool teacher

WHO IS NO LESS THAN A SAINT ON THIS VERY EARTH

at midnight

and head to the hospital...

where i was triaged ON A GURNEY

{read: NOT A BED}

for 7 hours

i was a royal pain in the arse.

because they had to monitor baby's heartbeat, i had the pleasure

of lying in whatever position they could manage to actually hear his heart

which turned out to be FLAT on my back

with a rolled up towel wedged under my back on the left side.

um, can we say, 'not a fan' of this position???

i can. and did! in various manners for the duration of the 7 hours.

it was just no fun at all. then i got a shot to stop the contractions

once they'd monitored them for awhile.

SPAZ.

it was called brethine.

our sweet nurse, allison, said, 'this may cause your heart to race'

um... yup. that was ONE thing it did.

it made me jumpy, like literally, my foot would just jump

and i was twitchy and allllll kinds of uncomfortable...

and sweet allison said she was allowed to give me up to 3 shots

of this lovely medicine...

no, thank you, allison!

with the help of a benedryl, i made it through the next hour

while my body digested that insanity...

and fortunately, the contractions drastically reduced in

severity and regularity

YAY!

after a few violations i would like to NEVER experience again,

the conclusion was made that i was 2cm dilated but that

baby was hanging in there high

{based on how lovely the exam was,

i would estimate him to be hanging particularly close to my TONSILS}

and that we were not going to be dealing with delivering a baby

in the extreme near future. amen.

one doctor was scheduled to see me between 6-7am.

she came in and deemed me to stay for 'several hours'

because there was a discrepancy between her brutal exam

and sweet allison's initial exam that made her question my progress...

can we say, TEARS were shed???

well, they were. all i wanted was to go home.

or merely remove myself from the pleather covered board

they were calling a bed in the triage unit... and go ANYWHERE.

but then i was saved by another doctor who

visited and violated me slightly less

to determine that we were in a good place

and all was fine.

i left with an 'as needed' rx of procardia should i have any more

ongoing bouts of contractions and the orders to reduce activity.

so, fortunately, no ongoing meds and no required bedrest...

mercy. what a night.

if you've hung with me this long, keep us in your prayers.

we want a 'well-done' baby and that means he needs to cook

for at least another 4-6 weeks since i am just now 34 weeks...

despite the drama of this event, and actually, the seriousness of it as well,

it was great to have a dry run in getting to the hospital.

we found out some strengths and weaknesses,

which is a good thing... it's lighting a fire under our tired tushies

to get a few things that we need done, done.

hip! hip! hooray!

2012-04-17T19:55:00.001-05:00

not to be overly enthusiastic or anything,

but HECK YES!

i have my gestational diabetes 3 hour test behind me and the results were

NEGATIVE!

word to the wise...

don't indulge with Easter candy the day or two before your 1hr

glucose test...

result? fail.

at least i think that is what it had more to do with than anything

but!

i have thanked God repeatedly for the wake up call...

it was almost like i had forgotten that FRESH fruits and vegetables,

or heck, ANY fruits and vegetables should be a regular part of your diet...

so, i have been enjoying, very much, the reminder...

of course, i don't think it could have come at a better time of year!

we have had fresh strawberries,

pineapple, clementines, apples, bananas, cantaloupe...

all delish!

and my favorite go-to snack/meal has been fruit

topped with yogurt and cheerios.

sooo good!

definitely a great end to a loooong day!

mikey and i woke up very early,

got giles up very early, took him to his teacher's house

{who is a very dear friend too}

so she could take him to school...

then we headed off to birmingham where mike was able

to coordinate some of his computer work with my appointment time.

then i decided to ride with him to montgomery for the afternoon

for another part of his gig...

thank goodness for panera!

we had a healthy lunch there and then while he was

busy with his work, i read a book at another panera!

we thoroughly enjoyed being able to spend the day together,

it felt like old times when we used to travel together all of the time!

it was funny, we were driving and not really talking and i told mikey,

"i feel like we should have a serious discussion" and he didn't miss a beat!

he knew why i said it--- we were alone and couldn't get interrupted!

it was awesome...

and then we did have some great conversation that was productive

and UNINTERRUPTED by a cute little blondie....

that cute little blondie spent the day with his teacher...

no doubt he made her feel like a rockstar because he was so pumped

to have her all to himself for part of the ride to school...

and then she trumped all by taking him to chick fil a!

she is so awesome and we are so very fortunate to have

a friend who is a teacher and who loves our boy so much!

she calls to tell me the sweet things he says and does

{and the not so sweet things he says and does too, when necessary :)}

today he ordered fruit instead of french fries,

which made me smile...

and yesterday, he wore a new bbtn outfit to school...

before he went i talked to him a couple of times about coming home

with a clean shirt... i am convinced he uses clothing like a napkin sometimes...

well, ms cindy put 2&2 together when we were talking today...

yesterday, they were working with stamps...

one boy ended up getting ink on his shirt... giles saw it.

he asked ms cindy for a smock!!!

o how i love that boy :)

well, many prayers have been answered....

having GD would not have been the end of the world or anything even close.

but! just knowing that is something i do not have to worry about,

well, ... that is just a real blessing for me.

i am just so very grateful to have had a wake up call,

it was definitely needed...

but to have been spared the diagnosis, i am very grateful...

and i will be praying for all who are dealing with GD and D in general...

the nest...

2012-04-16T20:21:00.000-05:00

the nest is coming along...

slowly, but coming...

i could comfortably claim that my first nesting activity is complete.

i sterilized and washed all of the boy's bottles.

i got the correct nipples

{a lesson we learned the first go 'round...

nipples have different 'flow'... didn't know that...}

on the right sized bottles

and stored the rest for a little later on down the line.

so that was fun to do and fun to check on 'da list'

the list seems to grow daily too :)

lots and lots of 'honey-do's'

i am not sure if mikey got off easy this mother's day or not...

he's got a list a mile long that i asked be completed by mother's day

for mother's day...

hmm... no pressure.

tomorrow's the big day.. the 3hr glucose test.

i have learned from the past 5 days of eating along the eating plan

that came home with me from the drs last week,

i can do this!

and i feel good...

well, that's not to say i am not exhausted after all of 5 minutes of activity

but i don't feel gross... just tired.

and not feeling gross and tired,

well, that's an improvement!!!

i went to the library and got my reading material

and am ready to hunker down for a few hours of downtime with the doctor...

hope i am not too hungry to actually read!