This is the day.

I woke up this morning to make Swedish pancakes. I got the eggs out of the refrigerator, opened them and saw this beautiful verse on the carton, a reminder from God to be thankful for each and every day, no matter the challenge.

I have so much to be thankful for! Last year on Mother's Day, I woke up particularly early that morning after tossing and turning all night. I had a feeling, or intuition rather, that I might be pregnant. I figured it would be far too early to test, but I did anyway and 2 minutes later I learned that I was pregnant with this little girl:

I feel so incredibly blessed to have these babies in my life! They are who I am, and they make me want to better myself so I can be the best mom for them. I love them with every breath I have.Watching Mickey Mouse after waking up in the morning. Clearly I was in the way.

I hope to receive many more handmade cards like the one I got this year. Nothing is better!

The kids' room (the current state).

I love this room. Even though it's far from complete and hardly show worthy, it contains some of my favorite projects I've done to date. So, I'm sharing it today, as is.

This room has definitely been a labor of love; I have made a lot of the things you'll see in this room. I'm especially proud of the fact that I used quite a bit color in here. Don't get me wrong, I like colorful rooms; but I tend to be quite the color phobe when decorating in my own home. I admit without shame- I love beige. It's easy and I never suffer from color remorse.

This room has been constantly evolving ever since I began updating it from Cameron's first nursery to a big boy room, and finally to a shared gender neutral room for a baby and toddler.

I started building the bookshelf last July and applied the last coat of stain in December. Truth be told, this is my absolute least favorite piece of furniture I've built, from a construction stand point . I can see nailheads and a few shelves are slightly bowed; it bothers me because it reflects my poor craft, but I cut myself a little slack knowing that I have learned from the mistakes I made. Regardless, this piece is functional and is very solid. And I do love the color of the stain.
I found the green storage crates at Target for throwing random toys in. I love that fish tank (so does Cameron!)- we've had it over 6 months and I have cleaned it only once. It's the perfect size and has a great, quiet filter.


If you remember, I built the oversized abacus last spring, and never got around to hanging it up. Finally, it has a place on the wall! Cameron is always counting the beads.

I decided to keep the rocking chair around even though space is tight in this room. We read books in this spot every day and night, and it's nice to have a place to feed Kylie in the wee hours of the morning.

I know alphabet posters are super popular (and perhaps a bit overdone) in kids rooms right now, but I personally love the trend! I made this one up in InDesign and picked colors I thought would go well in the room. I sent it to mpix.com do the printing (same place I print all my photos) and put it in a frame I already had laying around.

I had a really hard time looking for a nice coat rack for this room. I had a few requirements (inexpensive, lots of hooks) and never could find one I really liked. I spotted a utility rack (like one you'd hang brooms and mops on) at Target, and jazzed it up with wooden dowel caps from Hobby Lobby. I used the same paint from the abacus, so it matches perfectly.
The other side of the room is pretty bare. I recently decided not to put the energy into getting more stuff on the walls, since we're going to be selling our house VERY soon (we hope to get it ready and have it listed by the end of summer)! I'm already dreaming of gender specific rooms and can't wait to do a girly room for Kylie.

This is the toddler bed I built for Cameron last fall when he climbed out of his crib. I built the bed in about 5 hours, but it took about 2 weeks to stain since it was so hot and humid at that point. See that pillow on his bed?
I always said that I wouldn't be the type of parent that let their kid plaster their room in Disney characters (nothing wrong with that, just not my cup o' tea), but I thought a Buzz Lightyear pillow wouldn't hurt. Cameron loves Toy Story and there wasn't a great selection for boy fabrics at JoAnn's when I went last week. He loves it and well, so do I. =)

Even though the room isn't complete, I'm so happy that it contains my passion and hobby of being able to make things for my family. We spend a lot of time in this room- it is very well loved!

Until next time!

A Great weekend.

We just returned from a little vacation over the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City! We had so much fun and we have plans to make it a tradition to go every year around Cameron and Kylie's birthday since both are in the winter. Here are some pictures from our stay (there are lots!).

It took a lot of convincing to get Cameron to go down the water slides at first. After the first time, we couldn't get him off!

This is such a cheesy picture of both me and Cameron, but it's the only one that wasn't blurry. My husband is the world's worst photographer!
But he's the world's best Dad!

Little Kylie, sleeping on the Lazy River.


This is the prize Cameron got with the tickets from the arcade. In case you were wondering, yes. Yes my son has a Silly Band obsession.

We took a break from the Lodge and did a little shopping at Legends outdoor mall. Cameron managed to find a water fountain and get completely soaked!

What my husband lacks in photography skills, he makes up for by being able to fix anything, including a flat tire. Thank the Lord for that skill, because we needed it on the way home from Kansas City. We were stopped for about an hour, and had it not been for the DVD player in the truck, it would have seemed like an eternity!
We made it home safe (though completely exhausted) and we can't wait to go back!

Kylie is 3 months old!

Time is a flyin'. I thought time flew by fast with one kid, but it goes by even faster with two. It's hard to believe that next month we'll be trying solids!

We're starting to see a little more of her sweet personality each day! This girl smiles all the time now and is a very happy baby. Unfortunately, she got sick for the first time this month too. Last week, she came down with a cold and an ear infection. It was really rough for her, and rough for me as well to see her like that. Cameron had the same thing the week prior, so we knew it was a matter of time before she got it too. That boy loves to kiss, hug, and breathe the same air as her. If he can't see her, he's asking where she is. He is constantly telling her that he loves her, and says things like "aw, she's so cute!" and "you a big girl Ky Ky! You take all your medicine!" He'll see her laying on her playmat and say "Come here Kylie, I hold you!" He will also very loudly announce that "SHHHHHHH KYLIE IS SLEEPING!!!!! whenever she's asleep in her carseat and someone is checking her out. It's pretty sweet.
I've been really bad about taking pictures of just Kylie. Whenever I get the camera out, you-know-who jumps right in for a photo op with his little sister. Hopefully soon I'll get some good pictures of just her but for now, I'm just happy he loves to be around her.

Until next time!

The Perfect Pizza.

For as long as I can remember, pizza has been one of my favorite foods, hands down. It's in our dinner rotation once a week, usually on Fridays and once more if there is a college basketball game we want to watch on TV ( sidenote: my alma mater Wichita State is playing for the NIT championship on Thursday- woop!). Until recently, our pizza has always been take out; the greasy, cheesy take out. I'd eat 4 slices and (obviously) have big regrets a few hours later.

I got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for my birthday last December, and since then I've been doing a lot of experimenting making pizza dough at home. I've gone through about 4-5 different recipes, some good, some just so-so. I was determined to find the perfect dough recipe- one that was not only tasty, but simple enough to throw together in a short time.

I ran across a great food blog several weeks ago called Annie's Eats. I found an excellent dough recipe there; it's crusty and chewy, and tastes fantastic. The best part is that the recipe makes 2 pizzas, so I make a pizza immediately and freeze the other half for the following Friday. I expected to have to do a little of my own experimenting but her recipe is perfect, as is.

half 3 meat, half chicken, bacon and ranch.

Even if you have a dough recipe you like, you might learn something new from her pizza making tips and tricks. You also might like her recipe for chicken ranch pizza- this is my new favorite!

Now I'm craving it!

Snippets.

I promise that it is not my intention to make this blog into a one-post-a-month-about-what-we're-doing blog. But it's happening, and such is my life right now. You know on the opening sequences of The Simpson's where Bart is always writing sentences on the chalkboard (I will NOT draw naked ladies in class. I will NOT draw naked ladies in class...)? I totally feel like Bart right now, only I'm writing "I will not abandon my blog. I will not abandon my blog...". I'm trying my best to get back to regular blogging- bear with me!

Kylie is 2 months old! I love that little girl to death, but I'll be honest: I'm ready for her to grow up a little faster. I have loved every second of the toddler stage with Cameron, and I can't wait until I can hold cute little conversations with her. I can't stop kissing those cheeks.
And on that note, I'm sad to report that I'm going bald again. Ok, so maybe I'm not going bald, but I'm losing a LOT of hair, just as I did post partum with Cameron. It's noticeable, and well, it sucks. I suppose that's what I get since I didn't have an ounce of morning sickness, eh?

I'm so anxious for consistent warm weather so I can get into the garage and start working on some projects. I've desperately been needing a work area and place to store all my tools, so my plan is to design and build a large work bench/table. I'm pretty sure I've got enough scrap wood to do this, so it should be a free project! After I do that, I plan on building a small side table for our upper deck so we have a place to set our coffee when we sit outside in the mornings.

I realize it's a little early, but I have already ordered Kylie's first birthday gift! Cameron got a Pottery Barn Anywhere chair for his first birthday, and so will Kylie. I was able to snag this lavender dot cover on clearance for 19.99- it doesn't get cheaper than that! Unfortunately it's on back order until next month, but I'm not sweatin' it since I don't need it until next January. I wasn't about to pass on that deal!
Until next time, friends!

Let's catch up a bit!

Forgive me for the lack of content around here. We have obviously been busy! I've been reading blogs and browsing the internet lately from my phone, making it inconvenient to post anything or comment on all my favorite blogs. For the last few weeks, I kept telling myself I needed to blog- but days passed, weeks passed and before you know it, a whole month had passed.

So. It's been a crazy month. A few weeks ago, Jon left on business for a few days leaving me and the kids at home. Normally, I wouldn't sweat Jon leaving because I have an abundance of family that are always willing to help out if I need it. But this time, he left right before a major snow storm, and we were snowed in the house for two whole days. On the third day, one of my brother-in-laws came to shovel my driveway just so I could get my car out of the garage. It was sun up to sun down with my kids- no breaks to be had. The house was a hot mess, and I was an even hotter mess (Like, I was lucky to get one 5 minute shower in 3 days). It was rough, but we all survived. And I am ever so grateful to have a husband who helps me out so much.

Oddly enough, within a few weeks, we saw a 95 degree temperature jump and have barely spent much time indoors in the past week! It was -17 degrees the week prior, so it felt like summer when went to the zoo on Thursday. It's been in the 60's and 70's the past few days and we're loving it.

Little miss Kylie slept through her entire first zoo trip. She is getting so big, so fast. She weighed 10 lbs 13 oz. at her 1 month appointment. She still sleeps most of the day, but since she's 6 weeks old now, I have a feeling she'll be sleeping less during the day and we'll start seeing more of her little personality.

I have so much more to document and write, but it sounds like Kylie is in need of attention. I've definitely got my hands full but wouldn't have it any other way! Until next time! =)

Snippets.

Small confession: my husband and I are bird nerds. And by that, I mean we like to "bird watch"- you know, the hobby usually meant for senior citizens? Senior citizens we are not, but living less than a half mile from a greenbelt and having a lake in our backyard, we see tons of unique birds all the time and we love observing them. Imagine my excitement when I opened up our back door blinds last Friday morning and spotted this graceful beauty:
A bald eagle! I couldn't believe it- I've never seen one in the wild before, let alone in my back yard. I ran to find my zoom lens to snap a picture, and he stayed for about a half hour (he was munching on a dead goose) before flying away.

We are still doing really well at home with a new little one. Cameron loves her so much (maybe a little too much!) and kisses her all day long. Though it's still early in the game, I seem to be far less sleep deprived this time around too. Boy, do I love my babies.

Part of my unwritten, unofficial new years resolutions was to completely go through my closet and get rid of everything I don't wear anymore. I also wanted to get rid of all my pregnancy clothes (and normal clothes stretched out by pregnancy). I ended up getting rid of about 1/3 of my stuff and I'm ready for a new wardrobe- thankfully I have a bunch of gift cards and cash from Christmas and birthday saved for this purpose! It feels good to have so much stuff gone that has been collecting dust over the years.

I am so ready for spring (can I get an Amen?)! I can't wait to see my bulbs sprout up soon, and more importantly, I'm ready to stock up on these little pieces of heaven:Can I get another Amen?!

January 10, 2011

I had been waiting anxiously for this very date for about 7 weeks- when we decided it was best to go ahead with a repeat scheduled c-section in order to meet our daughter. As the weeks got closer and closer, I got more excited, but I also grew nervous because there was a snow storm looming in the forecast for the night before and day of Kylie's birthday. I didn't want to have to drive to the hospital or get Cameron off to grandmas in those conditions. 4-8 inches, they predicted.

Its about 20 minutes to grandmas and 15 more back the other direction to the hospital when there is no bad weather. Some of you northerners may be laughing at a mere 4 inches of snow, but we aren't constantly getting snow storms in Kansas and people forget how to drive when it does, especially the first storm of the winter season. What should have taken less than 45 minutes took us about 2.5 hours. Traffic was bumper to bumper (literally in hundreds of cases) but we arrived safely at the hospital with minutes to spare for our 9:30 am check in.

At 9:30, we were given a small amount of paperwork to fill out, and then a nurse came to get us and take us to our room. She started the IV, and a slew of other medical staff were in and out to ask and answer questions. It all seemed to go very quickly and I was getting really ancy to be rolled into the OR so we could get this birthday party started!

A little more than an hour later and minutes before surgery was scheduled to happen, the nurse comes in and informed me that my doc was currently delivering another baby at another hospital. I was pretty irritated but more so because I hadn't eaten or drank anything since dinner the previous night and it was nearing lunchtime. My husband will be the first to tell you that a hungry wife= a cranky wife, so imagine my predicament. I was ready to have this baby and envisioned a huge Jimmy Jon's sandwich ready and waiting for me in recovery. Wishful thinking. So there we stood with no real timeline at that point, just waiting for the call from the doc that she was in route to my hospital.

At about 12:30 pm (what seemed to be days later) we got the green light to head to the operating room for surgery. I got on the table, received the epidural, and the team of nurses and doctors went to work. At 1:16 pm on a very beautiful and snowy day, Kylie Kathleen entered the world with a sweet and soft cry. "Look at her hair! " I heard someone exclaim. It was dark, curly and there was a lot of it! The tears began rolling and there was no stopping them. They took her and cleaned her quickly, and passed her off to dad while they finished my surgery. I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. I am so in love- with her, with Cameron, and with my husband.

We stayed in the hospital for the next 48 hours and were home by Wednesday afternoon. I am recovering really well; and though I notice great improvement in pain every day, handling Cameron was very difficult the first 4-5 days home. I can't lift him yet, and I've just started to be able to have him sit in my lap because my incision is still fairly sore. That said, I am completely off all my pain meds as of yesterday. I was really hating how the side effects made me feel, so I stopped taking them and am doing great without them!
Overall, we are adjusting to being a family of 4 really well! It probably helps that Kylie sleeps so much right now- so we are all getting great sleep. I'm not quite ready for this honeymoon phase to end and reality to set in yet. Cameron loves to kiss her and say "hi" to her all the time. I hope they will be good friends through life.
Here's a pic before church this morning- and yes, my boys dress alike quite frequently. I think it's so cute. =)

Oh, this is love.

Friends, meet my sweet baby Kylie! She arrived yesterday via c-section at 1:15 in the afternoon, weighed 8lbs 4 oz, and is 20 inches long. I was a little surprised she weighed so much even though she was about a week early! She is so awesome and beautiful- and she looks just like Cameron did when he was born, only she has much more hair!
I am recovering pretty pretty well (just very tired), and it looks like we'll be heading home tomorrow. I've got tons of pictures and I'll post more when I get home and settled, but for now I'll leave you one of my favorites from my phone. :)
I love these babies with all my being!

A rough start.

Oh, 2011 did not start great for me. At about 3 a.m on New Years morn, I woke up feeling nauseous, and consequently spent the rest of that night, and all the next day hovering over the toilet. I felt like death. And after all that talk about how my 27th year was going to be so fabulous! Blah.

Around noon on New Years, my gut instinct told me I should probably head over to labor & delivery to make sure that me and the baby were OK. As I had suspected, I was severely dehydrated and was the lucky recipient of an IV bag full of liquids and a dose of Zofran for the nausea. Until last night, I hadn't eaten anything- and I'm just now regaining my appetite. I felt SO stressed yesterday because we have so much to do this week (last minute cleaning, hospital bag packing, etc.) and all I could think about was laying in bed. I took 5 naps (yes, 5!) and today, I feel much better and have most of my energy back. I have no idea what I'd do without my husband, who totally took over caring for Cameron as well as me.

As odd as it may sound, I enjoyed being in the hospital and wished we were there for the "real thing". When I was in labor with Cameron, I had the sweetest nurses and Saturday's experience was no different. It just made me all the more anxious for next Monday! We are doing anything and everything to make time pass quickly, even squeezing in a few last minute dates this week.

Happy New year, everyone!