Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Having a Bad Mommy Day?

This really spoke to me today.  I've ended way too many days with tears and regret. 

Read on for some Mommy encouragement...



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

No, I Want Daddy!

"No, I want Daddy!"

I hear this phrase quite often in my house. It's like hearing "You're not good enough and you don't give me what I can get from Daddy." My usual response in my head or let's be honest, it's usually said under my breath (insert thick sarcasm) "That's ok...all I did was give you life and take care of you every day of your life!"

Isn't that like our relationship with God? How often do I tell Him "You aren't good enough. I want this or that. Those things fulfill me more than you do."

And He's up there thinking "I gave you life. I take care of you every day. Why isn't that enough?"


Thursday, October 14, 2010

It's Bible Study Time!

I go to a Women's Bible Study every Wednesday at my church.  Anna gets to play with her friends in the sunday school rooms (by the way...all children are Anna's friends...whether she knows them or not...she's an extrovert...extreme extrovert).

I went to get her after the study was over and the woman watching them told me something like this...

Anna was so cute.  She gathered all the kids together saying "It's Bible study time!"  She had them all sit in chairs in a semi circle and then told them "Jesus is coming!  Jesus is coming!  Jesus is coming on my birthday!"

Just in case we have a little prophet on our hands....her birthday is March 11th ;-)

Anna and her BFF's

Sisters on a Walk


Anna took Ellie on a walk while Steve and I were working in the front yard :-)

Yes, I was working in the yard.  Here's proof...



Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Awesome Baby Halloween Costumes

If you still need ideas of how to dress your kiddos up for Halloween, then check out this slideshow that The Bump came up with.  They have some great ideas ;-)  My favorite is #6.  Too bad I don't have a little boy!



My girls are actually going to be Minnie Mouse (costume purchased from Ebay at a good price) and a princess fairy (costume purchased at a garage sale at a very good price).  Now I just need to buy some Minnie ears and make a ginormous cute bow for Ellie that is princess worthy :-)

What are your kids going to be?

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

A friend of ours let us borrow his Camaro for our date night a couple weeks ago.

All dressed up for our date!



This was my view from the front seat :-)  I kept asking Steve to stop and get me some phonebooks to sit on :-)

Friday, October 1, 2010

My Favorite Time of Year

This is what our trees look like in the Fall :-)


This is my favorite time of year in Orlando.  The temps are amazing, I get to pull out my Fall decorations, there are a ton of garage sales, and there are lots of free family events around town.

I've been called a person "in-the-know."  I'll tell you my secret...I do lots of searches online to try to find these events and I keep my ears open and take mental notes if I hear of an event someone liked.

Here's a little rundown of some Fall events and community garage sales going on in October in Central Florida.  (If you aren't in Orlando...then try to find some fun free events in your area.)

Let's get out and enjoy why we all love Orlando in the Fall!  Leave me a comment if you know of other events to add to the list!

Saturday Oct 2nd

Friday Oct 8th
Saturday Oct 9th
Sunday Oct 10th
Saturday Oct 23rd
Sunday Oct 24th
Saturday Oct 30th
Sunday Oct 31st
  • CrossPointe Trunk or Treat - My church is hosting a Trunk or Treat on Halloween on our new property. (we share the building with Vision 360 across the street from Campus Crusade for Christ Headquarters) - http://www.xpointe.com/ 

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Interesting Lawn Ornaments

Lawn ornaments I've seen around town...


I'm guessing this is in place of a watchdog.


In case you can't see, this is a "frog" with it's "tongue" extended
trying to eat a "bug" hanging in the tree.  Ya, you can't make this stuff up.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I'm 30!

Yesterday was my 30th birthday!
So long twenties...you were a fun decade.

Someone recently asked me how I felt about turning 30.
My response - "It feels like it's about time."

I spent a lot of my birthday caring for a sick and miserable 5 month old :-(
And that is what life is like as a 30 year old.
I'm the same...just with a few added responsibilities ;-)



Sunday, September 19, 2010

Anna's First Bible Verse


"Nothing can separate us from God's love." Rom 8:39 (simplified)

Anna just recently moved up to the 2 1/2 - 4 year old class at church.  Each month they get a new Bible verse to memorize.  This is her first one since moving up to her new class.  She's pretty excited about it :-)

Friday, September 17, 2010

No, I'm not a Rock Star

I've wanted to do it since high school and finally took the plunge.  I'm turning 30 on Tuesday.  What better way to say "I'm still young and fun" than with hot pink hair!


Before
After




Thursday, September 16, 2010

Reverse Psychology

...is AWESOME and my newest weapon as a mom.  I had no idea how well it would work on my 2 1/2 year old.  I was ridiculously blatant too!


(Actual conversation from the other day)
Mommy - What flavor yogurt do you want, Anna?  (I wanted Anna to eat a peach yogurt this morning, because she always asks for strawberry and I didn't want the peach to go to waste)
Anna - strawberry banana
Mommy - How about peach?
Anna - No, I can't like peach....strawberry banana
Mommy - Oh, well you can't have peach anyways.
Anna - (something to the effect of "what?")
Mommy - You aren't allowed to have peach.
Anna - I want peach. (said in an almost whiny tone)
Mommy - No, you can't have it.
Anna - I want peach, please.
Mommy - Ok, you can have peach. (smile)


Later in the day...
(Anna has two doll strollers and I folded one up and put it in the corner, because she really only needs it out when she has a friend over)

Anna - I want that one. (pointing to the one folded up in the corner)
Mommy - No, you don't need that one.  Go play with that one over there. (trying to redirect)
Anna - No, I want THAT one.
Mommy - You're not allowed to play with that one over there. (pointing to the one I want her to play with)
Anna - (immediately responds) I want to play with that one. (pointing to the one I want her to play with)
Mommy - No, you're not allowed.
Anna - Please, Mommy.  I want to play with that one. (again pointing to the one I want her to play with)
Mommy - Ok, you can play with it.
Anna - Thank you! (happily runs over to play with the stroller)


Can you guess how I got her to stand here for this picture??


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Twins - 2 Years Apart

To say my girls look similar is an understatement.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop and look and act different :-)  You can see more examples HERE.






Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Monday, September 13, 2010

A Must Read

What a beautiful story.  I let my bowl of ice cream melt last night, because I couldn't imagine eating it and taking in this experience at the same time.  Make sure you have tissues handy...

Nella's Birth Story

And here's an update.



Sunday, September 12, 2010

I Heart Garage Saling

I wish I could go garage saling every day of the week.  Recently when I was in OH I went to a community garage sale on a Friday night.  I was in heaven!  I can't think of anything better to do on a Friday night!

Luckily, my husband enjoys garage saling too!  (I know...he's amazing.)  So the last couple Saturday mornings we've headed out after the kids wake up.  (It's not like we're missing out on sleeping in - sad face)

I've been using the iGarage Sale App on my phone and it is super fun!  (I have the Lite FREE version right now, but will probably splurge and get the full version soon) It's like Geocaching and Garage Saling all in one...which if you haven't Geocached before - you should!  It's like a treasure hunt...and who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?!

Mommy and Anna Garage Saling - she did NOT get to take that bear home

I wish I had taken a picture of everything we got on Saturday :-(  I'll have to do that next time.  Here's the list:

1 shirt for Mommy - .50
2 black 8x10 picture frames - $2
1 plastic but looks like glass pitcher - $1
1 socket extender (Steve's purchase) - .25
1 electric edger (needs blade and new front wheel) - FREE
1 car buffer - FREE
1 small group bible study book on James - FREE
3 decks of playing cards - FREE
1 cork board (that I can recover at some point and make cute) - FREE

Grand Total - $3.75 and hours of family entertainment

Anna now knows how to point garage sales out to us...it's cute :-)  Garage saling for Anna means she gets to play with other people's toys and she gets to eat lots of snacks in the car = a very fun activity for our 2 year old.

BTW - spellcheck does not like the word "saling."  What's up with that, spellcheck?

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Having the House to Yourself

What I do when I have the house to myself:

sit and enjoy the silence for as long as I want
use the bathroom without an audience
eat a snack without having to share
make a Frappe (in my amazing Frappe Maker) without waking the kids up from a deep sleep
watch something on tv that is NOT Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
play on my iPhone without being asked to play with Talking Tom
walk into the other room without a shadow
walk into the other room without being asked "Where you going, Mommy?"
holding an object without being asked "what's that?" whether it's easily identifiable or not
going 5 minutes without having to clean up spit up
going 10 minutes without having to change my clothes because of spit up
did I mention sit and enjoy the silence?
relax and let someone else stress over the life of my child for a few minutes
miss these guys for about 2 seconds and then sit and enjoy the silence again






















What would you add to the list?

Friday, September 3, 2010

Potty Training is Torture

I wanted to say something about potty training being like a living Hell, but thought that was a little too strong.  So let's just say "Potty training is something I WOULD wish on my worst enemy...because it sucks!"

We have been "potty training" for over 2 1/2 months with Anna.  She is "trained" but is the most stubborn little thing that does NOT like being told what to do.  Unfortunately, she got those wonderful characteristics from me :-) 

I will not bore you (more like torture you) with all the details.  Let's just say that I am DUN with a capital D-U-N.  The child has been wearing diapers off and on for the last several days...and we've found out that pretty much the only thing she won't pee in is...diapers! When will the torture end?!  Poor Ellie will be going to kindergarten in diapers, unless someone volunteers to potty train her.  Because I am not doing this again.  And you think I'm kidding :-)

How can this cute little thing evoke such strong horrible emotions from me?!

Found this online tonight and thought I'd share.  I'm thinking it is totally worth it!  Now who wants to fund it for us?!

http://pottytrainingservices.com/  - "Let us take a load off your mind"

Friday, August 27, 2010

Obsessed


Notice what # puzzle I am on.  Ya...little obsessed.  It's called Unblock Me Free and it has a bazillion levels, which is awesome for a free game on the iPhone.  And I just noticed that I got caught :-)  This pic also captured the time that I was playing the game.  Yes, I am a night owl.  If I want to play a game on my iPhone at 2:06am then that's my perogitive! :-)

What are your favorite free or cheap games on the iPhone??  I need some new obsessions!

And on a non-related note...I finished another nametag board for the children's ministry at church.  This one is for the flower room where all the babies will be.  (Someone else painted the fun flower on for me)


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Our New Church Home

Our church (CrossPointe Church Orlando) has just moved into a new building!  We are so excited that God has blessed our church with an actual building.  We've been meeting in a YMCA gym for the last 7+ years. 

Here is our new building!

We're having our first service in the new building this Sunday at 9:30am and 11am.  Come join us!

I've been on the Creative Team that is helping plan what the children's wing will look like.  A couple weekends ago the painting started and it looks amazing!  The concept is God is Bigger.  Each room depicts something that is "big" to the children in that class, but God is Bigger.  Here's a sneak peek:






I have been working on making nametag boards that will sit outside each classroom and hold all the kid's nametags on them.  They are decorated/designed to coordinate with the theme of each room.  Here's two that I have done so far.

for the Mountain Room

for the Jungle Room





Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Bites


Monday was Hubby's birthday!  He had worship team practice that night (he plays bass at our church) so we surprised him and showed up at his practice!  I brought yummy treats for everyone.  Kinda like when you were little and your mom brought cupcakes in to your class on your birthday :-)

The treats were a big hit!  I made Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Bites.  I got the recipe on my allrecipes.com App.  I modified it a little by using 2 cups of Graham cracker crumbs mixed with a stick of butter for the crust.  And then I topped them with some caramel ice cream topping and pecans.  It was pretty easy and super yummy!  Definitely reccomend this recipe if you're looking for something cute and sweet.



Did you know I love circles?

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Cheryl at 12

I found this "story" at my parent's house this week.  I didn't remember being such an amazing writer at 12 years old. :-)  Enjoy!


Friday, August 20, 2010

Nesting Themed Baby Shower

My friend Liz and I hosted a baby shower for our friend Andi.  We had such a fun time planning this shower and coming up with cute creative ideas to go with the Nesting theme Liz chose.

Here are some pics of what we came up with.


Andi's Nesting Shower
I made the sign for the front door.  I did not make the wreath ;-)  The sign isn't centered...that bothers me.


close-up of the sign

close up of our bird's nest

yummy chocolate bird's nests -made by Liz
Favor Tags -made by me


cake to match my sign -made by Liz


the cutest little birdy cupcakes ever!  -made by Liz

Birdy Brownies - I made them with a bird cookie cutter


The Gift Table (before most of the gifts arrived)
- I painted the two little birdhouses
close-up of the birdhouses-
the one on the right was painted to match Eden's bedding,
the one on the left was a prize for a game we played
(that Andi won anyways :-))





Thanks for having a baby Andi so I had a reason to be creative!!  Can't wait to meet Eden!