Brown Eyed Girl

Hair Chopping

2012-01-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

I tend to get asked a lot about Queso's hair. The most popular question at this time happens to be: "When are you going to cut his hair?" NE-VER! Well maybe, but not now while I'm still trying to grow it out. It's about 4 inches long right now... if I straightened it, it'd probably be about half way down his back.

Being one of those women who had never had:
1. a professional hair stylist cut my hair until I was in my 20s; and
2. layers added in (also not until my 20s),
you might expect that I would be the wrong one to take on the challenge of having my son grow out his african hair.

You'd be right.

UNTIL it got long enough for me to work with and inspiration hit. I no longer have to cart him off to the Beauty School to throw away money to have cornrows that last less than a week. YouTube has been my friend, and I have educated myself quite a bit on his hair. I can now do semi-decent cornrows, and have had fun trying some new designs. It's not great, but he loves them!

I'll journey through the process of his hair, tips and tricks for african boys' hairstyles, etc. My simple google searches produced very little options in terms of ideas for longer, african hair on boys so I'll create my version of what I think is lacking.

Here's a picture back from when Queso was 1... and the huge volume of hair I had to work with.

If you'll notice, there were slight bald spots. I wasn't ever quite sure if those would grow out evenly. At this point in time, you'll notice how fuzzy his hair always was. His hair is usually last priority as we race out the door to get somewhere 5 minutes late.

But this span of time gave me the opportunity to really look into what it takes to maintain a healthy head of african hair. That's my mantra when I see pictures with no shine to his hair. I will justify my lack of knowledge, energy, and ability....

To start (and I fail at this all the time), never let your little boy out of the house without a good spritz of oil/sheen/shine/etc. African hair will look dried out and unmanaged if it doesn't gleam in the sunlight.

Next up, bonding over braids.

Advertising Failure

2011-11-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well then, I saw this ad on tv.

I very professionally added in some arrows to direct you to the tag line.

If you're trying to sell a pain relief item, maybe it wouldn't help to make the claim that "Nothing's been proven to beat the relief." Sooo, nothing will help. Don't bother buying this product.

They should have run this campaign through a consumer panel first for feedback on just how negative this makes their product look.

Dear Salanpas,
FIRE YOUR ADVERTISING AGENCY!
Sincerely, Me (a consumer who now would never buy your product)

Always at least a step behind

2011-10-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

The life of a SAHM can sometimes feel as though I'm constantly 3 steps behind in life.

Oh, that birthday party... whoops.
Should have went to the bank today... missed that.
Ran out of food? Shoot.

It's "funny" that even when I have extremely productive days, I can look around and wonder if anyone would even notice what I did. But hello, there is now no more gunk around my bathroom sink drain. So there. And that lonely sock pile that I happened to ignore for 3 months... they are paired and happy.

You get the idea. So, because I have so much free time, I thought I would make a template for my newest idea to get me back on track... introducing my Mommy Master To-Do List. I saw a similar template on Pinterest, but decided I wanted it a bit cuter. So here it is.

Of course, feel free to print this out yourself... or if you're really fancy, have it laminated so you can continually update it. OR if you're REALLY smart, just stick it in an empty frame and write on the glass with a dry erase marker.

There you have it. I may have just wasted entirely too much time on this, but maybe it'll save you time!

Advertising Failure

2011-10-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

In my everlasting quest to find the BEST deal on clothes for my kiddos, I usually shop end-of-year closeouts to buy the next years' sizes (a usually well-meaning guess that sometimes is comPLETEly off, but hey, I justify that because I just bought 13 items of clothes for what most people pay for 1). And yes, my bin of "Too Big" clothes for each of my kids keeps getting overstuffed, and not to mention the fact that my storage space is taking quite a hit. But I AM saving money in the long run.

But, okay, well on the one hand, these are blue, but C'MON Target... really!? Ruffle butt on a boy? I'm thinking no.

Although, I still can't get past the whole boys-with-leggings trend.

And strong as my aversion is to putting boys in girly clothes, I have been known to put a boyish pajama or two on Grapenut. (Sometimes they're the only ones that fit, okay?)

Packing with Toddlers 101

2011-04-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

So why could I not have received advice from ANYONE that you NEVER assume you'll be out of your house the night you plan? I only say that because after my grand assumption I realized every single diaper in our house was packed up and moved out.

This of course would be the time that my son decides to have "fun" and smear a "substance" around his room, crib, Grapenut, etc. Bath time it is! And of course, Grapenut doesn't want to be left out, so in she goes. Now let's journey back.

Blow out.

Every.

Single.

Diaper.

Gone.

The possibilities are endless at this point. We could leave them in the bath for the next hour. We could put them in big kid undies except they are all packed. We could wrap a towel around and pin it. We could let them go commando... no, WAY too weird.

I left Dust to do the brainstorming on that one and hopped in the car to go grab our stash of diapers (and a coffee, because yes, I packed that too). It was turning out to be a great morning.

As I was driving away I remembered I normally kept my emergency-blow-out-have-to-have-SOMETHING-care-kit in the car so I searched high and low for it and found it. Success. Except no diapers. Failure. Then I opened a flap, and voila, 2 diapers. Size 1. Success, with a twist of failure. Let me reiterate that I have 2 toddlers... they may both be in the 10% weight category as other kids their age, but they are no size 1.

But who cares?! The each had a diaper!

The Bling Effect

2011-04-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

What is your ration of jewelry? Your normal allotment, shall we say? For a Mom on the go, I'd venture so far as to say Lady Gaga-ing it up is a bit too much. I would give about a 1.2 second delay for those to be ripped from my neck and in about 632 pieces from the moment my kids saw it. But at least she didn't overdo her earrings and kept it to ONE statement piece this time.

Photo Credit: fanfamous.com

And while tasteful, still a bit much for the grocery store.

Photo Credit: assets.nydailynews.com

Kinda creepy. If you don't feel you can pull off your own jewelry, it doesn't mean you should let your babies wear them!

Photo Credit: /3.bp.blogspot.com

Have YOU ever done the mid-arm cuff? And pulled it off? With compliments?

I sort of have my go to standards. If my hair is up, nine times out of ten I'll be sporting earrings. And if I'm wearing earrings, then I'll maybe have a bracelet on. But I rarely ever combine earrings and a necklace. Most of my necklaces are quite loud and almost literally speak for themselves, so it's usually going overboard if I double up.

But with that being said, at the time being I have about 10 items that are out of commission. We'll just say I have 2 toddlers and leave it at that.

Durability

2011-03-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

With summer coming up, I'm getting just a *tiny* bit excited to be outside again and got all excited when I saw this.

Okay, yes I see how handy you would be as drink holders. But let me run down a list of questions I have.

A. Can I attach you to a lounge chair? Hello layout season... I won't be basking on a picnic table.

B. Can you handle the weight of a child sitting or standing on you?

C. Will the clips stand the test of time and last me longer than a week?

D. Can you zap anyone who tries to take a drink except me?

E. Can you attach to my purse somehow so I could take mochas with me wherever I wanted... even if I don't have a free hand?

F. Could you possibly lower your price to $3.95 for the set of 4? I'm dutch. Paying $4.95 just doesn't seem worth it to me. I would much prefer under a dollar for each one.

That's it for now, but I will have more questions for you later!

What are they LOOKING at?

2011-03-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

So again just browsing and wasting time while I should be packing up MY. ENTIRE. HOUSE. I discover a garden section in an online magazine and see this. First off, kinda creepy, especially if they're pointed toward your house.

THEN I see what they're looking at.

Lovely.

Kids these days....

My purse weighs more than my kids

2011-03-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I was perusing my daily deal websites, and found this -- buy 2 for $7.00 with free shipping. Suh-weet!

I love this idea. If you have ever looked up a study at what carries the most bacteria, the bottom of a woman's purse is usually in the top 2. So this makes sense.

My one question would be: Is there a weight limit associated with how much these can hold?

Let me just say that my purse is slightly larger than most women's. It's a tad larger than a diaper bag. And when people stop me when I'm out with my kids and tell me I'm so smart because I have combined my purse AND diaper bag, I smile and nod, and then walk away wishing there was yet a bigger purse out there so I could actually do that.

I carry everything in there from essentials (cell phone, lip gloss, coupons, and food), to less essential but still necessary (money, wallet, etc.). I even haul gifts, books, mail, kleenex (only the travel pack size, c'mon), or jewelry. And don't judge, but there has been the rare, sleep-deprived occasion when I've picked up my purse thinking it was my child because of the weight, and vice versa (it just doesn't work as well to sling your child over your shoulder and walk into a store... people give you weird looks).

You know you're a Mom when you only have to carry your purse for 10 minutes and you already have indents on your shoulder. Sometimes I have to do a double take in the mirror because I think I'm starting to look a little uneven. (Note to self: Switch purse to other shoulder next time... spice it up a bit.)

I think the worst indication my purse is a tad large is that it triggers the weight limit on our front seat and the seatbelt sign starts flashing. Hmmmm.

Goal: $40 for a brand new blingin' outfit, can it be done?

2011-03-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

If you think you know me, you won't truly understand me until you realize what a thrill it is for me when I save money. Or when I get a spectacular deal. So can we make our goal today, and still be a fashionista? Can we please not spend $5,000.00 on a new wardrobe (even though I would love it if someone would submit an entry for me at What Not to Wear) and still look cute while appropriately flattering our body types?

Alright, so we'll first start off with the basics... gotta have some jeans. We'll start with the $7.00 jeans from Target (click here to find out how to get them for that price); either the skinny jeans, or the boot cut... personally I would advise most women toward the boot cut as it is typically more flattering, but you can choose depending on the type of shoe you wear what works best.

Then we'll move on toward something all women should wear: a top of some sort. This one is currently $2.99 at Wet Seal.

And because I live in a city that rarely stops raining, let's get some sort of warmer attire thrown in here. We'll throw in a splash of feminine flair and sheen for a splurge item of $15.99. You know you're cheap when a splurge item costs $15.99. Yeah, I know. So far we are at $25.98... and we still have to accessorize... stay with me, we can do this.

Okay, let's get those feet-a-walkin... in these a-DOR-able pumps for a mere $10.49. Hello?! Can't go wrong there.

And of course I didn't forget jewelry. So here's a little bling bling for ya.

This statement ring rings up for only $2.99.

Or for $1.00 more you could always get this one, or BOTH! (For our sake, we'll only count the first one in the mix, just because I like it more.)

And because these bad boys are sold out...

because they were ONLY FIFTY CENTS(!!!!!!), I am choosing these replacements... still cute at $5.99, plus they tie in the jacket well enough to bring this outfit from a daytime look to a "Hey Hon, let's get us a sitter and go out to dinner tonight."

So now we're at a total of $45.45. Hold the phone, here. If I recall, our goal was $40.00. I am just that determined, so stay with me. If you all haven't experienced the wonder that is Ebates, let me personally invite you. You get paid to shop, now THAT is shopping therapy! For even signing up, you will get $5.00 added to your account (plus I will for referring you, and you'll in turn get $5.00 for every friend you refer). THEN, if it couldn't get any better than a FREE $5.00, you get a percent back at stores you would normally shop at anyway. So, Target and Wet Seal are at 3%, while Sears is at 2% which would lower our total (including your FREE $5.00) to $39.23. Sha-blam baby! Welcome to my world of clearance shopping.

Anything you would add or take away from this outfit?

Just a phone call away...

2011-03-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: SurfDoggy

Sometimes a phone call is exactly what you need in the morning... you know, to FIND your phone. Yeah, and to read up on the 3 missed texts this morning.

Good times.

I find that I miss calls often, so to every one of you who has tried in vain to get ahold of me, keep in mind I don't exactly always know where my phone is. Especially with boxes everywhere filled with "stuff" to move.

No big surprise that I lost my phone a couple days ago. So I asked my kids to go find Mommy's phone. Not a minute later they come toting it along and yelling "Mommy's phone! Mommy's phone!"

Lovely.

Who have they called, who have they texted, what have they bought, what did they download, and how large will my phone bill be??

It's a giveaway!!

2011-03-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so really it's more like a "Can anyone actually use this and if so, you can have it!" Hoorah!

I delved deep into organizing/cleaning mode today to conquer the ever problematic tupperware drawer. Yikes. Turns out I have about 7 "bowls" and about 14 lids that just don't match. But there was one that I saw promise in.

Everyone knows about tupperware products, right? Well, for those that don't, I'm nearly 100% certain that they come with a lifetime guarantee. Let's say it gets dragged through the mud outside by a toddler, and you run it through your dishwasher and it happens to get mangled, you can contact a distributor to get a new lid. Or something along those lines. And no, this didn't happen to this lid, just can't match it to a partner in crime. I'm not trying to sell you anything, don't worry. BUT, I did find a lid that I have no clue what it belongs to, but thought maybe someone out there in blog land might have it's mate. Slim chance I know, but after a week straight of blogging, my brain couldn't come up with anything else to blog about, so there you have it?!

Here's a pic of the lid.; it's a rounded 7x7", item #839-17.

And to all you perpetual recyclers, you'll be proud to know the extra, lonely, cheap uncommitted comrades are all in my recycle bin.

Endless Organizing

2011-03-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

There are times as a mother when you feel overworked. One of those times for me would be when I have just reorganized every single clothing item in their room and they decide they don't like the look of their carpet so they feel the need to cover it with ALL of their clothes.

When I talk organizing, I don't just mean putting things away haphazardly and shoving things in drawers. I have their drawers organized by item (shirts, pants, shorts, pjs, etc), but then I take it a step further. Bordering on OCD, I then organize by color, and then I separate out short-sleeved onesies from long-sleeved onesies, fleece zip up pjs from 2 piece pjs, and the list goes on.

Believe it or not, their closet is worse. Any top that isn't a onesie gets hung up. Everything is organized first by tank tops, then short-sleeved shirts, then long-sleeved shirts, then hoodies, and finally coats. Then among those sections feel free to insert places for long and short sleeved button downs, because they belong in categories of their own, separate but still connected to their less formal sleeve-length buddies. Oh, and don't forget this is ALL organized by color. They even have their own color for hangers (as do Dust and I actually).

NOW, before you think I've completely lost it. Come over to my house sometime and see for yourself if it ever actually looks like that for more than 1 day. :( Sadly, it does not. This is also why I flip a lugnut every time my poor husband tries to put things away.

You may think I'm crazy but it's my method of madness that keeps me down to a 1 hour get-out-the-door timeframe. And that's on a good day.

Sunday Grace

2011-03-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Alarms and wipes

2011-03-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Give me 1 minute and I'll fully explain the connection.

As I was sitting down to my breakfast (at 11 am... I was HUNGRY), the alarm on my phone went off. As confused as I was, I checked it just to make sure it wasn't anything important. Oh my goodness, doctor appointment in 45 minutes. YIKES! I literally inhaled my breakfast, poured coffee into a travel mug, set my keys, purse, coffee, etc. out by the door, picked out the kids' clothes (which happened to be setting out from the laundry I have yet to put away), and barrel into their room in hopes of easily dressing them and zipping out the door.

But Queso had mightily different plans. As this Mama ONCE AGAIN forgot to tape her son's pants on, he was sleeping buck naked with random splotches of goodness smeared everywhere. Lovely. TMI for some of you, but just wait til you're a parent, your therapy will involve sharing the information too. Just wait.

So being that I had no extra time for baths, I'll just say that we nearly blew through our stash of wipes in getting him clean. I almost sprayed cologne on him, but he didn't really smell... unless I was just too accustomed to it by that point. I got him dressed, had him sit on Grapenut's crib, and got her dressed and ready to go. Came back in the room, decided I didn't like Queso's shirt, switched it, got their hair done, shoes on, and out the door. Phew.

I walked into the waiting room to hear the receptionist say, "Oh, you're all matching in your green, good for you!" Being that it was St. Patrick's Day and I had NO CLUE, I was just as impressed as she was. We were all in the same tones of green even, we just won't say what I was actually wearing, because it didn't even cross my mind to look before we left.

And, if that wasn't impressive enough, I was a whopping 5 minutes early, holla! It is odd when the expression "I'm early, is that okay?" erupts from my mouth; even more odd when I have a goofy smile attached to it as I'm chuckling to myself.

Bunco Temp

2011-03-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Let me first say that anyone who needs a sub for bunco, I'm game!

I had such a fun night yesterday. My friend Alisa invited me to fill in for her Mom's bunco group yesterday. So I dutifully checked first with Dust, got a hold of him 3 hours later, and happily replied I could!

I had played a LONG time ago, so the rules weren't exactly fresh in my mind, but since I know how to recognize numbers on a dice, I was good to go! It was fun to meet new people. I ended up meeting an awesome woman of God who has adopted 5 kids through the foster system, after having 3 naturally. WOW! Of course there were tears involved in that conversation! But just how neat it is to run into people who have such a similar heart for adoption. As Dust and I are open to wherever God calls us to adopt from next, it was great to talk with her about her experiences.

I won 2 categories (woot woot) but only spoke up about winning one. But I left feeling rejuvenated. It was great to meet new people, but even greater to see a person sitting across the table who I hope to be like someday... a woman dedicated to God, where He calls, and a Mom to many!

Coupon failure

2011-03-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever ran out of milk, coffee, AND creamer at the same time? It not, then you don't know how desperate I was to get to the store sans kids.

So I grab my coupons, make my list, and zip off to the grocery store in desperation as I try to be home by 8:30 am so my husband can leave for work. I get there and drive my cart right past the coupon stand, glancing in to make sure I have the correct week. Yup, they must've just made two different covers this week. No time to stop, gotta keep going.

Grab my items, find my chocolate that's on sale, and off I go to checkout. Phew. I'm going to make it.

"Ummm, this coupon isn't ringing up." After a bit of looking and haggling (and a line starting to form behind me) the cashier asks "Is that the right week?"

"Oh yup, I checked it before I left. See, March 6-12. (Insert semi-long pause.) Ohhhhhhhhh. Whoops. My bad. I'm SO sorry."

"Do you still want these items?"

"I'm so sorry, but no. WAIT, leave that chocolate in there though. Thanks!" So off I went with my head hung low realizing I really need to get a grip on calendar dates even though it has already been burned into my head what week we're in with all of the deadlines I had for the 15th. But at least I have milk for my kids, coffee and creamer for me, and most important, chocolate for breakfast.

Oh, and no, Fred Meyer does NOT make 2 covers for their weekly coupons... shoulda been my first clue.

McDonald's Disappointment

2011-03-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I thoroughly disappointed my kids today. I got them dressed for the morning, had them pick out which boots they wanted to wear, and this Mama got ready before 11 (am or pm--it's still impressive folks). And we hustled out the door for a "drive".

When we pulled into the McDonald's parking lot I heard squeals of laughter and "Gramma", "Nana", and "Jude and Emmy" floated up to me in the front of the car. When I pulled into the drive-thru, it kinda confused them. So I told them this trip was for Mama today.

When you run out of creamer AND COFFEE at home it's time to make a coffee run. And since i had gift cards to McD's, that's where I was going to get my morning jolt. When I ordered more than one, I think it just confused the kids more. Then I heard "Nummys" from the back and had to remind them, "Nope, this trip was for Mama." I didn't feel the need to say that it was Mama's selfish trip for coffee alone and that I didn't see the point in buying overpriced chicken nuggets for the car ride home since we have some in our freezer. I tried reasoning with them when they were under a year old and I was sorely defeated, so I musta just given up trying.

But here's some pictures where they actually got to enjoy McD's. :) See, I'm not always selfish.

Looking closer

2011-03-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

When you are raising "twins" and snapping pics, it pays to look close at the details.

For instance, if you'll notice in this picture, there appears to be a look on Grapenut's face that encourages a viewer to think she might be a little scared.

And if you look just a smidge closer, you'll see the hand that shoved her to her doom. Let's journey back a bit and see this in sequence.

Jealous.

Excited.

Scared.

Terror.

Victory!

Fashion Friday (FAILURES)

2011-03-11T11:46:00.000-08:00

There are times when visiting stores that I happen to make it to the clearance section. Aaaaand, that's a flat out lie. Usually I have coupon(s) in hand as I beeline for the sale racks. The problem is that sometimes there is a very blatant reason some of these items have made it to clearance.

There is no one I know who should buy this.

Wet Seal: Take the hit, and just burn any of these you have left... what makes it worse is you have a choice between pink or red.

If someone can ACTUALLY pull off wearing these, props to you... but I would never go there, just sayin'.

And if anyone would actually pay $9.99 for this, you should just go kick yourself.

However, there are some rather adorable things showcased as well, gotta love sales! (And, make sure to buy through ebates for some cash back in your pocket.)

Hot water heater vs. laundry detergent

2010-11-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, is it bad if my kids' skin is drying out.

Why, you might ask? First see my post entitled "The Childproof Diaper". Then take a wild guess at what I'm referring to. After every nap, I walk in their room to find a barenaked Queso, a poop smeared crib, another poop smeared crib, dirty sheets, and really happy kids. As my eyes survey the disastrous scene, I go on a wild chase to find the dirty diaper before they do. You almost have to go into another room to half laugh and half cry over the situation.

Good thing Dust is home today, he took clean up duty today, and I took bath duty. It makes it real interesting when I'm trying to do it all on my own!

Our water bill is skyrocketing out of control. With the amount of baths that my kids are getting, and the number of times I wash their sheets, it's getting ridiculous. I am currently debating between buying stock in hot water heaters or laundry detergent. I would single-handedly raise market points.

Buying stock would be a nice option, except that we may just go broke buying laundry detergent alone. Yikes.
I wash their sheets so much, they're getting holes in them. They're so faded they don't even match the room anymore.

Can you guess who this lady represents?

An exhausted me!!

And it's a wonder why I'm debating on potty training him!!

The childproof diaper

2010-11-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

If the invention isn't out there and isn't illegal, I will be rich. Good night, do I need one of those.

As I do every night, I checked in on Grapenut and Queso to make sure they're breathing, sleeping, and not too warm/cold. I snuck in their room and peered in on Grapenut (her crib is first) and noticed there was a diaper laying on her... don't judge how long it took me to realize it wasn't hers, because I stared at that thing for quite awhile.

Then I look in Queso's crib. Buck naked and sleeping like a baby with his knees tucked in and his bare bum stuck straight in the air. Hilarious!

But it also had me curious what was to come. Up until now he hasn't cracked the code of the diaper's velcro straps. And he still hasn't. He slid it off. Thank my lucky stars there was no poo.

Except that today there was.

I look in his crib: nakedness. I look in Grapenuts: nothing seemingly abnormal. I get Queso out only to see smears of a brownish substance smeared on the back rungs of his crib (which, when understanding that their cribs are back to back) puts a pang of worry into my already faster beating heart. Then I see smears on her crib. Then I see a diaper in between the cribs on the ground. Then I see the smears all over her mattress pad and clothes. AND ONLY THEN do I see the little poo nodules strewn haphazardly throughout their room.

Oh what a lovely sight that was. And you can't really vacuum it up (I'll let you use your imagine on that one). Yuck.

I am just dreading the day it's not solid....

Ain't that just HAT-tastic

2010-10-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

So what happens when Mommy has been successful in keeping a semi-clean house? We pull out some hats and have us a par-tay.

I imagined a super cute picture of the two of them, hands held, both having their hats on with big smiles on their faces. Decide for yourself if you think I was successful. And don't blame me that I gave up.

"Do I have to wear it?"

"C'mon, rock it like me!" (This WAS mid-dance mind you, he doesn't actually point his pinky like that.)

"AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"

This was about the 17th time I put that hat back on her head.

"Oh yeah, just a rockin out."

Success!

Anytime I'd try to take a pic, one of them would turn around and the other would take theirs off.

"Look, if my hands are full, I can't take my hat off?!"

"Eee, get this thing off of me!"

"Honestly Mom, which goes better with my outfit?"

If this doesn't make me want to watch Newsboys again, I don't know what does?!

Oh dear, maybe I should quit.

Recipe for success: Geriatric Shoes

2010-10-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to me on a good day. Just switch out the one baby for 2 VERY active toddlers, add in a purse, and take out a couple of the essential items that should have been in the diaper bag and leave those at home.

But oh my. I cannot even explain how much I have gotten done around my house in the last 2 weeks. And dare I say that marks the day I got these beauts?? So, apparently my recipe to success is not measured as most (ahem) normal people's is.

Granted, I count my day a success when:

I get makeup on my face. (Even if I put it on at 7:30 pm right before I head out the door to do some late night grocery shopping.)
I brush my teeth before noon. Yah, not even joking.
I can walk through my house without tripping on toys, clothes (that were folded but strewn haphazardly by two angelic creatures across the room), shoes, etc. And I just said tripping, that doesn't even count what I have to step on just to get there.
my kids get milk at all meals... you would not BE-LIEVE how many last minute runs I have to make to the store because we run out.
my kids don't cry as I put them down for a nap EVEN WHEN they were just laying on the floor with their eyes closed because they were so tired. Yeah right, crying is inevitable. I've learned that something might actually be seriously wrong if I can still hear them by the time I'm down the hall.
I actually find where my cell phone is before noon (and 3 missed calls--most always from Dust, but we don't have to get into my ~~lack of~~ telephone skills right now).
When I get changed out of my pjs before 3. This gives me a good 2 hours during the afternoon nap to eat lunch, do a bajillion house things, AND get dressed. Guess which doesn't get accomplished!

Okay, but honestly, I actually have been incredibly productive. I've branched out and made 4 meals in the last week. Okay, not a lot for most super moms out there, but seriously, I have barely even cooked that many in my married life. And. I'm. Not. Even. Joking.

I have jumped at the chance to do dishes, clean the counters, clean the bathroom, create a little Mommy Zone room, clean our bedroom, daily straighten up the kids' room, get laundry finished AND PUT AWAY (hardest part), and even make our bed. I know?!

Just would like to put it out there though that if anyone wants to come and mop my floors, I haven't gotten around to that in a really long time. (I'll give a hug to whoever offers free of charge! Disclaimer: Tears of joy may also be included.)

If anyone would like to know where my shoesthatfillmefulloflife came from so they too can have success at home, you just let me know!

Another fashion atrocity

2010-10-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

Call me crazy, but I honestly don't get the point of these.

I could understand the use for them without the flip flops attached... keep your legs warm.

I could understand them without the sock... they're flip flops.

But when would you want to wear flip flops and long socks at the same time??

My favorite part about this is the name: The Tube Flop. Correct, a flop indeed.

Cakelicious Fundraising

2010-10-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come again... we are looking into our next adoption!!! WOO HOOOOOOO!!! Can't wait to find out who God has planned to join our family!

We decided that we would start our fundraising early this year so we don't run into the same problem we did last time. We are going to try to raise half of the funds before we apply... but knowing us, we'll probably get too excited and jump the gun on that one!

So with that being said, we are going to be selling Christmas gifts, decor, and CAKES!! All of the profits made on these items (yup, even Cakelicious), will be pooled in a fund specifically for our adoption. And don't forget that for the holidays, you can also give out gift certificates for Cakelicious if you know of anyone who might like a specialty cake!

Uhhh, my kids are scared of my shoes.

2010-10-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

So we have all seen the commercials for the isotoning shoes that look strangely like geriatric rubber-soled, velcro-strapped shoes.

The idea behind them makes sense... I get that. But really, is this the best that Sketchers could come up with?

C'mon... they're like Lugz, but not.

So then I found me some that I could live with.... And those are the Reebok EasyTones.

Thank you Reebok for shaping a normal looking shoe that also *cough* shapes me! BUT, this isn't exactly the shoe I ended up with. I was given the following shoes by someone who they didn't work for (I won't say who) that are STRICTLY for wearing around the house. Here is why:

Uhhhhh, yeah. I lifted up my pant leg and Grapenut gasped in surprise. It was a shocker for her; no high heels or pointed toes. My little one-year-old fashionista sighed in disgust and walked away from me.

BUT (no pun intended), the good thing is that they work because after wearing them all around the house yesterday doing chores, the scale was in my favor today!

The bummer (again, no pun intended) is how fast you have to be at ripping them off when someone rings the doorbell so they won't see you wearing them....

I've SPREAD out the choices for you to pick

2010-08-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, so I'm redoing our bedroom *ahem* finally. I've chosen the vastly popular color palette of black, grey, white, and YELLOW! Hello! Pops of color, you are my friend!

Normally not a fan of the stark brightness of yellow, but I'm going on a limb and shooting for an awesome array of patterns, projects, and curtains to spectacularly fill our room!

I've run head on into a jam(b) that I just can't get out of though. So I thought I'd lend a hand to the blogging community and see what you all think.

The first item up for potential purchase is the simple softness of gray and white. It doesn't tie in black very well, but there will be black throughout the room in various patterns. Does it look like this belongs in the room of a nearing 30 year old or that of a nearing 13 year old? JUST want to make sure....
And this one I LOVE!!!! BUT, I'm expecting late night sick kids, milk, crumbs, snot, etc. as a likely probability... so do you think I could keep this clean?? Can you bleach something if it has more than just white in it? (I am a leetle bit domestically challenged, so bear with me?!) But a pop of some yellow sheets and pillows would be quite spectacular!
And while I was perusing Target's website, I came across this one, which I kinda liked, but mostly didn't, but thought I could work with it, but kinda didn't want to.... ....
And while I was googling it, I came across this next one, which I TRULY LOVE THE BEST!!!

I felt like I was slapped upside the head when I read it's "Currently Unavailable". Nooooooooooo. The boldness of the not-too-intricate pattern draws me to it so much... so can anyone find me one like this or should I stick with option #2?HELP MEEEEE!! Or at least let me know your thoughts!

I must be famous, I've been featured

2010-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo, my picture cubes were featured on TipNut! Numero 7 on the list baby!

Thank you TipNut, I appreciate it!

Random Thoughts

2010-08-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

I never had a horrible pregnancy, but it did come with its ups and downs (the scale numbers and the deswelling of my ankles afterward, respectively). I have learned SO much in the last year, too bad a year's worth of sleep deprivation made me forget most of it....

One of the things I did learn though was about the overall experience of pregnancy. I'm not one to advocate strongly of my love for being pregnant (or the newborn infant stage), but I grew so much (emotionally, physically, and mentally) because of it. Having a sister-in-law in her last trimester has gotten me thinking again about all of the little quirks of having a life grow inside of you.

One of the greatest joys of my life was feeling Grapenut's little body moving all around inside of my belly. She'd kick her little feet and jam them as high into my ribs as they could go and as I'd gasp for breath, I'd push on her little bum to have her shift to a different position. And then I would race to the bathroom as she plunked her entire little self on my bladder.

It was an experience I will never forget. Giving birth was an experience as well; my stubborn little lady decided to make me push for 3 hours. Good night, I was so ready to just see her it was a shame I could hardly open my eyes afterward because they were nearly swollen shut.

But I really wouldn't have given up experiencing any of that! It is amazing that as soon as I became a parent, I had a new-found knowledge of who I was as a person. I have never been more confident of who I am or what I look like had I never been pregnant and experienced the life-changing event that occurred inside of me.

To those who ask me about getting pregnant again and you hear an earful about Adoption... never think it's not that I don't truly cherish the fact that God blessed me with the gift to grow Grapenut inside of me!
It is truly a miracle!

Sunday Grace

2010-06-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

31but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:28, 31

Easiest (and Cheapest) Craft EVER!!

2010-06-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Flippin' through da BHG (my new ultra-hip reference to Better Homes & Gardens) and saw a great idea... so I blew it up full scale to fit my needs.

I printed off 4 pictures of a mini photo shoot with my kids on their brand new adirondack chairs (LOVE me some adirondack chairs!) on 8.5 x 11 photo paper. Cut to match the size of 4 vases I already had... and voila!

My masterpiece!
And here's what it looks like on our entryway shelf.Here's the little flare of orange I decided to add for some sass... complete with bud vases and fake flowers (bought at Joann's).
If you can think of anything to do with the top shelf, I'd be MUCH obliged!

And I'll post my latest creation once my fingers heal from the hot glue gun burns....

Picture Cubes

2010-05-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so my creativity finally made a turn for the better. I was inspired when I saw some picture cubes online and thought I would make them for both my Mothers for Mother's Day. I did it of all the Grandchildren they had on Mother's Day 2010.

I'm basically what you'd call a copycat crafter. I have absolutely no original ideas to create anything, but rather, I garner all such creativity from blogs and crafting websites and steal their ideas. Lovely, huh?

Anyway, I'm not even sure where I saw these blocks but it was something like these ones from FaveCrafts. So I attempted to try my hand at what looked to be a super easy craft. It never is super easy for me, but I always believe it will be.

So, here's my step-by-step tutorial. Grab some coffee. Seriously. The tutorial is quite long, but the project will take awhile as well. Also, chocolate and snacks are quite advantageous, not to mention having 3 movies on hand.

Grab a 4x4 wood post and cut it into 4 inch blocks. Orrrrr, have your husband do it for you, like I did. Or easier yet, just go BUY SOME (highly encouraged!). Then utilize your Dad's tool shop and sand them down til they're as smooth as butter. Grab some spray paint and work your magic. When you're done, you'll end up with painted blocks. At this point, I had already invested about 1700 hours of time and was about to wrap these up as gifts as is. BUT, I prevailed in the end.

Next, grab some photos or print some out (my very limited working knowledge with mod podge does not entail a professionally printed picture so I printed mine out at home), I chose b/w because I just love me some b/w photos.
Cut them down so they will fit on the blocks and sand the edges with sandpaper. I liked the idea of rounded edges, especially because I sanded the blocks to have rounded corners.

Then go search through your supplies to find some tacky glue, and slap those pictures on, making sure the edges are all glued down well and not bubbling up.

Then haul out your Mod Podge and brush over every square inch. I always go vertically across everything, and then once the first layer dries, go over it again horizontally so it creates texture. It will dry clear, so don't worry about going too heavy with it.
When that all dries, take it outside to spray the finishing spray (makes the end product not sticky) and you have yourself some pretty little blocks.
Sassify them up a bit, throw in the card that you found online and ordered a week before Mother's Day (which, by the way, is UNHEARD of in this household to think that far ahead about a card), and give it away.
Ahhh, a success. Loved by both Mom's and a treat to supply their bookcases with new bookends.

It just seems like too much work to repeat for our own house.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know there are a ton of sentimental blogs being posted in honor of Mother's Day, but it's just too classic to pass up.

Plus I cried a lot about it yesterday with how blessed I feel so I thought I'd pass it along.

Last year on Mother's Day was kind of difficult. If I would have gone out, no one would have known I had a child born already in my heart and another country who was 5 months old waiting for me to hold him (and not to mention the bundle of joy growing inside my belly who would be arriving soon). It was kind of a bittersweet day for me last year. I was asked if I could technically celebrate Mother's Day and my response was "I am a mother, my son is born, I just can't hold him yet." I had some weird responses to that, but I felt so strongly that it just wasn't fair if I was told I couldn't celebrate. I looked at Queso's picture a lot that day and cried a lot missing a little boy I had yet to meet but already knew so well.

This year was a much more joyous occasion! Well, it was after I woke up from sleeping in. :) My husband made me breakfast in bed and our whole family of 4 sat on our bed as I opened up my gifts and card that they had all "signed". It was the perfect Mother's Day. We went out to eat at a restaurant and were even told by the waitress that our children were so well-behaved. We smiled to ourselves but didn't tell her that she just caught them at a REALLY good time. Usually I can't go anywhere with them without passing out earplugs to people and apologizing profusely for Queso's screeches and Grapenut's cries. Let's just say that I stay home a lot.

We went to Costco so I could have a Mother's Day mocha, did a little shopping, and went home. I spent about an hour figuring out how my new ipod worked and to upload my music to it without getting rid of the games that were already on it. I finished my m-in-law's gift while watching (through tears) The Blindside (one of my other gifts) and packed up to head over there for dinner.

Last year was an emotional, sentimental celebration, and this year was a much more joyous occasion. I got to hold both of my children, whom I love with all my heart, and am SO thankful to God every day for blessing me with both of them!

I may be a busy Mom who can't keep my act together, but I also feel luckier than anyone else for the life I've been granted!

My happy place

2010-05-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

So it's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I will mildly obsess over an item for a time before I get bored and move on. Mildly may mean something entirely different to me than it does to you.

But this is one item I don't think I will EVER get bored with.

When I plan my trips to Bellingham (when you have 2 kids, a 10 minute car ride consists of a "trip") let's just say I don't plan them around my kids' nap schedules but, rather, around the opening of Costco. Is that mean? When you consider that a $1.00 mocha is involved to account for all the hassle of packing in two kids, diaper bags, Mama's purse, coupons, doctor info, insurance info, stroller (just in case... which is a 1/2 hour task in and of itself), and myself fully dressed, then it's SO worth it!

It is my sanity.

It is my love.

It makes me smile.

It is the $1.00 mocha freeze.

No matter how cold it is, I'll usually end up with the freeze and not the hot mocha because I know that once I get to my destination, I'll be sweating and trying to catch my breath to hysterically "un-pack" the kids as I'm already 10 minutes late because of my mild diversion.

See, I can use "mild" in so many phrases, and it still helps me to unconsciously see this completely necessary activity as not obsessing. Because it is, a mild obsession. That's all.

Never mind the fact that I buy 4 freezes at a time because that's how many cupholders my car has.

And our Ode to Queso

2010-04-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

One of Queso's favorite games lately is peek-a-boo. He'll use pillows, burp rags, curtains, etc. And now hats, well actually "atz", have been added to the list.

Wheeeeeeeere's Queso?

THERE HE IS!!! :)

Mommy, this is serious... I just saw a bug. Or I just pooed. I'm not sure which.

Look at our little modelquin... posing so well. And do you like the shirt? "Aunty" Mimi made it to raise money for HER Ethiopian Adoption! (Help bring their little princess home and support an Adoption, all while sporting one of a variety of awesome color/pattern choices, go to her blog to see all that she's making!)

Such a ray of light gleaming through our little man's eyes ALL the time. Never seen a happier kid!

Ode to Grapenut

2010-04-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well here's my little Grapenut dressed in her Sunday best... literally. She's wearing her little Easter dress. Dust has been having a leetle too much fun with the camera lately.

Hmmmmm, flow-er.

See Dad, pretty flower.

Uhhh, nummy flower?

I give up on that flower thing, how about climbing the slide.... Yeah, I'm only 10 months old, still wearing 3 month clothing, climbing up a slide, and starting to walk, so what?!

Gotta love our overly active little lady!

Bumper cars

2010-04-07T10:23:00.000-07:00

Advertisers Beware

2010-02-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've become quite the analytical commercial watcher lately. Mainly because with the shows I watch, it seems as though I'm missing the mark a bit on their target audience. Denture paste, depends, and bifocals aren't exactly of any particular interest to me. But it's comforting to know that's who they think is watching the show... an 80 year old woman. Watch out world, here I come!

So on that note, here's to commercials that I love. (to mock.)

Is it wrong that our town has all 3 of the best things they listed?! We host the county fair, a couple parades, and our windmills inspire tourists to stop here. Wow, what a town?!

Too bad I've never heard of the band, care to hear them, or care about soaps. Whoopee, I'm SO not entering that contest (even though I know we have it in the bag).

Marriage Prerequisite

2010-02-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

(Insert a spoon, a baby bottle, and a plate and you have our dishwasher...never mind that ours is white and about 17.85 years older than this brand new one.)

One of the things I wish I had known before I had gotten married was how my husband-to-be loaded the dishwasher.

I kid you not.

I pride myself in being an ultimate packer so as not to leave any dishes remaining on the counter (well, when I actually make it into the kitchen). I put some in, take some out, rearrange, and spend entirely too much time figuring out the best dynamics so the dishes fit well, utilize the space, and will still get clean. Ooooo, it is a science I tell ya.

But when it's not me who does the dishes I'll find cups spaced out, maybe a bowl thrown in here and there, or a baby bottle laying around. No rhyme or reason to the degree of difficulty and time it should take to property load. I mean, C'MON!

What really grates my cheese is when I open the dishwasher and find that we basically just steam cleaned all of the little pegs inside, oh, and 3 dishes.

BUT, then again, the amount of times I actually do the dishes is so few and far between that I should just put those 3 clean spoons away and smile.

Oh, and if you buy your detergent from Costco, do NOT buy their "green" liquid ~~detergent~~. I scrubbed our dishes and they still ended up dirty after they came out of a cycle. Yikes. When I returned it and told the lady it didn't even polish them, she just laughed. Basically every bottle they sold was returned.

So moral of the story, I'll just continue my run of staying out of the kitchen (for cleaning AND cooking) and put a smile on my face as I take a knife to our granulated detergent that is now one large chunk (just so I can say I helped a little).

Yay for Bunco Parties!

2009-11-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law had a belated birthday party last week... and I selfishly thought it would be another great time to practice my cake decorating skills.

She decided on a karaoke theme... so I was going to make a big old microphone cake. Then it was changed to a bunco party. Way more colors to work with automatically equals way more fun!

The night before the party, I, being all Ace of Cakes-like, planned out my cake. I sketched it out and picked my colors. Then I made my cakes so I could freeze them overnight. And before I could go to bed, I double-checked my already prepared fondant to make sure I had enough. I had more than enough! It was now 12:45 am and I was tired. Blah.

On the morning of her party, I prepared my fondant details, shaped my cakes, and made my buttercream frosting. (Note to all non-bakers: confectioner's sugar is powdered sugar and NOT cane sugar... I learned that the hard way but didn't feel like making a new batch of frosting, so it was just a wee bit grainy.)

Here's me working ever so diligently on the cake. This was about an hour before it was time to deliver... I had a ways to go yet for the finished product!

And giving credit where credit is due, Dusty made all of the little balls surrounding the cake and made all of the black dots for me. Let's just say I didn't plan my day out as well as I could have and was running out of time (*big surprise in my life, right?!*). But here is the finished product. I found out afterward that my mother-in-law didn't even want anyone to eat it... but it's cake, ya just got to!

Bunco!

One of my favorite times of day

2009-11-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

Kids sleeping? Ahhhh, glorious free time! Not that I don't love being a SAHM and all, but free time is very welcome in our house! Seven o'clock is looked forward to for two reasons in this house:
1. Wheel of Fortune (I have a pathetically strong love for this game); and
2. Bed time!!

We have a great system in place for getting the kids in bed. They start out in separate rooms for ease and convenience of, well, basically just for us. After I feed Grapenut for the last time at night and we're sure she's well into a sleep cycle, I call Dust over and he picks her up and moves her to her crib. It is one of my favorite times of the day! She's so peaceful and serene, it's amazing such quietness comes from such a loud baby. It makes me fall in love with her all over again.

This was taken this summer when she was just a wee little baby, now she gets bundled up with warm pjs and 2 swaddling blankets to make SURE her arms don't get out (or she'll wake up and Mama don't like that).

Sunday Grace

2009-11-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!"

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the LORD returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.

Have you ever...

2009-11-06T09:02:00.000-08:00

... plastered the hair you lose in the shower onto the shower wall??

It really is a most selfless act of love. If I didn't, we would have clogged drains everyday. It is odd, though, that hair is only attractive when it's attached to your head (aside from the oh-so-pretty female 'staches, eyebrows that need a good plucking, and sideburns that make you shudder). Someone loses a hair and it's always extremely delicately lifted off of their shirt with two fingers who don't dare make contact with any other surface.

In my adoring devotion to my husband, I even leave it there for at least a day just to show him I'm thinking of him. Aren't I sweet?

And as a new mom, I have come to realize that I did not escape the beloved time period after having a baby that you lose a LOT of hair. Hello patches of skin, you are not pretty. I'm even starting to match Gabby (minus the mullet). People are now saying "Oh, she definitely looks like her Mom" when they're looking at the back of her head. That doesn't bode that well for me.

My hair is getting so thin, I can't even find a hair tie small enough. It's no wonder new moms cut their hair really short, if not there would be about 15 long hairs with some fuzz on top.

Okay, I am only slightly exaggerating here... but to put it in perspective I called Dust into the bathroom to show him how much hair I lost in one shower and he stopped dead in his tracks and screamed "It looks like a horror movie in here!"

But at least I'm saving us money on Drano, right?

Attachment in Adoption

2009-11-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

For a child who has been adopted into a family, it takes a bit of time before their attachment to the mother solidifies. Bonding happens quickly, but attachment takes time.

They say that if you double the amount of time (for a baby, it is different for older children) in less than ideal care (foster care, orphanage, etc.) then that is approximately the length of time it will take for your child to bond with the primary caregiver (usually the Mom)! So... we are 3 months into our attachment with Queso: some days I do really well, others are harder when Grapenut needs more attention. In the very beginning, we followed the advice of (many) others who had gone before us and limited interaction, holding, feeding, changing diapers, etc. to only Dust and me to really ingrain who his primary caregiver now is! It is hugely important to establish this at the getgo! Now, in the process of doing so, we had to hurt people's feelings... unintentionally of course, but it was in the best interest of our Queso so it had to be done. When you think about Queso being only 6 months old and already having 4 primary caregivers that were taken away from him, it could make ya cry! His sense of trust has not been established.

When you think about a typical newborn, they are placed immediately in the Mother's arms to smell her and feel her. That smell establishes so much in that little newborn, especially a sense of trust and love that will stick with them for the rest of their lives... that is their mother (their primary caregiver). So what happens when a child doesn't stay with their birth mom? Here's a story I found that (is quite long, and also) quite self-explanatory. So to give credit where credit is due, this was garnered off of a4everfamily.org (I'll be posting more from their site in the future).

Imagine for a moment…

You have met the person you've dreamed about all your life. He has every quality that you desire in a spouse. You plan for the wedding, enjoying every free moment with your fiancée. You love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. For the first time in your life, you understand what is meant by "soul mate," for this person understands you in a way that no one else does. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. Your emotions are intimately tied to his every joy, his every sorrow.

The wedding comes. It is a happy celebration, but the best part is that you are finally the wife of this wonderful man. You fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day's events, but relaxed and joyful in the knowledge that you are next to the person who loves you more than anyone in the world…the person who will be with you for the rest of your life.

The next morning you wake up, nestled in your partner's arms. You open your eyes and immediately look for his face.

But IT'S NOT HIM! You are in the arms of another man. You recoil in horror. Who is this man? Where is your beloved?

You ask questions of the new man, but it quickly becomes apparent that he doesn't understand you. You search every room in the house, calling and calling for your husband. The new guy follows you around, trying to hug you, pat you on the back,...even trying to stroke your arm, acting like everything is okay.

But you know that nothing is okay. Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? When? What has happened to him?

Weeks pass. You cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. Sometimes you ache silently, in shock over what has happened. The new guy tries to comfort you. You appreciate his attempts, but he doesn't speak your language-either verbally or emotionally. He doesn't seem to realize the terrible thing that has happened...that your sweetheart is gone.

You find it difficult to sleep. The new guy tries to comfort you at bedtime with soft words and gentle touches, but you avoid him, preferring to sleep alone, away from him and any intimate words or contact.

Months later, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust this new guy. He's finally learned that you like your coffee black, not doctored up with cream and sugar. Although you still don't understand his bedtime songs, you like the lilt of his voice and take some comfort in it.

More time passes. One morning, you wake up to find a full suitcase sitting next to the front door. You try to ask him about it, but he just takes you by the hand and leads you to the car. You drive and drive and drive. Nothing is familiar. Where are you? Where is he taking you?

You pull up to a large building. He leads you to an elevator and up to a room filled with people. Many are crying. Some are ecstatic with joy. You are confused. And worried.

The man leads you over to the corner. Another man opens his arms and sweeps you up in an embrace. He rubs your back and kisses your cheeks, obviously thrilled to see you.

You are anything but thrilled to see him. Who in the world is he? Where is your beloved? You reach for the man who brought you, but he just smiles (although he seems to be tearing up, which concerns you), pats you on the back, and puts your hand in the hands of the new guy. The new guy picks up your suitcase and leads you to the door. The familiar face starts openly crying, waving and waving as the elevator doors close on you and the new guy.

The new guy drives you to an airport and you follow him, not knowing what else to do. Sometimes you cry, but then the new guy tries to make you smile, so you grin back, wanting to "get along." You board a plane. The flight is long. You sleep a lot, wanting to mentally escape from the situation.

Hours later, the plane touches down. The new guy is very excited and leads you into the airport where dozens of people are there to greet you. Light bulbs flash as your photo is taken again and again. The new guy takes you to another guy who hugs you. Who is this one? You smile at him. Then you are taken to another man who pats your back and kisses your cheek. Then yet another fellow gives you a big hug and messes your hair.

Finally, someone (which guy is this?) pulls you into his arms with the biggest hug you've ever had. He kisses you all over your cheeks and croons to you in some language you've never heard before.

He leads you to a car and drives you to another location. Everything here looks different. The climate is not what you're used to. The smells are strange. Nothing tastes familiar, except for the black coffee. You wonder if someone told him that you like your coffee black.

You find it nearly impossible to sleep. Sometimes you lie in bed for hours, staring into the blackness, furious with your husband for leaving you, yet aching from the loss. The new guy checks on you. He seems concerned and tries to comfort you with soft words and a mug of warm milk. You turn away, pretending to go to asleep.

People come to the house. You can feel the anxiety start to bubble over as you look into the faces of all the new people. You tightly grasp the new guy's hand. He pulls you closer. People smile and nudge one other, marveling at how quickly you've fallen in love. Strangers reach for you, wanting to be a part of the happiness.

Each time a man hugs you, you wonder if he will be the one to take you away. Just in case, you keep your suitcase packed and ready. Although the man at this house is nice and you're hanging on for dear life, you've learned from experience that men come and go, so you just wait in expectation for the next one to come along.

Each morning, the new guy hands you a cup of coffee and looks at you expectantly. A couple of times the pain and anger for your husband is so great that you lash out, sending hot coffee across the room, causing the new guy to yelp in pain. He just looks at you, bewildered. But most of the time you calmly take the cup. You give him a smile. And wait. And wait. And wait.

This makes me cry every time I read it, but I think that attachment is such a huge issue in adoption that not everyone knows about or thinks twice about.

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-11-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

The ZZ

2009-11-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Introducing the newest member of our family ... (insert drum roll) ... the ZanY zEBrA!!!

Oh yeah. Outfit extraordinaire. What else can ya say about this crazy fun outfit except that once again you can tell his Mama bought it the night before Halloween and really didn't have any choices for an infant outfit (0-6 months and he "fits"!). Hmmmm. Grapenut looks a little scared.

We visited my parents who were babysitting for my sister, so here's one of her chillins, Emmy, with our 2. There will be lots of pics of these 3 in the future as they are all the same age (currently under 1 yo). :) This picture just cracks me up. Grapenut's sleeves are clearly too short and we couldn't even pull the hood up all the way and Queso had the entire lower half of his legs showing (having "hooves" on his knees really confused people); and then Emmy is sitting all cute and purdy over there like a normal baby with a normal Mama.

Here's Queso, Grapenut, and their friend, Ace.

My son is SO smart, he was making zebra noises. Only 10 months, and already a genius!

My little Mouseketeer

2009-11-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

So what do you get when you traipse to Wal-Mart at 10:30 on the night before Halloween to pick up a costume for your little ones because you waited just a wee bit too long? You get a 4-month old squeezed into a newborn mouse outfit. Yeahhhh, just give me an award for planning that one out in advance!

But our little Grapenut looks just darlin', right?Tomorrow I'll show ya what Queso ended up in... it's even better!

Wordless Wednesdays

2009-10-28T12:27:00.001-07:00

Such a handsome little man

2009-10-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

I just love my little guy so much! He has a smile (and laugh) that makes everyone smile! Even the mail lady. She never actually stopped by, I just know she would smile.

We started him going on solids awhile ago and he just LOVES him some food. I don't think he's refused any food we've offered him. This may not be a good sign for the future....

We always fed him in the bumbo because we didn't have a high chair yet. And rather than taking a shower after every feeding, we decided to buy one. My skin was getting dry.

He had a mild tendency to flail his arms about right after he grabbed his slightly regurgitated food from his mouth. Lovely. It's a wonder why half the time I never get ready for the day. Those are the days when my shirts get stained and my makeup gets scrubbed off my face by little people slobbered-on paws.

So now we ~~trap~~ place his arms down below the tray.
Look how clean he is! We had to spend the money to buy the high chair, but are saving even more on soap....

Structurizing

2009-10-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, so from now on, I'm going to try to structure my life a bit... as well as the blog. We'll see how well this pans out. I, for one, am not holding out much hope.

"Sunday Grace" - I'll include a quote or Bible verse that is great to reflect on.

Grapenut Mondays - I'll try to write about Grapenut.

Queso Tuesdays - I'll write about Queso.

"Wordless Wednesdays" - self-explanatory. But I'll explain anyway; there won't be any words. :) Get it? I'll post a lovely picture that I think words just can't describe.

"Thoughtful Thursdays" - I'll drag you a bit deeper into my life and discuss more serious issues (mostly relating to adoption). There's quite a bit of confusion out there relating to attachment in adoptions, as well as many other adoption issues and comments that it would be nice to inform others of just so you know what the life of an adoptive Mom entails and what the adoption process is like.

And Fridays I think will be my whatever days. And don't ask about Saturdays, I just don't know if I'll be able to sit down at a computer on a Saturday. Of course, I'll probably throw in extra posts about my random musings... because I figured everyone would miss that!

With planning comes a bit more planning. So we'll see if I can handle it. I am also going to make an effort at planning out my days better. I just got to the point that I actually feel awake during the day (novel concept, I know). I can't wait... because also included in this planning phase in my life is planning time for devotions, working out, and eating healthy! With 2 babies I haven't exactly prioritized the rest of the important things in my life, and it's time to get that back!

You know, like, making myself useful during naptime instead of writing blog posts all afternoon....

Oh Baby Girl!!!

2009-10-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Our whole family was at home together last week just enjoying our night. Grapenut was content in her little buzzie chair UNTIL she just started to wail. We both stopped what we were doing to go pick up our little one, and my oh my.

These are the times when you want to gag as you tear their clothes off in the shower, while ALSO being careful not to get any on their face and as little as possible on your own hands. Oh how nasty for her! And here she is giggling cause it's funny to see Mommy move that fast.
Thank goodness I know how to get those stains out!

Sunday Grace

2009-10-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

"He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord."

-Isaiah 26:3

Cakelicious

2009-10-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like cake, right (other than Dusty.) Two of my favorite shows on tv right now are Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. The designs are incredible! So I'll give it a try. I figure I've got to be as good as them with absolutely no experience.

I started by making my cake from scratch.

Whoops, you were supposed to see this pic....
Making a mess while getting the fondant "just right".
Mmmmmm, buttercream icing. Oh yeah, it's actually a necessity. Think I'm lying? Try to make fondant stick to a cake then! I love it when you NEED to add more sugar!
And then I dyed the fondant and rolled it out. Obviously I couldn't visualize the size I would actually need. Hmmmmm. Which do you think I am, right brain or left brain??And then there's the icing cake skills I incorporated. I used a tip and brown buttercream icing to make the sand.

(Insert boisterous drum roll.) Here's the cake! And just to try to really impress you with how much time this took... you actually have to dye and roll out tons of fondant when making a colorful cake. When you have to google a color wheel so you can figure out how to make the color purple may explain why I failed art class. We'll just say my kids were a little neglected the whole day (good thing Dust came home early that day)!
Success! Other than the fact that I'm saying happy birthday to someone who apparently only has one foot... we just won't talk about that missing flip flop.And we also won't mention that I just made a beach themed birthday cake in October....

It's a Cleaning Day...

2009-10-23T11:12:00.001-07:00

It is definitely time to spring clean my house. YES, I realize it's October. So what am I doing? Blogging. Ahhhh, sweet relief!

My kids are pretending to nap right now so it's the perfect time to get the dishes put away, start the laundry, mop the floors, clean the bathroom, and feed the dog. But oh how difficult it is to get motivated to do all that. I do have a friend coming over this afternoon and you would *think* that would be enough to get me going for the day. But no. Not a chance.

And here's a warning for all crafters out there of what never to do. NEVER tell your husband, "Okay sweetie, I'm not going to start any more crafts until I clean the house and organize our office." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I cannot believe I said that to him. And again, you would think that would be motivation enough, but again, a flat out no.

But thank goodness I said I wouldn't START any new projects, so at least I can occupy my cleaning time with crafts that I still haven't finished. Phew!

Quality, er QUANTITY, Tissue Paper

2009-09-23T20:07:00.001-07:00

Some of the many benefits to the infamous baby shower are the gifts that keep on giving. Which, when roughly translated, directly refers to the gift bags and tissue paper that the expectant Mom is now blessed beyond belief with and the shock at the extra storage units she'll have to rent just to house the future wrapping supplies!

We were blessed with many showers (granted we had 2 kids on the way so it kind of invokes a lot of gifts), and man did we have a LOT of tissue paper (which we'll call "TP" for short). :)

Now when it comes to my household role, I am world's better at organizing than cleaning (or cooking for that matter), so I decided it was time to tackle the mess of gift supplies that had been stockpiled in our office. And when I organize, I love going by color, and then print, and then size. Ahhhh. And please note that there are different magnitudes of greatness when it comes to TP. Some are so flimsy you could see through. Others are like 20 lb printing paper. Ooooo, and some are metallic, those just make me smile.

But I digress....

I thought I'd post a picture to prove the sad lengths I go to when I get struck by the organizing bug.

And YES, I actually folded every single piece of TP. Why? Because I could.

It took way longer than it should have, but at least I was getting it done. Projects of this magnitude are clearly only accomplished when the hubby is at home for the day. PHEW! Sheesh, I even got out of my pjs, put makeup on, did my hair, AND brushed my teeth, and all before 8 in the morning!! I LOVE it when he's at home for the morning!

But I digress again, common fact with me, I know....

I won't say how long it actually took me to complete, but here is proof that I actually did spend my morning organizing TP.

It may not look all that impressive, but today the colors of the rainbow speak louder than my words of self-affirmation....

Fashionista

2009-09-10T16:59:00.000-07:00

Style maven I am not.

Makeup artist... ha!

Hairstylist, not a chance.

One of my favorite shows on tv? What Not to Wear. Go figure.

Dusty and I are heading out tonight with friends for a nice steak dinner, so I'm trying a bit to dress the part of a woman and not a sahm-who-loves-her-sweats-and-her-hair-pulled-back.

It may just be a little more appropriate to wear makeup instead of scoff at it whilst I walk past holding one of my beautiful crying babies. BUT, this is what happened the other day as I attempted this great feat.

Today however is a COMPLETELY different story, I was a tad bit more successful. Instead of spilling my makeup all over the bathroom sink, I decided to apply it to my face instead. And on I go with nothing going too wrong and I decide I'll try to do the smoky eye look. Have I ever done it before, nope. Was I going to exhibit my stubborn behavior and try it, yup!

And now Dust is going out to dinner with a WOMAN who now looks like she has 2 black eyes. Cheers!

Our Adoption Story

2009-09-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, warning that this is a bit long. It was written back on May 29 when I just had to get everything out in writing! :) Enjoy!

It all started since before I can remember; it being, of course, the desire to adopt. Before my husband and I were married, the love and passion held for adoption had started already… in both of us.
Once we were married and settled, the thoughts of growing our family began to take root. Dust wanted to try naturally first and to adopt next but I was adamant (okaaaaay, stubborn) about wanting to adopt first. The reason being that I wanted our adopted children (we are DEFINITELY assuming this is not just a one-time thing) to know that they were chosen; it wasn’t an option because we couldn’t have kids naturally. I really didn’t want adoption to be a second choice for the growing of our family or maybe just that I wanted to show that adoption really doesn’t have to be seen as a backup, basically that you don't just have to adopt because you can’t have your children naturally. (That being said, of course I completely understand why parents do turn to adoption in those situations, but this is our story of how we came to adopt and the reasons leading to it. One of the reasons why I actually love adoptions so much is because I feel such pain for parents who want so badly to have kids and can’t naturally… and then realize that all of that love is just as prevalent when they choose to adopt!)

We entered our third year of marriage and I had baby on the brain for about 6 months when we were presented with a business opportunity that would allow me to stay-at-home (or at least work part-time) with kids. As that had always been a holdup for us starting our family in the past, we started talking seriously about expanding our duo. One day Dust said to me, “Why don’t we just try for both (adoption and natural) and hope for 'twins'?!” That sounded like the best idea ever to me as I have always wanted twins.

So we started the process for both in the summer of 2008. We got pregnant the month after we sent our first application in to our agency! It was a blessing beyond belief that I did not have a terribly difficult first trimester as I had about a bajillion paper chases to tackle with the adoption.

The process of adoption is a strange one that a person cannot understand unless they have actually been through it. It is much the same as how the hormones affect a pregnant woman. You have your ups and downs, your in-betweens, your days where you feel like weeping, and your days you feel ecstatic. On the days I was low, I was encouraged by a positive pregnancy note. On the days I was feeling low with the pregnancy, I was encouraged with progress of the adoption. It has been a great way to pass the time and also a stress reliever to have each to look forward to. In fact, I find that adoptive parents react much the same as pregnant woman to questions and situations. One of the most common pregnancy complaints it seems I hear is “I hate it when people touch my belly, especially strangers.” And that just makes me laugh. It’s all your attitude (and lack of hormonal spikes) that get you through the awkward situations like that. With adoption, there are quite a few ignorant people out there, and to no fault of their own (obviously throwing the benefit of the doubt out there), they ask some pretty inane questions that can either be taken as extremely rude or the potential to educate people on adoption. The responses and fluctuations in emotions that the adoptive parents retaliate with are much the same as the pregnancy-induced, shall we say, passion.

I read on a fellow adoptive parent’s blog this quote:
“Adoption is totally different than pregnancy because you feel for this baby who is already here, that you cannot hold or comfort. The strain when your child is already there somewhere, is so different. It's a mom thing that is anxiety and trust in a way like you've never experienced. I am so thankful for that time of waiting because I feel like I understood far earlier that God is 'loaning' my kids to me from him and that he is in control, not me.”
I love the fact that we are not bearers and creators of our children, but rather are the people chosen by our Heavenly Father to watch over, to guide, protect, and raise our children in a way that is holy and pleasing to Him! I absolutely love that, especially because, for us, going through both types of situations really does grant us the awareness that both our children are “loaned” to us. We were assigned by God to raise them, whether or not they came directly from our genes.

We found out in February that we were having a girl and couldn’t believe that we would be having a boy and a girl (we had requested a baby boy from our agency)! In March, we were given our referral (this is the point at which we are matched with our child: our very first picture of him, medical history, and any information that the agency has will be sent to you to decide if you “accept” your referral) of our little Melkiso. He was born on January 19(ish), 2009, in the Shashemene region of Ethiopia and was brought into care at our agency’s orphanage when he was about a week old. We took all of about a minute to respond and “accept” our referral!

March 19 was one of the most exciting days I have ever experienced, as well as quite an emotional one. We were informed at our last doctor visit that our prior ultrasound revealed that Baby Girl’s umbilical cord was not attached properly to the placenta and that we needed to go back in for another ultrasound to see how she was doing. That ultrasound was on March 19, and we found out that she weighed more than average and that it did not look as though the cord would present any problems. What a relief! We went and celebrated with a Costco mocha (I love those $1.00 treats)!
Then we headed home, I was exhausted after working myself into a sweat over the potential issue with Baby Girl and sat down at the computer to look at any emails that had come in. I saw that we had received an email from someone from our agency, and I got a wee bit excited and called Dusty over. Okay, I yelled at him to get over here because of the “E-MAIL FROM OUR AGENCY!!!!” Now, keep in mind, we had been expecting our referral any day, and I had been checking my phone methodically every 5 minutes, orrrrrrr every minute just waiting for that call. So we opened the email together and read about our little boy. We received two pictures of him, one at a week old and one at one month old. And that’s when the tears started flowing! I could not believe I was staring into the precious face of my little child. The feelings that flow through you at such a time are indescribable. I haven’t experienced birthing a child yet, so I don’t know the emotions that are associated with that, but wow, I just was in shock. Dust kept smiling at me because I could NOT stop crying! Even now, as I’m writing this, the tears are just flowing thinking back to that special day when I saw my son for the first time! What a blessing to see pictures of both of your children on the same day, even when you can’t hold either of them.

After I somewhat had gotten a hold of my emotions, somewhat being a very vague description of sniffling, snuffling, sobbing (still), and wiping tears away, Dust proceeded to tell me that our agency had first called him to let him know about our referral that morning. He didn’t want me to know about the phone call because he wanted me to see his picture first and not anticipate the email. I’m not one for surprises, but that was the best surprise ever!

Going through these last couple of months has been trying in that I know who my child is, where he’s at, and that he’s not with me. We were told by a traveling family that he cries when he’s hungry… which makes me cry because I can’t be the one to feed him. I will have missed out on 6 months of his life (Lord-willing that is all, as you really never know timeframes with international adoptions).
Back in December (I think), Dust and I had started the discussion of names: ones we liked, potentials, ones we didn’t like, etc. Now, as easy of a task as this is for some people, we were really not agreeing on anything—but we had time to figure it out! We knew for sure we would be naming one boy (at this point we still didn’t know the gender of the baby in my belly), so I was rattling off names I liked and happened to say the name “Isaiah”. Dust perked up and said, “I really like that name.” So I said, “Is that it?!?! Is that the name of our son?????” It maaaaay have been high pitched enough to cause Jericho (our dog) some hearing loss…. And we just smiled and knew. And of course, more tears (it comes to be expected with me in any situation). Isaiah means “Salvation of God” or “Yahweh is salvation” and how true that is! We had actually named a child of God, the child that God was going to loan to us! (And by the way, we are completely stuck on naming our Baby Girl still; down to 5, but we each have a separate top 2 and the one we're now leaning toward didn't even make our top 5… go figure.)

The point we are currently at in our adoption is rightly deemed the worst waiting of your life. It is the time when you know who your child is and you just have to wait for the process to happen until you can go and pick your child up and hold him forever! We are in the middle of this stage. We have our Ethiopian court date on June 8 and if we pass, then travel is approximately 6 weeks later to go pick up our son and take him to the visa appointment. June 8 will be a VERY nervewracking day around our house because it is the day that when we pass... Isaiah will officially be our son! And that means I can finally post pictures of him! The Ethiopian government is very nervous about child trafficking and any internet pictures of waiting children and they have actually taken referrals away from families who have posted pictures prematurely (how sad!!).

Governments in foreign countries work differently than in the United States (obviously) and on a schedule that is all their own. The courts in Ethiopia actually shut down during their rainy season (which ends up being about a 6 week period of closures starting around August). There are many reasons why a family may not pass court on their first try, and we ask for prayer that we’ll make it through on the 8th: one of the reasons being as simple as lack of electricity so no cases are even heard; another that a government issued letter (that has to be in the file to pass) has not been submitted timely; or even that a Judge decides just to not show up that day. There are many things that could go wrong, and they’re all out of our hands. Just as in pregnancy I cannot imagine how one could not believe in an Almighty God who created us so intricately, I also cannot imagine the lack of belief in God when you need the trust and peace knowing you are going through an adoption with God guiding you through!

Once we pass court, Isaiah Melkiso is officially our child! And then we just get to go pick him up. Since this date will likely be around the end of July and Baby Girl is due nearly exactly one month earlier (June 20), we are planning on Dusty heading over there to pick him up. We decided there is no way I would like to leave our newborn that early (it’d make it REALLY difficult to breastfeed her), and also that it’s probably not safe to give her shots, OR to take her to a foreign country that early on, and of course, not to mention, the complete utter exhaustion from traveling for so long… so it may be best if I stay home with Baby Girl while Dust picks him up and takes him home to Mama!

We are currently (over-anxiously) awaiting the arrival of both of our children. We have been told we’re crazy for inviting the chaos to come, but know that it was all part of God’s plan for our lives and that we’ll be able to handle it all (maybe not graciously at times, but we’ll handle it nonetheless). We have been blessed beyond belief in our adoption and pregnancy and are so grateful that God is choosing to grant us virtual twins to raise (they will end up being about 5 months apart)!

The Lord has led us both in separate ways to adoption and I am so glad He did, I feel we were let in on a secret understanding of just a little bit how God feels about us as His adopted children!

After we have both of our kids home I have my work cut out for me… not only in the raising of our new children, but also in convincing Dust that 3 natural and 3 adopted children may be just a bit too much to think about! :) At least for now… we’ll have to wait and see how big our family will get, you can’t ever put a limit on God, especially if He calls you to it!

Coffee in Hand

2009-09-02T14:05:00.001-07:00

Since the kids have come... okay fine, since I was pregnant, I have had an overzealous love for tv during the day. It helps that I had a hard time walking around... need I remind you of the gigantic size of my ankles?? After 4 years of marriage, I had finally convinced Dusty to get cable by letting him know I felt it would help Grapenut grow strong and well inside me. Hoorah! But I digress.

One of my new tv pet peeves are the actors who carry around coffee. When I get a nice, hot cup of joe, my first inclination is to grab it with both hands and hunch my shoulders a bit while I inhale a sniff of it and test the hotness. And then I'll carefully set it down because I ALWAYS spill when I walk with coffee. But those actors just flail that cup around like it's nobody's business. They'll see their friend and basically wave with the cup, or they'll be holding it with only 2 fingers while it's tipped almost halfway over. Riiiiiiight.

Or the best is when there's a tray full of coffee... need I say more?

It surprises me that the producers and directors don't notice the simplicity of how much this bugs me. Maybe I should write to them and give them a hint, put piping hot coffee in there so the actors will REALLY learn how to treat that precious cup of wonderful goodness, or just put water in so they'll at least hold it like it's full.

Insurance Blunders

2009-08-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

The ads on tv have sure got me thinking lately (scary thought, I know). BUT, with all of the insurance commercials out there, I've come up with my strategy for budgeting this next year.

We currently have insurance through State Farm (whom I like quite well by the way). However, those Geico commercials have nearly convinced me that I could have a wad of moolah with eyeballs on it and a good beat going if I switch to them. I'm going to guestimate it's about 3 hundy in that stack of bills. So already, I have 300 in my wallet in savings from insurance.

And THEN, I'll switch over to Allstate, because they promise an average savings of, and I quote, $473 a year when switching from Geico to Allstate. Uh-huh!

So basically they're gonna pay me to carry my insurance. Suh-weet!

That will do wonders for our budget... can you say hello to my new shopping spree?

Test your eyes

2009-08-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

So, back when our family thought we only had one child on the way, Dusty and I had decided to tell our family in a unique way that we were also "expecting" another child. So we went out and bought two cabbage patch dolls. One was of the darker skin tone (we'll call it "Brownie"), and the other was of a much lighter tone (we'll call it "Past(r)y").

We put them both in our new double jogging stroller (my Christmas present!!) and strolled merrily into my sister's house and had fun watching the expressions on their faces when they figured out our surprise!

And now, we're still rolling in the laughter with Brownie and Past(r)y. I'd like to self-title this "Which ones are real??"
Maybe Grapenut got confused too, she looks a little scared!

My two front teeth

2009-08-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

I had a playdate last week (with my sister and our friend, Maria) and was running, literally running, around the house trying to organize, pack, dress the kids, change their diapers, redress them, feed them, redress them, dress myself, and pack stuff up for some errands I needed to run all to make it there at 10... I barely made it on time at 11:30. Whoops.

When I was driving over to her place (after double checking that, yes, I did have BOTH kids in the car, phew!), I licked my teeth. And was met with fuzz. Oh MAN! I hate it when I forget to brush my teeth in the morning. You would think no one would forget that, but once you have a 7 month old and a 2 month old, life's normalities become novelties! Buuuuuut, at least it was 11 in the morning... if you get my drift.

I think the worst part about the whole yellow situation was that I was meeting two DENTIST'S WIVES!!!! Yikes.

Hello, Trident!

BEFORE and After

2009-08-11T10:35:00.001-07:00

Well, it was extremely clear to me that I had retained a wee bit o water during my pregnancy. I'd like to say that ALL of my weight gain was solely water. No? Can't say that? Shoot! Well, let me try to justify then.

To further substantiate my claim to edema, I submit the following into evidence. Exhibit A is a picture of my feet during pregnancy. Oh, sorry, I mean my ginormous CANKLES!

And just so I can thoroughly prove my point, say hello to another flattering angle....

And now you know why: (a) I did NOT wear shorts; and (b) I didn't walk to induce labor. Cause I couldn't. So really, if thought about long enough, one might conclude that the amount of water retention combined with the doctor's order to stay laying down with my feet up could, I repeat COULD(!!!) have been the catalyst in the volume of extra pounds that were so lovingly packed onto my hips and therefore my friends, I can logically blame it all on the water retention. Oh I am so the daughter of a lawyer....

And now to further prove my point; I took a picture of my feet now. Hello ANKLES, welcome home!

I honestly didn't know if I would EVER see them again! And if you look closely enough, you can even see some veins.
Did you know that there are bones in your foot? I have just been reminded!

Names for children

2009-08-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, since both of our kids are already named (phew!), I was actually leaning toward giving them nicknames. I love reading blogs when they use cute, little nicknames for their kids.

I tuned into my most creative side and came up with absolutely nothing. And since I must be THAT pathetically uncreative, I asked Dust what I should call them. Other than cute as a button of course....

So without further ado... I introduce Queso. As strange as that sounds, it was between that, Milky, or Chocolate Milk. We like food here peoples! For the record, it does sort of make sense... at least to us, and really that's what counts. Isaiah's given name in Ethiopia (and also his first middle name) is Melkiso, and since that sorta sounds like queso, we went with it. Maybe a BIT of a stretch, but you'll just have to deal with it.

And as for our little Gaberlicious, she'll now be known as Grapenut. AGAIN, we. like. food. Okay?! (Do you think she knew in this picture that she was going to start losing her hair on the sides and was trying to protect it orrrrr is that what made it disappear? It remains a mystery.)

And since I couldn't pass up this picture (taken at the same time as the first pic), I thought I'd share what will probably grace our walls someday soon. I say probably because the likelihood that I think ahead enough to send this to the printer is HIGHLY unlikely. But we'll see.

Good thing I didn't show you a recent picture of them holding hands, because Queso could probably slice her right open with how freakishly long his fingernails are. Yee-ouch! I keep putting it on my to-do list everyday but it just never seems to get done... that and the dishes.

What not to forget

2009-08-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

I realized I may be the most disorganized diaper bag packer ever. Maybe I'll actually type out a list of items needed, laminate it, and firmly affix one to each diaper bag.

Every time I leave with the kiddos I manage to forget at least 5 things. That's quite a bit when I'm only out of the house for 2 hours max.

On Monday we packed the kids in to go to Daddy's soccer game. I was all excited to use our new stroller while drinking my Costco mocha... trying to feel like a chic mama. And we get there as the sun is starting to descend. Which means no more sun. And no more warmth. And for a baby in a onesie and a baby in a dress... it may be just a WEE bit cold out. So off to the diaper bags to look for their warm clothes. Uhhhhh. Lil Lady only has another summer dress (cause I think ahead and all) and a couple more short-sleeved onesies. Mr. Ladies' Man has only a couple short-sleeved onesies.

I mutter under my breath that I should have remembered zip up hoodies. Well, it would help if they OWNED zip up hoodies. And pants, huh? Yeah, needless to say I'm a leetle bit scatterbrained.

So what's a Mama to do? Borrow a t-shirt from a fellow fan and have them wrap Lil Lady in it while I affix a onesie to each ARM of our Ladies' Man. Say what you will, but THEY. WERE. WARM. OKAY?!?!?!?

I'll probably get my act together when they're old enough to walk.

School has begun

2009-08-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

School started about 6 weeks ago when this little one entered our world at 6 lbs, 15 oz on June 25. We'll call her Lil Lady. And she LOVES to sleep like this (but her mean Mama makes her sleep swaddled so she sleeps longer).

Then 2 weeks ago our 6-month old lovely ladies' man entered our world on July 19 at 13 pounds. This is my first car ride with him... he smiles a lot!

Well, 2 kids and counting... literally counting: (1) down the hours of the day til nap time; (2) the number of minutes they are both happy and content; (3) the number of times I feed them each during the day... you get the picture.

I'm also learning other things as well:
-how to b-feed and bottle feed both babies at once
-how to pick up 2 screaming chill'ins and bounce on the side of the bed to calm them and in front of the fan to dry my own tears (only slightly joking with that one)
-how to eat every time I have even ONE spare minute and how there is absolutely no time to "prepare" any meal
-how people shouldn't complain about being busy when they only have one child
-what white noise is and that it is now my BEST friend because the kids don't wake each other up in the middle of the night!!!
-how I was completely excited to dress them up all cute but when it comes right down to it, the hour and a half I spent preparing to leave the house leaves cute outfits as an afterthought once we're already halfway to our destination
-how much a 6-month old can spit up
-how I constantly imagine hearing them crying in the other room when they're deep in their REM sleep
-how great it is that I can finally set down our 1-month old because she is now entertained with our 6-month old... phew my arms get a break!

Oh, and of course the complete and utter lack of patience I found I have after 10 full minutes of screaming... nothing like a child to make you stop and listen to yourself, well, when your eardrums start working again.

But overall, you'd think I'd be losing it at this point, it has gotten WORLDS better and is going quite well with both of them. They're already becoming friends, I can just tell... only soon to be enemies once they learn the word "mine".

But weirdest of all is that with all that's going on as a busy mother of two, I only NOW feel the desire to blog again... hmmm.

My daily treasure hunt

2009-03-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

Gold? Money? Oh no, that's right, I'm just searching for my ankles.

Yeah, since about day 2 of being pregnant, my legs have lovingly inflamed to about twice their normal size... really, it's lovely! I even wear the pregnancy socks that are designed to improve circulation but do they work??? Nope.

My big mistake was when I headed to Olive Garden and decided to get the soup, I just LOVE their soup, especially the pasta e fagiole. Mmmmm, delicious! However, it apparently packs enough sodium to feel your legs full of water for 4 days straight and I'm Not. Even. Kidding. It's quite the feeling to gain 4 pounds in one day lemme tell you....

Let's just see if we can pull the sodium through to day 5. I was really hoping to impress my doctor tomorrow with the good news that I had eaten healthy all month and hadn't gained any weight, but oh how my legs (aaaaaand the scale) will tell a different story. Boo.

Well I'm off to bed now only to wake up in search of my cankles, er, I mean ankles.

Is it a ???

2009-02-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well today is the day we find out if we're having a boy or a girl. :) Our appointment is at 3, so what am I doing to bide my time?? I'm blogging about it and searching for ideas on how to tell the family. Still haven't decided yet, so we'll see.

It is no surprise to most of you that I share a lot, probably a lot more than most people, and probably a lot more than I should... however, that still doesn't stop me! I am not big on surprises (although I love to give them) so we're finding out the gender of our little squirt and then we'll share that news with the world!!!! Being that we already know we have a little baby boy on the way (through the adoption), it's really my excuse to find out so that I can plan. However, since I'm not much of a planner, an excuse is really what it is! :)

We are taking Dust's little sister (12 yo) out of school early and taking her with. We thought it would be a great chance for her to actually see an ultrasound and to be a special part of our pregnancy; especially since she may be the most excited about it!

I can't wait!

Have you ever...

2009-02-04T15:09:00.001-08:00

... heard of a baby prison?? Now, for some reason, it seems morally wrong to me to place a child in a prison.

Just my random thought for the day, but wouldn't there be more "takers" on this item if it were, perhaps, called a PLAYPEN????

My weight is talking back to me

2009-02-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

So I was looking through one of those magazines where you can buy just about anything, and saw a talking scale.

It will actually speak your weight out loud! Who would subject themselves to that? Regardless of what you weigh, it would still be embarrassing for anyone to overhear that.

Imagine you're at a friend's house, you see a scale and think, "Hmmm, I'll just see what I weigh today" and they all hear that dreaded number from the other room.

Youch!

At least it doesn't scream it or broadcast it from a megaphone or anything....

Surprise

2009-02-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Well, tonight Dust comes home from his mission trip in Haiti and I can't wait to see him! Last night I basically tortured myself by choosing to watch romance movies. Why, when you've been without your man for a week, do ya turn to sappy chic flicks?

Well, self-induced affliction or not, I really started to miss him. He used to be gone all the time when we first got married for paintball. One of the things I would do while he was gone was a fixer-up project on the house to surprise him when he came home.

And although I told him I'd clean the whole house by the time he got home... it seems as though the couch won out on that battle. So instead, I decided to dye my hair! Fair enough, I say.

I walked into work (on my day off) and zipped off to the kitchen to drop off my purse and our receptionist spun around wondering who just walked past her. Well, turns out they both thought I was my sister. :)

But... now I fit back into my family, I am once again a brunette! The blondish hair didn't last as long as I thought... my 4 inch roots made an appearance way too quickly and needed to be taken care of!

Whipped Cream

2009-01-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Mmmm. One of the best things about drip coffee at home is the additions. Creamer is a must, but whipped cream is just as important.

I was at the grocery store yesterday with my own sophie's choice. There was a buy one get one free deal for LIGHT whipped cream, or the fully pack-it-on normal whipped cream with no discounted price. What a dilemma. And what did I choose? The normal, only because you can't justify a light whipped cream even with a discount. Just doesn't work that way.

I bought 2 anyway and pretended at the checkout that I got a good deal and smiled all the way to the car. It was a good day indeed!

Hello, I'm 14

2009-01-27T22:18:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I'm not but I felt that way the other day. Mom M called and asked if I wanted to be pampered. Uhhhh, YES!!!! So she picked me up (after I bought a Starbucks coffee--if you're gonna be pampered, you must go all the way) and brought me with Grandma H to get our nails done. Yay!

Let me tell you, I needed them done. Now as scary and seriously harmful as my toenails are, they didn't compare to my freakishly long pinky nails. Lovely, I know. Rather than cut them, I naturally assume they'll break off soon enough. Unfortunately I freaked out some children the other day with them. Juuuuust kidding, they aren't that bad.

So we get there, and I picked a color out. I was debating between 2 and decided to go for the pinkish color with a bit of shimmer. A bit of a feminine detail that I thought Dust might appreciate. So I get my pampering massage, she finishs the nails, and THEN I stop to look at the color. Oh my goodness, I lost a decade of my life and felt like I coulda joined middle school.

Let's just say that "shimmer" is actually code for "SPARKLES, UH HUH!"

Oh a polling we will go

2009-01-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I added a poll to the blog and I would love it if you would vote! So, please just make this preggo lady a bit happier and cast your vote! :)

Canadian money

2009-01-26T22:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I obviously love Canadians, cause I married one... but I sure don't like the currency difference. I made Dust go to the bank the other day (because the couch was calling me to a hard day of nothing), to cash a check from a wedding we videoed in Canada. There was a difference of over $100 after we converted it. I could've just burned the money in front of the bank people. That sure would have sent a message... not a very smart message, but still a message nonetheless.

Oh cravings, how sweet thou art!

2009-01-24T11:52:00.000-08:00

Well, this post is dedicated entirely to cravings. Why? Because I can't stop thinking about em all! Chocolate has been one since the beginning... or it's my dearest excuse why I can now eat it whenever I want and not feel one bit remorseful. I am almost certain it's helping baby grow! In fact, on that note, I'm making brownies today! :)

Then there's the sushi. Not raw, don't you worry! But I just love sushi, it's such a clean fresh taste that doesn't wreak havoc on the system. But then again, we ate sushi all the time before as well, just more of an excuse now to indulge!

And ice water. I can't tell you how many times I've harped on Dust to keep full water bottles in the fridge so whenever I want, I can have ice cold water. It is really frustrating when you have to wait that extra 5 minutes for ice to work it's magic....

So, those are my biggest three cravings. After re-looking at them, I see no point in calling them cravings since I treated them all the same way pre-pregnancy. So, on that note, let's lift our glasses of ice cold water and toast to excuses for eating any food you want! :)

In honor of...

2009-01-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

...my last post, here goes the goal to be more frequent in my posts.

It seems as though pregnancy has such ups and downs. 3 weeks ago I couldn't sleep on my side because my legs ached for the entire morning after. Boo. Then there's the waking up at 4 with a pounding headache that even a movie won't cure (well, Tylenol PM sure did help though). Boo. Then there's the elation of reading each week all the new things that are growing and developing in our baby. Yay! And there's the fact that the entire back sides of my leg up to my lower back seem to have swollen like I was stung by about 357,000 wasps. Boo. And then all the more tears that I seem to cry... especially over abortion now because it is just so clear that we are humans the instant conception happens. But then there's the elation over knowing that you just scheduled your next ultrasound appointment -- the big one where we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Which is where I'm at right now!

Our ultrasound is for Feb. 6 and we're taking Dust's little sister, Daphnee (12 yo) with us so she'll get to see the baby and find out before anyone else what it is. :)

We've been asking, do you think it's a boy or girl? Dust thinks, hopes beyond hopes, that it's a boy... I've thought from the beginning it's a girl so I'm sticking with that. Any guesses???

Frequency

2008-12-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

I'll keep reminding myself of that word. As strange as it seems, sweats and a sweatshirt just aren't the same if you're not sitting on the couch watching tv versus sitting on an uncomfy computer chair in front of a much smaller screen. Oh how comfort controls me. Although, the bill collectors will probably be calling me soon... whoops!

Anyway, I will have (hopefully) much more time soon to update more frequently. As of some day in December, we officially hired my replacement! Woo HOO!!!! I will be starting my stay-at-home mom status a wee bit early... as in, before I'm technically a mom. But that's alright... this way I can get the babies' room ready, rearrange and reorganize our hosue, pay our bills :), maybe make some dinners (we'll see, that IS a stretch), and clean our house! I will be going in for 2 days a week for a little while until I hand over all areas to our new receptionist, and then I'll just be coming in on nights and weekends to accomplish the billing. It'll just be so nice to be at home, I am SUCH a homebody and just love being there!

So... here's to regular updates -- until I'm actually a mom and probably crumble sheepishly back to once a month updates that will be reeeeeeally short because they'll be written in between feeding and napping, oh, and the baby's feeding and napping too.

Have you ever...

2008-12-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

cried in an ultrasound??

If so, you're in GOOD company here... crying is welcomed (simply so that I won't be the only one). :)

Truly Amazing

2008-11-17T23:17:00.000-08:00

Well, Dust and I went to our first ultrasound appointment today... and I must say that I only teared up ohhhhh 4-6 times. The first time was the fact that we were even in the room for the sole reason to see our 9 week old baby; second was because I saw our little pumpkin; around the fourth or so was watching the heartbeat; and then the rest were just my emotions runneth-ing over.

I can't believe in only a few short months we'll have a little one around to dote on outside the womb! :)

If you don't know me well enough, you don't know that I have a humongous place in my heart for adoptions. This morning I was told some touching stories about local families who had just adopted so that along with my emotionally charged appointment just sent me over the edge the entire day. I can't even count how many times I teared up at work.

Good thing no one came in today to hand-deliver their resume, or they'd have turned away at the sight of the receptionist with tears in her eyes and a tissue in her hand; we'd never be able to hire anyone!

First comes love, then comes marriage... then comes

2008-11-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

THE BABY IN THE BABY CARRIAGE!!!

Well, wow, we are now breeders. Officially. The days where we forgot what we ever did before kids is about to begin. It may be a little scary, a little frightening, but it's our future! And we procreated!

Usually the first question a newly pregnant Mom hears is, "How are you feeling?" So, I thought I'd share the joys of a first time, middle of first trimester pregnancy.

I really can't complain though. We are (if you'll notice the little baby ticker) almost to 9 weeks already, and I've hardly been sick at all (in other words, as sick as I felt I know I just can't complain compared to some--cough *~Megan~* cough). For a week and a half I was a little sick every morning and then thought I'd fall over (or curl into a ball at work) from the nausea in the afternoons and nighttime. And then there was the beginning of week 8 where I couldn't stop eating. Brutal, I know, eat like a horse and let your stomach hang out. :) Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy. But, I do think the nausea has rotated shifts and is now during the night and it is driving me crazy that I just can't sleep anymore!

I am kinda nervous about having twins (does it run in the family, NO! is there any logical reason why I would think I was having them, NO! does that stop me from hoping I don't, NO! I have my reasons people....) and was already showing a leetle more than normal at 5 weeks. (They say your pants won't start to feel tight til around week 9 or so, ha! Liars! Got them, week 5 and I'm laying on the bed trying to squeeze into my 2 pairs of work pants that still fit....) So I asked my doctor the other day if it's normal to be showing as much as I am as early as it was... we'll just say he doesn't technically call it "showing", it's more what you'd call bloating. I told him we call that showing in our house.

Overall I've felt pretty good, I've also been sleeping through most days, so maybe it's just that I haven't been awake long enough to feel crappy. But Dust sure likes it, more video game time for him because I hole myself away in our room with our borrowed Reba dvds. :) Oh, I do like me a good country singer-actor in my house. She helps me sleep at night, what can I say?! I think Ken and Joell are still surprised at how fast I've been mowing through each season. Hey, one day is all you need to watch an entire season of a show, is that so wrong?!

So, moral of the story is we're getting cable so I'll have plenty to watch to get me through the last 7 months (and believe me, this has been one battle that I have fought hard for and finally conquered in our house)! Woo hoo! :)

Addicted to blogging?

2008-10-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

72%

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Yeah, so if I'm 72% addicted, I can only imagine how addicted VintageDutchGirl is....

Male bonding

2008-10-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home alone (and LOVING IT)!!! Maybe I shouldn't announce that to the world, but I do cherish my time at home, I really do! Last night my mom and sister and I had a girl's movie night where we ate WAY too many pieces of pizza. Seriously, I ate more than I ever have before. Today, I will be working out... hopefully.

And today, well, I haven't exactly accomplished a lot of anything except catching up on relaxation techniques. Watching some tv on the internet, clicking away on Craigslist, watching Reba while eating lunch in bed, falling asleep watching Reba in bed, and now back on the computer. It has really been a tough day.

Dust decided to head out with some men from our church and take up a new sport: salmon fishing. Ohhhh, he was excited. He came home on Tuesday and asked me to close my eyes. Then he hauled out all of his new equipment and showed it to me piece by piece. I thought two of the hooks looked like some pretty cute earrings I saw in the store the other day, he didn't take too well to that comment.

The worst was when he thought he'd "impress" me by wearing his new wader boots... um, just them. I told him to not even think about it and that there is no way that I would like it. So he didn't. PHEW!!!

So being the good wife that I am, I hauled my butt out of bed on Thursday morning at 5:45 to drop him off in town. I received this lovely comment "Wow, you 2 must be newlyweds, my wife didn't even wake up to say goodbye!"

Should I have said, "Oh sir, we only have one car right now." Nahhh.

Quick as a cat

2008-09-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

...or a fruit fly. My have I been killing fruit flies left and right, up and down, sideways, behind my head, with my hand, with a zapper, and with a swatter. We have been officially attacked by the bug for over a month. WOW! Our house has no place available where one of those suckers could live, yet they keep finding ways to multiply and restrengthen their enemy lines. It's maddening! They'll come out of the fridge when I open it... shouldn't they DIE IN THERE???

We have 2 rooms that are being hit the hardest: our kitchen of course, and (go figure) our bathroom. Why our bathroom? Oh that's right, Dust likes to eat in the shower so that is one of their official battlestations. They are now also swarming under the sink. Everytime I open a drawer or the cupboard at least 3 fly out.

Oh, I am nuts though when I have a swatter in my hand. It gives me a sense of satisfaction when I slam one of them against the mirror. Speaking of my victories, it actually has gotten harder and harder to look myself in the eye... but only because I need to clean the mirror. There are currently about 37 squashed critters awaiting their windexed funeral session.

Any ideas about how to rid my house of them for good, other than standing arm with a flyswatter ready to attack the battle lines?

Pancakes, muffins, and granola

2008-09-01T14:02:00.001-07:00

I will only eat one of the above for breakfast. My ever steadfast granola. I am by no means "granola" but I sure do enjoy it! It's pretty sad when even the FedEx guy has to ask about it. He stopped in twice last week to drop off 2 packages, and when he left the 2nd time, he paused and said, "So is granola a staple for you EVERY morning?" I smiled, "Uhhhh, yup!"

This morning my Dad's side of the family met for breakfast... so I went while Dust worked (at least I had a good morning!). :) And I had already decided I'd just get coffee. Decaf, at that. Then ~~looked~~ salivated at the menu, and while I absolutely LOVE all forms of food served at those wee early morning hours, my stomach and digestive system literally despise me for the rest of the day if I endulge in anything with grease or that's cooked (aside from eggs). So that is what I had, oatmeal (exciting, I know) and a hard-boiled egg and my decaf coffee. Our conversation relied heavily on MERSA and life in the midwest, because who doesn't talk about that during breakfast?!

It was a lot of fun to get together with the family though, I do love all the random, broad ranges of topics that we typically cover. I think the best part about breakfast was hearing compliments about Dust doing his job so well!

So, thanks to him, I can go eat breakfast on Labor Day while he invokes compliments that get directed to me! Gotta love this day!

Hiatus much?!?!

2008-08-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Well, well, I am back. Life has been gloriously busy (and just a wee bit crazy)... but no complaints! Here's a random list of updates since the last time I blogged.

Dust and I bought a lawn care business!! Woo hoo! Now, to all those who were wondering about the sheriff thing, it's in the future plans still at this point but we may be taking a longer and different road to achieve it.
Our summer was filled with paperwork to buy the business, paperwork to bill for the business, and now paperwork to file for the business. Ahh, the joys of being your own boss.
We now have a fence around our entire yard, plus an area fenced for "just the dogs", and they even have their own swimming pool.
My sister and I headed off to Phoenix for a week basking in the sun, AND to attend our cousin's wedding--which was, of course, beautiful!
Dust celebrated his 25th birthday, with a surprise party at our house (cough**cough** the night I got back from Phoenix, man am I good or what?!?!?!)!
We went camping a couple times and successfully had Jericho freak out at anyone in sunglasses. What a protector, a scary protector, but what a protector.
We found out my sister was pregnant again with a little girl... yay!!!
My brother and his wife, Sallie, came for a visit which was SO good to see them again, it had been too long!
They actually made it here at the same time my mom graduated from college, what an accomplishment!

Well, wow, I'm sure there are about a million and a half other things that have happened, but we have just slipped through this summer barely awake. Let's hope I stay a little consistent now with my posting! :)

Too bad it's not the new year or I'd make that my resolution!

Roadtrip

2008-05-12T19:14:00.001-07:00

Well, Dust came home from a roadtrip not too long ago (he helped haul our friend home (finally!) to our neck of the woods) so I thought I would show you the best pictures that they took.

They are doozies, lemme tell ya! Mmmm, ribs!

Just a good pic of the trio in the truck that trekked three thousand plus miles.

Oh Jon, you are silly. And not handicapped. Welllll ....

Really, who doesn't take pictures of roadkill?

With each other for 4 days, 3 nights, and are STILL friends.

Generosity at its finest

2008-05-10T13:36:00.000-07:00

It could be said of Dust and I that we are generous. Solely, for ONE reason. His name is Heinke (pronounced like "Hank", but spelled wrong... good job Jon). And that reason is because we pet-sit about 7 months out of the year for our friends' rat while he's in the navy. Well... weasel, pig, tasmanian creature, etc; you get the point, he has a LONG list of pet names. (Insert *chuckle* cause I know you just did!)

Just so you don't get scared and run far, far away from your computer, I'll first show you a picture of our pride and joy in his short-lived teenage years (merely because his existence at this size was hardly a month) and also at the very size that Heinke last knew him at. If he could talk, he would be saying, "Mama, pwease don't go to yor paintbawl twip." I just know it.

And here's the little terror that we ~~kick.~~ ~~detest.~~ allow to reside in our house.

And this is who Heinke came back to last month. No wonder he was a little leery of him... can you say DOMINATION???? Oh yeah, baby! (Except Heinke's the mean one. It could be a defense mechanism, but we don't like to give him excuses.)

I think Jericho's head may weigh more than Heinke's entire body.

You know you're ready...

2008-05-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

for a child when you:

-teach your puppy to eat properly;
-put your puppy in a timeout;
-schedule puppy play-dates;
-teach your puppy to share his toys;
-and teach your puppy to not growl while sharing said toys;
-get embarrassed when your puppy doesn't obey the first time;
-constantly talk to your puppy with the coined 'baby talk' language;
-refer to your puppy as your child;
-take great pride in your puppy's wits;
-take great pride in your puppy's good looks;
-have a designated play area in the house (so your puppy is always in view, and all his toys are in one place);
-hurt a little inside when Papa really punishes puppy for not listening to Mama;
-plan fun outings where your puppy can run and frolic to his heart's content;
-feed your puppy first before yourself;
-get excited when puppy "does his business" when and where you want him to; and
-have a diaper bag for your puppy.

Except... that we're just not ready. Sorry.

It happened.

2008-05-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

The inevitable has finally occurred. As I was ~~speeding~~ ~~racing~~ ~~overly anxious on the gas pedal~~ driving to work today (with a slight possibility of arriving late as I may OR may not have slept in ~~a good 30 minutes~~ little bit past my alarm), I drove over a hill near our house only to see a sheriff flying (I'm sure within the normal confined of the unclearly posted speed limit) at me from the bottom of the hill.

As soon as he saw me, he flipped those flashers on, pulled a U-eee, even sprayed gravel at the house whose driveway he felt it necessary to utilize, and came a-racin' after me. Oh, man.

Okay, think, think, think. What do I sayyyy????

"Uh, ma'am, do you realize you were going 51 in a 35?" "Oh, nope. Sorry."

***Ahhhhhh!!!*** Have my inherited lawyerly skills been lost? Have I not talked my way out of ~~four~~ a mere couple of other tickets?

Dust and I have been talking lately about what we deserve, and that even as Christians we all deserve hell and that it's ONLY by the grace of God that we are spared. So, here this is running through my head (Why at this moment???? I don't know...) and I now am completely tongue-tied. Just staring at the officer, nodding my head, and saying: "Uh huh, uh huh"; "Oh, sorry"; "My bad". Of course, after he hands me my ticket do I think of some intelligible, side-tracking question. Great!

Well, at least I now have something to apply my government issued refund to... BACK to the government!

Invest it wisely

2008-05-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, if tax refunds won't make you smile, I don't know what will. It is always a good day when you get money back. I even captured the moment for blogging proof that we did, in fact, receive our earlier stated HUGE refund! Ohhhh, the possibilities. Where to spend this cash that just hopped right into my lap and is now begging for me to spend?! Wow, now that's a true dilemma.

Uh, back to reality now.

And if the government doesn't have to rub this in my face enough, here's what the envelope and little enclosure said.

Ohhhhh. Okay. Let me invest my $35 whole dollars WITH THE GOVERNMENT!! Puh-lease.

And, aren't they (the "government peoples") sending a bit too many mixed signals? Why, then, am I getting a rebate in July that they'll encourage me to SPEND, all in the name of boosting the economy; could this be because it'll be relegated as earned income on my 2008 tax return? Lovely, just lovely. They are not encouraging the growth of my savings account which is something that makes me smile.

If I didn't already have plans to spend both checks, I would really make a statement and save 'em both.

Yah, uh huh, right

2008-05-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

I love fun, little quizzes. And so I took one. Well, I took like 15. And I liked this one because it made me laugh.

Your Slogan Should Be

Rebecca. As Delicate as a Caress.

The Slogan Generator

Yah, right. Shall I remind us all about our soccer incident? I'm about as delicate as a 4-year old.

I hit the generate button a couple times to get one I liked. But... what should your slogan be??

Oh the weather outside is frightful... la la la

2008-05-01T23:32:00.001-07:00

If you shan't believe me that it's a tad chill-ay over here, maybe this will prove my point.

This was taken one week ago. Uhhh, icicles people, these are icicles!

Oh brrrr, now I need to go grab another sweatshirt.

When you're handed lemons, make lemonade

2008-05-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

Or, if you have one banana at home, you can rush to the nearest grocery store to pick up mangos, oranges, and apples... all to attempt the replication of the fruit juices you could just buy at the grocery store. So, this is what our night consisted of. (Fascinating, I KNOW!)

Oh the story of our lives continues to repeat itself. Dusty is making food while I am doing anything but. EXCEPT this time! I am documenting! Our future family will just be ecstatic over this juicy tidbit of information. I just know it.

Anyway, Dust loves fruit, more so than anyone I may have ever met. And he likes it mixed altogether. Weird, BUT I did promise that I would stick by "in sickness and in health". This is a sickness people. Now, I do love me some fruit, but I prefer the "to each their own" motto to also apply to my natural grown wonders. So this actually comes to no surprise that Dust would enjoy making these. Anywho, here is the finished product.

Dust asked if he should move the mixer so it's out of the picture. NEVER! It's my pride and joy! I've only used it 3 times just so it'll stay so white! (It was also the only clean spot on the counter to take a picture, but nevertheless....)

Our fruity cocktails. Mmmmm. Made with pure fruit, no rinds, and water. Just like Bible times, minus the blender, of course.

Spring chickens

2008-05-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the other little reminder that spring is right around the corner (last day in April and it hailed, spring has not arrived in my book... or at my house) is the annual stocking up of these little furballs.

Which are currently inside my parents-in-law's house because it's near freezing here. For the little chickadees, not actual human types. That point aside, aren't they super cute?

I thought so too, until I picked one up and my hand was, ugh, wet. "Oh, they all have wet feet," pipes up my lil sis-in-law. Reeeeeeeally!

The trip to get chicks and ducks is simply two-fold in nature:

1. to signal the beginning of the new season; and

2. to replenish the stock from last year.

The poor poopers don't stand a chance, they really don't. And as cute as they are now, and as little meat as there is on those wings, this does not detract from the magnetic force drawing the local coyotes to the seasonal Chick-and-Duck-fil-A restaurant.

Well, at least there are appetizing green eggs from the ones that do survive!

What makes me smile

2008-04-30T17:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to mention this last week. But as I was leaving work, I looked up and saw this older lady on a hot pink bicycle riding by. That alone would normally be enough to make me grin a little.

But she was also wearing a hot pink sweatsuit that not only matched the basket on the bike, but also her shoes. Oh sweet goodness, this made me smile the whole way home... I think I even chuckled.

Nothing wrong with the color pink or anything (even though it pales in comparison to WHITE), but when your whole ensemble is the exact same shade (including the apparatus you may happen to be riding upon), then your wardrobe needs to reintroduce the words "outfit", "shades", "multiple colors", and "style" back into its vocabulary.

Now granted, she was older, and may have lost her ability to see different shades, but it doesn't mean I haven't overly-pondered the simplicity of the issue.

She was, simply put, Hot in Pink (and on Pink, and wearing Pink, and riding Pink).

College??

2008-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Right, I hardly graduated from a 2 year Associate's Degree. However, what is the internet if not to boost your self-worth? I just found my favorite website because it treats me well! It ranks the level bloggy readers have to be at to understand your blog. Well, here is what it said to me:

Why, surely you jest. (I would like to think higher of such great online opportunities to boast, but reality does sink in at some point.) I think it lied. Unless you count my overabundant joy at a flower, my little puppy-child, and for all things white to be at the collegiate level, my friends, this may just be a hoax. Sad to say.

So, do the testarola and lemme know what yours says! But remember, barring any coincidental bloggy catastrophies and inappropriate comments on your blog if you were to attain a higher status than mine, you may not want to let me know. Even though I'm pretty sure that's the best score ANY ONE could get.

(Crossing my fingers.)

Spring has sprung

2008-04-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Never have I enjoyed the warmth of spring quite like this year: birds chirping at 9:00 PM, flower buds dying and wilting (because of the April snowfall), and best of all the use of my winter gloves and scarves everyday. It truly is a joy to live in the northwest.

In all honesty, I really DO like it, I promise (my fingers may happen to be crossed). But here are some pics from around our house that remind me that there is hope for spring. Because what is life if you can't live with hope?! These first 3 are all from the bouqu et Dust bought me.

This last one, I'm going to print in sepia tones with a white frame and put that in our bathroom. Okaaaaaay, here is a pic just so I can calm your anxious spirit.

And since I'm the Queen of Sidetracked-land, I'm also doing this one in sepia with a white frame.

But back to spring and bright colors. Here's our homemade little greenhouse.

The best spring quote was Dust saying to me: "Hey, feel free to pick as many flowers you want to put in vases in the house." Uhhh, which ONE do I pick since we only have ONE flower currently blooming?

Our thrones are growing

2008-04-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

To really sit and think about how Dust and I are just completely washed away with such a flush of good fortune is just so amazing I may need to stay parked ...

... on our new throne!!! Look at the size comparison here. Pretty crazy how much we're moving up (and out) in this world. Yeah, I know. And as much as I hate using puns, size does matter ... when it comes to "the Seat". (Side note: Now you can see the warm, inviting color on the wall that now is my inspiration to work out--I've been in there 3 times and never to work out, hmmmm.)

Never mind the fact that in this next picture, it may portray the throne IN the tub, because that's just where we store our spare. Clearly, we reek of normality around our house, not to mention that I nearly took a butt shot of my father-in-law.... Can you say classy?

Oh, and that's right... uhhh, at this point it was 10:30 at night and we only have ONE bathroom and ZERO toilets installed at our house. YOU do the math! At this point, it would be helpful to know some neighbors a little bit better in case we get in a bit of a pickle, but since we don't, this could cause a bit of a "leaky issue" in the morning if said new seat isn't installed on said new throne on top of said new flooring (oh by the way, floors are in, and I love em!).

The cabinets (and their doors) are in, there's a bit more touch up required, but we are getting closer to re-installing the door which is a monumental (and VERY key) part of western civilization. I was yelled at the other day to stay on "that" side of the house as one of our friends was using the throne.

At least the throne was installed though, or our backyard would be smelling a whole lot like ... roses.

Can you say dilemma??

2008-04-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

It is now approaching on one of my favorite seasons of the year. Not spring, not summer (although technically my favorite real season), but GARAGE SALE SEASON!! And my is it arriving fast!

This weekend we have a county-wide kick-off for all those holding garage sales... they can put a notice in the paper and it will be FREE! Woweeee. I am just so excited! There are so many potential great finds out there and they're (usually) cheaper than even Wally World! Dust and I have found many a wonder at a garage sale. We bought a leather chair and loveseat at one (sweet old lady), a nice bookshelf at another (real wood people, $30--boo yah!!), and many little goodies.

Now to the dilemma. While mucho sales will be a-happenin around here, there is also the famed "rich people" sale over in the Seattleish area (the air quotes are based strictly on the assumption of wealth and not by potential debt awashed with massive houses and extravagant belongings). Woah, people. What's a person to do? Sales a plenty here or better stuff (assumedly)? Eeeek. I just don't know.

I'll just have to sit down, weigh out the pros and cons, drink 16 whitechocolatepeppermintmochas, and ponder.