2 miracles

Twins Defined

2012-02-09T22:01:00.003-05:00

In case you ever wondered what it's like to be twins, Libby and Drew give you the run down:

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This is the Stuff (that drives me crazy)

2012-02-08T00:39:00.000-05:00

Ever have a day where you wonder why you even got out of bed in the first place? You know... where everything seems to go wrong and all odds are against you? Today started out that way for me.

As I was getting ready for work, I noticed my wedding band was missing one of its channel-set diamonds. UGH. Then, my van's battery was dead. AGAIN. Darrell came home, jump started it, and switched cars with me for the day (while he brought it to get a new battery). Things seemed to be looking up. Until...

As I was leaving a preschool in Fairfax, this is what happened to me (in Darrell's Jeep, mind you):

As I was going through an intersection, I noticed the car to my left slammed on its brakes. I braked myself and then BAM! A Honda Civic had run the stop light and I smashed into its right side. He spun around and ended up turning completely around, facing the wrong way in the busy street (Fairfax County Parkway). He was shaken up, but thankfully no one was hurt. I instantly said a prayer because the Jeep has a bigger front end, which is made of more "solid" materials than my mini van. I don't want to even think about what would have happened if I was driving my mini van today.

The other car:

The other guy tried to tell the policeman that I came out of nowhere. So sad that people lie, especially to a police man who has seen a wreck or 2 and discovered the skid marks all over the road. Thankfully, Darrell came to get me and we had to wait around and do paperwork and so forth. Then, we took a trip to the body shop, and handled about 15 phone calls between the driver at fault's insurance company, the rental car company, and the worker's compensation department (since I was working at the time). A small sacrifice to pay for not ending up seriously injured... or worse.

A few hours later, my back and neck started getting really sore, so I decided to get it checked out at Urgent Care (one of worker's comp providers). I cringe at being exposed to all kinds of stuff in waiting rooms like this. Watching Howie Mandel talk about his OCD and germophobia on TV there did not help things! After 30 minutes of waiting, 1 nap, many prayers of thanksgiving, and reading a few more books of Revelation (since we are studying it in our women's bible study group), the doctor told me it most likely was just muscle strain. She suggested I take Advi, and gave me the clear to return to work. She warned me that tomorrow and Thursday will most likely be really painful. Let's hope she's wrong!

Lying down waiting to be seen by the doctor allowed me to think things through. I was so aggravated about my van not starting, but after looking at Darrell's car, I realize that his front end is much bigger and more solid than my van's. I thank God for protecting me and the other driver because had it been one milli-second earlier, things would have been very different. It's hard to ignore the message to "slow down with life and realize what you've got". Stop complaining all the time about bad things always happening to me. Start appreciating all the time I have here with my family and friends. Listen more, talk less. Be still and know that He is God.

This song came to mind most of the day today. Can you relate?

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The Latest

2012-02-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

We are going through a tough phase right now at age 4. Everyone says the 2's are terrible, but I say the 3's and 4's are worse. That's because they can talk back (with such sass sometimes), copy everything they see (especially bad behavior), disobey, and flat out ignore you when things aren't going their way. I have to take some deep breaths at bath/bedtime because oooo-weeeee they are HOT and sassy. I feel like I have teenagers at my house! I keep going back to my mom telling us how she would never say/do that to her mother and clearly remember rolling my eyes every time. Well, now I know what she means! In fact, we have started the "No/Yes, ma'am and No/Yes, sir" rule and I plan to stick with it. There's a lot that I can handle, but rude, disrespectful kids are not one of them.

With all of that being said, there are also some amazing things about age 4. They are a little more independent, can play together, and enjoy being a "special helper". They come up with some amazing stories, artwork, and ideas. They also have an "imaginary family" as they told me today. "Mrs. Mango" is "the one who takes care of all of the animals and gives them food". She is also the one that would take care of a pet if we decided to get one. I'm doubtful that's true, though Libby and Drew like to try and use this as leverage. :)

Drew is smart- really smart. Smart enough to point out your mistakes in routines, recalling stories/movies, pronunciation of words, and especially things "you promised". He's doing 100 piece puzzles and has recently begun Legos (the small ones). He loves Star Wars, Cars 2, Spider Man, and Bat Man. He is moving away from Toy Story. Tonight when I tucked him in, he told me he was going to be a race car driver for the M&M car. He picked this car b/c M&M's are "Daddy's favorite". But he also had tons of questions I could not answer, like where these cars are made, how they go so fast, why the doors don't open, and so on. I divert these to Darrell. Drew has kept us on our toes (as well as Brenda, his preschool teachers, and KidZone teachers) with his behavior the past year or so. I have prayed every day for my sweet boy to return to me. I don't want to jinx it or anything, but I think he's returning finally! YAY!

But... guess who's decided to pick up where he left off...

Libby is our free spirit. She's so cute at mispronouncing or misusing words (like "nusery" for "anniversary"), playing with Hello Kitty (her 3 different ones), and doing arts/crafts. She has the best stories to tell and does.not.stop.talking. I mean EVER. I can't believe I'm typing this because apparently I ~~was~~ am the same. I think I've toned down a lot, but definitely have the gift of the gab. She used to be really camera shy as a baby. It was funny- whenever I pulled out the video camera to catch her doing something cute, she immediately stopped. But now, she wants to be taped. I finally pulled it out today and caught her in her element singing. Thought you might enjoy it:

So, my prayer now is that this is just a "phase" and that she goes through it much quicker than Drew did! And in the mean time, I'll use this adorable photo of the babies when they were almost 4 months old as a means to calm my nerves. :)

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And She Wored A Striped Shirt!

2012-02-06T01:02:00.000-05:00

It's always exciting when you get the wonderful news about someone expecting a baby. My friend, Andy, is pregnant with twins and I just went to a baby shower for my friend, Kirsten. Plus my brother, Bryan, and his wife Erica are expecting their 2nd baby girl in March. Babies everywhere! New moms have asked me for advice/tips since I had Libby and Drew and it's a little tough since my memory is terrible. Thankfully, I have this blog. It really is like our baby book because I wrote so much detail about every little thing when they were little. So, my first bit of advice is to blog/journal because it's true- you WILL forget things. :)

I wanted to blog this cute "Libby'ism" from today (you know, before I forget)...

Since we have another friend named Andy, I often have to clarify with "Hayley and Kate's Andy" or "church Andy". Libby also refers to Andy-with-twins as "church CD Andy" since we have a New Life Band CD. After I told them I was having lunch with "church Andy who has twin babies in her belly" (say that 5 times fast), I decided we needed a shorter name for her. I told them her last name, and now they call her "Miss Andy Spray". So cute, even if it does make her sound sort of like some sweet little old lady- like the one from the movie "Up" (I tear up just thinking of that movie).

Darrell and I went to 1st service today so for 2nd service, I was in KidZone holding 2 crying infants at once (if you ever want practice for the twins, just come on by sometime). Libby and Drew wanted to go see "Miss Andy Spray" sing. They didn't tell me until afterward, but this was our conversation on the drive home:

Libby: "Mama, Miss Andy Spray sang so beautiful, didn't she?"
Me: "Yes, she does!"
Libby: "Yeah. She sanged 'Hosanna'!"
Me: "I know. That is my favorite song and I love when she sings it."
Libby: "Yeah."
{pause for some really deep thinking - which means something good is coming...}
"And she wored a stripe shirt, Mama!"
Me: {smile}

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Things Get Ugly Before They Get Better

2012-01-25T09:30:00.004-05:00

Do you find it interesting that things get ugly before they can get better? In all honesty, it's no fun at all. But why doesn't my human brain realize that the ugliness sometimes means that the light is around the corner? Even though I know this to be true, my simple human mind just cannot grasp it. If Pavlov could train dogs so that they knew what to expect around the corner, why can't I? Especially when I've been through it before time and time again?

Ever wake up in the morning with a black eye? Okay, let me preface this... I must have been dreaming or maybe even having a nightmare because for some strange reason early Tuesday morning, I guess I went to turn over or something and I just remember whipping around toward Darrell and all of a sudden.. SMACK... I slammed my face into the top of his head. That's what he gets for cuddling too early in the morning, right? ha ha ha But seriously... it woke him up and he said it hurt, but not like it hurt my left eye. Wanna see?

Day 1 (with some concealer):

No pain, really- just a few stares from people I met for the first time at work (a parent and some staff from a new community preschool I visited).

Day 2:

Today it hurts a lot more. Although Libby and Drew were so sweet, saying, "I think it looks like pretty makeup," I wasn't convinced. I have a headache and it feels really swollen- basically it feels like I got punched in the eye! I don't think I can put concealer on it today because just barely touching it hurts.

But we know that with bruising, it looks really ugly as it's healing. Yesterday it was blue, today it's purple, and I expect tomorrow to be yellow or green. This is the sign that it is getting better.

Which brings me to my next point... Dr. Katie has once again decided to cease yet another new medication prescribed to me for anxiety and depression. I have had great success with one in particular, but the doctor felt I needed an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) to make the total package of happiness. I tried one, gained 35 lbs and had a ferocious craving of sugar that could never be satisfied. I tapered it off independently, leading to serious side effects, or SSRI withdrawal. This felt like having the worst hangover EVER, for weeks and weeks (while still expecting to work with preschoolers, raise my own, and function in society). NICE. My doctor was unaware that I had received my MD in the 2 or so months since we had seen one another. Needless to say, I told him that especially since I had gone through this withdrawal, I was never putting that in my body again. But, my mood took a major nose dive. MAJOR.NOSE.DIVE.

So, much to my chagrin, I agreed to try another SSRI. It's been 2 months and I have been so, so tired. I mean.. TIRED. Not the tired that comes from having newborn twins, but the tired of "I can't even listen to what you are saying because I am asleep with my eyes open" kind of tired. The "I am no help to my husband at all because I am too tired to help with cooking, housework, bathing children, bringing them to school, or being awake past 7:00 PM" tired. The "I cannot believe I am still tired when I am sleeping AT LEAST 12 hours nightly" kind of tired. I couldn't get out of bed in the mornings or make it to my bed fast enough (usually falling asleep at the dinner table or on the sofa shortly after) kind of tired. So, I tried to wean off as best I could and once again am having the nice hangover to go with it. This time it's not as terrible, but still no fun.

What's keeping me going is knowing that things get UGLY with a capital U before they get better. Isn't that true for everyone? It is for me. But it's the time of being in the UGLY that makes my brain forget. Then I get stuck in the UGLY for more than necessary. Why is that? Are we simply wired that way as women, as mothers, or as humans?

Why is it that I want to stay in the UGLY sometimes? Why can't I accept a compliment someone gives me, especially about my appearance? Just yesterday, even with my eye the way it was (which really wasn't all that noticeable), someone I see every Tuesday at a preschool I go to asked me if I was losing weight. Immediately, as if a script programmed into my brain- I went into diarrhea of the mouth discounting this... "Oh, it must be this sweater or pants or something else because there's no way I could have lost any weight since I can't ever seem to no matter how hard I try. You are too sweet saying something like that..." as I laughed it off. Ok, WHAT?? Instead of just saying, "Maybe I have," or "Thank you," I immediately turn into that little unworthy girl who enjoys self-destruction and succumbs to the resistance around her. Deep down, I'm begging for others to accept me and love me and notice me (in a good way, that is), but when I get that gift, I slam it to the ground and stomp on it. It's like I punch it in the eye or something (he he). But why?

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV1984)

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Thank God for Fleas

2012-01-08T23:25:00.005-05:00

Today in church, the message was about being grateful for what we have in our lives. It gave me a lot of perspective as excerpts from a book by Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of the German concentration camps of World War II, were read. I had not heard of Corrie or her sister, Betsie, before today and am now compelled to buy Corrie's book with her personal writings documenting her experiences with her sister.

Here's a review of what I heard today, from another author, Joyce Swann:

Thank God for Fleas

As Thanksgiving approaches many of us are compiling our personal list of things for which we are thankful. I, too, am compiling my list, and in doing so I am putting at the very top, “Thank you, God, for fleas.”

I learned about the importance of fleas from Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch Christian woman who, along with her other family members, hid Jews from the Nazis when Holland was under occupation. Corrie and her sister Betsie were middle-aged spinsters when they were arrested by the Germans and eventually sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbruck. Because Ravensbruck was among the worst of the camps, from the time they were first arrested Corrie had prayed diligently that they would not be sent there.Yet, Ravensbruck turned out to be the final destination for these two remarkable women.

The sisters were assigned to Barracks 28, a long gray building with numerous broken windows covered by rags and communal beds consisting of platforms stacked three high covered with filthy, stinking straw.On that first day when Corrie and Betsie were assigned their places on a middle platform, they discovered that the straw was infested with fleas—biting, stinging vermin. It seemed to Corrie that fleas were the one thing that would make their incarceration at Ravensbruck even more torturous.

When Corrie began to complain about their circumstances, Betsie reminded her that the Bible says we are to give thanks in everything, and she began to thank God aloud that there had been no inspection when the women entered the barracks, and they had been able to bring in their Bible. Then she thanked God for the crowding because that meant more women would hear the gospel and be saved. Finally, Betsie thanked God for the fleas! As far as Corrie was concerned, that was the last straw. Corrie refused to join Betsie in thanking God for the fleas until Betsie reminded her that fleas were part of the place where God had put them. Grudgingly, Corrie took Betsie’s hand and joined her in thanking God for the fleas, although she was certain that this time Betsie was wrong.

The two sisters immediately began a nightly meeting of prayer and Bible study where everyone was welcome to participate. Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Eastern Orthodox women joined in the prayers and signing, and others listened. The sisters’ Bible was written in Dutch, but they translated their reading into German so that more of the women would understand. Those women, in turn, passed the words of scripture along the aisles translating them into French, Polish, Russian, and Czech.

At first, the sisters were very fearful when they called their meetings. In their previous barracks they had been accustomed to having the guards exercise rigid surveillance with half a dozen guards always present. In Barracks 28, however, there was very little supervision. At first the sisters were puzzled by this lack of supervision, but they later learned that the guards refused to enter the barracks because of the fleas. God had provided the fleas to keep the guards away from the nightly Bible study and worship where many women would come to know Christ.

In these difficult times many of us are fighting battles that seem to involve an inordinate number of fleas. We have experienced loss of income, dwindling home values, and failing businesses. It is almost impossible not to be angry and discouraged when we see everything we have worked so hard to achieve snatched away by circumstances beyond our control. Yet, the Bible tells us that not only are we not to be resentful, we are to actually give thanks for everything that comes into our lives.

If you feel that this Thanksgiving you have little to be thankful for, don’t concentrate on what is missing in your life. Thank God for the fleas, and trust that He is using them—every single annoying one of them—to bring about something beautiful. Trust that one day you will look back and understand how He used the fleas to bring about His perfect plan in your life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

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Star Wars and Hello Kitty

2011-12-29T09:36:00.001-05:00

Isn't it cool how the toys we once played with are now the ones our kids wanted this Christmas? We've come full circle with Star Wars and Hello Kitty! Santa was good to Libby and Drew since he brought them just what they wanted. ;)

Books I've Read

2011-12-29T01:15:00.002-05:00

In 2011, I bombarded my end table with books. Books that were mostly recommended to me by 1) friends 2) church 3) my church group 4) other books. Let's just say that this was not the way to go since I ended up reading several at one time, meaning that I didn't really comprehend much of 1 book. Luckily, Santa surprised me with a Nook Tablet this Christmas! This way, I can have all of my books (ebooks, that is) in one place. So, I can pull my Nook out of my purse in the waiting room or during my spare time (ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha). I even loaded the Life Application Bible (NLT) on it, so I can now be more accountable for reading it more regularly. So, here's what I read, intended to read, or partially read in 2011:

One Thousand Gifts - ongoing

The Help - ongoing

Calming Your Anxious Mind - intended

Have a New Kid by Friday - mostly read

Believing God - mostly read

Women, Food, and God - ongoing

You Are Not What You Weigh - started

The Strong-Willed Child - mostly read

Breaking Dawn - started and not all that interested

Crazy Love - finished (via audiobook)

Love and Respect - finished (via audiobook)

Why the Nativity? - mostly read

Managing Your Emotions - intended

Here's what I have on my short list to read in 2012:
The Help - to finish so I can see the movie
One Thousand Gifts - it's really intriguing so far and The Nester highly recommends it
Believing God - very interesting
Women, Food, and God - good insight

I'm linking up to The Nester:

Christmas in Louisiana

2011-12-28T23:25:00.001-05:00

We made it to Louisiana after a rainy 18-hour drive and have been having so much fun visiting family and friends. On the 23rd, we went to my brother, Tim's engagement party and met his fiancee, Christie's family. It was really nice and her family and friends were so nice. The food was delicious, too!

Libby and Drew are in for a big surprise when we get back to Virginia and there are no more presents to open. That's because we've seen different people every day we've been here and all have handed out presents to the twins. When we get back, I have to reorganize the play room once and for all to fit all these new toys in there!

We've managed to eat all kinds of wonderful foods and sweets and I need de-tox when I return. Libby and Drew LOVE playing with all of their cousins and watching that makes me wish we lived here. But I know we have wonderful opportunities career-wise up in Virginia. Who knows... we may end up back here someday. Darrell will certainly love being back to all the sporting events. So far he's been to a Saints Monday night football game and a N.O. Hornets basketball game!

Here are some highlights:

The Engaged Couple (Christie and Tim)

The Nativity Story

2011-12-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

As told by Libby and Drew:Pin It

Decking the Halls 2011

2011-12-17T15:25:00.001-05:00

We've had fun looking for Elfie every morning!

Visiting Santa at the Farm

2011-12-17T15:23:00.000-05:00

Drew wants a Batman Geo-Trax set and Star Wars Legos

Libby wants Hello Kitty and for Santa to surprise her!

Why the Prophecies?

2011-12-10T23:27:00.001-05:00

I mentioned that I'm reading Why the Nativity? by David Jeremiah with my women's small group in a previous post. It's an easy read at only about 150 pages or so and so far I've been enlightened. There are 25 questions Jeremiah asks over the 25 days of December. In my own sort of study, I thought I'd share some of his writings here to help enlighten you as well!

Question #1: Why the Prophecies?

The people of Israel suffered greatly as they encountered times of grief and despair. They were frequently under attack by powerful tribes and empires since they occupied the most contested area of the world. Repeatedly, their homes and Temple were built, destroyed, and rebuilt. After this suffering, it isn't surprising that they started to lose hope and became doubtful that anyone would come to save them. They were carried away into slavery and many became bitter, cynical, and lost their faith. They yearned for a great king like in the days of David and Solomon.

This is when God sent prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah to urge them to keep the faith. They spoke of a better future with the greatest of all kings. A king that would end their struggle forever.Did you know that there are over 300 specific prophecies in the scriptures about the promised king - the Messiah as they called Him? I was surprised to read this fact. Three HUNDRED times. Wow. The stories were specific over hundreds of years and several different writings. It's not like they had Google to look up the stories to be sure they were all fabricating the same mythical story!

Do you know what the prophecies of this Messiah were? I didn't know all of them, so I'll mention only a few reviewed by the author:

1. The Messiah would be born of a virgin. (See Isaiah 7:14)
2. He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
3. He would be "despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief" (Isaiah 53:3)
4. He would be killed by crucifixion. An interesting fact about this prophecy was the surprising references to crucifixion by a writer who had never witnessed such a thing (see Psalm 22). To learn more about this, I found a website with a lot more detailed information about the Messianic prophecies. At the time that Psalm 22 was written (and long after), the penalty for blasphemy was stoning. When Jesus was condemned, the council no longer had the legal right to put people to death. Therefore, the sentence was put forth by the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, who crucified Him according to Roman custom.
5. "He would be pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." (Isaiah 53:5) This coming king would prove that God had never abandoned them.
6. He would bring salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6)

Nearly all of the 300+ prophecies have already come true, yet some are reserved for our future. As the author notes, "One mathematician determined that the odds of one person's fulfilling even 60 specific prophecies are 1 in 1 plus 157 zeroes."

So why the prophecies? As Dr. Jeremiah writes:

...we behold a magnificent God who works his purposes out through the march of time, patiently but faithfully down to the smallest detail. We know that this is a God who can be trusted, and this is a Messiah who fulfills every hope in our hearts.

Don't forget to check out my friend, Lisa's, blog as she writes about Why the Nativity? this month in preparation for Christmas. Oh, and GET.THIS.BOOK.AND.READ.IT! ;)

Breath of Heaven... Hold Me Together

2011-12-05T22:26:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the generous hearts of hundreds of people, our church campus collected 315 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year! I was amazed, overwhelmed, and full of joy the entire month. Our record for all 3 campuses combined was 241, so I set a goal of 300 this year. We beat that with just 1 campus! God provided and the spirit of Jack lives on inside us.

So, with that great news, why do I feel so down in the dumps these past few days? Maybe it's because Thanksgiving came and went and I couldn't help but think about Jack's family and how heartbroken they were that day. Or maybe it's because Christmas is around the corner and my heart is breaking for them even more. Or maybe it's the enemy at work, which he loves to do- ready to pounce at any time. I need to put the armor back on and fight it off, but it's not so easy.

I remember the first Christmas after Scott died. It was only about 6 weeks after his accident, so everything was still so raw. At first, Mom didn't want to decorate or have Christmas at all. That is so unlike her, since our house always was covered in decorations for every holiday. So, we urged her and together decorated the house. But the most painful part of all of it was at the end... when it was time to hang the stockings on the mantle. What should we do with Scott's? We ended up hanging it that year and then every year thereafter. But now... none of us still live at home since we are grown up, married, and have children of our own. I actually have Scott's stocking from my Dad's house. It was way too painful for Dad to have Scott's stocking out. Somehow I ended up with it. I haven't ever hung it with ours and wonder if I should continue to keep it or not. I'm not sure, but I'm not ready to just get rid of it. Twenty years ago, he was taken from us, but I want to hold on to a piece of him forever.

Christmas music is all over the radio stations here and I honestly am getting a little sick of it already (on Dec. 5th)! But I have heard a song in the past few days that I just love. Amy Grant is singing it and it's called "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)". It's about Mary and the birth of Jesus, but I can really relate to it since I'm a mother myself. I think about how Mary must have felt being chosen as the mother of the Messiah. Um, no pressure or anything! I think about how Joseph was so trusting of Mary and of God in this quite unusual set of circumstances with Mary being pregnant before they were married. I wonder if Joseph ever felt "out of place" being Jesus's father on earth, but really a stand-in father, if that makes sense. I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever felt the feelings we've felt as parents... fear, anxiety, frustration, guilt. But then again, Jesus never sinned, so maybe it was a cake walk for them. HA HA HA!

A lot of these questions and more are discussed in a great little book worth reading this time of year. It's called Why the Nativity? by David Jeremiah. I first learned of it from a good friend, Lisa, who blogs about it. My women's small group is reading it together and I really like it. So, put that on your Christmas list this year!

Breath of Heaven, hold me together... lighten my darkness.... help me be strong...

Do You Know Jack?

2011-11-07T19:28:00.009-05:00

I have a total "God" story that I have to share with you. It started in the summer when I stumbled across Anna's blog "An Inch of Gray". Since then, my life has changed. Anna lost her son, Jack, in a tragic accident in early September. Here's the email I wrote to her just a few days ago...

Dear Anna,

I stumbled across your blog in the summer and started following you. That's when my "God moments" began...

I had heard about Jack's accident when it happened (on the news), but didn't realize until later that he was your Jack. After that, I just could not get you and your family out of my mind and off my heart- I seemed to be thinking of you ALL the time, when I started to pray- you came up, and so on. Then, things started happening-- I am a teacher for Fairfax County and I work with special needs preschoolers in their homes/daycares/preschools. I travel around and wouldn't you know-- I see several students in your neighborhood. All of a sudden, I found myself taking a wrong turn and started seeing these blue ribbons everywhere- on trees, signs, posts, mailboxes. I just KNEW those were for Jack. Then I saw the bridge with the little memorial there. I had to pull off the road and ball my eyes out. Again- I just wondered why I was so affected by people I haven't even met! Then, I'm in CVS on my lunch break- at like 12:00 on a Thursday- and I hear kids giggling. I look over and there are some tweens or maybe teens in the Halloween aisle- all wearing DCS uniforms from Jack's school. Ok, what? So that's when I started praying for clarity-- okay, God, what do you want me to do with/for Jack and his family?

Then I saw your post about Operation Christmas Child. Turns out I am the coordinator of OCC for our church - this is only my 2nd year doing it. So I prayed some more-- okay, God... I see there are lots of coincidences, but now what?? The other day I sprang up in bed and just KNEW what I had to do. I had to make more people aware of OCC by telling them about Jack's love for God and for helping the needy. I had to make not only my church know about it, but also other churches in NoVA. I even had the exact plan in mind (totally a God-thing) -- make a video/slideshow about Jack and how he loved OCC. I even had titles for each slide and took photos from your blog. I even had the title of it-- "Do You Know Jack?" About how Jack has the same spirit - the loving, compassionate, generous spirit - as most of us do. We all just need to act upon it by getting involved, packing a shoebox, and helping the needy. So even if you didn't know Jack personally, you KNOW his spirit! I'm in the process of putting it together and of course, wanted to know if this is something that you give me permission to do. I would like you to view it before I show it to anyone- just to be sure it is accurate and reflects your Jack. Because no one knows him like you do. :)

I feared that Anna would think I was a total weirdo or nut case for writing this! So, I prayed some more and wouldn't you know that she actually CALLED me to tell me she'd be honored for me to do this. In fact, Jack and his little sister made shoe boxes for OCC every year together. So, I worked on it and here it is:

Yay, God! ;)

Now it's your turn to help the needy just like Jack did- by packing a shoe box with gifts, school supplies, and hygiene items to spread God's love around the world! Take a look at the Operation Christmas Child website for more info...

Here's sweet Margaret (Jack's sister) preparing TWENTY shoe boxes this year! You go, girl!!! ;)

But you'd better hurry because time is running out! The deadline for shoe box gifts at our church (New Life) is November 20th, so get your shopping done soon!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-03T22:17:00.000-04:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. Guess how much we spent on costumes.... NADA! That's right, they were free, which is how we always had Halloween growing up with 5 brothers and sisters. I think that was pretty neat because we had to become more creative than ever trying to repurpose a witch's shawl or mask. We had this big cardboard box cleverly named "The Big Box"- and I'm not kidding about the name - that held off-season clothing and costumes. So when the seasons changed (well, sort of change in Louisiana), we would gather around Mama's bed and she dumped out "The Big Box" to see what would fit. It was like Christmas morning getting new hand-me-downs. I remember when my big sister, Gretchen, would wear clothes and I would scope them out because in a few short years, I might get to have them from "The Big Box"! Too bad she was always taller and thinner, though.

Anyway, back to Libby and Drew... Drew was Spiderman thanks to a friend, Laury, passing it down to us from her son. Drew only knows about Spiderman from his underwear and had no plan to dress up as him. However, he is also only 4 years old and easily convincible, especially when you REALLY REALLY hype up things-- "Oh, this is so cool, Drew. I bet nobody else will be Spiderman like you!" But guess what-- there were FOUR Spidermen in his class. Can you believe that? FOUR? Oh, and 1 was a girl, too. What's with that? I don't care because he was still adorable in that suit with the fake muscles and mask!

Libby was talked into wearing one of her fairy outfits that Pops and Maw Maw Deb gave her last year. It was one she had forgotten about since she hadn't worn it - you know, for like 3 months- so it was in the back of her closet. Well, it was like me waiting for "The Big Box" when she saw me pull that one out! Suddenly, we had a costume complete with accessories from their dress-up basket. That's MY kind of Halloween - FREE. Actually, my kind of Halloween is having Darrell bring them out in the cold around the neighborhood trick-or-treating while I ~~eat~~ pass out the candy in my warm sweats in the comfort of our home. Let's just say I had a serious Skittles hangover the next day since I must have eaten every bag of them in the mix bag. Sorry, kids!

Oh, did I tell you that the 1st trick-or-treater that showed up were 2 boys with pillowcases as treat bags that asked me for LEGOS instead of candy? Yeah, guess Halloween was brought to a whole new level, right? I just laughed at him and threw in a bag of Lemonheads. He's lucky I didn't throw in a butterscotch candy or better yet-- one of those yucky candies that was some sort of chewy brown nastiness that were wrapped in just plain orange or black wrappers. Did you ever get some of those? I always hated those. Wonder if they still make them.

Bearemy and Honeycomb

2011-10-28T22:17:00.003-04:00

Libby and Drew had their first-ever experience at Build a Bear recently. Let's just say that it was well worth it because they now carry "Bearemy" and "Honeycomb" around everywhere. They love to take their PJ's on and off and we even had some leftover baby diapers that they put on them. It is quite adorable, I have to say. Plus they are really good incentives to behave since we threaten to take them away. Suddenly they become the 2 best listeners in the world! Luckily, they were easily persuaded to pick one of the cheapest bears, too. ;)

Adding the heart after some hugs and kisses

Bearemy

Honeycomb

Some tired, but happy kids and their babies

That's Our Boy

2011-09-19T19:12:00.001-04:00

Is it weird that I almost want to save this since it is Drew's first teacher note? I can put it in his baby book, but somehow they don't have a space for it on the "My 1st's" page!

New Record

2011-09-19T19:08:00.002-04:00

It took me several hours of homework, but I took full advantage of the triple coupon special at Harris Teeter this weekend. The young cashier told me that the most he has seen saved through coupons was $50. I just smiled and told him this was going to be a special day for him.
32 coupons later, I saved us over $116, plus I bought on sale items and used my vic (rewards) card to save another $65! I think I did pretty well and I was happy to make a new record for the cashier. Somehow, that made it worth the effort.

Floor Signing

2011-09-18T17:31:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been to a floor signing party? I know, sounds strange, right? Well, that's why I love our church- because we do strange things all the time! Like buy a huge beer distributorship only to turn it into a huge recreational facility for our community. It's set to open November 1st and we can't wait. Our services are now being held at a local high school, so being together in the new space will be great.

After service today, we headed over to the new building (the nzone) to sign the floor in one of the rooms before it gets covered with the materials used for the indoor fields. I was inspired to write some lyrics of songs that really speak to me lately. Libby and Drew wrote their entire names!! Drew drew (say that 10 times fast) a picture of the whale from the story of Jonah. Libby drew a cute picture of herself (in purple, of course).

Here are some photos - do you like my cool app I'm using on my phone?? I feel so artsy!

Perspective

2011-09-18T16:46:00.001-04:00

As I tread through this tough journey of getting off SOME of my medication for anxiety, I've been hit like a ton of bricks with perspective. Perspective that what I am feeling physically and emotionally could never ever EVER compare to what Anna is feeling right now.

Please take a minute today and every day thereafter to pray for Anna and lift her up. She needs it more than ever and it's the least of what we could ever be able to do for her. We've never met - in person or in the blog-o-sphere - but when I heard her story and found out she lives only a few miles away, I wanted to reach out as best I could. Instead of sending over a casserole, I thought I could do something more powerful... pray.

Read her story here:

Mary Payton's Miracle

2011-09-15T02:16:00.001-04:00

If you read my blog, you know that I believe in miracles. With God, anything is possible. Anything. I wondered if we would ever be able to have children, but now have 2 miracles, Libby and Drew. Plus a wonderful husband to complete the entire package! ;) I'm blessed, truly blessed.

In my spiritual journey, I have asked God for all kinds of things - guidance, clarity, healing, calming. The hardest thing for me in my walk is to be able to put my complete trust in Him. Why is that? I mean, He did create the world and everything in it, so why do I doubt that He can handle things? For me, I need to be "in the know" and have the plan all mapped out for me. But God doesn't work that way. I am reading a wonderful book by Beth Moore called Believing God. She is an excellent writer and a few friends and I got together a few times this summer to talk about how we can not only believe in God, but to believe the God we believe in. Confused? Take a look at some notes I jotted down from Chapters 1 and 2.

I need to keep remembering one of my favorite (and most pertinent verses of my life right now) to let go and trust Him:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV-1984)

So now I'm going to ask for another favor, God... one only YOU can provide... a miracle. My good friend from high school, Joe, still lives in Mandeville where I grew up. He has an adorable family with a beautiful wife and 2 daughters. His older daughter, Mary Payton, is fighting an extremely rare disease known as Late-Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (LINCL) or Batten's Disease. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with onset usually between age 2 and 4 years. Mary Payton started having seizures near her 3rd birthday and has since developed irregular muscular jerks (myoclonic jerks), cognitive deficits, motor deficits, and vision problems with occular atrophy.

Maison, Joe, Mary Payton, and Nikki Vigil

Fortunately, progress has been made and researchers at Cornell University in NY have worked diligently for a cure. There is hope since the FDA has approved a treatment called Gene Therapy to cure Mary Payton and other children with the disease. This treatment has proven to stop the progression of the disease and in some cases has shown children regaining function they have lost. The team at Cornell has been approved for funding through the NINDS (National Institute for Neurology Disease and Strokes). The funding will take up to 1 year to receive. However, Mary Payton and other children like her do not have 1 year - the disease progresses too quickly! Once a child reaches a certain point of regression, they no longer qualify for treatment. The researchers have agreed to provide treatment for these children when private funds can be raised. This is wonderful news, but a down payment of $500,000 must be made in the next few months. The clock is ticking and there is simply no time to waste to help Mary Payton.

On September 23, the 3rd Annual Benefit "Miracles Can Happen" (Black & White Night) for Mary Payton's Miracle is being held in my hometown of Mandeville to raise money for treatment. There will be a silent auction, live music, delicious food, and to top it all off... the Lombardi Trophy from the Saints' Super Bowl win will be on display! If you are in town, I hope you will attend this wonderful event to help cure Mary Payton. If you are out of town or cannot attend, please join me in donating to this wonderful cause to save a beautiful little girl and her family. She needs you! If you are unable to donate, I hope you will join me in prayer for Mary Payton and her family. I know what the power of prayer can do and am making a promise to put my trust in God to provide for Mary Payton and her family.

I Can't Take It!

2011-09-10T00:56:00.002-04:00

As Libby and Drew grow into the "big kid" size of clothes, I'm not sure how I can go from this:

to THIS:

Earthquake

2011-09-10T00:41:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago (8/23) as I was doing laundry on a regular summer day, we had an earthquake... in Virginia! This is very unusual for our area, so even though it didn't do much damage, it was still pretty freaky. The kids wewr in the finished area and when they said, "Mama... Daddy's sports guys are all dancin'," I knew what I was feeling under me wasn't my imagination. The sound of it (a really low roar) was the scariest part and I just thank God daily that 2 additional stories of house didn't crush us! I certainly have more sympathy for people living in California, Japan, Haiti, and other areas that have been devastated by earthquakes.

Here's a survey of our "damage"! ;)

New Year, New Preschool

2011-09-06T22:29:00.000-04:00

Libby and Drew are starting a new preschool this year! It was too difficult for us to transport them from their half-day preschool (only 3 days a week) to their babysitter, Brenda's, so we needed a change. We enrolled them in a non-profit child development center in the area and they are so excited. It is a really nice place and they are excited to be in the Rainbows class together!

Here they are ready to go:

Drew trying to see the photos I took with my phone

Libby ready for the drive and all set with her carefully selected "sweetie" for the day

Coloring Time

2011-09-05T16:53:00.000-04:00

This summer Libby and Drew enjoyed coloring almost every day. They could spend at least an hour sitting down and coloring at least 3 or 4 pages. I'm really impressed to see how well they are coloring within the lines at only 4 years of age.

Here are some of Libby's creations:

And here are Drew's (notice how he mostly chooses "work" pages, which is exactly his personality):

Look at this dot-to-dot page he did all by himself:

And then, he tried to do this page, which was a color-by-number page, thinking it was a dot-to-dot one:

I would have been so confused, too!

Drew isn't as willing to practice writing his name and that's certainly okay. He's still young. But one day he practiced a lot and did great!

Libby is trying so hard and is getting better at writing her name every day!

Oh, and both of them are really into having birthday parties and other special outings for their stuffed animals and "sweeties". One day they spent a lot of time creating this... it's the invitation to the birthday party. I guess they have my genes. :-)

Stain-MORE Steel

2011-09-05T16:39:00.000-04:00

Reason #1 NOT to have Stain~~less~~ MORE Steel appliances again:

Reason #2:

Reason #3 - #300

Seriously, I am wiping down these surfaces at least 3 times daily and they never seem to stay clean. Plus, no magnets can attach to them so although that's good for preventing clutter, it makes it difficult to remember appointments and other important things.

So, next time around it's definitely black or white appliances!!

Summer Updates

2011-08-18T18:35:00.002-04:00

Um, yeah, so I've basically abandoned the blog this spring and summer. It seems that as Libby and Drew get older, our lives get busier exponentially. Now, our weekends are booked with birthday parties, shopping for clothes since they are growing like WEEDS, and just trying to keep cool in this heat.

So, to bring you up to speed, we have had a "no commitment" summer meaning no travel plans or anything major planned. Libby and Drew had a few swim lessons with a sweet college student/swim coach at our neighborhood pool. They did GREAT with her. Drew was putting his face in the water during his first lesson. Libby was after a couple of tries. They were so ready for lessons this summer compared to last summer. They walk around the shallow end pretending to "swim" and kept telling me they wanted to be like the big kids in the big pool (we started out in the baby pool). I have to admit that seeing how tall they were in the baby pool compared to last summer made me tear up a little. My babies aren't babies anymore!

Libby and Drew went to a week of Vacation Bible School at a church down the street (not our regular church) and had so much fun. I actually had a great time having my morning coffee all to myself and even hitting a few thrift stores in that 3 hour "break time". It was great and they came home every day singing songs and showing me the 10,000 craft projects they did. I will definitely sign them up again next summer because they loved it.

So, we got into the new full-day preschool we applied for a few months ago! We are so excited because it is a fantastic place plus we won't have to juggle getting Libby and Drew transported between preschool and daycare like we did last year. The new program is a non-profit center which receives funding from businesses and the county, so there are lots of supplies, materials, and events for them. For example, the local nursery planted a flower and vegetable garden with the children. We got to see it and Libby and Drew were excited since we have a ~~garden~~ few pots on our deck, too! They are going to be in the same class, The Rainbows and we just can't wait for them to start. We found out that Pull-Ups are not allowed, even during naps (when Libby and Drew wore them), so we went home that day and had nap from then on in underwear. And only 1 or 2 accidents in about 6 weeks isn't too bad at all! I just bought an extra waterproof mattress pad as back up and it's been easy. So, we are ready to go!

The saddest part about their new preschool is leaving their babysitter, Ms. Brenda, that they have gone to every day since they were 4 months old! I dreaded the day I made the phone call to tell her. She has always been there for us and helped me so much as a new mom myself. She is one of those special people we won't ever forget. It's hard because her mother, Nela, whom her grandchildren (and daycare children) call "Mita" passed away very suddenly last November. Mita took care of the children along with Brenda and was such an amazing person. So helpful, caring, thoughtful, and a sweet woman. Brenda has really, really missed her for obvious reasons, so now that we're leaving Brenda, it almost feels like another loss all over again for me. So, it just means we need to keep in touch and visit every once in a while.

Summer Fun!

2011-07-25T00:28:00.002-04:00

Bits Of Everything: Parenting tips for Young Children

2011-07-24T22:25:00.001-04:00

I haven't posted in a while and mostly it's because we are so so busy. But I must admit that Libby and Drew, at age 4, are giving Darrell and I a run for our money lately. They are so sweet and loving one moment and then turn into wild monkeys the next. I get frustrated because I don't want them to be disrespectful to us and wish they would listen more. I'm hoping and praying it's just a phase. I have to remember that big culprits to their behavior are sleep, food, and especially SUGAR. We need to just give up treats like candy from favor bags or anything "junk" before bed/nap time because they just get wild. Thankfully I found this blog post today and need to re-read it every morning!

Bits Of Everything: Parenting tips for Young Children: " Here are some helpful ideas I've found that have helped in parenting a strong willed child:
1-Provide the fundamentals. Children well fed and with enough sleep and the right foods cope best.
2- Daily, give children personalized time, attention and affection
3-Avoid name calling and labeling kids, "Hyper", "Trouble maker" or "problem child". Labels don't help a child's self-esteem.
4-Maintain a predicable schedule. Warn children of changes in routine and let them know when they can expect things to end. (Let them know when they have 10 minutes, then 5 minutes left in an activity)
5-Make sure children get hands-on active play time. It helps them use their energy constructively. Avoid over-scheduling children, but give them an activity that's a good outlet for energy.
6-Model and encourage positive social skills, such as trading, sharing, inviting others to play, offering to help others, and asking for help.
7-Choose your battles wisely. Use clear directions and enforce age appropriate limits, with reasonable consequences. Avoid over-reacting, raising your voice, or offering false threats. Dealing with problems matter-of-factly can help your child gain control and trust in your parenting.

Veggie Garden

2011-07-17T12:26:00.003-04:00

We decided to plant veggies this year and decided to have a container garden on our deck since this is where we get the most sunshine. We have been very diligent about looking for pests since our tomato fiasco last summer. Our Early Girl tomatoes are doing great and are so good!

Same with our zucchini (no veggies yet but nice and healthy plant):

But yesterday I checked our cauliflower and found this!

Yep, little green caterpillars all over! I picked off about 20 over 2 days and the kids wanted to keep them as pets. So we dug in the recycle bin for an old jelly jar and put in some leaves. It is pretty gross though b/c there is sooo much poop in there! Eewwww. But we'll have to wait and see if they form some pupae or chrysali (?) soon.

Look who has visited our tomato plant! They say that ladybugs bring good luck, so I hope this little lady brings lots of tomatoes, too. Libby was amazed at how teeny-tiny this little lady was- plus she kept asking why she was orange and not red! My favorite response of the summer... "Because that's how God made her." It has worked for a variety of situations already!

Seafood

2011-07-15T14:11:00.001-04:00

After spending a Saturday running errands and browsing in Salvation Army and Goodwill, we decided to try out a new seafood restaurant nearby. Of course Libby and Drew order spaghetti and mac 'n cheese at a seafood restaurant!

There IS Such Thing as a FREE Lunch (or Dinner)

2011-07-08T23:56:00.000-04:00

Yes, we have no shame in having our kids dress up as cows (oh, but we did it, too) just to get a free meal at Chick-Fil-A tonight. We printed out some masks from their website for the kids. Darrell used painter's tape to attach the pieces to them. Note to others... DO NOT USE PAINTER'S TAPE ON SKIN. It hurts, I mean really hurts. :(

Happy 4th of July - 2011

2011-07-05T00:11:00.000-04:00

We had fun at the South Riding Parade and Fireworks Finale this year!

Come on Over...

2011-06-18T10:20:00.003-04:00

I've been away from my family blog here for a little while, but am trying to give some much-needed attention to my Cayenne Paper blog. I'm writing about DIY projects while also promoting products from my store. I only have a few followers so far, so spread the word, come on over, have a cup of tea, and stay a while. It would be great if you followed me there, too, and commented! See you there...

Cayenne Paper blog

http://cayenne-paper.blogspot.com

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

I felt so special going to St. Andrew Preschool for their Mother's Day Tea today. The kids were all giddy with excitement and tried REALLY hard not to give away the surprises of the day! We had a nice brunch with tea, handmade decorations, and a performance of them singing some adorable songs to us.

A Star is Born!

Last Day of Preschool 2011

2011-05-29T23:48:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been a whole year already! Libby and Drew finished their 1st year of preschool at St. Andrew and are ready for summer already. Here they are singing and dancing (with Mrs. O'Sullivan and Mrs. Marco) with the rest of the class:

Happy 4th Birthday Libby and Drew!

2011-04-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

I've been gone for awhile, but wanted to share the photos from Libby and Drew's 4th Birthday! I can't believe how fast time has flown and that I have 4-year-olds now. Phew! We have had lots of celebrations- one at home with just the 4 of us, a birthday party with daycare and preschool friends, and a trip to Louisiana for another round of presents and cake with family.

For our home family party, I made a cake myself and it was TONS of work. I tried it as a test run for the party at the park and decided that a sheet cake from Costco with embellishments from toys we had at home would be a better option! It definitely was and I still got lots of compliments on it. ;)

We had their party at Burke Lake Park last weekend and it was so much fun. There is a train, carousel, and playground there along with a pavilion for us to have cake, ice cream, and snacks. It was a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme and of course, I planned it for several weeks before it actually arrived. With the help of my wonderful Cricut scrapbooking cutting machine, I was able to make several things, including the favor bags, centerpieces, and banner. Everything else was courtesy of Party City and Costco.

Preschool Birthday Party

2011-04-01T23:37:00.000-04:00

It's Libby and Drew's first birthday party at preschool (for their big FOURTH birthday)!

Getting Organized with Free Software

2011-03-12T10:03:00.000-05:00

I read lots of blogs- LOTS. Most are about home design on the cheap, but I also follow ones that include recipes and hints for organizing your life. Well, I am so happy I found a post from one of them talking about some free software/websites that can help.

Have you ever found a recipe or some other article online, printed it out to save it, and then lost it or eventually threw it away to get rid of clutter before you even used it? I have done this many times.

Have you ever used your email account as your own personal storage space by emailing yourself these said articles and recipes? I do this quite often so I can access them from our laptop, home desktop, and work laptop, too. But most of the time, it gets lost in the 1000 other messages in my inbox only never to be found again!

If you're like me, you'll be happy to use these 2 things: Evernote and Dropbox.

Evernote is a free program that you access from signing up for a free account on their website. It is a free storage program for articles, webpages, recipes, and even your own notes you create (like to-do lists). You can organize them into different folders, search your mailboxes, and even have it "capture" all the text and images from a webpage you are viewing! It's really, really cool.
Here's a screen shot of my notes:

Dropbox is a really neat thing as well. You sign up for an account and for free can get 2 GB of free storage space. For this one, you download some software and automatically a folder called "Dropbox" appears on your computer as a choice whenever you save something. I dragged a bunch of photos and Cayenne Paper things I'm working on to it. Then, I can access it from any computer and even your smartphone. I love their slogan "It's like a magic pocket"! You consolidate everything there and can even share it with others. So, if I download a whole bunch of photos that I want to share with family, I can do that easily. You can buy more storage space, but I'll be fine with the 2 GB right now since it's free. I'm excited because it will be so easy to backup my work laptop because I'm getting a brand new one next week!

Here's my Dropbox:

Meeska, Mooska!

2011-03-04T19:19:00.003-05:00

That's right- Libby and Drew have decided on a birthday party theme that suits both of them - Mickey and Minnie! I am happy b/c it will be really cute, but also because they were previously choosing Princess and Pirates. Not that those themes aren't fine- just that it would require a lot more planning on my craftiness part. ;)

We're going to have the party at Burke Lake Park this year. We went there when Libby and Drew were still babies and had a great time (unfortunately, they don't remember). But it is a nice place with a train and carousel right next to a nice playground. They have a cute little gazebo to rent out near the ice cream parlor. So, we're going to have lots of fun! Plus, being at the park, it really isn't that expensive at all.

Ok, so I'm so excited to start the planning! I just love this part!!! I'm ordering some cute Mickey and Minnie shirts from one of my vendors, Patty. Libby is going back and forth between a swing top and a regular t-shirt. She is so ~~opinionated~~ funny. Luckily, Drew just wants a t-shirt with Mickey. So, here's what I'm planning.. going back and forth between a cake or cupcakes. But I think blowing out candles on a cake is more fun, right? Plus I'll just order one from the bakery b/c I'm sure they have something Mickey. Well, the big mistake was looking on my favorite site, www.etsy.com It's a site for all things handmade. And there are some seriously crafty people on there!!! I just searched for "mickey party" and got all kinds of ~~options~~ ideas. I have a Cricut machine, which cuts different shapes and words out of paper. It's really cool. I found the Mickey cartridges for really cheap and can't wait for them to arrive.

More details to come...

I'm Having Flashbacks

2011-02-20T08:22:00.002-05:00

I went to Home Goods, perhaps one of my top favorite stores, and saw something very familiar. Doesn't it look familiar to you? If not, take a look here to refresh your memory.

It's Carnival Time!

2011-02-20T08:12:00.001-05:00

Mardi Gras is just around the corner and it is a time when we really miss NOLA since it's just a regular Tuesday in Virginia. I usually don't decorate for it here but this month we are hosting our Louisiana Supper Club, so I decided to get the decorations out of the basement!

I had more things than I remembered and the kids have been putting beads everywhere! I had a wreath I didn't like, so I ripped it apart and remade it into this one. Darrell thought it looked a little "busy", but that was exactly what I intended for a Mardi Gras wreath.

I didn't spend 1 penny on it and even represented many krewes with their beads and doubloons: Orpheus (Mandeville), Caesar, Bacchus, Endymion, and Juno.

Hopefully our neighboprd will get the idea. They are pretty used to LSU and Saints flags on our house from September on! And last year when the Saints won the Superbowl, we had our flag out for a LONG time!

Man of Steel

2011-02-12T20:08:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know, Darrell and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on Feb. 5th! I love that our anniversary is before Valentine's Day because we usually get to spend it together while avoiding all the other couples out on Valentine's night. Brenda, Libby and Drew's sitter, offered to babysit them that night. We took her up on it!

We went to Fairfax Corner that rainy and freezing cold night for dinner and a movie. We decided to try out a new Italian restaurant, Ozzie's Corner Italian, by a local chain of really good restaurants. They did not disappoint! We started with a drink in the bar and I had the yummiest Limoncello Martini. I wish I would have taken a photo of it b/c it was beautiful and delicious, too. The only problem is that I couldn't really taste the alcohol too much. That's when I knew to stop at one! Darrell had a draft beer and right when we finished, we sat at our table.

I had meatballs and Darrell had Chicken Parmesan. In case you ever need to answer random trivia questions about Darrell, know that he almost always orders that dish in any even sort-of Italian restaurant! Both were delicious and we had a nice time just catching up.

After that, we went to see the recently Oscar nominated movie "The King's Speech" and it was great. It is about King George VI of England, who was also a stutterer. Colin Firth played the part and Geoffrey Rush was his speech therapist. Both deserve an Oscar because they were great in each role.

When we went to pick up the kids at 11:00, I snuck up to the door thinking they'd definitely be asleep. WRONG! They had so much fun playing and making brownies and watching "Beverly Hills Chihuahua II" and running around with Brenda's daughter, Brianna. Drew was excited to see me but wouldn't you know Libby started screaming that she didn't want to come home with us! She is something else.

Another neat fact about Darrell is that he never forgets an occasion, always has a card ready for me, and usually is clever enough to give me the traditional anniversary gift for each year (Year 1=paper, etc.) He didn't disappoint this year. Would you know that year 10 is steel. I thought he'd never be able to find something and I wasn't interested in a new set of pots! Guess what that little rascal did... he showed up with those cabinet organizers I had my eye on. I was surprised and it was perfect! It's installed and is now it stores the kids' plastic dishes. Easily accessible for them and durable, too. My man of steel is the best! ;)

Yummy Fiber One Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-02-12T19:32:00.003-05:00

Libby has had an upset tummy lately, most likely from all of the candy and junk that's been around for Valentine's Day (and it's not even here yet). They had a preschool class party on Friday and treats at daycare afterward. But Monday is the real party for daycare.

I found a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin cookies and decided to try them out. I was surprised b/c they are really, really good! Not too sweet but not like a piece of high fiber bark! Just right. I made them big and they were yummy and crumbly with a nice cold glass of milk. Mmmmmm. Try them!

1 c. softened butter (I used half margarine and half butter)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbs. milk
1 large egg
2 c. flour (I used whole wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 c. quick cooking oats (I only had about 2 cups)
1/2 c. Fiber One original cereal (crushed)
1 1/3 c. raisins
* I threw in about 1/2 c. of peanut butter chips that I had along with a couple of tbs. of applesauce to keep them moist

Heat oven to 425. Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and milk. Sift together flour, soda, and cinnamon and add gradually. Add cereal and oats and stir just until blended. Fold in raisins and peanut butter chips. Drop onto cookie sheets (I made big mounds)and bake for 12-14 mins. Enjoy!

I'm linking up to:

Will You Be My Valentine?

2011-02-10T00:02:00.000-05:00

Libby and Drew, I will ALWAYS be your Valentine! I love you bunches and bunches-- to the moon and back!

xoxo,
Mama

Family Room Re-Do

2011-02-06T18:20:00.000-05:00

I realized I never showed photos of my family room re-do from this summer. The walls before (and I'll try to surface photos) were a peachy color that has bothered me since we moved in. We honestly never had the time to paint and I finally decided to do it, much to Darrell's chagrin. I went thrifting and with the help of a few blogs, like the fabulous Nester, I got a few ideas and stayed on a budget. I splurged on Benjamin Moore paint because I've really had the most success with it. I added lots of thrift store finds (most of what is on the mantle and the solid, HEAVY fleur-de-lis sconces above it - yeah, those were $2.95 each at Goodwill!!) and some cute things from Home Goods (the green bird in the tree cabinet, the toile ottoman seat), and Michaels (the candles, the white flower vase and feathers).

The color is a soft green, which was surprisingly easy to find (it can be tricky not to end up like a baby's nursery). It's #493 Harbour Town by Benjamin Moore. I went to Joann and found some sun/shade fabric for 70% off and voila- my window mistreatments were born! I have since bought some ivory bed sheets to hang behind them since they are pretty sheer in the sunlight. The center valance and matching throw pillows (green and brown) are from Lowe's.

My next project is to paint the buffet behind the couch. I bought it for $100 at an auction 4 years ago. I sort of wanna ditch it, but it does hold tons of stuff that wouldn't fit anywhere else. Any ideas of what color? I might use Nester's Favorite Tan by Sherwin Williams. Still need to ponder this one...

I'm linking up with The Nester's linky party about paint colors, so take a look!

Wacky Day at Preschool

2011-02-04T09:28:00.001-05:00

More Organizing and Recycling

2011-02-03T12:06:00.003-05:00

I just knew those tiny baby food containers would come in handy 1 day. They are perfect for my junk drawer which was overflowing! The Chinese takeout containers and lids work well, too. I finally weeded through all of the takeout menus and coupons and organized them in this expandable folder I got for $1 at the dollar store. It is so much easier to find what we need when we need it!

I'm linking up to:

Planting Seeds

2011-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

I just love how God works... He knows how to plant seeds in places to give you just what you need. This was written on the whiteboard in the room my student and I work in at his preschool today.

Snow Day 3 = Baking

2011-01-28T11:48:00.000-05:00

Who doesn't love a little comfort food, especially on a cold, snowy day like today? I started the day making a big dish of my mom's delicious baked macaroni and cheese. She uses the Luxury Brand long macaroni noodles, but we can't get those up here. Usually when she visits, she comes with several pounds of it and of Community Coffee. But we ended up using the last of the noodles, so I just used elbow macaroni. Today, I added a little zing to it with a topping of Italian style bread crumbs (Progresso, of course) mixed with Panko crumbs. It should add a nice crunch. Don't be surprised if our lunch is just a bowl of this!

Snow Day 2 = Shoveling

2011-01-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

The rain and sleet turned to snow...8 inches of it. Time to shovel! Darrell shoveled some of our very, very long driveway while the kids, my wonderful neighbor, Andi, and I did the rest. That is hard work! But we did manage to have some fun while doing it!

Recycling and Entertaining

2011-01-26T18:52:00.001-05:00

Need a use for those solid colored dot stickers in your desk? Recycle them as gumballs and keep two preschoolers entertained...for at least 15 minutes!

Active Learning or Just Cabin Fever?

2011-01-26T18:51:00.001-05:00

Has your kitchen ever looked like this before 9:00 AM? Yes, the kids dove right into my teaching bag with my "Candy Unit" before breakfast. We've already played Candyland and Drew did the same 24 piece puzzle twice.

Why is it that we are awake and ready easily on Saturdays and snow days?

Snow Day 1 = Cleaning

2011-01-26T16:38:00.000-05:00

Snow Day #1 was today and I spent a lot of the day cleaning and entertaining the kids (see previous posts). My refrigerator has needed a serious deep cleaning so I did it today. I threw away all kinds of things that I forgot was even in there and scrubbed it down. It took forever and I still need to do the door and freezer. But it is so much cleaner and simpler, which is my big goal...simplify my life and house.

Before:

After:

Icy Day

2011-01-26T14:52:00.000-05:00

Schools were closed today b/c of a big winter storm heading our way. Right now it's icy but we are supposed to get lots of snow later on. Makes me want a NOLA snowball after looking at our deck!

Getting Organized

2011-01-24T15:05:00.002-05:00

This year I have decided to declutter our house and get rid of junk we never use. I've been wanting to reorganize my kitchen, so that was the 1st big project. First, I cleared off my island, took down all the decorative things on top of the cabinets and am trying to get as much off the counters as I can. It is so nice and feels so big with just these little changes. It is coming along nicely and I've been putting Libby and Drew's shopping cart to good use!

I've also got my eye on these for some of my cabinets...

Happy Monday

2011-01-24T09:30:00.001-05:00

The Latest

2011-01-24T00:40:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!! Sorry, it's only about 3 weeks late!
It's almost the end of January and I have been away from the blog for a while now. Mostly because we've been just go, go, go since Thanksgiving with family visiting, enjoying Christmas together, and living life as we know it. There hasn't been any major developments with us lately, but let me just fill you in...

Drew has been having difficulty behaving at preschool. He is using his hands rather than his words and either hits, pushes, or throws toys. We notice this at home, especially when he's frustrated. He's definitely going through a "I can do it myself and WILL do it myself" phase lately. And naturally, when a toy is frustrating him, he ends up throwing it across the room. We've had to use a lot of different strategies, from explaining the consequences to his behavior to a flat out time-out or even time in his room. His preschool teacher, Mrs. Marco, is so good with the kids. She has been keeping me updated and he is now working for a sticker if he has a "thumbs up day". We've had a few days with no sticker, but mostly, he's improving. I think it is a phase and hope to just push on through it to get to the other side eventually!

Libby is starting to talk back like crazy! Sometimes you can't help but laugh when she gets her little attitude going. But mostly it's just plain annoying. She's not getting the "I'm the parent and you don't talk to me that way" idea. Even when that is flat out said to her, and not in a very nice loving voice. We've been doing 1-2-3 magic a lot (basically counting to 3 before there's a consequence). She, like a sly cat, is waiting til 3 and then trying to bring on the tears when the consequence occurs. Sadly, the only thing that gets action is the threat to take away her "Beary" little bear she's completely in love with right now or one of her 10 blankets she carries around the house (and car) with her.

Both are doing really well with potty training. When they're playing, they sometimes forget, but I'm happy with how it's going. They're still in pull-ups at nap and night, but doing well. They both take about a 2-hour nap in the afternoon. Lately, I'm wondering if Libby is ready to give hers up. She mostly ends up talking and talking and talking and complaining about something and needing this and that... rather than sleep. But then she has terrible bags under her eyes and is a grouch. So, I'm gonna hold on to those naps if we can!

Libby is FINALLY on a preventive medicine called Pulmocort for her breathing issues. She takes it twice a day through her "dinosaur" (nebulizer) and it has really helped tremendously. That plus a flu shot will hopefully get her through the winter. Right now strep throat is going around everywhere, so knock on wood all of us dodge it. We were worried Drew might have it last week b/c he was home a couple of days with fever and that barking cough. But luckily, it just cleared up on its own and he's back to "normal" with just a runny nose every now and then. Phew!

Oh, guess what-- Libby is now into wearing dresses!! Remember how I was so upset that she was going through a phase of now wanting to wear them at all (much to my dismay)?? Well, I think seeing the other girls at preschool wear them with tights has helped. But guess what-- her new thing (and she's adimant about it) is that she won't wear any type of clothing with buttons on it. Pants we can usually get away with b/c most are either pull-on or have snaps. But any dress or jumper with buttons at the shoulders or a shirt with buttons down the front or back are an absolute, "NO!" Is she serious?? Apparently, she is. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

2011-01-03T16:08:00.000-05:00

It's the sound of quiet as the decorations slowly come down, the toys get put away, and the Christmas candy being completely devoured by us! I have been so busy living life lately that I haven't been posting or even reading my favorite blogs! I just looked at my last post here and realized it's been almost 2 months since I filled you all in on what's happening in Virginia!

So, Thanksgiving came and went and was extra special because Uncle Jeff (my brother) spent 2 weeks with us on his way back to Louisiana from New York, where he worked at a restaurant there for the summmer. He had a great time with the kids, although, I think he may never EVER want his own after being with 2 little terrors that I call my children.

Libby and Drew have been going through such a tough little "phase" (at least I'm hoping) with talking back, fighting with one another, forgetting what the words "wait", "share", and "no more candy" mean. It's been getting a tad better, but whoever said 3 was way worse than 2 should win a huge prize for being exactly right. I will tell you, though, that I am so grateful to God for giving us baby bedtimes that are earlier than ours. Not only because they get out of my hair for at least 10 hours, but really because there is nothing more precious than watching my babies sleep. I think God created this as a natural stress reliever for all parents. Suddenly all of that stress and anxiety and fear of what's to come is melted away with the quiet peacefulness of watching their chests rise and fall in either Lightning McQueen or Disney Princess PJ's in the light of their sweet little night lights. I can stand there for a while and just smile, remembering how just 4 or 5 years ago I begged God to let me have the chance to be a mother. I pleaded that I would be so good at it and would take care of a baby so well because I was meant to be a mother.

I am blessed to tell you today that not only did God listen to my prayers, but he replied... TWICE! Perhaps he thought I was REALLY meant to be a mom! Whatever His plan, I'm all for it. So, I say thank you to Him for the greatest gift I'll ever receive.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T00:03:00.000-05:00

Christmas was tons and tons of fun. Libby and Drew were so excited about their preschool program. Drew was one of the 3 Wisemen and Libby was supposed to be an angel. Unfortunately, she threw up the morning of, so she had to miss it! We were so sad. Darrell stayed home with her and I took Drew. He did pretty well, but then as I mentioned above, started acting out a little toward the end. He threw off his crown, refused to continue, kept ringing his bells when everyone was holding them quietly and then hit the poor kid next to him on the head with them. It was not his finest moment. It was interesting b/c I video taped the whole thing and when we watched it at home, he seemed shocked to see that happen. Hopefully it will start to sink in a little.

We went to church Christmas Eve and both Libby and Drew sang a song in that program (with a ton of other kids). They both did well with that one, thank goodness! We had Christmas Eve getting ready for Santa with putting cookies, milk, and carrots for the reindeer out along with our shoes. We woke up and found tons of gifts and it was great being just the 4 of us in our home. The next day, Gretchen and her 3 kids came up and stayed for a few days. My mom flew up, too. We had fun together going to the Children's Museum in Winchester, about 1 hour away. I'll post some photos.

Here's what the kids got for gifts this year:

Drew:

Geo-Trax remote control set (with the town "Radiator Springs" from the movie "Cars") from Santa
a Toy Story Imaginext toy (the landfill from the Toy Story 3 movie) from the Hileys - it comes with a few accessories and you can make the characters go through doors, swing around, etc.
a Toy Story bike from Maw Maw and Paw Paw
some PJ's and a Spider Man sweat suit from Nana
a Diego DVD, a nice shirt, and some drawing supplies from Pops and Maw Maw Deb
a Batman electronic Batmobile car and a space alien toy from Aunt Katy
a funny Toy Story pretend shaving kit (for the bathtub) from Uncle Bryan, Aunt Erica, and Susanna
money for his savings account from Janey

Libby:

a few of the Disney princess little cottages and mini figurines (Rapunzel from the new movie "Tangled", Ariel (her absolute favorite princess), and Cinderella's carriage) from Santa
a Disney princess bike from Maw Maw and Paw Paw
a big Ariel doll from the Hileys
some PJ's from Nana (Rapunzel and Disney Princesses)
a Dora DVD, Benji DVD, Chutes and Ladders, and art supplies from Pops and Maw Maw Deb
an art set from Aunt Katy
an Ariel bath castle set from Uncle Bryan, Aunt Erica, and Cousin Susanna
money for her savings account from Janey

I got a Keurig coffee maker, which was a nice surprise along with some comfy socks, the newest cookbook from the Jr. League of Lafayette (River Road Recipes IV) from Dad and Deb, and a cute alligator wine stopper set from Katy. Darrell got some slippers, some L.L. Bean duck snow boots from Santa, and a gadget holder for his car gadgets (iPod, chargers, etc.). He loved that, which I knew his type A personality would! ;)

I'm sorry, but I know I'm forgetting tons of things right now, but you have to give me credit since it was almost a month ago. ;)

Jingle Bell Christmas Hats

2010-12-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

While adorable and quite funny, I'm not sure we could have made it with two of these in our house (most likely playing at the same time)! Luckily, Libby and Drew were okay with leaving these at the store!!

Scott Andrew Kreller 1975-1991

2010-11-12T02:36:00.047-05:00

Nineteen years ago, we lost my younger brother, Scott, in a car accident. It devastated our entire family to say the least. My dad called me at my dorm at LSU and gave me the news. His robotic voice made me laugh at first, thinking he was playing a joke or something. But then he told me the news- "Your brother was killed in a car accident driving down Hotsy Totsy Road today." My mouth dropped and all I remember saying was, "Which one?" He paused and then said, "Scott... it was Scott." I remember going home to my mom's house from LSU the night it happened. The entire ride there felt like an eternity, but I remember being in what I now know as one of the stages of grief: denial. I kept thinking that the police must have had the wrong child, that Scott was still alive. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case. Mom was sitting in the living room on the phone trying to explain what had happened to someone else. I was numb and had to watch her explain it all to be sure it was really true. It seemed like the phone never stopped ringing. I went to use the bathroom and when I walked in, the shower walls were still wet from when he showered just a little while before he left. His dirty clothes were the only ones in the hamper. I could still smell him. I went into his room, lied down on his bed and stared at all of the posters and pictures on his walls. What once was covered with mostly athletes from the Atlanta Braves, Saints, and LSU now had a few heavy metal bands like Metallica and Megadeth and some models like Cindy Crawford in her bikini. He had grown up since I had last been there!

Growing up, I always felt like Scott and I were the most similar. Except, he was much smarter than me- than anyone else really. So smart that teachers did not understand his logic and dry humor. He was asked to leave our Catholic grade school because of it! But I remember he took the SAT and did really well (that's a test for high school students). He took honors classes at the public school down the street (KEEP). I worried that he kept too much of his knowledge inside and didn't know how to express himself. As a young boy, he seemed conflicted or like he was always up to something. I sat down next to him one day when we lived on South Drive. He had been in trouble or was angry about something. I sat down to talk to him and he stabbed me in the thigh with a pencil. I was shocked and horrified he had done this. I didn't understand... but I don't hink he did either. I still have a scar and touch it every so often, thinking of him.

Luckily, later as he matured and went to high school in New Orleans at Jesuit, he grew up and became the sweetest, most thoughtful, and sensitive young man. He told me I looked pretty one time and that he liked how my hair looked in a pony tail once. That was kinda weird for your brother of all people to say to you- especially during those awkward times of high school. We bonded b/c my job was to bring and pick him up from the Time Saver convienence store to meet the carpool for the drive across Lake Pontchartrain to Jesuit. We talked about music a lot. I started really liking R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs. I brought my casette tapes along in Mom's white station wagon, which we affectionately named "White Lightning". He tried to convince me to listen to heavy metal, but that wasn't my style at all. But he tried! He never complained once when I took my executive power of being older and vetoed any other music than my own.

I couldn't wait to go to college and turned into a big rebel at home. I feel bad for my mom because I never told her how sorry I am that I put her through all of that. I was disobeying her and not being thoughtful at all. I made bad choices. Mom had been going through a rough time herself because she and her husband, Paul, had been separated. So, it was just Mom, Scott, and me living together. Gretchen and Jeff were away at Auburn and Timmy was living with Dad. I left for LSU and thought I'd never look back to Mandeville. I couldn't wait to get out of that town. Or so I thought...

I came home every so often to visit, do laundry, eat some of Mom's good food and to bring leftovers back with me. I started dating a fraternity boy I met named Sal. He was from Chalmette, which was about an hour or so away. His aunt lived nearby in Covington, so he drove me home one weekend in October, 1991. There was no home game that weekend, so the campus was deserted. As I was putting my suitcase and clean laundry in the trunk of the car, Scott was standing there looking like a sad little puppy. I hadn't noticed at first, but when I went to tell him goodbye, he reached out and hugged me. He even told me he loved me. I was flattered but honestly thought it was a little strange b/c we just didn't do that to one another. I replied with a sisterly nudge on his arm. He waved as we drove away and I remember him standing there wearing his satin Chicago Cubs jacket Dad had given him. He wore it all the time. That was the last time I ever saw him alive.

A few days later, he called me at my dorm, but I was on the other line with someone else. He said he missed me and asked if I would be coming home again that weekend. We had a home game so I told him no. I told him I would call him back since I was on the other line. He sounded a little lonely but after my call, I got busy with something else and never called him back. That was the last time I talked to him and heard his voice.

You might wonder why I am writing such a sad story here. The reason I am is because I am now in the last stage of grief... acceptance. Scott died in a car accident on Nov. 12, 1991. That was 19 years ago today. Each year, that date gets a little bit easier to bear. I don't think it will ever be just a normal day to me, but at least I can now get out of my bed that day. The only time that got me through this pain and got me here was time, God, and my family. I was angry at God for a long time for this. I couldn't understand why this happened to us. But I realize now that God's heart broke as much as ours did when we heard the news. He was always there waiting for us to ask for his help and comfort. And knowing now where Scott is - in Heaven - makes it that much easier to bear.

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

you who have done great things.

Who is like you, God?

20 Though you have made me see troubles,

many and bitter,

you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honor

and comfort me once more.

22 I will praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you—

I whom you have delivered.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts

all day long,

for those who wanted to harm me

have been put to shame and confusion.
Psalm 71:19-24 (NIV)

Scott Andrew Kreller, the world is not the same without you. I miss you terribly and cannot wait until we meet again many years from now. Until that day, I can only wait and pray.

She's Crafty

2010-11-07T17:05:00.001-05:00

Libby is definitely a crafty girl, which makes me (her crafty mama) and her Nana (crafty Grandma) very happy. Today we are switching from Halloween to Thanksgiving decorations. While I was busy with the mantle, I turned around to see she had done this all by herself!! I had just put the scarecrow there when I unpacked him and the pain5ed pumpkins were there from Halloween. She did everything else. My favorite part was the potpourri spread all around!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-11-01T09:16:00.003-04:00

Hope you got lots of candy like we did!

Love,
Ariel and Buzz Lightyear

I Love Fall

2010-10-26T14:19:00.001-04:00

I don't know how people don't believe in God during the fall season. This is my view during my lunch break at the public library today. Isn't it just amazing?

That Katie Does It Again!

2010-10-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

And I'm not talking about me, but that "other" Katie I've been stalking for a little while courtesy of her fun blog. Anyway, our Louisiana Supper Club met at our house before taking Darrell out to dinner for his big 40th birthday last weekend. I wanted to have a little bite at the house with our wine and beer, so I decided to make this yummy Buffalo Chicken Dip that the other Katie posted on her blog. Let's just say that she was right because it was gone in a flash!!

A Special Birthday Girl

2010-10-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

Do you remember this girl?? Well, take a look at her now... All I can say is WOW, what a miracle! We love you, Aunt Katy!!

Octopus Dinner

2010-10-18T18:28:00.002-04:00

Aunt Katy is staying with us for a few days and we are having a great time with her. We celebrated her birthday with yummy cake and watched the Gray's Anatomy finale from last season with me last night. It was her first time seeing it, but I sat and cried all over again!
Tonight Aunt Katy worked her magic for Libby and Drew's dinner by making an octopus on top of their red beans and rice. We added goldfish crackers, too. So far it's a hit!

EASY-PEASY to do:
Simply cut 8 long slits in the bottom 1/2 or so of a hot dog (bun length is best). Spread them out so that they sit on top of goldfish crackers, rice, mac-n-cheese, beans, etc. Add eyes, nose, mouth with ketchup or mustard. Seriously- that's IT!

I'm linking up to:

Cox Farms Fall Festival 2010

2010-10-17T23:42:00.000-04:00

October came and went in a flash. It hasn't felt like Fall until just recently since we had unusually warm weather. But we're finally having chilly days and nights and beautiful foliage everywhere.

One Fall tradition we have as a family (as does the rest of the entire DC area) is to attend the Cox Farms Fall Festival. Luckily, we live right down the street from it, so we were able to head over there one Sunday evening before closing. We had a lot of fun sliding down slides, feeding the goats, and taking a wagon ride in the forest. Drew is still pretty scared of things. I hope it's just a phase. He seems to talk himself through things, but if something scares him, he will talk about it for weeks afterward. One of the slides there had a Jack and the Beanstalk theme. There were the giant's hands at the very top, which were "giant" and a looping soundtrack of him laughing. Only it was really slowed down, so it was a deep voice that sounded kinda spooky. We tried to tell him over and over that he was safe and even showed him the radio speakers and tried to explain it to him. The employee even told him it wasn't real. But then again, he is only 3! But he is still talking about it at times... "I won't go on the giant slide next year, okay, Mama?" "He's not a real giant, but he is a BAD giant." "I don't like those hands, Mama. Those giant hands were scary." I feel bad like we have completely traumatized him since it's been a couple of weeks and he's still mentioning it!

Scissor Practice

2010-10-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

Today Libby and Drew practiced their snipping skills. They had a ball snipping a bunch of straws... until poor Drew snipped his finger,too. Good thing we have some Buzz Lightyear band-aids to help that. Don't laugh at our homemade scissors holder because it works perfectly!

Plate Arrangement

2010-10-11T08:54:00.001-04:00

Thanks to The Nester and another Katie, I decided to hang my assortment of white dishes courtesy of my random need to collect them from thrift stores, garage sales, and on sale for a serious discount. Although I think they look nice in my sitting room over my sofa I would love to send to the curb if I had the funds to buy a new one, I am really taking this photo because my memory these days is absolutely terrible and I just know I could never get them right when puttting them back (we have to remove them since there's lots of banging on the roof today). I just couldn't stomach it I lost even one of them. I mean, that would cost me about $1 for every one to be replaced (the platter was actually $3)!

New Roof

2010-10-11T08:40:00.002-04:00

What would you think if you woke up and saw this out your window?

As I took my very first sip of coffee this morning, I saw this huge crane lifting pallets of roofing materials off a flatbed and bringing them up to our roof. This past May, we had a hail storm, which you might remember from the blog. Thanks to USAA, we are getting a brand new roof and gutters, too. Libby and Drew have been watching the progress since they woke up, so I'm glad we have our own project managers (free of charge, too)!

Beauty School Dropout

2010-10-05T22:03:00.001-04:00

I'm thinking that beauty school isn't in Libby's future!

GEAUX!

2010-10-02T18:25:00.001-04:00

GEAUX TIGERS! Beat those Vols!

Chocolate Yummy

2010-10-02T18:21:00.001-04:00

Thank you, sweet Nana, for giving Mama the recipe for your "Chocolate Yummy"! We brought it to the party with our supper club to watch the LSU game and it is disappearing! Libby picked out the purple sprinkles because that is her favorite color. We love you and miss you tons!

Love,
Dibba and Drewsie

Fashionista

2010-10-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

Look what Libby picked out to wear today. Luckily I was able to talk her into some LSU attire instead. To her credit, there is orange on the shorts to match the Halloween socks!

Finally Finished my DIY Upholstery!

2010-09-27T17:53:00.007-04:00

I finally finished recovering 1 of the arm chairs in our sitting room this weekend! You can read about how I started and steps along the way. I am so happy how it came out and honestly cannot believe I was able to do it (with some help from my dear husband, of course). It really wasn't hard at all and I figured that if it looked terrible then I would just end up having them professionally done. But to save this much money, I just HAD to try it!

I suggest going to www.diyupholsterysupply.com and watching their videos. It took a while, but I think they were so helpful to me to get the basic premise. I also bought a few supplies from them for decent prices. But I was able to find a special staple remover tool at Sears. Here's what you'll need:

fabric (I used 5 yards)
glue gun and sticks
pliers, needle nose pliers (for pulling staples out of wood)
hammer (to drive in stubborn staples and to pry off things)
a tack remover tool- looks sort of like a screwdriver (this is what I bought at Sears)
a sharp razor blade (to cut off old fabric in places)
scissors (to cut new fabric)
a heavy duty stapler gun (again, think of renting one with an air compressor)
staples to fit gun
cardboard (for pieces you find in the chair that are worn/torn) I actually used shipping boxes I had on hand for my Cayenne Paper business
a big help for me was to have a magnetic catch-all dish (my husband had it in the garage) that I could toss staples in to avoid scratching my wood floor or sending one of us to the ER

I also HIGHLY recommend using or renting a stapler with the air compressor (heavy duty) because you will do so much stapling that it will kill your hands. Plus you want to make sure they are all the way in the wood and not sticking up like most of mine did. Note that this takes time! Don't expect to finish it in a few hours. I spent several hours each day over a weekend to do it. By then, I wasn't motivated to do the other chair, so I'm taking a break. Hopefully that one will be easier/faster since I sort of know what to do/not to do!

Start at the back of the chair and gently pry off that fabric piece which really acts as a cover for where a lot of your fabric is pulled to and stapled to. It has a strip of special tacks on each side here, so we were very careful not to rip them so we could use them again. I removed six trillion staples and took off each piece one at a time. I labeled the pieces and used them as templates. On the skirt, I didn't even take off the old fabric. I simply covered it up like wrapping a present because it has a nice sturdy base of some sort that I wanted to use. I just used my glue gun to tape it down! Same thing for the piping there.

Now I just need to do the other one! In case you're interested, I used Waverly Paddock Blue fabric from JoAnn. It is actually Sun & Shade fabric, meaning it is stain-resistant and won't fade. I also loved that I purchased it near the end of summer, so I got it 70% off! Total cost for re-upholstering this 1 chair = $60 and lots of heavy-duty staples and sweat equity. Oh, add a few bucks for tons of hot glue sticks, too. (Yes, I did have to resort to Old Faithful, my glue gun, in some places. She gets me out of all kinds of messes. A true friend for life!)

Also, I love how my $5 thrift store footstool came out with my remnant piece of Waverly Jamestown Toile fabric:

I'm linked up to Miss Mustard Seed's linky party!

I'm linked to:

Preschool

2010-09-14T09:03:00.002-04:00

So far, Drew and Libby have been loving preschool! Last night was Open House, so Darrell and I got to see what their day is like. Libby made this for us to see. Drew was out sick that day. :(

Inexpensive Halloween Mantel

2010-09-11T18:18:00.004-04:00

It's been beautiful here in Virginia the last few days, so I'm already getting excited for Halloween. I know, I know... it's only early September, but I can't help it since the stores have had out their Halloween merchandise since August! I came across these photos of my mantel from last year and wanted to share my inexpensive hand-made Halloween banner in case you would like to make one yourself! It was pretty easy, actually, and a lot of fun.

I used my Cricut machine to make the letters (Mini Monograms and George & Basic Shapes cartridges), but you could always use stencils or hand-draw them. Use containers from your pantry to find exactly the right size circles you'd like!

Here's what you need:

cardboard (from a box)
box cutter
black cardstock (1 sheet for each letter)
12x12 scrapbook paper in coordinating colors/designs (I saved time and energy by picking up a Halloween paper pack from K&Company at Michaels with my 40% off coupon. It had the glittery cardstock and all the others to coordinate)
matching die-cuts or stickers (also from K&Company to all coordinate)
coordinating Halloween, check/gingham, striped ribbons (on sale at Michael's)
pom-pom fringe or trim (I had the pom poms left over and found the pumpkin trim for 99 cents at Michaels)
scissors
strong glue or double sided tape
Cricut machine with Mini Monograms and George & Basic Shapes cartridges
hole puncher

Total cost: $15

Steps:

Cut out triangle shapes from the cardboard using box cutter. I simply made them using a 8.5x11" sheets of cardboard and made them all the same size.
Cover each triangle with scrapbook paper and attach to back with double sided tape or strong glue.
Cut out the letters enclosed in circles (I think they ended up being 5 1/2" on the Cricut) using the Cricut and Mini Monograms cartridge.
Use George and Basic Shapes cartridge (or another circular stencil/container) to cut out 5 1/2" circles from the black cardstock.
Glue your circular letters on top of the black cardstock circles.
Glue down the circle letters on the triangles.
Embellish triangles with stickers, die-cuts, etc. You could also use a stamp pad to distress edges here.
Punch a hole in top left and top right corners of each triangle.
Apply your pom-pom fringe or trim leaving a little space for the punched hole to be accessible.
Cut small strips of various ribbon colors and tie these to each hole.
Tie the ribbons together so they all hang in a garland.
Space evenly and hang on your mantel with nails, tacks, or tape

*Note: I was SO lucky that my letters all fit just barely on my mantel. I would advise you to measure your mantel width first to be sure you have enough room for all of your letters.

I love the "vintage" Halloween decorations that are popular at stores now. I had bought the cat bucket all the way on the right of the mantel from Restoration Hardware years ago. But I found the skeleton and Frankenstein candle holders at Michaels last year. The jack-o-lanterns were a splurge from Ballard Designs after Halloween one year, and the spider candle holders were from Lillian Vernon. I added some battery-operated flickering orange votive candles to the spiders. I also added some fun orange lights, making it so cute at night.

Have fun! ;)

BTW... I posted this idea on The Shabby Nest, so check it out!

Another Katie's Chicken Casserole

2010-09-06T22:17:00.001-04:00

I've been reading another Katie's blog lately and found this recipe for a Chicken Casserole she makes. I tried it the other night and it was delish! I only had white meat, but agree that maybe some dark meat in there would have made it even better. I'll have to try it that way next time. But definitely easy and Libby and Drew loved smashing up the Club crackers in the ziploc! The recipe:

1 whole chicken, cooked (white meat chunked, dark meat ground)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 stick butter, melted (I only had margarine on hand, but still good)
1 sleeve Club crackers

Grind up crackers in a ziploc by beating with a tenderizer. Dump in a bowl and add the melted butter and mix. Spray a casserole dish and add chicken, soup, and sour cream. Mix all together well and top with cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 till bubbly. YUM!

Mama's Mickey Pancakes

2010-09-05T14:55:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love breakfast for dinner, especially whe your mama does sweet things like this? I must admit that Daddy put Mickey's face together. Let's just say that Libby and Drew cleaned their plates!

Hermit Crabs

2010-09-05T14:53:00.001-04:00

Recently, our next door neighbors, Hailey and Kate, brought over their new hermit crabs, Rocky and Hermie, for us to see. Libby and Drew loved watching them move around, but did not want to hold them. "They will pinch us, Mama?" Is all they kept asking for the nextt 2 days. They asked if they could get hermit crabs, tto, so our deal is that if they both poop on the potty, we can get them. No trips to PetSmart yet, but hopefully soon!

My Biscuits are Burning!

2010-08-29T10:19:00.001-04:00

Don't you hate when th is happens...especially when you were checking your email at the time?

Where Do They Come Up With These Things?

2010-08-25T23:22:00.001-04:00

While playing in the big toy car outside... Drew:"Libby, sit right here." Libby: "Ok, Drew!" Drew: "Turn on the radio... now we go to Old McDonald's."

Just wait until they get their driver's licenses in MANY years!

I'm In Mourning

2010-08-24T00:13:00.001-04:00

Yes, that's right. I should be wearing black today, however, I usually wear black every day anyway. But today is an especially sad day since it was my last Monday of my summer vacation. I start work 1 week from today and am not happy about it. Especially because my friend and co-worker, Leslie, and I found out that we have to move out of our office and don't have a location yet. So, once again as soon as we find a nice place to work, we get up rooted. It really is not fun moving every year.

Usually by this time, I am begging for that day to come since the kids and I are at our wits' ends with one another. But not this year. I'm felling empty today in particular. I think it is really because we were so busy all summer long and this week we really have nothing to do. I wanted to stay in bed in my PJ's all day. Fortunately, 2 little ones weren't in for that plan. But I must say that we did stay in PJ's until 3:00. I loved it!

Another reason I'm feeling down is because we didn't get to do half of what I wanted to do at home this summer. My list was:

start their baby scrapbooks- not even close
work on scissor skills (basic readiness and beginning snipping/cutting)- did this maybe once
fully potty trained except during naps/bedtime as their preschool requires- still having accidents daily
start working out with a brand new pilates set I got- still in the box
keep house a little cleaner and save monthly house cleaning fee- not even close
save money by avoiding eating out and cooking more- tonight we went to Chick-fil-a AND Dairy Queen

Now, don't think for a minute that I want to turn into some perfect 1950's housewife or anything. But it does get discouraging not completing even 1 item on your 10-week-long to-do list. That being said, I have done a lot of other things- like re-decorate the living room completely, recover an arm chair all.by.myself.with.no.sewing, get hooked on a ton of new blogs, and so on. So, I guess I shouldn't feel so bad today. Maybe it's just the weather- gray and rainy. Yeah, that's what it is. Let's hope there are sunny skies tomorrow on my last Tuesday of the summer. ;)

There Are No Such Thing as Coincidences

2010-08-21T13:23:00.001-04:00

Last week, I took a last-minute trip down to Louisiana to help Nana (my mom) move into her new adorable townhouse. In case you didn't know, she went through a divorce recently after being with her husband, Paul, for 22 years. It was really tough for her. What made it worse was living in their house while it sat on the market for 22 months. As I type this, I just realized the 22's there. Ha!

Speaking of coincidence, which I really don't believe in, I need to share the story of that house. When mom was a dental hygienist years ago, she worked with a woman named Sylvia and became good friends with her and her husband, Gary. Gary happened to have the same birthday as my brother, Scott, who died in a car accident in November of 1991. For Scott's last birthday that year, we had a pool party at another couple's house and Scott and Gary shared a birthday cake. On November 12, the day of Scott's accident, my mom was going to visit Gary in the hospital after he had some sort of surgery/procedure. That's when she found out about Scott.

A few days later, Gary, a retired police detective, saw the car Scott was driving and told my mom that he should do an accident reconstruction to prove that Scott wasn't speeding. The road he was on (Lonesome Rd. or as we called it "Hotsy Totsy Rd.") was a center of controversy in Mandeville since it had not been paved. It was a shortcut between 2 major highways and was in terrible shape with potholes, washboard bumps, and a high and dangerous set of railroad tracks to cross. Everyone assumed he had been speeding when he hit the only standing tree in about 50 yards on the side of the road. But when Gary saw the car and how it was only damaged on its roof as it turned on its side and wrapped around that tree, he knew speed had not been a factor- it was the sub-standard road instead. Other people had been killed on this same road and the parish was to pave the road, but never did for whatever reason. After the reconstruction and forensic evidence, the parish gave my parents a settlement, which was the only way my mom was able to build her home in Abita Springs.

Fast forward almost 19 years to early July, 2010 when Mom was becoming doubtful that her house would ever sell. She went with her agent to look at some townhomes nearby and my Mom fell in love with a particular one. She had met the homeowner, a young woman expecting her first baby via a long road of IVF like me. There were crosses and fleur-de-lis's all over, which looked like my mom's house, too. After talking a little while with her and her mother, she realized that this girl was the niece of Gary! When they left, they heard from that couple's agent that they wanted a single family home with a large pantry, big kitchen, and shed workshop for her husband. This is exactly what my mom had at her house. So, they told their realtor to check out my mom's and she was ready to put an offer in on the townhouse as soon as she got one on her house. They didn't hear anything back and when mom's realtor asked the other realtor again, he said that the house on Choctaw Dr. was too expensive for them. Then they realized that they were looking at another house, not Mom's, in the same subdivision. Mom's realtor pointed this out and he asked to bring them to see Mom's that evening. About 45 minutes after the appointment time, Mom drove home and the young girl she had met ran up to her with tears in her eyes telling her it was the perfect home for them and that they were putting in an offer for full asking price that night! So, they literally traded houses. Wait... did I tell you what the date was?? Yep, it was July 5th, Scott and Gary's birthday! And to top that off, the girl's husband's name was Andrew Scott. Ok, are you ready... Scott's middle name is Andrew! No, I am not kidding!!

Wouldn't you know that during this process, Mom fell off a step-ladder and broke her foot badly. She couldn't bear weight on it for quite some time and wondered how on earth she was going to move in early August. The other couple was so sweet and told her that they would take care of her. When they got a moving truck and moved their stuff to her house, they took loads of Mom's stuff back to their house. What a lifesaver!

I wanted to go down there so badly to help, but wondered how I could with 2 young ones and not much of a budget. I checked online and found ridiculously cheap fares through AirTran for $99 each way with only 3 days notice! I didn't let this big of a deal pass me by and bought a ticket right away. I couldn't believe it, especially since the fares down there are normally $300 or so, especially out of Dulles, the airport closest to our house. Darrell was able to shift some things around at work and was able to take off minimal time to watch the kids. Brenda, their sitter, also pitched in to help. I went down to Louisiana and my brother, Tim, Mom, and I painted, unpacked, shopped for TV's and other household stuff, hung pictures, moved furniture, and had a really fun time together. It was great and Mom was so happy to have the help.

Most people would say that all of this was one big coincidence. But I have come to believe that there are no such thing as coincidences. I honestly feel that God has a part in these things and that this entire journey with Gary spanning almost 19 years was part of His plan, even if it meant there was tragedy along the way. It may be really difficult for others to believe that God took Scott and caused mom get a divorce, but if you have faith, you believe that everything that happens is part of His plan...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Dinner on the Fly

2010-08-09T18:24:00.001-04:00

Tonight I made meatloaf for us, but actually I should call them meat "muffins" since I made them in my jumbo muffin pan. It saved me about 30 minutes of cooking time, plus aren't they cute?

I've Been Summoned

2010-08-09T16:30:00.001-04:00

For the first time in my life, I have jury duty. I am told to bring a book or 2 since I may be sitting and waiting most of the day. Well, at least I will actually get to read more than 1 chapter before being summoned for potty, snack, toy repair, or conflict resolution at home!

Whatta Ya Think So Far?

2010-08-08T18:24:00.001-04:00

Seriously?

2010-08-07T16:22:00.001-04:00

We stopped at McDonald's for dinner and on our table was a sign saying how they donate a portion of Happy Meal sales to charities. I thought...how nice of them...until I read this fine print!

Recovering... part 1

2010-08-07T15:28:00.001-04:00

It took us a few hours to rip a lot of the fabric off and to remove about 1000 staples of only 1 chair. But I am excited about my new fabric! And an added bonus... it was on sale for 60% off when I went to Joann to pick it up. So they gave me the discount and credited me $75! More to follow... we have to go to Home Depot for a new elec. Staple gun and more spray paint for my thrift store cabinet.

New (or Old) Finds

2010-08-05T22:28:00.001-04:00

I didn't realize that there was a thrift store nearby that supported Christian ministries locally until yesterday, so we just had to go there to check it out. After nap, we rushed over and I found some pretty neat things.

These books were only 50 cents each! I love old books to decorate spaces, but also to see the stories that they tell about the time they were published. I feel like I hit the jackpot because they had copyright dates of 1909, 1915, and 1930. How cool! To my surprise, the book German Plays of the Nineteenth Century (copyright 1930) was filled with not only plays in German, but also doodling and notes by the reader/s. I took some photos of them:

This one says: Kleist = expressionist, not a realist - creating own world - dramas of salvation - world redeemed thru women's love! Kleist's downfall - belief in state & vocation; faith in supreme power of knowledge, faith in redeeming power of love.

This one has special meaning to me since it had a piece of folded paper inside with notes about consonant sounds that we use in speech-language pathology. Pretty cool!

And this little book with its bright, cheerful cover (even if torn), looks like a fun one for Libby to read in a few years. It has a copyright date of 1915:

I got this little goody for $15 and can't wait to paint it and add some of my little finds, like my brown transferware that's on its way:

I also got this cute little plate for $2. I am going to hang it in our bedroom next to my new Home Goods $40 mirror over my dresser we had in Drew's room (he got a new blue one). I saw it on eBay for $20, so I think I got a great deal! Plus it's so cute.

Now for the NEW things I've found lately, mostly thanks to my very fashionable and adorable friend, Tiffany and her blog.

First is Lonny Magazine. Cool stuff!

Second is Garden and Gun magazine. I had heard about it earlier this summer from my brother-in-law and cannot wait for my 1st issue to arrive in the mail!

Third and fourth are 2 blogs that I absolutely love. You'll have to take a look and find out for yourself why!

Harrington House (by Katie) - see, I love it already b/c of her precious name ;) Isn't she cute, too?

And The Nester-- you'll see why I am going to re-upholster chairs myself and am heading to fabric stores this week:

So, what new (or old) things have you found lately?

In God We Trust!

2010-08-05T17:22:00.001-04:00

I'm happy to announce that our family is now 1 cent richer this afternoon thanks to Drew! Yes, that's right, the infamous penny has resurfaced and we are glad he is okay. I won't go into the messy details, but the penny was thrown away in the garbage. Is that a crime or something- to throw away money? I'm guessing not since I seem to do it every time I walk into Target. ;)

Gettin' That Itch Again...

2010-08-05T16:58:00.000-04:00

Every so often (well, almost daily), I tell Darrell that a certain itch is coming on and he immediately gets a bit worried. He knows that this itch isn't that I want another baby or to move to another house, or anything like that. My itch is the crafty kind, which many other mommas and ladies I know get like I do.

During the summer when I am off of work from teaching is when that itch is so unbearable that it needs some Benadryl cream FAST. I am so the kind of person that looks at my house and even though every visitor here gives it such nice compliments, I want to drastically change something about it!

I am also the kind of person that likes to do my research to not only make things beautiful, but also either handmade or handcrafted by me and on the cheap, too. I hunt down bargains at thrift stores, ebay, sometimes auctions, and yard sales.

It all started in June when I decided that for once and for all, I was going to re-upholster 2 swivel rockers that my dear friend, Shannon, had in her house and was about to put on the curb. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and grabbed them from her for a steal. I love that they are SO comfortable and they got both Shannon and I through many days and nights of nursing and feeding/consoling babies! I really like the fabric that is on them since it is floral and toile-ish, but I think they need an update for a new life.

I have researched this online and from friends' suggestions for months now. Everyone has quoted $500 for each chair PLUS the cost of fabric. I know this may be feasible for some people, but not for me. They are really nice Flexsteel chairs with a strong frame, so it's worth recovering them, but at that price, I just can't do it. Sooo... I've decided to do it myself! Yup, that's right. I figure that if they come out that bad that I'll just cover them with a loose slipcover for a more Shabby Chic look, right? ;)

Luckily, my friend Crafty Spice, is very crafty herself, although, she can make furniture, too! I'm not at all that skilled. But I ran into her at a party and we talked it up and she said to go for it. I love her even that much more now!

I searched for fabric for DAYS online and in stores. Okay, so this is the hardest decision EVER. But I have decided that I want to stay in the blue color scheme to avoid repainting the entire room and changing out accessories. Darrell was all for this decision since he is often the painter in our house! I thought I would go for a neutral look to change out my pillows and accessories when I felt itchy again, but that's not me at all. I love prints, patterns, TOILE, and color. Plus, with 2 kids, white, off-white, or even light yellow is not feasible at all. Plus I am not venturing into making my own slipcovers for these. That requires sewing... oh, and knowledge of it, too.

So, I finally found some fabric for a great deal at JoAnn and it's officially on order. It's Waverly's Paddock Shawl Porcelain. I got it for 40% off (on sale) plus did you know that Teachers automatically get a 15% discount at JoAnn? Well, I actually had a Teacher coupon sent to me after enrolling for 20% off. So, I got it for super cheap. Bummer is that I had to pay like $16 for shipping since it's special order. But after looking at my local fabric shop, G Street Fabrics, I have to say that I wasn't all that impressed. I need to be on the lookout for more fabric shops.

I was able to find a bunch of tips by watching some videos from diyupholsterysupply.com They run a little slowly, but I got the basic idea. I got my power staple gun from Sears (again, Darrell was happy with this purchase and will most likely want to use it more than me) and ordered some other supplies from that website with the videos. So, I'm just waiting for the fabric for the real magic to begin!

Anyone out there ever done this before without sewing? If so, I need your tips! ;)

The chairs now in my front Sitting/Fru-Fru Room:

The fabric:

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-08-04T20:13:00.001-04:00

Yes, it was my birthday on Monday and I feel like it went on for days since I was treated to so many nice things! On Sunday, we went outlet shopping as I noted in my previous "penny-fiasco" post. On my actual birthday, I was surrounded with singing, cards, beautiful roses, and even a brand new iPod since mine is one of the original ones that came out several years ago. It'll be nice to have double the memory now (8GB) to load up more songs.

For my birthday, I had originally wanted us to drive into Georgetown to visit Georgetown Cupcake, which is the site of the TLC show DC Cupcake. But, I have heard that it is just crazy busy since the show began recently. I called that morning and at 10AM was told that the line was around the block already. It was a little cloudy out and looked to be threatening rain. So, we ditched those plans b/c I felt like it would be a disaster of an experience driving 30 minutes there, finding a place to park, waiting in line, etc.

Instead, we went shopping at Home Goods, one of my FAVORITE stores. I got some great things there to go in my new and improved family room, which I will leave you in suspense for a few days longer. That's because it's not completely finished yet and I want to wait to take photos. I ran into a precious little consignment shop that I hadn't know about and found some cute things in there. But Libby and Drew were literally like bulls in a china shop, so they had to wait with Daddy in the car. That meant driving over to the 7-11 across the parking lot for a slurpee (or a "Snoopy" as they called it). So, I only had about 10 minutes in there which wasn't nearly enough. Can't wait to head back there to see what treasures I can find.

The kids got to pick out my birthday cake and after Darrell vetoed the "Bob the Builder" cake from Baskin-Robbins, they decided to go to our brand new Dairy Queen by our favorite grocery store, Harris Teeter. Let's just say I am so glad they did. They picked out the watermelon cake we saw there on a previous visit and it was delish. It was an ice cream cake made of just soft serve vanilla & chocolate ice cream layers. In between was a cookie crumble with frozen fudge sauce that they dip the cones in. YUM! It was a great birthday to say the least! ;)

This, Too, Shall Pass!

2010-08-02T10:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to the outlet mall for shopping. I bought a few gadgets at Williams-Sonoma, including a strawberry huller, hand-held strawberry slicer, and a grill pan for $48 total. They have some good deals there! The problem is that I love kitchen gadgets and they have a giant store full of them. My cabinets are filled with mini choppers, cupcake decorating set, an apple-peeler-corer-slicer, and the like. So, why not add to the mix? We eat strawberries just about every day, so I figured these were a good purchase.

A little later, we ventured over to the Gymboree Outlet. There weren't too many great deals, but as I was browsing, I heard Drew gag, cough a little, and then scream right behind me in the stroller. I whipped around and he looked so nervous and couldn't talk at first. I stroked him to calm him down and asked what happened. I couldn't understand him at first, but heard, "Get it out... penny all gone!" Darrell then told me- he swallowed a penny!

Drew recently got a Mickey Mouse piggy bank when we went shopping at the beach. Since then he loves collecting loose change and adding it to his bank. He found this said penny on the floor and Darrell put it on his stroller tray as they discussed putting it in his bank at home. Apparently, Drew thought he was the bank himself ;) Poor Darrell was really upset and felt so guilty. But we had given Drew money and small things before lately and he doesn't usually put things in his mouth anymore- hasn't in quite a while. But you can never be too safe, I guess.

I called my mom and my dad and they both said to page the pediatrician. I just prayed they wouldn't have to pump his stomach or anything. :( But a call back later, the pediatrician told me not to worry and to watch his poop for the next 24-48 hours to see if it passes. As long as there's no bleeding or vomiting, there's no need to call. And if it doesn't pass in that time frame, they would want to x-ray him to track it down.

Five minutes later, he was back to his old self and told us he wouldn't do THAT again. It scared him, too. We went over to Friday's for a quick dinner and he ate and acted up as he normally does when overstimulated and tired. ;) We had a nice time and the kids loved that the servers embarrassed me by bringing out a birthday dessert complete with a loud song by about 10 of them where they even announced my name and age! So, yes, I'm 37 today and can't believe it myself. But I need to tell Darrell to watch out since he turns 40 this year- payback is coming his way for that one!

"She Looks Dorable Now"

2010-07-30T18:25:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was quite a day for us. Libby had a terrible croupy cough the night before and woke up wheezing. I gave her a nebulizer treatment but about 1 hour later, she sounded bad again. We went to the pediatrician and let's just say it was a smart idea b/c she started really struggling and making sounds like I've never heard. They gave her steroids and another treatment right away. We waited but still wheezy (but at least not nearly as bad), so she had another treatment. After that one, still wheezing. So we went over to the ER and by then we figure the steroids started working b/c she got much better. They took a chest x-ray, but luckily no pneumonia. So we waited a little while longer and then headed home.

This morning she was coughing and wheezing a lot, but has gotten a little better with treatments every 4 hours. Darrell's dad has pretty bad asthma, so it does run in the family. But we were told that it is not diagnosed in children this young. Their airways are naturally small and sometimes as they grow, they outgrow the wheezing, too. Let's hope that will be the case with Libby!

We went out to Home Goods after her follow-up appt. with the doctor. I wanted to get out of the house, but Libby and Drew told me they wanted to "go do errands". Of course I managed to pick up a cartful while we were there. I love that store! Libby and Drew each got a 24 piece floor puzzle and Drew did his pirate one all by himself! He is getting better at them and more patient, too.

Libby needed my help at first and usually gives up quickly, but she ended up doing all of her princess puzzle with just me encouraging her along the way!
After that, Libby put her pink monkey and favorite buddy, Dee Dee, "to bed for nap". Libby was so meticulous while doing it, talking aloud while getting each piece one at a time to set it up perfectly. When I told her I wanted to take a photo, she cracked me up when she added the shopping cart and said, "There, Mama, she looks dorable now!" She is such a hoot!

Play-Doh

2010-07-27T17:39:00.002-04:00

Since I started working with preschoolers almost 10 years ago, I have had a firm rule of NOT ever using more than 1 color at a time or only allowing multiple colors with direct supervision. Many other people wondered why I had such a "mean" rule, but I want you to see EXACTLY why...

Life's A Beach

2010-07-19T22:23:00.002-04:00

We made it to the beach and are having so much fun! At first, Libby and Drew we're nervous walking in it. Libby has been in the surf with Darrell, but Drew wants absolutely nothing to do with it!
After dinner and a stop at "The DQ" tonight, we watched a few minutes of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" on the beach. Libby and Drew are still into throwing sand in the air, so we ended up taking a nice nighttime walk on the beach looking for seashells. This is the life!

We had a little photo shoot on the beach, too, which was also a lot of fun.