Live and Learn

these days

2012-05-01T05:45:00.000-04:00

Are rough. Absolutely mind numbingly rough. Sometimes, in the night, Genevieve will be crying, and I will think to myself, what in the world is that noise? Oh, please stop making that racket! I am trying to sleep, here. Oh, wait! The baby!!

You think I am kidding? I am not.

Right now it is 5 am. I have been up for an hour and a half. I finally got the baby to go back to sleep, but now I am up. I have to be up soon, anyway. So, I might as well get some things done.

I had forgotten how absolutely, utterly tiring newborns are. Combine that with an energetic 4 and 2 year old and you have a recipe for exhaustion.

I am enjoying my new baby. Everything is just RUSHED! I have to hurry and accomplish things while the baby is sleeping or happy. For example, I feed the girls, then nurse the baby, get her settled. Jump up and clean the kitchen as quickly as possible, because someone will need me. Whether it is a letting the dog out/in, someone on the potty, an owie, disciplining, reading books, whatever. There is always something or someone that needs Mommy.

Genevieve is finally taking a long morning naps, so I am getting a little bit of quality time with the other two girls. But, with Brian gone, evenings are long and bath time/bedtime is a nightmare. Slowly, but surely, we are settling into a new routine, change is just hard. Hard on all of us.

I get frustrated looking at some of the blogs that I follow or pinterest. Hardly anyone in the internet world is truly honest about their daily lives. I know that their lives aren't picture perfect, so why portray them that way? As much as I enjoy sewing and crafting and cooking, there is only SO much perfection I can observe. Most days, I don't even get around to getting dressed, much less craft/sew/shop in a coordinated outfit, down to the matching flats. I usually get spit up down my back within 30 minutes of my morning, just like with Isabel, my new perfume scent is called Glorious Motherhood.

Click on that link. Look at Isabel and Kate. How little and precious they were two and a half years ago. Now look at them.

I read that post, before I linked it up. I realize I had a difficult time adjusting to 2 children, just like I am having difficulties adjusting to 3. It's just that I am lonely in the evenings. During the day, everything is fine. But almost every single dinner time, someone spills a whole glass or bowl of something. Isabel spilled her bowl of hot soup on her lap Saturday, burning her little legs. I was trying to calm the baby when it happened. So, I put the baby on the floor quickly, jerked off Isabel's shorts, stuck her in the sink to spray cold water on her. While Kate is calmly dumping an entire box of crackers on the table to eat with her soup. Genevieve is still screaming.

Last night, I accidentally deleted the pictures on my camera from the past 2 weeks. It included my baby shower pictures. So upsetting. I had also taken some precious pictures of the girls Sunday morning after church for their Daddy. Sunday night, we lost the keys to the house and were locked out after church for about an hour while we waited for someone to come help us break in. A lady that I really admire reminds me weekly "to stay above the chaos." Sometimes that is seems so difficult. I am so afraid of becoming that crazy, frazzled mother who yells and screams at their kids. I am terrified of becoming a bitter, hateful wife because I am alone 6 months a year. So, I turn to the only One who can help. I was encouraged this morning when I read Psalms 77. He says:

In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran into the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled I cannot speak.

I am so thankful I am not the only one who thinks this way. I am not the only one who feels despair and cannot even vocalize it to the One who can help. Further down in this passage he says:

I will surely remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all they work, and talk of all thy doings... Thou are the God that doest wonders.

I just need to focus on my blessings, trusting in Him. He has been faithful, taking care of me and my girls time and time again while Brian is gone. I just need to remember that.

My blessings:

More blessings than I deserve....

FINALLY!

2012-04-12T17:24:00.000-04:00

On March 19, 2012, after having been in labor for way over 2 days, my beautiful baby finally came. Never have I been more excited, well 2 other times I have been just as excited, but on this birth, I finally got my wish. As soon as my precious baby came out, they placed it directly on my chest. What a wonder, this precious little child.

We got another girl. Imagine that! Her name is Genevieve Louise. She weighed a whopping 8 pounds 9 ounces.

See how she is sucking her thumb in this picture? Isn't it adorable? I know I wanted a boy, but when I saw that it was a girl, I was beyond excited. Almost relieved, in a way. I know how to be a mommy to girls, but a boy would have been a challenge that I am not sure I am up to. (How is that for a run-on sentence?)

Proud Daddy.

This is just going to be a picture post. Mainly. I don't really have much to say about it, except that I am so glad it's over. I was so miserable the last 5-6 weeks of my pregnancy, thinking it would never be over. I was just so, so big. I mean SO big. I really gained a lot of weight. A lot of it was water, I was so swollen, my feet and legs were just huge swollen things. I couldn't even wear shoes. My face was really swollen. I felt so ugly and yucky. Then my labor pains were so frequent, but not real, it was just so discouraging. I am so relieved and happy that it is over. I am so thankful to God for a happy, healthy little baby. He is so good to us.

My husband was being so goofy that night when it was all finally over.

Little smooshed face. Don't you just want to kiss it? Such a sweet little thing. I am so blessed.

The girls took right to their little sister. They both know exactly how to hold her and how to be sweet and gentle. It is fun to watch. Isabel kept calling her "my precious baby".

Which is exactly what she is....a precious baby.

the cow jumped over the moon

2012-03-13T17:57:00.000-04:00

This is what false labor looks like:

I have thought 3 separate times that we were in labor. Every single time the contractions have stopped. So, yes. I am still with child. So, yesterday, I made this fabric art wall hanging thing that I keep putting off. For some reason, I have wanted a "cow jumping over the moon" picture. I have seen a few online, but none of them really "speak" to me. (HAHA.) For Christmas Brian bought me the Silhouette Cameo. It is a cutting machine. It cuts out anything. It is the neatest thing. You hook it up to your computer, get your picture, send to machine, and tada! It cuts it out. Granted, I might have simplified it just a bit, seeming as how every time I go to use it, I get just a tad bit frustrated. But, there is a learning curve, and I am pregnant.

But, anyway, what was I saying? I used my Cameo to cut out this cow. I did the rest using printed fabric that I already had.

Isn't it adorable? The chickens are cheering the cow on.

I used this ugly canvas thing I bought when I was pregnant with Kate. I don't think I have ever hung it. I never liked it after I got it home. I covered it with fabric.

Added some rolling hills.

Ironed "wonder under" onto all the other pieces, then cut them out.

Ironed them onto the canvas, where I thought they should go.

Found some googly eyes for the cow, to make me laugh, admired it, called it "art", then hung it over the baby's bed.

Since I had everything on hand, it was practically free. I really like it. By the way, what do you think of the big, fat chicken? Doesn't it just make you smile?

Well, I sure hope I have this baby before I get the urge to blog again, don't you?

cravings and other such nonsense

2012-03-05T17:59:00.000-05:00

Today is the due date. No sign of baby at all.

The one different thing about this pregnancy than the other two has been my cravings. (Hopefully, that means it is a boy.) I craved chocolate ice cream with the girls, with this one it is all things citrus. Key lime pie, mainly, but oranges and pineapples, too. The thing with the oranges, though, I could never figure out an easy way to cut and eat the things. I don't like peeling the peels off. The skin would get under my nails. YUCK. Then you have all that white stuff, pulp-I guess, surrounding all the good, juicy part. So, I was really excited one day, when I figured out this way to cut my orange and eat it, really easy like.

Cut off the ends.

Cut in half.

Then slice it like this, long ways.

You can, then turn each slice up on it's end to cut off the stupid white stuff, if needed. Not all slices will need it.

Once you are finished, you enjoy....

The girls and I can eat 2 whole oranges at one sitting. We like the little cutie mandarin oranges, too. But, those are easy to peel. Not stressful at all.

The other thing that I can't seem to get enough of is Perrier with lemon. Brian introduced this to me about a month ago.

I fill up a tall glass with crushed ice, squeeze the lemon all over the ice, pour the Perrier over the ice. Stir. I can't seem to get enough of it. Brian says it is an expensive habit. I think I am worth it.

*smirk*

The other thing I can't stop doing is making these little baby hats out of t-shirts. Look at how cute they are.

I made two with the little knots on top, one plain, and one with cow ears. So easy and so cute! Let me know if you want me to show you how. It is super easy and fun. I made all of these in one afternoon.

Maybe next post will be a picture of my new baby? One can only hope.

baby preparations

2012-02-29T11:49:00.002-05:00

I am finally getting around to showing you some of my baby things, I have made. I know it would probably be easier to buy these things, but I sure have enjoyed making them. I have just been sitting around enjoying false labor, sewing, trying not to be too impatient while waiting on this little munchkin to make an appearance. I don't remember really thinking about the babies, necessarily. I remember worrying about labor. (HA!) But, this one, all I can think about it holding it. I can hardly wait. I can't wait to find out what gender the baby is, either. I keep thinking it is a boy with curly hair OR a really fat girl. We will see soon enough, I reckon.

Okay, you didn't come here to read my rambles, today....here are my baby things:

The blanket I made. One side is minky squares, the other is just a quilting cotton that I liked. In hindsight, I wish it was flannel, but oh well. It is still so pretty.

At least, I think so. This was the first time I have ever used satin blanket binding. I did it the "right" way, as opposed to the "cheater" way I bound the blanket I made Brian for Christmas. It turned out so nice. Granted, I had to find a you tube video showing me how, but I did it. Woo hoo!

The next thing I made was this swaddle wrap blanket. I used the teddy bear for the model. He looks happy in it, huh? This is basically just a triangle shaped piece of flannel with ties sewed to the back. I got the pattern from the book One Yard Wonders.

I learned how to use this kind of binding AND how to sew a french seam on this blanket. Brian is a big swaddler of babies. He can make the blanket perfect around that little squirmy baby. I, on the other hand, can't get it on there good enough to stay. So, since he will be leaving and won't be around to help me swaddle, this blanket is going to come in handy. I really like the colors, especially the orange, for some reason.

I made a bib to match the swaddle blanket. This was the first time I used piping, the buttonholer on Lucy, and the button threader on Lucy! So exciting to learn new things. The back is a soft brown minky, very luxurious.

Here are the "big sister"shirts I have been stressing about! This picture really isn't a very flattering one of them, but the girls wanted to pose with them. I even made head bands to match. New baby has a coordinating bib, with brother or sister able to be put on with velcro once we know what it is. I will sew it on permanently later. The girls are so very excited about their new sibling. They are constantly kissing my tummy/baby.

Here is a little bit better of a picture. I used my new Sihouette Cameo that I got for Christmas to cut out the letters and flower. That is why the letters look so professional. *grin*

I covered the wipes box with fabric. Because I am silly. I just used fabric and hot glue.

Here is the baby's corner. Since I don't have a dresser, I am using the bottom drawer of the crib for stuff. But I also covered some boxes with coordinating fabric to put on the changing table shelves. They have the baby's clothes in them. One box even has baby toys. Everything has turned out so very cute. I still have to hang the mobile. Well, Brian does. I am happy with our little baby corner. Thanks to my sister for letting me use her beautiful crib.

Here I am in all my big belly glory! I cannot believe how huge my tummy is. Let us hope it is all baby and fluid....not the other that will be so hard to get rid of.

Now I am working on presents for the girls to receive when they come to meet the new baby. I am making crayon rolls and new skirts. I bought them each a puzzle, coloring book, and new set of pj's. I also still want to make the diaper bag before the baby comes. We will see. My due date is for Monday, March 5. I am betting that I go at least another week after. Fun, fun.

pregnancy brain

2012-02-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

Does not work as well as non-pregnancy brain or even mommy brain for that matter. Seriously. Sometimes I can't even remember why I went to the bathroom. I went to the laundry room to get some chicken out of the freezer for dinner, instead I switched laundry, wiped off the washing machine, and cleaned the dryer lint. Went back into the kitchen and remembered the chicken. Headed back to the laundry room....couldn't find any chicken in that freezer. Went back into the kitchen to get a glass of water, still not remembering to look for chicken. I think it took about an hour for me to finally look through the freezer for some chicken.

I am supposed to be doing a read-a-long with some other bloggers, but my brain isn't working well enough to process the information. I just can't concentrate on serious. I found a book in one of my boxes called Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde and read it instead. Way more entertaining. It is about a girl named Thursday Next who lives in 1985, but in a completely different sort of world than ours. You can jump in and out of books. It is lots of fun. So much so, that I had to get the sequel from the library, Well of Lost Plots. I was looking for it in fiction, but it was in SciFi/Fantasy, if you are interested. Lots of fun. You need to suspend your disbelief while you are reading. Lots of fiction characters come to life. I wholeheartedly suggest you read these books for some mindless fun.

I routinely burn dinner or over boil a pot of water. Ugh.

We just celebrated my birthday. I turned 34. Here is a picture of the girls and me on my special day.

Brian made the best steak sandwiches for our dinner. He bought some filet mignon and had the guy shave it. He then cooked it, melted mozzarella on top of that. Cooked up some peppers and onions, then we had it all on a hoagie roll with baked potatoes. Yummy. Even the girls loved it. I made the cake, chocolatey chocolate cake. Delicious.

He got those "happy birthday" candles. Cute, but they melted really quickly. The "h" was almost gone by the time I blew it out. Kate even joined in singing the birthday song with her daddy. It was sweet. I wish I had thought to turn on the video camera. But, alas, my brain is not working.

Brian tried to move the old chicken coop when he first got home. He lifted the handles and it literally fell apart it was so rotten. So, Brian built a new chicken coop. It is very nice and much bigger. It really isn't moveable like the other one, though. You need two people to move it. Very heavy. It looks so professional. He did a really good job. He used treated lumber for the parts that aren't painted yet, which is why the paint isn't finished. You have to wait like 6 weeks or something before you can paint treated lumber. Looks good, though, huh? The chickens seem happy.

I have been meaning to show y'all some of the things I made the girls for Christmas. I haven't really gotten a picture of everything yet. But I finally got one of Isabel's dresses. It is a t-shirt dress. Literally. It is made from strips of old t-shirts that I got at a thrift store. They were 50 cents a piece. It is topped with a shirt I got from Wal-mart.

She really likes it. It is all cotton jersey, so it is very comfortable. I think it is adorable. I didn't hem it because I like the way the t-shirt rolls up on the bottom, making a cute hem by itself. She enjoyed posing the other day before church. Then sister Kate had to get in on the action.

Silly sisters. I love to watch them play together and love each other. It really is precious. I just love being a mommy. I can't wait for new baby to come. That is going to be even more fun (and tiring).

Here is a precious moment I captured a few days ago, they are playing baby and mommy.

I only have 4 weeks left to this pregnancy, if all goes according to schedule. Yeah, right. Like that ever happens.

Peanut butter randomness

2012-01-24T16:22:00.000-05:00

Today is National peanut butter day! Who knew? I didn't, well at least I didn't until the Huffington Post told me. And I always believe what they say. (Ha!) But, I thought it was a good enough reason to have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch today. Boy, were they good.

Peanut butter is always in this house. If there is no peanut butter, there is definitely something wrong. I eat a lot of it. It is one of my favorite things in the whole world to eat. Just smear some peanut butter on half of a piece of bread, fold it over, then enjoy. Nothing better. My Uncle Toby agrees with me, too.

Sometimes we might just eat it with a spoon. Yummy.

(pictures from lunchtime)

In other news, I have joined my bloggy friend, Jenners, and her friend Jill, and a few other people in a read-along. I am supposed to blog about each chapter on Mondays. We just finished chapter 2 for this week. The book is Howard Zinn's classic history book, A People's History of the United States. So, far I agree with some reviewers I have found that it is from a very liberal viewpoint. BUT, like all historians, Zinn has an agenda. I really would like to read some other viewpoints, before I come to any conclusions. I do, however, realize that what he says is true, to a certain extent. He just makes the first 2 chapters sound HORRIBLE and the founding of our country on the deaths of all the peoples who were here first. Really, was it that bad? I don't know.

Also, life is pretty much the same with my 2 crazy girls. I am curious to see how adding one more to the bunch will change things. Here is Kate with her new obsession.

Her gun, her holster, her ear protection, and her horse. I need to get her a hat, a cowboy hat.

Isabel still loves to swing. Snot and all. Snot is just a part of our daily lives in the winter, I guess. Yuck.

Well, on that note, I will go. I am purging things from the guest house. I have a huge box for the trash and another box for goodwill. I need to make more room for storage. We are slowly running out of room in our main house. I save too much. I need to just THROW AWAY.

Don't forget to eat some peanut butter in celebration of today, this important holiday.

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

new baby preparations

2012-01-20T19:55:00.002-05:00

Were basically nonexistent, at least until Wednesday, anyway. I had an ob appointment where they told me I was pregnant. Which I already knew. I really don't understand the point of all the appointments. It is really annoying and stupid. Yep, you gained weight. Yep, there is a baby in there. Okay, see you in 2 weeks. Ugh. Really? What a waste of time. I already knew all of that. Yesterday, though I took advantage of being in Greenville~45 minutes away in the big city. I had lunch with a friend. Then I went to Babies R Us. I am sure I could have gone to a trendy little downtown baby store, but I was hoping for a sale or two.

I was able to get a stuffed cow for half off. Koala brand blankets were buy one get one 50% off. So, I got a nice brown blanket with polka dots and a puppy luvvy half off. I had already purchased the cow sleeper earlier this year. The cow sleeper is what has given me my inspiration for the new baby's stuff. Cows and brown. I already liked brown and cows, so why not use them for new baby? Kate's colors were yellow and red. Isabel's were light blue and light green. Since we never know what the gender is, I try to use gender neutral colors for their "stuff".

So, new baby's colors are brown and brown, with some blue or whatever thrown in there.

Now, I really need to sew some for new baby. I have plans for a taggy blanket, big blanket, and a stuffed animal. I want to make some stuffed letters, but since we have no names picked out for our gender neutral baby.....I need to wait. I also want to make big sister shirts. Is Kate the BIGGER sister and Isabel the BIG sister? How does that work, anyway? Do you know?

All this talk about cows reminds me of this post. I was 32 weeks pregnant with Isabel at the time. I am twice as big as I was then.

See?

Now, I am going to go cut out new baby's blanket.

thank you, danke, gracias, arigatou gozaimasu

2012-01-13T11:35:00.000-05:00

I think it is very important to teach my children to be thankful for everything. We talk about being grateful. I try to explain to them how very blessed they are. Since they are so small, still, one of the easiest things I do to reinforce thankfulness is to have them make thank you cards.

I found this adorable Melissa and Doug sticker book that I gave them for Christmas. They used it along with crayons to say "thank you". I printed up the words "thank you" in different fonts and colors for them to cut out and glue onto their cards. The cards themselves are pieces of scrapbook paper that I use for lots of different crafts.

The girls had lots of fun making these. I did, too, actually.

It's a tea party! Each item is a separate sticker. The girls created their own "scene". Kate's is on top, Isabel's is on the bottom. Adorable.

It took a bit of explaining to get them to realize what I wanted them to do. They really just wanted to put stickers EVERYWHERE! But, once I showed them all the different themes, their imagination took off. They made several more, I just didn't photograph them all.

new year

2012-01-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

Well, we have already had an exciting start to our new year. Brian has been home! We have really just been enjoying his presence. We have been spending a lot of time just being together. It has been really nice. Granted, it was a bit busy right around Christmas with him just getting home and doing stuff at church. But after the holidays, we have been just relaxing.

We are trying to finish up the playroom right now. I hope to have it finished next week, I will show it to you, then. I also have a few more projects that I really wanted completed before new baby gets here. In case you have forgotten, there will be a new baby arriving in the beginning of March.

This week, Brian is actually out of town for training, so I am trying to get some sewing done. It is hard to sew while he is here, for some reason. I want to make a baby blanket and stuffed animal/toy. Floor cushions for the reading area in the playroom. Skirts for the girls. Dress for me. Diaper bag. Do you think I can get all those finished? Plus, I have a small stack of things that need fixed/finished/repaired/made to wear.

I did not make any resolutions this year. I just don't think it would be wise to try to have resolutions with new baby coming. New baby is going to take up a lot of time at first. Who knows how life is going to really be with the new one? Wild at first, I am sure.

It is getting closer and closer to time for new baby, actually. Less than 2 months are left. I think I am 32 or 33 weeks along. I forget. I am getting a bit nervous about the delivery. The other two's births were far from normal. I really do not want an ambulance ride or emergency anything.

We have a lot to be thankful for. Last year was a great year. I learned so much about being a godly wife and mommy. I am looking forward to this new year and all the wonderful things that will be in it. I have a several things on my mind that I want to begin and to do. I hope that I can even with the new baby. But, I am not making resolutions for any of it.

I actually have a lot on my heart and mind right now....but I don't think I need to blog about any of it. If any of you that read this are pray--ers, pray for me. I really want to do the Lord's will. I want Him to have preeminence in my heart and life. I want Him to soften my heart and help me to love others. Really LOVE them. I struggle in this area (amongst others). I would like to get back into reading His Word daily, not just sporadically. I would like to grow spiritually.

And on that note....our Christmas morning family picture.

(Don't the girls just look thrilled?)

Happy (late) new year!

some homemade goodness

2011-12-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

Brian will be home tomorrow.

This year for the girls' presents I really wanted to either buy used, really cheap, or make them. I have done a little of it all. I am going to show you a few things I have made so far. I am really excited about them. I have seen felt food tutorials all over the internet and have quite a few bookmarked. But my mom gave me a pattern that she picked up for a dollar, so I just used that.

Felt fruit:

2 bananas, an apple, and an orange. I went scavenging in the outside toys and found this tin bucket I am going to wrap it all in. Cute! My bananas might be a little wonky, but I don't think they will notice. I really like the stem and leaf on the apple.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Cupcakes with decorations:

I only made 4 cupcakes, because I thought the muffin pan I was going to package them in was for 4. But as you can see it is for 6. So, I need to make 2 more. In the purple envelope is a bunch of different colors of hearts, flowers and butterflies. They all have velcro on them for easy decorating. The cupcakes themselves have velcro, too. The pattern showed the decorations sewed on, but I thought the girls would have more fun decorating them the way they wanted to.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Bow tie pasta:

I am going to take all the credit for the creativity of this one. I was given these pinking shears a few months ago. In my cutting felt for flowers, I thought how it kind of looked like bow tie pasta. So, I cut up a bunch of little rectangles then tied them all in the middle with thread. A tad bit time consuming, I will admit, but worth it. So cute! Then I made this little bag with the see through window, remembered I had the twine and tad a! Bow tie pasta. But we call it hair bow noo noos (noodles). Hair bow noo noos are the favorite noodle of choice around here.

Now I need to figure out how to make some black olives. The girls love black olives. I want to make some with out sewing....so, if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Here are a few more things that the girls and I have done this past week.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Homemade snow globes:

These have been a BIG hit in this house. They were a lot of fun to make. The second picture is a closeup of Mary and baby Jesus. We have an angel, carolers and a snowman. We gave the snowman away last night. I need to make a few more for presents. They are really attached to these. Now I am not exactly sure where I saw this particular idea. It may have been on pinterest or it may have been one of the thousand crafty blogs I follow. Who knows. But, if you want to know how, here is what we did.

Glued our figure to the lid of the jar. Filled the jar with hot water. Added some glitter. Added some glycerin. (We have a huge jar left over from when we made bubbles.) Screwed the lid on. Flipped over. Some we had too much water and made a mess. Some we had too little water and had to add water. Some we had too much glitter. ETC. It was definitely a learning process. There is no formula to making these perfect. It is all trial and error. Which is how I do everything anyway.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

We finally took our fall tree down from the playroom. We needed to put up our Christmas tree. I picked up a yard of green glitter felt at Hobby Lobby. Who even knew they made such a thing? I was just going to get some green felt, but the glitter looks so sparkly, like lights. I cut a tree shape, eyeballed it, of course. Hot glued and pinned it to the door. The we cut out a bunch of felt ornaments. I just cut out what was ordered. Hearts, bells, birds, looks like we have Easter eggs, pinecones, balls, etc. I had some ribbon that looked like candy canes, so I used it to cut out candy cane shapes. At the end, Kate wanted a star, so we did that, as well. Then we hung her angel up over the tree. She made that angel in children's church and was so very proud of it.

Then yesterday we finally got the presents under the tree. Just in time for Daddy to come home.

It turned out really cute. If I do say so myself. The garland is bead necklaces hot glued on. I think it really adds some Christmas cheer in the playroom, along with the lights we have strung around the room.

I am going to put a side note in here. I don't consider myself one of those overachieving moms who goes out of her way to make things just so for her children. I just want to make their lives filled with fun and creativity while they learn new things. I am learning new things all the time. I want to pass that love of learning and doing on to them. I like it when they see mommy can't do something the first time, and then I figure it out. Or I love it when I hear them playing and they say, "I have an idea!" Because I say that all the time...I am always having ideas that I jot down.

I really just want them to love life. To love living and doing. That is why I do the things that I do. I love it when they say, "My mommy made it." Because they know that I put in that extra little bit of love to give them whatever it is they have. Instead of just going to buy it at the store. I like it when they see how things are done. For them to make a mess in the kitchen with mommy making dinner or cookies or whatever. To me that is what life being a mommy is all about. What is the point of having these little things running around with you, if you aren't showing them how to do things? Kate got a sewing machine for her birthday. She loves to sit beside me and "sew" while I sew. It is really great fun for both of us. (Until her needle becomes unthreaded for the 50th time, then she is done. HAHA.)

Anyway, I hope you don't mind my side note....I just don't want anyone to think I am bragging about what I do. I just like to show you. I think some of the stuff we do is cool. I mean, half the time, I have no clue what I am doing. I am just winging it. Then when it turns out good, it is exciting. Like the playroom....I still am not completely done redecorating it. But, I have never painted a room for kids before. So, it was all new. And it turned out awesome, if I say so myself. I will show you the complete room when it is finished. I still have some finishing touches I need Brian's help with.

Did I tell you? Brian will be home tomorrow. Brian will be home tomorrow!

Woohoo!

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

snowmen SC style

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas decorating has been going on full speed ahead around here in the Armonat household. Once we got our tree up and decorated, we haven't stopped crafting and making and playing. It has been fun.

I really like snowmen. I have a few here and there, but not nearly as many as I would like to have. And of course, it isn't like we get the kind of snow down here that you can make a real snowman. So, I have figured out how to make snowmen myself. Southern style. Thanks to the internet and Pinterest. You can follow me here on Pinterest, if you want to.

Snowmen jars!

First, get some jars and paint them white. We let them dry overnight. While we had out the white paint, we actually painted lots of things white. After they dry, add your hats, faces, and accessories. This is the best part.

Here is the final product. In order from left to right: Daddy, Kate, Isabel, Mommy. Hilarious, huh?

Snowman pumpkins!

The next snowmen project, we used our leftover pumpkins from the fall. We painted them white and left them to dry overnight.

As you can see, we really, really like to paint. After they were dry, we stacked them and added their faces and accessories.

Here they are outside in the flower garden. They look pretty happy, don't they?

I have had this snowman doorstop for years. I usually just put it by the front door on the floor. Which is where it is. Well, the other day, Isabel said he needed flip flops. So, she gave him her flip flops and asked me to take his picture.

For some reason, she thought this was hilarious. She left them there for a few days and would laugh every time she saw him. It was funny. She is such a little clown.

Here is the snowman made out of plastic pumpkins covered in white fabric. She is in the living room this year.

Kate and Isabel read books to her.

I hope you are having a wonderful December so far. We are! We are counting down the days for daddy to come home. We are in the single digits, finally. Another cause for celebration is all my presents have been purchased! I am just finishing up a few homemade projects and I will be finished. Woohoo! Now to wrap them all and mail some. So......

Happy shopping!

farewell fall

2011-11-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

I came across these two pages in a magazine and thought they summed up my feelings of fall, perfectly. I really do love this time of year. The colors of the leaves, the decorations. It always makes me a bit sad to put up my Christmas stuff. Fall is just my favorite. I find winter so dreary and cold.

Even though the first official day of winter isn't until December 22. I always feel like December 1st is. I don't do like some and put my tree up the day after thanksgiving. I wait until it is December.

I am excited this year to turn the calendar over to December, though. Now we can begin our countdown for Daddy's homecoming. When he first left, I was flipping through the calendar....page after page....month after month. I didn't think December would ever get here. But yet, here it is. Tomorrow. Where has this year gone?

I think we have made the most of our fall. Trips to the apple orchard, playing outside, planting our pansies, putting up our scarecrow. Fall treasure hunts, watching Papa blow all the leaves away. Here are some things I might not have shown you from our fall fun.

Kate's fall tree shirt

sweet sisters

I'm a scarecrow!

Do you want my boogy?

My hummingbird

Farewell fall....parting is such sweet sorrow.

(I know. I am a dork.)

thanksgiving blessings

2011-11-28T22:10:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We have so much to be thankful for. I couldn't even begin to list them all. Brian's parents came down for the week to help us celebrate. It was a nice time. Jason, my stepson (I have never really thought of him like that, I don't know why. But he called me his stepmom this weekend. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.) In preparation for the week, the girls and I made this lovely thanksgiving banner you see above. each letter is comprised of something different. Beans, feathers, ribbons, etc. Then we added glitter for fancy fun. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun the girls had with this project. Kate for one, is really into letters and what they are and the sounds they make. I think she is ready to learn to read.

Here they are, with their supplies we have gathered...ready to GLUE!!

Gluing away....what fun for little ones. Who knew?

Thanksgiving day itself was fun. A lot of work, but fun. Even the girls helped prepare dinner. Here we are breaking beans. We had fresh beans instead of green bean casserole. Delicious.

bean mustache

Sometimes they just sat on the steps and watched Grandma and mommy work.

While the turkey roasted and other things simmered, the girls and I talked about thanksgiving as we colored pictures. Grandma and Grandpa read magazines and watched us. Jason had to give Molly some loving.

I tried to explain to them why we set aside a special day for thankfulness. Who we thank and what we are thankful for. Then I asked them what they were thankful for. If you know Kate, you know she just listens, takes everything in, and doesn't really participate. So, I went around and asked everyone what they were thankful for. Everyone said stuff like: health, family, food, etc. When I got back around to Kate, I asked her again. She told me she was thankful for Jesus dying on the cross. As I type this, I tear up again. We hadn't even discussed Jesus, not then, anyway. But, that is what she was most thankful for. My sweet Kate, who hit the nail on the head and said the very thing I was thinking but was too chicken to say in front of my in-laws. I was so proud of her. My special girl.

Soon dinner was ready. Isabel got to the table. And before anyone realized what she was doing, she helped herself.

This girl loves olives.

Jason had the honor of carving the turkey. He did a really good job.

Once Grandma Judy stopped badgering him, that is.....she was a good sport, though when Grandpa called her out on it.

It was an almost perfect thanksgiving. Obviously the less than perfect part comes from Brian not being able to be with us. But, we are thankful for his job. This next picture is for him. I wasn't able to get one with them all smiling. They were worse than children. Talking, laughing, looking down. I think this one was the best, though.

The day was truly a blessing.

fancy birthday tea party

2011-11-19T11:51:00.001-05:00

My precious little Kate turned 4! (last week) She is such a fancy, dressy, girly girl that I wanted to make her party something that she would love. So, we had a fancy tea party.

The decorations:

Those hearts and flowers in the back are princess wands. I thought those turned out especially lovely.

Here is her cake in all it's glory. When I would ask her what kind of cake she wanted, she would reply, a pink cake with sparkles and blue, and purple, and flowers....FANCY!!! I googled fancy cake and found a picture of something similar to this and tried my best to duplicate it. The one online was 6 or so layers with fondant. Mine is more like 3 layers with butter/cream cheese frosting. Messy but tasty.

We even made sure the inside was fancy.

Here is the fancy birthday girl. Ready for her party. Notice her accessories?

We decorated crowns and made pearl necklaces. Here are the party goers showing off their princess/fancy attire.

The tea set and me....ready to serve.

Having tea. All the girls really enjoyed the tea. It was a raspberry tea. Decaffeinated, of course. The girls were so careful with the fancy tea cups and saucers. It was really cute.

Ready for presents. She got completely spoiled on dress-up clothes. Now she and Isabel have no need to fight over things. (right?)

The happy birthday girl with her fancy cake. I think the party was a success.

Happy birthday, Kate!

rambling randomness

2011-11-11T17:00:00.001-05:00

We were at Walmart the other day and came out the wrong door. As in the door on the other side of their HUGE parking lot. Of course, I didn't realize what I had done until we were wondering around the HUGE parking lot looking for the car. Ugh.

Then the next time we were at Walmart, I did it again. Yep, sure did. I told the girls we were on an adventure and the first one to spot the new car got a lollipop.

Sometimes I forget I am pregnant. Then I try to work like a man, all day. Then I can't get up the stairs that night. Wow, I am so out of shape. Like yesterday, I made a coat rack, painted 3 things, fed and watered chickens, planted pansies, hoed one of the flower beds, gave the dog a bath, then made dinner.

I cannot wait for Brian to be home. Hopefully, by then ALL my projects will be completed. I am trying so hard for them to be done. I really need to start on the few things I am making for Christmas presents. The playroom redo is almost where I can show you. I am waiting on something in the mail. I have to make two more things. Then it is done. I am so over this room. It has taken much longer than I expected. It is really cool, though. The coolest play room I have ever seen.

Brian's parents will be here next week. So, I will be slaving like a mad person over the weekend to make sure everything is perfect. I am looking forward to their visit. I get a little crazy with just toddlers to talk to sometimes.

Isabel is a funny, funny girl. She has the most hilarious sense of humor. She sees the world in such a unique way.

This is her new thing...she does this, then says, "see my rings?" Cracks me up every time.

I am getting pretty good on Brother Lucy, my sewing machine. She and I have learned to really work together well. I am getting closer and closer to deciding to open an etsy or not. I made this shirt for my nephew's birthday. He is into trains.

His "don't take a picture of me" face. I debated whether or not to put a '4' on the train (4th birthday), but decided not to. It is a big shirt, hopefully he can wear it next year, too.

By this time in my other pregnancies I have usually picked out a "color" for the new baby's blankets and such to be. Kate was yellow and red. Isabel was blue and green. We never know what the gender will be, so I always go for neutral colors. I think I want brown and light gray. I know that isn't very bright, but I keep thinking if it is a girl we can always add pink. Then if it is a boy, we can add something else like navy blue. What do you think?

Part of me wishes we knew what we were having. If this baby is a boy, he is going to have to wear girl baby clothes. HAHA! I do have some green and yellow stuff, but because the girls wore them, I think of them as girl clothes, you know?

Want to know what the best alarm clock in the world is? Realizing at 6 am that you left your camera outside ALL night long.

Spray paint is very awesome. I spray painted a few things for my kitchen yesterday. Things I had bought at the thrift store that were total 80's style. Now they are nice and updated.

Every meal time a little person HAS to go potty. Every time it is a potty that requires mommy assistance. Really? We aren't past that stage yet? At least we are out of diapers. But, not for long. I never in a million years ever once thought my life would consist of conversations that begin like this "Did you pee pee or poo poo?"

I am loving pinterest! Here is a link to my boards. I am just getting started on this thing. It can be consuming at times.

Well, enough of this rambling. I leave you with Kate's new facial expression for the camera.

My children are a bit strange. They must take after their daddy.

fall craft FAIL

2011-11-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

I had in my mind that the girls and I would go on a fall treasure hunt. We would then take what we had collected and craft with it. Well, best laid plans.....

We did go on a treasure hunt. That was fun. Well, it was fun after we got out of the briars. I tried to walk in the woods which did not work at all. The woods have overgrown quite a bit. So, there were lots of briars and yucky things. We ended up just walking around the edge of the woods finding neat things.

The next day was my planned crafting day. I wanted to iron wax paper on the leaves then make a fall tree for the play room. For some reason, the wax paper did not cooperate. It did not look pretty at all.

See? The wax paper leaves are in the background. My pretty leaves are in front. Since that didn't work, I googled it. It said not to use dry leaves. So, I sent the girls back out to get more. It still didn't work. Oh, well.

I remembered how to take your leaf and put it under your paper, then color with a crayon on top. Getting the leaf outline. Remember doing that in elementary school? I showed the girls what to do.

So pretty! Right?

This is what they did. No cooperation with mommy at all. Scribble scribble. That is all they wanted to do. UGH! Maybe they are too young to color that way? I don't know. So, I left them to their scribbling, found some colored card stock, and began to CUT OUT leaves. I cut out about a million. Made a tree trunk with branches out of brown paper, stuck it to the door with sticky tack. I then let the girls go to town sticking the leaves all over the tree. I was bound and determined to have my fall tree in the play room, obviously.

When we were finished, they said we needed a bird. So, I made an owl for it. After it was all said and done, I had tired fingers and back from sitting on the floor cutting out the million leaves. A messy play room, but two happy girls.

officially fall

2011-11-04T18:13:00.002-04:00

Well, fall is officially here at our house. The scarecrow has been put up. And isn't she pretty?!

We have also been working on quite a few other projects, hence no time for blogging. I think I want to blog, I sit down, and there are no words. Just exhaustion.
I took this $10 dresser, sanded and painted it.

Before

After

I am still not quite finished with it. I bought these plain wooden knobs after seeing tons of cute knobs on etsy that had been painted with butterflies and flowers and such. But, I put them on plain because we needed knobs on there desperately. Kate keeps changing her mind what exactly she wants. So, I just need to paint something. Eventually it will be done. But, I am taking a break on this dresser. It turned out cute, I think. We bought the little plants on clearance at Lowe's. They get the morning sun in their window, so they needed a few plants. Two of them are in shiny pink pots from breast cancer awareness month. Which makes me chuckle since I bought them for two little girls. But, that is my cheesiness coming out, I guess.

I have been making headbands and hair bows galore, as well. We now have one in every color, and then some. This is just a few of them. But we had nowhere to put them. I had an empty oatmeal canister in our craft box that I noticed was about the same size. So, we covered it in pretty paper and tada! A headband holder!

I also redid their closet. (Is redid even a word?) Well, if it wasn't, it is now. This is what it was before. I should have taken a picture with their clothes in it, but I wasn't thinking...

You see how high the hanger bar is? Then there is a shelf above that, with just enough room to put a diaper box. Which is what is on the shelf. Diapers ranging from newborn to size 3. I have been saving them. Anyway, I painted, added a lower hanger bar and added another shelf. I was going to take the higher hanger bar down, but it was NAILED in. I could not get those stupid nails out. So, the hanger bar stayed.

I covered the two by fours with some cool duct tape. I was so tired of painting. I had bought the duct tape for something else, but I think it brightens up the closet.

Here it is with clothes and such. I think I am going to add another shelf above the hanger bar, for more storage. We can never have enough shelves to put things on, right?

When the cooler weather finally came, I decided to go ahead and put out my fall decorations. I have been seeing these felt wreaths all over blogland. I had to make one. What do you think?

CUTE! Huh?

I also had several sweaters and jumpers that I really liked the colors of, but couldn't wear. So, I saved them thinking they would make nice pillows. AND they did....

Every season, I take the stuff off my wreaths, then make new ones with whatever I have on hand. These are my door wreaths this fall.

front door

side door

(Please excuse the sideways pictures.)

This year, Kate and Isabel made their own wreaths. It was lots of fun. They did all their own work. I only put glue on the wreath, so what you see is all their own. They are becoming quite creative.

The bottom two are Kate's (I don't know what is up with the feather, but that is what she wanted.) The top two are Isabel's. Cute, huh?

The woods beginning to show off their fall beauty.

The last two times we have gotten milk, this is what greets us on one of the roads. It is like the beginning of a joke. Why did the turkey, guinea, and chicken cross the road?

To amuse Kate and Isabel, of course.

Right. I know. It wasn't that funny.

Well, happy fall, anyway!

last week

2011-10-13T16:17:00.001-04:00

Was horrible on so many levels and in so many ways.

I cannot even begin to tell you how rotten it was. But I am going to try. It started out with me being absolutely exhausted. Mama and I had a yard sale together at her house over the weekend. We went to church Sunday morning, but I could not seem to get out of my chair for church Sunday night. Plus, Kate and Isabel took extra long naps and still weren't awake when it was time to leave. When Kate finally did awake, she was very hyper. She likes to dance in front of the mirror. So, this night she is dancing and twirling, completely out of control. She trips and falls forward. She landed with her neck wedged onto the edge of a wooden stool, bruising her neck and throat. Needless to say, it scared me to death. She is choking and making these strangling noises. She is drooling all over me while hysterically crying. She has this huge mark across her throat. When I finally calm her down, she can only whisper. She says she can't swallow.

Then, I made a mistake.

I googled bruised throat, then called my mom.

Of course, she says, RUSH HER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!!!

I say, I don't know. I am think I am going to wait. It is about the time that Brian wakes up over yonder, and sometimes we skype when he gets dressed. So, I told Mama I would call Brian and ask him.

While we are skyping, Kate is in my lap. He is watching her, but she doesn't realize it. She keeps swallowing and smiling at him. Her voice is still hoarse, but she seems okay at this point. So, we decided not to take her.

The next day, Isabel and Kate are taking a bath. I keep hearing lots of splashing, thumping, and giggling. So, I decide to see what the commotion is. They are both standing up, Kate has her leg up and Isabel is holding it.....then somehow they both fall in slow motion. I see Isabel's mouth smack the edge of the tub, blood spurts EVERYWHERE! I pick her up and wrap her in a towel. We rush into the kitchen where I pour sugar all in her mouth and under her lip to stop the bleeding. (A trick I learned from my Aunt Trudy.) Poor Isabel ends up with a huge fat lip for several days. It was even black on the inside.

She liked showing it off.

Isabel got into the vaseline and spread it all over her body and clothes. While I was attempting to clean up slimy, greasy vaseline, Kate was skyping with daddy. Well, she was sitting in the office chair in front of the computer. Wait, let me rephrase that, she wasn't just sitting there, she was twirling the chair around and around. She accidentally hit my coffee cup and coffee went everywhere! All over the desk, computer, bills, letters, papers, and pictures I had just printed out to mail to Grandma. UGH!

This was also the week I decide to redo a dresser for the girls' bedroom (more on that later) AND their closet AND wash all the winter clothes. All with a serious bad attitude on my part. The girls did not want to cooperate with me at all. Disobedience was the norm. Then, I sliced my finger open on a knife. We also had several more falling downs and other such injuries.

Every single time some disaster occurred, it would frustrate me to no end. Every little thing annoyed me. I wish I could blame it on single motherhood. But, that isn't true. I had this attitude problem at times when Brian was home.

Everything and everybody was getting on my nerves. I didn't feel like making dinner, breakfast, or lunch. I don't even think the girls brushed their teeth but a few times. One day, I literally just screamed and screamed. No words, just screams. Then tears. The poor girls just looked at me. Kate then ran to the playroom and cleaned it up. It was almost spotless. I have to admit I was really proud of her cleaning job.

The Lord has been working on my heart about this again. I get so caught up in myself and my selfishness. I stop reading His word. I stop praying. I take my focus off being what He wants me to be and instead do what I want. I then become a miserable mess. I react to things in a way that is displeasing to God and to those around me. I become a horrible mother and wife.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that reading my Bible and praying every day makes everything hunky dory and no annoying things happen and all of a sudden I am a perfect little mommy. (Like that horribly long sentence?) I am still human and my children are still bad at times. But, when I make my focus pleasing Jesus instead of myself, my reactions are usually calmer.

I couldn't have a higher calling than to be a mother. It is the most wonderful thing in the world to be allowed to do. That is what God wants me to be. A keeper at home. A teacher of my children, a helper to my husband.

Titus 2:4-5 says,

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I have been working on a Bible study entitled Holy Women. It goes through Proverbs 31, Titus 2, and lots of different women as examples. It has truly been a blessing and a help. Lots of things I didn't even know. Not only am I learning them, but I am learning why. I also recently read a book called, Created to be his Helpmeet by Debi Pearl which really helped me a lot the last few weeks Brian was home.

So, this week, I have been focusing more on God and the girls instead of me, myself, and I. Once again, this has proven to be the way to live my life. Now, the girls still fuss, argue, scream, and get hurt. But, I seem to be handling it better. Because I spent time this morning (and another morning or two) in His word and in prayer. It wasn't hours and hours, but it was enough to help me to focus on Him.

For you other young girls and mothers who seem to be struggling and have days or weeks where all you want to do is scream and pull your hair out, cry and pitch a fit. I suggest getting up in the morning before your children do and spend some time with Jesus. Then you can truly enjoy moments such as these instead of thinking about all the mess they are making, and all the work you still have to do.

Happy mothering!

Summer recap, part 2

2011-10-02T18:04:00.001-04:00

Fourth of July was celebrated by shooting guns....

Mama and her cane while shooting = hilarious

Playing badminton....

Eating watermelon....

And spending time with family and friends.

During this month, I was asked to make a cake for my Uncle Anthony's surprise birthday party. It turned out so pretty, I just have to share it with you.

Cute, huh? He plays the ukelele, so his daughter requested a ukelele cake. I had no idea how to do it. I used 2 sheet cakes and cut out the shapes. I used candy and thread for the top, Hawaiian looking flowers for the edge.

I canned lots and lots of pickles and tomatoes.

Kate had her first taco. And LOVED it. Now, every time I mention having tacos, she gets very excited. She likes to dip them into a salsa and sour cream mixture. We always have root beer with tacos. It makes it even yummier.

We went camping on the hottest weekend of the year. It was fun, but so hot!

Putting up our massive tent took some patience and some time.

The girls danced around the fire.

We learned to make cowboy coffee. Delicious! I suggest if anyone tent camps to try it. It is worth the wait.

~BOAT RIDE~

~swimming~

~jumping~

~walks along the lake shore~

~grilling burgers lake side~

~eating more watermelon~

~enjoying sunsets~

~enjoying full moons over our campsite~

~having strange things happen~

Kate learned how to do a flip on the swing set. She loves to show off.

Isabel still hasn't quite learned how to pedal her tricycle, much to her frustration.

We ate lots of blueberry pancakes. LOTS.

~popcorn and movie nights~

The back vegetable garden

The front flowers on the other side of the driveway. Next year, hopefully, I will remember that the sunflowers face AWAY from the house. They don't look quite like I want them to, because they face that way. Oh, well.

front flower bed

another view of the front

Stay tuned for August!

summer recap, part 1

2011-09-26T18:05:00.000-04:00

Fall is here, officially by the calendar anyway. The first day of fall was last Friday. I had every intention of posting something about it, but for some reason, life keeps getting in the way of this blog.

I love this time of year. I really like the cooler sweater weather. I told Kate the other day that I was ready for sweaters, because I was tired of sweating. I had to laugh at myself. She didn't get it, but she laughed with me. Because she is 3 and doesn't "get" corny, yet.

In celebration of fall, I thought I would recap our summer for you. I was going to do it all at once, but I was going into picture overload. So, I will just do one month at a time...

JUNE

The beginning of June involved getting ready for Daddy's homecoming. We painted signs, cleaned and cleaned. Did lots of yardwork. And just generally wore ourselves out.

Daddy's homecoming was a very special day. We got the the airport extra early.

And we waited, and waited. Surprisingly enough, Kate ran to her Daddy. Isabel was too busy eating her french fries to be bothered. But, Kate was beyond excited.

She kept giving him these precious, little hugs. Quite adorable, really.

This is Brian and me on his first Sunday back. There are several of these pictures and in several of them a head or something is cut off. This is one of the better ones. We look cute together, I think.

After Daddy came home, life took on a different pace. There was lots more laughing and lots more horsing around.

I goof off with them and play with them, but NOT like Daddy does.

We went on a plane ride to Grandma and Grandpa Armonat's house for Father's Day and Grandpa Armonat's birthday. Brian celebrated his Father's day by buying himself a present. Which was a good thing, because in the planning and packing for the trip, I completely forgot about Father's day.

Here Brian is posing with his present. He is probably going to shoot me for putting this picture out there. But it is hilarious. Every time it scrolls through the screensaver, I laugh.

We got new baby chicks. Mama hen sat on 14 eggs. I think 6 hatched out. Baby chicks are so much fun to watch.

I accidentally grew a cantaloupe. I used my homemade compost around my blueberry plants. A vine began to grow; I left it alone. I watered it when I remembered. Brian and the girls enjoyed it. I thought it tasted green. Still neat, anyway.

We went on several boat rides. I love this picture of the girls holding hands. Just look at the way Isabel is gazing adoringly at her sister.

We also had several breakdowns and other issues that took a little bit of fun away from lake-going.

But, we still managed to have lots of fun, anyway.

And capture some nice pictures.

No caption needed....sister love.

The vegetable garden in June.

The front flowers in June.

I wish I could tell you I learned lots of lessons during the month of June, but I don't think I did. I wasn't feeling my best a lot of those days. I had a bladder infection one week, then a stomach virus the next. So, not really the best of months to look back on in that regard. But, one thing I am learning daily is to make the best of whatever life hands you.

I hope you enjoyed this look back on our month of June.

I did.

new shoes

2011-09-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

My sister had given me these shoes last year. I liked them, but I really didn't like the color. They were the pair of shoes I had in my closet that I tried on most days, but rejected because they just didn't quite go.

See, Clemson orange, or Tennessee, or wherever that has a bright orange as their color. UGLY!

Well, one day, I thought what if I painted these shoes? If it doesn't work out, I don't lose anything. It's not like it will be wasting a pair of shoes. I have seen all over blogland people paint everything. Including shoes.

So, I did. Cute, huh? Now, if you look closely you can still see some orange. But, all in all I am pleased. I have worn them many more times than I did before.

I only wish I had painted them black. I already have brown sandals. Oh, well. Maybe one day, I will paint them again.

When we were on our vacation, Kate spotted a pair of flip flops that had glittery sea shells on the straps. Oh, how she loved them and wanted them. I looked at them and at the $40 price tag. Thought to myself, I can do this. So, when we got home we scoured Target, Wal-mart AND K-mart for flip flops. Of course, it being the end of August, there was hardly any to be found. We did find boots. Lots and lots of boots. Ugh. We finally found blue ones at K-mart and pink ones at Target.

Daddy knew we were going to be making this project. So, when he was on his sea shell search (say that 5 times) he purposely picked up itty bitty tiny ones. It took a few days of drying time, but we finally got them finished.

I must tell you, the girls did the glitter all on their own. I glued the sea shells onto the straps myself. The girls can't have all the fun.

Here is Isabel modeling her's. If you have met Kate, you know why I don't have a picture of her modeling her pair. They absolutely love these flip flops. We get lots of compliments whenever I let them wear them in public (which is rare....neither one can walk well in flip flops). Which leads me to the thought that I should dress up their flips or other plain play shoes more often. Make things more fun to wear.

Happy shoes!

Happy birthday, Isabel!

2011-09-13T23:22:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 11, we celebrated and remembered something other than what happened in NYC.

Isabel.

She turned 2. My little monkey, who hasn't been a baby since she was 8 months old and began walking, is officially a toddler. She is a character and a true joy in our lives. She with her hugs and kisses taught me how to be a more loving parent.

Here are a few pictures from her birthday celebration.

It was a simple celebration. Lunch with Grandma and Papa, our babysitter Heather and her husband. Then cake, ice cream and presents with them and Aunt Jada and cousins. Everyone had lots of fun.

Isabel really got bored with opening her presents which was kind of funny. But I had saved the best 2 presents for last. She wasn't interested in either one of them. So, I unwrapped them for her. We got her a new baby doll, one just like Kate's. For she loves Kate's baby and is always taking it. Since giving her new baby, she hasn't put it down.

She even sleeps with her.

The present that I was most excited about was a handmade one. Made special for her by Mommy. Some call these quiet books, some call them busy books. I call it a quiet book, because that is what my mom called the one she made for me when I was small. Which I still have by the way. The one my mom made is a lot more detailed and has a lot more pages. But I am really thrilled with how mine turned out.

Rather than show you each page individually, I made a little collage for you. The top left picture is the cover. The rest are the pages in order. A buckle, snaps, tying shoes, buttons, overall buckles, velcro, and a zipper.

Isn't it adorable? I really like it.

But it isn't nearly as a adorable as my little Isabel. The whole day Sunday, she sang, "happy birthday, Idabelll....!"

I leave you with some more pictures of the birthday girl.

The only thing missing from an otherwise perfect day was a hug from daddy.

Happy birthday, Isabel.

where has the time gone?

2011-08-23T08:03:00.000-04:00

Wow. It has been so long since I have blogged. I just can't seem to find the time to do it. We have been really busy living life this summer. The girls make life exciting. There is never a dull moment around here.

Another reason I can't seem to find time to blog (or clean or make dinner), I have morning sickness almost all day. Yep, you read that right. We are expecting our third baby. The precious blessing will be here some time in March. We are beyond excited (when we aren't tired).

Happy Tuesday!

my new shades

2011-07-29T09:34:00.006-04:00

I remember my mom wearing glasses like these when I was little. She always had huge sunglasses.

And, of course, like everything else, they are back in style. With a vengeance! I got a pair of contacts for the summer, so I needed sunglasses when we go to the lake. I went shopping for sunglasses one day. All I could find were the big ones. It was as if that was all they had, except for the aviator ones.

ala-Tom Cruise~NOT my style

I didn't really like all the big ones, but finally found a pair I liked.

I thought they looked pretty good, until Brian looked at me and smirked. He asked if maybe there wasn't a bigger pair I could have gotten. (Brian doesn't like anything that smacks of trendiness.) So, I went rummaging around in the girls' toy box and found these.....

Do you think these are big enough?