Tada Tuesday- Embroidery!!

So I'm putting off, it's ok, tuesday, for another week.  Instead I want to show off all the wonderful things my new sewing machine can do...it's terribly exciting, at least to me and blue haired old ladies.

I got started yesterday and once I started it was hard to stop.

All the stuff I did together.

Burp cloth for Evie and blanket for a friend's soon to be little girl.

Another blanket and burp cloth- again for a friend whose baby shower is Saturday.

Handkerchiefs for Mark- embroidered with a C in white- because he's "classy like that". 

Blanket that I'll be crocheting edges around for a friend.

What can I say, except I LOVE MY SEWING MACHINE!!

Though I do need to work on my construction of items (please do not look too closely at Evie's burp cloth- I did the top stitching wrong and didn't get my edges perfectly round) and placement in regards to fabric color (again do not look closely at Evie's burp cloth), I'm pretty happy with it.

Oh and I hope my friend doesn't read my blog anonymously...if she does she better act surprised on Saturday anyway. ;)

More to come soon!!

Mom Monday- Repetition

Most moms will tell you that repetition is the key to helping your kids learn.

They're right and want to know when you've repeated yourself enough for your child to learn the lesson?

When your child tells her father, "Daddy, you're not listening" and he in fact, isn't listening...

Welcome to the world of men sweetie, they take almost as much repetition to learn as the three year old does. ;)

The Pirate Party

 So the day of Elizabeth's birthday was also her pirate party. 

It was a blast!

I was so thankful for all the people that came, I know it is hard to travel and we had a LOT of people.  All together there were 13 kids and 18 adults. 

A few of our pirate crew mates!

Pirate cousins playing together!

 The kids loved the playground, but sadly I didn't bring my camera down to the playground area this year, so the only pictures are of the picnic area where we ate and did presents.

We had tons of pirate gear, and I even tried to wear a hat with matching shirt...only my big head/hair isn't made for paper pirate hats, so it kept falling off.  I eventually had to abandon the hat. 

Spyglasses anyone?

Elizabeth wouldn't wear a hat that day, but was eager to show everyone her hook and her mask.

Arg!  Taste my hook, ye scallywag!

Elizabeth Hook

Just pirating it up!

The food was great.  Mark grilled and we had lots of yummy sides including: baked beans, chips, pasta salad, corn salad, and cole slaw. 

YUMMY!

 

Let's not forget the yummy birthday cake and cookies!

Love this cake- Buttercream = YUMMY!

Ready for CAKE!

Elizabeth got great gifts! 

Pet hospital- too cool!

Yay, gifts!

PONY!

She got an art desk from Mommy and Daddy!

Art supplies too!

Princess dress from Aunt Melissa!!

Plus there are lots more I couldn't post. 

Even some friends and family members didn't think they could come so they gave her her gifts early.  When they were able to able to come, they brought even more! 

Needless to say we are so thankful for our family and friends for being so generous.  Thank you for helping us celebrate our special little girl's third birthday!!  We love you all!

My Three Year Old!

Two weeks ago, my sweet baby turned THREE!!  I would have posted this earlier, but we spent a whole week showering her in birthday splendor and then the whole next week recuperating. ;)

I can't believe she has grown up so much.  It seems like yesterday that she was still bald headed and learning to walk.

Now she wears pigtails and regularly tells me what is important...and she's usually right.

 She's a big sister too and LOVES it, which couldn't make me happier as a mommy.

She talks all the time, in fact, it's a struggle to get her quiet. 

Her newest playtime activity is to make her animals talk.  They have whole conversations and it's adorable.

She's all girl, but also has a little tomboy too.  She's a perfect little pirate princess.

Time goes by too quickly as a mom.  Even with the tempers, messes, and boo-boos- it truly the best job there will ever be.

There isn't a day I don't thank God for my little miracle baby and all the wonder she brings into my life.

So Happy 3rd Birthday to my Pirate Princess!!  Mommy loves you so much!

Baby weight loss- Week 11

It's that time again!!  Time to step on the scales and see the damage.  That's right, it's:



So here's this week's stats.

Overall goal: -30 lbs
1st goal: -10 lbs
Weight loss/gain: 0
Overall loss: -4.0

So I'm not surprised about this... I've been better this week, but not great.  We had some sickness, which required me to go to the doctor with kids.  On our way back, we hit fast food...yeah, not great for the diet, but what we needed at that moment.  The rest of the week we were ok.  I've laid off the pop, focused on staying active the majority of the day, but skimped on exercise.

Here's what I did well:

1. Nursing Evie.  Ok, so I do this all the time, but it counts.

2. Movement.  Seriously, except for a few times during the day, I hardly sat down.

3. Eating at home.  Pretty healthy, and better portion control.


Some things I need to improve on:

1. Better food control. I wasn't horrible, but I need to do better. More portion control and less fatty items.

2. EXERCISE. I need to get back on my schedule. Nothing else to it.  I also think I need to get someone else to exercise with me.  That way I will be accountable to someone else besides me.

Some things that I think should be outlawed:

1. Baby snuggle naps (not really, just when I don't exercise because of them).  Ok, baby snuggling is one of my favorite activities...but at nap time I need to keep moving and working.  That way I have time to exercise later on and so I can keep burning calories.  But when you are tired and you've got a baby you can snuggle...it's hard to say no.

Who wouldn't want to snuggle this cutie??

2. Sickness.  That's kept me inside the beginning of this week. I hate being sick and sick kids are worse.  It breaks my heart to see them sick, plus I end up skipping exercise.  Sorry, but true.

3. Cookies.  Lately that's all I want.  Cookies, Cookies, Cookies.  I feel like Cookie Monster...only I hope I speak better. ;)

4. The Big Pal with....(wait for it)....BACON!!  AHH! My favorite local restaurant, with my favorite hamburger is now adding Bacon to it.  Like it wasn't hard enough to not get a Big Pal, now they are adding BACON...and I've made my feelings about bacon pretty clear.   Love of Bacon on the bottom of the page.  I need a backbone, seriously, or I'm going to eat my weight in bacon...and that won't be pretty.

Don't forget to head over to Brandy's page You Don't Know and check out her progress and everyone's else too.  Maybe even join up, you'd be glad you did!  No matter what, leave Brandy a nice comment for hosting this link up and for doing so well on her own weight loss journey.  It's a nice thing to do, plus she's super cool.

I confess I'm totally random

It's that time of the week, time to confess all those things that make life fun, annoying, and everything in between.  So after enjoying my lovely confessions, head on over to Mamrazzi  to read everyone's confessions or to join in and confess yourself.




I confess,

That I haven't done this in weeks, and I feel really bad I haven't.

I enjoy confessing.  I also enjoy linking up, but I'm not great about getting to everyone's page.

Don't get me wrong, I try really hard.  But something always stops me from getting to everyone.  My apologies to those I miss.

I confess,

That nap time is one of my favorite parts of my day.

So I'm not going to win Mom of the year for that statement, yet it's true.  I love being home with the kids, but after awhile even a saint needs a break.

I see nap time as me time. I work, craft, clean, or rest.  No matter what I do, it's just me for a couple of hours and that's nice.


I confess,


That I'm mad at my cat.  He's clawing our stuff.

I. Have. No. Tolerance. For. That.

He's got cat toys and scratching posts.  He's even got four acres and trees to take his aggression out on...why does he focus it on the play mat in the nursery!?!

I'm not sure Pooh Bear can take much more...or me either.  Soft Paws might be in his future.


I confess,


I'm in LOVE with my new sewing machine.  Why?

It threads itself!!

It does beautiful work!!

It doesn't lose tension all of a sudden like my old one!!

I haven't even scratched the surface on what it can do. I'm so excited to do my first embroidery with it.  I've got a few things in the works for some friends.  I hope they like them. :)

I confess,

I really love comic book movies.  No wait, let me change that to- I really love comic book movies that I haven't read the comic book.

I'm a purist on my comic books, so I don't like it when they change a lot of stuff for the movie.

Which makes this summer awesome, because I was never a Green Lantern or Captain America fan.

But I am a fan of Ryan Reynolds and lots of eye candy on the movie screen.  Go Summer Blockbusters!!

(oh and sorry to my hubby- you're still number one to me!)

I confess,

That I'm a totally nerd.

I mean I just posted a confession about comic books.

Need further proof?

I'm giddy about our local theater's production of Beauty and the Beast.

Yes, you saw that correctly, I typed Beauty and the Beast.  It will be awesome.  They always do a great job, and it's my favorite one.

Only one bad part- no kids under 8 yrs.  Or wait maybe that's not so bad...  ;)

Real Women

There are no nabby-pamby women in this household.  Tell us we can't do something, and we'll show you how it's done.

Including taking the NEW mower out for a spin (Thank you, Daddy and Uncle Jerry).  Bye, bye push mower!

Next up, mastering the bulldozer (if I can steal the keys from my Paw). 

Watch out world, here come some real women!

Proud Mommy Moment

I'm going to brag. 

I just thought I would warn you, in case you find it distasteful.  That way you can skip this post if you like...but I'm so going to brag.

My daughter is super smart.  I'm not the only one who thinks so either, just ask her doctor.

We went for her three year old appointment.  While she is on the small side- 10% weight, 50% height- she is amazing in everything else. 

She answered all of the doctor's questions.  Never batted an eye in protest to being examined, even did the Wildcat cheer (our dr is a UK grad too).

She's super healthy, and the doctor is happy with her eating habits too.  The best part, her doctor said "Well, it's obvious she's got an advanced vocabulary".

I thought I would burst with pride and then it got better.

She had to do blood work and give urine.  I was nervous...and thought Elizabeth would wail from blood and not cooperate with the urine.  It took us two minutes to give urine.  YAY!  Then the blood. 

Elizabeth jumped right up into the seat.  She talked with the guy and even picked out her band aid.  When he pricked her finger, she just stared at him and the blood.  She was fascinated.  She never cried.  Not once. 

I was so proud again!  She's turning into such a big girl and that's when I realized- I'm not so sure I like this turning three business because it means she's growing up and I'm just not ready for that.

But I guess I better get ready, because before I know it, she'll be the one accepting patients and telling me to enjoy my retirement. Yikes!

Tada Tuesday

Ok, so I usually write an it's okay Tuesday post...and given the day I had yesterday I could use an it's okay day.

But too much has gone on lately.  I need to tell you all about the other stuff going on.  So I'm taking an it's okay break this week.

Instead it's Tada Tuesday!!  What am I all excited about you ask?  Well, as some of you all know I cloth diaper Baby Evie.  I've been loving it, but I had one complaint- Rinsing.

Now I know we all cloth diaper a little differently.  But I'm a firm believer in lots of rinses.  I rinse before the diaper goes in the pail.  I do a soak and rinse before I wash them.  Then I rinse them twice to make sure all the soap is out. 

Overkill, well maybe.  But I get a lot of the solid and liquids out before they hit the washer, then I get the rest out before I even add detergent. I want to make sure they stay nice without buildup (which can trap odor), so I add extra rinses after the washing.  All in all, it works great.  I don't have stains or worry that they aren't clean.

So I've know I've just confused you.  You're wondering if she's so happy with rinses, why is that her complaint?? Well, you know that rinse before it goes into the pail?  That was my dunk rinse.  What's that you ask? It's where you dunk the soiled diaper in the toilet to rinse out the solids.  Sound gross?  It's really not, but it gets old fast. 

How to you get around it? Two words- Diaper Sprayer!!  Now they sell them online for 50-60 bucks.  But I didn't want to spend on something I technically didn't need.  So my handy hubby made a trip to Lowe's. 

He bought a kitchen sprayer and hooked it up to the water line coming into the toilet.  It's awesome.  It sprays everything away, keeping my hands clean and out of the toilet, plus all Evie's waste goes where it belongs- the commode and not my washer.  Yay! 

The really nice part.  It has a water shut off valve. The ones online don't have this option. They just spray when you push the button.  Can anyone understand what is wrong with that?  I'll give you a hint...

She gets a vet set and the cat is the patient.

Just imagine what little Miss Elizabeth could do with her own sprayer.  It boggles the mind.  But the good news, mine has a shut off valve.  So unless the valve is engaged it won't spray and although my three year old is very clever, she hasn't figured that out yet.

By the way, I love it. It works super well, and was about 30 bucks cheaper than buying online, plus I have the all important shut off valve. 

Way to go, Handy Hubby!

Mom Monday- Watch out Boys!

Every wonder what a father wants his little girl to know from day one?

Yep, Evie doesn't need boxing lessons.  She's a natural.  Watch out boys, Baby Evie has a mean right hook! ;)

One of those Days...

So I woke up this morning very happy for two reasons. 

1) We had power. 

You see we had this huge storm and lost power.  I couldn't work, we had to light candles everywhere, and so eventually we just went to bed early.  Of course the power came on at 12 am and woke Elizabeth, so I had to lay down with her.  I finally got back to bed around 3 am.

2) My work week had reset. 

I'm officially not behind at work.  I'm going to stay on top of my hours, at least, that's the plan.  There aren't any major trips ahead of us or parties...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll maintain this week.

But my happiness was short lived.  Everything fell apart pretty quickly...

We loss power.  I was looking into playing with my new sewing machine, finally, and we lost power.

Evie started coughing again and getting upset.  I started to call the dr, but couldn't find the number.  No power- no internet and the yellow pages didn't list our dr.  Then Elizabeth had an accident.  She took a step forward and fell backwards.  I dropped the phone book and checked her.  By this time, Evie was screaming.  I settled Elizabeth down and tried to calm Evie.  It didn't work. 

I picked the phone book back up and found them in the white pages, I got the nurse on the phone.  The verdict- bring Evie in and just watch Elizabeth (I'm super paranoid about head bumps).  I got Mark home, got Evie ready, and we were out the door.

Two hours later- Evie has a URT infection and is on antibiotics.  Power is finally back on, the house is a wreck, but I did manage to get both of them asleep at the same time.  I'm hoping I can just play a little with my machine.  I really want to get started on some projects, especially because I have a baby shower in a week to go to...but work comes first.

Life sometimes seems like a comedy of errors, only it's not so funny when it's happening to you. ;)

Baby Weight Loss- Week 10

It's that time again!!  Time to step on the scales and see the damage.  That's right, it's:



So here's this week's stats.

Overall goal: -30 lbs
1st goal: -10 lbs
Weight loss/gain:-2
Overall loss: -4.0

So I know, I've been gone for THREE weeks.  It's just been one crazy month.  We've had something going on every weekend.  We've traveled, thrown parties, and had visitors...and it's not finished.  Plus work is still tough. But I'm getting it under control.  Thank goodness.  Oh and yes, I'm totally surprised I've lost any weight.  I haven't been able to exercise well and my eating habits have been horrible.  So I'm chalking this loss up to nursing and crazy activity levels (though not exercise activity- more running around cleaning activity).

Here's what I did well:

1. Nursing Evie.  Ok, I'd do this even without the weight loss benefits.

2. Cleaning.  Seriously, the only time I've been doing any activity is when I clean. I've either been cleaning up a house or after a party.  Other than that I've been working- sounds fun, right?

Some things I need to improve on:

1. FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! I ate like a pig this week. I haven't really dieted- I need to get this under control.

2. Portions- I cannot stop stuffing my face.

4. EXERCISE.  I haven't run in forever.  I'm going to have to repeat a couple of days to get back on track.  I'm too ashamed to admit where I'm at in the couch25k challenge as I keep having these weeks where I can't find time to run.

Some things that I think should be outlawed:

1. Bacon.  This glorious food is too wonderful.  I just consumed a bacon cheeseburger- it was DELICIOUS...I don't want to think about the calories.

2.Birthday cake with buttercream frosting.  We had this for Elizabeth's birthday.  The lady who made it made all of Elizabeth's cakes and our wedding cake.  She is fan-tas-tic. Again I don't want to think about the calories.

3. Rain.  Ok, I know we need rain, but all this rain we've had has kept us indoors.  Which means less activity, which isn't good for mommy.

Don't forget to head over to Brandy's page You Don't Know and check out her progress and everyone's else too.  Maybe even join up, you'd be glad you did!  No matter what, leave Brandy a nice comment for hosting this link up and for doing so well on her own weight loss journey.  It's a nice thing to do, plus she's super cool.

Sorry for the absence

So I've been gone for a week and what a week...

Things were busy with meetings for jobs, work, getting the house ready, and then getting ready for Elizabeth's birthday party.  I honestly didn't get to sit down until yesterday.

The bad news, I'm behind on work.  So I won't be posting much this week either...or at all.  It's just one of those weeks or months.  But as soon as I'm caught up I'll be back to posting.  Complete with PIRATE pictures.

I also haven't been able to keep up with checking out everyone else's blog.  This in particular makes me sad.  I don't like not talking to you all.  However, until I get this work done I'm stuck.  Sorry for being a bad bloggy friend!

It's OK, Tuesday

So I stole borrowed this from another blog.  It's a way of just accepting some of life's not so pleasant, ridiculous, or crazy moments.  I really like it.  So here goes.

It's ok,

-that I once again missed the both the weight loss and confessional link up this past Friday.

We were out of town for my sister in law's graduation.  She's now a Master.  Go Karen!

It's ok,

-Evie didn't enjoy the 6 hour car drive to my in-laws.

She did well during nap time, but once awake decided she didn't want to sit in the car seat. We stopped a lot on the way down.  She was also crabby when we arrived and when we got back.  I don't see a lot a traveling for us until she gets bigger. 


It's ok,

-that I'm in cleaning mode this week.

Elizabeth's birthday party is Saturday.  Since people are coming over to the house as well as the picnic site, I have to have this place clean.

Not just everyday clean.  SUPER CLEAN!

I've already dusted most of the baseboards and sprayed down my doors.  I'm trying to work on the outside too...I'm much slower at that.


It's ok,

-to be super uptight about the red lines Firefox puts under words when you spell it incorrectly.

I have to fix, NOW.

No waiting, the red line throws me...I can't concentrate.  ARG!!

 It's ok, 

-that Elizabeth is going through a whiny stage.

She's been in timeout a lot lately.

I guess we hit the terrible two's late.  I DON'T LIKE IT.

It's ok,

-that I haven't gotten to play with my new sewing machine yet.

I've been running around in party mode, which = no, sewing time for mommy.  BOO!!!

It's ok,

-that I'm considering making my own pirate costume for Elizabeth's party.

Surely you get a pass on being silly if you're a mom??

Oh, and I totally looked up pirate music to play too.

Mom Monday- Mother's Day Edition

Mark, my hubby, tried to convince Elizabeth that it was Mommy's special day.

She didn't buy it.

Mark- "It's Mommy's special day, tell Mommy Happy Mother's Day".

Elizabeth- "It's not Mommy's special day, it's MY special day".

Mark- "Your special day is Saturday, when we have your pirate party.  Today is Mommy's day".

Elizabeth- "NO.  It's MY day, it's not Mommy's day".

Mark- "At least tell Mommy you love her".

Elizabeth- "It's MY day, I love you".

Where was Mommy?

Blissfully staring at my NEW SEWING/EMBROIDERY machine.  Happy Mommy Elizabeth Day to me!

Happy Mother's Day to me!

Want to know what my wonderful husband and kids got me for Mother's day?

BEST MOTHER'S DAY GIFT, EVER!

Sisters

I LOVE having a sister.

Ghost walk in Bardstown, KY.

My sister is the best.  She's always there for me and can always make me laugh.  So imagine my happiness when I found out I was going to have another girl. 

Sometimes Elizabeth can be so serious!

Sisters!!

The cheesy smile.

I can already see them playing together and before I know it they'll be talking to each other more than me. But that's ok, because that's what sisters are for...that's what makes them so special.

Love these girls!

Belated Post- Easter Fun

I know, I know.  I'm a little late posting this, but if you had my work week you'd totally understand.  Anyway, here's our Easter!

So Friday we went to church for the Good Friday service.  It was wonderful.  So serene and inspiring.

Saturday I'm afraid we didn't really participate in any Easter fun, instead we went to an amusement park.  It was Elizabeth's first time.  She. Loved. It.

Elephants!!

Piggy Parade!

Sunday we did Easter baskets for Elizabeth, my sister, and Evie.  Yes, if you come to my house to visit you get treats or Easter baskets in this case, even if you are an adult.

Easter Bunny trail to the goods.

The basket!

Melissa's basket complete with Elizabeth art, Evie's basket, and Mark's candy carrot.

Checking out the goods.

Bunny baby!

You can't top this cool.

Bunny Baby 2!

After Easter baskets and breakfast, we headed to a lovely service a church followed by lunch at my parent's house.  We did family portraits there.

My parents

My parents, kids, sister, and myself.

Mark and I with the girls.

 Last was the egg hunt.  Elizabeth knew to find eggs, but she mainly followed my sister around and tried to steal her eggs.  Yeah, I have that child.  ha ha.

All in all a wonderful weekend.  The best part- He has Risen!   He has Risen, Indeed!!