Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I have a kindergarten graduate

My middle daughter graduated kindergarten today (even though tomorrow is the last day of school?). And yes, I cried. I'm not a crier, so I'm blaming it on these darn pregnancy hormones. When did she grow up?



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Happy Birthday, Arielle!

Ummm, yeah. I totally planned on doing this post yesterday, but I completely forgot. :( So let's pretend you're supposed to do a happy birthday post the day after the birthday, mmmkay? 

Happy birthday to my girl, who made me a mommy. 


Who is so stinkin' independent it makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes.  


But can be so sweet and always keeps me on my toes. 
 

Happiest of birthdays, Arielle! How the heck am I old enough to have a 9 year old? 
 

Monday, May 21, 2012

I survived the busiest weekend EVER

So, I had the busiest weekend I've had in a long time. And I can now say that I survived. Barely. I still feel like I need 14 more hours of sleep. 





Started it off with hubby bringing home some gorgeous flowers! Day lillies and gerbera daisies are my favorite flowers. And this kind of lily is the exact one we had as our wedding flower. 




Then Arielle had a softball game. They won 7-6. I was worried there for a second, but they won in the end (thankfully due to an error by the other team). 





On Saturday, Jake coached his last game for Jasmin's team, her season is over for the year. I love seeing him coach, it's important to him to be involved with the girls. He coached Arielle's team last year. He then dropped me off at a baby sprinkle on the way home, and picked me up when it was done.






Arielle and Jasmin got their flower girl dresses in. My mom still needs to tailor them, but they're going to be so pretty!






Arielle had her birthday slumber party on Saturday night. I can't believe she's about to be nine. 




Our craft was making ruffle fabric sandals. Kept them entertained for half an hour, which works for me. I went to bed at 10, hubby came to bed at midnight after telling them it was lights out and time to settle down. I got woken up at 1am (since no kid knows how to turn a door handle and just slams it shut) and I couldn't fall back to sleep until almost 4am. Ugh. 


  

I woke up at 6:30, and found that apparently "Light out" means turn a movie back on and then fall asleep to it at full blast. Ding dongs. 



  

Then I went to my mom's house to work on pillow orders and pick up Ava and the dogs, and we went to Burger King for lunch. 




Then after a nap, we took Jasmin to get a hair cut. She asked us for one on Saturday, and said she wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love. My baby had 11 inches cut off. She looks so grown up!






Then we went to Target so the girls could spend their birthday/allowance money. Followed by dinner at Panda Express, since I was in no mood to cook.










I'm not going to lie, I haven't been this tired in a long time, but it was such an awesome weekend. Plus, both Arielle and Jasmin were able to feel Alli kicking, so they were super excited about that. 

I'm off to work on pillow orders, happy Monday!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

20 weeks pregnant updates

So, yesterday we had our 20 week OB appt. I'm measuring right at twenty weeks, so is baby girl. And baby girl is officially a baby girl :) As many of you know, I had Ava by emergency c-section due to her birth defects, and am really wanting to try a VBAC this time. I had a horrible time healing from my c-section, took me forever before I was able to stand up straight, I had swelling so bad in my legs and feet that my toes couldn't touch the ground. Plus, I felt so removed from the birth with a c-section. You're laying on the table, unable to see or feel anything. NO thank you. 

We had Ava at 35 weeks, and she was 7 lbs 8 oz. They said she would have been a ten pound baby if we went full term. So I asked our dr if she induces if the baby is getting to be too big. She said that since we're going for a VBAC, that it's better to go into labor naturally instead of being induced. But, if the baby is too large and it looks like I'll end up having to have a c-section anyway, then we have to decide if we want to induce (which she won't do until 39 weeks anyway so the lungs can fully mature). It's a lot to think about. I had Arielle 9 days early, and Jasmin 4 days early, so she said that this one might come early too.

So, I've been seeing these questionnaires on other blogs, and thought it'd be fun to participate. 

How far along are you? 20 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss? 7 lbs gained

Maternity clothes? Nope, still wearing my normal clothes. But I'm in my loose capris that have a bit of stretch to them. Still in normal shirts, but some of my tank tops are getting short so my belly is poking out at the bottom. I just wear a tee-shirt extender under it. 

Stretch marks? Nothing new, thank goodness. I did get quite a few when I was pregnant with my oldest. The little jaggedy ones on my belly, and the huge thick ones on my hips that look like a tiger clawed me. I didn't get any more with my second daughter, and with my third daughter, I didn't get any more, but the ends of the ones on my hips turned red. 

Sleep? I'm pretty much back to normal. Going to bed around 9:30, dragging myself out of bed around 6. Getting up once during the night to use the restroom. 

Best moment this past week? Finally picking the darn name! Her name is going to be Alli. As simple as the name is, it took us forever to get to it. Jake liked Emily, I liked Lexi. Then he turned Lexi into Alexis. I didn't like Alexis, but I like Alexa. He suggested Alli, and while we both liked it, neither of us could agree on the usual names that Alli is short for (Allison, Alice, Alexandra, etc). So Alli by itself it is!

Movement? I feel her all the time. Usually at night when I'm trying to go to sleep. I think we have a night owl on our hands. Jake feels her almost every night, and my mom even got to feel her once. My oldest is dying to feel her, but Alli is most active after the older girls are in bed. The doctor had a hard time getting a look at her, since she was moving around so much.


Food cravings? Nothing weird. If I get something in my head, I can't get it out of my head until I have it. Like, if I see a commercial for Wendy's, then it'll be in my head until I have it, even if it's days later. 


Gender? a girl!


Belly button? Still an innie, but getting flatter. Mine never pops out, just flattens out completely. 


Milestones? Halfway there!

Friday, May 11, 2012

InstaFriday. The May edition, yo.

So, I'm way behind on InstaFriday, but here we go.




Hubby was convinced that Mother's Day was on Tuesday (he put it in his computer calendar as a date last year, instead of such and such Sunday). So we went to Red Lobster last weekend to beat the "Mother's Day rush" on Tuesday. Oops.



I will be 20 weeks pregnant on Sunday, which means we are halfway there! Still no clue on names, just have the middle name. So for now, we've been calling her "What's her name". Like "hey honey, what's her name is moving right now if you want to feel her."





So, this is why shopping takes so long. Ava insists on pushing the cart now. TAKES FOREVER.




Oh, you didn't know that I was the world's best daughter in law? My father in law (Hi Steve!) sent me this for Mother's Day with strict instructions not to share. But you know I did.




Sometimes we pretend to like to do things as a family and go for morning walks. Jasmin dressed herself, I do not claim this outfit. I'm kind of in the picture too, that's my shadow next to the dog who is so fat that she's convinced that a walk means certain death so we end up having to drag her along.


Ava picked out her outfit after her bath. Someone thinks she's stylin!

Those scars are from her seven surgeries. The long horizontal scar is from two surgeries (pyloromyotomy and to fix a hiatal hernia), her man made belly button is from her 4 surgeries from gastroschisis, and the vertical scar underneath is from her last emergency surgery for a bowel obstruction. She's my tough girl! 






Ava loves to play with my phone, which means I end up with a ton of photos like this.




I saw these on a car this weekend. I told hubby that I was going to put some on the van. He asked me "Do you own a van that I don't know about, cause those aren't going on this one."

The fabric I showed ya a  couple of weeks ago? I've been working on it. Usually it's my mom behind the machine, but I took over for a few minutes. Her job is to sew, mine is to arrange to squares and hand them to her. Yes, the baby is attached to my hip. She's convinced that if she's more than 4 feet from me that she'll die.





And here is a sneak peek. We still need 5 more rows, and then the border. It's my first attempt at a puff quilt and I'm in LOVE. I found the tutorial online, but I'll do a tutorial with things I've learned when it's completed.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

20 Questions for the Hubby

I saw this over at my friend Megan's blog, and thought I'd play along. I know, hubby and I aren't Newlyweds, but who cares. We'll just pretend.


1. She's sitting in front of the TV. What's on the screen?
Law & Order SVU, although lately it's been Cold Case. 
me: Yup! I love me some SVU, but I've seen every single episode. Then I somehow ran across an episode of Cold Case, and remembered how much I love this show

2. You're out to eat. What kind of dressing does she get on her salad?
Ceasar. 
me: Yup! Love me some Caesar salad. 

3. What’s one food she doesn't like? 
Shrimp and Zucchini. You put them together and you can see her twitch.
  
me: yup! It's a texture thing. Shrimp always tastes like it's not cooked, or it's gristle or fat I shouldn't be eating. Zucchini is too slimy, no matter how it's cooked. Ewwwwww. 

4. You go out to eat and have a drink, what does she order? 
Something fruity
me: Yup! My favorite drinks are a Bahama Mama or a Pina Colada. 

5. What shirt size does she have? 
Whatever size fits in that brand. She's tiny though, she can pull off a small in any brand.
me: Kinda true. I usually go with a medium, I don't like my shirts to be too skin tight. 

6. What shoe size does she have? 
6.5-7
me: Yup! I go with a 7 if it's closed toed or boots I wear with socks. Usually a 6.5 or 7 for open toes and sandals. 

7. What’s her favorite type of sandwich?
Some sort of Italian style.
me: It really just depends. If I'm at Subway, I get the Spicy Italian (pepperoni and genoa salami). If I'm at Which Wich, I get the french dip. At Charley's, I get the buffalo chicken. Just depends on my mood and where I'm at. 

8. What would she eat everyday if she could? 
Crab Legs or Snowballs
me: yup! Crab legs with a bit of lemon juice. And Snoballs are my weakness when it comes to snacks. 

9. What is her favorite cereal? 
Basic 4
me: Yes! I love Basic 4. But they don't sell it at Walmart, so I have to go to a grocery store to get it. I heart it, but hate that it's such a small box for like $5. It's one of the few things that I won't share with my kids. 

10. What would she never wear? 
She can rock it all. 
me: this is a weird question. Socks with sandals I guess. Or leggings as pants. Any of the normal fashion no-nos. 

11. What is her favorite sports team? 
Forrest Griffin (he's big enough to count as a team)
me: LOL! I love UFC. Well, not the whole thing but certain fighters. And Forrest is my favorite. I even named one of my crested geckos after him. 

14. What is something she does that you wish she wouldn’t do? 
Have the undying need to fill every flat surface in the house. :)
me: True. He's always teasing me about that. Hush, Jake! It's not my fault that you're all OCD about clutter. 

15. What is her heritage? 
Korean and Cracker
me: I'm not sure how PC that is, but yes. 

16. You bake her a cake, what kind of cake? 
I dunno, but she better eat it, I made it!
me: I eat any kind of cake. But I heart carrot cake. And red velvet. And birthday cake. 

17. Did she play sports in high school?
Softball
me: yup! I miss playing. Might want to check out a team when I'm done being pregnant. 

18. What could she spend hours doing? 
Reading, online shopping, Cold Case marathon…..all at once.
me: yes, Jake always says he's amazed at my ability to multi-task. I think that comes with the territory of being a momma. 

19. What is the unique talent that she has? 
Well that's an inappropriate question to ask.
me: Ha! Nerd. 

20. What is her type of coffee? 
The Cherry Coke flavored kind :)
Me: I don't drink coffee at all. I love the smell, but not the taste.  

Wow, I was really impressed with his answers! How would your husband do? I'm curious how I'd do on a questionnaire about him. Hmmmmm.
 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

My birthday wishlist

So, your favorite blogger will turn 32 29ish in exactly three months from today. There are a few finds from Etsy that are on my birthday wish list. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to hang onto my money for things like food and kids stuff, or I would have already bought every single one of these things. 

 One thing I want is this sign. I'd get it in these colors exactly and put it in the girls bathroom. Handmade? Handpainted (not vinyl)? Score. My children seem to think that "Go wash your hands" means "Go run some water on them for .42 seconds, ignore the soap, and then shake the water off of your hands all over the mirror." I don't know if this sign would help them remember how to wash their hands, but it's so awesome I don't think I'd care anymore. So this sign would save me the stress of yelling at them. Score.

WordWhipped "Wash Your Hands sign"  $60 plus shipping

I am DYING to get this stencil. (How do you become one of those lucky blogs that get to do reviews on this kind of stuff?)  I want to use it in my older girls room. When the baby comes, the two older ones are going to have to share a room again. The oldest isn't excited to share a room again, and I'm trying to make sure it's super cool for them. Arielle already has a blue wall in her room, I'd use this stencil with white paint. So pretty! Think I could just serve mac and cheese for the next two weeks, and spend my grocery money on this instead? 

Royal Design Studio stencil "Rockin' Roses" $69 plus shipping

I keep browsing through Etsy, looking for things for the girls room, ways to personalize it even though it'll be a shared space. How awesome would these be above their beds? We're planning on doing bunk beds, and I'd love to have each of their names above their bed. Imagine these, with "Arielle" and "Jasmin" in bright yellow? Gorgeous! 


DeckyDecor "Custom wood name sign" $50 plus shipping


Now, it's obvious I have a love for wood signs (perhaps I need to add "scroll saw" to my Christmas wish list, but then you'd have to read a post about me cutting off my thumb or something). And you know that your favorite blogger lives in Texas, right? My husband (from St Louis) always teases me for saying "y'all". So how perfect would this sign be? We plan on extending the back patio in the fall, so I'm starting to keep an eye out for things to decorate it. I think this sign in barnwood red would be perfect. Throw in his "Sweet Tea" sign, and my back porch would be perfect. Think he'd take me on as his honorary granddaughter and make me one for my birthday? A girl can always dream, right? :)

SlippinSouthern "Hey y'all" sign $50 plus shipping

I am in love with these candle holders. Just pop in a tealight (which is included in the price). I think they'd go perfectly on my dining room table. Imagine a group of them, tied with some raffia, on a distressed wooden tray? Perfection. I could also see these at a rustic wedding. I love that the birch is cut from fallen trees, so you're not hurting the environment.

My Garden Gate "10 birch bark candle holders" $35 plus shipping.

I know you've seen those fabulous alphabet walls that are everywhere. I adore them, and would LOVE to have one in the new baby's room. I have a couple of girlfriends who have put one together for their kids, and their main complaint was being able to find all of the letters. It took one of them 6 months to find all of the letters. If you want to save the hassle, something like this would be a great option. The letters range in size from 6 to 12 inches. How cool would it be to order one of these for a baby shower? Or, if you've having a Baby Sprinkle and aren't having guests bring gifts, maybe ask all of them to chip in $10 instead and split the cost. You could have a table with scrapbook paper, craft paint, mod podge and other embellishments, and have each guest decorate one or two. What a great way to remember your baby shower! I think my favorite letter is the button O. And the J. Cause, everyone who's name starts with a J is awesome.

GalleryWoodLetters $85 plus shipping
 
 So if I was rich, or my kids and husband didn't expect me to feed them, these are the things that would be on their way to me, because I would have already bought them. 

What's on your birthday wish list this year? 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

PictureHealing? Music Saves Lives? What's that?

So, I got a pretty cool email last week from a guy named Chris. He saw a picture of me on my blog and wanted to know if he could use it. The picture? It's one I posted a while back of me donating blood. That hot guy in the background is my husband, he donates too.


We donate every single time we can. Do you know why? All because of this little girl.


With all of Ava's 7 surgeries, she's had quite a few blood transfusions. This pic was taken during her blood transfusion (see the red tube in the middle of the pic?) from her last emergency surgery in August 2011.

It's not my favorite thing to do, I'll admit. I have a slight phobia about needles (yes, the tattooed, pierced chick hates needles). 

Did you know that one pint of blood can save three lives?  
Did you know that someone needs blood every 2 seconds?
Did you know that there is no substitute for human blood?


So, why did Chris want my super awesome pic? 

"I was hoping you'd allow us to use in a short video we're doing for a charity partner of ours called Music Saves Lives and the Vans Warped Tour. The picture would display for a few seconds and we'll give your blog address and credit on the screen as well."

Ummm, heck yeah you can! I was familiar with the Vans Warped Tour, and had heard of Music Saves Lives, but couldn't tell you exactly what they are. Well, now I know. 

"Music Saves Lives started its mission to education about the importance of blood donation and the bone marrow registry, sharing facts, educating and empowering youth. Music Saves Lives encourages participation, and commitment to action in a life saving way. These simple commitments, like donating blood, running a blood drive, and registering for the marrow program to save those with leukemia and other blood disorders, all connect back to strengthening the community."

So, Chris works for a company called PictureHealing. (Now, I did not know until I did research for this post that Chris is the Executive Director of PictureHealing. Yowzas). Now, I'm a huge fan of Instagram, but I only like a couple of their filters, so all of my pictures end up looking the same. So, any photo filter program (that's FREE) is worth checking out to me. 

It was super easy to find. Just went to my app store on my iPhone, searched for PictureHealing, and voila. 



Did I read that right? By using and sharing my photos, I'm helping out my favorite charities?  

"By taking and sharing the pictures, you’ll earn points, and those points are how we decipher how much of our revenues go to your chosen three charities. We’ve partnered with some really amazing orgs like Music Saves Lives, Smile Train, Keep-A-Breast, The Fender Music Foundation, and Casa Pacifica. We’re up to about 50 so far. Most of which spread the gamut of interests so that you’ll be able to identify with a few!"

Okay, that in itself is awesome. But not only that, I love having some new filters to play with. To show you, I just snapped a quick shot of some fruit on my counter. The first button shows you the different photo filters you can chose from. Brighten the photo, change it to black and white, etc. 
 

The second button is the level of distressing and texture that you want, if any. 

And the third button is my favorite. It's the different frames you can pick. I use these two the most. 


Now, not only did I have a "feel good" moment that my simple act of donating blood was going to encourage others, Chris (Hi Chris!) offered to give me two tickets to the Vans Warped Tour as a thank you. Now, me being pregnant, in Texas, with the concert outdoors in July, is selfishly giving my tickets to my husband and his music loving friend. You're welcome, Jake and Dwayne. :)