Just to make you smile :)

I am soooo sleepy so i will be short today!  I was sitting beside my beautiful little girl, nursing little man and watching tv.  I was into this awesome DIY show when Elli starts poking me "mommy, mommy it's doing that thing."  I look down to see my son looking up at me mouth wide open and milk spraying his face and my daughter's leg, lol!  Hope my little disaster made you smile :)

Smile... It will make you feel better!

Micah has a mohawk!  Not on purpose but still it is there.  It is getting more pronounced as he loses that little ring of hair where he rubs his head while he plays!  Personally I think it is adorable.  My brother keeps  saying he will bring the mousse to make it stick straight up (as it is a little curly natural, lol).
I said i would post some pics of the awesome fabric i got at joannes but there is just a slight glitch in my plan!  I am not sure i like the fabric together and one fabric has since become my lampshade fabric.  I do promise to post pics soon though of the lamps and the pillows (even the ones i decided were ugly, lol).

It has been beautiful outside... well not really beautiful but i get extremely excited for any day that it is above freezing and free of snowfall.  No I am not one of those people who hate snow or cold weather.  Actually i got super excited for the first couple snowfalls but my enthusiasm this year is cut short mostly because everyone keeps getting sick at my house and then passing it around :).  I am so ready to see the sunshine and air out my germy house ( i don't know how the germs survive.  They must have morphed into super germs to somehow to survive the lysol i am constantly spraying, lol).  I love it when i can open the windows and let the fresh air in :)

I am so thankful for the blessings God has given me.  Sometimes i get so busy with the details of life that i forget to stop and enjoy it.  Most people make new years resolutions to do more- exercise more, organize more, save more money, ect.  This year i pray i do less and only appreciate more :)  (except to smile that is... you should always smile more!)  I want to pour my time and energy into my relationships... into the people in my life who are constantly giving to me and loving me.  There are certain things that just have to get done, don't get me wrong, i just want to learn to share the joy of life with my family while i do them :)

Yesterday i spent literally 3 minutes trying to wipe a freckle off Micah's butt :)
He is feeling better now, mostly.  I am really reluctant to take him back out into the germy world now!  Friday night was a little stressful.  I could hear every breath he was taking.  So we have been home for SEVERAL days and i get a little stir crazy, just ask my momma- i think i called her at least 6 times one day, lol!  While i was being held captive by my house i made a chair slipcover, ice cream cookies (for my little singers in children's church), throw pillows and lots of cute pics of the kiddies that i hung in my room!  I am so productive when i get bored, lol.
Oh and the freckle... it was gone the next time i changed his diaper, weird huh :)
 By the way... i wasn't kidding when i said my cooking could be humorous!  The salmon i cooked last night never turned white even after broiling for 40 min, lol!  Finally i admitted defeat and my hbby and i had garlic mashed potatoes for dinner!  They rocked his world :)

 My cookies-                                                                                      And elli's lol!

Fun Day!

Micah has RSV.  Poor baby, he is getting better but for two days straight my fingers (arms, hands, ect...) we continuously busy wiping boogies , patting and just plain holding little man.  Oh how my back and my blog suffered, lol!  And those sleepless nights with elli were due to a particularly awful ear infection.  Both have improved, thank you Jesus!  


In an effort to help Micah recover ( he is still pretty congested and coughing but getting better), my family skipped church to hang out with my parents and aunt that was in town :)

We even got to visit joanne's  (while micah slept).  Love, love, love that place!  I picked some really awesome fabric for throw pillows that i will post tomorrow ( i am just too lazy and it is too late to go get the usb to hook you guys up, lol).  And speaking of posting pics, i made some really cute ice cream cookie sandwiches for our children's church valentines banquet that i will post pics of!


night all!

Disaster ... and not so Disastrous

Here's the short list
Disaster:
elli and her ear infection (seriously we are getting no sleep here.  And by "we" i mean me.)
me crying on the stairs while Micah wails in his crib (which elli sleeps soundly through, amazingly enough)
Micah has now started coughing too
flower frame = broken :(
no ink for photo printing (  I know, i'm a little bit of a drama queen but come on... i hate when that happens!)

...Not so Disastrous
Micah cried himself to sleep ( I have regained my sanity) and is now sleeping in his crib (fingers crossed) at night!
Made some pretty delish chili, salmon and cookies ( all of which my super picky hubby complimented :)
spray painted a million frames to hang (which have been sitting around annoying me for months on end)
finally made a chair cover for my super ugly(and super cheap) desk chair
Hubby bought a new printer and INK!
repainting two unbroken flower frames to hang with some frames
rearranged some furniture :)


I am a chronic furniture re-arranger.  Some people make fun of me, lol.  I love the way it feels when i can walk into a room and it just feels different just because i moved the furniture.  It gives you a new perspective like using shuffle on your scrabble tiles.  You still have the same letters but shuffling them helps you see a word you might not have seen otherwise.  I have been called weird a time or two :).
I tried a recipe this week!  Well two actually but i only took pics of one.  Here it is: tarragon pecan salmon ( find the recipe at Bhg.com)

I also made what i call Junk drawer oatmeal cookies.  You know that really weird, clear drawer in the fridge that is supposed to be used for butter (i think).  It has become the junk drawer for my fridge.  Usually sauces or chocolate chips, crushed nuts, dried fruit or extra ketchup packets find their way in there.  I add whatever i have in the junk drawer that suits my fancy to a really easy bagged oatmeal cookie mix.  This time it was crushed pecans and coconut, yummy!

Elli broke one of the flower frames last friday.  She say it is her favorite one (as she pulls the frame out of the trash.  She has that "this is evidence you are being a mean mommy" look!) I promised her i would repaint the others so i could hang them again with the new frames i spray painted for her room.  I just thought i would share this little tip i picked up along the way.  I use artwork from one or two of elli's books to hang in her room.  It cost so much less than buying prints and they are awesome for hanging multiple pics in an arrangement.  This is the book i chose for elli's room.  I will post the finished product after i print some pics tonight to finish filling the frames!

Some Momma Love

Sooooooo.... we really did get the ice storm!  It is awful out!  Last night i woke up to the sound of ice falling off of the tree branches onto our windows.  Eeeek!  Call me a little girl, but it really freaked me out.  Little man had fallen asleep downstairs on the couch with me and after being awaken by ice i moved him and i a safe distance from the massive tree in our yard.    The low branches were (and still are) resting on our kitchen roof!  Come on warm weather, lol!  It really needed to be pruned before winter, but it just kept getting pushed back.  It really didn't seem that important of a task until last night.

I am at my momma's house now.  Shortly after i was married, my mother, father and little brother moved from the  city/suburb house my older brother and i grew up in to another house in the country.  Even though it is a different house i still feel so at home here :).  Nothing is better than the love of a momma.  Elli, Micah and I are camping out here tonight.  Call me crazy but it is a little hard to sleep knowing those low branches are hovering over my house.  My husband is guarding the castle and caring for the animals (we have 2 boxers).

 I have so many nice memories of my momma.  When i was really young i remember her sitting between my brother and i warding off any monsters as we fell asleep in our beds.  I remember her tucking me in at night with kisses, hugs and kind words.  I remember crying because i had embarrassed myself in front of my latest crush and she held me in her lap and told me she loved me.  When i was older she did the same thing after a particularly hideous hair cut.  We were not always the "best of friends".  There were endless feuds over cleaning my room, the hair and makeup issues.  Also there was a particularly grueling conversation on when i was old enough to shave and we were always up in arms over the length of my clothing.  When i turned 18 we were torn apart for a short period of time.  It was a real growth experience for both of us i think.  I learned to appreciate my mother and all of the sacrifices she made for me and she learned that she had managed to raise an independent and sometimes strong willed woman of principle.  I hope i can achieve something similar with my own daughter (minus some of the bumps along the way).
I love my momma.  I always knew she loved me.  I was always reluctant to leave her when i went to visit my Dad.  It wasn't really a reflection on him, i just always pictured her at home lonely and missing us.  Now that I am older i realize she was probably having the time of her life: eating ice cream with no one to share with, painting her nails ( and actually letting them dry before someone asked her to do something), watching whatever tv show her heart desired, getting some alone time with my other dad ;), and possibly even sleeping in on Saturdays.  In fact i mentioned once, to my mother in law, that i had these fears for my mom every time i left her.  She replied "your momma was having a good time while you were gone".  
I also really like my mother in law.  I just thought i'd throw that in since i was talking about mothers :).  She does a really awesome job of giving advice without being pushy.  She is one of those ladies that never forgets a birthday and always seems to have exactly the thing i need for the kids before i even ask.  Yes, God has definitely blessed me with a great 2nd momma.  The only complaint i have is that she made it extremely hard to cook for my husband.  He is used to some really great food, lol.  Hopefully my cooking will improve with my weekly recipe:)

Bedtime is a battle here( at my mom's), well even at home it is a battle, lol.  Elli is so wound up from ice cream (her dad said it was the cure for the common cold... did i mention elli has a cold), the excitement of a sleep over and all the fun she had playing with my little brother.  My brother (well half brother) is 7.  There are 19 years between us.  It is an interesting relationship that i will probably blog about later ;)  Anyhoo, back to bedtime.  Elli is a chronic staller.  "Momma i need a snack."  "Can we watch a movie?"  "Mommy, 2 books not 1 please."  "I need another drink please."  The Husband is much better at bedtime than I.  I would like to think that i am just kind hearted... i want elli to go to bed with sweet dreams, not lonely tears.  Really i think i might just be a push over, lol.  It is getting more and more difficult to be patient with the current bedtime routine now that the baby is here.  I want her to have nice bedtime memories like i have. In an attempt to cut back on bedtime stress we are starting an 8:30 bedtime routine with a bath before.  Wish me luck!  I'll let you know who wins the battle :)