lauren's little blog book

Maternity Photos

2012-01-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

Check out Kate's blog to see the photos she took of me and my babies.

A Place for Baby

2012-01-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished the nursery! Being 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced already, I figured it was high time to prepare a place for this baby to sleep.

Setting up this room was super difficult to me. At first I thought it would so fun to decorate a gender neutral nursery....but as it got closer and closer to have the baby, my attitude just kinda evolved into "well if it's a girl I can change it up, and if it's a boy I'll just throw him in the room with Kyler". Not exactly the decorating mojo I needed. I also had the whole problem of needing to keep the bed in here for grandparents to stay. That gave me about a 1 inch clearance on either side of the rocking chair, but hey- it rocks!

*Apparently I am also challenged when it comes to taking decent pics. The lighting is all wack and doesn't really capture most of the true colors.

Here is what I like to call the "chaos corner". Everything is so close together, but it was really the only layout that worked.

I love the etsy print I got from here. I spray painted a thrift store frame yellow and popped it in. Both the tree art and the button K (K for Kimmel, not the first name) were made by dear friends. I'm not in love with the pillow selection. I sewed the cover for the one on the back-right, but the other two are susceptible to change at any minute.

I made the art above the crib with scrapbook paper and greetings cards a friend gave me. I already blogged about the mobile here, and I finally got it to hang somewhat even. I sewed the crib skirt (out of lovely Joel Dewberry fabric) and bought the aqua bed sheet from Amazon.com.

The curtains were also sewn out of Joel Dewberry fabric. The little basket on the floor is hard to see, but it's made out of recycled newspaper and magazines and is super cute. It contains puzzles and other toys to keep Kyler occupied for when I want to be in there nursing the baby with the door shut.

This might be my favorite part of the nursery. We managed to transform my "cloffice" (as my sister named it) into a diaper changing nook. Cody's dad also installed some shelving underneath, so that is where all the clothes are stored. Yes, the back wall is still a shade of pink, we'll address that later if I produce a male. I love being able to see all my cloth diapers stacked up in fun colors (yay for 2 babies in cloth diapers, har har). The other side of the closet is storage and hanging clothes...which actually have zero hanging clothes right now :)

Now that I am done with the nursery, I should probably pack our bags and buy some newborn diapers. I will have some maternity pics to post in a few days so be sure to check back for those!

I'm Having a Baby

2011-12-31T16:59:00.000-08:00

Today it hit me. I'm almost 35 weeks. This time, when I was pregnant with Kyler, I had our hospital bags packed, clothes washed, nursery perfectly ready, bassinet waiting beside my bed, and everything else ready. Now, I have a "nursery" that is still doubling as my craft room/junk storage, newborn gear still in the attic, don't even have a bassinet yet, and I just shared our "emergency labor plan" with our key Kyler watchers. Needless to say, I am not prepared. It's a good thing all newborns really need is love and a boob. I definitely have that.

After this abrupt realization, I mentally slapped myself and got to work. I sewed some curtains for the baby's room, and then reminded myself once again I still have to clean out that closet. This is the closet that I turned into my craft/workstation a few years ago, seen here. Once I clean that out and turn it into a little changing station and get all the baby clothes, burp cloths, blankets etc., I will feel a lot better.

Since we all know the weekly belly pictures was a bust, let's just pretend this is the appropriate weekly photo and that I'm not standing in front of (and am as big as) a Christmas tree. This was about 34 weeks and if I look exhausted, it's because I am. All the time. I keep promising myself I will never be pregnant again when I have little ones. Chasing and hauling around a toddler all day when I'm this big is just so hard. Pregnancy is terrible on my back, so I feel like I've been hit by a truck every day by about 10 am. That's okay, it's totally worth it.

I would share some pictures of the baby's room in progress, but it's still such a mess right now. Those will come soon. Here are a few photos from our Christmas.

26 Weeks

2011-11-04T12:14:00.000-07:00

For some reason in the picture, my belly doesn't look as big as it really is. I assure you, it is getting bigger. But, it is also growing in the opposite direction. Instead of growing out and looking like a cute basketball like my sister, it is doing all the growing in the inside towards my back. Baby is camping out on my tailbone like it did last pregnancy (which is exactly why Kyler could not come out vaginally). I'm still definitely growing, more just all around, which is every pregnant woman's nightmare. But this whole carrying they baby in my back is not fun. It gets super painful and the nerve pain on my tailbone can be excruciating.

I feel like this pregnancy has completely slowed down. I've been in my 20's forever and I still have 4 more weeks to go. I am already so ready and eager to meet this little bean that causes mama so much back pain. I've definitely got the crafting urge so hopefully the nursery will be coming along quickly!

DIY Paint Chip Mobile

2011-11-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

For me nesting is not so much a cleaning instinct, but a crafting instinct. I'm not very gifted when it comes to cleaning. I like a clean house, but it does not come naturally. So when my nesting urge comes around, I get to crafting and creating things for baby. Specifically the nursery. One of the things I made for Kyler was a bird mobile (which can be seen in this post), and for this one, I just wanted something colorful and bold. I'm all about giving baby something visually stimulating to look at. So after perusing Pinterest, I found some inspiration. Specifically this:

Source: thesweetestoccasion.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I liked the gradient aspect of the top one paired with the dimension of the bottom one since it makes it easier for the baby to see all the colors looking up at it. I'm not gonna sugar coat this people, this thing took forever! And it was not fun! Although I probably took the hardest route possible. I ended up spending ZERO dollars on this project! Paint chips are free, and everything else I had. I will try to give my best tutorial in case anyone is interested. Here is how she turned out:

Here is the how-to:

Supplies:

Paint Swatches

Glue

Scissors

Circle Stencil (pepper shaker for me)

String (I used clear elastic jewelry string)

Upholstery Needle

Hot Glue

Cross-stitch Hoop

1. Steal as many paint samples as you can from various home improvement stores. You will feel very shady and might consider turning yourself in, but stay strong. Those things will be wasted anyway on indecisive painters.

2. Glue paint samples back-to-back, making sure to line up correctly. The colors won't match, but that's okay, it just makes it even more colorful. After I glued each one, I placed them under very heavy hard-back books so they were as flat as possible. Otherwise the glue will bend and warp them.

3. Unless you have a fancy-shmancy circle punch, which I don't-and was too cheap to buy one, you will spend the next several days of your life tracing a small circle onto every single color swatch. I used the base of a pepper shaker. Then cut out each circle. Your hands will want to die, but press on. It will be worth it in the end.

4. Now it's time to thread. You'll need a heavy duty needle in order to punch through the thick papers. I used a long upholstery needle. Thread through your circles (in which ever order you want), tying knot at the bottom of each one. I secured each knot with a dab of hot glue. It does not have to be perfectly in the center, just eye-ball it. This is what gives the different angles and levels.

5. Tie all the strands to a cross-stitch hoop. Again, I secured all my knots with hot glue.

6. I'm not going to give you any advice on hanging. As you can see, mine hangs crooked. I'm not a perfectionist so it doesn't bother me too much, although I might play around with it to see if there is a better way. And even if you look at Kyler's bird mobile, that hangs crooked. What can I say? Crooked mobiles are my thang.

Kid tested, kid approved:

Though it is certainly not perfect, I really love it. The way it glides constantly is just so soothing. I am so excited about decorating with fun, bold colors in this nursery. The walls are staying grey so I have a great canvas. My little mobile is really getting my creative juices flowing now.

Pumpkins!

2011-10-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

Don't even ask about the belly pictures because I have gotten so bad, I haven't even take one since the last one I posted! And I'm almost 26 weeks! Oops!

This fall has been soo much fun. Kyler and I have checked out as many pumpkin books as you can find at the library, been learning about them all month, and have gotten to visit many a pumpkin patch. These are some photos from one of our trips to the Arboretum. He is at this stage where he won't look at the camera and when we

try to pose him, he gets really mad. So picture taking was a real joy.

And can we please just take a minute to appreciate the best picture ever taken. This was one year ago. And does he not look like the most fat, mischievous little pumpkin ever?

I miss those rolls so much! The kid cannot keep any weight on these days, he is so darn active. Maybe I should start up breastfeeding again since that plumped him up in a matter of days! Now that would be awkward....

Flying By

2011-10-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Y'all! Somebody should fire me from my own blog. I'm so bad at this! Unfortunately, I've started forgetting to take belly pics every week. I guess it is the nature of the beast...I'm pregnant, so pregnant brain is to blame right? I'm 23 weeks now, but all I have to show for is 20 and 21 weeks, which is a shame because my belly is growing in full force these days. I'm talking bustin' through pants, catching all my spills, and preventing leg-shaving. Okay that last one might be a stretch, but I'll take it!

We had our big 20 week ultrasound and everything looked great. We didn't see any revealing body parts, so the gender is still a mystery. Yippee!

One of my BFs had a baby 2 weeks ago. I got to hang out in the hospital and see her do some amazing laboring. She was a champ, delivering that baby all natural for TWENTY ONE hours!! It made me wish (once again) I could deliver a baby the way god intended my body to. I try not to throw myself a pity party too often, but I just feel like I'm missing out. Although I'm so thankful that because of everything, Kyler and I are healthy.

I guess with being less than 4 months away from meeting this baby, and with the holidays, and with my sister having a BABY GIRL just 2 months before me, I should really make some progress on the nursery. Well, I better get to pinning...

Belly Pics

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am determined to keep up with this baby's growth! Here are my 17 and 18 week belly photos. And because I'm already 19 weeks pregnant (where is the time going?!), I'm due for another!

No, I didn't grow 4 inches in the second photo, we basically just run outside whenever we remember, and get a chance, and snap a photo at whatever part of the fence where the sun is not blinding me. Professional, huh? I prefer the angel glow anyway (see second photo).

I'm definitely feeling this little one move all around now. They say that you can feel the baby move sooner with the second pregnancy, but I felt it right at 17 weeks, just like the first one. Another thing I remember about the second trimester from the first time, the hunger has set it. I'm hungry all the time! Right when I finish dinner, I'm hungry again. I usually have to top it off with some taquitos or grilled cheese...and I add salt...I know, it's bad. My cravings have been intense lately! I've also been eating caprese salads like a mad woman. mmmmmm so good.

My big 20 week ultrasound is coming up. Since we aren't finding out the sex, we might have to look away at some points in the ultrasound. I still love seeing our little baby bounce around and wave to us. Can't wait to meet him/her!

The Birth of a Nursery

2011-09-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

After much debating about where this little baby would live once outside of my womb, we have finally decided on the guest room. We desperately need to keep a guest room so our families will still come visit us (pleeeease), so we are basically working around a bed. When we have guests, we'll just have the baby sleep in our room and ask our guests please stuff the diapers sitting on the foot of the bed. I kid I kid, but let's face it, there will be lots of diaper stuffing with two babies in cloth. I digress.

To first give you an idea of what I'm thinking for our gender-neutral nursery, here are some things I have pinned that I love.

I know this is girl, but this is what gave me the idea for a retro rocking chair, which inspired my orange chair. I probably should have showed this early so everyone didn't think I was ridiculously crazy for wanting such a strange chair. Well, maybe I still am.

Source: None via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: charmhome.blogspot.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Source: ohdeedoh.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I can't figure out how to make those look right. Anybody know how to embed pinterest files without them looking like that? Anyway...

I found my retro orange chair on Craigslist for $40! It's in great condition and it rocks AND swivels! It may not be the exact color of orange I dreamed of, but I figured it would be hard to find one the perfect color, that rocks, and is a good price.

Isn't she a beaut? Shortly after that, we stumbled on another great Craigslist find. We scored the exact crib I was looking for, with a mattress, only in exchange for a few home decor items I was planning on selling in a garage sale anyway. Score!! It's a white Jenny Lind crib because I'm going for a vintage/eclectic style for this nursery. Quite different from Kyler's modern crib in his serene nature nursery.

That there is what you call a nursery NOOK. It's a very tight squeeze, but somehow it works. You can't see the rest of the room because the desk that used to be where the crib is threw up all over the rest of the room. The guest bed is to the right (shoved all the way in the corner), and the changing table will go in my closet-office. Goodbye craft and productive work time. The walls are gray, which we are leaving.

There are about a million other things to be done in this room, but hopefully it comes together in the next 4.5 months. Yes, I am about half-way there (belly pics to come).

DIY Fall Wreath

2011-09-14T14:14:00.001-07:00

Yes, you are reading a blog post that is not all about my belly. It's a miracle!

With all the adorable fall wreaths floating around on Pinterest (my new google), I knew I had to make one. Especially because at all times of the year, my door is adorned (hehe) by one of two wreaths, a spring-ish wreath or a Christmas wreath. Bor-ing! But I can't stand my door naked. So off to Hope Depot I went.

Why Home Depot you ask? I bought a 97 cent pipe foam that I then cut in half, formed in a circle, and duck taped into a wreath. That's two wreaths, people! And the amount of fun Kyler had carrying that thing through the store was worth 97 cents alone.

I also purchased a $7 drop cloth in hopes to use it for my Burlap rag wreath. The burlap at Home Depot was too lose and a trip to Joannes was not gonna happen if nap time was. Luckily, my girls I was crafting with had some extra burlap so they graciously let me use it. Don't worry I have big plans for that there drop cloth later. I'm thinking a table runner or pillow covers.

Thanks to my wonderful strip cutter Hope, and lots of no-bake cookies to get me through a few hours of knot tying, it didn't take long to get 'er done.

Because I had a hard time finding an actual tutorial for this kind of wreath, here is what I did:

1. Cut about a million strips of Burlap into 1" x 16" strips

2. Tie around wreath overlapping and all which ways. Can be double or single knots.

3. Fluff and adjust to fill out wreath. Burlap will fray, which adds to the look.

4. Admire a job well done with a little bit of carpel tunnel.

Shouldn't I write tutorials for a living? Gosh, I'm good.

I originally planned on just leaving it simple with just the burlap, and maybe adding a red bow for Christmas, because you know I don't like to actually have a variety of wreaths to use....

But when I stepped away it just needed a little something, so I added 4 strips of brown ribbon by tying them at the bottom. I then hot-glued little pine cones to the ribbon (important), so that when Christmas rolls around and I'm too lazy to make another wreath, I can just take off the ribbon and add that red bow.

16 Weeks

2011-08-28T21:55:00.001-07:00

Not much to report this week. Feeling good. Still having sleeping difficulties. Definitely having weird cravings. My cart at Target last week consisted of tomatoes, salt & vinegar chips, watermelon, and strange salad dressings.

I do think I might have started feeling the baby move. It's been so slight, though, so I'm not sure. You would think having been through this before, I would surely know a kick when I feel one. But now that I know how similar those first kicks feel to other things, I keep psyching myself out thinking "oh no, probably just my tummy."

Kyler has been sick, so it's been kind of a rough week. The first night he got sick, we were up every hour. I ended up just letting him sleep on my chest at 3 am and 5 am. I just sat there on the couch, knowing I'd be right back there in 5 months with a little newborn. Can't wait!

15 Weeks

2011-08-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and saw the first real sign of a baby bump. Not just the pudge in the lower abdomen, but the sight of a little baby taking over your belly.

Hopefully that will show up more in next week's photo. I'm kind of eager to start showing, and especially to feel the baby moving, so I can really start to bond with this baby. I think it might be a little harder to bond with not finding out the sex, so I'm ready to feel this baby!

For some reason I have had a hard time sleeping lately. I don't feel uncomfortable, but I'm tossing and turning all night. And waking up at 6:30 to the sound of "mama mama" on the monitor has been so sweet but so tiring. I'm going to try to start exercising more in hopes of better sleep.

Right now I'm on the look out for a retro orange rocking chair for the nursery. I'm going with a vintage, eclectic vibe that will helpfully be fitting for a boy or girl. Once I find the chair, I'm hoping I can get a better start. It's a little overwhelming knowing I have to set up a big boy room and then change Kyler's nursery into the new nursery. I feel like I should have started this 3 months ago!

via

Mr. Independent

2011-08-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Kyler is so independent these days, sometimes I think he doesn't even want me around. Although he still needs me to do things like change him, feed him (well prepare his food), and take care of him in general, he is definitely testing the limits of his independence. He often throws a fit when I insist on holding his hand, feeding him with a spoon, or forcing him to do just about anything. Poor little guy thinks he's the boss, though he is taking to discipline a little better. His fits are very short-lived, which I appreciate. Of course he is going to scream bloody murder when I take away the coolest new item he found to hold onto, but 2 seconds later he is fine and on to the next.

Now that he is older and is more aware (and compliant) of what he is allowed to do in the house, I find myself almost feeling board. I don't need to hover anymore. I don't need to entertain him. At the same time, I hate to do other tasks that completely take my attention away from him. It has been soooo hot lately, I haven't even wanted to leave this house. I have been going a little crazy! It has me dreaming of the days when I can sit and watch him play while nursing a newborn :)

Here are a few photos from my iPhone. They are all blurry because he is a constant blur of baby tornado. This kid is busy to the max! And I love every bit of him!

I love that he plays so hard but so sweetly gives in to sleep. That boy can't resist a comfy car seat, after all he did sleep in one for the first SIX months of his life!

First Trimester: Done

2011-08-14T17:47:00.001-07:00

I can finally get off the couch and make my family a meal! Now that I am into my second trimester, I'm feeling much better (though I never felt that bad) and am definitely seeing improvement in the energy department. I haven't even napped in a week (except for 2 days ago because of a headache)!

We also decided on something very exciting. We are NOT going to find out the sex! That's right, it's yellow, white and brown for the Kimmels. And I LOVE it! I could have never done it with the first one, but now with a toddler, my mind is a little preoccupied, so I think I can actually wait 9 months to find out if it's a little boy or girl. And as everyone asks....we don't have a preference. Boy, girl, strange alien baby- don't care, just give it to me!

I think this past week my belly has started to grow. I can actually feel it stretching...weirrrrd. Here is my first official belly shot a 14 weeks. The dress is a little deceiving. It makes me look bigger than I am. Although it is true what they say, you do start showing earlier on the second pregnancy.

I've been trying to teach Kyler the word "baby". Right now it just sound like "ba-ba". Unfortunately, Kyler won't really even be old enough to understand that a new baby is going to be born into this family. I think it's kind of good though, he'll never know what hit him.

Big Brother

2011-08-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we found out some VERY exciting news!! Kyler is going to be a big brother!! I am about 13 weeks along and due the very beginning of February.

It is so interesting how different this pregnancy has been from my first. Not just emotionally and mentally (we were much more prepared and at peace when we found out about this one), but physically it has been so different. I'm not complaining, it has been a little better than the first one. In my first trimester with Kyler, I was sick all the time, hugging the toilet from time to time, had horrible back pain, hated food and could smell something foul from miles away! This time, I had very mild nausea, have a decent relationship with food, can't notice a huge increase in my sense of smell, and have not really had any back pain. Thank you LORD!! Although the exhaustion is a different story! Party because I'm chasing around a toddler who never sits still!

Kyler of course has NO idea about his little brother or sister on the way. And he probably never will until he is hanging around a newborn everyday and they don't seem to leave :)

A sweet friend had this shirt made just for Kyler. Unfortunately trying to get a good photo of him in it was quite the challenge. You try reasoning with a toddler to "look at me, stand up, twist to the right....". All I know is, I hope he still fits into this thing come February so he can meet his little sibling in it!

Belly bump pics to come, although there is not much to show for yet! I promise I'll be better this time around!

First Birthday

2011-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our baby boy's first birthday over the weekend. It was perfect in every way. We kept it small, which I am so glad we did. I was really able to enjoy the day celebrating Kyler and didn't feel like I had to "entertain" anyone.

We managed to DIY most of the party. We made most of the decor, borrowed plates and napkins that my mom had leftover from a party, I made the cake and cupcakes, my sister (master cake decorator) decorated them, and we kept the food super simple: all of Kyler's favorites. My awesome brother in law, Greg, was Photographer of the day so we didn't have to worry about remembering to snap photos. Everything was just perfect!

We gave Kyler a wagon for his birthday and he looooves riding around in it! It might just be the cutest sight every! His gift to us was walking! He started walking a few weeks ago, and it was so fun to have him walking around his party. I will always remember this special day. Happy Birthday Baby!!!

The End...

2011-06-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

of breastfeeding. Warning: lots of boob talk here.

I've known it was coming for weeks. As Kyler is almost 1, with lots of changes taking place, and lots of too much of a 22 lb baby wiggling around on my lap, the end of breastfeeding is very much in sight.

I've always had a love love relationship with breastfeeding. It came very easy, but I don't take that for granted. I know tons of women struggle with it and I feel very blessed it was such an enjoyable experience for me. And for Kyler, too enjoyable. It is the only thing the kid ever became attached to. No bottles, no pacis, no blankets, no animals, no thumbs, nothin'! Just boob. Even though this meant that I literally had to be attached to him every 2.5 hours those first months, I loved every minute of it.

Now as I have to relinquish over my rights for providing him with all that nutritious goodness, I'm hoping that he will take to whole milk in an easy transition. I feel like this is the first step to child. No more baby.

I actually thought this would be much more harder emotionally. Maybe I'm dealing with it so well because I have a lot to look forward too in the near future...

All I have for now...

2011-06-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Right now, I'm sitting here and listening to my almost-1-year-old fall asleep while he continually babbles "night night" quieter and quieter into dreamland (or silently exploring my crib and pretending to be napping- you decide). I can't believe it's been a whole year. A whole year since this happened. A whole year since this little boy changed our lives forever.

Things have been crazzzzy lately! I've been busy with Dallas Moms Blog, busy writing for CBS (more on this later), and just busy with life (more on this later as well--if this almost-1-year-old keeps up the good naps). Like it normally does, along with the laundry and dishes, the blog has taken a back seat to the excitement. Sorry blog. Sorry readers.

For now, you can occupy your time and gain some serious inspiration by checking out my lovely bf's home tour. This girl has style and talent! Check it out here and don't mind snooping around her blog, it was made for snooping.

Grey Nightstands, She had Grey Nightstands

2011-06-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

(Who's with me E-Fitz fans?)

I might have made a big mistake. BIG mistake. But I'm not sure yet.

Remember when I scored these nightstands off Craigslist and was trying to figure out how to paint them? Well, I decided to go against the norm (like antiquing this dress er and this dining table) and painted them darker. I was too scared to go black, and not sure about staining them darker, so I took the middle road, and painted them grey. I do like that they darken up the room a little, but I'm just not sure about the grey.

Are they doomed forever? Should I take them back to the Craigslist seller begging her to take them back? Should I burn them and just sleep next to a pile of ashes? What do you think?

Here's to the day we will be able to afford real furniture!

Post Edit: Now looking at this, the head board is dyyyying for a makeover. I'm wondering what I can come up with some fabric and a mean staple gun....

The many faces of...

2011-06-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

my blog.

I do realize this blog has changed like every day lately. I've been trying to re-design it and if you know me or have read my blog for a while, you know I have commitment issues when it comes to design (specifically decorating my home). But my blog is kind of like my virtual living room so I want it to be inviting, comfortable, and somewhat aesthetically pleasing. And just like decorating my living room, sometimes I have to live with an arrangement for a few days. So please just bare with me...and take a look around and make yourself comfortable...

Family Photos

2011-06-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back we had some family photos taken by our friend Kate. She is not only a wonderful and super talented photographer, butshe has been a friend of ours for years. She knows us so well (a little too well?) and I love that because I feel like she can really capture the essence of our family.

These are some of my favorites, which was a hard choice because there were hundreds (literally) of good ones...

We absolutely love these photos! Kate even captured Kyler's very first clap in a photo! The kid has good timing...and so does Kyler.

To see more of our family photos go check out Kate's blog.

Pregnancy Announcement!!

2011-05-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

Gotcha!! Not me, my beautiful sister!!

And this is the video they used to announce it to the youth group at their church. Soo funny and creative. I'm so proud.

I can't wait for their little nugget of joy to be born! It's like having another baby, except I don't have to do all the birthing part! They are going to be such wonderful parents!

Detour: New Orleans

2011-05-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

On the way home from our beach trip, we decided to make a detour to New Orleans. It wasn't too far out of the way, and Cody had never seen New Orleans (and apparently Kyler hadn't either). Even Duma got to strut her stuff on the streets of The French Quarter, and Kyler got to (accidently) see Bourbon Street (ear muffs and eye blinders!).

Despite being attacked by pigeons and exposing our son to a few too many belligerent groups of "Bachelor Partiers" shouting obscenities about marriage, we had a great time. I'm glad Cody got to experience New Orleans and Kyler was serenaded by a live jazz band.

Kicking off the Summer!

2011-05-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Dauphin Island, Alabama for a beachy family vacation. We had so much fun! So we packed up our car with Duma, baby, lots of snacks, good music, almost every baby gear item imaginable, and started our 2 day trek down there. We stayed in a hotel in Vicksburg, MS. It was Kyler's first hotel stay. With Duma. And us in the same room. At 9 o'clock at night. Let me tell you how much fun that was trying to get him to fall asleep.

I was impressed by how well Kyler did on such a long road trip. We didn't even have to stop that many times. Here he is at a McDonald's Play Place. How cute are his little muscles in his beach wear?!

We finally made it to the beach after 2 days of traveling. We all had so much fun! Cody and I put so much effort into protecting Kyler's delicate little skin from the sun, that we forgot about ourselves. BIG mistake! Kyler was so well protected, even his stomach was UVB safe...but that's another story, followed by a phone call to Poison Control. SO FUN ;)

Aunt Jana had lots of fun playing with Kyler in the sand. And Kyler had lots of fun eating the sand.

For the drive back home, we decided to pack it all into one day. Kinda like ripping off a band-aid fast. And it did hurt! But we also had the genius idea to make it longer and further by adding an out of the way trip to New Orleans, which was so fun! More on that later...

Mother's Day Weekend

2011-05-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

My first real Mother's Day weekend was fabulous! My parents and my sister and brother-in-law came into town for Kyler's dedication at church and we had a blast. Talk about a packed house! 6 adults, 1 baby, 2 dogs, 3 ipads, and not enough rooms. It was great! We had a picnic, ate lots of delicious food made by the men-and cleaned by the men, and we got pedicures. Kyler even wrote me the sweetest little card with the creepiest/weirdest (cough cough CODY) design drawn on top.

I promise I will update with more posts soon. I've just been a leeetle busy with Dallas Moms Blog.

The bowl that changed my life.

2011-05-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

I'm not the biggest fan of Rachael Ray. Sure, she's cute, cooks decent meals (sometimes), and has like 13 TV shows, but she's just not my kinda cook. Although, I do enjoy watching her 30-minute Meals show just to marvel at how she manages to grab ALL of her ingredients in one big kitchen-swoop. I mean, wow.

Anyway, there is one thing that she does that I have finally tried. The trash bowl. Did you write that down? Trash Bowl. It is the best decision I have made in my kitchen. EVER. I used to watch her toss all her scraps and wrappers in her trash bowl and think, "geez, isn't she just dirtying yet another bowl to clean?!" Oh I was so naive.

The trash bowl has saved me so much time and so much effort while cooking a meal. I never even realized how many times I have to walk over to the trash can (with a cutting board full of scraps) or turn around to throw something in the sink while dropping crumbs all along the way. The trash bowl makes everything easier! Like me, you probably won't be convinced until you give it a try. Go try it, it will change your life. Rachael Ray is trashy in the best kind of way.

New Blogging Adventure

2011-05-01T12:41:00.001-07:00

If you've been reading my blog over the last year, you might have picked up on my love for this whole "mom" thing. I love being a mom and everything that comes with it (okay well maybe not everything).

My friend Casey and I have started up a little blog connecting Dallas Area moms across our city. We'll have giveaways, guest bloggers, events and more! We are so excited about the launch of Dallas Moms Blog today, so go check it out and take a look around! We are having an awesome giveaway today, so be sure to enter to win!Dallas Moms Blog is proud to be the first Sister Site of Scottsdale Moms Blog, which was launched by my friend Steph, who's been there for me through pregnancy mishaps to social media marketing. :)

Easter Weekend Recap

2011-04-25T08:34:00.000-07:00

We had such a great Easter weekend as a family. We cooked a ton, ate even more, took advantage of several great engagements our church put on, and celebrated with dear friends. We didn't get to dye eggs like we did a few years ago, I figured it would not go well with Kyler's curious hands and throwing abilities. Although, next year our Easter traditions will be in full swing with an active little toddler who can participate in more activities than just throwing cheerios at the dog.

How was your Easter?

Money and Time Saving Meal!

2011-04-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

For all you preggers out there, busy moms, and just busy people in general that don't have time prepare glamorous meals each night of the week, this tip is for you! I have finally embraced the magic that is bulk cooking and freezing. Before you read more, go check out my sister-in-law Karis' post about freezing meat here, she is always great at giving you a hearty serving of humor and practicality.

Right now I am loving using this recipe to make my own taco meat and freezing all the portions. Then, when I need one for a meal, I just thaw and throw together a meal! One of my favorite recipes to use with the taco meat is the old faithful Taco Pie. Last week I whipped up two of these to bring to some friends who just had a baby and it was quick, easy, and free (because I had the ingredients). Here is how I make mine:

Taco Pie

1 serving taco meat (about 1.5 lbs pre-cooked and seasoned)
1 can crescent rolls
1 pkg sour cream
about 1/4 cup salsa (optional)
2 handfulls of crushed tortilla chips
a few handfulls of shredded cheese (cheddar, colby, mexican blend...whatever you have on hand)

Spread crescents covering the bottom of a pie pan (sprayed with pam). Sprinkle handfull of crushed tortilla chips over crescents. Next, add cooked meat. Mix together sour cream and salsa (so good) and spread over the taco meat. Sprinkle cheese over sour cream mixture and top with more crushed tortilla chips. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

I'm asking YOU!

2011-04-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

Ever since the little boy started crawling, we've been trying to tweak our house to be a little more baby friendly. We've been bolting bookshelves to the wall, moving breakables, locking away chemicals, and keeping our baby in a levitating bubble safely away from the dangers of every day living. Okay, maybe that last part was a little bit of an exaggeration.

One thing that had to go was an old metal table that I had as my bedside table. The thing practically started crashing down on Kyler the moment he even looked at it. I searched Craigslist for days waiting for the perfect (cheap!) matching tables that had potential to be rebeautified. Finally they showed up, I bought, I conquered, and here they are.

Now if I could just decide what to do with them? Paint them, stain them, burn them and keep looking... I need help! What do these orangey-maple colored laminate nightstands need? What do YOU think?

A Hard Day's Work

2011-04-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Staying home and learning how to raise a baby has been such a joy. Of course, every day has its challenges. Sometimes I have to use both hands, 3 toys, and maybe even a leg to help hold him down to get a diaper on him. Some days I have kitchen walls covered in apple sauce, peas smashed between the wood planks of the floor, and I’m picking chicken pieces out of the dog’s (very long) hair. I might get a quick break during nap time only if I have successfully showered, returned all of the toys back to their holding spots, cleaned up the food-smeared kitchen, consumed some sort of nutrition other than a cup of coffee, and taken care of all the other daily chores that loom over my head constantly. There is not much reward other than hopefully having a child that is not incarcerated 20 years down the road. I don't get paid for it and I don't receive any awards or tangible gratitude.

I do what I do for the happiness and love that I hopefully instill in my child. And every day, when his dad walks through the door and he hears his favorite deep voice echo through the house, the expression on his face is worth all the insanity that comes with raising a child. I know my baby feels secure and confident in the love that he knows is just around the corner.

Whoa. That just got deep.

Dining Table Makeover

2011-04-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm back with another furniture re-do! I have found that the best way to make old/crappy furniture look better is to paint it and antique it. I recently did this to a dresser, and I have finally found the time and motivation to finish a project I started over a year ago.

We bought this complete dining set (table with leaf and 6 chairs) for $100 on Craigslist forever ago! It was ugly, outdated, beat up and in need of some serious love. I had visions of a distressed farm table with new upholstery and tons and tons of fabulous dinner parties. Then I got pregnant. We actually found out I was pregnant the weekend after we bought this beauty, so you can imagine the size of the back burner this thing got placed on.

I liked the shape of the table, the detail on the wood work, and loved the price! But everything was wrong from the bad orange-y wood stain to the super glossy table top. It had scratches and dents all over. The chairs were upholstered in this awful blue, regal patterned fabric. Check out that basket weave backing!

I finally got to painting, sanding, distressing, glazing, re-staining the top and sealing. My mom reupholstered the seat cushions for me (learning how to sew is on my to-do list) in a sage green fabric I had lying around. Somehow I had most of the paint and stain products in my garage and have barely spent any money of this. Of course, Cody's muscles were my biggest asset when it came to some of the manual labor, like sanding. I love how the dining set turned out and I love that I spent next to nothing on this makeover. My favorite part is the new table top. The color is rich and warm and Pottery Barnish.

Now that I have finally completed this baby, I plan on covering the top with a sewing machine (borrowed from my mom), sewing book for dummies, practice scraps of fabric, and re-teaching myself how to sew. More on this soon!

Lessons from Hawaii

2011-03-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful privilege of going to Hawaii to be a part of one of my best friend's wedding. We had so much fun being with so many friends, in such a beautiful setting, celebrating so much love. I thought I would document some of the things (baby and non-baby related) I learned from such a monumental trip. Hello 13 hours of traveling!!

1. Have really great friends. Nothing (and I mean nothing) would have been possible without the help of so many kind, generous, gracious friends. Everything from caring some of the 14,000 pieces of luggage that we brought, to wiping off sand from baby rolls in an outdoor shower at the beach was helpful. Even just their understanding and sensitivity to the baby made a huge difference. I cannot count the number of times our friends helped out, it was just constant and wonderful. Thanks guys!

2. Don't wear your hair down for a windy beach wedding ceremony. Wear it in a bun. Pinned down. With 2 bottles of hairspray caked on. Then slick it back with gel. And add more pins.

3. Get tan before you go. Otherwise, you might as well wear a big sticker on your head that scream "tourist!" Everyone in Hawaii is tan!

4. Make lots of friends on the plane. Kyler is way more entertained by people than he is by toys. This will help some of those 8 hour flights!

5. Try not to get sick on vacation. Kyler and I both failed miserably at this. Make sure you have lots of Tylenol on hand!

6. Take a baby pool to the beach. The waves were huge, so there was no way I was even sticking Kyler's pinky toe in that water. We set up a little blow-up baby pool next to our group and he splashed away for a good while. He was safe, contained, cool, shaded, and happy.

7. Eat the local food. This is always my favorite part of vacations.

8. Be flexible! Diaper changes in the park, nursing while laying out at the beach, naps in the mountainous shade, and just complete schedule mayhem.

Kyler's Nursery

2011-03-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

When I found out I was pregnant with a baby boy, I immediately started dreaming up room plans. I knew I wanted something peaceful, serene, nature-y, and calming to be in. I didn't want to do a typical baby blue on the walls, so I chose (after trying out several samples on the walls) a soft gray-blue. The pictures don't accurately capture the true color of the walls, but a better picture can be seen at the bottom of this post. I love the simplicity of the room. I didn't want anything on the walls except for the little bird mural.

These are the little birds on the wall I painted. I was originally going to order a wall decal off of Etsy, but I realized it wouldn't be that hard to paint it myself and it would be free. I drew my design on poster board, cut it out, and used it as a stencil on the wall. I still ended up having to free hand most of it since the stencil didn't work too well. It's definitely not perfect, but I love that I made it for my little boy.

I searched forever for bedding that I liked. I wanted something simple and something that would go with the nature-y theme. I couldn't find anything that I loved, so I made a crib skirt and just went with a simple blue sheet. I made the crib skirt from fabric and iron-on hem tape. I wanted a modern, flat bed skirt that I could adjust as we lower the mattress. I used Young House Love's tutorial as a reference. Lucky for me, I only had to make one side of the skirt because it is the only side that shows. Because of that, this project was super cheap.

Same old story when it came to the mobile. Never did find anything I liked. Leave it to Martha to come to the rescue. I knew my mom gave me that middle name for a reason ;) I made these birds from her bird mobile, but hung them from a tiny wreath from Michael's. I mixed and matched scrapbook paper for the birds to give them contrast and something interesting for Kyler to look at. Kyler has loved watching this mobile spin since the first time we laid him in his crib.

This is the chair that we spend LOTS of time in. It's a very inexpensive chair from IKEA. I like the clean lines and the simplicity (whats new?) of the chair, but it is not a glider. It bounces/rocks a little, but I've already added a glider to the list of requirements for all the next babies. We already had this lamp in our bedroom, so we just moved it into the nursery. It couldn't have been more perfect for the nursery with the subtle little branches embroidered into the shade.

This dresser was a hand-me-down from a relative. I painted it white and changed it out with some hardware my mom passed down to me. I love using a dresser as a changing table because the drawers hide all the bulky stuff. I'm already thinking that this dresser that we recently re-did will make its way into one of our baby girl's (fingers crossed) nursery some day. The curtains are from IKEA and have sweet little leaves all over them.

This ancient bookshelf is begging for a replacement. I think it was Cody's from college, and unless we bolt it to the wall in TONS of places, it is a hazard for our little pulling-up baby. I found the mirror at a garage sale a few years ago and painted it white. I firmly believe there should be a mirror in every room. Not for vanity reasons, but for light and opening-up reasons.

So that was the looooong overdue nursery tour. I loved that I made so much for his room, and hope that I can do that every little baby I pop out. Now I'm already stressing over how I am going to design his big boy room....though I am drawing some inspiration from this charming room.

Spring is here.

2011-03-12T19:17:00.000-08:00

A New Old Dresser

2011-03-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, we were given a brand new, shiny TV. It's even one of those skinny ones that people call a Flat Screen! We were overjoyed that we could now watch shows and movies, and our friends would actually come over and watch with us since it was definitely a step up from our old little boxy one.

The only problem was that we had no where to put it because our old TV was in an armoire/cabinet. In order to find something that would not break the bank, I started scouring Craigslist for something I could re-purpose. I stumbled upon a cheap, old dresser. I loved that the dresser was the perfect size, but the bad laminate finish and ugly brass pulls were not doing it for me. I completely forgot to take a before picture (I just get too excited when starting a project to snap pics) but I found a similar one. The original dresser looked a bit like this, but way worse...

The first thing we did was pry off all the old pulls and knobs. Then we sanded. This step was not actually necessary because the dresser is laminate, not solid wood, but it did help the primer adhere better.

Then we primed and painted. It is amazing how a coat of white paint can make anything look new and fresh.

I gave it an antique finish using this tutorial. I have a thing for antiqued, painted furniture.

Finally, we sealed the dresser and I added some 50% off knobs and pulls from Hobby Lobby. I love how it turned out, but what I love more is that I can change the hardware or even paint it when I get tired of it. And I know I will eventually get tired of it. I have commitment issues when it comes to furniture.

Here is our new dresser/TV stand.

I'm already tapping my fingers together and scratching my head, looking for what else I can re-purpose.

How to Enjoy Doing Laundry

2011-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

I have accepted the fact that I am always doing laundry. I no longer even have a "laundry day". I am just constantly doing laundry all week. Maybe it's the baby clothes. Maybe it's all the cloth diapers. Maybe it's that my husband has more wardrobe changes than Lady Gaga. Either way, it has actually become easier to do a few loads every day, then to wait for Monday to roll around and have a mountainous pile of clothes.

In order to make this whole process a little more enjoyable, I realized I need to make my laundry zone more tolerable. I say zone because I don't have a laundry room. I have a laundry pass-by in the garage. Literally, you pass through the machines when you walk in from the garage. All this to say, I don't have much to work with. In fact, it's taking me quite a pep talk to even post these pictures. This is a humbling experience for me. I'm not proud of the before pictures (who's proud of mess?), and I'm not even that proud of the after pictures (because I didn't have a sledge hammer to completely wipe out this area all together).

Here is the before picture of the shelves above the dryer. Surprisingly enough, most of this junk has a function. Which is probably why it is in such disarray, because I'm in a hurry when I'm using this stuff. Except for the cereal Tupperware up in the top left corner. I suppose I don't use those when doing laundry. On second thought maybe I should, who wouldn't want a snack while tossing things in the dryer?

This is the washer area. Isn't it great how I can vacuum with my right hand as I wash?

Here she is with some sprucing up. The brown basket is for lint, the green basket is for baby bibs and cloths after I feed him in the kitchen (which is right inside) and the glass jar holds detergent.

I lined the shelves with cute contact paper I had left over from Kyler's drawers. Small things like this make me happy.

Like I said earlier, I couldn't do much on this side without a sledge hammer, so I tried my best to cover up as much of the wall as I could. There aren't many "pretties" you can add to a laundry area, so I decided to make my own. I found a piece of wood in the garage and worked with the paint I already had.

This is my laundry take on the "live laugh love" phrase.

Last but not least, I splurged and bought new laundry baskets. Actually I didn't splurge, these things were majorly on clearance at Pier 1. I was convinced by this post from one of my favorite design bloggers, to invest in cute baskets. I'm so glad I did. I love that they match, they stack perfectly, and when they are laying around the house it just looks like part of the decor, minus the heaping load of dirty socks inside of it.
So that is why I skip and twirl as I walk to the garage with a cute basket on my hip to do my laundry. I hope you are picking up on my sarcasm here. Of course laundry will never be an exciting task, but making the space that I frequent so often sure makes it less painful.

Living on the Cheap: Babies!

2011-02-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

Since my last post about living on the cheap seemed to be a hit, I thought I would share some of our tricks for raising this baby of ours on our one income budget. Please don't think that I am claiming to be an expert or even a wise, experienced mother yet (I don't get that card for a few more years), but we have learned how to cut a few corners and avoid extra expenses in our baby raising experience thus far.

1. Breastfeed! Not only does this provide hundreds of benefits (literally- I have a book on 101 benefits of breastfeeding), but it is completely free. I can not say enough wonderful things about breastfeeding.

2. Borrow baby stuff! Not only do we have an awesome wardrobe for Kyler thanks to hand-me-downs, but we have also been able to borrow gear as the need arises just by asking around. Once Kyler was starting to get more head control, we heard a Bumbo was a great thing for them to sit in, so we asked on Facebook if anyone had one we could borrow and a few days later we had one in our living room. This would be a great avenue for borrowing things that are only necessary for stages, whereas strollers and long term items are worth the investment.

3. Babylovers? This is the term I just invented (like right now) as an alternative to babysitters. Going on a date can costs $$ and a babysitter just adds to the cost. Find friends that are willing to love on your baby for free or who you can later give them a night out in return. We are blessed with people who happen to love our baby enough to come over and watch a movie while he snores away in his crib so we can get out and enjoy a date.

4. Try not to go to the Doctor for every little thing. This was hard for me. Being a first time mom and having no idea what I was doing I would be tempted to take him in for every little rash, sneeze, weird poop, etc. I quickly found that you leave with a bill and a subsequent prescription that would cost more than our grocery bill for the month. Now of course some things require medical attention, but there are somethings that also just come along with a baby...like "reflux". One of the doctors diagnosed Kyler with this and wrote me one of those triple digit prescriptions, which I ignorantly filled and administered to him, only to find out that by altering some feeding habits and letting him sleep inclined (in his car seat) most of his issues cleared up.

5. Cloth diapers. I know I've mentioned this before but it has been a life saver! And these aren't your Grandma's cloth diapers! These can be expensive for the initial start-up cost, but we were actually able to register for them and received some as gifts so we were lucky to not have to spend too much on purchasing. Check out my girl Steph's post on cloth diapering...she taught me everything I know about the subject!

6. Don't overload on toys! Not only will you end up spending a ton of money on the toys, but if you are like me, then you will also end up spending a ton of money on decorative baskets to hide all the toys! Babies have actually been around since before the invention of Fisher Price Laptops and what not, and they survived and still grew up to be intelligent contributing citizens of society. I'm not trying to hate on ridiculous toys, I know I won't be able to forever hold off Cody on buying Kyler his first baby Apple product, but we don't have to always have 3 dozen toys with flashing lights and sounds fighting for our child's attention. Tupperware and blankets have provided Kyler with hours of fun. Look around the house, check to make sure it's safe, and present it in a way so alluring that even an adult couldn't resist. Kyler's number one activity right now is riding around in his train that we made out of a box. I also save big boxes (like one that a vacuum came in) that I come across for down the road when Kyler can crawl and I can turn it into a castle or something. Free!

7. Make your own baby food. It is not as time-consuming as it sounds. A few hours on a Sunday provides a batch of baby food for the whole week! Buying seasonal fruits and veggies also saves on costs. Steam, puree, serve. That's it.

8. Free activities. The library at our mall (Dallas is swanky like that) offers free classes every other day that consist of nursery rhymes, singing and dancing, and story time. It's 30 minutes long and so fun for little babes. You'd also be surprised at how watching the dogs run by at the dog park, feeling all the different textures on carpet swatches at Home Depot, or just going about your daily play time in a different environment can really buy you time and save you money. Play dates are also heavenly. This probably sounds ridiculous for all you non-baby-havers but its great for kids and even better for moms!

9. Thrift stores. There's nothing a bottle of Clorox Bleach or Lysol can't fix. Well maybe there is but you get the point. I found the cutest little outfit originally from here, but snagged it up for less than 2 bucks! Thrift stores are great for toys and gear that can be thoroughly disinfected or revamped.

10. Ask for help! People love babies and enjoy helping an appreciative parent. A girlfriend and I swap days that we watch each others baby so the other one can run some errands or just enjoy a few hours of sanity. This is our alternative to Mothers Day Out, which costs an arm and a leg but is probably a life-saver for stay at home moms. Don't be afraid to accept help.

Please post a comment if you have some of your own money saving tricks when it comes to little ones!

Snowed In

2011-02-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Since living in Dallas, I have learned more about snow, tornadoes, and Louis Vuitton handbags than I ever thought I needed to know. Seriously, we have outran (sort of) two tornadoes, been in multiple "snow storms", and well... I'm still working on the handbag part. Apparently the winter storm we are experiencing now is one that will make the history books. Regardless of the 13 degrees weather and the impossibility of our living room warming completely up, we have had such a wonderful snow day. Cody got to stay home from work, because obviously Texas shuts down with the threat of snow and ice, and we were certainly not complaining!

Unfortunately, Kyler came down with a cold a few days ago and today seemed to be the worst day of it. He woke up screaming at 5:57 (an hour early) with puffy eyes and a ridiculously runny nose. Somehow being sick doesn't slow him down very much, but it does make him a little bit cuddly and he is NOT a cuddly baby.

Cody and I put on our flannels (I just stole his) in honor of the snow, filled up on coffee, and took care of our sick little boy. We got ambitious and actually put on a movie at one point, but I think we were only able to watch about 20 minutes of it here and there. Because Cody works at a church, we only really have one-day weekends, so it was so nice to have an extra day where we were all together for the whole day.

After Kyler put up a fight eating his sweet potatoes, broccoli, apples, and apricots, we finally got him to sleep. Then someone got the genius idea to do P90x in our living room. I'll give you a hint. It wasn't me. I'm still using that whole I-just-produced-a-human-from-my-body excuse and the fact that I'm still sustaining him via breastfeeding to avoid crazy workouts like these. After all my fake-complaining, it actually felt good, but I might be singing a different song when I'm too sore to carry my child tomorrow.

After we worked out, we ate the perfect snowy meal. Chili. It was soo good.

So that was the story of our day spent snowed in. And guess what?! We get to do it all over again tomorrow! Let's hope that Kyler sleeps in this time.

Spontaneous Bathroom Painting

2011-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, we randomly re-painted our bathroom. Like I said in my last post, Kyler has finally started taking decent naps. I say decent because I hear there are babies that are capable of taking 2-3 hour naps. What in the world is that about and where can I get one?

Anyway, I think this was during the first week Kyler started taking long naps, Cody was home from class early on a Friday, and we were still in such sheer shock at the fact that we had an hour and a half of free time. What was the most logical way to spend that God-given free time? Why painting our bathroom, of course.

I have always hated the color of our guest bathroom. Actually I pretty much hated all the colors the previous owner had painted our house, but we have since painted over everything....except that bathroom, and our master bathroom (which is a tolerable light blue for now). Let's take a look at the before pics of the bathroom...

Now that I look at it, the color doesn't look all that bad, but trust me, it just wasn't working in there. There was some left over paint from the previous owner in our garage that was a brown/tan color that wasn't too bad. I figured it would warm up the bathroom and give it that spa-like feel. It is not the exact color I would choose, but hey, beggars can't be choosers! And it was free! So while Kyler was being a good little napping baby....

We got to painting. One nap later (and a play session, and a feeding, and some baby entertaining while the other one finished up the second coat) and we had a whole new bathroom.

I definitely think it warms up the room and makes it feel more luxurious. Did you notice
the crown molding? Why the previous owner chose the guest bathroom as the ONLY room in the house to install crown molding is beyond me! We are hoping one day to add more through out the house. Along with new tile, carpet, different hardware, and an array of other things that will probably never get done.

So that is how we made over our bathroom for free during Kyler's glorious nap. Imagine all the things I could have gotten done had he napped like this from birth!

A Little Update

2011-01-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Aunt Jana has been asking for pictures of her favorite nephew. I think these photos sum up our days as of late.

Kyler experienced his first snow! So of course I took the opportunity (probably the only one) to bundle him up in this ridiculous snow suite that was handed down from our sweet neighbors. The poor little munchkin couldn't bend his arms or legs!

This picture is hilarious! We stopped by the Hobby Lobby 90% off Christmas sale, and Kyler was less than excited to say the least! He's got the typical guy-being-dragged-along-shopping look and pose. Thankfully, it's not just an opposition towards crafts, he did the same disenchanted lounge in the cart at the grocery store yesterday.

Kyler decided to help me with the folding of his cloth diapers. He is officially mobile via rolling. And apparently he can pull over a laundry basket and empty out the contents, spreading them around the room.

No, I did not style my baby's hair in a faux hawk. I pulled off his warm little polar bear hat (seen in top photo), and his hat hair just happens to look awesomely rockstar-ish.

In other news, Kyler has finally started taking real naps! Like, longer than 20 minute naps! He is now napping only twice a day, but usually for about 1-1.5 hours each! Now for most people, this is the norm from the beginning, but not for Kyler! Kyler would never sleep longer than 3o minutes. I feel like a new woman. I actually have my baby on somewhat of a schedule and I actually know when I will be able to get a few things done around the house!

Baby Chuckles

2011-01-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

This is just too cute for me not to post.

It wouldn't even be fair for me to keep this to myself.

Kyler has the cutest little fat-boy chuckle. He was actually having a rough day after getting shots and a bad flare up of eczema, but for some reason he found this very entertaining. Please excuse my annoying antics for trying to get him to laugh.

Out with the old, in with the new...

2011-01-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

2010 was soo last year. 2010 was also a year that changed our lives forever, and now we are excited to see what 2011 will bring us. Here are some of our highlights from last year and a glance at some things to come this year.

In 2010...

I started the year off pregnant and just getting over the awful morning sickness part.

my little Jetta failed us for the 5,325th time, so we finally kissed it goodbye and traded it in for my cute little Versa.

we enjoyed a "babymoon" in beautiful California.

Cody was hired on as the Worship Pastor for the new campus plant of our church. Full-time. And full-time seminary student. The man is a saint.

our world was rocked when the cutest little boy came into our world late one Thursday night.

we gave up sleeping for 11 weeks.

I started my new career as a stay at home mom. Not an easy job but so infinitely rewarding.

we traveled to Arizona for the first time with Kyler to celebrate Thanksgiving.

we saw so many of our wonderful friends get married. We also had to miss many of our wonderful friends getting married.

we also had so much fun over Christmas in Houston and hunting in South Texas.

In 2011...

I turn 25 in January. Dun dun dun.

we will spend an amazing week in Hawaii celebrating the wedding of one of my best friends!

we will celebrate our 3rd anniversary shortly after the little mister turns 1.

the "Supper Society" will actually become a reality and bring about many enjoyable evenings centered around food, friends, and fun.

I will try to cross off most of the books on my reading list.

we will try our darndest not to adopt another dog, which means we will have to continue shielding our eyes when those heart-wrenching puppy adoption commercials come on. Gets. us. every. time.

I will be better at blogging. See?

I will leave you with this picture. We call it "Kiss the baby".

Hehe. Look at poor Kyler's expression. This picture better not end up on that awkward family photo website. Wait...maybe I'd be proud.

Our December

2011-01-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

We kicked off December by celebrating my BF's wedding down in Houston. It was such a fun wedding full of close friends and lots of love. They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony complete with romantic lanterns, wonderful music, and 5 of us shivering bridesmaids.

We had the pleasure of driving back to Dallas at 5 in the morning on Sunday to get back in time for Cody to lead worship at church. Let me tell you how fun that was! Especially since Kyler got confused a few weeks ago and seems to think he is a newborn again, waking up every 3 hours at night...and still doing so.

Before we went to celebrate Christmas in Houston with my family, we had our own little family Christmas here in Dallas. We opened up all the presents under our tree (which were so generously given by Cody's family) and we gave Kyler his gift from us.

Kyler really enjoyed all the wrapping paper. He got tons of books, a few precious outfits, and hand puppets that we have way too much fun narrating for.

Our gift to him was a swing for our back patio. Now some (namely the manufacturers) would say a baby this age is not ready for a swing like this, but ah..the benefits of having a huge baby with impeccable head control. We push him very very slowly and he just loves it. Notice the squealing of joy.

After we did gifts at our house, we went out to breakfast. Kyler had a great time in the high chair wishing he could eat pancakes with us.

The day before Christmas Eve, we drove down to Houston to spend the holiday with my family. We made our usual stop at Bucee's, which is like the Disneyland of Texas, and little Kyler tried to drive the rest of the way.

Once we were in Houston, everything was so nice. My whole family was there, though I did not get many pictures, and we had so much fun playing games, eating way too much food, going on Christmas-light-looking-walks, and even some crazies went for a "polar swim".

After Christmas was over, we then packed up our entire life in my little car once again, but this time we drove to South Texas for a hunting trip. We stayed on a great ranch of some friends, and enjoyed the company of Cody's parents and brother, and lots of friends and hunting folk. I grew up with a hunting Dad, so the whole animal-killing aspect is not too bothersome to me, but I did see a few too many dead animals for my liking over this trip. Please skip the next picture if this topic is already making you cringe. Actually I'm kind of wishing I could crop that deer out of this picture, but this post is already far too long and I'm quickly growing tired of navigating my way around this computer.

Cody definitely got to add a few punches on his man card and I'd like to think I can add a few punches to my wife card just for going on the trip. I showered with spiders, watched hunting videos, played poker, and glanced (not without cringing) at several prized kills.

My favorite part of the weekend was the ride on the "War Wagon" through their property. This might have been the best mode of transportation I have ever seen. This family basically built a double-decker-bus by creating an upper level of seats on top of an old suburban. We drove around the ranch at night with spotlights, and got to see deer and tons of elk. I had never seen so many elk, they were huge and cute at the same time. It was great.

Once we returned home from all of our travels we were exhausted. So exhausted we had a very low-key New Years Eve at home. We rang in the new year by cooking one of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals (it took us 45), watching The Other Guys, and eating cookies. And yes, we actually stayed up past midnight.

2010 was incredible, with the birth of our son making it a monumental year in our life. We are excited to take on another year (no babies to be born in this one) and see where it take us. We have some pretty awesome goals and I am taking on a killer reading list. Maybe after I (and you if you are still reading this) recover from this post, I will whip up one for the new year.

Christmas Decor

2010-12-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

All year long I dread decorating for Christmas. I cannot explain this. All I know is I can't stand the sight of Christmas decorations until Thanksgiving. But when Thanksgiving rolls around, I am suddenly, completely ready to fill up my home with Christmas decorations. Strange phenomenon, I know.

One of my favorite parts of Christmas decorating is the Christmas cards. Now, I did learn from HGTV not to overdo the usage of Christmas cards in your home, so I hope Sabrina Soto won't be mad. This is the first thing you see when you walk in and I love it. Of course, I couldn't string all the cards up, so most of them are actually stacked in the little basket along with past year's Christmas cards. As a disclaimer, they were actually hung in the order I received them.

Next, we have the dining room table. This is not the table we eat on, which is why it remains set. As for why the place mats are not ironed...well I have no excuse.

Here is our less-than-impressive Christmas tree. This was the cheapest real tree we could find and I am still working with cheap red and gold ornaments I purchased in college. Next year I have dreams of a pre-lit artificial tree with an actual coherent color scheme and them. Although I do love all the sentimental and homemade ornaments adorning our tree.

Here is the cheapest go-to Christmas flare ever. Bowl o' pine cones.

In the glass bowl I threw in some gold, sparkly pears my mom (queen of all things faux fruit.) I love these little pears and the subtle bling they give to the rustic ball-things. Yes, these are very technical decorating terms.

Finally, the mantle. I love the decorative tree my sister gave me a few years back, and I love that the little white bird suddenly looks Christmas-y up there.

Christmas decorating was a bit of a challenge with our budget this year. Most of this stuff is either old, hand-me-downs, things I had lying around the house that I made look Christmas-y, or thrift store finds. Do you have any Christmas decorating tips??

Cookies

2010-12-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

With it being the season-of-eating and all, and because of our new hobby , I have been baking up a storm. Whilst trying to be adventurous in my cookie recipes, I came across this delectable hot-chocolate cookie. Okay, so maybe it's not that adventurous, but it's more than just your typical chocolate chip...although it does contain chocolate chips. This is by far the best cookies I've ever made from scratch. It's pretty easy too, so I just had to share the recipe. Go make it. now. And while you're at it, put your fat pants on because you will surely need them when you consume way more than the recommended serving size of these cookies.

Although I usually prefer cookies with chocolate, I have been wanting to branch out and try baking some sort of cookie with butterscotch. Does anyone have a good butterscotch cookie recipe?

A Few Firsts

2010-12-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

Kyler has been working hard at learning new tricks and accomplishing new goals. It's so funny to watch him learn something new because once he figures out he can do something, from that moment on he does it non-stop! Here are a few of his recent "firsts".

Kyler started rolling over from tummy to back. I don't have too many pictures documenting this because at first he could only do it naked. What can I say? The boy works best in the nude.

Kyler started eating food. I originally wanted to hold out to the 6 month mark, but he started waking up several times a night to eat, so I knew this little Chunkster needed more than just milk to keep his tummy full.

We took our first plane ride with Kyler (outside of the womb this time), and he did surprisingly great. He slept most of the time on each flight which had me wondering if maybe he accidentally got swapped at security and we were actually holding an identical looking baby that was not ours.

Kyler experienced his first Thanksgiving in Arizona. He finally got to meet the rest of his wonderful family, like Aunt Shiloh and Uncle "Leon".

While also in Arizona, he got to swing for the first time. He loved this! He actually fell asleep in it once. I'm thinking about giving up on the whole crib-thing and bolting one of these to the ceiling. Don't think I haven't tried regular indoor baby swings, I have, and they don't work with this guy.

Most recently, Kyler has started to sit up on his own. He falls after a few seconds of course, but it is amazing to see how much his balance improves every day. He is also wearing his first baby flannel. His daddy is proud.

I'm hoping he'll hold off on some of the next few milestones, like crawling. I don't know if I'm fully prepared to be chasing this little bundle of energy around my house. I might need to start some cardio in preparation.
I'm also hoping he'll hold off on the whole rest of the growing-up-thing. My baby is getting too big too fast. Next thing I know he's going to be playing drums naked in his room and bringing chicks home from school.

Santa! I know him!

2010-12-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

I hope you know the movie my title is alluding to. If not, then how are you in the Christmas spirit?

We have been busy getting into the Christmas spirit over at our household. One of these days I might even blog about it if I retrieve my camera (which I left in Houston) and I devote enough time to actually upload pics.

We've been traveling to Arizona for family time, buying and putting up a tree, baking lots of delicious treats, and watching some of our favorite holiday movies. Someone has even learned to roll over, laugh out loud (a lot), and start eating foods like sweet potatoes.

I have been reflecting a lot on Christ's birth in a new way this Christmas. Having recently given birth to my favorite little boy just a few short months back, I can't help but imagine what Mary must have felt giving birth to her favorite little boy. To look at her child and know He was sent to save this world of sinners. I can't even wrap my head around it. She didn't even try to selfishly protect him from his fate, but she submitted to the Lord and raised her child to fulfill his divine purpose. How hard a mothering task she had.

A Thankful Heart

2010-11-29T16:57:00.000-08:00

Like every year, I have so much to be thankful for. There have been good times and bad times, but I am thankful for it all. Here are a few things that come to mind....

I'm thankful for my amazing husband. He is the peanut butter to my jelly, and he continues to make me a better woman just by being himself.

I'm thankful for all of our family and friends. I feel so blessed to have such a great family and in-laws who graciously love us and take care of us (especially when some of us our emotional wrecks after child-birth).

I'm thankful for Duma. She has really stepped up her game as a guard dog since Kyler arrived. Even though she has taken a back seat in the love train, she has made it her sole purpose to sit by the front window and scare off pedestrians. It really makes me feel safer in this neck of the woods.

I'm thankful for inventions like iPhones, microwaves, and pony-tail holders that all make my life a little easier.

I'm thankful that my old Jetta broke down in January, drained our savings account, and forced us to buy a new car because it's times like this that teach you the importance of saving and being wise with your money.

I'm thankful for blogs. Weird, but true. I love being able to keep up with friends and non-friends (don't act like you don't blog stalk random people that you don't know).

where the chairs hurt our backs and the people are great

2010-11-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

Sometime while I was busy having a baby, Cody was hired as the Worship Pastor for the new campus plant of our church, Fellowship White Rock. At first I was a little hesitant about leaving the main campus with all the comforts of a fully established church, but after launching the new campus a few months ago, I have been so thankful that Cody led us into this new journey. Sure, we meet in an elementary school auditorium with old wooden seats, and my baby hangs out in a Kindergarten classroom with 3 other baby boys, but we have been so blessed by all the people and all the opportunities to serve our community with this new campus.

Today I wrote about Leaving a Legacy on our church's blog. You can read it here.

Overdue Haircut

2010-11-15T19:20:00.000-08:00

Not mine.

Duma's. Over the summer.

You see, between the months of March and November, Duma thinks it's fun to shed about 2.9 lbs of hair a day. Then when September rolls around, we have approximately 4 months of hair-free-house until the whole process starts over again. It's ridiculous.

Well, this past summer, we out-smarted her. Yep, we shaved her hair off so she didn't have to lose it. Not completely, but just enough to keep my floors semi-clean and just enough to coincidentally make her look really funny. After all, her long wavy hair is what gives her all that glory.

Before:

After:

I kinda felt bad, she was completely helpless to how ridiculous she looked. But not bad enough to stop me from getting her shaved again for next summer. muahaha.

Another mothering rant

2010-11-14T19:03:00.001-08:00

I've never been much of an indecisive person. I usually know what I want and I act accordingly. I've always been a pretty practical person, which I guess is what helped me be confident in the whole decision making realm.

Until I had a baby.

A real human-completely and utterly (ha-get the pun?-udders-TMI?) dependent on me. For life, for food, for protection. Suddenly, making decisions has become this internal crisis of right and wrong bouncing around in my head all day long. And it's not just about baby. It's like I've completely lost my ability to make sound decisions in all departments. I stand in the grocery store aisle far too long deciding on which cereal or which tooth paste to get.

Don't get me wrong, decisions concerning baby are probably the toughest. It took me weeks to finally decide what kind of high chair to get, until we finally decided on one of those sweet "futuristic ones". I mean, this is the seat that we are going to spoon feed our kid mush to, as he throws Cheerios and peas onto the floor. Is it really that big of a deal? And don't even get me started on how long it took me to decide on an umbrella stroller...or how many I purchased.. and subsequently returned. Of course I know these decisions are more futile and don't actually matter in the long run, but the serious ones keep me up at night, too. Like, am I really going to be ruining my baby's life if I sing and rock my baby to sleep, as opposed to making him scream his head off for 1.5 hours until he conks out because of pure exhaustion and defeat? Or, if I respond to my babies cries am I actually creating a monster? Seriously! Sometimes I feel like today's society is trying to turn babies into accessories that shouldn't impose or altar our lifestyles at all. Babies are babies! They need to be nurtured, they need to be held, and they need someone to wipe that nasty drool off their fat rolls.

With all the baby books and methods circulating in our culture, it's no wonder why minor decisions have become more like life-changing debacles. The abundance of knowledge through internet and books about taking care of these tiny human beings makes being a parent so intimidating and second-guessing-full. It's like we've convinced ourselves that parenting is not inherent and natural. Why have we abandoned our intuition? Why have I abandoned my intuition? I need to stop worrying about what Dr. Sears would do, or how much that Baby Wise guy would hate me. I have got to stop searching the internet for all the nitty gritty answers and how to make the "best" decisions. I need to chill out and listen to my intuition more.

Now, excuse me while I go google 4 month sleep regression and baby teething.

Recipe for Coziness

2010-11-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Every now and then it's okay to take a "cozy day." Sometimes we just need to refuel and clear our minds. In order to reap the full benefits, you must commit to doing nothing, staying in comfy clothes, eating comfort food, indulging in bad TV dramas, and spending ample amounts of time cuddling on the couch. It is especially beneficial after a long week, like the one we have had preparing for a dinner party at our house last night.

There are a few things that contribute to the cozy factor.

Stormy weather.

Our TV series of choice today: Friday Night Lights.

Cuddly baby.

Leftover food from said party.

We can always find something that needs to be cleaned, some errand that needs to be ran, or some list that needs to be checked off, but if we do not take the time to relax and enjoy the sweetness of life and family, then that spotless house, money spent, and tasks accomplished will have lost their meaning.

4 months, baby!

2010-11-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Kyler is 4 months old. My tiny newborn is no more. He is a full-on baby. Wriggling, laughing, cooing, grabbing, scooting, almost sitting. How has this happened?? I just brought him home from the hospital...well someone did, I don't fully remember in my drug-induced state, recovering from surgery.

It is amazing how much can change in just 4 short months....how a human can more than double his body weight, how he can go from sleeping all the time to declaring war on sleep during the day, how he can go from having the most awkward, alien-like, arm movements to being able to get anything he can reach into his mouth, how he can loose and regrow an entire head's worth of hair, and how he can be born after just 15 hours of labor and change our lives forever. We never thought we could find spit-up cute or actually covet someone's stroller, but parenthood works in mysterious ways, and these last 4 moths have been the most exciting months of our lives.

Kyler continually gets more fun, more active, more curious, more mobile, and more chunky. He is giggly, chatty, stubborn, strong-willed, sensitive, cuddly, needy, hungry, HUGE, investigative, happy, and very cute. Sometimes I still can't believe someone trusted us enough to let us keep him. I'm so thankful God chose us to be his parents.

Baking up a New Hobby

2010-11-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

With Kyler's amazing early bedtime (7 pm) and his even more amazing ability to sleep pretty well at night (usually), we decided we needed a new hobby together. Mostly so we don't end up wasting our wonderful evenings sitting on the couch watching movies, although sometimes that's really nice. This is such a great time for us to enjoy each other, talking, connecting, and doing an actual activity (cause men like to do things while they talk about feelings so they feel more manly).

Somehow we decided baking was a good idea. I'll let you know how our metabolisms feel about this in a few months. As for now, we are enjoying the tasty desserts and the inexpensive fun.

So far we have conquered a chocolate flourless cake (from one of my Real Simple mags) and a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling (from BHG cookbook).

Hopefully this doesn't turn out like the last goal we set for our family. You can imagine how well that turned out. I mean it's great that they made it to the World Series and all, but I just couldn't handle the pressure. Wait....nope....that's the Rangers...I guess I'll stick to baking.

Life Lessons: Living on the Cheap

2010-11-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

I knew when I saw those 2 lines on that pregnancy test that it meant putting my career on hold. I always knew when I had children that I would stay home with them, I just didn't know that time would come so quickly. Fresh out of college, newly married, first full time job, and interviewing for dream jobs...and then BAM...BABY! Although the putting my career on hold was something I'm still dealing with, there were other things to think about. One of the worries circulating through my mind was how would we live off of one income. Or I should say, how would we live off of one ministry income?

Here are just a few things I have learned lately to stretch our money and still enjoy life.

1. Cook EVERY meal. Yes, easier said than done, but when we do stick to this-our budget is happy.

2. Along with that, cook in bulk. Kraft Foods and Campbells websites are great resources for affordable and easy recipes. Don't eat heaping servings, eat just enough to get full and save the leftovers for lunches and other dinners.

3. Borrow DVDs from friends for movie night instead of heading to Blockbuster. This is free. And they don't incur late fees. Usually.

4. Cloth Diapers. This is something that has saved us a ton. We don't ever buy disposables (unless we are traveling overnight somewhere.)

5. Enjoy the Public Library. Free books, music, movies, mags. What more could you want?

6. Decorate the house with what you already have. I get an itch to redecorate and rearrange every few months...err..weeks. I have learned that instead of hitting up Target and coming home with a $50 impulse buy that I always regret later, I just go to my linen closet and exchange a few things around the house. Move a candle here, place a stack of books there, switch out that bird-looking-thing for a pretty vase...and VIOLA! A new look. You'd be surprised what switching out a few throw pillows and accessories can do.

7. Aldi. Shopping here has changed my life! It has literally cut my grocery budget in half! 89 cents for a gallon of milk?!?! Where else can you get that?!

8. Hand me those down please! Hand-me-downs are the reason why my baby is wearing anything more than just a diaper on any given day. These have saved our lives! Everything from maternity clothes, baby clothes, swings, and toys! Don't turn these down if people offer! Baby stuff adds up fast.

9. Don't give into trends! Well, at least not all of them. Case and point: here. Remember last year when these kind of boots were in? No? That's because they weren't in for very long. I will probably never wear those boots again. Waste of money! On the other hand, the dress was a good purchase-not trendy at all, I even wore it for my maternity pics. Some trends are worth giving into, like skinny jeans. I bought my first pair the moment I saw Mischa Barton rocking them about 4 years ago. I still wear that very pair all the time!

10. Take advantage of events put on by organizations you are involved in. These are often free and often accompanied by free meals. Free meals = money saved!

11. Instead of going on a dinner date, go on a dessert date. Much cheaper and you still get to enjoy a date out.

12. Last but not least, learn to say no. Sometimes that spur of the moment lunch date with a friend just won't cut the budget. Saying no to things can be hard, but your friends will understand and respect your discipline.

Hopefully I will continue to learn more ways to save money. Being a good steward of what we are given is not only essential for us to get by, but it is also what we are called to do as Christians.

Fall Decor

2010-10-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

I've never been a big fan of fall. Actually, I usually dread this specific season change. You see, I'm a summer girl. Love the beach, love the heat, love the vacation time. Fall means the end of summer and the nearing of (dun dun dun) WINTER. I do love the holidays, but I do despise the cold. So for me fall has always been the gloomy in-between season. No that I am well beyond the school years of fall meaning new schedules, homework assignments, and early bed times, and I'm past the teaching years (due to the little guy) fall is starting to warm up to me. I am now starting to see why all you fall fanatics love this season.

To help nurture my growing admiration for autumn, I chose to add a little fall flare to the house. Also because we had some left-over pumpkins and such from a fall festival our church put on over the weekend.

I added these little white pumpkins to our mantel. Baby photo by Macy, and our photo by Kate.

I just love these little white pumpkins.

This was where most of my decorating effort went. I had to walk all the way over to the linen closet to get this orange candle.

I love flowers. I wanted to plant this bushel in our planter, but it turns out that's hard to do with a baby in tow. So I settled for plopping it down next to the planter box on our porch. I also plopped the pumpkin next to it to keep it company. Hopefully, we will carve it this weekend.

Sadly, that is the extent of my fall decor. Unless pumpkin cookies in my kitchen count. Oh, but those already got snatched up within days of their baking so I guess they don't actually count.

Obligatory Pumpkin Pictures

2010-10-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

What happens when you show up to the "pumpkin patch" at nap time with a baby who fights sleep for about 15 minutes every time before angrily giving in to the nap?

Thankfully our friend, Jeff, was with us and able to capture the few smiles Kyler let slip out.

In my defense, with a baby only 3 months old, nap time still happens about every hour and a half. And 30 minutes of that hour and a half that he is awake is spent nursing and burping.

Baby Blues

2010-10-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Kyler's eyes are such a beautiful blue right now. They have been since birth. Well once they were un-swollen enough to open.

I have a sneaking suspicion they will turn green like Cody's.

And I like my men's eyes like I like my lettuce. Green. And with ranch. What?

This Stuff is Hard

2010-10-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Parenting sure does involve a lot of decisions. A lot of decisions that could potentially lead to a very happy baby or consequently lead to a 14 year old adolescent who still needs Jewel to sing him off to sleep.

Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed with choices. Do I let him cry it out? Do I try to force a schedule on him when he continues to prove he is a wildly unpredictable baby? Does he really need that much tummy time? Do I try the diaper-free elimination method (seriously? are we really doing this?)

I'm trying to use a good combination of different parenting measures from here and there. But most importantly (to me) I am trying to listen to my intuition and listen to my baby. I am trying to be the mother God intended me to be. I'm trying to love him the way He first loved us.

Can we all just agree that the world is a better place with diapers? Poop on the floor is so inconvenient.

10 Things Currently Keeping Me Sane

2010-10-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

These three months of mothering have been beyond amazing and enjoyable. With that being said, naturally there is a little chaos. These are a few things that have been helping me get through the day to day stress of being a new mama.

1. Decaf sweet tea. Kyler does not tolerate carbonated or caffeinated infused milk very well. If you want to experience a fussy/gassy baby, down a few glasses of Dr. Pepper and wait for 5pm to roll around. Brewing a pitcher of iced tea has really helped quench my thirst while simultaneously meeting my need for something sweet without upsetting baby's tummy.
2. Northpark Mall. I actually frequent this place a few times a week...but not for shopping. With Kyler being born in the peak of summer, it's been too hot (until recently) to go on walks with him outside. Now I understand why the mall is just full of moms with their strollers on week days. It is the best place to get exercise with baby while staying cool. It even has a public library for me to stop and pick up books and music for Kyler. I have loved this place.

3. My iPhone. Let me start by saying I used to think (well sometimes still do think) that iPhones are the epitome of social destruction and mind-numbing brain usage. Cody basically forced one on me. Oh the torture. Until I had a baby and found the glory of baby apps. In the midst of my hormone induced madness, my iPhone kept track of feedings when my memory was as useful as my broken Chi straightener. It kept me in touch with friends and other moms when I was lonely while spending hours sitting in bed with a nursing baby. It kept the internet close for all those emergency Googles of what to do when milk violently shoots out of my baby's nose. Most importantly, I love being able to capture cute pics and instantly send them to the Grandparents. I think they might love my iPhone for that capability even more than I do.

4. Baby Carriers. Whether it was my 40 ft long Mob y wrap or the old trusted Baby Bjorn, "baby wearing" has definitely kept Kyler happy while still being able to have limited arm function.

5. Leftovers. Learning how to make really big, or just tripling, recipes has really been a life saver.
Eating the same meal for several lunches and dinners may not be culinary bliss, but it sure does make life easier, and cheaper.

6. Jewel's Lullaby CD. Enough said.

7. Earrings. Sometimes I think it's Kyler's main goal in life to prohibit me from doing my hair or make-up. He will take a cute little catnap just long enough for me to take a quick shower but immediately wake up and need to be held or fed, thus interrupting the getting ready process. I have found that throwing on some cute earrings makes me feel more put together than I actually am. Hopefully I am fooling others as well.

8. A good Pediatrician. We love ours. I have found that even just his confidence and laid back nature have put my mind at ease when it comes to weird baby ailments. When looking around for one, we heard his name over and over, that's how we knew he was a good pick. We trust him, and most importantly we know he genuinely cares about our baby's well-being so we know he's in good hands.

9. BumGenius Diaper sprayer. Let's just say newborn poop doesn't just fall off into the toilet.
10. My bed. Why? I usually get about 8 hours of sleep here that helps me recharge for another day of mayhem. It is also the only hours in a day that I don't have a baby physically attached to my body in one way or another. Thank you my precious son for this precious gift.

Blogger's Block?

2010-10-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've lost my love for blogging. Mostly because I've fallen in love with mothering, like..a lot. But I want to rediscover it. I have a lot of love to give, so I guess I can spare some for the 'ole blog. Although, I think I need a fresh start. A new blog. A new concept. A new personality...or a blogonality I should say. Still trying to figure that out. Any ideas?

In the mean time I shall update any loyal readers I still got going strong out there. To those of you...thank you, I love you. Like I love mothering, except I'm not going to change your clothes when you poop on yourself.

Kyler is such a blessing. He brings so much joy to our life (and apparently Duma's, too.) He started sleeping through the night about 2 weeks ago. Praise the Lord. Seriously. I actually thought this day would never come. Kyler is a very high maintenance sleeper. Usually the only way he will fall asleep is by eating, and I'm not talking about from a bottle people. And during the day (even still) that is the only way he stays asleep. Which means this mom doesn't get much done.

I love this picture. Probably just passing the time, pondering the great theologians, like Augustine and Martin Luther, like his daddy does.

Kyler is so smiley. When he is super flirty (he loves the ladies) he will smile and then get all bashful and bring his arms up by his face and try to hide the biggest smile you've ever seen. He is especially smiley when we go in to get him when he wakes up at 7:20 on the dot every morning. He is just laying in his car seat (yes that is where he sleeps- but at least it's in the crib) doing his lip popping trick and laughing. It is so cute.

I mean, could he look any fatter in this pic?

We have all been having so much fun. Even when we were only getting 2 hours of sleep at a time all night every night. Of course there are days that are hard. He still puts up a mean fight when it comes to falling asleep. And sure there are those evenings (and mornings..and afternoons) that he will not let me put him down. And there have been many a time where I am forced to embarrass myself a little in very public places because the child will NOT take a bottle or a pacifier.... all I can say is thank god for these things. But everything we do, every hour between 12 and 5 we are awake, every sick-nasty cloth diaper I am cleaning off in the toilet, every mile I end up power walking my baby around the house to get to fall asleep, every swanky restaurant I've ended up having to nurse in, every fun social outing I've had to miss, every shamefully ridiculous dance I do to make him laugh, every ounce of energy we've put into this precious baby's life has been completely and joyfully worth it. I am so thankful that our birth control did not out-control God's sovereignty. In fact, I cannot wait until the day we have more little Kyler's running around.

Wait, did I really just say that? Yes, yes I did.

Nothing better than...

2010-08-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

a naked baby!!!!

Little Man

2010-08-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

I love my little man so much...

and his little dinosaur tush, too.

Kyler's Birth

2010-08-02T11:41:00.001-07:00

*I am trying to document all the details so if words like birth canal freak you out...you might just want to look at the pics.

As my due date (July 9) approached, the sonograms showed that the baby was measuring bigger than he should. This could have been because he was going to be a big baby or because my due date was off. There were a few other factors that suggested that my due date was off, but we just continued to wait for his arrival. Well, the week of my due date, we went in for our last OB appointment. My wonderful doctor thought it was best if we induce the day before my original due date. She wasn't comfortable leaving him in there with the discrepancy of my due date. I had originally hated the idea of being induced, but after 9 months of getting to know and trust my doctor, I knew she knew best and I ultimately wanted to do whatever she suggested.

So we headed up to the hospital Wednesday night to begin "cervical ripening." Sounds fun, right? At this point I had been dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced for a few weeks. We were hoping the cervical ripening would be enough to put me into labor, but it actually did nothing besides give me a few more fairly painless contractions. The next morning they started me on pitocin. That gave me stronger contractions, but didn't do any dilating.

After a while my doctor convinced me to let her break my water. Once she broke my water, I was in active labor. Boy did that speed things up! As soon as my family came back in from the water breaking party, my contractions were hardly even breathable. At this point I was wishing I had taken the Lamaze classes. I was still holding off on the epidural at this point, not because I intended to go drug-free, but I was so scared of that thing! I thought it would help if I was to that point of pain where you're yelling at the husband, "you did this to me!!!" Turns out no amount of painful contractions could have prepared me for that devil shot. I lasted all about an hour from the breaking of the water and I could hardly stand the contractions. I knew I wasn't going to last and that an epidural was imminent so I might as well get it over with. The nurses said that often, the IVs hurt worse than the epidural. Well after that, I thought the IVs felt like puppy kisses compared to the epidural. That thing hurt!! Regardless, it did take the pain of the contractions away, and just a few hours later we were ready to push!
It was the strangest thing starting to push because you know in a short while you are going to meet your baby. I was so happy. I was pumped. This is what I had done all that walking for in preparation. Well, I pushed, and pushed and pushed....for THREE AND A HALF HOURS!! I thought my head was going to burst I was pushing so hard. Kyler's heart rate would drop after some of the contractions and I had started to run a high fever. I could tell the doctor and nurse were starting to worry but they were still letting me push. I had never wanted to something so bad. They could see his head for quite a while but it wasn't going down past a certain point, and they didn't know why. Eventually, my doctor told me we were going to have to do a c-section to get him out. This is where things got very blurry. I was upset and so scared for my baby. Very quickly I was pumped full of lots of drugs and in a very cold operating room. Lots of things happened very quickly, and the next thing I heard was "he's got curly hair!"

Hearing those first sweet cries was the best feeling. I remember he wasn't even screaming, it was the sweetest little whimper I've ever heard. It seemed like forever until someone finally brought him around the sheet for me to see my perfect baby. Actually, it was forever, and I was not happy about that. Cody was snapping pictures away and I am laying there yelling for someone to bring me my baby. See the fury in my eyes there!
Finally the nurse brought over the most beautiful little child I have ever seen.

He was wrapped up like a little burrito and looking all around with his big blue eyes. It killed me not being able to snuggle him right away. I was just so thankful he was healthy. My fever hadn't affected him and he was perfect.

My doctor discovered that the reason he hadn't come out on his own was because my dang tailbone was too prominent. Poor little guy couldn't get past it. It took a little while for his little face and head to recover from being stuck in the birth canal for 3.5 hours. After they finished the surgery, they whisked him away to the nursery. The next 4 hours felt like an eternity. Finally at 2 am they wheeled my little son into my room where I got to hold him for the first time. I wish I wasn't so drugged because I barely remember but I know it must have been the best feeling ever. They say that babies really need to nurse the first moments of thier lives for it to get to a good start. If you wait too long they get drowsy and might not establish a good breastfeeding relationship. Because of the surgery I was not able to nurse him right away. Well, I know this was a total God thing, because somehow my little baby stayed wide awake until they brought him to me 4 hours later and he latched on perfectly. The nurses said they had never seen a baby so alert in the first 24 hours and nurse so well from the first try. It was the best blessing.

The next 4 days in the hospital were spent bonding and recovering. Because Kyler was so low in the birth canal, they had to do a second vertical incision to get him out. So between the massive surgery, and all the pushing I did for so long, the recovery process was not easy. I enjoyed every minute holding my baby because that was all I could do. He slept in the nursery at night, and each night the nurse would wheel him in every 3 hours to eat and I remember the amazing feeling I would get as I would wake up at 4 am to the sound of my sweet baby crying as he was wheeled up to my bed. It was amazing.

Being home from the hospital was a challenge at first. Those nurses are good at taking care of people! But being with him now and being able to carry him, snuggle him, and change his diaper has been so wonderful. He is the sweetest little boy. He loves to be held and cuddled, he loves to look at bright colors, and he loves voices! Singing to him soothes him best, it's so cute. He is definitely going to be a musician like his daddy.

Even though the delivery was nothing like I had hoped and expected, and lots of unpleasant situations came up, I am thankful for every detail...because it brought me the most precious baby. I am so in love with this little boy. Sometimes I just sit and stare at him for hours. I have loved being a mom even more than I thought I would. This is the best job in the world!

God provides and His love is so sweet.

He's here!

2010-08-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Kyler William Kimmel was born July 8 at 10:04 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 in long.
He's perfect and we have been loving every single minute with him (hence the lack of posting.)

He is now over 3 weeks old and gaining weight by the hour! Seriously! This chunk is already passing up 9 lbs!

I'm hoping to write out the birth story soon...with all the drugs from the delivery and the crazy postpartum hormones clouding my mind, the details are quickly fading....and I don't want to forget anything...or else I might have more children. ;)

Did I mention how in love we are?!?!?

Maternity pics?

2010-06-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

I was never too fond of the idea of getting professional pictures made of my bigger than usual figure, acne-attacked skin, and fuller face. Don't get me wrong, I think professional maternity pictures are beautiful and I love pregnant women, but things are different when I'm the pregnant woman. Although I did want to have some good memories of this special time with my baby boy in my belly, I wanted to save the picture-taking-money for when he was outta there.

So in order to get some good photos of what I looked like carrying this little guy, I put my wonderful husband to work. We just stopped by the lake down the road, found some nice nature, and snapped away. I think they get the job done, and I like to think Kate would be proud of these pics, seeing how they were inspired by her photo taking skills.

These pictures were taken at 35 weeks, and yes...our bags are packed and waiting to go.

Bumpin

2010-05-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a baby bump picture for Aunt Jana. This was taken a week ago, at 32 weeks pregnant. Kyler probably had the hiccups because he has them all the time now. Poor little guy.

This is my friend Vanessa, who is also preggers!

Ode to our Small Group

2010-05-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

As the summer is rolling around, friends are moving, people are off serving in other countries (cough cough Melissa and Jeff), and babies are soon to be born...I can't help but get a little (okay a lot) sentimental about our changing small group.
We have been blessed to have been a part of an amazing small group over the past year. With people from different churches, different walks of life, but all somehow placed in our lives just perfectly, we have been able to form a group that has really grown together as a family. We have learned together, worshiped together, served together, given together, prayed together, played together, and partied together. This year would not have been the same without them.

We are so thankful for our amazing Tuezday Nightz. We have really enjoyed having fellowship with these people every week (even if it was just a divine trip to Baskin Robbins sometimes) and we can't wait to see what's in store.

Murder Mystery Pics stolen from Amanda

Baby Shower!

2010-04-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend some wonderful ladies threw me a baby shower in Houston.
It was so fun to celebrate this precious baby boy with so many lovely women.

Baby showers are so much fun. Everything is so cute. I'm pretty sure my friends were in awe that I could actually squeal as much as I did about every little thing.

I have to brag on my amazing sister who made all the cakes for the shower. The cake and all the little cupcakes were so awesome. The details were so intricate!

Why she doesn't quit her 9-5 job and start a cake shop is beyond me! She even made a diaper cake using some of my cloth diapers that I registered for. Yes, I am taking the plunge into cloth diapers. I am crazy. And I am excited about it.

Overall the shower was amazing. We got tons of great stuff that is quickly filling up the nursery. As you might have noticed...baby boy has a name...well he has had it for a while, but I guess it is time to announce it to the internets:

Kyler William Kimmel

By Hitting 30 weeks in the pregnancy, Kyler will be here in just two months! I'm feeling great, large, and in charge! Although carrying around this "little" baby bump sure is a lot of work by the end of the day. And if you catch me after dinner (or ultimate feast) you might just see me waddle.

Here is the 30 week belly.

Looks like it's time to clean the mirror again!

April Update

2010-04-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

I know I promised that I would post the video we made of our vacation, but it would be punishment to make anyone watch that. We are not good at that kind of thing, most of our clips are one of us filming the other in a cool location going "okay take a sip of your chocolate malt and look at the sun." Lame. I'm telling you.

Despite the lack of posts, spring is shaping up to be a great season and we are having a blast in these last few months before baby.

First and foremost, Duma turned 2.

How did she spend her birthday? Probably laying on the couch, resting her head on her paw and pondering the last 2 years of her easy life. I mean, can you believe before we rescued her that she was a stray, wandering the streets of a small town with her brother? How did she ever survive the streets? Look at her.

We have been loving the warmer weather! And not just because I don't fit into any winter clothes anymore. It's been so fun to be able to hang out at the lake and go on walks. I love the blossoming trees and blooming flowers around this time. I'm so over bare trees and brown grass.

Isn't this little bird bathing in our bird bath just the cutest?

We had a lovely Easter that we spent with our church staff family. I made a delicious chocolate creme pie that I just had to get a picture of. I am not usually very successful at making desserts, consuming desserts- I am very very successful, but usually making sweets turns out to be too complicated and intricate, but this pie turned out great!

We have also been working hard on getting baby boy's nursery together. It doesn't actually have any of the necessities yet, like crib mattress, toys, books, changing pad, but it is a start. Cody and I love just going in there and sitting and thinking about our little cutie that will be here in THREE months!

Lastly, here is a pic of the belly. I have always understood black to be a slimming color, but every time I put this top on, I look huge. Maybe it's because I am huge. Here is the 26 week belly.

"There is money in the banana stand."

2010-03-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last week we woke up at the sea.

Thanks to the generosity of others, we were able to getaway on a vacation to Newport Beach, California. We soaked up every minute of our last vacation as a family of 2...although we do foresee more vacations as a couple with a little send off to camp Grosse or camp Kimmel...but for now it is our last before baby.

We had a blast exploring Southern California, taking long (and exhausting on a pregnant woman's bad back) walks on the beach, eating seafood at fancy restaurants and making crepes in the morning, defeating mind-boggling crossword puzzles, hunting down Arrested Development's Frozen Banana Stand, relaxing to my first prenatal massage (what should just be called and hour long rub,) and just having fun spending every minute of an uninterrupted week together.

And because who's not interested to see what an almost 6 month pregnant woman looks like in a bathing suite....

here I am at 23 weeks with my baby boy

Try to contain your excitement, but Cody and I might have been working on a little film of our vacay. Once we get it edited (and sent to the Academy for review) I will post it. Stay tuned...

Who's pregnant?

2010-02-23T11:16:00.001-08:00

So we've reached 20 weeks, the half-way mark!

I keep telling Lauren to lay off the Doritos and that they aren't good for the baby.
Let's just hope that girl has some cocoa butter!

Where am I?

2010-02-11T15:14:00.001-08:00

Just at home, toughing out a Texas Blizzard.

It has been snowing all day and is supposed to continue snowing all night.

Weird seems to be the only word I can find to describe this.

Should we be out shoveling our driveway or something?

It's a ....

2010-02-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

BOY!

We had our best Doctor's appointment yet when we got to find out the sex of our baby.
My parents got to come with us, and it was so fun to find out all together. It was so amazing to see our little baby moving all around on the screen. It looked like he was doing flips in my belly. I was told to drink caffeine and have some sugar before the big appointment to get him moving around so we could definitely see the right angles to determine the sex, so I think our little boy was just going crazy after tasting regular coffee and Godiva chocolate for the first time. Poor little guy was on a sugar high. I promised the doctor I wouldn't eat like that again.

Here is a picture of him hanging out upside down. He might be sucking his thumb, but I'm not sure.

We were also able to order a crib this weekend. I searched everywhere, and it turns out I'm pretty picky when it comes to cribs. I knew I wanted a white one, I knew I wanted straight clean lines, and a storage drawer would be a plus. I also didn't want one with a drop side because they can be a safety risk, but it was hard to find the type I liked with out a drop side. We ended up finding the perfect crib on amazon.com, it has the clean lines, it's white, and it even has a storage drawer underneath. The only problem was that it had a drop side. We decided we can rig the drop side so that it does not move...that way baby boy Kimmel won't get his little fingers stuck if something were to go wrong.

Now I can't stop dreaming up all the possibilities for a baby boy nursery. Although I kinda already have the whole room planned out. As soon as our crib comes in and we get it assembled I will post some pictures and maybe some design plans if I can figure out how to make one of those nifty little mood boards.

We couldn't be more excited about the news we got on Friday. Even though I felt like I knew the whole time that it was a boy, it was still surprising to actually see it and know that there is a little baby boy in there!

Conversations with a 4 year old

2010-01-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

About half of my class understands that I am pregnant. The other half must think we're crazy when they would hear people say things like, "Mrs. Lauren isn't here today because the baby in her belly makes her sick" or when I say things like, "please do not head-butt me there, I have a baby in there." The kids that know what being pregnant means are pretty cute, and they are very interested in my growing belly. I do get lots of fun questions, though....

little girl: Why do you have a baby in there?
me: Because that's where they grow.
girl: How did it get in there?
me: um....um....God created it and put it there.
girl: But how, like how did it get there?
me: ask your mom
girl: How are you going to get it out?
me: thinking: you don't want to know. I'm going to push it out. (gotta teach the truth right?)
girl: Well, how's it going to get back in there?
me: It's not going back in there!

other little girl interested in our conversation interrupts: Is there a bottle in there for the baby?
me: nope
girl: Is there a refrigerator in there?
me: NO! Thank God.

I hope I don't already look like I could be carrying a fridge in there!

Hey mom, check out my baby bump!

2010-01-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

Your grand baby sure has been growing.

At 16 weeks, I'm finally starting to show a little. My friends finally believe that I am pregnant, I'm starting to get some nice belly rubs from loved ones, and wearing my non-maternity shirts is just downright embarrassing now. Luckily, the baby has moved up into my abdomen so most of my pants are still fitting. I'm pretty sure I've felt my little one move around a couple of times, and it sure is amazing.

You can really see the growth when you compare it to 14 weeks, just 2 weeks ago.

Today we got a glimpse of summer.

2010-01-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

The weather outside was warmer. The sun was shining brilliantly. I could feel the end of winter nearing.

Thank God!

Every year I get super eager/excited for the warmest, happiest, most fun season to hurry up and get here. And this year, I have something even more exciting to look forward to this summer.

Anxiously awaiting this coming summer brought back memories from past summers. Here are some of those memories and some of the reasons I love love love summer.

Aaahhh....just a few more months.

*please ignore date stamps on pictures, most are incorrect

Big Decision

2010-01-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

Cody and I have decided on a big life change.

I'm talking big.

It's definitely going to be an adjustment. One that might cause grief, shame, and even sometimes pain.

Things will really start looking different around here....

...especially come next fall...

when we become....

COWBOYS FANS!

After living in Dallas for almost a year (wow), we have decided we might be missing out. Or maybe we just feel left out. It seems that everyone in Dallas (and in most parts of the country if we are being honest) are Cowboys fans. I mean, even our local grocery store offers discounts for wearing a Cowboys jersey on game day.

Cody and I are not huge sports fans, so this will take some discipline. I'm excited for what the future has in store as a Cowboys Fan. Whether it be for the team spirit, the feeling of being included, or just for the grocery savings, life as a Cowboys fan starts now!

Go Horns! Oops, I mean Cowboys!

Jelly Belly

2010-01-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

I finally have some updated belly pics. Sadly, I realize there is still not much to see, but I can definitely see a little bit of growth. The first one is when I was 11 weeks, and the one on the right is my current 14 week belly. That's right, I've graduated into my second trimester!

I am so ready to start really showing. I can't wait to feel like I can look down and see my baby. I am also anxious to start wearing all the cute maternity clothes I got for Christmas. After all, new clothes are new clothes, and it is rare that I get new clothes these days.

The past couple of weeks I've been feeling much better and just dealing with lots of hunger. I have lost my trademark sweet tooth, which is really weird for me, and find myself wanting things like potatoes (in all forms,) wings, and chicken fried steak for dinner every night....which is why my guess is that I am carrying a little baby boy who already has his Daddy's appetite. I just can't imagine that a little girl in there wouldn't share my love for all things chocolate and ice cream every night, and trust me, this baby does not want chocolate or ice cream.

O Holy Night

2009-12-18T12:36:00.001-08:00

As Cody was practicing for worship on Sunday, we couldn't help but overhear someone trying to harmonize in the background. Though a little off pitch, you gotta give the girl credit.

A sixth sense?

2009-12-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

I've heard that dogs can sometimes sense that their owner is pregnant. This can cause them to have abnormal behavior, such as not eating or things like that. Well, our dog is not exactly the most perceptive or intelligent breed, I mean...we don't even know what breed she is exactly, but it's quite evident she's not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Nonetheless, she has been experiencing quite the sympathy-pregnancy induced fatigue. Laying around is normal behavior for her, but lately she's been realllllllly tired. Like... so tired that she has actually taken on my laying position. my. exact. position.

That's just not normal.

Regardless, at almost all times, you will find both me and Duma passed out on the couch like this, exhausted from growing a little baby.

No need to post a new belly pic, it pretty much just looks the same, except for the 10 pounds of water I must be retaining at all times. My pants are starting to get snug, though it doesn't really look like a baby bump, my no-longer-so-flat-belly is starting to fill out.

All I want for Christmas

2009-12-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

I wish I could write about the beautiful snow that fell yesterday, like predicted, and how we played in it outside, had snowball fights, and frolicked around like children, but I can't. It did not snow yesterday. While I did enjoy, not, reading everyone's facebook status' and pictures of all the snow in Houston and Austin, I was very disappointed in the lack of snow in Dallas. Oh well, at least we got some earlier in the week.

Although it didn't snow like we were hoping, we did have a very Christmas-y and cozy night.

We finally bought a Christmas tree and decorated it in a way my mom would not approve. Not only did we use colored lights, but we used big ones AND small ones. That's right mom, and it's BEAUTIFUL! I'm only kind of kidding, I know my mom would still love it.

We still need a star to put on top, and we are going to have to fight Duma off from drinking all the water, but we are so happy with how our colorful tree turned out.

After the festivities, we made a fort in our living room and slept by the fire.
That's what I call a perfect night.

SNOW

2009-12-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

I love Dallas. Because of snow.

On my way to work, actually- Cody driving me to work because we are down to one car right now, we were pleasantly surprised by snow flurries.
By the time I got to work, I was surrounded my my 15 little kids, huddled around the window to watch the huge snowflakes fall down in a beautiful fluttering motion. FULL ON snow!
Okay, I know it didn't quite resemble the picture above, in fact, it didn't even stick on the ground, but I didn't get a picture to document it.
And wait, the snow doesn't end there. The talk of the town here in Texas is that is going to snow on Friday, too. Cody and I have big plans for this snow. It better not disappoint.
We should be getting our tree tomorrow, with decorating, hot chocolate, and cozy fires to follow. Hopefully I will have some good pictures to share.

I'm not one to like the winter, I would much rather be warm than cold, but this makes winter much more tolerable.

I miss food

2009-11-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

I have always been a big lover of food. Cravings were a usual thing for me in all my 23 years of life before pregnancy. I always envisioned my future pregnancy as being this wonderful joyride of delicious food bliss, craving everything and anything out of the ordinary, enjoying my regular nightly ice cream, throw in a couple of pickles here and there and I would be one happy pregnant woman.
Wrong.
Where has the luster of food gone?
And how am I suppose to live with the guilt of feeding my unborn baby KFC mashed potatoes and gravy because that is the ONLY thing that my body can handle right now? Or Jack in the Box tacos because I swear I just got a whiff of those from the restaurant 2 miles down the road?
How am I going to develop this peanut with all the nutrients and vitamins in fruits, vegetables, and all the other essential food groups when I can't stand the LOOK (literally- this made me sick) of a glass of milk, or another tangy orange, or the smell of broccoli?
Hopefully my prenatal vitamins are doing me well, because my appetite sure isn't.
I long for the day when food tastes delicious again, when I don't have to eat crackers all day just to keep my breakfast down, and when I can indulge in my love for fruits and vegetables again and feel confident that my little baby is getting everything he/she needs.

I just noticed this is my 100th post. How unexciting.

Thankful

2009-11-29T09:37:00.000-08:00

My family was able to come up to Dallas to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house this year.

I think this was the first Thanksgiving in history that I haven't been super excited about the food. Don't get me wrong, I am hungry ALL the time, but usually nothing sounds good. It was so much fun though, to watch the men deep fry the turkey, and then proceed to deep fry anything they could find in the kitchen.

Of course the dogs had to choose which side they were on for the big game.

It was a really great Thanksgiving, and I am so glad my family made the trip up here to spend it with us.

For my mom and sister who want me to start documenting my growing midsection...here is my 8 week bump.

There's not much to see yet, but I figured I better get a good before shot of before my body is completely taken over by the human being growing inside of me....although the baby has already taken over my appetite, my sharp-as-a-dog sense of smell, my energy, my trips to the restroom, and my restful nights.

Have I mentioned that...

2009-11-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

I am so in love with my husband!
He has been undeniably amazing these past couple of weeks. Not that he is not always amazing, because he is, but I sometimes cannot even believe what he puts up with and how far out of the way he goes to serve me.

This man has been cooking, cleaning, bringing me vitamins all while I'm sluggishly lying and moaning of death on the couch, and basically doing anything to make this time for me as easy and enjoyable as possible. This bun in the oven and I are so extremely blessed to have this man!

Guess who's.....

2009-11-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

pregnant?!

That's right. I am pregnant.

On July 10, we will be welcoming a very unexpected addition to our little family.
We had a hard time believing it at first (like 7 positive tests-hard time,) but we are very excited about it now.

I am 6 weeks along and saw our little baby's strong fluttering heartbeat today. It was the cutest little heart we've ever seen.

11 random facts on 11/11

2009-11-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

I have accepted the challenge from my friend, Shannon, to post 11 random facts about me today. This will be a little hard seeing as I posted 25 of 'em, here. But I love a good challenge, so I am going to try to think up 11 more. Here it goes....

1. My life-theme is irony. Most things I plan and set out to do, don't happen. We live in a place we always said we would never live. I had a perfect plan that consisted of being a teacher, but I couldn't get a teaching job. Every time I clean the floors, it rains and Duma gets muddy paw prints everywhere. And, we will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary in a very unexpected way next year. ;)

2. I hate peas. I used to gag when eating them as a child, over the kitchen sink, just so I could still get desert. It had been years since I tasted the awful mushiness that is a pea, so a few weeks ago, not knowing what I was thinking, I decided to try them to see if I had grown out of it. Nope. Disgusting.

3. I am a total beach person. Mountains or beach? Beach.

4. I can be claustrophobic. I am not good at concerts. Crowds like that make me want to faint. Even a moderately sized room without windows makes me weak in the knees. Sometimes, even standing up and singing at church makes me want to run for the door. One time I got sick on a plane because I was sitting in between two strangers and had no personal space. Moral: back off.

5. I absolutely love Chick-fil-A nuggets and every time I eat them I wonder, "how do they make their chicken so good?"

6. I never really learned long division. I remember the day we learned it in 5th grade. I was talking to my friends, totally missed the lesson, and have never really been able to comprehend it. Let me give you an example. 785 divided by 29. I could either guess and check or use a calculator, but I could not long-devise that. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not a 5th grade teacher.

7. If I could be bouncing on a trampoline right now I would.

8. Cody and I once bought a camera together. He is a very high-tech guy and loves his gadgets, so he wanted the best camera we could get. I just like decent (decent enough to my liking) pictures and a good deal so I wanted a cheap camera. Let's just say we didn't get the cheapest camera, and I am the only one who even uses the camera, and if you were to bring up this fact in our household, you would see us fight. No matter how many years will pass from the camera-buying-incident, we will still fight it out. Cody, admit your defeat. And that is the extent of our marriage woes.

9. I love Luby's. So sue me. Chicken fried steak, fried okra, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, hot rolls, even their olives. Luby's is everything delicious to me.

10. My feet are always cold. I think this runs in my family, at least for the women. Thus, I usually have on a good ole pair of booties in my house.

11. Last night, we had our wonderful weekly small group over for some good discussion and fellowship together. Somewhere after Duma got sick in front of everyone, and Cody started doing snap-pops, we settled on mimosas, Jay-Z, and a nice game of Battle of the Sexes. And that is why I love our small group.

Will you accept this challenge???

Warning

2009-11-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

Get ready to be hearing a lot more from me lately.

I've gone part-time at my job. That's right, I'm only chasing around 4 year olds until 12:30 now. Life is good.

There are several reasons for cutting my hours back, but the important one is that it will make for a much happier wife. Spending all my time at that school has really taken it's toll. Now it's time to get my energy back, my time back, and my joy back.

Has it really been a whole month?

2009-11-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

I need to recommit myself to the blog. It has been neglected, badly.
I actually do have a lot to blog about. It will just take time to get it all out.
Get excited!

Autumn in Dallas has been beautiful so far. We've been enjoying the State Fair, the Fall Festival in the Arboretum, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (free tickets from seminary of course,) the beautiful changing colors of leaves, parties with the small group, and other "life changes" of sorts.

I promise to update more. I'm bringing blogging back.

I'm baaack...well maybe

2009-10-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have been on a little internet hiatus. I've been spending time away from the internet and TV to get some clarity. It's been good. I have been able to see more of what God is doing in my life and trying to focus less on what's not happening.

In the meantime, we have had some adventures.

We were able to go to Vail, Colorado to help out with Cody's parents' ministry, Family Matters.

Cody's parents are doing some really awesome things through that ministry and God worked in pretty powerful ways that weekend. We were blessed to be apart of it.

We even got to ride horses. If I had my way, we would've just cuddled with them the whole time.

The mountains were so beautiful.

I also wanted to share a new accessory I've been sporting.

Why yes that is Cody's name in Old English on my back. Don't worry mom, it was an airbrush tattoo I got a few weekends ago at Oktoberfest.

I'm trying out life as a stay-home housewife today and tomorrow as I am out from work with bronchitis. I'm pretty bored. Dang those kids and their germs.

I kinda miss those dang kids. Wait, what am I saying?

On a lighter note...

2009-09-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

Cody's sister, Shiloh, and her husband came into town over the weekend. We just love them.

for real

2009-09-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been struggling. Not with the blog, but with life.
Struggling with "the now" and not the plan we had hoped would play out. Struggling with my purpose. Struggling with the unknown.
This might all sound a little more dramatic than it should. My problems are mostly with my career and ambition issues. Nothing too serious. I love my husband more than I ever thought I could, I love our little house and life we have created here in Dallas, I have amazing friends and family, and I have a relationship with my Creator that sustains me.

I guess I am going to have to press on and work out the situations God has me in right now. I am not in control of my life, and thank God for that.

Because sometimes...

2009-09-10T15:50:00.000-07:00

cooking a homemade meal and eating it at a table is just not what ya need.

And snuggling on a blanket by the lake as the sun goes down is peaceful, until fire ants attack.

And it can be fun to watch our "special needs" dog roll in the grass.

And sometimes, it can even feel good to scare off a flock of birds.

Texaaaas Fight!

2009-09-08T11:17:00.001-07:00

Seeing everyone's facebook status' last week about the start of college football made me kinda sad. Don't get me wrong, I am not a huge football fan. But I do appreciate the amazingness of my alma mater's football team. Football season was always such an exciting time of the year...lots of chips and queso, lots of cheering and chanting (but not an annoying Aggie kinda way-tehe,) after game parties, and trying to find cute clothes in burnt orange. Soo many memories. Take a stroll down memory lane with me?

Freshman year

Little fishies. Aren't we cute?

Sophomore year

A little better, but still not up to par.

Junior Year

This was the beginning of MBSM. We're looking good.

Senior Year

This is about what we looked like, every game, around the third quarter...right before we went home to the AC.

Sadly, I don't even watch much UT football anymore. Except for Thanksgiving, when I have to shame my Aggie husband for his non-elite football team. Go Horns.

Oh no, It's happened again...

2009-08-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

School's started. My hours are later. 4 year-olds exhaust me. All this to say, it's been difficult to muster up the energy to cook regularly, or do anything else productive after work. Frozen pizzas and salads are getting real old, real quick.

Sorry honey, I'll try harder.

...

Chick-fil-A tonight?

trying to find a way to...

2009-08-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

get back here...

Some might think a few trips to the beach per summer is sufficient. Not for me, even if they were amazing, beautiful, extra-special beach trips.
You see, I grew up at the beach. I spent my summers, and all the other seasons (thanks to Texas weather) at the beach. I have some of the best memories of my life from our beach house. Thanks to Ike, chances of going back to our little beach neighborhood are slim.
And living in Dallas doesn't help. I can't tell you how many times a week I stare at google maps and try to determine the closest, but decent, beach in driving distance. We are stuck in the middle of the country. It makes me feel claustrophobic.
We keep on saying "if such and such happen... then we will empty our savings and plan a beach trip." If only such and such would happen...

a weekend of...

2009-08-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

sleep

cleaning

crafting

playing

seafood

Felicity (no way did my husband watch this with me and totally love it and want to watch more, no way)

setting up my classroom for tomorrow's new school year

destroying closet and reorganizing, which lead to lots of clothing donation piles

waiting...

...maybe you'll find out what for....maybe not

my first apple

2009-08-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was given an apple from a student. It was the sweetest thing.

I knew I got that teaching certificate for something!

...

I go back to my PreK classroom Monday when the school year starts. Oh Heavens.