Him, Me and Baby Makes 3

A LITTLE BIT OF SUNSHINE

2011-12-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

SHE SMILES ALL THE TIME. Here is a little grin caught on camera.

IT SNOWED

2011-12-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

PRINCESS

2011-11-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

I firmly believe that Jewel is a princess. A good one, not a spoiled brat one.

She loves dressing in girly clothes and playing with her jewelry and make-up. And she loves playing Princess.

For her birthday this year Nana got her the perfect gift (no help from me). And Jewel LOVES it!

Now Jewel can not only feel like a princess, but she can wear her Cinderella Princess outfit (complete with light up high heels) while playing with her Cinderella barbie!

As Jewel would say, "Great job, Nana!"

Happy Birthday!

2011-11-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Jewels birthday. It looked something like this...

A morning celebration at home.

Seeing Uncle Allen off at the airport. (So long to Gramps' plane until Uncle Allen comes back again in December)

A birthday dinner and cake at Gramps and GG's house. Minney Mouse was waiting on the steps when we got there... Jewel loved her.

Happy 2 Years Jewel!

A Closer Up

2011-11-22T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a closer up picture of the baby doll carrier.

Straps, and it velcros around the tummy.

And the seat. it velcros onto the shoulder straps and the tummy strap.

*I only wish i had made the matching part the outside of the seat, even with the weird seams*

DIY Baby Doll Bjorn

2011-11-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

As it happens, I have more recently been carrying the babe around in the Baby Bjorn so that I can get things done around the house. Things like, cook, clean, clean again and follow Jewel around so we can play in rooms other than the living room. Tonight right before the hubs and Jewel went out to run some errands, she was trying desperately to get our Baby Bjorn on correctly. So, while they were gone, after Rose finished nursing, I whipped up a play baby doll Bjorn carrier for miss Jewel. Let me tell you, she LOVES it! And I am glad! Now she can carry her baby around while I have to carry Rose around.

Oh the fun we will have!

Becoming My Budget's Friend

2011-11-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

I am really trying to be better about our food budget and how I use it. We are saving up for a house, and I can easily have food money left over at the end of the month to put towards the house if I just plan a little and spend some time cooking. I would say that I have normally been "money conscious" with my food budget. Much because it was SO easy considering all the really great, inexpensive options we had in our old town. But after moving out here to this one-horse-town.... I pretty much only have one option for grocery shopping. And it is Safeway. That, or sending the Hubs by Walmart,Target, or Costco on the way home from work. I am sure the are other options out there (we do have a Dollar General and a Discount Grocery Store), but I have yet to have time to explore them. All that to say--- Both of those reasons (saving for a house and Safeway, which I think is expensive) encourage and challenge me to get more creative, stretch our foods, and not waste.

Today I made corn chowder for lunch, as opposed to yesterdays PBJ's. And surprise surprise, we will be having it for dinner, as well.

I took this recipe from Near to Nothing's blog and revamped it using what we had and made it so that I could eat it.

I used leftover ham rather than chicken, and 3c. almond milk/ 3c. water. It turned out very tasty, but really runny. So, I added probably 1/4c corn starch and let it simmer for a few more minutes. After it thickened, it was PERFECT!!

And for dessert tonight, we had a bag of marshmallows that needed to be used up, so I stove-popped some popcorn and made a pan (rather than balls) of marshmallow popcorn. YUM!

And the best part? I had all the ingredients to both= free meal. Well, kind of. If you ignore the fact that I bought them to begin with... but I was using leftovers completely to make the meal. So, again- Hurrah!

Fridge Busting Dinner

2011-11-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

You know when you make a meal that you are just oh-so proud-of? Well, tonight was one of those nights. We didn't have anything extaordinary, just Taco Salad. But for some reason I was very proud of myself for concocting it. As I sat eating, I figured out why. I only bought 1 ingredient towards the salad from my last grocery shopping trip! The rest was from the fridge or pantry! Here is how our salad came together.

Lettuce- from two different types and heads of lettuce, on its last leg. If it wasn't used fast, it would be put in the trash.
Green onion- had some left over from a Chinese Cabbage Salad I had made.
Tomato- had one in the fridge from who knows what, but it probably also needed to be used.
Corn- had a can in the pantry, lovely!
Black beans- soaked and cooked from dry beans.
Taco seasoning- Mixed from scratch, with Jewel's help
Salsa- half a can in the fridge
Tortilla chips- left over from our Mexican take-out the other night... Don't throw those chips away!
AND THEN...
Ground turkey- my on grocery shopping item

Oh the bliss of using up food so that it doesn't go to waste! By budget thanks me.

Last Night: Triumphs and Fallbacks

2011-11-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Last night was quite interesting for us.

First off--- the triumph--- Rose slept SIX hours!!!! SIIIIIX!!!!! It was amazing! That is the second time within this last week.

But we also had an interesting twist. Jewel woke up about 4 times! She was not cranky, just very VERY awake. The first time was around 1:30. She just started calling and calling for us. Again, not crying or very upset, just awake. So I decided that I was going to go in there and tell her that it wasn't morning time. She took it very well, layed back down and told me night night. So I left. About 5 minutes later she was calling specifically for daddy (he gets her up in the morning.... she no longer even calls my name in the morning). So he went in there, told her the same thing and she went back to sleep. She again called around 3:30 and 4:30. One of those times I went in because she was calling "Mommy! Awake! Jewel Awake! Mommy!!!!" (This is what I have taught her to do when she wakes up from a nap). She was FULLY awake and I had to convince her it was still night time by explaining that it was dark and dark means night night. So she caught on and told me "bye bye. night night. dark.". So I left. But again at 6:30 she started calling, so Robert went in. She was pretty fussy, so he told her that she needed more sleep. And he successfully got her to sleep with him in the rocking chair in her room for about an hour more.

What is causing Jewel's crazy waking up? WHO KNOWS!!! I think she may be teething, getting her 2 year old molars. She also is growing. So I figure either one of those could be the culprit. But- either way... kind of crazy during the night, but pretty funny to look back at later. She was pretty funny with all her callings.

I sure hope tonight is the same where Rose is concerned, but that Jewel actually sleeps through the night.... never really saw that one coming.

Big Sister

2011-10-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

Jewel loves being a big sister, and showing Baby Rose all the cool things in life---like her music drum.

One Horse Town

2011-10-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

That is what I lovingly refer to my new town as.

It cracks me up, and scares me just a bit, that I live here now. It seemed much easier to imagine the hubs growing up here, when I wasn't trying to call it my home as well. Now it seems so much harder to imagine an even less expanded area. The hubs was here when the first stop light went up (he was like 16) and when Taco Bell came to town (he was in 5th grade and a horse went through the drive through and made the front page of the paper).

He was telling me the other day that their mall (which is a half hour away in the next town, mind you) consisted of JcPenney and Sears and like 4 other tiny stores. Currently, Walmart is occupying that same building space!!! I have also seen Gap and Old Navy pass through the town, but not stay over the past few years of visiting.... So pretty much my clothing shopping will be at Target, JcPenney, Sears, Dillard's, Foot Fetish and some random other stores. That is, unless I make the trip to Phoenix for a mall or outlets.

I am in slight shock, but I'm sure it will set in eventually and I will learn how to live in a small small town. I do love the peace and quiet, the nice neighbors and family barber, and the fact that the front page of the paper (which only comes out once a week) the other day was a picture of a car smashed by a tree with the title "Car VS Tree". Yes, that was the BIG news that week!

I didn't quite realize the difference in population until I looked it up. The 2010 census showed the population of the town I went to school in (growing up) to be 167,815 and the town I lived in to be 40,971. Whereas the population of the town I now live in is 11, 182. And the population of the "tri city area" is over 95,600. What a difference!

I always wanted to live in a small town..... now I am. I hope I like it as much as I thought I would!

Human Milk Cow

2011-10-20T15:06:00.000-07:00

Nursing, Nursing, Nursing....

I hear it's a full time job. And I'm starting to believe it. With Jewel I went the way of scheduled feedings.... it didn't work out well. About 5 months in she was completely on the bottle. So this time I decided to do some hard core on demand nursing. And hard core it is! I feel like little Rose is just hungry all the time! Such a difference! But I can already tell its working better this time around. Which I am praising God about!

And everyone says nursing is such a sweet time.... but it comes with its struggles for me. I am a "get it done" kinda person. I love projects and I love completing them! So when I have a baby who is forcing me to sit constantly, not letting me do projects, and eat more than I want, I feel that I'm not getting much accomplished! Butas my wise mother said, the key is adjusting my expectations. I have to find other ways to accomplish things.

And thus- my accomplishment list looks more like this right now:

* Make sure I'm in the WORD every day... I have no more excuses as I'm stuck here, sitting down.

* Figure out how to play with Jewel while stuck on the couch

* Meal plan easy meals for when I can cook again

* Find as many freebees online as I can and sign up for them.

* Learn to crochet and make Christmas gifts

* Read a bunch of FlyLady and understand how her "15 minutes a day" system works and how it will make my house less cluttered

* Organize the house in my head so when the time comes, I will know what to do.

Different than my normal list, but effective none the less in it's own way.

So here's to being a Human Milk Cow! May my sitting be prosperous and may my little Rose get fat!

Surviving

2011-10-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

That about sums up my last few weeks. Rose is now 2 days shy of 3 weeks old. And it has been a tough few weeks. The Lord has been testing me time and time again to trust Him, let go of my expectations, and rely upon His strength and wisdom.

In my mind, any 1 of the 8 major events of my life that have happened over the past two months would have been enough. Living away from the hubs for a month, birthing a child, moving states, moving houses, learning how to juggle two kiddos showing both love and attention, having a trip to the ER in the middle of the night, or the hubs starting a new job. But the Lord must think the hubs and I very strong, because all has happened in a matter of less than two months.

It's been extremely testing for me. I keep on thinking back to 1 Cor 10:13 that says, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way of escape so that you can bear it". And even as I've failed time and time again in my thinking and attitude and actions, I keep on being reminded of 2 Cor 12:9, which says: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"... And that is my daily, hourly, minute by minute prayer. For the Lord only knows how weak I feel and how weak I truly am. And boy, if His grace isn't sufficient--- I'm in one SAD SAD place. So praise God that it IS sufficient!!!! Praise God that there is hope during this still crazy time. Hope that I might still exemplify Christ in my life and actions, that He will receive honor and that I will survive!

Sunday Mutterings

2011-08-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

Today we hopefully finish packing up the whoooooole house. BUT We are taking a break in a few hours to go get some pictures done of the fam.... of the belly, before we split ways on Tuesday. I'm thankful for that. I can't wait to see them after they are done....

Seeing our whole house packed is kind of crazy------oh how I miss my sewing machine!!!

Moving

2011-08-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are moving. It's INSANE around here. I have less than a week to pack up our house....... God give me mercy and grace.

signed,
frazzled

A New Shirt Duo for Jewel

2011-08-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been storing up ideas of clothing to make for Jewel. Since I finally attempted and conquered the shirt sleeve a few days ago, a whole new world has been opened to me. No longer is it only skirts, shorts, leggings, and pants that she gets. But now, shirts have entered the picture!!! Today I made a shirt that a saw on Me Sew Crazy. She has a lovely tutorial, if you are interested in making one of these yourself. I believe I read the tutorial when I first saw it, but being as I work best without instructions to confuse me... I just sat down and got started. I did a few things differently, such as the sleeves. And I love the outcome.

OH, and yesterday I made a sweater vest upcycled from an old Express sweater vest that my mom gave me to get creative with. It had a hole, hence the flower. And it was the inspiration to make the grey button down shirt.

What a lovely pair they make!

Play Makeup

2011-08-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

Jewel loves to play with makeup. But sometimes her plastic play make-up is not "cool" enough. And she insists on playing with mine. I saw a tutorial a little bit ago on how to make play make-up that is a bit more like grown up make-up. So this past weekend I gave it a try.

I started by going through my make-up stash and nail polish stash. I found containers and colors of both that I didn't want anymore. So I cleaned out the eye shadow pallets with soap and water, and let them dry. Then I filled the now empty slots with the colors of nail polish. Mixing colors to get more options for miss Jewel to play with. And after I had been around the fumes as much as I could (with the window open, of course) I carefully carried them outside to dry. And dry. And dry some more. They were used for the first time today (almost a week later of drying and de-fuming) and are a HUGE hit!!! Even the other girls in the apartment complex had a ball playing make-up.

What a fun, free way to liven up her play stash!!!

What is fuzzy and white with green spots?

2011-08-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

Jewel's new sweatshirt, that's what!!! Today I used an old, half cut up sweatshirt of mine to create a "new" sweatshirt for Jewel. It was quite an accomplishment for me, because I have been absolutely terrified of making anything with sleeves... not to mention I had to make a hood too. But, it was a great success! With no pattern, it was left up to my "creativity". =) Jewel was very good at self-entertaining while I was sewing her sweatshirt. I am convinced it's because she knew it was something for her. She was super excited to try it on. So cute! THAT makes sewing even more fun for me!!!! The "ruffles" took the longest, its not that easy to gather them with sweatshirt strips. But they were necessary to cover up some stains and holes. Haha. And even with the added time, they look adorable, if I do say so myself. No one would ever know that they truly HAVE to be there.

Ok- after all my blabbering, here are two pictures. Taken with the handy dandy cell phone, of course.

I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE....

2011-08-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

...with crock pot oat groats!

I made them for the first time the other day. I was trying to find a solution to the fact that neither the hubby nor I were wanting to make a hot breakfast in the morning. Which left him without nourishment and starving by lunch. Well, it is a solution I LOVE!!!!

All you have to do is pull out the old crock pot. Put 6 1/2 cups of water, 1 1/2 cup oat groats (the least processed human-edible form of oats), and a cinnamon stick. Then turn that pot on low for 6-7 hours. In the morning you have delish oats to eat! I added some brown sugar and broken up walnuts in. YUM! They also reheat wonderfully! We don't have a microwave (yes, by choice) and they heat up great on the stove with a little water added.

You really should give it a try.... my life just got so much easier!

[snot] noun.

2011-08-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

. Nasal mucus or discharge.

YEP- that is what I found all down my shirt this afternoon. J had been hurt herself and been crying, and I guess decided to leave me a present for a little while later. Unfortunately it was not my favorite present. I much prefer kisses......

The hidden joys of being a mama.

Almond Love

2011-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised when my husband came back from the store last week with 3 boxes of Almond milk. Three, I tell you. THREE!!! He proceeded to tell me that they were on sale, 3 for $5. WHAT A STEAL! They are usually $3 per box. AND, I looked at my coupons and realized that I had a few coupons for $1.50 off of the milk, if buying 3. So, I did my math, and thought, "I need to go back to the store". 3 boxes of Almond milk for $3.50! That was just about $1.15 a box! GREAT! So I went to the store and what did I discover? After I bought the milk, I got the same exact catalina coupons reprinted!!!!! A NEVER ENDING SUPPLY OF CHEAP MILK!!!! Needless to say, last week I spent many days going to Ralphs and getting milk. Haha. We have drank some, and stocked up. I currently have 13 boxes in my pantry. HURRAH! Assuming I got 15 boxes, I spent $17.50 as opposed to $45. Sounds good to me!

I love me some Almond milk.

A Living Room Revamped

2011-07-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

I had already recovered the piano bench and an automan. But the room has been totally rearranged. AND over the last few days I have recovered and added padding to my sewing stool. (It looks rediculous, but is SO very nice for my toosh!!! It was the first project, and I'm sure helped in the swiftness of the rest of the projects) I have made three pillows, a large table cloth and two small ones, recovered another pillow-type automan, modge podged some fabric onto some cardboard boxes for cute storage, and recovered the bulletin/picture board. All of this has been done since Sunday, and I am quite pleased with the outcome. (Excuse me while I pat myself on the back... haha) Now I feel like I can finally rest in the living room. In the next week I plan to tackle the walls and painting. Can't wait to have it all together! AH! YAY! Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do.

OH, and the pictures were all taken with my phone. Ha. Sorry about that.

Old:

Bla with the previously recovered automan.

More bla, but with an adorable blonde

My happy sewing corner of the LR

View to the kitchen

Toy Story anyone?

New:

Prettier

Little table compliments of Take Two Thrift store, $2. With glass top. LOVELY

Redone Picture Bulletin Board

Sigh, my corner

One of the pretty little fabric covered boxes

My insanely huge sewing stool cushion

Beautiful table cloth!

View next to the tv piano now

Pretty little red table cloth makes me happy. This is the exact same table as the other, from a garage sale. $1.

Happy arrangement on top of the bookshelf

In front of the window.

Recovered automan

Such happy pillows!

Toy box

Heatless Curls

2011-07-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

So I was looking at some of my blog reader the other day and I came across this post from Lil Blue Boo. Curls in 5 minutes? Without a curling iron? That is this mama's dream! I do basically nothing with my hair anymore because it is more time consuming than I care for. Especially with little J tugging at my feet and trying to grab the curling iron, hairspray or gel. =) So I gave it a try, and I am a believer. I think this is my new favorite AND easy hair-do.

Watch the video and try it yourself!

My hair was dry before putting it up. All I used was some gel.

Before:

After:

Ah the glories of easy curls!

I'm Still Alive

2011-07-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Some have wondered where I have been. Why haven't I posted. Have I stopped blogging. For you few friends out there wondering this, I am here to tell you- I AM STILL ALIVE. Barely. Our summer months have been INSANE. It all started with a move of residence the beginning of May. A week and a half later we began traveling, vacationing, visiting family, and participating in weddings of dear friends. I personally have not been home for an entire week since then. Sunday night will mark the first full week home for me since early May. Luckily the next trip we have planned is in August. And then baby Rose comes end of September. Wow, what a whirlwind.

BUT in my spare time I have been sewing, constructing, and organizing the new home. I am almost, ALMOST completely done with the girl's room.... and hopefully in a few days I will have pictures to share. I am quite pleased, and yes- proud- of the outcome. But, you'll have to wait and see!!!

So, there's a quick tid-bit of what's been going on in our life. I will soon return with some pictures. =)

Enjoy your Friday night, all!!!!

Lacking

2011-02-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

This poor blog has no style. Yep. I've realized this about myself. I am task oriented. Which, often times leaves out the pretty little details. Blogging, I feel, is often the creative minds/artsy persons blank canvas for self expression. For me, it is to keep the family somewhat updated, if they choose to read. But I guess it doesn't mean that my page has to be soooo lacking in style. I think I will put more effort into that detail. Now, if my sister wants to just remake my page (hint hint... haha, in all of your spare time), I would be more than thrilled. THEN all I would have to do is put effort into the posts and pictures. That is my ideal scenario. But until then, I guess I'll just start chipping away to make it more stylized!

Wish me luck, and leave me tips!

God's blessings by means of thrift stores.

2011-02-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

Today I went thrift store shopping. Again. And I picked up some amazing deals. Each a fun little blessing.

It's always so cool when God provides. And it happens so many different ways. Sometimes I don't realize and sometimes it is SO obvious. Today was one of those obvious times. While at The Salvation Army, I was searching in the Rick Rack section, and I found two cloth diapers. They were brand new, and looked decent, but I called my husband at work to have him look them up. Just to make sure they weren't super cheapo's. What he found was acceptable, so I took them. Yes, we left with two cloth diapers. I was kind of laughing to myself in the car, thinking how random it was to find two unused diapers... but then I realized. WAIT A MINUTE!!! I was JUST praying about the wisest way for us to get diapers for baby #2. We use cloth, and over time, it is a HUGE savings. But up front it is pretty pricey. And this is part of God's answer. He is providing. How cool is that?!?! The diapers are GroVia, and those are the EXACT ones I found, pattern and all. What a cool blessing to find them for 2.29 a pop rather than the 24.95!!!

Also, as I was leaving The Salvation Army, I looked through the frames- as I often do. Normally I find nothing, but this time there was this AMAZING HUGE FRAME!!!! It is wonderful and I instantly fell in love. I've been wanting a fun frame to put over our bed, and what a cool blessing to find it at the thrift store for only $7!!!

Then I headed to Goodwill. And what would I find there? MORE blessings!!!! The worker just wheeled out a new cart, and what was on it? Yes, a Singer Quantumlock 4 (just like below). I have been looking at them for a long time on places like Craigslist, hoping and praying to find one I could afford. BUUUT, even at $250-$300 on CL, it's still too steep for me. This one, with the manual and everything included, was only $40!!!! I have yet to make sure it works properly (they are supposed to test them), but I have 7 days for that. And it would probably be cheaper for me to get it fixed, if it doesn't work than to buy one.

Needless to say, I felt quite blessed. Thank you God for all these fun finds!!!

Relaxing Lunch

2011-02-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Jewel was very tired at lunchtime yesterday.

Ah Blessed Morning Sickness

2011-02-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

It finally hit. I woke up on Saturday (7 weeks) and felt the pangs of the acid stomach and iron mouth. Thankfully, I don't get bad morning sickness. Really not much at all compared to SO MANY women. (I send you women my prayers) And this time it is being even milder than before. But what can I say, I still don't enjoy the small amount I DO get.

I have been craving meat, bread, and all things starch and carbs. Yeah- pretty much the horrible foods that you should be eating in moderation I want to eat in MASS AMOUNTS!!!! And that is quite opposite of how I normally eat. I am usually a fruits and veggies girl (well, with meat... I love it. I could NEVER be a vegetarian)

But last night, I was feeling the worst I have felt, maybe close to the worst I've felt from last time or this time.... and I was texting my mother. (yes, I was too lazy to call). I told her how I felt, what I was eating and that I can tell my body wants something... I just can't figure out what it is! And apparently her natural doctor told her that bread/sugar and protein make morning sickness worse. CRAZY!!!! I have never heard that before, but I figured today I would try it out. I would try to eat more veggies and fruits and grains and not snack on the breads, no matter how much I wanted them.

And, I am pleased to say that I feel much better. I had plain oatmeal with cut up apple in it for breakfast, with water. I had very thin sliced bread for my chicken breast sandwhich.... piled high with spinach, tomato, and onion for lunch. I then had an orange as a snack..... (my lunch came around 10:30.... haha. it's only 12:45 and i'm already past snacktime!) And I've been trying to drink tons of water!

I am pleased with the outcome of my healthier eating today, and I think I will try again tomorrow.

GOOD BYE BREAD AND CARBS!!!! HELLO FRUITS AND VEGGIES!!!!

Call Me A Copycat....

2011-02-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

Yep, stole it from my sisters blog. Thought it was a good idea.

I'm currently...

Cooking: Nothing, but I ate In-N-Out for lunch. Yay for pregnancy cravings.

Watching: Baby girl nap in the car

Listening to: My mother talk on the phone

Baking: Nothing, maybe some Pumpkin bread

Munching on: Water and everything made of starch or carbs in sight

Crafting: Baby girls new dress

Planning: My never ending TO DO list

Reading: Home decorating blogs

Wearing: Seven For All Mankind jeans, black orange and yellow flowered top from the LOFT

Loving: Our coat rack

Dreading: The huge mounds of un-finished laundry

Thinking About: Crochetted heart garlands

Wanting: Really cute maternity cut off jean shorts for summer

Needing: 1 hr massage

What are YOU up to this week?

Grocery Shopping Friday #2

2011-01-28T18:27:00.000-08:00

This is my plunder from today's grocery trip. I think I did quite well resisting all my unhealthy urges due to my pregmotional, hungry state.

Today we went to Target (where I used coupons for EVERYTHING I bought) , Ralphs, Vallarta, and the 99cent store. OK, ok - aaaaaand Whole Foods, for two vegan chocolate chip cookies for myself! (much needed and YUM!!!!)

This is our plunder, all for $60. 95 (plus just over $3 for my cookies)

Produce

Dole salad bag, 2 lb carrots, 3 lb granny smith apples, 4 lbs bananas, 4.6 lbs oranges, 1 stalk celery

Household

3 boxes kleenex, candle lighter, 1 roll paper towels

Bread-ish

6- 7oz bags of pasta (3 alphabet minis, 3 fillo), 6 top ramen, 2 bags of oatmeal, 1 bag tortilla chips, 1 box (4 pack) Nature Valley granola bars, 1 bag tortillas, 2 boxes saltine crackers, 2 bags animal crackers, 1 jar peanuts, 1 Knorr pack chicken bullion.

Dairy/Fridge

1/2 gallon milk, 1 gallon orange juice, 2 packs Jennie-0 turkey franks, 2 dozen eggs, 1 pack mexican grated cheese, 1 pack mini franks,1 pack turkey meat

Canned, Etc

8 cans Del Monte veggies, 1 can Hormel chili, 1 can Hunts tomatoes, 1 can green chili salsa, 4 cans tuna, 1 Wishbone Italian salad dressing, 1 large container applesauce, 1 Heinze BBQ sauce, 2 Langers apple juice, 4 West Soy soy milk

I still have "happy o's" left over from last trip, as well as some produce and meat.

Up next? MEAL PLANNING!!!!

God Made Dirt, So Dirt Don't Hurt

2011-01-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

First off, Jewel LOVES the outside. I am pretty sure she would be content to live outside all of her days. She loves to watch the birds and squirrels, to mimic the dog barks she hears, to play with acorns, rocks and leaves... But I think most of all, she L-O-V-E-S dirt.

So it was no surprise to turn around to find her sitting in the newly weeded dirt beds playing to her hearts satisfaction, when we went outside to clean out our "stable" (storage/shed). It was too cute, so I went and grabbed the camera and took a few snaps.

Here's my proof that this child is INDEED my own..... Ahhhh the glories of dirt! (I can't wait until she discovers mud).

Just playing away!

hey mom!!!

showing off her rock

Not All Of Us Have Style....

2011-01-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

..... but that doesn't mean we can't try.

I am one of those people.

I don't think of myself as having original style. I am not one who see's a piece and can in an instance think of the PERFECT outfit with ease: including earings, necklaces, rings, nail polish color, hair style, shoes, pants... etc. In fact, even when I am standing in front of my closet trying to find something to wear, it literally PAINS me to think of wearing any matching jewelry other than my "push present" necklace, whatever stud earrings are in my ears at that moment (that most likely don't match my necklace, since I don't have diamond studs (yet- I have faith), nor do I have anything else that is the same stone as my necklace), my promise ring and wedding ring.

I seriously envy people with creative spirits when it comes to mixing and matching outfits. My sister is one of those people. And sometimes her ability to put together such a fun and funky outfit just makes me ill. (Sorry sis, its true)

Now, I am not saying I have NO STYLE AT ALL... I've pretty much got the classic look down. Boring solid color shirts and pants. An occasional print here and there. And my other style I've got down is quite the opposite of classic.... HIPPIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh how I love tye-die and Burks and cut offs. I'm a hippie at heart. (Maybe that's why I love garage sales and thrift stores). Oh, and I can easily put together an outfit seen from a magazine (especially if I buy that EXACT outfit, which I have done multiple times throughout my life)

But I am lacking in creative juices to create awesome, funky, fun, mis-matched while completely working outfits out of thin air. ........ But that doesn't mean I don't try.....

Lately I've been trying to put together things that I normally wouldn't. We'll see how that goes. I still lie on the very conservative side. (Especially as most of my closet lends itself to either hippie or classic). So, every once in a while I will post my outfits so all you dear souls can either laugh at me or commend me on my efforts.

ENJOY!!!!

Cord Jacket- Gap, like 6 years ago

Top- Foot Fetish, AZ,

Jeans- Citizens of Humanity

Shoes- thrifted Steve Madden-$2

Past Project

2011-01-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

A while ago I made something for a friend. (by "a while ago" I mean like 6 or 7 months). I generally liked the way it turned out, I definitely liked the material!!! Here are pics of the project.

Toddler Cloth Travel Highchair

Bib and Paci Holder

Currently

2011-01-24T15:35:00.000-08:00

.... my dirt bed is BEAUTIFUL (dirt bed= flowerbed deprived of flowers) and my right arm is covered in welts from my backyards worst enemy- stinging nettle. At least my daughter is now safe!!!! AND it's about time to start planting a garden!!!!

Husband Approved Vegan Snickerdoodles

2011-01-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

I was craving some cookies the other night. SOOOO- I searched google, found an amazing site, located the perfect recipe, and made myself some cookies.

In actuality, I did change the recipe... Not on purpose, but because I ran out of white sugar. So, I actually used half white and half brown in the cooking, and rolled the cookies in brown sugar and cinnamon. I need to try them as the recipe states now, to see which way I like better. =)

The result of my impulse baking was a very happy me, PLUS another HUSBAND APPROVED VEGAN DESSERT. =D

Here is the site and recipe, tell me what you think!
The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur

#2

2011-01-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

As I sit here in my comfy leggings, lotion saturated toe socks, and sweater.... I can't help but notice that although my body seems to be in a restful state, my brain is not. NOT NOT NOT!!!! It just keeps thinking, and thinking! Organizing and re-organizing space. Thinking of things to get rid of and things to fix. Praying for specific cheap items to find their way to us.

It has been this way for a couple of weeks now. At first I just thought I was on a spree, but now I'm realizing that it's that crazy spurt of energy you get when a baby is on its way. YUP. It's like I'm on some crazy drug. And its a weird mixture of tired, yet can't stop thinking. I've found that the only time I think my brain gets some rest is when I'm asleep. But even then- I've been having some REALLY CRAZY dreams. Hormone induced, I'm sure.

At this point we are about 6 weeks along. I feel GREAT!!!! Yes!!! Thank you LORD!!!! I did the calculations yesterday as hubby, baby girl, and I went on a walk. I believe I started feeling a bit of morning sickness with J at about 4 weeks. I realize I still have time to get sick, if I'm going to. BUT I have high hopes. Last time I wasn't very sick at all, so if it's supposed to get better the second time around.... =D ..... I'm praying it stays this way!

We are super excited, too. The kids will (Lord willing) be 22 months apart. Just about what we wanted- 2 years give or take a few months. I would love to find out this time what we are having, but I'm going to have a hard time convincing Hubby of that one. I guess I'll just have to prepare for either way. This #2 is going to have multiple home made burp rags, bibs, peepeeteepee's, swaddle cloths, clothes, shoes, and whatever else I can come up with. At least that is my plan right now.... haha. Realistically, it could change tomorrow.

Well, even as I've been typing my brain has been going a different direction, and I have to jot down some notes!

I hope you had a great Sunday, with a little bit more brain down-time than expected. =)

Meal Plan Monday

2011-01-17T20:36:00.000-08:00

I told you I would post about what meals I come up with from the groceries that I bought...

First off, prep wise, I always cook the chicken whole (either boil or bake) and make broth. I pull off the meat and freeze in 4 or 5 portions, depending on how large the chicken was. I also either freeze the broth for later use or make soup right away. This week, I also pre-cooked the ground beef and portioned it into 5 servings.

Here are the actual meal plans. I will group them according to meat, just so we can see what I'm using.

Misc recipes:

Crock pot beans with turkey bacon and cornbread.
Baked Potato Bar (toppings: left over chili, salsa, grilled onions, cheese, turkey bacon)

Ground beef recipes:

Manwhich sloppy joe's with homemade whole wheat buns, oven fries, and salad (Manwhich on hand)
Ground beef tostadas (tostadas on hand, toppings: refried beans, meat, lettuce, tomato, corn, salsa)
shepherds pie
cabbage roll casserole
chili (made with left over beans)

Sausage recipes:

Sausage Spaghetti , salad (homemade sauce on hand)
Sausage, sauerkraut and rice
Italian rice with sausage and pasta and cooked squash

Chicken recipes:

Lemon and garlic chicken pasta with baked broccoli
Chicken veggie, rice soup with homemade rolls (freeze leftovers)
Pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches with homemade bread and cooked squash
Asian shredded chicken coleslaw

WELP, that's it! As you'll have noticed, I only plan out dinners. Lunches usually consist of left overs or whatever else I feel like. We also have turkey breast lunch meat that I bought on super sale and put in the freezer. So, we've been taking some out when we want it and letting it thaw. Oh the wonders of the freezer when buying meats! OH, and you'll notice that I didn't use the other chicken. So- that is a nice little plus. But always there if we find we need it!

Enjoy your own meal planning!

Food Snobs BEWARE!!!!

2011-01-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

I warned you.... if you are a food snob, you better not read this post. Because we in this household are definitely not. And I am about to share with you what a grocery day for us yields.

Some of you know our food budget, and have asked how we do it. (Food budget= food, drink, and any household items we might need). For those of you who don't know, it is somewhere between $199 and $201 dollars a month. That is for a family of hubby, baby girl, and me. Today I am going to let you see what a pay day grocery shopping trip yields for me. I hope it helps you think out of the box with your normal shopping trips and encourages you by reminding you that the Lord provides all you need on whatever budget He has allowed you!

First things first, I try to always remember to pray BEFORE I go shopping. I know that the Lord is the one providing our foods, so I specifically ask Him to provide what we need within our budget and direct me to the right places. And it is AMAZING the deals that He has provided! It also helps me to keep a clear mind of buying what we need, versus all the fun things that I want. But it's so fun when He provides all those fun things I want too!

Second, since we don't get a paper here, I look at local grocers adds online. And I write down the sales. I shop according to sales, and then create the meals from what I came home with. Although, I have found that there are specific places that I generally end up for specific products.

Ralphs- Sunday or Monday for meats, I LOVE manager specials. I buy meat when it's cheap and stock up our freezer.
Vallarta- produce mainly. I have found that when selectively buying from the bins (nothing prepackaged), there is no problem with the produce going bad quickly.
99 cent store- YUP, I'm a dollar store shopper! Some things are DEFINITELY NOT good quality or better prices, but again, when shopping selectively- they do have lots of good options (especially if you aren't afraid to try all those weirdly named brands. haha)

Here are some pictures of what today's shopping trip yielded:

10 total pounds flour, 20 pounds rice, 10 pounds russet potatoes,
1/2 gallon milk, 2 dozen eggs, 1 tub BestLife "butter"

One thing that I'm sure impacts our budget is that I am allergic to dairy AND egg. Soooo, we are only buying those items for one member of our family, since baby girl has yet to be introduced to them. (I want her to be able to clearly communicate to us that her throat is closing before she tries them) OH- and I only buy my "butters" when they are at the 99cent store. I've found they are there semi- kind of- regularly. And I stock up when I see them.

Foil, Wax Paper, Sandwhich bags, 2 Cleaners, Bleach

Thankfully that was all that we needed by way of "household" items this time.

8 cups natural applesauce, 6 cans of corn, 2 cans refried beans, 1 sm can tomato paste, 5 cans tomato sauce,
pickle relish, pickles, sauerkraut, 2 cans pinneapples, organic tahini

1 head cabbage, 4 heads garlic, large amounts of tomato, mexican squash, granny smith apples, oranges, white onion, bananas, and broccoli. Also, celery, organic baby spinach leaves, and lettuce bag.

3 boxes of Happy O's (the 99 cent rip off version of cheerios, baby girl doesn't know the difference, and they're a pretty good rip off if you ask me), 2 boxes of saltine crackers, two bags of popcorn colonels, two bags bagels, 1 box of rip off teddy grahams that I wanted to try.

2 whole chickens, 1 5lb thing of ground beef, there were 2 of the Jennie O turkey sausages but we already ate one.

All in all, I think I have spent about 90 dollars? I still have to buy some apple juice and formula (with a Target gift card- PTL), oatmeal, and soymilk. Luckily the applejuice, oatmeal, and soymilk are on sale at Albertsons, I believe. And if I have money still left, I would like to get some other items that are on sale, to stock up. OH, and in case you didn't notice, I don't buy much bread stuff. I make our breads thanks to our handy dandy $5 garage sale bread machine! =)

So that's what we got this time. As you saw, we are not name brand eaters. I'm always wanting to try new knock-offs to see what is out there for cheap. And, I wish I was, but I am not an avid coupon-er. Hopefully someday I will get the hang of it, but for now, I'm still a bit lost with it... so mostly all of what I get is without coupons. And it will last us 2 weeks or more, depending on how hungry we are and what kind of meals I create.

And because I know you are all sooo curious what meals I come up with, I'll let you know as soon as I do!

What are your grocery shopping tips?

Improving Our Living Habits.

2011-01-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been on a kick.... an organize, reorganize, decorate, declutter, deep clean kind of a kick. And our home is much better for it! It is a definite improvement on our living habits. Learning to live with less, and USE what we have. I'm quite enjoying the change! With my efforts of improving our home, I have been blogging a ton trying to find some great ideas to "steal". You can imagine my excitement when on of my friends, whose couponing habits I greatly admire, started a new blog about the very things I am researching! Go check her out at Simply Thrifty!

What kind of things have you been doing lately to organize, declutter and decorate? Any great tips or ideas for me? I'd love to hear!

Salvation Army JACKPOT!!!!

2011-01-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

I am what you could call a thrift store junkie. I LOVE THEM!!!! I credit my Grandma for taking me to thrift stores constantly, growing up. Those times are some of my fondest memories with her. Not only was it fun, but who doesn't like treasure hunting and getting a deal!?!?! SO- Yesterday Jewel and I went on a venture to check out some local thrift shops. (I've lived in this area for 6 years, yet for some reason I had still only been to Goodwill. Why? I have NO IDEA) We headed out with a list of shops, but actually only got to one- The Salvation Army Thriftstore. I was pleasantly surprised with what was there and the prices. Here is what i came away with. and- all for a grand total of TWENTY DOLLARS!!!

awesome little shoes for the baby girl.

a cute little bumper for the girl

three awesome skinny belts for myself

Forever 21 fun summer shoes

Steve Madden

Upside down quilt. hah, sorry. ($4.00 bogo)

upclose of granny squares

upside down again- so sorry. (second of the bogo= FREE)

"stained" - just needed to be washed ($2.00 damaged bogo)

my favorite

Actually damaged with some holes wool yarn quilt (second bogo= FREE)

too cute

my awesome tray!!!!

upclose

oh so happy!

Now we need to go back out and finish our list of Thrift stores!!! Did I meantion, I LOVE thrift stores?!

Is it Christmas ALREADY?

2010-11-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween has passed, and Turkey Day is quickly approaching. Yet, Christmas decorations are EVERYWHERE. And I wondered the other day what our "Seasonal Music" channel was playing- so I checked. And, YES!!! It was Christmas music!!! It seems that Christmas is approaching even more quickly than Thanksgiving!

I'm sorry for all of those of you who are die-hard "Christmas celebrations must not begin until after Thanksgiving" people. BUT, I for one am not one of those people. I am the kind of person who has a Christmas withdrawal around June and MUST pull out some music. I am the kind of person who watches those beloved Christmas movies on any cold and snuggly day. I am THAT kind of person who some of you despise. And, yes, I am proud to say it!

Needless to say, I am thrilled that our our stores are "Beginning to feel a lot like Christmas".

Also needless to say, I am full throttle finding DIY decorations. SOFT decorations are a must this year, with our little, SOON TO BE ONE YEAR OLD!!!! (I can't believe how fast time goes!) Yes, this will be the holiday season where she begins to learn that she cannot break, grab, or touch at all those shiny wonderful balls on the Christmas trees..... I can see the fun now.

Here are some decorations that I plan on using as my inspiration:

Do you have any great soft decorations that I should add to my list? If so, I'd love to see!

Well, its bedtime.... tonight I'll be "dreaming of a White Christmas". Will you?

Falling Up The House

2010-10-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

Our house is finally complete with its fall decorations. I had most of it up, but yesterday I completed the last two fall crafts. Being on a budget has forced me to be very creative with how I decorated. I only had ONE decoration from last year (a scare crow from the 99Cent store). This year my mom bought me a fabric pumpkin from Target dollar section. Other than that I spent a total of 2.50. I got a sign from the 99cent store that I made over and I got a leaf garland and a wreath from a garage sale, which I used as supplies for my crafting.

Overall, I am happy. Who knew you could do so much with what is just lying around your house? =)

felt fall wreath

scrap material runner

scrap material pumpkins

modge podged cardboard

scare crow and material pumpkin with some leaves

part of the leaf garland

leaves dispursed on our batroom shelf

redone 99cent store sign and skull given to us

remade scrappy wreath

Happy Fall from our front door to yours! (that's the hubby in there)

Bubble skirt and some leggings to match

2010-10-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at Target, and seeing all these super cute baby clothes. But I have this problem--- whenever I see something I like, I think "I can do that". Now, sometimes it is true, sometimes it is not. But, luckily this time, it is true! I've been seeing all these super cute bubble skirts for little girls, and I really wanted Jewel to have one.

I used some fun thin cord material from Joann's and repurposed an old green knit shirt of mine for the inner layer and the waist band. This is how it turned out. It took about a half hour? And I think its super cute.

I actually made it to match the leggings that I made her last night.

The hubby thinks they look bow-legged, but they look perfectly normal on, I promise!

And here are the two together:

You can't really tell this far away, but there is bright pink in the fabric.

And here is my model, wearing her new outfit:

sorry its her backside, its the best picture I got of the outfit. haha.

Reusable Lunch Sack

2010-10-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

When we went to go visit Robert's family a few weeks ago, one of the fun things I got to do was go hang out with a most beloved and craft-hearted cousin. We met up at one of our favorite stores- JOANN'S- and shopped around for a bit. Then we headed to her house for a quick hello to the kiddo and for her to give me some no longer desired (on her part) material. I LOVE getting hand-me-downs. Whether for Jewel, myself, my house or my crafting supply. So I took what she was going to give to goodwill, and started brainstorming of what to make with it. I have some great ideas for some of it, but others of it- I didn't even need ideas! I just needed to sew!

This was one such thing. She had already cut out the material to a reusable lunch sack and sandwhich wrapper! How nice of her to give me her "extra's". I'm sure that she would have actually made this, in no short time, but she thought that I would enjoy it. (HOW SWEET!) So the other night I was blog surfing, and I kept on seeing these bags. I suddenly had a VERY strong urge to just sew the bag together. And thus, I did. In all of like 5 minutes I had an awesome new reusable lunch sack!!!! Now, tell me, who doesn't want one of those? You do, I know you do... but I'm sorry this one is mine, you will have to get/make your own! =)

Here is my beautiful lunch sack:

Thank you dear cousin for the materials!

Repurposed jeans into (not so baby anymore) skirt

2010-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Recently I saw on someones blog (I forget where, otherwise I would give credit) how they repurposed some old jeans into a baby skirt. I thought it was such a good idea, I decided to try it as well! They had a great tutorial, so I thought- easy peasy!!!!

But since I actually couldn't find where I had seen it, I kind of had to go by the seat of my pants.....

And this is what I got:

Sorry it's so wrinkled

It was a bit different as the one that i saw, cuz i used the actual hem of the pant and sewed two legs together. But it turned out alright.

And Jewel OF COURSE needed a top to go with. So I took an old collared t-shirt we got for free at a garage sale and spruced it up a bit.

This is what we got out of that:

And here is the outfit together:

Looks good to me! And comfy too!

Pistachios: Part 1

2010-10-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Recently we went to go visit some of the hubby's family. His grandmother has a huuuuuuge garden. Last time we left with a HUGE box of garden fresh tomatoes to make homemade sauce. Other times we have left with boxes full of squash and peppers, grapes, and my favorite- Pluots. This time we left with a BOX of pistachios. Yes, grammy and I went out a couple hours before our departure and "whacked" (yes, its a technical term which describes the action of putting down tarps under the tree and taking either an old broom stick or pipe and hitting the pistachio branches to make the nuts fall) one of the many trees. The goal? To hull, dry, and season my own batch(es) of nuts.

Here is the box:

What did I do to accomplish this goal? Well, first I set out to find a dehydrator..... which I did NOT find. So, I looked up how to dry them in an oven and set to work.

Before anything, I got out my handy-dandy hulling contraption sent home with us by grammy. Its a wire screen and a wood block. I put a handful (or 3) of pistachios at a time on the screen and rub them around the screen with the block.

This ideally gets the skins off the pistactios so you can separate the good from the bad, ie- the ones with cracks VS the ones without cracks.

After hulling all the pistachios, I ended up with two big bowls of good pistachios.

I then, put them in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and stuck them in the oven for 10-12 hrs at 140 degrees, stiring once every hours (or so).

And WHA-LA!!! Pistachios hulled, dried, and ready to eat!!!!

THIS is what my hands looked like halfway through the second day of hulling ......

.... just imagine what they looked like after!

The only thing left to do? Salt them and make them taste REAL good!!!!

Thanks, Grammy, for the nuts!

Lemon Revisited

2010-10-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of just the top and leggings, that I didn't have yesterday. Enjoy!

front of top

back of top

leggings

They Call Me Mellow Yellow....

2010-10-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

...

Today was the day. The day that I decided to try making Jewel some leggings. I used some yellow stretchy material that I actually didn't have enough of, in case the leggings didn't fit or didn't turn out. BUT- alas! They turned out!!!!! They turned out SO CUTE!!!!! I had to change the "pattern" (pattern= tracing of her other leggings that we got at Target), but it worked. Jewel's leggings have a cuff on the bottom and a grey band at the waist (I told you I didn't have enough). But the next pair will just be normal with all the same color. Can't wait til tomorrows nap time.

Oh and did I mention that I made her a shirt to match? Yes... it didn't turn out exactly as I planned. It was going to be a tank top dress, but I made the top WAY too small. Like, small enough that it wouldn't fit over her head!!!! So, I had to figure out a way to fix it and make it fit. Luckily for me, it turned out even cuter than I had intended! Not quite fall-ish... but I LOVE IT!!!!

Please excuse the pictures, which were taken by my phone, and the mess of our house. Its kinda hard to get my little model to sit still.... maybe I should take some pics JUST of the clothes.

It's Fall, kind of.

2010-10-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Fall has come, supposedly. And with it has come, a few days of rain, followed by more heat. After having lived in So Cal for 5 years, I should be used to the lack of Fall. But, alas- I am not. I am somewhat saddened when I look outside and there are no orange trees and it is still 89 (yes, I just checked weather.com) degrees.

Even though the weather refuses to cooperate with my Fall wishes, I have decided that Jewel's wardrobe will! Over the past few months, I have been purchasing some different "Fall-esk" material. Of course, with intentions to make Jewel some fun little Fall outfits. Today I finally sat down and whipped up a little skirt for our little Jewel! It's a very simple gathered skirt with an elastic waistband. At first, it was greatly lacking in visual interest, so I sewed on some felt flowers. I think it's a good start to her fall clothing collection....

....Now to make a shirt that compliments.

Shoe Maker, Shoe Maker...

2010-10-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

....Make me some shoes!

Ever since Jewel started walking, soft baby walking shoes have been on my mind. But only one pair was in my budget. So, I have been daydreaming of and looking at tons of those ADORABLE baby boots. You know the kind, the ones that look like baby UGGS.

And yesterday, I made my daydreaming reality. I began my venture as a shoe maker. While I was out running errands, I stopped by Joannes and got some material. Some fuzzy wuzzy furry kind and some vinyl for the sole. After Jewel went to bed I traced out the sole of her shoes we bought her, and I began cutting. Boy was it fun!!!! That is, until I started messing up Right and Left.

First I cut the sole wrong, then I sewed the 3 Right footed boots. Which wouldn't have been so bad, had I intended to do so. But no, the last two were supposed to be Left footed. =) And when I finally managed a Left footed boot, I realized I sewed the sole on reverse side. UGH!!!! My seam ripper became my best friend last night, and I gained a new appreciation for patterns---- something which I was lacking in my venture.

After my long run of trial and errors, I finally got two pair of boots. And I must say, I am quite happy with the outcome. I think this may be the beginning of a long friendship with shoe making.

You may call me Cobbler Brigitte!

DEAR SISTER

2010-10-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish my sister a very merry 27th birthday, today!

I am so blessed to have a sister like you! You have always been there when I needed you- from being my moral support while getting a spanking (hiding juuuuuuuuust around the corner out of moms sight, but faithfully making faces so it wouldn't hurt as bad), to playing in the sandbox together, to playing barbies with me when you SURELY didn't want to, to sending me away to camp with more hidden notes than a girl knew what to do with, to having slumber parties in your room, to shopping trips and Jamba after school, to finding me at school when I was crying and just needed a hug, to talking boys, to giving me hand-me-downs (we both know I still love those!), to being pregnant at the same time.........I could go on and on. But really, in all those memories, my favorite part is just that they are with my sister (aka-you). And when I look at where the Lord has taken you over the years, and how the Lord has chosen to grow you and conform you to His Son, I am very proud to say that you are my sister. I know that we don't live near each other right now, and who knows what the Lords plan is for that---- but I look forward to all the "sister" memories with you that are yet to come....

I am thankful that I can truly say-

I LOVE YOU AND I'M GLAD YOU'RE MY SISTER!!!!!! ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Did you say 27?!?!?

2010-10-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

7On Oct 1, my dear husband turned 27. He took the day off of work and decided he wanted to take his wife (me) and child (Jewel) to DISNEYLAND for some good ol' family fun time! Boy do I love him!!!! We had lots of fun. The day started a little rocky, as yes, it is real life. All of the plans I had for him for his birthday got shot when he informed me the night before what he wanted to do. Buuuuuut- Jewel and I DID manage to make him a birthday banner while he was at the gym in the morning (which still remains on the wall). And on the way to Disneyland he DID get to "open" some not quite wrapped presents. And at Disneyland he DID get a birthday pin, which prompted nearly EVERY SINGLE person in the park to say "Happy Birthday, Robert!!!!!". We also got some hazelnut coffee (free refills), a hidden mickey guide book, and also found out that Jewel CAN go on some rides! WOOO HOOOO! And because we found that out, we got to go on Roberts favorite ride- Pirates of the Caribbean! We stayed until Jewel's bedtime, and had a blast!! Good choice of birthday activities, husband! I hope you had as much fun as I did!!!

Here are some pictures of the day.

Repurposed for myself

2010-10-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

So, I craft and repurpose--- A LOT. Call it a hobby, call it an obsession, call it what you will. But here are two little things that I made for myself this summer.

A shirt dress out of, none other than one of Roberts old dress shirts!

And a long maxi-type dress from an old shirt that was in the giveaway pile and some pink cotton material that my mom didn't want any longer.

I thought it still needed something, so I added some material under the V (helps with modesty) and some knot flowers.

Yes, there are more, but no- I don't have pictures of them yet. Such is my story. =)

Our big girl.

2010-10-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Jewel is growing up so fast! It really blows my mind! It seems like both forever ago and just yesterday that she was born and waking us up every few hours at night. Now she has just turned 10 months, eats more and more big people food, sleeps all night long and takes good solid naps (most of the time), and STARTED WALKING two and a half weeks ago!!!!! How crazy is that? Yes, our little girl decided to start walking at 9 1/2 months. One day she just up and threw my hands away from her and walked from the living room to our bedroom. Now, it is definitely her favorite mode of transportation around the house. She still crawls a bit if she wants to get to something really fast. But I have a feeling that the crawling will stop pretty quickly here, as she has been experimenting with fast walking/running.

Now, because I never made it over for my sister to teach me all things BLOG while I was visiting up north, I don't know how to post a video. BUUUUUT, I do know how to post a link. So, hopefully this works, and you can see Jewel walking. =) Her skill GREATLY surpasses this video now. But this was a video of the second time she walked. Enjoy!

Jewel Walking

Who doesn't want to have their cake an eat it too?

2010-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been crafting more and more as of late.... and I LOVE it! I love making them, I love giving them, I love receiving them! Crafts, that is! I think it all started with making peoples presents for Christmas last year. Now I've been making birthday gifts, baby shower gifts, wedding gifts. So wonderful..... I think- lets hope that those receiving the gifts think so as well. I have been taking pictures as I make things, with the grand idea of posting them. One of the more recent gifts I made was for our sweet friend Linnea, turning 1. I realize that the gift was a bit above her age right now (she can only play with parts of it) but the idea was that she can start with whatever she is allowed and then grow into the rest. It was quite fun making it, with some unexpected hick-up from lack of proper planning on my part. Next time it will go much smoother (or so I hope).

Here are some pics. Excuse the quality--- we were on our way out the house when I insisted my husband take some pics with the camera on his phone. He did great, but I never saw the pictures before we left.. =)

I modge podged over an old formula can (washed out, of course) to house the decorations for the cake.

All of the layers of cake can be taken apart into individual pieces. They are color coded with the "fill frosting" so that you can tell what pieces go together to make a layer. And then there are a bunch of ways to decorate.

An Eventful Past Few Days

2010-08-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

For a couple of months here people have been telling me that they think Jewel will be walking soon. Aunt TJ even said by 9 months. Well, Jewel turned nine months last Thursday(?). And as if on cue, she took her first step on Sunday. All by herself. She remained standing for a bit after that, and then sat down and started laughing histerically. Perhaps she knew what she had done and was totally enthralled with herself, perhaps it was the look of complete shock on mommy's face while calling to daddy saying "She just took her first step!!!!!" Either way, it was quite the ending to the big moment.

Also on Sunday (while shopping at the Camarillo Outlets---- a "date" for mommy and daddy), I realized that she is, in fact, getting that third tooth. Whoopie!!!! This has made for a tiny bit of crankiness. But thankfully, I think our daughter withstands pain well.

The firsts just continued on Monday when Jewel started waving for the first time. Real waving. So cute. I will try to get a video of that. She also took two other first steps. Maybe she will be walking soon? I don't know how soon babies walk after that first alleged step--- but she seems to want it. Our life could be headed for some serious changes, real quick!

This is right after we got home from the shopping outing on Sunday. What a fun day!

Garage Sale Junkie

2010-08-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

So I need to admit that I have a problem. I LOVE GARAGE SALES!!!! I simply can't get enough of other peoples junk! I have found some of my most prized possessions at garage sales, not to mention many a gift. And I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am getting to go "treasure hunting" tomoro morning.

Growing up, there was a very distinct garage sale season, and it wasn't a very long season. Here, there is also a season, but it is all year long! I LOVE IT!!!!!

Here are two of my favorite finds over the past few weeks:
-Bread maker (who wants to buy a brand new one? especially when you are just testing it out whether you
will like using it or not)
-Childrens books for Jewel.
-PJ's and other misc clothes for Jewel. (she SERIOUSLY needed some cooler PJ's since we live in an area
which is consistently in the 80-100's)
-Plastic baby pool for the Jewel to play in (for 50 cents, I might add... SCORE!)
-Vintage light blue type writer (still works)
-Wool Gap coat/poncho (who know's when I'll get to wear it.... but it's lovely and I can even wear it if we get pregnant again soon!)
-presents for the ma and the sis (sorry, its a secret)

AND the best two buys of all???????????

-my new sewing table (supposedly a refurbished antique phone table)

-my WONDERFUL beauty of a slalom ski!!!!!!!

WELP, can't wait to see what tomorro holds!!!! Go and enjoy yourself while digging through other peoples junk!

Chocolate and Pictures

2010-08-24T21:20:00.000-07:00

..... I have eaten ~~just enough~~ way too much today.....

but here are some pictures of the summer:

We went to the Chino Valley Airshow....

We also went to the Sequoias....

I crafted....

We have seen family....

We went to Clear Lake.....

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNND, although that is not NEAR all the pix, that's all i've gotten to the computer..... so you'll have to wait, yet again! Goodnight!

finally

2010-08-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

.... about a week or so ago, I decided that I REALLY needed to update the blog..... Clearly it did not happen. Not from lack of trying, but for lack of a working brain. I fear my brain left when I got pregnant with Jewel, and it may never return. My sad story is that I tried and tried to get into the blog, so I could post... but I couldn't come up with the correct password, name combo. I just remembered it yesterday, so I thought I should take advantage while I could.

SUMMER

This summer has been a great summer, filled with fun, laughter, blessings, and lot of traveling.

We have had the opportunity and resources to go to the Sequoia National Forest and see many a bear (even getting woken by our traveling buddies when one was about 2 feet from our heads), Clear Lake (with the family and where Jewel went on her first of MANY MANY MANY boat rides... she loved it!), visit family in central Cali, a conference in Vegas, and visit friends within a couple hours of us on a regular basis. We have been SO thankful for how well Jewel travels and adapts to different situations.

We have been blessed with seeing our little girl grow up before our eyes. This summer she has gone from sitting to crawling to standing and clapping to walking with a bit of help. She has started eating finger foods and has started waving a bit. She has also said "mama", "dada", and "baba". And although she is only just turning 9 months this week, she has completely skipped that size clothing, going straight for 12 month. It seems like just yesterday that we were holding her in our arms for the first time. Time has gone by so quickly, but we are so thankful for her, and pray every day that God would bring our little girl into His kingdom.

We have also aquired a kitty cat within the last few weeks. Bell is such a sweet kitty and although she wants to be indoors, she gets to stay outdoors and chase lizards, rabbits, gofers, and mice. She has adjusted very well and quickly from her home in Central Cali to here.... and we are thankful.

We also have had the experience of having our very own garden. And it has FLOURISHED!!!! Squash, Zucchini, Bell Peppers, Radishes, and Tomatoes coming out our ears. I have been babying a Cucumber Plant and three Green Bean vines (all from seed).... hopefully soon I can put them in the ground and they will produce.

I have also gotten a lot more into crafting/ sewing/ creating. I was given a new sewing machine from my parents for walking in May, and it has spurred me on. I have had such a fun time making presents and shower gifts. Repurposing and making clothes for Jewel. AH!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!

As the summer wraps up and the new school year starts, we have much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to. The Lord has been a faithful Father and Provider and we can't wait to see all He has in store in the time to come.

*and I'll try to get some pictures up soon!!!!

Playing Catch-Up

2010-06-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while. We have not fallen off the face of the earth, but summer has arrived in full swing. Thus we have been very busy.

Some highlights as of late are:
-Graduation... FINALLY!
-The Chino Air Show
-Parents visit
-Visiting Rob's brother in Vegas
-Creating "Christmas in July" gifts.

Pictures will follow soon, but right now our camera battery is dead....... and off I go to devote more time to "Christmas in July"

Yee Haw!!!!

2010-04-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

We walked in, and were surrounded with sounds of clanking metal, fiddles, and laughter. Where were we? That's right, the Cowboy Festival! Last time we went (years ago) was miserable- I had a sun/heat sensative rash from some med's I ended up being allergic to and it was horribly hot....

But this time -IT WAS SO FUN!!!!!!!!! People were dressed up all over the place, I learned all about cooking with cast iron cookware, Rob got some "cowboy coffee", we watched a world champion gun tricksman, met some neat people, looked at shops, and just enjoyed a GREAT afternoon!

Here are some pics, enjoy!

A Fun-Filled Saturday

2010-04-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Saturday. But not just any Saturday--- many great things happened yesterday:

*Yesterday started my sisters 41st week of being pregnant. Yes, people- I said 41st!!!
*Yesterday was the second day of the Cowboy Festival, here in the Canyon.
*Yesterday was Jewel's first time to the beach/ocean.
*Yesterday was a fun baby shower for a friend.

With all of these events, I have dubbed yesterday "fun-filled Saturday".

-As the hubby, child, and I went out of town I texted the sister and asked if she could please hold off just one more day (at least until the evening) before going into labor (horrible of me, I know).... Well, she did, and because of that we got to have some fun! Here are some pix from the beach.... and maybe we'll be able to go to cowboy festival today and have some pictures of that for me to put up at a later date!

Enjoy!!!!

Blessed are the feet...

2010-04-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

One of the gifts Jewel received when she was born was a cute little Longaberger basket.

This gift from Nana and Papa was intended to get Jewel's footprint when she was a BABY. And although she is still a baby, she is getting much older (5 days shy of 5 MONTHS!!!). But the other day while I was at the 99cent store (remember?) I saw a crafting ink pad. SO- today we finally did it!

Jewel and I sat down and had a blast putting her foot prints on the lid of her basket. And since I'm trying to get better at documenting, I took some pictures. (In fact, I found the camera, the memory card, and battery -all in separate places- and assembled it into a functioning camera).

Her cute little feet were so clean before the process.........

But even after some very thorough cleaning, those little tooties remain tinted blue.

But it was well worth it. Now her little basket is adorned with what was intended... foot prints!

I'm very glad I took some pictures... My documenting will hopefully only continue to get better from here!

SUPER CRAFT SUNDAY!!!!

2010-04-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

So you know all that stuff I got at the 99cent store? Well, here is an update of some of it! My camera died before I could take the last few pics. These are the wall decals that I got, and I loooooove them! I'm not a good photographer, so you really only get to see what the words are, not exactly where they are, although I will tell you where. =)

*This one is above our mirror in our room. Perfect reminder!

* This one is in our laundry room next to the washer.

*This one is in the living room- one of the first things you see when you enter the house.

I have been reading all these blogs lately about Modge Podgeing, and today I had some fun with it! I modge podged this $1 garage sale chalk board that resides in my laundry room.

I also modge podged this $1 goodwill dry erase board that will reside in my kitchen.

I also modge podged a tv tray... but the camera died, so that picture will come later. It's cute though.

And here is the update of those wood plaques from the 99cent store. I modge podged the background (one of which is the wallpaper from the 99cent store) and some verses onto them for Jewels room. I also had to pain the square white. They will go on the wall surrounding her light switch... hence the space in the way they are layed out. I like them a lot. But in retrospect I should have typed the verses out... I may fix that so my messy handwriting isn't on them.

I also put up some of those coffee plaques, but again- the camera.

Alright, I hope you all had a great Lord's Day too... time to put the girl to bed.

Garage Sale Saturday

2010-04-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

One of the wonderful things of living in So Cal is that Garage Sales are year round! I have never experienced that before here! And it's wonderful! Today we got some great finds!

-A square foot automan. Granted, right now it is purple, but that will soon change!
-An adorable little white desk. It is the perfect size for a vanity station or to serve as a desk for Jewel when
she gets older. Although I'm leaning towards my vanity.
-Robert to a filing cabinet (much needed, and hopefully will reduce the clutter of his papers)
-He also got a work bench.
-2 complete seasons of "I LOVE LUCY" on dvd (which I am currently enjoying)
-4 cork board squares which will come in handy for some craft, I'm just not sure what yet.
-2 scrapbook binders and some scrap paper. Now to print out our 90 free prints from Costco! =)
-A lily pad tarp type thing to put on the grass for Jewel when we are outside gardenting.
-A cd of Mary Poppins Broadway music... gotta love it!

OOOH how I love garage sales!

My Little Gifts from God

2010-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I went to the 99cent store while the hubby was meeting with someone. I had been reading on different blogs of "finds" people get at the Dollar store. And although I do frequent the 99cent store, I haven't really searched for "finds" recently. So, that is what I intended to do! And BOY HOWDY did I find things! Well, not so much I found things- but I'm convinced that the Lord put these things there for me! I've been trying to figure out how to give our little cottage a "make-over" on a very limited budget... and there have been some things I've thought of that I would like, but didn't think I'd be able to buy. But God was so kind to me by putting them at the store for 99.99 cents each! THANK YOU!!!!!

Here is my list of what I had been dreaming of and how the Lord made it a reality!

* Wallpaper border that matches Jewel's room--- it is about 15 DOLLARS for one little roll. And since I have wanted it to modge podge with and decorate with, I knew I couldn't spend that. But what do you know, there was ONE LONE roll of stripes that match her decor perfectly!

*Wall phrase/verse decals (you know- the kind that come off- since we can't paint)--- I found exactly that!!!! FOUR DIFFERENT KIND!!!

*New kitchen things to spice it up--- there were these adorable flowered print oven mits (3 total) that were exactly what I was thinking of! It takes my colors (red, white, yellow, and blue) and adds some spice!

*Wood placks to modge podge verses onto for Jewels room- I found just that! They have other weird pictures on them right now, but I dont even have to paint the edges, just add some paper and verses and modge podge! Hurray!

*Pictures for the kitchen (I wanted something to match and possibly have a coffe theme)--- and yet again, EXACTLY that! Four wall plaques that are my colors and are coffee themed! LOVE it!

Thank you Jesus for my fun house decor at a price I can afford!

I will post and update showing how they end up soon...

Changes...

2010-04-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

So i just made some changes to my profile... but i want to do more. Problem is i dont know how!!! How do you add like pretty pictures to backgrounds and other blog page buttons? Anyone? Anyone?

Am I Dreaming?

2010-04-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

So Jewel used to be on a schedule. But then for different reasons, we did away with it. I still try and keep her on regular naps, but for some reason these last few days she REALLY has done everything in her power NOT to sleep. And when she does fall asleep for the three naps they are only lasting like 45 minutes max! I'm trying to figure out if i should move her to a two nap schedule..... fun times! But today was a kick. She would not sleep! She took one 45 min, and two 30 min naps!

Then around 6:20 tonight she was eating and could not keep her eyes open. It was so very funny! Not to mention AMAZING!!!! I mean, we were sitting on the couch, the lights were on, the tv was blaring, she wasn't swaddled- and she FELL ASLEEP! Jewel NEVER falls asleep with lights, sound, or unswaddled! I was SHOCKED!!!! But so thankful that she got another 40 minutes of sleep! And she still went down pretty well for her bedtime at 8! Praise God! It gave me hope that someday she will be able to sleep unswaddled!

Welp, her's a pic, it was too cute to pass up! Although the picture does not do her justice, as she was asleep on my arm and I had to use my phone without being able to see what I was capturing.

. I just love this little girl!

Farming in the So Cal?!?!

2010-04-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

So, it has always been my dream to have a HUGE veggie garden. But- our living situation right now does not exactly lend itself to such dreams. I am however, doing my best with what I have. And yesterday I planted some little sprouted veggie seedlings into the ground. It was very exciting! And some of our seeds have started coming up too! We still have to prep the dirt for the rest of the seeds and get them planted (hopefully this Sunday).... but we are well on our way to having a not so huge veggie garden. Right now we have Squash, bell peppers, red lettuce, radishes and carrots coming up. HURRAY!!! Cant wait to get the green beans and peas and normal lettuce and tomatoes in... and whatever else we have seeds for. I can't express how much I love this venture! And Jewel loved it too. She sat watching me work in her Bumbo for a bit.... before I moved her a bit farther away into the shade. I mean, I don't my poor daughter to have to suffer sunburns! But here she is playing farmer....

The Boy Who Cried "POOP!!!!!!!!"

2010-04-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

This is going to be short and sweet... I don't have much time, but this is too good of a story to pass up.

The other night Robert was watching some TV with Jewel as I was putting away the laundry. Everything was going great until I heard a sudden cry... "Brig, come here!!! Its an emergency!!! Hurry!!!" I came quickly and what did I see? POOP!!! And not just a little bit, mind you, a lot! And where? Everywhere! There Robert sat, mid transition of moving Jewel, and there was the poop- on Roberts hand, arm, sweatshirt, on the remote control, on the couch in 3 places, and all over Jewel's legs and feet. Oh how I wish I could have gotten a picture! Soooooooooo funny! But, no...I gave Robert some wipes and took our innocent faced girl in the nursery to clean her up. Good thing is that everything got cleaned up quite well.

Boy was that a fun surprise that evening!

Who Knew!

2010-03-26T11:05:00.001-07:00

So my sister is going to be having a baby, coming up pretty quickly here. And I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited to meet my first neice, not to mention Jewel's first cousin! I will be flying up as soon as I get word that she is in labor. How will I get on a plane so quickly? Well, thanks to my father-in-law (pilot) Jewel and I will be flying standby. And that is a blessing, totally... BUT I cannot take a stowed bag, only a carry on. Well, I could if I wanted to pay extra, but we don't. And as I've been realizing that I should get a bag together, I've been realizing how much stuff I feel that I NEED to bring for Jewel. WHO KNEW!!!!!! Who knew that babies needed so much! Well, all you moms out there did, but I sure didn't until Jewel came and blessed our home. Its craziness! So, I told the madre that she needs to buy Jewel a wardrobe for when we come so that I won't have to worry about clothes. Just a joke, but wouldn't that be nice!......

In closing- HURRY UP little miss Addie! Aunt Brig and cousin Jewel want to meet you!!!!

BY THE WAY...

2010-03-23T20:44:00.001-07:00

... Jewel rolled over 3 times today.... I tried to get it on video, but she got distracted when I got in her face and she stopped. Haha!!! But I now have a fun little video of her talking in her new high pitched voice. SO CUTE!

I'm A Work In Progress

2010-03-23T20:28:00.001-07:00

So today I was hit hard in the face with my own sinfulness. And, BOY did it STINK!!!! The day started off great, Jewel was happy and took a good nap. We went to school for a lunch date with a girlfriend, and then came home.... and that is when it hit. No details needed, it was just tough from then til daddy got home.

And I realized how very sinful I am.

What a blessing the Lord has given my husband and I... how can I take her for granted so easily? How can I get upset so easily? And am I handle my frustrations in a way that I want her to be able to emmulate?

Parenting is very much a sanctifying experience. Praise the Lord for His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and patience..... cuz He only knows how much I NEED all of those!

Please forgive me ,baby girl, mommy's a work in progress...

First flight

2010-03-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

Soooooooo, we are in the NorCal now. Jewel did great on the flight! Ate, slept, and played. When we got into town we went to family dinner. So fun! Jewel loved playing with her cousins, esp. Brynn. ... wish I had taken a pic. I will get better at it though!

Miiiiiiiiiiiiicky!

2010-03-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

So, its a little late, but just a few weeks ago we went to Disneyland with TMC. It was a fun, wet day. And it was Jewel's first (but not last) day at Disneyland! She loooved it! I was so thankful that she napped quite well and didn't have a meltdown until 6 pm!!!

I should have taken some better pics, but DONT WORRY!!! We got season passes, so we'll get better ones next time! =)

Flat screen anyone?

2010-03-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't want a new tv?

well, we've been wanting to get a new flat screen tv for a while now... but we were waiting to feel like we could spend the money. And finally last month, Hubby's bonus came! Since then, we've been shopping around, waiting to get the best deal we could find. And yesterday we finally made a decision on a 32" Vizio. It is now gracefully occupying our living room, making it seem MUCH more spacious than before! What a great bonus!

On our way to the store to get our new tv, we stopped by the office so Rob could meet with someone.... Jewel was such a great little girl and just quietly relaxed in her car seat.

Well, until she got tired--- then I put the carseat on a shopping cart and pushed her around the 99 cent store until she fell asleep..................

Great Grandma

2010-03-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we took a drive to go visit the husbands family. His Aunt is having her first little girl after 3 boys! So, there was a shower for her. It was nice to see everyone and take a little drive after being cooped up in the house all week. Jewel did so well on the drive, she slept the whole time! And that made for a very happy baby when we got there. She got to see great grammy again, and boy did she enjoy it! We can't wait to go back up.

Baby Soft

2010-03-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

Jewel recently got a new gift in the mail. What a sweet surprise it was to receive a soft flannel blanket made just for Jewel! Our dear cousin Jenn made it for her, and Jewel loves it! (esp to put over her head/mommys shoulder when its time to go to sleep... blocks out the light wonderfully!)

Here is Jewel enjoying the blanket!

I have decided...

2010-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

... that I WILL post more regularly! No, really- I know I say it every time I post, but this time you can hold me to it. It is just unfortunate, really. I have so much I could be putting on here: stories of Jewel, pictures, things that will get forgotten unless documented. And since I am sooo very horrible with Jewel's baby book- this will be the documentation.

The past is behind us, many future posts await us.

Jewel has been growing and growing lately- as has my awareness of my own sinfulness. Its amazing this how having a child sanctifies you. Now, I know EEEVERYONE says that, but its a whole other ball game when it becomes reality. Thank you, Lord, for this little sinner you have put in my care to grow me to be more like Jesus.

Onto Jewel's most recent accomplishments---

She has been sporatically rolling over for about a month now (since month 2). She rolled over twice in a row last Saturday, I believe? It's so cute because she is sooooooooooo very happy when she gets it and sooooooooo very frustrated when she can't. Its times like that where we start to really see her personality showing through. I think we may have a little sassy perfectionist on our hands.

She has also recently learned to laugh. It was neat because her first laugh was last Thursday (the 26th of February, I believe) while I was talking to mom, aka-Nanna, on the phone. So, even though we aren't able to live near them right now, she was still able to hear the first laugh. And yesterday I found a laugh spot. I was blowing raspberry kisses on her cheeks and she was just giggling up a STORM! SOOOO cute. The first laugh was more raspy, but these were the adorable little giggles! Fun, Fun, Fun.

And, last but not least- little miss sass is starting to learn how to throw a tantrum. Oh the joys! And what great fun that will be to start disciplining. She was sitting in the bouncy and I was on the phone while doing the dishes... apparently I was not paying enough attention to her, because she squealed just a little louder and kicked her legs and then looked at me. As if that was supposed to make me pay attention to her? HA!

*Dear, precious little Jewel- We love you, but you will soon learn that mommy and daddy will not tolerate tantrums like that. And its best you find out now, that they will actually work against you rather than for you. We will be working on cultivating Christ honoring actions rather than sinful, selfish ones. Love, Mommy*

Return to Blog Post

2010-01-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

SOOOOOOOOO- I have not written anything in QUITE a while, and I hope that I will soon become much more regular at the blogging.

Here are some highlights from the last posting,

Jewel, our precious little baby girl was born Nov 26. Yes, that was thanksgiving! What a great gift to be thankful for... The labor was AMAZING!!! No drugs, and not nearly as painful as I was expecting, praise the Lord!

Nursing- What started as a frightful experience has turned into something almost enjoyable. Jewel has finally moved from her 2 hour schedule to 3-4. Although I still wish there was a manual as to what is the "right way" to nurse (schedule vs on demand)... we're getting it figured out.

Christmas season- We never actually got our house decorated at all for Christmas, what with Jewel being born and all that follows that. We left Dec 18 to go to AZ for Christmas and stayed until we left for NorCal on Dec 27. We drove straight through (18 hrs, with an infant) and stayed in NorCal until Jan 1, when we went back home! Jewel was a doll and slept the whole time we were driving, what a blessing!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOW we are home and hoping to stay put for a little bit. Although, Jewel and I are already looking ahead to when we will travel back up to NorCal for the sisters baby shower and then delivery. What fun those trips will be!

Come and Gone

2009-11-21T10:28:00.000-08:00

So, it is the 21st of November.... You all know what that means! Yes, the due date has come and gone. We've had some excitement this past week. -A trip to L&D to make sure my water hadn't broken.... it didn't. -A doctors appointment yesterday in which my doctor diagnosed me as 3 cm, 80% effaced, and baby in position -1. Hurray! A painful hurray, as she did stretch me, but a hurray none the less. (I have now realized that the doctor may have also stripped my membrane... so labor should be eminent, right?) - Over a full hour of contractions yesterday..... measuring every 10 minutes, each a minute long.... kind of disappointing when it stopped. Although I did realize that I'm really not so sure I'm going to be a fan of labor. =) - One crazy kitchen day yesterday.... I woke up and started cooking at 8. By afternoon I had successfully made homemade chicken soup (complete with homemade broth), meatloaf, cabbage roll casserole, and taquitos. And by night they had all become neatly freezer-proofed and put in the freezer! Yay!!!! We will have food when people stop wanting to bring us meals! (and then the madness continued as I was on a cleaning spree around the house.... at least its all nice now!) Now the countdown starts backwards. We are on day -1. Hoping our little baby Short comes today. We are pretty excited, and really want to know if we have a little girl or boy!!!!! (At my appointment the doctor continually referred to the baby as our "little girl", "baby girl", "she"... was she giving it away once again? or does she just have a disposition to little baby girls?) Well, we are waiting patiently. I ,personally, wouldn't mind to have the baby and start the recovery process..... but the Lord knows best. And we are waiting on His timing. Now... hopefully we'll have a baby in the next couple days!!!!!!!!!

Still Waiting

2009-11-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Soooo, it is Nov 17. No baby yet. The official due date is this Friday, Nov 20. I would LOOOVE to have our little child by then! This is such a fun waiting game. I am starting to wonder if I am going to be pregnant for the rest of my life~ for more reasons than one. Well, let me do a quick recap of the last few weeks, and then I'll start my rantings. RECAP: -Baby Shower My lovely, dear friend Angie hosted it for me. It was on Halloween day afternoon, so the theme was a fitting "Our Li' Pumpkin". Michelle's husband, another great friend, is going through culinary school right now, so he made some tasty little sandwiches shaped like pumpkins and a berry cobbler that was to die for! And best thing? Totally edible for me!!!! What a great guy! It was the perfect, quaint little shower in Angie's beautiful new home! Friends, Fun, Food and a great Devotional... what more could a girl ask for? And I got some awesome presents too! - Photo Shoot The same dear friend who threw my shower, also took some great "baby belly pics" for us. I'm so glad she was willing! She did an absolutely wonderful job! And best thing? She did it for free!!!!! Could she be any more wonderful?! We love how they turned out. Here are a few favorites of Hubby, Me and Baby. RANTINGS Now I would say it is fair to say that I am seriously wondering if I'll ever go into labor. Why, you ask? You aren't even to your due date, you say..... WELL- 1) My mom was 2 weeks late with me, 3 weeks with my sister. If I follow in those footsteps, I could have a few more weeks left! 2) People say you are supposed to be horribly uncomfortable before the baby comes. And, to be completely honest. I am not. I have been very blessed this pregnancy, Praise the Lord, and by no means am I complaining. But, if this discomfort is supposed to overtake me, well..... I am wondering if it ever will and if I will ever have the baby. 3) I have not been the normal pregnant person these past 9/10 months.... my hormones for the most part have been very even keel, I've been able to be very active, and haven't had crazy cravings (I could probably count on one hand the amount of times I've actually had cravings). This leads me to wonder, does my body know its pregnant? Does it REALLY know its supposed to go into labor around this time? Haha. Now, I'm not being very serious at all... but the thought has crossed my mind. BUUUUUUUUUT- nice thing is, I'm getting a lot done. I'm able to clean, and clean. And yesterday was a fun filled day of repurposing some clothing. I have been told I need to blog about all I made yesterday. But that will come later, as I have to take pictures of the items (and I just don't really feel like doing that right now). So, later it will be. But I will tell you what I made. I had two looooooooong skirts that I had gotten from the Thrift Store last year to wear on our trip to Israel. I made those skirts into dresses, and then I made two little baby pants (size 3 months). I would make other baby clothes, but I don't know what we are having yet. So clearly I will have some fun days of repurposing coming up in the (hopefully) near future!!!!!

HOUSTON'S!!!

2009-11-04T08:40:00.001-08:00

Really now, what is better than a date with the one you love? I personally love being able to spend time with the hubby.... and since we realized that we may or may not have a few more weeks of time without the beloved Baby Short, we decided to go on an extra special date. To HOUSTON'S!!!!!!! If you have not been, we highly recommend that you go. Although you may have to save up your pennies like we did, it is totally worth it. The best ribs I've litterally EVER HAD!!!! And only for $27 a plate! (Like I said, you may have to save up your pennies). So for our special night- we got all dressed up (I wore my wonderfully pink dress given to me by a dear cousin) and went to Pasadena (I think). We got there a little early and went to the Container Store (which was awe-inspiring, correctly represented by Robert's co-workers). We, or maybe just I, drempt of all the wonderful ways we could organize with all of the wonderful organizational boxes and hangers and wonders they have there.... if only given a huge rediculous budget for organizing. It was a great dream indeed. Then after a bit, we left to go to our main goal for the night.... HOUSTON's. Ribs here we come!!!!! It was such a special treat for me. I love that place and we rarely splurge on dinners like that. Houston's makes a point of being good with allergies, it even says on the menu to alert your waiter/waitress if you have any. And the waitress we had was ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!!!! She knew everything that was in everything on the menu. And I can't tell you how much of a blessing that REALLY is for people who are allergic, like me! The evening finished off with a quick photo out front, and a nice drive home. It was perfect and so sweet of my hunny to think up this nice date for me! I have a wonderful hubby!!!! And- Now the baby can come.

Oh.... aaaaaaaaaaand

2009-10-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

I forgot to meantion that I am infatuated with Giraffe's right now. LOVE them.

Changes Gallore

2009-10-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

I am baaaaaaaack! Well, I never really left. Lets just say I went into hybernation- like a bear. Many months have passed, and with those many months have come many changes. Just to name a few. Robert and I have moved two more times and are STAYING HERE FOREVER! Ok- well, probably not. But I would love to not move again for a very long while. Three times in just over 4 months? Yeah, that makes a person either (a) want be a professional nomad or (b) never want to move again. I have found that I fall under (b). I guess I am just making up for lost time.... never having moved once while growing up. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant. Yes, large and in charge. Hahaha. I will be 34 weeks in a few days. That leaves aprox 6 weeks! WOWSERS! And our doctor that we saw on Tuesday said there is no more room for the baby to expand upward. She was shocked. I dont know what that means, I've never been pregnant before. Good thing? Bad thing? Either way, one thing is for sure, either the baby is going to grow me some belly or its coming out sooner than expected. Speaking of that doctor..... We maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay know the sex of the baby now. We aren't sure. But it sure seemed like she slipped and said it. She got a bit flustered after she realized we didn't know or want to know the sex, and she tried to backtrack and change the subject. Was she just acting peculiar or are we really having a _______? Guess we'll have to wait until the baby comes to know for sure. Cuz my bet is that she's not going to slip up again when we see her next. Early on I talked about doing cloth diapers. I am now even more convinced than before. I love the idea. And for some reason my natural hippy streak is coming out more and more and more. I love everything "green". I'm a big fan of re-usable, washable, and chemical free. This has indeed spilled over into my love of the cloth diapers and wipes, etc. We will see how it holds up after the baby comes and there is poop everywhere. Haha. And did I meantion with this last move we got a laundry room? That's right ladies and gents.... I now have a washer and dryer within arms reach. No more walking down stairs, across an apartment complex, into a washroom and back. YIPPY!!!!!!!!!! Hence why I am also loving the washable things. Cuz its just so stinkin easy to wash now! Our baby room is all put together. We have everything we need and nearly everything that would make life easier. Thanks to the multiple contributors. Craigslist and mom made our complete bedding and room decor possible. Aunt made our diaper stash a reality and not just a dream. Ang made us the perfect quilt to spice up our once drab looking rocker. By way of the in-laws and craigslists our stroller happened. And many others have given us various wonderful goodies, such as awesome organic toys and sensative skin washes, books, and clothes. Thanks everyone! And our newest hobby has become garage sale shopping. GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!! We have gotten some of the coolest, most inexpensive things lately. I should start taking pictures of our finds. But I will list some to give an idea. We bought an outdoor firepit ($10), desk w/chair and upper thingy (15), tons of gender neutral cute baby clothes (25 cents apiece), baby books - mostly Dr. Seus (10/$1 or 10 cents each), beach/camping BBQ complete with dishes and all that ( i think $10), supplies for crafts and making presents (priceless), Taboo in perfect condition ($1), diff DVD's ($1 per), random other baby things for the car, and Robert got an awesome outdoor airplane with an engine. Alrighty. This post is getting extremely long now! To finish it off, I would like to post my new favorite baby thing. I just saw it like 10 minutes ago, so that's probably why it is my favorite. Haha. It is the Bath Luve'. LOVE it! Just look at it! Glorious! Yes. Feel free to purchase this for me. And here is a picture of Robert and I and little Short just nearly a week or so ago. Hopefully I will update again soon! Until then, toodles.

Baby Loves These

2009-06-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

LOVE this! I found this site today via a great friend. and it seems that Thrifty Minnesota Moma is right up my alley! She has some really great giveaways and has introduced me to some of my new favorite baby items such as the No Throw and Baby Swim Diapers, which will be showing their face here shortly. Go check it out! http://thriftyminnesotamama.blogspot.com/2009/06/danikas-sippy-cup-no-longer-hits-floor.html Here are some others I like: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6925240 http://www.nothrow.com/index.htm

Pregnancy Cosmetics

2009-06-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

I desperately want to avoid stretch marks during my pregnancy... and here is a cream that I found on grassrootsstore.com that I like. The item itself is called "Butterfly Weed Earth Mama Belly Jelly". Loving it!!!

I am also in love with the handmade soap from MoonEssence, located in Petaluma,Ca. This is the only soap that I can use while shaving my legs, not resulting in either extreme razor burn or another itchy rash. It lathers nicely and smells sooooo good! And I love how it doesn't leave the normal soapy feeling on my skin!

Organic Lime Soap ~ 5.5 oz.

Regular price: $7.00 It is also very important to take care of the feet while pregnant. Hence, I have found some recipies that I think I will be trying in the very near future! Pamper the feet...
Strawberry Foot Exfoliant By Pioneer Thinking
Ingredients:
Mix together 8 strawberries with 2 tablespoons of olive oil (or safflower oil)
and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.
Other varieties: Add 1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped almonds
Directions:
Make a paste with the ingredients but don't over blend it since the strawberries
contain so much water it will make it too liquidy. Massage it all into your feet, rinse
off and dry.

Soothing Foot Lotion by Pioneerthinking.com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon almond oil 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil 12 drops eucalyptus essential/fragrance oil
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a dark colored bottle, shake extremely well. To use
just rub into the feet and heels. Store in a cool dry place.


There are more out there, for sure... but now I need to get moving and
do some laundry and dishes. Gotta love it!

More Fun Baby Finds

2009-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

These toys are so fun! 100% organic cotton and machine washable! Look more closely! http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com/organiccotton/stuffedbabytoys.html Feel free to start buying me (I mean, baby) these toys!!!!!!

I also like this kind of sling, made up of 3 separate pieces.... kind of cool, never seen it before. But the kind that i really like is below. One long pice that you wrap around and around and around and around!!!! Love it!

Soft micro fleece

Cool cotton

Baby Sling Bargain

Baby Bottles & More

2009-06-15T19:38:00.001-07:00

So I have found the perfect baby bottles!!!! I don't want to use plastic, because of the chemicals.... and our little one will be drinking out of the bottles a bit. So I've been looking for cute glass bottles. Well, maybe not the bottles to be so cute, as the covers. And I have fallen in love with these "Sweet Pea" glass bottles. I have also found the baby bag that I want. Vera Bradley Puccini Baby Bag here I come!

My Lack of Belly

2009-06-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

I have recently become saddened because I feel like everyone else at this stage is bigger-bellied than I am. The doctor was telling me that I would not show until I was like six months.... I am still hoping to prove her wrong. =) Here are some old pictures of my non-belly. I will take one today and post it later tonight of my as-of-now-non-belly. And I will be pleasantly surprised if I actually look pregnant in it, other than my round face and pregnant J-LO booty. So here are the very old pictures for those who have been asking. Just don't expect too much. Those two were somewhere around 12 weeks, as we were moving out of the little guest house. This was in Israel, probably 14 weeks. This was at the Dead Sea... very fun floating on water!

A RACE AGAINST TIME

2009-06-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

After Chorale's 2 hr flight to Germany, we had to grab our connecting 10 hr flight to LAX. Woo Hoo!!! Once that plane hit the ground I felt like I was in a race against time! Why, you may ask? I had an ultrasound appointment nearly 2 hours after our arrival and I had to get my luggage, go through customs, and miss traffic. Not to mention hug my dearly missed husband for a time long enough to make up for 3 weeks!!!! But Praise the Lord, we made it to the appointment with time to get lunch and all! Once at the doctors office I had to down a bottle of water for one of those beloved protein tests and then wait for about 20 minutes until we were called into an ugly, sterile, unfriendly Kaiser room. I mean, really, they could put some color or something in the rooms to cheer a person up! The doctor came in record time and we got to hear our little baby's heart beat and see little Shorty move it's little arms around like crazy! I was so relieved to find out our little one was still in my belly. I was starting to wonder if being so hungry in Israel caused my body to just reabsorb the baby... silly, I know. But I've never been pregnant before! I don't know what can and cannot happen! After seeing our little baby, we got to take four pictures home with us! Sooo fun!

Baby Catch- Up

2009-06-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been a month since I've posted anything! Well, actually, I can. Lots has happened.

Let's catch up a bit

Well, this was the end of my 4th year- not graduating year, mind you- at The Master's College. School ended the first week of May and the last few weeks were spent:

completing my vocal recital (five weeks prego)

finishing classes and Majesty's local weekend touring (around week 8 or 9 or so)

packing up our little guest house to move into a new apartment... and getting our first ultrasound picture. (according the to the doctors measurements of baby Short, nine weeks on the dot) The day after graduation Chorale left for a 3 week tour overseas. This trip consisted of 2 weeks in Israel and 1 week in Italy. Although it was very fun, but somewhat difficult for a pregnant girl allergic to dairy and egg to find enough food at the right times. It was in Israel that I had my first incident of "nope, my body won't let me eat that". I realized there were some very quick reflexes in my body to remove the unwanted food from my mouth that I had no idea existed. It was quite frightening for my dear friends. So, I basically lived on peanut butter and some form of bread, potatoes, rice and whatever fruit I could find in Israel. What a great "food" experience. Next time I go over there, I will not be pregnant if I have anything to say about it! Haha. Italy was worse for the allergies but we did have a guide who saw to my every need. What a sweet man! When the rest of the group got pizza, I repeatedly got steak and grilled veggies! Oh the joys of a more developed country!!! The most exciting thing that happened in Italy was getting searched by the "Secret Policia: Italia". Yes, apparently I look like a very troublesome young person. Let me explain- as I was leaving a store with two of my dear girlfriends, the store alarm went off (like when the girl at the register forgets to remove the security device from your new blouse). I was surprised by the sound and talking I heard, so I turned around... there she was. The Secret Police lady. Talking very quickly and excitedly in Italian at me. I had no idea what she was saying so she showed me her badge repeatedly and dragged me back in the store. She insisted on looking through my bag, every last pocket of it, mumbleing the whole time about "cosmetica". When she finally decided I was clean she said "ok" and then pointed to the door and made some gesture like a phone and said "picture". I was allowed to leave, but I assume they got it all on video. What an experience that was!!!!

To Wear or Not To Wear- That Is The Question

2009-04-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

So, I have decided that I would love to put our baby in cloth diapers. I really like the idea. Now, it does seem a bit nastier, but really now.... you know how sensative my skin and body is. I cannot imagine a child of mine being able to handle plastic and whatever else made diapers. It just doesn't seem very nice to our baby's toosh. I may try it for a week, or two, or 3 months and then decide I have had enough. BUT my plan as of now is to use cloth diapers unless we are someplace where I absolutely need to use store bought ones. I've been reading up on all different kinds. And I also want to try some home-made cute ones. Here is a link to a fun diaper making site. So, if anyone wants a project or wants to make us a gift for Little Jewel/Noah... here you go! (Just be sure to make ones that work for both a baby boy or girl.... until I give birth and we find out!!! YAY CLOTH DIAPERS!!! (I had better invest in a good smellproof container for the used ones.... and some goooooooooood detergent!)

http://www.sewdiapers.com/

Due Dates, Due Dates, Due Dates

2009-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Does anyone really know when a child will enter the world? Other than God? I think not... and yet it seems that we spend nearly the whole 9 months of a pregnancy guessing. We have already gotten 3 different due dates. Our first due date was Nov 8, which would have been cool seeing as it is (Aunt) Meredith Short's b-day, Sean Draper's b-day, and our very own Grandma Mittelstadt's day of birth.

But now, after going to our first ultrasound appointment, it seems that is incorrect and the doctor measured little Baby Short as 1 inch exactly on Friday the 17th. And since all babys grow at EXACTLY the same rate in the womb, or so it would appear, our baby measured exactly 9 weeks. That gives us our second due date of Nov 22, I believe. Thanksgiving baby!

Yet, still, I found some conflicting information in a calendar of mine here at home, and from this information, which I deem most reliable, we get the third due date: Nov 17!!!!

Yes, looking at family history from both sides I have no idea what to expect. Pam carried each of the boys 8 months exactly. Now, one wonders, was the their cycle or hers? I don't know. And my mom let us stay in there and bake a little more. I was two weeks late, and unfortunatly my weight of 9lb's 15 oz made her pay a bit. So, what will our childs baking time be? When will it pop its head into the world and say, HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!? Only time will tell, but feel free to guess!

2009-04-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

So this is first attempt at Baby's Wishlist...... its THE room. so i'm hoping the bedding and accessories don't get outed by Target and Baby's R Us. I looooove this CoCaLo Alphabet Soup Crib Bedding Set. You can just go ahead and start buying it now if it goes on sale, or making things to match this.... cuz it's not gona change. Boy or Girl, it stays..... not that we're finding out the sex anyways. Now, lets see if I can figure out how to get a picture of it to appear?

History of Baby Short

2009-04-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

SURPRISE!!!! Robert and I found out on March 14 that we are pregnant! Yes, I am "with child", "prego", "preggers", "in the family way", "expecting".... how ever you choose to say it. Fact is, there is a little baby Short growing in my belly! Not too much has changed since finding this news out..... i mean, if you dont count me needing like 12 hrs of sleep a night rather than the normal 8-10, eating more food than i quite possibly ever have, having random crying spurts, and not quite looooving the mornings. Buuuuut- Robert is amazing and brings me breakfast in bed every morning now! How is it that I am so blessed?!?!? (Maybe he has finally figured out it is the only way to make me wake up at 7:45 with him). But I choose to believe that he is loving me as Christ loves the church. Amen? Amen. We took a picture when we found out that I am pregnant... and although my clothes are starting not to fit, I still dont look pregnant yet. But we will take a picture soon to let you all see my non-pregnant looking self. Signing off for now- daddy just got home for some lunch!!!! Yay!!!