...on the lost post

I took the time this afternoon to write a nice long post about the weekend and such.  Unfortunately, I walked away from my computer before publishing it and when I returned I accidentally closed the window.  I don't have the energy to rewrite it all so here are a couple of pictures.

My friend, Tasha, and I on our drive back to albuquerque from phoenix

 Our boys hanging out together during "man weekend"

The end

...on the hardest job I have ever had

Seriously-the hardest job ever.  You know what I'm talking about, being a mom.  As I type this my baby is lying in his bed screaming/going down for his morning nap.  When the screaming starts the guilt/doubt sets in..."should I let him cry?  How long should I let him cry?  Is he tired?  I know he has to be tired" and the list goes on and on and on and on and on.  There has been a lot of screaming and crying in our house this week.  We have had our first sickness, three teeth at once and, Jack started crawling-that's a lot of stuff going on in one week.  I think the hardest thing about being a mom is that you are constantly doubting yourself.  At least I do.  (He just went to sleep....yeessssss!-See, I knew he was tired!)  The crazy part is, we haven't even gotten into the actual "parenting" part of begin parents.  Jack is just now crossing over into the age that will require parenting, discipline, and guidance.  That's a whole new ball game!  I have found myself dong my best to cover my days in prayer and trust God to give me wisdom even in the small day-to-day decisions.  Admittedly, I do not always succeed.  It's funny because I have never really been one to worry or stress over much but it seems like a lot of that has changed in the last nine months.  I don't stress about Jack getting sick, or hurt, or anything like that.  I think what I stress about is whether or not the decisions I make are the right decisions for Jack.  Even as I type this I'm kind of laughing at myself because what I just wrote sounds so crazy!  Maybe I just need to take a deep breath, say a little prayer, and trust myself, trust the Lord, and just ENJOY this time that I have with Jackson.  I'm sure someday we will have other children and I won't' be able to have uninterrupted time with Jackson.  Phew, ok...I feel like that rant flowed much better in my head so sorry if that was confusing or kind of a "downer".

On the flip side......the BEST job I have ever had is the one that I have right now.  There have been so many times lately when I am driving in my car and I can't help but smile.  I am doing exactly what I have always wanted to do-what I was created for.  I have the best job ever.  I get to be a wife, mom, and homemaker.  More on that later...

Happy Friday!

...on thursday threads

This week's project is far from exciting but It was pretty thrifty.  Adam has been spending a lot of time in his (home) office chair lately and apparently that chair is extremely uncomfortable.  He had been using a pillow from our couch on the chair in an attempt to make it more comfortable.  I was going through my fabric the other week and realized that I have a lot of extra fabric from Jack's nursery bedding.  Since one of the fabrics is black with white cameras, I decided I would whip up a pillow for Adam's office chair!  Again, nothing fancy but I think it does the trick!

Also, I couldn't resist adding these photos.  I found these shoes in Jack's closet-they were a shower gift from a family friend.  Aren't they precious?

Little man is finally starting to feel better, I think. Oh, and he is crawling.  I'm not sure that he knows he can crawl yet but he can.  I guess it's time to start baby-proofing...yikes!

...on frustration

I did something really annoying a few weeks ago.  I washed our mail key and it disappeared into the abyss that is our washing machine.  As a result, I had to go down to our horrible post office and request a new mail key.  Easy enough, right?  They told me it would take a week to get the new key so I didn't bother putting our mail on hold.  Well here I am, two and a half weeks later and still no key.  I have called four times and was told that someone would return my call.  Want to know how many calls I have gotten back?  ZERO.  Oh, and I went down there on Friday and the lady took my name and number and told me she would call me back well guess what, she hasn't.  I called again this morning and the "lady who is in charge of they keys is off today".  Well, of course she is!  The best answer anyone has given me is that they will call me when it comes in.  I finally put my mail on hold because, let's face it, I need to get my mail!  The other thing I did this morning, that I have never, never done before, is file a complaint against the post office.  I feel kind of like a brat doing this because I'm really not one to make a stink about anything but honestly, I am so annoyed.  Thoughts?  Am I being unreasonable?

...on strep

Remember the other day when I posted that Jack was still sleeping?  Well, now I know why-poor little baby has strep!  He woke up with a fever on Friday but I figured it was because he is getting three teeth all at once.  The fever was about 101.5 so I assumed he was fine and it seemed to be kind of under control with medicine.  The next day the fever was down in the morning (about 100) but then it went up to 102.8 but down to 101 with medicine.  Adam and I went back and forth about whether or not we should take him in but the mommy in me said yes, better safe than sorry.  This is HUGE for me, I'm not really a doctor or medicine person which is something I kind of worried about as far as being a mom is concerned.  It's one thing for me to suck it up and not go to the doctor or take meds but it's quite another for my 9 month old little boy.  His body is so tiny!  Anyways, we went to the doctor and his ears looked clear, his chest sounded good, so they did a strep test and it was positive!  This is what it looks like in our house when our little guys is sick.

 It is 3:00 on Sunday and we are all still in our pi's.  Jack has napped for almost 6 hours today (total) and is very snuggly.  Despite being sick, he is still trying to crawl around and play-when he is awake.  He's one tough baby.  

...on a little encouragement

It's friday and I just thought I'd kick start the weekend by sharing this lovely song with you all.  I posted the lyrics underneath, as well.  I hope this encourages you as you head into your weekend!

I knew what I was getting into when I called you
I knew what I was getting into when I said your name, but I said it just the same
I knew what I was getting into, and I still want you
I knew what I was getting into

I knew what I was getting into, and I still chose you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still want you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still said Your name, I said it just the same
I knew what I was getting into

I am not shocked by your weakness
I am not shocked even by your sin
I am not shocked by your brokenness

I knew what I was getting into and I still want you
I knew what I was getting into and I still like you
I knew what I was getting into and I still chose you

Cause only I can see the end from the beginning
And only I can see where this is going
Only I can see the end from the beginning
And I see anew the seeds of love
And I see in you strength

When all you see is your failure
And all you feel is shame
I can see deeper than that
I know you better than, better than that

I knew what I was getting into when I called you
I knew what I was getting into when I said your name, I said it just the same
I knew what I was getting into, and I still want you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still like you

You're only at the beginning
You've only just begun
And I know where you are going
And all you can see is the moment that you're hurting
And all you can see is the moment that you're aching
But listen;

I knew what I was getting into when I called you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still want you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still like you
I knew what I was getting into, when I called you

Just don't give up
And don't give in
If you don't quit, you'll win, you'll win

Everything is in my hands
It's gonna be alright

Everything is in my hands
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be okay

Everything is in my hands
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be okay

And you don't have to pretend to be something or someone that you're not
Cause I know you better than that
Even better, even better than that

Listen my beloved;
I knew what I was getting into when I called you
I knew what I was getting into when I said your name, I said it just to say
I knew what I was getting into, and I still like you
I knew what I was getting into, and I still chose you

...on thursday threads

Allrighty then, I have quite a few things to share with you today on this very special thursday threads.  Some of it, I think, I have posted on here before and some of it is new.  This, my friends, is what I have been doing lately (when and if I have time) to unwind.  Here we go...

I am having a lot of fun sewing and really hope to get better and better at it.  Also, I have learned that I love fabric.  I love all of the different colors and designs.  I seriously could spend hundreds of dollars on fabric alone.  Fabric is fabulous.  So i'm going to keep on making my little kiddie clothes and, as I mentioned before, would love to open up an etsy shop!  Very exciting!  If anyone has any tips on that they would be greatly appreciated.  

On another note, I just got done making several dozen cake balls..but that's not the best part.  The best part is I still have at least a couple dozen more.  Thankfully, one of my friends came over to help out which was great!  

Also, Jack is asleeeeeeeeppppp!!!  Praise the Lord-for real!  He went down at 1 and it is now 2:15.  I am a happy lady!  

...on an oldie

I was just looking back through some old pictures and I found this one...

It brought a smile to my face!  So many good memories here.  

...on the big 28

While Jack was celebrating his 9 month birthday on Friday, I was also celebrating a birthday-the big 2-8!  Yikes.  I am now officially in my late twenties which is kind of sad but, what can you do?  I was in Phoenix on Friday and actually, my sister's husband was planning a surprise party/happy hour for her 30th birthday on Friday evening.  I think she was pretty surprised and I know she had a great time!  I invited Tiffany (who now lives in Phoenix, yay!) to come and hang out, as well!  T and I sat at the end of the table all night (with Jack) just chatting and catching up.  When he got fussy around 8, T and I went back to the house and hung out some more.  Not a bad way to spend a birthday.  Thanks, T, for hanging out with me and helping me ring in a new year!  

On Saturday, Jack and I hit the road and headed back to good ol' Albuquerque.  Adam had organized a low key birthday celebration for me on Saturday evening.  About a week ago Adam told me that he planned on building me a 28" tall cake for my 28th birthday.  I was super excited because, as we all know, I love cake!  Plus, 28" is pretty tall!  I got in around 5:00 and Adam and some of our friends were just starting to assemble the cake.  Here are some photos of the cake's progression...

This was truly a team effort.  In fact, Adam didn't bake one single cake.  Our fantastic friends (thanks guys!) were busy baking over the weekend so that Adam could pull off this incredible cake.  It was truly a team effort and I'm so thankful to everyone for pitching in!  I loved it!  Needless to say, I will be making a lot of cake balls this week.

I had a great birthday and am so thankful to everyone who helped me celebrate!

Oh, I almost forgot-my birthday burpees.  I did 'em, all 28.  

...on nine months

Already?  Our photo shoot this morning didn't go all too well.  There were several pictures where Jack had his eyes half open or some kind of crazy face.  We are still out of town and Jack (still) is not taking great naps so he is extremely tired.  He's so tired that it is 7:30 here and I just put him down for a nap.  Here is my spunky little 9 month old.

Happy nine months, baby boy!  You are a precious little booger and you are so very loved!

...on lobster

I came down to phoenix a couple of days ago to be with my sister as she celebrates her 30th birthday!  Because she is an adult, she had to work on her birthday so we decided to make a special dinner from the Julia Child cook book in the evening.  We had done this once before and, while the meal turned out great, we did not eat until about 9:00 or 9:30 at night.  Apparently Julia spent ALL day in the kitchen, everyday, in order to have dinner ready by 5:00 or 6:00.  The recipe we selected was Lobster Thermidor-ambitious, yes.  AND, we wanted to go all the way-no lobster tails for us-we purchased three live lobsters.  If you have seen the movie Julie and Julia you will remember the scene where Julie is making the same recipe and is dreading having to kill the lobsters.  Her reaction to throwing them in the pot was nothing compared to the scene that Annie and I had going on last night.  Here's some pictures and then I'll explain...

Nope, your are not seeing things, that is a live lobster on the floor.  The bottom dropped out of the box and the lobster crashed onto the floor.  You can imagine the screams that were coming from the house.  I think that Jack and the bulldogs were totally confused as to what was going on.  

Thankfully, my brave, 30 year old sister, wrangled it into the pot.  (I know this pictures is blurry but I had to put it in)  I was actually quite proud of her!  She got all three of the the lobsters into the pot on her own.  I could not bring myself to do it.  

This is lobster #1 going into the water

Now this guy was a booger to get into the pot!  It probably took us at least 15 minutes to get him off the stove and into the water.  I did try to help with this one but he was a fighter!  He would not go in and I'm pretty sure at one point her was using his claws to grab onto the grates on the stove.  He must have known what was coming.  

We finally got the lobsters in the pot and followed the remainder of the recipe.  About three hours later we sat down to eat.  And about 2 1/2 hours in we gave up on trying to use the lobster shells as serving dishes as is recommended in the cook book.  All that work and we ended up with this.

Don't get me wrong, it was very tasty and we had a lot of fun doing it, but I would think twice before trying this recipe again.  

Happy Birthday Annie!  My present to you next year is that you don't have to kill and make your own dinner for 3 hours after working all day!  Love you!

...on thursday threads

Lately, I have been wanting to get a new zipper pouch for my purse.  I like to keep all of my lipsticks/gloss in one so that they are easy to find (in my bag) when it's time to reapply.  I got to thinking, "Hey, I can totally make one!"  And so I did!  I started off looking up some tutorials online.  Let me just say, tutorials are a beginning sewer's best friend.  They have pictures, detailed descriptions, and best of all-they are free!!  I flip flopped between two and you can check them out here and here.  Here is my finished product.

It is not without flaws, believe me.  Some are extremely obvious but I was pretty proud considering it was my first time and all.  It is the same fabric as my pin cushion from last week but I just love that fabric!  I believe it is amy butler..and the lining is actually fabric leftover from Jack's bedding.  Fun and simple project!  Check out the tutorials above and try one for yourself!

...on results

Ok people, today is the day.  I can not believe that I am about to do this but I did promise.  Here are my before and after pictures from my 30 day challenge.  Ready??  

I'm still kind of holding my breath and I can't really believe that I just did that.  And by "that" I don't men the 30 days, I mean posting these pictures.  Well, hopefully you can tell that all the before pictures are on the left and the after pictures are on the right.  So, as you can see...there is not a HUGE difference in my shape or anything but I have really noticed a difference in the way that my abdominal area looks.  I should add in that I was also doing crossfit three times a week so that has definitely helped to build muscle.  As I said before, my goal wasn't really for weight loss but I'll give you my stats anyways for those of you who are wondering what my weight did during this challenge.  I feel like I need to preface this by saying that my weight really and truly fluctuates by at least 5 lbs depending on the day.  I'm not just saying that because I'm a girl and I feel like I need to say, "oh, my weight fluctuates, tee he!"  It really does.  Also, my starting weight was from the night that I started not the morning and is therefore probably on the heavy end of what my weight would have been from the beginning.  My ending weight I took this morning (which was different and one lb heavier than yesterday morning at the same time).  See, I fluctuate.  So at the beginning I weighed in at 133 and this morning I weighed 123.8.  Given all the above information, you can take that weight difference as you wish.  There you have it!  I really encourage anyone out there who is looking to find a healthier lifestyle to do some kind of 30 day challenge.  It's only 30 days, there is NEVER a good time to do it but trust me, it will be worth it in the end!