Three Thought Thursday: Week 52!

1. Week fifty-two! Yea! Which means we made it to the end of the year. Wasn't the end of 2009 just a month or so ago!?! Sure seems like it to me. 2010 has just flown by. And what a fun, challenging, transitional year. Loved it. And loved Christmas too. We just returned from our trip to Houston on Tuesday and are still busy recovering. Mounds of laundry, un-packing all the "stuff" we didn't know we'd be coming home with, oh, and auditing our existing "stuff" to see what can go to other little boys and girls in order to make room for the new "stuff." That little procedure always has to take place while the boys are sleeping or it would be endless emotional meltdown. Our entire family was immensely blessed this Christmas season and loved getting to spend so much time with the huge Hefferly clan. We came home with lots of new books, cool new toys and movies, and a few new maternity items my mom picked up for my first summertime pregnancy. (my existing stuff is all winter wear!) Of course all the memories we made are just as valuable, if not more so. And man, it was so nice to have two boys at Pinkie and Pa's house instead of two babies/toddlers. I shutter to remember the past few visits when the boys required constant supervision or something would be broken, misplaced, eaten, ruined, etc. They're both finally to the age where they don't require constant supervision. Heck, they can both even man the staircase, up and down, on their own. And even better, they were so eager to go do things with their uncles like play at the park or pull out all the old action figures and not demand that mom be a part of the action at all times. Certainly gave me a much needed break! Guess I better enjoy it. Back to baby mode by next Christmas season. Yes, 2011 is certain to bring a lot of new changes to the Asmussen Family. Hey, we're the Asmussens! We're always changing or going through something, right? A new baby, a "baby" turning into a big brother, a new car ('cause the Camry ain't gonna cut it with three), and a new job. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are going through lots of changes, right now, the biggest being that Mark is now pursuing a new job. It's a long story but a good decision for Mark and our family, and no worries, nothing bad went on...just need to find the right fit for all parties included. Guaranteed to be many blessings in the new year to come!

2. So like I said, we just returned from The Woodlands on Tuesday. And man, was that trek home a long one! On the way there, we broke the trip into two days by stopping in Austin making it really not that bad of a trip. But the way home was a nine-and-a-half hour, hair pulling out, slamming my head against the dashboard disaster. Not even kidding when I say that we had stopped five times for Kolbe to pee before we even got to the outskirts of Dallas. He's a classic case of "once you break the seal..." I'm convinced that the element that made it so "enjoyable" was the fact that the boys never managed to fall asleep at the same time. Rudy fell asleep for about forty-five minutes in the morning; Kolbe fell asleep for about an hour and half during normal nap time (while Rudy wailed and pulled on the straps of his car seat, begging me to take him out); Kolbe woke up just in time for Rudy to wear himself out and sleep another hour or so. You wouldn't think this would be that big of a deal, but with one of them awake at all times, it gave Mark and me absolutely not reprieve from one or the other constantly begging for something. Oh yeah, and it rained for a chunk of the trip too. Good times. Other trips we've made have been better. And heck, others have even been longer. But sometimes they just don't run as smoothly as you'd hope for. Luckily when I take the two boys back in February for Kolbe's Shriners check-up, it will be on a plane.

3. As I said, we endured a solid nine-and-a-half hours of noise from the boys. And both of them have entered new stages of communication that added to the mayhem. But I'll drop the car ride issue and try my best to focus on their newly acquired skills. Kolbe really didn't start talking much until he turned two, so we weren't really worried when Rudy still wasn't saying much. Sure enough, at twenty-two-months, he's all of a sudden taken off with his talking. Previously he just made lots of grunting and groaning sounds...as if he truly had something to say but just didn't know how to open his mouth and get the words out. But now he's entered a phase of constant labelling. Everything he sees that draws his interest gets named.
"Cause!" (Clause...for Santa Clause)
"Bus!"
"Ocks!" (Socks)
"Up!" (cup...when he wants a drink)
He's also develop a repertoire of commands including:
"Go. Go." (he says this whenever we're out somewhere and he's ready to go home.)
"No, no, buh!" (no, no, brother....I'm sure you can figure that one out. Sure beats his previous method which was simply attempting to bite Kolbe.)
"Poo. Poo." (yes, technically a noun, but he uses it as a command. As in "I've just gone poo, now change me, lady!" Lord willing, this will turn into him telling me he needs to go on the potty soon.)

Cute little fella is growing up. Can't believe he'll be two in just six weeks! Kolbe's new phase is the question phase, loathed by parents world-wide. You know...where everything is a question. Really, I don't mind when it's something he truly wants to know because he's learning. Questions like:
"Why is urs vein blue?"
"Where does that squirrel live?"
"Is this way yeft (left) or is that way yeft?"
"Is this shoe on the right foot?"
The ones that get me are the ones I can't really answer or that he can't seem to understand the answer to. Here's a few scenarios:
(In the car, about four hours into our car trip...)
Kolbe: Mama, where's Pinkie and Pa's house?
Me: Oh, about four hours back in the other direction.
Kolbe: What direction?
Me: Behind us. We've driving this way now, but Pinkie and Pa's house is the other way.
(Ten minutes later...)
Kolbe: Mama, where's Pinkie and Pa's house?
(This continued for the duration of the trip. Mark even attempted to flip the script on him and ask him where Pinkie and Pa's house was...he simply decided to ask me to answer Dada for him.)

(While our whole family is driving to a party, trying to find the house that it's at...)
Me: (to Mark) I think you'll probably take a right up at this corner.
Kolbe: (from the back...eavesdropping) Mama, what's at that corner?
Me: Nothing. I was just telling Dada he should turn there.
Kolbe: What's there?
Me: There's nothing there. Just a stop sign and some grass.
Kolbe: Why turn at that corner? To go by the grass?
Me: No, just  because I think their house is this way.
Kolbe: Is it on the corner?
(and on and on.....and on.)

Love both of these boys so much. Love being their mom. Love getting to stay home and take care of them. Love not missing any of these endless, often mind-numbing but often oh-so-cute questions. Love that somehow God thought I would be good for them. They're just growing and changing. Becoming real people. Love that I get to be a part of it. This year and hopefully for many more to come.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 51

1. First and foremost, Merry Christmas to you and yours! I hope your holiday week has been filled with lots of smiles, lots of family, lots of good food, and lots of laughter. Just like ours! We finally made it down to The Woodlands yesterday and have been enjoying lots of fun and relaxation ever since. The relaxation parts are usually induced by food comas, but hey, prior to this week, I hadn't gained any weight at all with this pregnancy. Quasi-dreading what the scale is going to say when I return to Lubbock. But then again, I'm nearing the end of my first trimester so it's just about to get to the time where a pound or two won't be such a bad thing. Bring on the chocolate dipped, peanut butter lined Ritz crackers! The boys sure are loving Christmas, just as I dreamed they would in my mind. Man, it is so much fun to see Christmas through their eyes! All the excitement at the massive decorations they see out and about the town, the mere anticipation of getting to open the endless presents under Pinkie and Pa's tree....not to mention the fact that both Kolbe and Rudy are totally aware of "Santa Claus" this year. Kolbe gets the whole idea. Rudy is just well aware of who the character is. Meaning everywhere we go that he sees a picture of Santa he excitedly exclaims "Cause! Cause!" So precious! Another thing that just continues to make my heart smile is how the boys beam with pride and wide-spread smiles each night at dinner when we sing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." And are eager to go to mass each week to see them light a new candle on the wreath, knowing they'll get to light theirs that night too. They love it. And I love that they love it. I really has made my holidays. I hope there's been something special, whether small or big, that has made your holidays as well.

2. I'm convinced my three-year-old has a sleeping disorder. For real. There's got to be something not right! In fact, I'll be honest. Though I won't "publish" this till the morning, I'm admittedly writing it at 10:30pm Wednesday evening because I don't know what's going on the morning but with something like fourteen people staying at my parents' house, I'm not so sure I'll have time to write my post. Anyway, I'm sitting here typing away while said three-year-old flails around on the bed, refusing to sleep. I know. I know. Part of it is all the excitement of being at Pinkie and Pa's house. Part of it is the wonder of knowing that everyone all the cool aunts and uncles are in the other room and he just has to know what's going on. But really, part of it has got to be some weird sleep thing because really, this goes on at home every night too! I'm really at my boiling point with the whole thing. You know, the point where the bottle of Benadryl is tightly clenched in my fist with my rosary in the other as I try to convince God to help me make a good decision not to medicate my child merely for the purpose of sleep. (man, he slept well when his allergies were completely out of whack and it was the only we could use to get his sneezing to stop!) The scenario is simple: we do our best to tucker him out, making him as active as possible, and then put him in bed at appropriate times. You know, a nap and bed time. We do the same for his little brother. Only his little brother is a professional sleeper. Sure, he may take five or ten minutes to nod off into peaceful dreams, but he goes to sleep and sleeps well every nap and every bedtime. Not Kolbe. The fights he puts up last usually from forty-five minutes to two and half hours. Not even kidding. Like I said, I'm writing this post at 10:30pm while I wait for him to fall asleep. Nap time isn't nearly as bad as bed time. Usually I put Rudy down for his nap first and then spend some quality one-on-one time with Kolbe, going over letters, reading books, or playing a board game. That's enough to make him drowsy and he often falls asleep quickly. (only when at home, though) Bed time is a whole different ball of wax. It's endless getting out of bed, making loud noises in his bed, basically anything but sleep. We recently tried shortening his nap and have thus far found it to only make things worse. He sleeps less making him horribly grumpy in the afternoon which usually results in at least one or more melt down. Then he proceeds to dwell on the fact that he knows he's tired and forces himself to stay up late, even though his nap was short and he's completely exhausted. I just don't get it. He has the sleep pattern of a college freshman at the age of three. And yes, I know people write books on stuff like this. And I've read them. And I suppose I'm just going to have to keep trying out all the endless tactics that the obviously more intelligent parents than me suggest. Bottom line is: I'm tired. I want to sleep. Even if I lay with him, he doesn't sleep. Must get child to sleep so I can sleep. The end.

3. I can't believe that this is episode fifty-one. As in next week is the last week! I really can't believe it! I created a new year's resolution and actually stuck to it. Didn't miss a single Thursday. Man, time flies. And for my holiday reading, I really am going to go back through all the weeks of this past year and re-read some of the things I've written. I'm fully expecting to laugh at some of my ridiculousness, cry at some of the long gone emotional moments, smile at some of the bits and pieces that may not be the same now as is months gone by, and appreciate all that has happened in my life over the past fifty-two weeks. I'm not sure what I'll do next. I haven't decided just yet. Continue Three Thought Thursday? Change it up and try something different? Give it a rest all together? I doubt I'll choose the last option, because man, if anything this has been a huge outlet for my sometimes completely closed off world that I live in. Sometimes I wonder, if not for my weekly post, did I really say anything to any adults other than my husband this week? You know, other than "What aisle are the almonds on?" Who knows. Maybe Three Thought Thursday Volume Two. Or maybe something new. I've got a week or so to decide!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 50

1. We're taking off on the long trek to Houston on Monday so this week has essentially been crunch time for all things Christmas. I'm just about done with shopping...just one little outstanding item that I'll probably pick up in Houston considering we won't celebrate Christmas with the recipient until after we get back to Lubbock. But truthfully, I haven't wrapped a single thing. Lord willing, that will all go down this weekend. Hopefully with the assistance of my dear husband, considering Friday is his last day of work for a while. 'Cause really, instead of wrapping, I've been busy baking all week. Primarily for Mark's co-workers. Believe me-- trying to come up with a suitable gift for people who have everything is difficult! You want it to be heartfelt but if definitely can't break the bank! So I did come up with a few "gift gifts" but also decided on lots of home-baked goods. Who doesn't love that at Christmas!?! As long as I get the royal icing done on the sugar cookies today and everything packaged up tonight, everything should be ready to head to work with Mark tomorrow!

2. The balance of "things" have been kind of tumultuous in the Asmussen family lately. Can't really expound on things now but we definitely could use as many prayers as possible. Don't worry...we're all safe and healthy...including Baby Three. And God has always, always, always provided for us, taken care of us, and led us in the right direction when needed, time after time in the crazy history of our little family. So we have faith that now will be no exception. Really. No worries! Hopefully by next week I'll be able to explain a little better.

3. Tomorrow marks the eleventh anniversary of the day I was diagnosed with active lupus.

Eleven years.

Kind of getting to the point where I don't remember what it's like to not have it. And there's so much I hate about it. I hate that I've been on steroids for eleven years. I hate that I can't do lists and lists of the physical things I was capable of as a child. I hate that I see someone do a cartwheel and feel jealous. I hate that my boys find my arm braces around the house and wear them around to "be like Mama." I hate that some mornings Kolbe will ask, "Do you feel bad today, Mama?" I hate that they'll always know me as sick in some way or another. I hate feeling unstoppable in my mind and so limited physically. And really, I hate the pain. I can't even describe it but it happens so often that I don't know any different. And I'll probably spend the rest of my life feeling this way.

But I have to tell you--I really don't hate everything about having lupus. I don't. I think of all the things in my life that would be different if I didn't have it. What would I be doing? Where would I be? Really. Where? Because I was diagnosed mid-way through my senior year of high school and at the time I had equal scholarships to Tech, Auburn, and Alabama. My parents were moving back to Texas and all my extended family was in Lubbock. So my sickness kind of made the choice for me. Lord knows I would have never found Mark in Alabama. And while I have something that no one would want, I also have many things that tons of people yearn for. So many things. Everything happens for a reason. And most of all, I have so much of my relationship with God to thank lupus for. I need him so much. Going through all I have experienced would have been... and will continue to be impossible without God.

So it's a trade off. Some days I'm bitter...and I guess it gets worse around the ol' anniversary...but on most days, I wouldn't completely give it away if I had the option. Ironically, as "off balanced" as it makes me feel, it really keeps me balanced. God knows what he's doing. Now and always. And I'll continue to trust him with my health--hoping for the best and knowing that anything is possible.

Sorry for all the heaviness this week! Next week will be much happier! Promise!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 49

1. Monday was the feast day of St. Nicholas. When I was a child, we had a tradition of putting our shoes outside our bedroom doors in hopes that St. Nick would leave us our favorite candy. And not a lump of coal, of course. The whole shoe thing was very European of us, but we did live in Germany when I was a little girl. So it was fitting at the time. And it's a tradition I still want to carry on with our family. Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. But it's fun to celebrate the actual feast day of St. Nicholas too. So I set out with lofty goals in my mind of having the boys set their shoes out beside their door and explaining the tradition along with more about who Saint Nicholas was, coloring pictures, etc.

That was until I decided to pick up the stomach bug and couldn't peel myself away from the toilet, the couch, or a bed for the entire night and day. So none of what I planned happened. Instead, the boys were really, really good for me, pulled out every toy and book in the entire house, tried not to get in any squabbles and were very understanding of the fact that Mama was sick. I spent the whole day thanking God that I don't get morning sickness. There's nothing worse than throwing up! I just can't take it! When Mark gets sick, he does his business and feels better right after. Not me. I feel better for like three minutes and then it starts building up again. Ugh. Glad it's just a twenty-four hour bug!

2. It's official. I absolutely hate doing laundry in the winter. It's so demoralizing! In the summer time, when clothes were half the size of what they are in the winter, I was able to get all of our laundry done in one day. Mine, Mark's, Kolbe's, and Rudy's. Now, no matter how hard I try, it always over-flows into a second day. Or third. 'Cause see, on day one, I'm energetic and bound and determined to get it all done. When the morning of day two rolls around, I'm offended that it didn't happen and usually turn a blind eye to the piles and piles on our couch. By the afternoon I decided I better go ahead and finish it off but by then I've underestimated how much was left and realize that finishing on day two isn't going to happen either. By day three I'm just annoyed that when I peer into the closet, the hamper is already nearly full again. It never ends! Really, I don't think I would hate it as much if there was somewhere to process and store it all. I end up folding it on our couch, the same way my mother always did, and building stacks along the top edge of the couch. I suppose I could put each stack away after folding each load, but can you imagine how much time that would add to the whole process!?! In an ideal world, laundry rooms would all come with processing centers where the folding and stacking could go down without being in the way. And washing machines would be big enough to hold a whole week's worth of a family's dirty clothes. I'm just saying.

3. Mark's office Christmas party was last night at a steakhouse here in Lubbock called Las Brisas. We're not used to having a date night in the middle of the week. (ok, really, we're not used to having a date night ever...) But I wasn't going to pass on a chance to get a steak from there. A free steak. Have I ever mentioned that steak is my favorite meal? Really, there's nothing better in my books than a well-cooked steak, caesar salad, a baked potato, rolls, and a good margarita. I know. I sound like a man. Other than the margarita part. This restaurant was a little more up-scale so the rolls and baked potato were replaced with steamed asparagus, some type of cheese and garlic mashed potato dish and a lobster tail. But man, the steak was fabulous. I resisted the urge to ask for ketchup, my usual topping of choice for steak. Yes, steak. And I passed on the margarita in exchange for a virgin strawberry daiquiri. Really classy, I know. But it was fun to get out in middle of the week with Mark. Sometimes with his high-stress job it seems like it's hard for us to connect during the week. This was a nice little chance to do that. Not to mention that I got to meet lots of his co-workers. The boys stayed with Mark's mom and had a blast as usual. Now if I could just figure out a way to sneak a visit to that restaurant into our budget before it's free again next Christmas....

WIWW: Early Maternity Clothing Rut

I'm really not sure how she does it. Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy, that is. When she's not busy running her own home-based, online store, posting to her blog, or homeschooling her three adorable kids, she manages to keep up with what she wears basically every single day. In an effort to keep herself out of the rut of comfy pants and a sweatshirt for daily attire. She does a great job of explaining her purpose behind this project in her post this week.

Believe me as a stay-at-home mom, it would be more than easy to go with the sweats ensemble on a daily basis. In fact, it's a selection I've been going with a lot lately. Partially because it's cold and fleece pants and a cropped sweatshirt are warm. And partially because the first trimester of pregnancy has got to be the sleepiest time ever. All. day. long. Zombie-style. Even sleepier than the first months of having a newborn baby at home! At least then you have all those new mommy hormones going. Right now it's the new-baby-growing hormones and they're begging me to go back to bed.

I've participated in Lindsey's weekly What I Wore Wednesday post once before and realized just how crazy organized she and all the participants must be for being able to keep up with their photos each week. Heck, I can hardly remember if I've put on deodorant yet or not each morning! But I decided I'd give it another shot to encourage myself to get out of my early maternity clothing rut after my youngest brother stopped by for a visit and asked me if I had started wearing maternity clothes yet. Uh, no, punk! I haven't gained any weight! I suppose he couldn't tell under the sweats.

Anyway, I decided to attempt this again before the kids decided to pick up the stomach bug and donate it ever so kindly to me too. So I have three usable pictures. Instead of the six or seven I aimed for. Really, you don't want to see what I looked like on the other days of either the boys tossing their cookies or me tossing my cookies. But at least I tried! (I suppose it's all only payback for no morning sickness!?!)

sweater: WalMart...loooong time ago. For like $5.
tank: Kohls
jeans: Target...they're the thin "trouser" kind. Unfortunately I've worn them too many times and they're now completely unflattering on me.
socks: Old Navy. Surely I didn't wear just these all day!?!

ugh. I think I'm starting to look sickly in this pic.
green top: Old Navy
sweater: Old Navy...I would have bought this in every color five years ago if I'd have known how much I'd love it
jeans: SteinMart
Birkenstocks: the PX in at the naval base in Pensacola

I promised this looked cuter in the morning. And did include shoes. By 4pm when I remembered to take the pic it had turned into this.
white T: Old Navy
sweater: Old Navy. New. So comfy and I love it. Kinda makes me look like I'm trying when I really don't feel like it. Bet my mom would hate it.
jeans: Old Navy. Need to be retired. Badly!

Maybe I'll check back in as the belly gets bigger and I do start wearing maternity clothes! Still got a long way to go!

Upcoming CSN Stores Product Review

Don't you love when a little sunshine comes after the rain? After a long a weekend of the stomach bug and recovering from the stomach bug (lots of laundry!), I received a little something fun in my email inbox. I was contacted by CSN stores to review one of the thousands of products they offer on their site. From luggage stores to lighting stores to lunch boxes, they literally have a little bit of everything for everyone. CSN Stores is uniquely made up of a many different stores that offer essentially all of the products we search for and buy every day.

Can't wait to scour their site for just the right item and try it out here at our home! Check back in the next few weeks to get the low-down on what I chose and what I think of it.

Christmas Stockings

So I have to be honest and come clean. My struggle with the daily grind of being a stay-at-home mom has been due to more than just two little boys and their endless shenanigans. But it could, quite possibly be due to THREE little boys!...or two little boys and a little girl! Yes, Asmussen #3 is on the way (due July 15th) and I'm dragging my tired self through the middle of the first trimester. I have to admit that I am a little spoiled in that I don't suffer with morning sickness. Never have. But I do have major exhaustion. Seriously, I absolutely have to lay down and take at least a thirty minute nap while the boys are sleeping or I just can't make it through the day!

That's why these little Christmas fancies have taken longer than I expected to complete. Back in October I decided I wanted to make Mark's mom stockings for Christmas. She invested in a new house a few years back, got a new Christmas tree last year, and is gradually adding Christmas decorations to her collection. Now that she's adding grandbabies as well, I thought it would be fun to make stockings for each grandchild as they come along.

The stockings were super easy to make. I just took an old cheapy stocking that we had, traced it to create a pattern, cut out pieces of fabric, lining, and batting (to make them thicker and have a quilted feel) and sewed them together. I couldn't pass on the vintage Santy (as Kolbe calls him) fabric for the body of the stockings!

Not wanting them to be too plain, I used a little gold ric rac I had left over from an old Halloween costume to embellish the border and then hand blanket stitched felt cut-outs of the kids' initials for the top.

I had to try them out on our mantle for size, though their permanent home will be at Miss Lora's house with the cute stocking hangers I found at Target to complete her gift.

 

As for the third stocking, I opted not to stitch down the question mark. Hey, we've already used the middle name "Mark" once! (haha!) Can't wait to find out what initials will adorn this stocking next year!

And while we're at it, I just thought I'd share a few pictures of the stockings that do hang from our mantle. I have mentioned several times before that my mom has crazy sewing skills. These are the stockings that she made for the boys. All by hand, none-the-less.



I love the dimension that the characters have, and all the hand-stitched details! Each tiny sequin holds a bead on top. I just don't have the patience! But hopefully (*hint hint*) we'll have an adorable third stocking hanging from the mantle next year!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 48

1. Usually I have my Thursday post up first thing Thursday morning. But usually I don't have the kind of week I've had. Or the kind of morning I've had. Ugh! It's been a mess. Let's just begin by saying that Mark has been on call for the whole week. And most days, we've seen him for no more than 30 minutes. So in other words, when he's on call, I'm on call. 'Round the clock. Mark has been on call a few other weeks so far in his brief career, but those times have seemed to run more smoothly. This time, it's been a case of if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will-go-wrong. Simple things like letting Kolbe help me run the vacuum cleaner turn in to events that end with the whole house smelling like electrical fire and a trip to the vacuum cleaner replacement parts store. Vacuums and Christmas tree skirts don't mix well. And right now I'm typing away on our laptop while sitting on a couch that, despite the hours worth of scrubbing, still smells like vomit. Why? Because kind little motherly me decided to give her sweet little Rudy a bite of her English muffin. And he just happened to decided to swallow it at the very same moment he decided to start a coughing fit. Gobs of previously eaten yogurt, banana, and milk later, the electrical fire scent has been replaced by something far more intestinal. Really. I'm half tempted to get the car seats out of the car (you know, since they have the safer five point harness instead of just the lap belt that their kitchen booster seats have), install them on our kitchen chairs, strap the kids in and sit and stare at each other until the week is over. Surely that will keep anything else catastrophic from happening, right? This should be grounds for getting take out or going out to eat for the rest of the week since obviously turning on my stove would be a major risk.

2. Another event from our fabulous week deserved a paragraph all of it's own. And a picture.

Who ever said that mascara couldn't be fashionable when used to write in Chinese all over one's face!?! Certainly not Rudy. Yes, my lovely child decided to do this just minutes before loading the car up to leave for mass. I was frantically trying to finish putting my make-up on when I went to throw a cotton ball in the bathroom trash can. Finding it full, I rushed it to the kitchen trash can to empty it. Of course, this caused the kitchen trash can to fill up so I'd tied off that bag, threw it in the big can in the backyard, put a new bag in and.....
Returned to the bathroom to find this little face. Kolbe cheering all the while. Some thanks I get for not putting things off. But thank God I had a full bottle of eye make-up remover on stand-by. The worst part was the large clump that was up in hair. You can't really see it in this picture. Even with all the scrubbing the front chunk of his 'do was definitely darker than normal.

3. On a positive note, it's so exciting to see the boys, Kolbe especially, get in to Christmas this year. This past Sunday began the first week of advent. Back on the day before Thanksgiving when I got all the other Christmas decorations set up, I got out our advent wreath and set it up too. At mass on Sunday I showed Kolbe the church's advent wreath and he was so excited to make the connection to the one we have at home. Even though, with Mark away at work, we've been having pathetic meals like grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, I've still been lighting the advent wreath each night and singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" to the boys before eating. Literally within just a few nights they're both already singing along--Rudy mainly humming and Kolbe usually one or two words behind me. Despite all the fascination with Santa Claus, snowmen, and such, it makes me so happy to see that Kolbe really understands this year that the reason we are celebrating Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I asked him at dinner last night:
"Kolbe, what is Christmas?"
He replied, "Jesus' birthday!"
"That's right!" I said.
"Mama, Christmas is Jesus' birthday but then we still get presents too."
"Well, yes, we do exchange gifts with each other to celebrate Jesus' birthday, but we need to give gifts to Jesus too. Like being a good boy for Mama. I think Jesus would like that very much."
(after some hesitation) "No, I think he would like to ride my new scooter instead."

At least we're somewhat on the right track! I'm bound and determined to have one of my Christmas crafty works-in-progress finished today. Hopefully I'll have some pictures up tomorrow!

Sweetheart-n-Sunshine by the Numbers: the First 100 Sales

On Thanksgiving Day I celebrated a special achievement for my little store: my 100th sale! Yea! I'm really proud of how this has turned out, and just as I've said before, it's just right for me. Not too big and not to small. Gives me something fun to work on, makes me feel productive, and keeps me busy during nap time doing something other than cleaning!

So I thought it might be fun to look back over the first 100 sales from my shop and see just what all when down:

-First sale: August 9th, 2010
-A break down of the sales:
    69- changing pad covers
    12- wet bags
    16- private listings (custom orders)
     2- blankets
     1- set of burp cloths
-A break down of the custom orders:
    18- changing pad covers
      1- crib quilt
      3- valances
      1- crib skirt
      3- crib sheets
    11- wet bags
      1- table topper (for a photo studio)

When I told Mark that I had reached my 100th sale he said, "Wow! I can't believe you've made a hundred things!" To which I answered: "Well some of the sales were more than one thing so it's 138." I'm sure that made him that much prouder. Haha!

I, for one, am proud of my little shop. I'd love to expand and sell other things, but right now, the success of the existing things I sell is just enough to keep me busy and keep the sales coming! Thanks for all of the support from everyone!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 47

1. First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! I'm sitting here on the couch in the early morning hours watching Kolbe and Rudy peruse the pile of Christmas books that just yesterday made the journey from our storage shed to the coffee table. And watching their fascination with the Christmas tree lights in the dark family room too! And enjoying the smell of Baked Pumpkin French Toast pouring out of the kitchen. (Can't wait to dig in!...I'll let you know if it's good!) These are the moments I look forward to each holiday season. They're so special, so magical...little moments that i hope are creating memories in the boys' minds that will last until they have their own families some day.

2. We will be heading over to Mark's mom's house for Thanksgiving today and I'm really looking forward to spending time eating good food and just relaxing. (possibly even sneaking in a cat nap??? With these never-ending colds that the boys and I have had, the waking up at night time has been killing me!) Mark's mom is the queen of side items. It's something I look forward to at each big holiday meal we enjoy over there. Beyond the turkey and ham, I'm sure there will be no fewer than about ten additional items--salad, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, chili (a spicy meat and green chili based topping they like to put on their food), fruit salad, rolls, tortillas...not to mention the desserts! I think when we went by last night there were four different varieties of pie on standby for today. I love getting my plate and getting just a little bit of everything! So yummy! Really, to be honest, the Martha Stewart in me looks forward to hosting our own Thanksgiving meal some day. I know that right now we are in the season of our lives where the grandparents are just desperate to get to spend these special holidays with their grandbabies and I must admit that just showing up and eating is nice. But one of these years it will be our turn to host them. And I'll have the pressure on to create the perfect meal. All the yummy sides included! The boys and I spent yesterday morning making pumpkin pies and then in the afternoon, Miss Lora volunteered to watch the boys for a few hours so that I could put all our Christmas decorations up. While decorating, I threw together some fresh banana bread and the beginnings of this morning's breakfast. Not exactly the full Thanksgiving kitchen explosion but enough to put me in the holiday mood. And getting all the Christmas decorations set up by myself (other than the ornaments, of course...we'll all do those together) was awesome! The boys came home from G-ma's last night to their own little winter wonderland. And again, their faces were priceless!

3. Well last week I wrote about my lethargy surrounding getting my Christmas act together. I suppose saying that I got all of the Christmas decorations up would suffice to say that I've somewhat remedied my problems. And thanks to Amazon, I did get a little bit of shopping done. My Shutterfly order is still entirely in the works though. I did get one little project done. Ok, "little" should only be used to describe the size of this project's pieces. In my mind, I imagined this to be a quick, easy, little Christmas project. And in reality, it took for.ev.er. Really, about half way through I almost threw in the towel or set it aside till next year. But I managed to press on and get them done.

Christmas countdown chains. Two of them- each twenty-four links long to count down the days until Christmas arrives. (One for our family and one for my cousin Mandi's) Growing up, I remember making these with construction paper and a stapler, but I recently had an idea that it would be so cute and easy to have one made out of adorable Christmas fabrics. Cute--yes. Easy--no. Between cutting the fabric, applying interfacing, sewing around multiple times, adding a metal snap to each link...it took way longer than I thought it would. Good thing this guy will probably last forever, because I'm not making one ever again! And instead of getting to staple the paper together every year, the boys will get to snap the pretty links together to make our long chain. Perched beside our advent calendar, I hope it will be a nice little addition to our Christmas collection. On to the next project!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 46

1. Christmas is something like thirty-seven days away. Seriously. Usually by this time, I have my whole shopping list made up, some... or better yet, most of my Christmas presents purchased and a whole game-plan made up for all the little this-and-thats I want to do for the season. Not this year. In fact, I haven't even started on the annual Christmas calendars for the grandparents. Usually they're already ordered by now so I can get the good discount deals! And it's not that I've been too busy to do it. There's been time available. I just haven't really been thinking about it. Or I'll think about it a bit, get a little piece of it pulled together and and then totally get side tracked with something else. And then I walk into a store a see all the Christmas decorations and get that panicky feeling inside. And I know, I know. It's not all about the presents. Really, it's not. As a matter of fact, our family seriously doesn't need anything year. We've been hugely blessed so much already. But I really love the gift giving side of Christmas. While we don't exactly have the money to be giving extravagantly, it's still fun to put thought and effort creating the perfect little something for each little person. (even though on my side of the family, we do draw names. Can you imagine having to buy gifts for the whole clan!?!) So that's my goal for this week: get on the ball with my Christmas game plan. I don't want my favorite time of the year to pass me by! (notice I said "time of the year" and not "season." Brr! Bring back the warmth!)

2. Do you ever have something that's driving you crazy but you can't quite put your finger on it and then all of a sudden it hits you and moves your crazy to absolute nuts? Ok, I probably sound a little off my rocker here, but let me explain. We don't have a tiny house, but we don't have a huge house either. I'd say the house itself is just the right size for our family. But it's always messy. Even when it's clean. Something about it just feels messy. And cluttered. And overwhelming. Part of this problem has been clear as glass to me for a while: our family room furniture. It's big. Like the huge, overstuffed comfy cushy stuff that would be great in a movie room or basement. It's way too big for the room. But I've accepted it and realized that I should just be thankful that I have furniture. It's not like twenty years from now we'll still have these same couches sitting in our family room. (At least I hope not!) But there was still something else nagging me. Something messy. And then a week or so ago Mark made a comment about how it drove him nuts how the large collage of framed pictures on the big red wall in the kitchen never seemed level. And he was right! Even though this wall isn't technically in the family room, it might as well be as it's visible from pretty much any point in the room. When we bought the house it was painted an obnoxious UT burnt orange which had to go immediately. So we went with yellow but that didn't work either. So a few years ago we switched to red. And while I still love red in the kitchen, I realized it's not the paint that just doesn't seem to fit, or the collage of pictures, or even the hideous intercom system motherboard that doesn't even work (seriously, why would anyone need an intercom in a house our size!?!). It's the way too large, way over the top bold textured plaster treatment on the wall. You know, the style that was popular about 10 years ago or so where someone comes in with a huge bucket of plaster and rubs huge random streaks all over the wall in every which way. So that when you hang a picture on it, it can never stay balanced. It's hideous. And it's exactly what's making the social area of our house look messy! Like scribble all over the walls! And there's nothing I can do about it! Literally, to get rid of it I'd have to have someone come in and sand down the entire kitchen and then refinish the walls. It doesn't matter what shade of the rainbow I paint them.  Can't hide ugly. But I did take the collage of pictures down, deciding that, while subconsciously they might have been an attempt to cover up the wall, they were really just emphasizing the messiness of it. In their place I added a few little shelves I had on hand, a mirror to reflect light from the other side of the room, the clock that's always been there, and a couple other little ditties on the shelves to have something there. The one consolation is that the mirror (which previously lived in the guest room/ office/ sewing room) rests on a shelf and completely covers the super 70s intercom.

And that's my rant for the week.

Note to self: Get over it. You have a kitchen. With an eating area. With electricity. Which is far more than many, many people have in this world. Stop sounding like such a brat.

3. Our house has been bombarded by the annual winter cold for the last week or two. The coughing, sniffling, sneezing cold. Started with Rudy, add Kolbe, and finally Mark. Mama Bear is still unscathed, though last night my throat did feel kind of raw. We'll see how today goes. I wish kiddos came in to this world with the natural ability to blow their noses the way they know how to suck. Though I have been lucky in one case. My poor little Kolbe was not born with the ability to suck. But he always has been able to blow his nose. Seriously! I'd say from about nine or ten months on. What a cool trade off! Once he knew the meaning of the phrase "blow your nose," he's been able to do it. I suppose the fact that his mouth and his nose were once completely open to each other internally kind of helped. Rudy is on the more normal side of things. You ask him to blow his nose and he naturally blows out of his mouth. And then when I suction it with the bulb syringe, he gags like crazy. Like to the point where he barfs on my face. For real. I made the mistake of standing him up on the changing table instead of laying him down, thinking gravity would play in to drawing the snot down. But it just made him gag more and as he leaned forward to grab on to me, he up and barfed his juice on my forehead. (Inner self says, Repeat after me: I love being a mom. I love being a mom. I love being a mom!) Lord willing these colds will clear up soon. It doesn't exactly help that children their age can't take cold medicine. All I can really slip them is some Tylenol or Motrin here and there to alleviate some of the pain they must be feeling in their throats. Or as Kolbe says, "The back of my mouf hurts." I guess I shouldn't complain. I don't remember Kolbe's cold being too bad last year, and Rudy, other than a couple days of pink eye when he was three months old and one little bout with the 24-hour bug last February, has never even been sick before. And he's almost two!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 45

1. My sweet little boy, Kolbe, turned three this week. Three! Meaning we've officially kicked off his fourth year of life. Sounds strange.  Has it been that long? Or has it been longer!?! Sometimes it seems like both. Because really, the memories of his (dramatic) birth seem like yesterday. Yet, it's honestly hard to remember life before being a mother. I mean, I know it existed and Mark and I managed to not be bored to tears in some way or another, but really, what did we do before kids!?! Kolbe's little life as been such a fun journey of highs and lows and ups and downs. I wouldn't change a single thing about it. In fact, I'm so glad to have gone through everything we have with Kolbe. And glad he was our first. Talk about an initiation into motherhood! I think if I would have had Rudy first, I may not have truly known what it would require to be the mom I want to be. (You know, the whole major self-sacrifice thing.) Kolbe is such a bright, fun, fascinating, energetic, spunky, sweet little boy. The hilarious things he says keep us in stitches daily and his fun, carefree attitude helps remind us that there's so much to enjoy about life. Such as being his mama. It's one of the best things to ever happen to me.

2. Speaking of the years flying by, where has 2010 gone!?! Someone once told me that the older you get, the faster the time goes. I think he must be right. 'Cause right now it feels like last Christmas was so recently and here we are with this Christmas right around the corner. But somehow, the days often seem to take so long. Like the ones where I look at my watch and think, oh come on, bed time! Yet hundreds of days have passed since the year began and still it feels like it just started. Part of wanting to start this whole three-thought-Thursday thing was not wanting to miss anything from this life as a mother. Wanting to be able to keep track of all that really goes on. So in years to come, when I find our house a quieter, a little less rambunctious...a little more lonely...I'll be able to look back and re-live such a precious time. I guess I don't have to wait till then, though. Maybe if I read back through all of my posts from the passing year, I'll be able to see and fully appreciate all that has gone on this year. And not just dwell on how fast it is going by.

3. Of all the new things our home has seen in 2010, the start of my little business has been one of the biggest. At least for me. Most of the males in the house could really care less. 'Cause other than running to the post office, they're pretty much un-aware that it even goes on. I didn't know what to think when starting up the shop. Would I even sell anything? And originally my hopes were that maybe I'd sell something once a week. Or twice on a good week. I had not idea that it would quickly grow into once a day. Which on one hand is super exciting. I love it! But on the other, I feel like I've reached the point where this is as big as I want it to get for now. I promised myself in the beginning that the only way I was going to do this was if I could keep operations to just nap time, and right now I'm about at my max. Each nap time is filled with a list of custom orders or things to make for the shop and while the competitive, business-minded side of me is thinking Great! Do more! The mama side of me is thinking any more than this will infringe on either my mama time or my family time (when Mark gets home). And I really don't want to compromise that. I'll gladly push it to the back of my mind in exchange for time to bake cookies with the boys. Or go drive around with Mark and the kids. But overall, just really exciting to see this actually turn in to something fun, profitable, and challenging for me.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 44

1. By a rare and somewhat absurd stroke of good fortune, as of Sunday we have a sweet 42" HDTV living in our family room. Yes, us. People that would never in a million years think if owning something like that at this point in our lives. Don't get me wrong. We've dreamed about it while gazing at our old school box-style 27 incher, but it was always a "maybe someday we'll be able to get a fancy TV" kind of thing. I don't think I'm exactly at liberty to disclose how we happened upon such an item, but I'll divulge before too long. Yes, it cost us nothing. And no, we didn't do anything illegal to obtain it. Let's just say a far-to-kind-someone-we-know thought it might look good in our house. Though we certainly feel completely unworthy. I keep glancing over at it and thinking what is that sweet TV doing in the poor-folk's house!?! A totally huge surprise, not expecting it, what-just-happened kind of addition to our week.

2. Did any of you make pumpkin seeds this past weekend after carving your jack-o-lanterns? Growing up, my mom always used to make us a batch while we worked on our pumpkins. I remember a few years when I was really little, thinking they were nasty. Then the older I got, the better they tasted. Kind of like Corn Nuts. I'm not sure what was going on, but I didn't make them last year. This year, I had to revive the tradition. You just can't go wrong with crispy, crunchy, salty, and buttery all in one. Yuuuummmm! The recipe we use is pretty simple:

• boil a quart of water
• add an eigth cup of salt and the cleaned pumpkin seeds
• allow to boil for 10 minutes stirring occassionally
• drain the water and add 2 tbs of melted butter
• spread seeds out on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt (we use Lowrey's Seasoning Salt too)
• place in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, flipping half way through.
• Watch carefully! Seeds may need a few more minutes or a few less. You know they're done when they're a crispy golden brownish color.
• Enjoy!

If you haven't tried it out, do! They're so good!

3. And lastly, I really haven't had much to whine about with motherhood lately. But alas, a new dilemma has arrive. This past week, our dear sweet RudyRoo figured out how to climb out of his crib. We knew the day was coming but I was just hoping and praying that it wouldn't be till he was at least two. Here we are- twenty months old- and he has it figured out. And the fact that we're so shocked about it just encourages him all the more. Of course we all know that this is dangerous and we can't just let him sleep in his crib and tumble out at night, right? Especially since I've seen him do it will my own two eyes and it's no graceful fall. So a few nights ago I took the front railings off of his crib, turning it in to a toddler bed. And now I'm back to having to sit inside their room or outside the door in order to keep monkeys from escaping. And yes, Kolbe still gets out of bed every.single.night. But he knows what's going on. When we say, "Go get back in bed," he knows that we mean business. Rudy, I'm sure, will figure this out too. But right now, he thinks this is some game. Some adventure where he has free reign of the house. Why stay in bed when there's so much to explore!?! In the dark! And just to think...potty training: round 2 is just around the corner!

Halloween Costumes

We had such a fun Halloween this year! And while in the days leading up, Kolbe repeatedly asked me, "Mama, where's Halloween?" I think by last night he finally got it. At dinner time we practiced pretending like we were knocking on doors and then saying "Trick or Treat!" And sure enough, by the time we headed out to hit up our list of obligatory hot spots, he had it down. Rudy was, of course, just along for the ride. His greatest achievement was keeping on his hat when I asked him to.

I made both of the boys' costumes this year. Which isn't saying much when you see Rudy's. Like I mentioned before, I had big plans in my mind but it just didn't quite work out. His candy corn suit was a simple triangle cut of felt all sewn together. I measured the length from his neck to his ankles, divided it by three, cut pieces of felt this size, sewed them together, laid one of his summer tank tops on top, traced it, and from the arm pits down just made it flare out wider and wider. Really simple. No hems or anything since felt doesn't fray. And for the hat I just measured around his big dome, divided it by two, added a little for a seam allowance and made a triangle with an elastic band attached to each side.

Do you think I could get a picture of him facing forward? Of course not! But the back is the exact same as the front so you get the idea.

Kolbe's was a bit more complex. With very few pictures of St. Maximillian Kolbe available, I decided to base his outfit on a prayer card that we have with a picture of him on it. The circle rim glasses were a necessity, though when I took him up to the hospital on Friday to see his grandma, every single person that saw him said, "Look! Harry Potter!" At first I tried to explain but then just gave up and smiled and nodded...especially if it was just random strangers passing by. To make his outfit, I used McCalls 2340 pattern which is designed to create the outfits to use for a Christmas nativity play. It created the long "dress" type garment that I just tied with a white waist cord. It was super easy to follow and was completed in one nap time. The extra collar around the neck (I'm sure if a really Catholic-garment-savvy person reads this, they'll know the proper name for this collar/hood piece...sorry, I'm not that person.) was made by cutting a large circle and creating a hole for his head closer to the front than the back so it would hang down low on his back and lay flush with his neck in front. Not exactly like the real deal but close enough.

And of course the one good shot I get of Kolbe is blurry...

So till next year... hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Try to not imitate the sole female of this house and pig out on all the candy! Go throw the football in the great fall weather instead!



Three Thought Thursday: Episode 43

1. This has been a good week, thus far. Don't know why, just has been. Positive attitude makes a difference, I suppose. I've spent the past few days frantically trying to get the boys' Halloween costumes ready. In a matter of two days I've made three costumes. Yes, I still have just two kids. And no dog either. You see, I planned on Rudy being a cute little clown. And spent a whole nap time creating an adorable clown costume out of the most annoying fabric in the world to sew with: satin. If you haven't tried sewing with it, don't. What a pain! Never again. (of course you know that's probably a lie...) But near the end of constructing the suit, I started to realize that it was way too big. Since they were both asleep, I couldn't tell for sure, but as soon as they awoke I realized that not only was it too big for Rudy, it was too big for Kolbe too. Apparently the size two is for a four-year-old. With patterns, it's usually the opposite. I'm typically a size six and in patterns I wear like a 14 or something. It's weird. Guess the same sizing doesn't hold true for babies. So I abandoned the clown suit...and considering the fabric, my arm didn't have to be twisted very hard. Maybe I'll return to it next year if the boys have grown a bit. Desperate to pull something together quickly, I pulled out some felt that I had on hand and opted for a candy corn suit for Rudy. Seriously, it took about 20 minutes to make. I think it's adorable. Mark think it looks like a dress. We'll both be lucky to keep the hat on Rudy's head for more than five minutes. So all of that was on Tuesday. Yesterday was much more successful. Time to make Kolbe's Maximillian Kolbe costume. Mark and I decided some time before Kolbe was born that one year for Halloween we'd dress him as his patron saint. Figuring we better do it before he has the mind to tell us he'd much rather be Superman, we decided to go for it this year. And the sentimental side of me couldn't help but relate back to my own childhood. I was a nun for Halloween the year I was two. Crazy Catholics. Let's just say that Kolb's outfit came out exactly how I pictured it in my mind. Priceless! Hopefully I'll have pics of both of them up this weekend.

2. Mark and I got a much needed date night this past weekend. Determined to not do what we normal do on a date night...which is dinner and a movie...we decided have our friends Ben and Erin come along and convinced ourselves to go to a new place on 82nd called The Funky Door. Shortly after arriving (like as soon as we walked in), we realized that we were fish out of water in this place. 'Swanky wine bar' would be a good explanation. We stayed and split between the four of us a nice bottle of wine and a yummy gouda cheese fondue with croutons and chicken. The atmosphere was, indeed, cool and sophisticated, and I'd totally go back. Just a little more prepared. And possibly with someone else footing the bill! After we transferred somewhere a little less up-scale (you know, where less cultured folk like us fit in) and headed to Fox and Hound where my brother is the doorman. There we pigged out on more typical fare: chicken strips, fries, and nachos. Mark then got his anticipated phone call from his co-worker, Sixtus, who had previously been at a wedding, and we headed to our final destination, a new bar called Nick's. This was my first chance to meet Sixtus and his wife though I hear about him day in and day out. He's the PA that Mark works with and is from Cameroon. The six of us spend a couple of hours just chatting and listing to Sixtus's fascinating stories. One thing that made the night unique was that neither of the two other couples with us has children and therefore, we didn't spend the entire night talking about the kids. A la our typical date night. And while I love my children dearly and talk about them all the time, I must admit that it was a breath of fresh air to just have normal adult conversation. With adults! Now if we could just arrange for that to happen, say once a month, we'd be set.

3. I think I've created a monster. And his name is Kolbe.
This kid is saying the craziest things! And the scary part is, they all seem to be direct reflections of me. Like he's a parrot. For example:
Kolbe: Mama, read me this book.
Me: Excuse me?
Kolbe: Please.
Me: Ok, just a second. Let me finish tying RuRu's shoes.
Kolbe: Mammmmmma! Listen to me. Listen to my words. I. want. you. to. read. me. this. book!

See!?! A monster! Or this:
Me: Kolb, eat those meatballs.
Kolbe: What this is? I not like meatballs.
Me: Well, they're not meatballs. They're called Buzz Lightyear bites.
Kolbe: Buzz Lightyear bites? I like Buzz Lightyear bites.
(proceeds to eat the entire rest of his meal...quickly)
Kolbe: RuRu, oooo needs to eat urs Buzz Lightyear bites. They good for oooo. And taste mmm mmmm.

Scary to think he's that easily influence by me. Lord, I hope I'm doing right by him.

Coping With Frugality Review

Such a busy week for my little shop! Today my changing pad covers are being featured again, this time at a blog called Coping With Frugality. Amanda's blog is a fun resource for new moms as she just had her first little one a few months ago. She especially has great resources for cloth diapering, green living, and healthy eating. She originally contacted me about featuring the wet bags that I make, but we ended up going with the changing pad covers as I noticed that she hadn't reviewed a product like that on her blog before. The post went up today and I love it! So exciting to see little ol' me out there on the web! Click on the link above or HERE to check it out.

Simple Finds Review

As previously mentioned, I was contacted a while back about featuring my changing pad covers on a blog that finds, promotes, and reviews items for online shoppers. Especially moms. Since I've never done anything like this before, I was a little apprehensive, but so excited to see the results when the feature post went up today. Click HERE to check it out!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 42

1. First of all, could this really be week forty-two!?! Sheesh. Only ten weeks left in this year.  Has it not flown by?

So only ten weeks left means that it's got to fall. Or at least you'd think. But most of the days around here have still be up in the eighties. I got my hopes up when the weatherman forecasted sixties for yesterday and today, but yesterday was way above that. We'll see about today. I don't mind eighties. Really, that's my kind of weather. The only frustrating part is the variation from morning to afternoon. When we wake up (which is always way too early in my opinion) it's cold. Like long sleeves, pants, and a jacket kind of cold. Close-toed shoes too. But by three in the afternoon, both boys are stripped down to undies/diaper and I'm cranking up all the fans. Speaking of clothes, I just don't know what we're going to do about little Kolbe. The summer time is by far the easiest season to dress him. He can slip in to the size eighteen month shorts and get away with it just fine. Then winter rolls around and pants are required. He's by no means tall, but, at just weeks away from turning three, he definitely needs the length of a 2T. And the waist of an eighteen-month-old. With shorts, the length is not an issue. With pants, it's our biggest problem. When I pull 2Ts on to him, they literally fall down to his knees. Like I can fit my whole fist in there with his tiny waist. The only thing we've found to work are the pants with the adjustable pull tabs on the inside. Old Navy makes them as does Carter's. We stretch that elastic as far as it can go and button it down into place to create the perfect fit. Poor little fella. He's got his grandma Pinkie's genes.

2 Most of our mornings lately have been spent doing this:

And afternoons too. It's the boys new favorite activity. Other than The Wheels on the Bus, of course. But usually a good ploy to divert their attention from their favorite DVD. The little bike that Rudy is on was a hand-me-down from one of my old co-workers who owns three adorable little grandsons that aren't so little anymore. It was Kolbe's until his other grandma, G-ma, bought him the Texas Tech bike from our local grocery store. When Mark's brother and sister-in-law were in town we all went there for breakfast, and when the boys spied the bike, she decided they just had to have one. Actually, she decided they just had to have two, but Mark and I talked her down to one by convincing her we already had a very capable one at home. So Kolb cruises on the larger, Texas Tech model (he's known how to pedal for almost a year now) and Rudy scoots around on the old guy. Fred Flintstone style. They absolutely love going up and down the street on the sidewalk. And of course crossing the road to ride on the other side is always the highlight. Kolbe chooses to remind me that "I looked both ways, Mama. Now I can go." It's a fun way to get some of their energy out, pass some time, and get in a little walking for myself.  Next thing  I know they're going to be riding real bikes. The kinds that require helmets. Gees, they're growing up fast.

3. This week was Mark's second official week of being on-call. "On call" is hospital speak for "human torture." You know, it wouldn't be that bad if their group of doctors took a typical call schedule. Like each person is on call one or two nights a week. But no.
No, no.
Not Mark's group.
They've decided that each doctor should take a full week of call. Seven straight days of responding to each and every patient that comes in to the hospital that has a complaint even remotely connected to the head, neck, or back. Which means essentially no sleep at all, considering most accidents relating to these areas are from people doing shenanigans in the wee hours of the night or morning. And on top of that, they continue to carry on their regular surgery and clinic schedule as if they aren't on call. I don't know about you, but I think I'd take my chances on paralysis and opt out of the emergency surgery if I knew the person that was operating on me was running on little to no sleep.
Anyway, Mark was completely wiped out on Monday when he came home from work for a bit around five in the evening, and even more annoyed when he got called an hour or so later telling him he needed to come back in. The sky had been threatening rain all day but had never managed to produce anything, so Mark was pleasantly surprised to see this as he left the house to head back to the hospital:

Of course he immediately called me and told me to take the boys out front to see it. By far the brightest, most beautiful double rainbow I've ever seen. I think I could have stood there and stared at it for hours. Just a little reminder of God's presence in the gleaming as well as the not-so-sunshiney parts of lives.

Sleeping Rudy (and Kolbe too!)

Please forgive my cheesy-ness in the post title. I couldn't help myself. Heck, I could have just called it Sleeping Beauties all together, since they are two of the most beautiful creatures I've ever laid my eyes on.

And for some reason, they often seem at their most beautiful while sleeping. Maybe it's their innocence. The pureness of their little faces. The sweetness of their little sighs.

And quite possibly it's because they're actually holding still--something that rarely happens during the active waking part of the day. Holding still. Giving me time to appreciate a favorite toy to sleep with. A blankie that makes the perfect sleeping companion. Their little toes. Their tiny fingers. The things that change so quickly and seem to be different every time I get a chance to really look.

But then every now and then, it's just the sweetness of the situation. Like an evening when Mark had gone to bed early and I opted for an evening shower. And opened my bedroom door to find this:

Or sneaking into their room at nap time to find Rudy sleeping like this:

Sights that melt my heart.
That I may never get to see again.
That I want to hold on to forever.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 41

1. This past week has been super busy. My parents came to town at the last minute, my etsy store has been busy, Mark's work schedule has been kind of crazy, oh, and Rudy has been cutting his eye teeth. I'm not sure if they're really called that or not. You know, the pointy vampire ones. One of them has broken through and the other is all sore and swollen. And he's been running a little fever with it too. Poor guy. And poor us too. He's just not a happy camper. Real cantankerous. For the most part, he's still sleeping pretty well though. So that's a blessing. Teething is just one of those parts of raising kiddos that isn't fun. And you kind of forget how bad it is until it flares up again. Though the former nursing mama in me is pretty glad they're not just born with them!

2. We were paid another visit by our plumber this week. Yippy! A visit from the plumber is never a good thing. And he just came a few weeks ago! The first visit was to replace a valve under the kitchen sink, replace a valve in the backyard, and fix a leak in the front yard. This time it was to fix a leak behind the wall in the boys' bathroom. Talk about nerve-wracking...the plumber came out mid-visit to let me know that if he couldn't get three screws out of the spout connection he was going to have to knock down the wall from the other side to get to the leak. And he was concerned because the screws were so old and rusted that he worried they wouldn't come out easily. Luckily, we dodged that bullet. I can't even imagine how much it would have cost to pull out an entire wall to get to a leak! On the positive side, we did get new hardware for the boys' bath tub that I installed myself and went ahead and bought some for out tub too that Mark installed when he got home from work. Oh, the joys of home ownership!

3. Have you ever seen The Wheels on the Bus video? My children are obsessed with it. And by obsessed, I mean obsessed. They seriously ask to watch it all. the. time. We actually found it at the library while picking our books for one of our school themes. I let them check it out, thinking that the bus and school might correlate well. They've been hooked ever since. So much so that I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon for them. Honestly, they are pretty good. Each episode teaches a moral or lesson as well as featuring different animals and healthy foods. Like when we go ride bikes down the street, Kolbe now says every single time "Mama, Argon (the dragon bus driver) says to look both ways before crossing the street." The only bad part is the annoyingly catchy songs. I find myself humming ridiculous lyrics like "eat it up, eat it uuuuuup. Kids will never grow unless you give 'em some food..." And Kolbe acts like it's the only worthwhile activity we have in our home. For example:
Me: Ok, it's time to start school!
Kolb: Actually, I think it's time to watch Wheels on the Bus.
or
Me: Are you ready to go to music class?
Kolb: No, I ready to go watch Wheels on the Bus.
One thing I guess is a positive to note is that this is the first show that has a plot that Kolbe has been even remotely interested in. He has never really been interested in the television, which thus far has been a good thing, but he's also never been really interested in books with a plot either, and I worried that, at nearly three-years-old, he wasn't "getting it." It seems like he's finally starting to put the pieces together and have the attention span to follow along with a story. I'm sure these little shows will be all the craze until the next best thing comes along....like  Frosty the Snowman in a month or so! Mark and I were just reflecting on how last Christmas every time he'd see a snowman he'd say "Raw-eee!" So cute! Can't wait!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 40

1. Little town.... it's a quiet village...
Every day....like the one before....
         Little town... full of little people....
                             Waking up .... to .... saaaaaaayy...
Bonjour!                                           Bonjour!
                           Bonjour!
           Bonjour!                                           Bonjour!

Know what movie I'm obsessing over? That's right: Beauty and the Beast! It came "out of the vault" on Tuesday--an event I've been waiting for for quite some time! I love, love, love Beauty and the Beast. Definitely my favorite animated movie as well as one of my favorite films of all time. I have so many memories of Beauty and the Beast from my childhood. Going to see it at the theater....the night my mom brought it home on VHS.... Seriously, we flew through dinner, rapidly bathed and got ready for bed, and were back on the couch holding a bowl of popcorn in no time at all. And then there was the video of my youngest brother Dave and me singing it together for my grandmother, Mom Helen, the night before she passed away. Me, ten, and Dave just two. And yes, I'm pretty sure I have every word of the soundtrack memorized. It's the best. But no, I didn't go out and buy the DVD on Tuesday. I'm seriously trying to resist the urge and wait to ask for it as a Christmas gift. But I haven't exactly been face to face with it in the store yet. I'm sure the first time we cross paths in Target I'll be facing all sorts of temptation. And if we just happen to come home with it, I may just put it in the DVD player and click on the feature that says "play over and over." It's one of those things where I wouldn't exactly mind getting my bad-mom card pulled and letting my kids watch a DVD all. day. long.

2. We're in trouble. At least in public, we are. Kolbe has figured out that there's a difference between two little rooms found in public: the girls' bathroom and the boys' bathroom. If Mark is with us, he always wants Mark to take him. If it's just mom in tow, our conversation usually goes a little like this:
Kolbe: Mama, I need go pee.
Me: Ok, come on. Let's go in here.
Kolbe: No, I boy. I go in boy bathroom.
Me: Kolbe, I can't go into the boy bathroom. It's not nice for mamas to see other boys going to the bathroom.
Kolbe: I like those boy potties.
Me: I know, Kolbe. Next time that we're with Dada he'll take you in to the boys' bathroom.

So now I try to let him choose which stall he'd like to go into as a consolation.
Me: Which stall do you want, Kolbe?
Kolb: Uh, I guess that girl potty.
Sheesh.

3. I am now the not-so-proud owner of my third iron in just four years of marriage. I don't know what my luck is with irons, but apparently it's no luck at all. When Mark and I were engaged, we registered for a nice Rowenta iron and were so excited to receive it as a wedding gift. It was a pretty good iron. Probably not worth the lofty price tag, but nice overall. About a year-and-a-half a go, it up and called it quits. One minute it was working, the next it was dead. So I took off to Bed, Bath, and Beyond with my trusty twenty percent off coupon and purchased a new, slightly cheaper but still expensive Shark brand model. Also nice and effective. Until Tuesday. I used it during nap time to iron some fabric that I was going to sew with and it worked just fine. Then after dinner I plugged in it to find the light-up screen completely dark. Determined that it was just the outlet I was using, I waltzed over to an outlet that I was sure was working (you know, one with a lighted lamp already plugged in to it...) only to get the same results. How had I managed to kill off two irons in just four years!?! I'm pretty sure my parents had the same iron throughout my entire childhood. And how do you fix an iron with an obvious electrical problem? You don't. You throw it in the trash can and head out to the store to buy a new one. Or in my case, you coerce your little brother in to going to WalMart to buy one for you. And this time, we settled on a cheapy. Now that Mark is wearing scrubs to work nearly every day and we don't have tons of ironing to do, why bother with the expensive-obviously-not-worth-it irons? Hey, if we're going to have to replace our iron every two years, we need it to be something that fits into our budget. Grr.

Having a "Monday"

Don't you hate when Monday lives up to it's name?

Fall has definitely arrived to our corner of the world. And I love it. In fact, after climbing out of bed and stumbling to the kitchen, I noticed the tell-tale sign of the tile floor feeling much cooler on my bare feet. Refreshing.

So I decided that a warm bowl of oatmeal sounded like just the breakfast dish to celebrate the new season. Setting aside my usual yogurt, I whipped up a batch and got ready to dive in. I grabbed a spoon from the drawer, balancing my warm bowl on the palm of my hand. Only a genius would have held it by the edge, you know. With a little milk poured on top, I needed to give it a good stir to blend it. But apparently warm bowls of oatmeal don't like to balance on the palms of sleepy mamas hands. They'd much rather be here:

Miraculously, I caught the bowl, but not the contents.  Hope you're Monday is looking a little more scrumptious than mine!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 39

1. My parents left for Italy yesterday for a ten day trip. I know...I'm jealous too! Ten days in Italy must be magnificent. I'm so happy that they are getting to experience it together. I think my dad has gone before. As a former Air Force officer, he's been nearly everywhere. But it's a trip my mom has always dreamed of. I even remember her talking about it when I was a child. Early on in their married life, it was never an option. Heck, they didn't even get the chance to go while we were living nearby in Germany! You see, with an Air Force officer's salary, a stay-at-home wife, and five children, my dad couldn't exactly afford to fulfill that dream for my mother. They always chose us and our family over their own desires. But now he can. Thirty-and-a-half years after their wedding day, he can. I'm so happy for them! And it makes me realize that all of those "somedays" that Mark and I dream of might also eventually come true. For now we're happy to keep dreaming and keep choosing our boys instead. It sure would be magnificent, but we wouldn't trade it for these two little guys any day.

2. Once upon a time I wrote about a day when I had my Mommy "A" Game on. Meaning pretty much the perfect day of mommyhood. Monday was not one of those days. No, I certainly wouldn't give myself...or my children for that matter...an "A." It was more like an "F." Total failure. I won't even go into the full litany of shenanigans that took place. Just the first few hours will give you enough details to know that it was all down hill. The boys woke up unusually early. Like 5:50ish. I turned on this little Wheels on the Bus video that they're obsessed with, covered my entire body and head with a blanket and fell back asleep on the couch. Soon after, they decided they were ready for breakfast. I set them up at the table with their yogurt, bananas, and milk. I escaped for two minutes to use the restroom only to have Kolbe pop up outside the bathroom door with a message: "Mama!!! Rudy spilled his yogurt!" Great, I thought, imagining his yogurt spilled all over the table. Returning to the kitchen, my fears were far beyond realized. A small, small portion was spilled on the table. The rest he had dumped in to his lap. Grinning from ear to ear, he looked up at me with his little doe eyes as he did his best to rub it in from his ankles to his waist. Lovely. Just lovely! I thought. I grabbed him from behind and carried him straight to the tub. I started rinsing him, clothes and all, quickly stripping off each piece as I went. Then came the diaper. Wouldn't you know it, that thing was full of good ol' numero dos. Straight into the tub. And the rest jammed between his fat little butt cheeks. I rolled my eyes at the fact that I would now be cleaning the bath tub too. Forty-five or so minutes later we were all cleaned up and in one piece, ready to leave for our first music class of the fall "semester." We arrived at the community center just in time to find out that classes didn't start until next week. And of course Kolbe was not willing to understand. He was bound and determined to see Miss Kris and devastated that it was an impossibility. See. I told you the first few hours of the day would be plenty enough to get the point across. Just imagine the same thing over and over for the rest of the day. Thank God it was only twenty-four hours.

3. I've been consigning some of the boy's old stuff or stuff we have duplicates of at a little consignment shop here in town for the past year or so, but prior to last Friday, I had never been to an consignment "event." You know, like the ones you see on TV where it's just for one weekend and a ba-jillion people show up and race to get the item of their dreams before someone else does. This one was kind of like that. I went with my friend Melanie and yes, there were people waiting outside, but not thousands or anything. And no, the selection wasn't insanely good, but I must admit that there was a lot of cool stuff there. And sure enough, I went with just one item on my search-and-find list and left with quite a few more than that. But still managed to stay under $20. I can totally see why some people get hooked on going to those things. I definitely think I'll go again in the spring when it comes back around. Why not? I'm always up for a good deal!

What I Wore Wednesday

Give me a second...

I'm nervous!

Yes, this is my first time to participate in something I've been following for quite some time. The author of a favorite blog of mine, Lindsay at the Pleated Poppy, has been doing a weekly posted called "What I Wore Wednesday" for quite some time now. It's kind of like an effort to...well, you know, make an effort in what you wear. And accountability of sorts. Not only with other participants but heck, with the camera as well. I've been meaning to participate, and even Mark has encouraged me to do so, but I've just never gotten around to actually leaving the camera out and available every morning for photo ops.

I also think it's partially a mind game. People are going to think I'm vain! Like I'm saying that my style is to be emulated, or something! That couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, I think my style is far worse now than in my yester-years. I've digressed. But that's part of the whole challenge! To actually make an effort to be presentable. For my husband. For others. For my kids. For myself.

And hey, I'm banking on these photos being pretty laughable in years to come too. What great fodder for the kids to look at twenty-five years from now! ...Can you believe mom wore/ looked like/ went out in public like that!?! Hey, just trying to archive a little piece of the life that is mine here in 2010.

So without further adieu....

Thursday:

(just my average day being mom...library for story time, errands, etc.)

magenta tank: old navy

white top: Target clearance ($2.00)

jeans: Target

The shoes missed the pic but I just had to add them cause they're cuties...SteinMart

Friday:

(around the house, grocery store, dinner at my brother's)

white tank: Walmart

black boyfriend cardigan: Old Navy

jeans: SteinMart

sandals: Target

necklace: Old Navy clearance

(I would consider this outfit an ultimate sampler of the places I buy almost all of my clothes. Sad, I know.)

Saturday:

(hanging with family most of the day...that outfit not pictured...and then my cousin's thirtieth birthday party)

top: Old Navy clearance

jeans: SteinMart...their NineWest and are the best fit ever. I have two pair.

sandals: SteinMart

Sunday:

(church, hanging at home, dinner with the in-laws)

tank: Kohls

dress: Target clearance ($5!)

leggings: (I got cold at the last minute) Walmart

cropped jean jacket: Old Navy

sandals: SteinMart

necklace: ???

Monday:

(music class...that was cancelled, errands, library)

I'm pretty sure this is the look I'm supposed to be avoiding!!!

t-shirt: Old Navy

capris: ???

jacket: Target clearance

flip flops: American Eagle

Tuesday:

(around the house, annual "female" appointment, cousin's house, family time)

Apparently I thought fixing my hair and make-up would make the gown-that-closes-in-the-front a little less demoralizing...

tank: Kohls

mini-cardigan: Old Navy

jeans: SteinMart (the other pair...)

flip flops: American Eagle

necklace: a beach shop somewhere along Pensacola Beach circa 1998