Huse Blog is it Anyway?

2011-11-27T08:16:00.002-05:00

Knock Knock. Is anyone still out there? Reading this?

I am going to start blogging again....but wondering if I should.....?????

.........blowing the dust off this thing. Anyone with me?

A little more love

2011-02-17T21:47:00.004-05:00

It looks as though a few of you jumped on the Flexi tol bandwagon and are loving life with your soft hooves, eh? I'm SO glad that y'all tried it. Even more glad that you tried it and loved it, so I don't look like a big fat liar!

I realized in the last few days that there are some things I love that I accidentally left off here. I can't do that to y'all. Especially since the Flexitol trip worked so well. What kind of friend would I be if I left you hanging and didn't tell you about all the following goodness?

Microfiber Rags
I had seen them before. They're pretty ugly. But soft. And rubbing your hand on it, you'll soon discover how dry your skin really is...snaggy!

HOWEVER, when on my search to find the right mop for our new floors, my BIL suggested I buy some microfiber rags instead.

Can I just tell you how in LOVE I am with these things!!? I now use them to clean mirrors, windows, wood laminate floors, glass table tops, fridge front, stovetop, microwave....and the list goes on. Seriously? Anything. They are amazing. No smudges.

If you have stainless steel appliances, these are a MUST.

If you have a mirror in your house, these are a must.

I searched for a picture of them tonight and wanted to see if I could find any that were better looking. During my failed search, thus far, I found this site. That's a lot of microfiber goodness. I think I might be checking out some of their goods!!!

Gel Nails
Actually, I'm pretty sure mine are acrylic, but the nail tech kept calling them "gel nail," so I'm going to go with that. I wore these for YEARS, then stopped after having kids. I didn't want to indulge in them without bringing in some money myself, to pay for them. I've just recently gotten over that. Aren't they purty!?And while we're on the subject of nails, this is one of the funniest clips I've ever seen on this subject. And I've seen........two. I may have posted it before, but it's worth a re-post. If you have ever gotten your nails done, you'll appreciate this.

Love and In Search Of

2011-02-08T22:13:00.010-05:00

BOO!!!

Surprise! I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Recap - we've moved three times in the last year. Had a baby, a few significant injuries, sicknesses and schedule changes.

The blog has obviously taken a back seat. Like WAY back. Like the back seat of a hummer limo. Hummer stretch limo. Maybe it's even taken a trunk seat.

So instead of truly catching up like I wanted to, I'm just going to start from today. Start with the things I'm thinking about right now.

And that is......stuff I love and things I'm in search of. (Yes, Dad....I am ending sentences with prepositions. I'm sorry)

Here are a few of my favorite things lately.....

Aveeno Chapstick
My lips get super chapped. I bite the skin on my lips if they get dry. Every other chapstick I've tried has either tasted, felt or smelled awful. Aveeno scored big with none of the above. It makes your lips soft, not waxy. It's unscented. And there is no taste. I can only find it at Target, so I buy it by the cart full. Or maybe just two at a time.

Aveeno Lotion - with Soothing Oat Essence
They didn't stop at awesome chapstick. Nope, they also did a bang up job with lotion. And it has to be the one with oat essence. Although, I'm not sure why. It's just phenomenal. Not greasy. Unscented. Loverly.

Flexitol
I'm beginning to feel a little self-conscious about my dry skin now!

I don't know how to explain my feet. I call them Farm Girl Feet (thanks, Andrea). If I could go barefoot (a la Joss Stone) every day, all day, I would. I'm in flip flops about 90% of the year, regardless of temperature. I get pedicures about once every three months - on a good year. But even when I went once a month, my pedicurist would say "oooohhh.....you no take care your feet. Baaaaad." My heels usually have about a 1/2 inch crack on them that is about 1/4 of an inch deep. Pain. Ful.

I wish I had taken a before and after picture, but I truly didn't think this stuff was going to work. Boy, was I wrong. I was using the Aveeno lotion twice a day, but it just wasn't cutting it for my sorry soles. Flexitol twice a day - within DAYS my feet looked like they were fresh from the pedi chair! I don't know what ingredient is the miracle cure, but if you have bad heels, GET THIS!!!
.........and with that yummy picture in our heads, lets move on to food, shall we?

Smuckers Creamy Natural Peanut Butter
I was a sold-out Jif girl. Then this little gem came into my life and I'm forever changed. It's just peanuts and salt. You can even get the no-salt-added kind, but I'm a fan of salt. But seriously, how many times do you actually eat something that a) has ALL ingredients you can pronounce and b) has only two ingredients?

I eat it on apples, celery and spoons! De. Lish. Hidden Valley Harvest Dill Dip
I love fresh, raw veggies. There are just a few (read - all of them) that I don't like to eat plain. Like celery. I know they tell you to eat celery plain, but come ON!

I found the Harvest Dill Dip packages next to the Ranch packets and I haven't bought another ranch packet since. This is the bomb.

Smithfield's Diet Coke - Light Ice
I'm pretty sure this is a regional chain, so I'm sorry for those of you who don't get to experience the goodness that is the fountain soda at this joint. I've had some of their food, which is pretty delectable. And their service is spectacular. They're a fast food restaurant, but they bring your food to you at your table. They clean up after you. And when you go through daily (ahem, because I've heard some people do that), they know your voice, automatically give you your military discount (which is rare in a military town, did ya know?), and have the pink balloon and teddy grahams ready for your daughter when you get to the window.

And their Diet Coke is simply the perfect balance of syrup and CO2. I just can't describe it. The ice rivals Sonic's, to which I was also addicted at one point. Smithfield's - two thumbs up for perfect fountain Diet Coke!
You know what? This is my first post after being absent for so long, I think I'll stop now and save the grammatically incorrect "in search of," for another day. Then I get credit for blogging twice, as well!!

Getting Mobile

2010-12-11T15:23:00.000-05:00

Emerson just figured out how to (low) crawl. She can't sit up on her own just yet, but rolling and crawling, she's all over that.

post signature

DIY Before and After

2010-11-11T22:05:00.003-05:00

This is NOT my project, but makes me want to get on Craigslist IMMEDIATELY and find me an entertainment center. Seriously, I have a crafty itch that I cannot scratch because of living in this apartment.

Someone rescue me!!!

Check this out. It's originally from Design Sponge {here}.

Quick....

2010-10-27T23:15:00.001-04:00

I'm not really updating, but found this great Yankee Candle Coupon. This will come in handy for Christmas gifts!

...is frustrated.

2010-10-18T21:19:00.003-04:00

Oh wait, this isn't my Facebook status, I can type more than that.

I want to blog. Really, I do. But there is SO much to be caught up on, because it's been THREE months since I blogged last.

I made a video. Then I made it again. And again....and again until the 8th time, I just said "who cares, this is the video, I don't care if I look dumb or repeat myself." It was fifteen minutes long. Yowsers. I uploaded it anyway, because I didn't care if nobody watched it. At least I blogged.

It looks like a bad Japanese movie. My voice catches up nearly 15 seconds after my mouth moves. It's awful. So I guess I need to just type it all out. Or try the video again, NOT with my webcam, but with my Flip.

I'll decide...then get back with you.

Random recent photos:

Oh God, You Are My God....

2010-06-22T21:27:00.004-04:00

Part of the lyrics to Step by Step, because you might not understand Lorelai.

Oh God, You Are My God
And I will ever praise You.
Oh God, You Are My God
And I will ever praise You.

I will seek You in the morning.
And I will learn to walk in Your ways.
And step by step You lead me.
And I will follow You all of my days.

Here is Michael W Smith singing it, in case you want to hear the real version.

How It's Going...

2010-06-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

I wrote this email to a few friends and figured since I haven't blogged in a while, I'd put this out there...

Tonight, Lorelai is getting ready to take a shower so she strips down to her bare butt while I'm putting Emerson to bed. She is in the room with me most of the time, and probably out of my sight for like 5-8 minutes.

I put Emerson down.

I go get Lorelai, she's playing quietly in her bedroom.

Give Lorelai a shower. Get her dressed.

Go to her bedroom to put her down and it smells like urine. I ask her what it is, she claims to have no idea. I pull back her blanket on her bed and see a wet spot on her sheet. I lean in and see that it's clearly pee. I ask her why she didn't tell me she wet her bed this morning, and she says " I don't know."

So as I pull back her million dollar Pottery Barn quilt, I realize it's SOAKING wet.

Me: "Lorelai, why is your bed all wet?"
Lorelai: "Because I pee pee'd on it, Mom" (all matter-of-factly)
Me: "Why did you pee on your bed?"
Lorelai: "Because I didn't want the pee pee to get on the floor!" (like DUH Mommy!)
Me: "Did it ever occur to you to go pee pee in the potty?"
Lorelai: "Nope. I already pee pee'd on the bed, there wasn't any more."

So clearly we're making GREAT strides towards getting her potty trained.

Shoot. Me. Now.

Poor Kids

2010-06-03T21:42:00.001-04:00

2 Months Old

2010-06-03T09:28:00.002-04:00

We'll find out her two-month stats on Monday.

Emerson is rolling over, said "dada" and will be sitting up soon!

Well, that's more interesting than what has really happened over the last few weeks. She found her hands. That's it.

But we think it's pretty darn cute! And it occupies her so she forgets she's hungry all the time. She's cooing now too. When Lorelai coos back to her, she cries. Not sure what this means.

Lorelai has actually shown a lot more interest in her lately because she's more responsive. Today she held her for nearly 30 minutes and fed her for about 30 seconds. That's a vast improvement. She usually lost interest around 5 seconds. No exaggeration.

Emerson is sleeping very well through the night. Gets up twice to eat. We're just about done nursing. Which is okay. I gave it all I had. I took all the supplements and prescription drugs I could. Tried nursing on demand with no formula (shoot. me.) and nothing worked. But, she's healthy, getting some fat rolls and very happy! Can't ask for more!

Aside from her disdain for the car, she barely ever cries. The car hatred is quite difficult, as we're in it a lot. I hope she gets used to it soon, because I REFUSE to stay home!

Until next time...

Looking through old photos....

2010-05-31T22:45:00.008-04:00

I'm delaying going to bed because I had a bunch of caffeine to keep me awake for painting....then I finished much sooner than expected.

So....here's what I found.

Can you believe that I used to think I was fat at this point in my life!? WHY!? If I only knew then what I know now!

I'm in the yellow wig - don't ask.

This is my natural hair color. I had nearly forgotten!! It was right before I cut off some 13+ inches for Locks of Love.

And look at this....is it just me, or is there a little of Emerson in this photo?

I forgot how much I LOVED coaching a dance team!
Okay, please....don't EVER let me do this to my hair again! (we call this my "floating head" picture) ha ha ha

I kinda miss the theme parties we used to have...
It's amazing how in three years, things can go from this...

to this...

Raingutter Bookshelves

2010-05-28T21:51:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I found this tutorial on making bookshelves out of rain gutters. It took me a while to get up the motivation, but I did. The workload was tiny and the result is fantastic! The bookshelves don't take up much room at all and all the books are facing Lorelai, which someone once told me was supposed to keep her more interested in them. We'll see how that works out.

What'ya think?

Lorelai loves them. I might even have to throw a few up in Emerson's room!

2010-05-23T20:19:00.007-04:00

Lorelai had her first dance recital. She is attending a Christian dance studio, so the costumes are modest and they dance to Christian music. I am super pleased about that. I don't have to have the "the booty-shaking dancing isn't appropriate for our house" talk yet.

Lorelai and her friend Natalie go to class together. They both love it. Natalie is a great student. She follows directions. Smiles. Uses manners. It's so sweet. Lorelai? Well, she follows directions, when she wants to. Smiles, when she feels like it. Uses manners occasionally...after scowling at the teacher. But snow angels, kissing the mirror, hanging from the barre? Yeah, she's got those down PAT!

But obviously she learned something, because at her recital rehearsal she did the entire dance!!

However, at the recital....well....she got sidetracked by shiny objects. The shiny objects were her family and PEYTON!

You'll see in the video that Peyton is calling to Lorelai. When Lorelai finally realizes it's Peyton, she REALLY wants her teachers to listen to her that "PEYTON IS HERE!" I'm pretty shocked she didn't get out of her dance space to make someone listen.

Sorry about the shakiness. I didn't realize I was going to be laughing and crying that I would need a tripod.

Enjoy.

I'll share some of her rehearsal later too.

Emerson or Lorelai???

2010-05-22T21:41:00.002-04:00

Which is which?

Argh Matey - Don't Mess With Me Booty

2010-05-22T20:36:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know (non-Facebookers), JD broke his foot and is non-weight-bearing for six weeks. Seeing as how it is pretty difficult to get your job done with two hands on crutches (or crunches, as Lala calls them) and one leg up, JD got this contraption.

I have to admit, as good as it is for him, and how well he walks with it....I still giggle. A lot.

It's fun to watch people watch him maneuver in it. He's like a walking side show!

6 weeks and smiling

2010-05-22T20:17:00.002-04:00

One Month

2010-05-03T21:43:00.003-04:00

Emerson's one month checkup produced great results.

WEIGHT: Up an ounce a day, YAY!! 7lbs 15oz - 25% (this is crazy to us. Lorelai was never 25% on anything!)

LENGTH: Up 3/4" to 21 1/2" - 75%

HEAD: 50%

FEET: Off. The. Charts.

No, seriously...check out those kicks....

She looks SO much cuter in person to me!!!! JD, Lorelai and I are completely in love with this little monkey!!

Too bad the blog is totally playing 2nd fiddle right now.

Comparison

2010-04-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

First and third photos are Lorelai at 2 months.

Second and fourth photos are of Emerson at 4 days.

What do you think? I see a resemblance some days....it'll be interesting to see, as time progresses.

The birth story....

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

At 2:30, I woke up with a painful contraction. I had been having contractions for weeks, but this one seemed different. I still didn't trust my intuition (mistake) and decided to wait until I had five of those painful contractions. It took a while. I have a weird high pain tolerance. I woke JD up, just in case, but told him that if we went in, we'd probably get sent home.

At about 3, I called Kelly (the official leg-holder) and told her my status, but also told her that I thought I was going to be sent home. She went back to sleep.

My contractions were five minutes apart, but I still hadn't experienced five painful ones. UNTIL.....about 3:30, contractions went from five minutes apart to .... no minutes apart. They were back to back and the pain was starting to increase.

I called Kelly back and she could tell by my voice that this was "it." She hopped into gear.

4:00am, we FINALLY made it into the car (I hadn't finished packing the hospital bag, I'm such a slacker). I suggested to JD that we call a police escort. I'm not sure he knew how serious I was.

We arrived at the hospital at about 4:20 (I definitely wasn't looking at a clock at this point). I was already feeling the urge to push....but kept my legs crossed, just in case. As if that would have really helped.

We pulled up to the ER door and I got out. That's when my water broke. The poor security guard coming off duty got the pleasure of rounding up a wheelchair to shove me in. I wanted to walk. I was SURE that the moment I sat down, we'd be having a baby. I wasn't exactly wrong. I sat in the chair and the poor man RAN me through the hospital as quickly as he could. I was telling him I needed to push. He gave me the stank eye (I'm guessing) as he begged me not to push. In the elevator, even against his wishes, I began to push. I mean really...ladies...those of you who have had a baby...when it's time to push, you can't just STOP...am I right?

As we ran into Labor and Delivery, I heard all the nurses scrambling as one proclaimed "we have a drive by!!!"

They rushed me into an open room as the nurses, anesthesiologist (who was laughing at me, by the way), and midwives set everything up for the delivery of Baby to Mother X. Security guard quickly disappeared. The poor guy wanted NOTHING to do with what was about to happen.

4:28(ish) the staff is ripping my clothes off, trying to get me in a gown, asking me my name and telling me to calm down. In between contractions, I was asking for drugs....which is why the anesthesiologist was giggling.

It was then that I realized JD wasn't in the room. Nor was Kelly . I was about to deliver this baby alone. I was 10cm and +2 station. If I hadn't already accepted it, it was then that I realized it was truly "go time." So much for being sent home.

Push one. Ring of Fire. But, not too bad...I can handle this.

Push two...JD "Kramered" into the room, trying to take pictures and see what he could do to help. I'm not sure he knew he was about to meet his second baby.

Push three...a little bit more pain... and "IT'S A BOY!"

Yep, the moment we were all waiting for.......and the nurse who wasn't supposed to open her mouth....got it wrong!

The midwife quickly corrected her and she exited stage left! Nothing else about this birth experience went as "planned," so why would that moment!?

So, no drugs, and three official pushes and our angel had arrived.

Kelly made it about the time Emerson was being weighed. She kept saying "if I hadn't taken that freakin' shower, I would have been here in time." Apparently, she was looking for our swagger van on the side of the road on the way in.

Emerson came into the world pretty silent, but alert. Her eyes were open when they gave her to me. I held her and was afraid because she wasn't crying. But that was just her way of showing me what type of newborn she was going to be. She has been amazing. In another post, I'll have to compare this experience (postpartum) compared to my experience with Lorelai. It's unreal how different they are!

It's amazing how blessed we feel. We tried so long to get pregnant with our girls and then they arrive and it's like life never existed without them. I'm just beyond thrilled at our life!!

I really wanted this post to be funnier...more entertaining...as we really felt the delivery was. But, I'm afraid I have fallen short.

There's something about having this baby in my arms and a three-year-old running around that makes the blog even less important than it was before! What is happening with me!? Are my priorities REALLY starting to fall in line!?

All is well here in the Huse household. Hopefully I'll upload the video soon of Lorelai and Emerson meeting for the first time. It was priceless!

I'll tell you what, though....I'm about done with Lorelai asking when the next baby in my belly is coming out. Yeah, yeah, yeah....I look like I still have yet to deliver my child. I lost ALL my baby weight from this pregnancy. Now to lose the weight from when I was pregnant with Lorelai. I'm a little behind that power curve.

Big Sister got all dressed up for her "surprise."
She didn't know that I had Emerson.
Grandpa told her that I was at the hospital with a surprise for her.

Just a side note here....for those of you who don't believe me.
Same dress. Two Easters ago.
She really HAS been the same size (4T) since she was 10 months old!!!

She looked her up and down several times.
Then asked what her surprise was. :-D

This big sister gig is exhausting!

My loves

The shirts we didn't have time to bust out....

At least the Easter Bunny didn't forget to visit...with baskets for both girls.

We're still not sure if the egg hunt was for the girls or the boys.
Rob is one COMPETITIVE egg hunter!!! :-D

The girls enjoying their loot.

Loving on her baby, Emerson.

It's a GIRL!!

2010-04-03T13:17:00.004-04:00

Emerson Harper Huse

April 2nd, 2010

4:32am
7 lbs 2oz, 20 3/4 inches
We couldn't be more blessed! The birth story is quite amusing, but I'll get to that in another post. Right now, I need to get back to my family of four. This is THE life!!!

I don't have time to photoshop anything, so these are straight out of the camera or camera phone.

Thank you for bein' a frieeeeend.....

2010-04-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, some sweet and creative friends of mine threw me a baby shower! Totally unexpected and even better, it was at a spa!!! We all got massages, which is why everyone looks great and I look puffy. Yep, check out those eyes!! YIKES!

True personalities come out when candid photos are being snapped.
The gifts were creative and useful and funny!!

I think we all had a pretty good time, getting to hang out, without children for a few hours.

A few of these girls hadn't ever met, so it was nice to introduce new friends.

Courtesy of my craftiest friend, Nicole....

I am SO blessed to have such a wonderful support group of friends here in North Carolina! Now do you see why I so badly wanted to come back!!!!!

Thanks again, girls!!!

Happy birthday....PSYCH!

2010-03-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

A few months ago I updated my Facebook status BEGGING someone in St. Louis to ship me Jack in the Box tacos, my ONLY pregnancy craving. Many said they would. But I received none.

UNTIL...my birthday...

From my mother and father-in-law. I was so excited!!!

Until I saw the "do not eat" portion. :-( I went from elated to broken-hearted in a matter of seconds. They had been in the mail just a little too long, or I would have totally scarfed them down. To make matters worse, they still smelled delicious.

I kept them for another two days, smelling them every chance I got. I was hoping that would satisfy the craving.

It didn't.

Thanks a lot guys!

Handless much?

2010-03-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Ultimate Brownie Pan (birthday gift, courtesy of Kelly)

Does anyone else see a really bad photoshop job here?

Cole, will you marry me?

2010-03-27T10:20:00.000-04:00

A while ago I posted on Facebook about how I was confused about the way to appropriately introduce ourselves to all our neighbors when we moved in. Still, not one neighbor who was already living here when we moved in has made any attempt at an introduction. As a matter of fact, one of our neighbors seems to ignore us when we try to introduce ourselves.

However, about a month after we moved in, another family moved in across the street. We watched them, with envy, as they unpacked their boxes WAY faster than we were getting to ours. I wanted to dislike them just for their motivation. One day as JD was outside, the husband came over and introduced himself and he and JD hit it off. He's a doctor (Trip), his wife is a pregnant PA (Shannon) and they have an almost-five-year-old son (Cole.) We realized quickly that we all have a lot in common and FINALLY we have a real neighborly relationship like I've always wanted. They probably think I'm a weird stalker, and part of that is right. Which part, you decide.

We watch their kid at a moment's notice, they watch ours in return. We have dinner over there impromptu, and we return the favor. We do the "hey, what'cha doing? Can you come out and play" text messages. It's terrific! Tonight I made WAY too many sweet potato muffins and needed someone to pawn them off on, she was my first choice! She still forgets to come over when she needs vanilla, but whatever.

So, I'm super excited that we'll be blessed with their neighborliness for the next 18 months, when they will be moving to Florida. Too bad our yards aren't in closer proximity where we could hang out at their house with our baby monitors, or vice versa. That might just get DFS called on one of us.

A few weeks ago, Trip was getting ready to leave for some crazy dive school in Florida and they wanted to go out to eat sans child before he left the next morning. Seeing as how their son is a complete JOY, and he and Lorelai get along so well, we jumped at the chance to have him over for dinner and a little playdate that evening.

That's when it happened. My beat-up-every-girl-I-can-get-my-hands-on daughter fell in love with a boy. She turned gooey and flirty...batted her eyelashes and out of nowhere, asked Cole to marry her.

I'm not sure if he said "yes" because he wants to or because he's afraid of her.

But I'm pretty sure he pulled the whole "let me tell you a secret" trick and then quickly switcherooed into a cheek kiss. Lorelai didn't seem to mind. Shannon didn't seem surprised. Guess that's what Trip did to lure her in!

Here Lorelai is, making sure that Cole knows she is HIS.

Looks oddly similar to this picture of her with her cousins. Do I see a trend?

Here Cole and Lorelai are, gazing at the stars through their hand "oculars"
And what [play] date would be complete without playing doctor? Yes, they were closely monitored. But how funny that they were EXTREMELY specific about how the examined and what they said. They either really do listen to their parents or they're watching too much ER.

Quality time with the munchkin

2010-03-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

(has anyone noticed that I've totally blogged three days in a row!?)

With the new baby coming soon, I've been really trying to spend some good quality time with
Lorelai. She has gotten the short end of the stick lately, with the move and all that needed to be done with the house. We had a week of family visitors which was HEAVEN for her and this week has been all about Lorelai. We've watched a little more tv than she's usually allowed to have, played more games, had more tea parties, skipped more naps (not sure if that's been a good idea) and had more soda and ice cream than she's EVER had. I keep telling her not to get used to this, but in the meantime, we're having a blast.

Yesterday, we met our friends out for painted pottery and lunch.

I'm pretty sure the painted pottery was more for my friend Michelle and me, than it was for the girls. Lorelai's attention span for anything is about 10 minutes. Five minutes of that was spent picking out what to paint. The other five was spent staring off into space while dragging a half-dipped paintbrush across her flower pot. All she really wanted to do was paint her hands and wash them off. My poor child, the OCD cleaner.

Lorelai and Micayla

Having Michelle as a friend has been such a nice thing for me. She is just as OCD and high-strung as I am! Maybe even more so. I can't even dictate the situation to really relay how funny it was, but basically after lots of arguing on how to paint her flower pot, Micayla finally gave in, gave Michelle the flower pot base and said "here mom, you paint THIS!" Next time we're either going without children or Michelle will need to get her own piece of pottery.
While that was going on, I was busy having a heart attack watching my "so-over-the-painting" daughter doing pirouettes and sashays through the very breakable store. I was doing mental math on how much I would owe if she knocked down an entire bookshelf of pottery. It wasn't going to be cheap.

The girls had a lot of fun making silly faces for the camera, though. They are both SUCH hams.
I did get Lorelai to get paint on her thumbs and make prints around the top. Then I forced her, like any good high-strung mother would do, to finish the rest of the pot. Here's her finished project, pre-firing, of course. Hopefully she'll enjoy the potting of the flower for a little longer than the painting lasted.

We had a lot of laughs the short time we were at the pottery place. It was definitely topped off with the fact that the owner brought over a secret box and offered us jello shots. We thought she was kidding. She was not. Apparently this is where many high-strung mothers bring their kids and get a little buzz at the same time. I politely declined and pointed to my belly. She didn't seem to understand why I wouldn't still want one.

Then it was time for lunch. Check out these big girls. They were so cute, having deep conversation about poop. Already? Lorelai is three and Micayla will be four in two weeks....and already they think the word "poop" is hilarious. I thought that was supposed to be a boy thing?

After a good healthy lunch of hot dogs, grilled cheese, french fries and lemonade, we let the girls have some super yummy rainbow sherbet to top off the sugar high and took a little walk in Southern Pines.
It was such a fun day. The weather was terrific. The girls were well-behaved. And Michelle (7 weeks post-partum) and I got a lot of laughs and what felt like exercise after a winter of not much physical activity.

If only I could help her to develop an individual personality.

2010-03-24T21:15:00.003-04:00

37 weeks

2010-03-24T21:13:00.003-04:00

Here we are at 37 weeks. Not much change going on. I am "measuring" at 35 weeks, which is odd, because with Lorelai, I always measured like 8 weeks ahead. So, I'm guessing either this baby is hiding or will be tiny compared to Lorelai. We shall see.
We still don't know the sex of the baby, and contrary to what many might think, JD is actually doing okay with not knowing. Not that he has a choice at this point.

I've gained ten pounds so far. And before you go hating on me, remember I had a good amount to lose before I got pregnant. My goal was to gain nothing....oh well, I'll take ten.

I'm still feeling great. One time of day I'm uncomfortable is flipping myself over at night. I need one of those contraptions they use when transporting dolphins or whales that roll them over easily. That would rock.

Other than that, I've been having steady (like 5 minutes apart) Braxton Hicks contractions for almost two weeks now. Nothing is progressing, though. Except the back pain that comes along with some of said contractions. Those bring me to my knees.

However, I'm only 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. That makes me happy. I am not really ready yet for the baby. I mean, I can't wait to meet him/her, but we try so hard to get pregnant, and I really enjoy pregnancy. Each time we're pregnant could be the last time and I don't want to take a moment for granted. I'm also enjoying the quality one-on-one time I'm getting with Lorelai lately. Most everything super important is done in the house and I'm focusing the rest of my time on her.

I guess I should UN-focus on her for about an hour and get my hospital bag packed, though, huh? Yeah, still haven't done that yet.

Well, I'll keep y'all posted. I know you don't believe me, because I've been a horrible blogger, but this is the best way to keep everyone informed on the birth, so I promise I'll do better....at least for now. :-D

Me

2010-02-16T21:36:00.003-05:00

I suck at blogging.

Here are some pictures of Lorelai.

Cornfused

2010-01-07T22:23:00.006-05:00

20 Weeks

27 Weeks

Is it just me or is there really no change? I'm cornfused.

*** Let me just add this. I'm not worried about this. It's just entertaining to me how my two pregnancies are so different so far. ***

moving questions

2010-01-04T08:48:00.006-05:00

In a sea of this....

(which, by the way, is 400% better than it was four days ago,

JD has been working his TAIL off in here)

And these....

Is it weird that I open this cabinet to feel accomplished and happy?

And why, pray tell, do packers think this....
(like our new wall color?)

Belongs in the same box as these...

After six years and three moves, how do we end up
with FIVE DirecTV boxes. Free DVR anyone?

I just hope and pray that after all is said and done, it's a LOOOOOONG
time before I ever see mounds and mounds of THIS again...

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T10:23:00.003-05:00

We are busy trying to get everything ready for the movers who come on Thursday. We'll be in our new home town on Saturday and will hopefully be ready to start moving and shaking on the painting!!! YAY!

From our house to yours (in case you don't hear from me again until then....which is very likely)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Busy Busy Bees

2009-12-05T13:52:00.013-05:00

For the last three years, December has been a busy month for us. I know it's typically busy anyway, but for us we've also moved each time. This year is no different.

JD took his last test on Friday and aced it, so he's unofficially done with P.A. School. YAY! He's so excited. I'll give it to him - so far he hasn't gotten senioritis!! He's got a few weeks of electives to finish, then graduation, the PANCE review (like the "bar exam" for PAs) and he'll be what my friend Joey calls a "hot doc." :-) I'm so proud of him!

Next on our agenda is our big move. Well, it's not exactly a big move, so much as important for us! When we moved to North Carolina six years ago, we fell in love with a house, worked hard to make it "ours" and then sadly had to leave it. We decided it was best to rent it out because we hoped we would eventually be back.

Our first few renters were sketchy, to say the least. Then, about a year-and-a-half ago, we scored the best renters EVER! They've taken excellent care of the house and have been super accomodating when I've popped into town wanting to scope out the place to make sure it was still in one piece.

That's not even what makes them the best. A few weeks ago, we found out we were going to be stationed back in North Carolina. Not only are we excited because our best friends live there. We were excited about the possibility to be back in our house, until we realized that our tenants' lease wasn't up until March 31st . Not a big deal, if I wasn't due on April 9th. I was not liking the idea of yet another move while I was possibly in labor.

We took a shot in the dark and asked the tenants if they would consider moving out sooner than March 31st. We knew they loved the house as well, and there was a possibility they'd want to stay for another two years. After a couple emails back and forth, we got a huge surprise. Not only were they willing to help us out, they had found another house to move into and asked if moving mid-December would be too soon.

We cannot tell you how blessed we feel!! We have been smiling since we got that email. It's working out perfectly because the owner of the house we're renting now found a tenant scheduled to move in one day after we move out. It's working out well for everyone! What a relief!

We can't wait to get back to all of our friends back "home." We have loved living in different states, but I'm so over the moving! We'll hopefully be here for three years or more.

Here is our house. Some might not think it's grand or beautiful, but we love it. We put a lot of work into it, did a huge renovation (complete with taking down walls), and started our married life and family in this house. Lorelai spent the first six months of her life here too. It's our dream house for this stage in our lives. There is plenty of room for baby #2.... and I'm not gonna lie, JD is pretty stoked about the grand re-opening of JD's Pourhouse. Yep, our reno included a pub, complete with an in-the-wall tap. And it doesn't even look like a frat house!

This is our back yard. Our yard here in VA is fantastic, but this one in NC is 1/2 an acre and to us feels like a park!
I have so many plans for the house when we get back and everything needs to be done fairly quickly as I'd like to be done with most of it before the baby comes. Therefore, that should give me enough for more blog postings, right? Quit rolling your eyes. I'm serious.

I'll close with some pictures of three of the most important people in my life.

My best friend's wedding.

2009-11-17T13:56:00.000-05:00

I went to St. Louis for my best friend, Chris's wedding. It was beautiful. She was beautiful. I have no pictures. Yet. I was the Matron of Honor, so carrying around a camera was frowned upon. BUT, Lorelai was asked to be a flower girl for the wedding, and I wasn't sure how that would turn out. Surprisingly, Lorelai did a great job! We practiced before the wedding. I told her to walk slowly, because I would be up at the front and I pictured her sprinting (head down, like always) straight to me to retrieve her ~~bribe~~ reward sucker.

Her trip down the aisle took the longest of any part of the ceremony. She is definitely a literal kid. Then there was the darling little ring-bearer....poor poor six-year-old, who was only a head taller than Lorelai. She LOVED him. And by loved, I mean she went all toddler-turned-linebacker every time she saw him. He'd brace himself, hands down, and turn his head away to avoid the bloody nose. Bless his heart.

She'll never forget her little crush Justin.

Or maybe she will. I just asked her who she walked down the aisle with at Aunt Chris's wedding and she said "who is Chris?" Lay off the bottle, Lorelai, it's affecting your memory!

While we were in St. Louis, my sister Carissa got engaged. YAY! She wanted to have the wedding in December and for Lorelai to be her Junior Bride. But because I'm ~~self-centered~~ pregnant, driving 16 hours one way, with a toddler just weeks before I was scheduled to move just didn't seem feasible. I told her "if you get married on the 7th, we'll stay an extra week." She said "deal."

Well, the negotiations went on a little longer than that, but she didn't have too much time to question my ~~decision~~ suggestion. She did it. She pulled it off. Got married under two weeks later!!! That'a girl!!! Following in little Sissy's footsteps! That's how we like to do things around here. Fast and furious!

Here is the "princess" at Carissa's wedding.

Carissa, I really need a copy of your photos so I can post 'em.

Then, about two weeks ago, I got a photo text from a friend who is due with her second baby 10 weeks before I am. At 28 weeks, her belly looks like mine at 18. She didn't believe me, so I snapped this shot.

Frightening, huh!? I'm only 18 weeks here!
Here I was at 18 weeks with Lorelai. See the difference!!!?
And don't get the wrong idea, I'm totally loving it!!! I don't mind at ALL that I'm so large. I still haven't gained any weight. I'm SO thankful for this!!! I needed to go at least half of this pregnancy without gaining a pound (because I was overweight to begin with) so I'm happy where I am. It took me 30 months to get pregnant this time, so bring on the belly!!! As a matter of fact, I'll take the sciatica and headaches too! This baby is a miracle and I'm not taking any of it for granted!!

We left St. Louis after our crazy-busy three-week stay and headed for Virginia. Dad drove us back and this is how I spent most of my time during the 16 hours. Seriously? Foot in the face?

Oh, don't tell me - you were more concerned about my desperate need for Botox. I get it.

Well, there is plenty more to talk about. Like where we're moving next month. But, I'll save that for another post. Gives me something else to blog about this week. Or month. Whatever. :-)

October 7th? Really?

2009-10-25T23:20:00.008-04:00

So, I ran into a girl I haven't seen in a few years. Her words to me were very powerful.

"Hi Rachel, I can't come any closer. I have the flu. And October 7th. Just in case you were wondering."

I give her the look your dog gives you when you ask him a new question.

"October 7th is the last time you blogged. Just so you know."

The fact that she knew that blows my mind. But if she hadn't reminded me, I might not be blogging now. Thanks, Kelly M! NOW will you start commenting!? Oh yeah, and I hope you feel better soon!

This post will be very disjointed, but really, aren't they all!?

If you don't already know, I'm in St. Louis.

My STL best friend is getting married next Sunday, so this coming week will be filled with more wedding activities!

Last week I dyed my hair. From a box. I shouldn't have. I ended up going to my hairdresser to have her fix it. Here's what it looks like now. Thank you Nancy!

Yep, it's red. It was time for a change. I really wanted big chunky blonde streaks in it like I used to have, but it's just not manageable without knowing any good hairdressers where we live. Or where we're moving....and who KNOWS where that will be. That's a whole other post in itself.

We had the bridal shower on Saturday. Do you think they're ready!?

Lorelai and I have had a few crafting opportunities this past week too.

She's making herself a necklace. I really didn't think she'd use all 90 beads. But this was a craft she had a lot of fun with. Her concentration was so cute!

Her first fingerpainting experience. She was so dainty until I made her paint her hands. Then she had a little more fun with it. Poor kid doesn't like to be dirty!

She always has fun faces to show the camera.

She looks like a Cabbage Patch doll to me here.

I told her to "give me some gangsta" and this is what I got.
Not bad for a child who has never heard that word.

How about a shot of that baby bump I promised so long ago?

I'm 16 weeks in that picture. Do you think I'm in trouble or what!? Either my body is training for a 10+ pound baby or I am just going to have a LOT of fun getting my body back after this one!

Although, I still haven't gained a pound. Actually, I have lost five. Don't go getting huffy now, I have quite a few extra pounds I've been hanging on to since I had Lorelai, so there's enough to sustain this pregnancy, for sure!

Until next time.

Compare and Contrast

2009-10-07T23:16:00.004-04:00

I often think about how different and/or similar this pregnancy is to my first. I had a pregnancy book with Lorelai, but it's tucked away somewhere, so I have nothing to really reference, except my memory. And this is not a good thing.

I decided to go back through my old posts here on the blog and found some interesting information I had completely forgotten.

I totally just had a whole post typed out, re-read it and erased it. It was boring. Seriously, do y'all want to know about my sciatica or how tired I was/am???

cue crickets

Basically, the biggest thing I've found that is different (because that's more fun to know anyway, right?) is that I had some food aversions in the beginning of my pregnancy with Lorelai. I couldn't stand pistachios, red meat, fried foods or Buffalo Wild Wings.

This go 'round, I've had no food aversions. No cravings either. I've just realized that I can't get full. And can't get hungry. Tough balance. But it's working out so far. And fried foods...yeah, they were my friends the last few weeks. Nausea seemed to get better with nasty fried foods. Yay.

Friday I will be taking my 13 week prego photo. Mostly because I forgot to do 12 weeks. I only did photos every four weeks in the beginning with Lorelai, and I'm off a week with this one. Anyhow, my point is....y'all are going to be frightened. I'm huge. I mean, I don't look like I'm going to deliver anytime soon, but....I certainly don't look ONLY 13 weeks along.

Just ask the teeny, tiny, petite woman who asked me how far along I was at the store the other day. First of all, I was blown away by this with my first pregnancy, not sure why I'm still astounded that people do this, but I am. I told her that I was 13 weeks and she gave me the look. You know the look I'm talking about. It's the look I give a store mannequin wearing the latest skinny jean and sweater-vest combo. From my head to my feet, she stared me up and down. Then said, "oh wow."

I only wish I had been on my toes a little more and said something smart to make her uncomfortable. But, I just said "yeah, I know, right." I totally validated her. Like a parking pass.

Oh, and as if this wasn't important enough to start my post, I'm just typing my stream of consciousness.

I finally had a doctor's appointment. All is well. I was expecting to hear the heartbeat on a doppler, but my doc whipped out the internal ultrasound and gave me like 30 photos of our child! I was SO relieved. The baby has a heartbeat! It has fingers, toes, a mouth, a spine! It's fantastic! I don't think I really mentally CLAIMED I was pregnant until that moment. Now I feel official.

Here are a few shots, if you're interested. I got annoyed looking back at my blog because I posted ultrasound photos and you can't really tell what's in them. I'm sure y'all aren't excited to see them, but this blog is not only for you, it's a journal for me. If I don't post things here, I'll forget them.

I don't even know what I had for lunch. But had I posted it, I could tell you. See how important this blogging thing is!?

By the way, I'm totally having a ton of sciatica. It nearly knocks me to the ground when it strikes. I am getting more energy finally. I've actually lost five pounds so far. Okay, just wanted to document those things for later.

Lorelai tries to "feed the baby" through my belly button. That kid is TOO much!

Random thoughts by Rachel, huh?

And no, we're NOT finding out the sex. This is as much of an announcement to you as a reminder to my husband who thinks he's going to trick me.

Argh Matey

2009-09-21T18:39:00.002-04:00

Well, it's happening. Lorelai is now starting to loudly ask potentially embarrassing questions in public.

Today a woman walked into the post office and Lorelai perked up and asked "Mommy! Mommy! Is she a PIRATE!?" She said it with so much enthusiasm, I had to look. I didn't know who or what she was talking about. I wouldn't have been surprised if someone was dressed as a pirate in the post office. Then I notice the woman is wearing a bandana on her head.

I replied "I don't know Lorelai, maybe."

So she asked her.

Oddly enough, the lady didn't respond.

So Big!

2009-09-20T21:55:00.002-04:00

Here are the pictures of Lorelai riding a horse for the first time. She looks so much bigger than 2 years old to me in these pictures!!!
She smiled like this the ENTIRE time!

Camping Trip

2009-09-15T21:19:00.000-04:00

I know it's been a few weeks since we went camping, but whatever. I'm so tired lately. I have had no motivation to do much of anything. I wish I could say that instead of blogging, I'm decorating, or going to thrift stores and creating masterpieces.

The truth is, instead of blogging, I'm sleeping. Or eating.

I figured it was time to tell you all about our camping, though. I've had a few requests for pictures. So, here goes....

JD and I arrived at the campsite. We were meeting our friends, the Krapfs (ha ha - that will always make me laugh, sorry Kathi!) and we arrived first. Not a good thing. Because this was our campsite.

Remember, I don't do this sort of thing, so to me, this looked like a ditch. And I promptly called Kathi to tell her we'd be sleeping in the ditch. Or she would be and I would be in my car. On the way to a hotel.

She convinced me to stay, so we set up our tent, but it was already dark.

Note to self: NEVER arrive at a campsite after 5pm.

Scratch that. Note to self: NEVER arrive at a campsite without a camper.

That night I barely slept. After laying around in her sleeping bag for DAYS before the camping trip, Lorelai finally decided she didn't want to be in hers that night, she wanted to be in mine. I obliged and then regretted it for the next 7 hours, when I wasn't sleeping.

The next morning though, Kathi ~~mostly~~ made up for it by preparing a really really good meal. We had thick-cut bacon. I'm pretty sure JD thought he had died and gone to heaven. He only gets turkey bacon here at our house. She also made scrambled eggs and diced potatoes. Everything was yummy and I was happier.
Do we look like Sanford and Sons or what!?

That afternoon, this happened.

Yep, it's a snake. And Eric told me not to worry because it had already eaten something.

It took about 10 minutes and two burly men (Eric and JD) to finally get him ~~beheaded~~ back into nature.

The rest of the time the kids played in the hammock, counting the Daddy Long Legs they found.
(AJ, Lorelai and Darby)

They goofed around...

Daddy and Lorelai danced to their own music, because really...in the woods, the only music is cicadas (of which I have heard ENOUGH), and neighbor campers sneaking into camp in the middle of the night and leaving before daylight.

Lorelai made friends with ~~Kathi and Eric's dog, Bernie Mac~~ the local wildlife
Eric fed his six-month-old twins chocolate when Kat wasn't looking. I told you I'd dime you out!

Then the kids went horse-back riding at Foster Falls Livery.
Why is there no picture of Lorelai on a horse? That's because just seconds before she hopped onto Tex's back, the camera battery died. And I would have plugged it in the night before, but .... WE WERE CAMPING IN A TENT!

Eric snapped a few photos of her on his iPhone, but I'm guessing after the chocolate pictures appear on their computer, he'll be holding them for ransom.

What I haven't told you is that the second and subsequent nights, Kathi provided me with an air mattress/cot which made sleeping MUCH easier and more manageable. For me. Poor JD then got the privilege of having Lorelai steal his sleeping bag. She also provided yummy meals for us three times a day. I can't complain at ALL about that!

Aside from the fact that being in an open area, like a KOA campground, with a two-year-old makes my heart palpitate, we all made it home safely.

I told JD that I would try camping one more time. But, I won't pretend I like it if I don't. I just don't GET camping. It's not relaxing to me. I was chasing Lorelai around most of the time. The rest of the time I was realizing that I have a problem being idle. It doesn't come naturally for me.

I wish I had some witty way to wrap this thing up, but I don't. Like I said, no motivation.

Good night....until next time (which will most likely be in another few weeks).

Quick Update

2009-09-03T20:37:00.003-04:00

Last week we went to Fayetteville to meet Bristol for the first time. We had a great time. Although, Peyton and Lorelai were at each others throats for 90% of the trip. Mainly because my kid is a bully.

Tomorrow, I'm going camping. For four days. Seriously? Someone help me. I'm not really bright to accept this challenge.

I have to pee three times during the night. That means I have to get up, get out of the tent (zipper and all), hope I don't trip, and walk in complete darkness (I may or may not have a head lamp - don't judge) to the bathroom, then back. Three times. Every night. I hate camping. Why am I going again?

Oh yeah, and I have a two year old. Who hates bugs.

This should be fun. At least we'll have good company.

I'll report when we return. IF we return.

UGH!

2009-08-25T21:26:00.002-04:00

So, I can't blog. It's driving me nuts. My computer is going SO slowly that I've typed these two sentences and not a single word has yet shown up on my screen.

Seriously. Nothing. Still.

But, I'm going to hit "publish post" anyway...and hope it shows up. Sometime in the next four hours.

Here I go....with no words, hitting publish.....then leaving before I throw this thing out the windwo! And I think I may have just made a typo, but I might never know.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

2009-08-13T09:04:00.001-04:00

This girl just makes my day!!

Tip Toe

2009-08-11T16:43:00.004-04:00

So, you didn't think I'd just dive right back into blogging and go every day again did you? Good.

I'm going to tip toe until I get comfortable again, then I'll pick it up.

We cannot thank y'all enough for all of the wonderful comments and emails you have sent regarding the pregnancy. It means the WORLD to us that we have so many people praying for the health of our baby!! I'm trying to get back to each of your comments, but please forgive me if it's not exactly in a timely manner.

I have a two-page list of things to talk about, and I'm sitting here staring at it, wondering where to start.

I have a list for Lorelai, JD and for me. And, I kid you not, my list reads "Super Target opened."

Period.

That's all.

Aside from the recent discovery of le bebe, that's all I had. Sad, I know.

That's why I've decided to go with a video of Lorelai for today. We have been working with Lorelai on learning our names. (Shannon, y'all were doing it, so we decided to cheat). Anyway, she likes to talk about it and ask about it. A lot. She always has a coy look on her face and squeals "what's YOUR name?" And not only to JD and me. To everyone in the grocery store, gas station, library, you name it.

Today, we were at the commissary and she kept pointing at people saying "what's YOUR name?" And when they, not surprisingly, wouldn't answer her, she'd ask again louder. Then there's that uncomfortable silence. She busts out with "mommy, he won't talk to peoples, will he?"

I can't help but laugh. And then casually stroll into the next aisle to see how many people will be accosted by this lovingly curious two-year-old now!

Well, look who I found!

2009-08-07T20:14:00.004-04:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah....I feel your evil stares. I hear the whispers. And I've also gotten an email or ten about how bad it is that it's been MONTHS since my last post.

My only excuse is that we've either been out of town or we've had back-to-back visitors for the last two months. We are SO blessed with so many great friends and family who want to come out and ~~use us for the beach~~ visit us, so I can't complain. We're only in VA for a year, so we're trying to soak it up as much as possible with those we love!!

Oh wait! I do have another excuse! Our laptop screen went out so I only have the desktop to work with. And it's holed up in the office upstairs, where I rarely go.

So, should I just pretend it's only been a few days since my last post or should I start from the beginning?

Well, I do have a list sitting here, waiting to be blogged, but I'll start with just a few things from the past few days. The most important stuff.

First of all, my best friend Kelly just had her second baby. Bristol was born on August 6th at 9:45am. She came roaring into this world after only TWO pushes, weighing ten pounds!!! What is it with all these big babies!? I AM LOVING IT!!! Welcome to the world, Bristol, and congratulations Douglas family!

Secondly, I have a new Mastercard ad to pitch, what'ya think?

First and second negative pregnancy tests........ $7.99

Third and fourth negative pregnancy tests..........$7.99

Finally reading the box and realizing said negative pregnancy tests are, in fact, NOT negative....... PRICELESS.

Yep, you read that right! Everyone say it with me now...... PRAISE.....THE ...... LOOOOOORD!!!

We have been dealing with the military healthcare red-tape the last few months and have been on no drugs or fertility treatments at all. I was still tracking my body's every move and totally had this planned. But, just like the last 29 months, I figured it probably wouldn't work. Just two weeks before we were go the next step up in our infertility treatment journey, we found out we wouldn't need it!

We don't know if God was testing our faith, or what His timing means, but we are beyond thrilled! I'm only five weeks along, and yes, I know that is soon. Our thoughts are, we would like as many people as possible praying for a healthy baby so it doesn't bother us to get the word out there early!!

We know we are so undeserving of this gift, but SO grateful and feel so blessed!!

I'll make sure to update more now, don't worry. Things are slowing down here (visitor-wise) in the Huse household, so I should have one or more of Lorelai's naptimes to put out some new blog posts.

Thank you again to everyone for all your prayers!

Don't hit me.

2009-06-04T23:21:00.011-04:00

I know, I know, it's been a month.

You're surprised I'm updating.

And now you're making me feel pressured to come up with something witty and entertaining to post about.

Stop it!!

I'm totally not going to quench your thirst with anything too terribly exciting, but I did want to at least update. Mainly to tell y'all thank you for sticking with me, even though I'm boring and don't post. I haven't lost a single "follower" on my list. That's pretty crazy. Thank you!

So, a lot has happened over the last month. I'm going to cheat and do the whole bullet-point update. This will alleviate the stress I'm putting on myself to update with 20 different posts for you. It will also get us a little more caught up, because I can't promise it won't be another month before I post again.

* I'm still on Body for Life. It's not working like it did ten years ago. But then again, I was ten years younger then. BUT, I believe something in my body is fighting against me. I'm getting to the bottom of it after many doctors appointments with some good doctors, some un-good doctors. I'll update more on this later.

* Lorelai and I drove to Tennessee to meet my Dad at a cabin in Pigeon Forge. We hung out, did all the sight-seeing stuff, and had a great time just hanging out. Lorelai got to ride in a helicopter for the first time. We just might have a thrill-seeker on our hands! I have some awesome pictures to share of this trip, and will probably do that on my Facebook. Oh, you don't have me as a friend on Facebook? Where have you been!? ADD ME!
* As soon as we got back from Tennessee, we welcomed our first round of house guests for the summer, the Andersons. We went to the beach, Busch Gardens (taking two-year-olds on rides that aren't made for two-year-olds) and Colonial Williamsburg with them. We also hung out and let the girls spend some quality time together. We got to see (with the newest addition to the Anderson family) that Lorelai really needs to be a big sister. She was SO cute with "baby Mia," it made me cry. Sorry that I don't have more pictures, but I just need to get through this post, then possibly I'll do a photo slideshow later.
* The day the Andersons left, JD's parents showed up. I wasn't sure how the back-to-back visitors would pan out, but it was EXTREMELY relaxing and fun! I really didn't have any stress about it when it happened. That's pretty sweet! So, the inlaws were a lot of fun. We went to the beach, ate out, planted herbs, played cards and laughed a lot. Oh yeah, and pretty much the only pictures we took were unflattering "journalistic" shots of one another.
* The day the inlaws left, our friends, the Krynicki's showed up. They're moving to Hawaii soon and totally went out of their way to come and spend 24 hours with us. I can't say enough how happy I was that they chose to come spend time with us! We only had a small amount of time to hang out, but we filled it with food, play grounds and reminiscing. JD had never met Alayna, their ADORABLE one-year-old. Once again, Lorelai proved that being a big sister is in her future. She tried SO hard to teach Alayna how to walk by dragging her by the arm and saying "come on, baby Wayna, I show you how to walk. No worry, I walk swowly." Alayna didn't walk....until about 7 hours after they left. Dang it. I didn't take a single picture while they were here. They did...but I still need to get them from them. However, I ganked this one off her blog!!
* After all the dust settled from our wonderful visitor-streak, it was time for Lorelai's first dentist appointment. Suffice it to say by the first photo...she wasn't too worried. She's pretty easy-going as long as I explain to her what to expect. She was awesome! When the dentist was done, she exclaimed "thank you, thank you, I WUV da dentist!!"
* Next week, we will be on a flight back to St. Louis to visit with family and friends. I have a good friend getting married, and I'll be going sans kiddo. I'm not sure if I will be able to handle all that EXCITEMENT! No, really....I'm being serious.

So, that's about it right now. Do we feel all caught up now? Will you stick around until my next post? I sure hope so!

Miss you, love you, mean it!

Fitness Friday - a Two Fer

2009-05-07T22:36:00.001-04:00

aBecause I missed my homework last week, I'm going to be a good(ish) student and post them both now. Last week, Brenda wanted to know where we work out. I actually took a video camera with me on one of my trips down the Chesapeake Bay; fully intending on cutting, splicing and posting the finished video here. Ask me if I got that done?

Actually, ask me if I even know how to use the movie-making software.

So, I snapped a few pictures with my camera phone of the gym on the Air Force Base where I work out.

Three reasons I work out there:
1) It's free.
2) I don't have weights at home.
3) It's free.

Here are the weights. I'm usually the only one using them,
(unless my friend Kathi is with me)because I believe a lot of
women are afraid of usingweights for the fear of getting "too bulky."
That's cool for me,because nobody bothers me while I'm getting buff. *cough, snicker*

You see that short walled-off room with the TV?
That's where Lorelai and any other children
there will ~~cry~~ play. There is a table, books and a tv.
Poor kids, have to create their own excitement. But for me,
I can see her, hear her and constantly remind her that I'm almost done.

And this is obviously the cardio section. There are six machines.
I only do cardio here when it's raining.

And y'all already know where I jalk. On the Chesapeake Bay. It's beautiful.

What? You don't know what "jalking" is? It's not quite jogging, but more than walking. That's what I do.

And I'm slow.

And I hate it. I don't hate being slow. Jalking, I hate jalking.

Now for assignment number two. Brenda asked two questions:

1) How/where do you "sneak in" exercise when you can't get to the gym?
2) What are your goals for next week?

Well, for number one - so far, I haven't not been able to get to the gym or work out. Granted, I've only been doing this for three weeks, but I'm afraid that if I miss a workout, I'll give up completely. And because I'm not sure I could figure out a way to "sneak one in," I just don't miss them.

Yet.

I'll let you know if anything changes.

And for number two, I'm glad you asked. Because I'm going out of town for the majority of the week, my goals are a bit different than they would be if I were home. I'm going to stay with my Dad in a cabin in Pigeon Forge. There isn't a gym, no weights, no treadmill. Just a bunch of hills. So, I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of walking and not so much weight training. Unless caring my own weight counts.

* stay OFF the scale
* plan plan plan my meals, which is something I normally do, but being out of town I don't want to drop this ball.
* don't make poor choices just because Dad isn't doing Body for Life.
* do NOT let the depression of another negative pregnancy test make me fail my eating plan

So, I hope I get an A for effort, at least. All you FF ladies, have a great weekend and week. Thank you for everything.

What we did today....

2009-05-02T14:55:00.004-04:00

I know I totally missed my Fitness Friday post yesterday. I'm getting to it. I took video, but have to get it onto the computer and edited.

BUT, we took Lorelai to the beach for the first time today and she LOVED it! Here are a few pictures. I took almost 200. Total overkill. It was awesome and I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot of time there this summer!!

Fitness Friday - Awesomeness Edition. Or would that be Awesome Edition?

2009-04-24T07:49:00.000-04:00

Either way, so much has been awesome this week!!

Brenda, creator of Fitness Friday, wants us to talk about Awesomeness today. So, I'm going to interpret that as what is awesome this week and what would be awesome next week.

Awesome this week:
1. Last weekend, I actually ~~ate everything in~~ cleaned out my fridge and pantry of all things NOT healthy.

2. I planned my meals for the week. This, I'm used to, because of Weight Watchers. Thanks to WW, I gained weight AND a good meal-planning habit. I'm cool with the latter.

3. I went grocery shopping and bought only healthy foods on my list to eat for the week.

4. I have stuck to my exercise and eating routine to the T! This is a first for me. Usually, I falter somewhere.

5. I have not had One. Single. Craving! YAY! This is also huge for me! I have a "free day" once a week built into the Body for Life plan. I was hoping to write down my cravings during the week, so I could indulge on Saturday (my free day) but, no cravings so far.

6. Joey, my girlfriend who is partnering with me on the Body for Life journey, lost FIVE POUNDS this week! I, however, will not be stepping on a scale again until the end of week two.

7. God is awesome. Seriously....as corny as it may sound to some of you...He has gotten me through this week.

What would be awesome for next week:
1. For someone on Craigslist or a resale shop somewhere to sell a set of Bowflex Dumbbells to me for a good price. It would make my workouts a lot easier. I go to the gym on the Air Force Base with Lorelai, but they don't have childcare, so she is in a room with me - secluded with a tv. She's not a huge fan and I'd be happier if I could just get my weights done before she wakes up in the morning.

2. If the weather stays nice, I can continue to do my aerobic workout going down the Chesapeake Bay in the mornings.

3. If my workouts could not cause me to walk like a 90-year-old. I know it won't always be like this, but my body sure has forgotten how to function with exercise! :-)

4. I push myself just a little bit further to burn more fat.

5. Can water just taste a little more awesome to me? I'm getting it down, but I'm not always enjoying it.

6. At the end of week two, when I weigh myself again, it would be REALLY awesome if there was even just a small change. That would keep me going for sure!!

So, what has been awesome this week for you? It doesn't have to be fitness related.

If you're curious about the other FF'ers...go check out what they think is awesome.

Two successes!

2009-04-20T20:18:00.006-04:00

First off, today was day one of Body for Life.

* I made it to the gym on time. YAY me! I'm not really sure what "on time" means, but basically, I was happy that I made it there by nine. There is a workout room for parents who need to bring their children. There is a little gated off area for the kids and then cardio equipment, dumbbells and a bench on the other side. Lorelai wasn't really too thrilled to be within reach of me....but not with me. I think that might be harder for her than actually being in child care. Oh well, we're still going to do it.

* I ate six healthy meals today and it wasn't too bad! I thought about food all. day. long. I was never hungry, but I wanted to do it all correctly, so I was just planning in my head the whole time. I'm sure after three or four weeks, it will become more natural for me and I can just plan my meals on Sunday, have healthy foods around and eat when I'm supposed to.

* For those of you who are wondering about the eating, I am supposed to eat a certain balance of food (protein, carb and veggies) six times a day, each meal two to three hours apart. So, my first meal was at 8am and my last was at 8pm. I never felt hungry, everything tasted great and my energy was pretty steady throughout the day. Basically, the idea is that your body is a furnace and you need to fuel the fire evenly throughout the day to keep it burning at a steady pace.

* Aside from the four hour almost-migraine I had (because I'm going through caffeine withdrawal), everything went pretty well.

* I took my "before" pictures and after I puked, cried and pouted, I took my measurements. Really? Why did I think that would make me feel better!!? YIKES is all I have to say. If anything, it will encourage me to get my BIG. FAT. BUTT. into gear!

Success number two is that my little independent daughter has been telling me lately that she needs to go pee pee on the potty, when I'm in the restroom. I usually ignore it because ~~I'm a horrible mom~~ I never think she really needs to go. But today I didn't ignore her. She sat on the potty, played around, got up and down for about 10 minutes.

Then, she asked me to leave her alone. I left, giggling, but then peered my head back into the bathroom. There she sat, looking into the potty while she went "pee pee!" We did the "you went pee pee on the potty" dance, she got two jelly beans and a sticker. She was pretty darn proud. So were JD and I. I know we still have a long way to go, but being laid back about it has proven to be good so far.

Two successes! Not too bad.

How was your day?

Fitness Friday - Peer Pressure Edition

2009-04-17T20:18:00.006-04:00

Brenda, at The Family Revised has been doing Fitness Fridays for some time now. The individuals who participated have all taken a little break, but now they're back on board.

So they (read = Brenda) pressured me to be part of it. Actually, I made some little comment about being "IN" and she's holding me to it. Ugh! Accountability. Whatever.

Where shall I start?

Recently, I was diagnosed with PCOS. Women with PCOS are at risk for insulin resistance.

Where there is smoke....there's fire. I'm insulin resistant.

Many who have insulin resistance develop type 2 Diabetes.

No. Thank you.

This is kind of like knowing that you are going to get hit by a car. I'd be willing to bet that there are many individuals with type 2 Diabetes who would have loved to have known before-hand that there was a chance to prevent it.

So, I requested an appointment with a nutritionist. It took me 8 months to get in with a fertility specialist and less than 15 minutes to get in with a nutritionist. Go figure.

The nutritionist (Bree) asked me what I weighed ten years ago. I answered quickly and then choked, realizing that it was a great deal different than my current weight. A GREAT deal.

Then Bree asked me how much I weighed five years ago. That number is still a far cry from my current weight. So, this whole thing has come on pretty darn fast.

The solution? Body for Life. I jokingly call it Body for Nine Months because ten years ago I embarked on the journey, had awesome success.....then bailed nine months into it. I lost about 35 pounds, went from 25% body fat to 8% body fat and had six pack abs. I was a verrrrry dumb 20-year-old.

So, it's back to Body for Life for me. For good, this time.

I'm serious about this. Body for Life is actually a fairly simple plan. In another post, I'll talk more about the program and how I plan on keeping up with it. But for now, Brenda has asked us to list out our goals.

In no particular order (because they are all equally important) here are four of my short-term goals:

1. Get to bed by 10 pm at least three days a week. (seeing as how midnight is a very early bedtime for me, this one might be the hardest goal to accomplish)
2. Work out six days a week. (they are short, intense workouts, so this shouldn't take up too much of my time at all - only four hours a week)
3. Eat six (specific, balanced) small meals a day.
4. Journal it all.

I have many goals, but those are short-term. I'm going to continue to try to get pregnant, so the weight-loss goals are subject to change, Lord willing.

I also promised Brenda that I would have this post done before midnight. It's 11:39, so I guess I should go ahead and hit "publish" for now.

Every Friday, I'm going to try to keep you updated on my progress. I wrestled with publishing this kind of information on my blog, because y'all are going to be hard on me. Hard on me in a good and loving way, though. Which is why I caved. I must make this life change. I want to be healthy. I want to be around for a long time. And gosh darnit, I want to look HOT. Is that too much to ask!? :-)

So, in true Rachel style, I'm going to go out with a bang. I'm going to have a glutton-for-punishment, binge weekend and start on Monday.

What? Don't lie - you would do it too!

spontaneous and forgetful - yep, that's me!

2009-04-06T10:04:00.011-04:00

Cherry Blossom Festival Checklist

1. pack but forget to bring the zoom lens ... check
2. take only 13 pictures all weekend ... check
3. take only one photo of yourself ... check
4. take only ONE photo of a Cherry Blossom - the very reason you WENT to DC this weekend ... check
5. plan to capture Lorelai's precious face as she rides the "train" for the first time, but make sure to forget to charge even ONE of the two batteries for the video camera ... check

Here are all 13 photos.

Lorelai was so thrilled to be on the "train."

Lorelai and Daddy in front of the Capitol Building.

Lorelai, Daddy and the Washington Monument.

Not sure what was so exciting here, but it was during the CBF Parade.
It wasn't until I took a two-year-old that I realized how SLOW parades really are!
Lorelai pretty much freaked out when she saw Elmo.
The lone Cherry Blossom photo.
Vietnam Veterans' Memorial
My Uncle
The White House
This was the best shot I could get. There were thousands of people
trying to take pictures and people were loitering .... taking hundreds of photos.
There was NOBODY on the lawn. The building didn't move. WHY oh WHY do
they have to stand there for SO long!?
Lorelai and the White House
Uh oh, before we leave, I need a picture of me ....say cheeeeeese!

Cute things Lorelai said:

When getting on the metro she cups her hands around her mouth and yells "all abooooaaard the choo choo train....come on, follow me!"

When JD got off the elevator at the hotel, she ran down the hall, gave him a big hug around his legs and proclaimed.... "Daddy, I'm so proud of you!"

I was reaching across Lorelai (in her carseat) and she threw her arms around me and said "Mommy..... a my best friend."

The weekend was fun and exhausting and we can't wait to go back. Not bad for a 2 1/2 hour drive!

Where in the world is Huse Yo Mama?

2009-04-03T19:23:00.003-04:00

I'll tell ya.

I'm hanging out in a hotel in Alexandria, VA anxiously awaiting the Cherry Blossom parade and festival tomorrow in DC!

You want to know something sad? This is the first trip like this (spontaneous, staying in a hotel, etc) that we've done with Lorelai. She is 27 months old. But we're not as big of losers as it sounds. All of 2008, when we were in San Antonio, JD didn't have any time off to do anything fun like this. I guess the year before that we don't really have an excuse. But, whatever.

This is so much fun. Lorelai will get to ride the metro tomorrow and I'm sure that's going to be her favorite! Currently, she is standing three inches from the plasma television getting what must be a great education, seeing as how she's mesmerized. And drooling.

This was a rather spontaneous trip for us. We had talked about it for the last week, but really hadn't decided if we were going to go. Until today. Thankfully, Laura stepped up and saved my dog from an untimely death. I mean....she's watching him while we're away. If you're an animal freak, don't worry.....it's a joke.

This time.

So, hopefully I'll have a ton of pictures tomorrow to share with y'all.

Until then, here's JD and Lorelai walking down the street in Old Town Alexandria, before we ate at Hard Times.

I'm pretty sure Lorelai saw a ghost. Or a butterfly...the reaction is the same.

My girl parts

2009-04-01T08:26:00.005-04:00

Thank you EVERYONE for praying for my girl parts! What a united effort in the girl-part cause!

But now we might need to pray for my sister-in-law's girl parts. Yesterday, she gave birth to an almost 11 pound baby!!! Yep, you heard that right.

Thankfully, though, she had a c-section! Turns out her hips are just too narrow to deliver a toddler. I wouldn't know what it's like to have hips that are "too narrow," must be nice.

Owen Glen Huse
8:25 am
March 31st
10 lbs 13.8 oz
22" long

Isn't he just perfect!?
WOW - Storm is a DAAAAAAAAAD!
Look at that HAIR!

I don't have any pictures of mama bear just yet.

Storm, may you get what you deserve!

(these are of Storm with Lorelai)

But really, congratulations Storm and Katie! Enjoy parenthood, it's the most rewarding thing you'll ever do! I mean, just ask our parents, we children are such a blessing! :-)

Maybe TMI?

2009-03-30T21:08:00.003-04:00

Okay, so ... if you have any spare time, could you PLEASE say a prayer for my girl parts?

Quit laughing, I'm serious. Right now, there is a possibility that a union could be happening and I need all the prayer I can get.

Pray for a solid union.
Pray for said union to build a firm foundation.
Pray for my sanity, because I cannot believe I'm posting this.

Homeschooling

2009-03-27T20:38:00.002-04:00

If you know me, you know I plan to homeschool Lorelai and any subsequent children we have (Lord willing). I have many e-friends who homeschool. I know quite a few people who were or are homeschooled now. They each have mixed feelings about their experiences.

I'm usually pretty reluctant to share our interest in homeschooling, because we get a myriad of responses. It's kind of like telling someone we're going through fertility treatments. It's not always welcomed with open arms. Unlike fertility treatments, I don't really have a good thirty-second answer for someone when they ask "why on earth would you want to homeschool!?" I've reverted to the answer "why not!?"

Bridget, at Don't Blink, is a beautiful homeschooling mommy of five wonderful children. To be honest with you, there are times I go through and look at her pictures first, to see how badly I'm going to beat myself up for being a frump compared to her. Then, I get sucked in to the wonderful stories she tells about her children, her family, homeschooling and life in general.

Today was no different. When I saw there were no pictures, I realized I might be able to get through the post with no self-punishment. She discussed the topic that's on my mind seven days a week. She talks about the answers to the questions that people are already asking me. I can imagine how much more often she gets them. Especially when she shows up at the science museum with her five children during typical school hours.

Why do you homeschool? Check out her answer. I couldn't have said it any better.

Now, any thoughts?

Warm it up, Chris...I'm about to.

2009-03-26T21:05:00.001-04:00

Anyone remember that song?

Yeah, me neither. It's from so long ago, probably from when I was a wee baby.

We are without heat. Well, not entirely. Our main floor is without heat. Without giving you a boring technical explanation about what's going on, it's broken. The first two days were a tad bit chilly in the house - about 50 degrees. That doesn't sound bad, but for a two-year-old, it's a little much.

Upstairs, where Lorelai's room and the office is, is still heated with the other system, which is the only reason we're not at a hotel right now. We have a wood-burning stove, but it only heats the front room, not the other five rooms on the first floor. So, needless to say, we're spending a lot of time out of the house and under covers. It does make me think about and pray for those who are homeless and don't even have four walls and a roof, let alone heat and clothing for their babies.

I know, this is quite possibly the most boring post I've made in a while, but I'm feeling ~~like a boa constrictor is around my neck~~ a little bit of pressure to blog, even if it is sub-par.

As usual, I'll slip in a picture of my daughter to make up for it. My Dad got a great shot of Lorelai while she was shaking her head from side to side.

Answer

2009-03-21T21:15:00.004-04:00

I should have posted this earlier.

The picture I had up the other day....

Remember, JD is about 6'3" and 220 pounds.

...that was Lorelai at 7.5 months!

She was 30" tall and weighed 28 pounds!! ha ha

2009-03-19T21:50:00.002-04:00

Lately, I have had about as much interest in blogging as I've had in March Madness.

And if you know me at all, you know that amount is ZERO.

I've been a little sick and dealing with all the crazy hormones that come with this secondary infertility junk.

But, I thought I'd share this with you. Or maybe I'm just putting it out there, so I'll remember to put it in her book, either way....

Conversations with Lorelai:

Mommy: "Lorelai, can I have a kiss please?"
Lorelai: "Nope. ha ha"
Mommy: pretends to cry
Lorelai: runs up to mommy, jumps in her lap and says "no worry mommy, you find anudder one."

When I ask Lorelai if she'd like to go to gymnastics, she replies with "yay! gymjumpsticks!"

She thinks the word "bumblebee" is pronounced "bunglebee" and will fight you over the pronunciation. I find it's best to give in to her, because she won't talk like this forever.

Aw man, that girl makes my heart melt.

By the way, how old do you think Lorelai was here?

I have a love/hate relationship with the number 24.

2009-03-12T21:01:00.003-04:00

I love 24 the show.

I hate 24 months of infertility. Again. Are we done yet? GEEZ!!

But, Lorelai wanted to make me feel better by helping me prepare dinner. She just LOVES helping me cook!

As promised

2009-03-09T22:50:00.004-04:00

Well, kind of.

I said I'd be back on Monday with my regular blogging schedule. I'm back, but I'm super busy. GOOD super busy, though.

My Dad is in town, but only for two days.

Yeah, two days?!! The CIRCUS stays in town longer than two days!

But we're having fun. LOOK!

Making Daddy proud...
Taking walks with Grandpa...

And taking pictures...

We've got ourselves a baby!

2009-03-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

I haven't been able to check my emails, but I thought I'd give you a picture of Shannon and Jeff's beautiful new baby! I'm so glad they had the baby while I am still here!

IT'S A GIRL! yay!

Amelia Johanna Anderson
Born at 9:53 this morning
8 lbs, 21 inches
Beautiful little girl, blue eyes, chubby cheeks and her big sister (Natalie) is already a pro!

Update from North Carolina

2009-03-07T08:51:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I've been in North Carolina for a week. Thus, the absence on the blog. They do have internet here, I just haven't had the opportunity to blog.

I have the pleasure of living close enough to some of the best friends I've met since being married to the military. My friend, Shannon, just moved to North Carolina and needed to have someone on-call during her last week of pregnancy in case she had the baby. She has a two-year-old who needed care while she was in the hospital. Up until this morning, we were still waiting.

This update is more for those of you who read my blog and know Shannon. She called me at 5am and told me it was time. It took me 21 minutes to get my stuff (which was already in a bag), out the door and to her house. That poor girl, it was probably the longest 21 minutes of her life. When I got to her house, she told me that her water had broken. She mumbled a few instructions, but I don't know what she said, her breathing was very labored.

get it?

So, I'm totally stealing her computer right now to update. And when I did open the computer, the screen she had up was a contraction counter, where you press the space bar every time you're having a contraction and it times them for you. The poor thing was having contractions steadily, two minutes apart, from the time she called me. yikes!

By 7am, she was 9.5 dilated and was getting her epidural. That sounded really familiar to me. That's about when I got my epidural. That didn't work. It took everything in me not to scream "DON'T DO IT!!!" But, I'm praying that her epidural works and she has that baby relatively pain free!!

While I'm in town, I've gotten to see my BFF, Kelly. Lorelai and Kelly's daughter, Peyton, have been having a blast together this week. Today I get to see a number of friends I haven't seen in a year, some two years. I'm uber excited!

I'm anxious to meet Shannon's baby (nobody knows the sex yet) before I leave tomorrow afternoon!!

I'll be back to my regular blogging schedule on Monday. I know, my regular blogging schedule has been poor at best, but I've just been setting you up to have no expectations so when I do get my mojo back, you'll be impressed.

Long time coming.

2009-02-27T21:49:00.004-05:00

Like forty years ago, I bought this. Remember?

Whoever made/painted this did a REALLY good job painting it with ugly paint. I couldn't sand it off, I couldn't scrape it off, I thought about torching it off. They must have put 15 coats on that thing.

So, I decided to just prime it.

It sat forever in our garage, primed and waiting to be completed.

The backing was stumping me. I Mod Podged some wrapping paper on it, to give it a colorful background. That turned out horribly. I should have taken a picture. Then I tried painting the back....still horrible.

So, I decided to pick up some beadboard (wainscotting) and paint some stripes.

I started with green, pink, brown and white. UG.LY. Again, why I didn't take pictures is beyond me. This was ugly.

I finally painted it AGAIN and this is how it turned out.

What do you think?

And yes, I do realize that it's not exactly square - whoever made this piece used a few oddly warped pieces of wood and I never noticed. But, it works. It's for a 2-year-old, so it doesn't need to be all perfect. Otherwise, I'd have a hard time letting her play around it. :-)

After all was said and done, this piece ended up costing me about $25 (including mistakes).

Merry Christmas, happy birthday, happy Valentine's Day, happy anniversary AND Thanksgiving Present

2009-02-25T09:57:00.008-05:00

Make sure you don't have high hopes for this post. It's been more than a WEEK since I've posted and I'm no more inspired than I have been the past seven days.

So, I'll just get on with it. Don't say I didn't warn you!

JD is always asking me what I want for [insert holiday here.] My answer is always the same "I don't want anything." Because, genuinely, that's the truth. I want for nothing. Well, aside from another baby. But, he can't really order one of those for [insert holiday here.]

But this year, he was obviously listening to me mitch and boan in the kitchen about a certain appliance. I know I'm a little late, because my birthday was two weeks ago, but whatever. Anyway....for my birthday this year, he surprised me with this.

Yeah, I pretty much fell out of my chair when I opened it. I cannot BELIEVE he got me a KitchenAid Mixer! I had no idea. I was very surprised and super happy. It's an amazing appliance. I never knew what I was missing. If you are thinking about getting a new mixer, I highly suggest waiting for a discount on Amazon and snagging you up one of those babies!

Oh....and as if the mixer wasn't enough, he had been saving up and decided to get me this.....

Yeah, I know....my fingers look super fat. That's because, well...cuz they are! :-)

So, these two gifts are pretty much going to be Merry Christmas, happy birthday, happy Valentine's Day, happy anniversary AND Thanksgiving for me for the next year or so!

Move over Van Gogh

2009-02-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

There's a new artist in town.

Oh, Sara, you're going to laugh when you see this. Sara is my awesome artist cousin.

Remember when I bought this?
Well, part of it is primed and it's still sitting there waiting to be finished. But, it's a pain in the butt. Remind me, next time I want to re-do a piece of furniture, how much I hate it.

If it can't be spraypainted, I prolly don't want it.

Unless it's really really cheap. Then maybe.

Well, I definitely needed to change the ugly drawer pulls, so I bought these. Pretty huh?
I think they have great shape, but the 80s gold just isn't doing it for me.

So, I took a sandpaper block to them to rough them up a bit.

Then, spraypainted them white and had Lorelai paint the rest; flowers, butterfly, etc.

As I'm sure you're aware, that is SO not true. But it sounds so much better to say that Lorelai painted them and let people be amazed, then to say I painted them and be really embarrassed.
What!? Did you think I was above using my daughter?

I also picked up a package of 14 porcelain drawer pulls at the thrift store for $1.98.
I looked around to make sure someone wasn't playing a joke on me.
They are porcelain. For just over ten cents each!? That's pure crazy talk.

But this is what four of them look like now.

Now, if I could only get off my butt, grab a roller and finish that stupid dresser, we'd be good to go.

Two-Year Check-Up

2009-02-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

We had Lorelai's two-year check-up on Friday. Just like I thought, she freaked out. The poor thing. I wonder when (if ever) she'll forget the whole catheter incident from last year? I felt horribly for her, and they were only listening to her breathe and checking her reflexes.

Anyway, she is a healthy 34 pounds. Remember, she was almost 40 pounds at 10 months. So, in the last 15 months, she's lost six pounds. That's better than I can say for myself!!

She is also a whopping 39 inches tall. Last we measured a few months ago, she was 2 inches shorter.

With these stats and wearing a size 8 1/2 shoe (choke * sputter) she is bound to be "the tall girl." At least her mommy knows what that's like. :-)

That's it. Just thought I'd update you on her bigness.

After JD took Lorelai on a walk the other day,
they were stretching together and I had to snap some shots.

There she is with that tongue.

That's my girl - stretching and eating!!

Prolly the sweetest guy ever.

2009-02-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

Man, my husband really knows how to sweet talk me!

JD had just finished bathing Lorelai and as she was running naked through the house, he says to me, "Hey, Rachel...just so you know, cottage cheese butt is hereditary."

Happy freakin' birthday to me!

(Lorelai, November 2007)

Hope this doesn't disappoint you....

2009-02-12T15:09:00.004-05:00

I have like two weeks on, two weeks off, of material for the blog. This is definitely part of my two weeks off.

So, I hope this doesn't disappoint you, but here are some pictures I took of Lorelai over the weekend. This will help some of you to see a little bit of the area in which we live.

Lookie what WE can do!!! Only with a mullet! :-)

My little groundhogs

Look at her look at her Daddy
My monkey. Her face shows that she isn't too sure about this.
Thinking about trying out the swings by herself.
She decides to go with Daddy first.
Her new favorite look. This face shows itself in
a "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" way.
Wouldn't you love to have this as your view?
No, this isn't our house, but it is one we pass on our walks.
We may or may not try to look in the windows at night, to see how they decorate.
It may or may not just be me, not JD.
Seriously - 300 yards from the house is this...
who wouldn't want to take this walk!?
I just love this. It looks like such a sweet sweet moment,
but it's pretty much JD telling her she can NOT jump in the water.
And her pouting.

What a difference nine months makes!

2009-02-09T09:13:00.004-05:00

May 2008 to February 2009
Texas to Virginia
Nearly bald to perfect mullet

My word, that's ugly.

2009-02-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have a secret. I don't shop at the thrift stores as often as you might think. I know, I can't believe I'm sharing this either. I buy a lot while I'm there, then write out a bunch of blog entries and schedule them to appear daily. This makes you think I blog every day (yeah, who has time for that!?), and that I go thrifting a lot. Once again, who has time for all that, especially with a child or two?

Phew. Got that off my chest. Thanks for listening. You're such a good listener.

Now, onto a few more things I've found recently. I usually steer clear of items at thrift stores that are hard to clean. Sometimes pillows fall into that category. Call me brave, but if I see one with "good bones" but a not-so-pretty "skin," I will smell it to make sure it's not possibly beyond repair. That doesn't always bode well for me. Or my gag reflex. But, I feel it's imperative....if anything is "imperative" when thrifting.

So, I find some super ugly pillows, smell them and they smell fine, so I snag them up. I can't remember right now, but I'm pretty sure they were like $5 each, which is pretty good for the good shape these were in.

I get home and after JD gives me a funny look, I do what I always do and take photos of them.

Through the magic of digital photography, I look at my handiwork and I think "wow, those look really ugly on camera."

See?

I'm thinking they're definitely not THAT ugly, maybe if I take the picture from another angle, they won't look so bad.

Take two.

Nope, they're still ugly.

But noooowww.....

ahhh, that's much better.

Just a side note, for those of you who don't have great thrift stores around (ahem, San Antonio, TX). Big Lots has pillows for $5 all the time. Some of them are pretty big too. They're brand new and you don't have to do the smell test. Some of them are actually nice just the way they are. But, if you want to make pillows for your house and don't want to buy the forms or the poly-fill, check out Big Lots.

Playing with chalkboard paint

2009-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

It started out with three containers I bought at the thrift store for a total of $6.

I taped them out with painter's tape.

Paint, paint and then paint again. It took about three coats to get a good solid square.

I removed the tape and....voila....erasable, reusable, and ghetto-fabable.

Yep, it reads "shug-a."

What? I'm SO not changing it.

What are YOU waiting for?

2009-02-02T08:00:00.005-05:00

Last night we watched Fireproof. I was impressed. JD was impressed. We've made new commitments to one another.

That might deserve it's own post, but for now I want to share something that I feel God has put on my heart to share.

Not all my readers are Christians, but that doesn't exclude you from this post (or any post, for that matter.) Keep reading.

So many of us have, or are waiting for something in our lives. A job, a spouse, a child, peace...I could go on for hours. Most of us (believers or not) have cried out to God asking for an answer.

"How long do I have to wait, God?"

It's no secret that JD and I have been waiting for 23 months for a second child. And during these last 23 months, we've had many conversations over what we're supposed to do while we're waiting.

Do we pursue fertility treatments or "wait for God" to fix things for us?

Should you marry this guy who is "good enough" or wait for God to lead you to someone else?

Should you take this job, even though you're not quite sure it's where the Lord wants you?

Anyone with me?

While we're not perfect at the waiting game, we feel like we might be getting better at it. We continue to pray, seek God's will for our lives and our family, treasure our time with Lorelai and with one another.

Just when we think we've got it down, we hear a sermon (or a song, in this case) that brings us back to reality.

Are we really doing all we can while we wait?

We aren't. This weekend, we have a new look at our current situation.

I don't know why we're having such problems with secondary infertility, or why so many people are losing their jobs and suffering in so many ways. What we do know is that God is good. He is faithful. He is as good now as He was when things were going "our way." There is a reason we go through these trials. And we'll do our best to praise Him and remain faithful to Him, because that's what He tells us to do.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (Message Translation)
"...Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time;
thank God no matter what happens.
This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live."
(and yes, I had to look this up. I'm not the scripture-looker-upper-contest-winner.)

This song reminds us to worship Him, serve Him, and keep running the race, while we're waiting.

I pray this speaks to someone ... anyone.

While I'm Waiting ~ John Waller
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Here is the song, along with a Fireproof trailer if you're interested.

WINNER!

2009-01-31T10:24:00.002-05:00

We have a winner of the Yoga Mat Bag from this week's Giveaway!!!

I have a couple observations first...

~ I had to giggle at how many people thought this giveaway was for the mat and not the mat bag. I'm sorry to report that the winner will NOT be getting the mat. Sorry if that disappoints the winner.

~ Only a few "contestants" came here and just said "thank you" or "thanks for the chance." Not that I don't appreciate those visitors, but those of you who left snarky comments, jokes and complimentary words of encouragement, y'all made me laugh and smile and that's worth something.

~ This yoga mat is going to probably one of the most deserving people I know. Yep, I know her.

~ You're probably going to think this was rigged, but it wasn't.

To pick the winner, I asked JD to pick a number between 1-160 and he picked number nine. When I asked him why, he said "because none of the first commenters ever win anything!" I love him for knowing that.

#9 - REBECCA with the comment:
My favorite item in your store - yipppeee! Even though I haven't been doing yoga as often as before (timing of the class interferes with Christian's new naptime) I plan to get back to it as soon as I can. I LOVE IT. YAy for a great giveaway!

If you don't know Rebecca, go check out her blog. She has a one-year-old DARLING son whom she delivered while her husband was on a 15-month deployment. Did y'all hear that?

She. Delivered. Her. Baby. While. Her. Husband. Was. Deployed. For. FIFTEEN. Months.

Though, there are many others who have done this before her and will do this after her, I was constantly amazed by how she handled it. She did it with such grace, though I'm sure many nights were tear-filled. She had an amazing support system going through it, thank GOD! Through all that mess, she did yoga and took care of herself amazingly well. After Christian was born, she gave up one of her biggest vices (dairy) so he could nurse. She made soy milk. MADE soy milk and other non-dairy dairy products, made his baby food and still did yoga. If I remember correctly, she also did a triathlon just WEEKS after Christian was born. She's a machine, really.

I'm lucky (still, after two years) to take a shower before noon every day. Who am I kidding - I'm lucky to take a shower every day!

So, anyhow, with her love of yoga and the crazy things she can do with her body, I think she definitely deserves this yoga mat bag. Wouldn't you agree?

Congratulations, Rebecca! You have until Monday at noon to get back with me, or we'll have to pick another winner.

ha ha - I just had to say that, considering I talk to you daily. Now you HAVE to take a picture of you with the bag in use for my "clients's pictures" page.

Thank you, everyone, for playing! See you in a few months for another giveaway!

Putting the FAB in FABRIC

2009-01-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

There are days (not many, but they do exist) where I buy fabric based on the pattern and then find out that a) it's way better quality than I originally thought) and b) is on sale. So, here is a sale piece of fabric. It's super simple, but I am LOVING it! Maybe I love it so much because of what it replaced!?

BEFORES AND AFTERS

Seriously? Is it just me, or is that fabric fabulous? Simple, charming and makes a statement!

I don't get everything from thrift stores.

2009-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I buy things off Craigslist. I'm excited to get it all sanded, primed and painted!

And not everything I buy at thrift stores is for decorating. Look at this cute pair of shoes I found for Lorelai. Normally shoes are on the do-not-buy-at-thrift-stores list for me, but this time, at $0.99.....how could I NOT? They were in great condition and a size too big for her. She'll fit into them by next week!

Quick Target Find

2009-01-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

$2.50 for a decently sized cheapy framed bulletin board

A piece of coordinating fabric from the room in which I plan to use it

Now a cute little way to have my current project in front of me when I need it

It's a little too cutesy for me, but that's the beauty of an inexpensive piece....I can just re-cover it whenever I want. Like probably this weekend.

How old are you?

2009-01-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

Anyone: "How old are you?"

Lorelai: "ONE!"

Me: "No, honey, you're two now!"

Lorelai: "NO, I don't. I ONE!"

over...and over...and over.

Can't even trick her by agreeing. When you repeat with "one," she agrees, "YES! ONE!"

So, I made her this shirt. Maybe she'll remember now? What'ya think?

FREE!

2009-01-25T22:31:00.006-05:00

It's that time again!!! Quarterly Bloggy Giveaways! Who wants a chance to win?

Is that a collective applause I hear?

Do you do any of this?

Or maybe a little bit of this?

Well, you're crazy flexible and I'm super jealous.

Or maybe you're simply trying to reach your toes? I feel your pain.

How about your dog or baby?

If you have any desire, or know anyone who would have a desire for a Shut the Front Door original yoga mat bag, then leave a comment here!!! Heck, some of you don't even want or need a yoga mat bag, but want to win something, who cares! Most of those stopping by won't even read this.

This is a $45 value and I'll be giving it away this Friday after randomly drawing a winner. If you've read this, then you get an extra entry if you leave a snarky, witty, funny or complimentary comment. :-)

GOOD LUCK!

LEAVE ME AN EMAIL ADDRESS IF I DON'T HAVE ONE FOR YOU, OR IT'S
NOT IN YOUR PROFILE. OTHERWISE, YOU'LL HAVE TO
CHECK BACK HERE TO SEE IF YOU WON!

Now, go spend the rest of your day filling out comments for the other 2,000 giveaways! That's my plan!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again soon!!!

photos courtesy of:
www.teamsugar.com
www.iheartpapyrus.com
www.yiyoga.com
www.pampered puppy.com
www.theotherhuse.blogspot.com

From the mouth of Lorelai

2009-01-23T08:00:00.003-05:00

I always see on other blogs, conversations that bloggers have with their children. Up until recently, my conversations with Lorelai have been a little one-sided. However, it's changing quite a bit now. She's actually saying some pretty funny stuff.

Thank goodness I have a memory book to write all these things down in! I don't ever want to forget these things!

Lorelai has been dealing with a cold for the past week. The poor girl wakes up all stuffed up and can't breathe. The last few days, she's been greeting me when I walk through the door by putting her finger up to her nose and stating, "Mommy, help! My nose is broken."

How cute is that!?

I got nothing.

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

No really, I got nothing.

I think I'm hurting for blog material

2009-01-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

All y'all have gotten lately is crafty stuff. But why stop now!?

Here are a few before and after shots from the last week.

Kelly knows how much I like to monogram, so for Christmas, she bought me like 200 different H's. Okay, maybe only about 15. Here are some ways I've used them.

I'm loving me some Mod Podge!

BEFORE

AFTER

These were the 12x12 wooden blocks I got for $0.50 each.
I added some scrapbook paper, some ribbon and an H.
BEFORE

AFTER

You can't tell, but the block on top has textured
scrapbook paper on it, it's not just black.

BEFORE
Remember this ugggggly mirror?

Now it's a nice "check-your-teeth-before-you-answer-the-door" mirror.
AFTER

Anyone else have any crafty goodness they want to share? Leave a link in the comments!

That is thriftacular!! (and a walk through my madness)

2009-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Not sure if you remember this old stool I got at...surprise surprise...a thrift store, but it was $10 and in great condition. Such great condition that they had it set up in the front of the store, which usually means it's going to be "expensive." It was meant for me.

It was thriftacular! You like my new word?

So, here it was BEFORE I got my hands on it.

First, I took out all the screws and bolts. I must put them away in a container, otherwise I will lose them or one will walk off.

Then I took out all the 100,000 dreaded staples. UGH!
I got tired of it, so I gave it to hubby to work on. He's smarter than me and just burns off all the excess material - forget the staples!
Okay, that's where my walk-through stops. I hand-sanded and spray painted the wood, then distressed it a little bit. I added new padding and material to the top and stapled it all around.

And, VOILA....a new stool for the front room!

It was pretty easy! Glad I got it in before the freezing front came in. I'm going to have to put spray painting on hold for a while. BUMMER!!

on the cheap...

2009-01-19T08:00:00.004-05:00

Armoire - $5

from a hotel sale about three years ago. I spray painted it black back then, when I wasn't even addicted to spraypainting! I was ahead of the game, wasn't I!? :-)

We use it in our front living room (sitting room? family room? what do you call a 2nd living room?)...anyhow we have it there, with a tv that is for Lorelai's video games, or movies, or an extra football tv. (by the way, the walls are a really pretty light green, so I'm sticking with black white and yellow for everything else in the room)

It also doubles as a little bit of storage, as you can see on the bottom. Of course, I lost the doors through all our moves, so I needed something to cover up the clutter of it all.

Just a few tension rods and a little sewing....what do you think?

SHOTGUN!!

2009-01-16T08:00:00.003-05:00

I just got one of the funniest emails from my friend Chelsea.

Rachel, Since it is becoming more and more apparent every day that you will one day end up on Oprah or Ellen because of your awesomeness and creativity, and humor and looks etc etc and daughter and etc. Can I call shotgun for being in the audience? I'm sure you'll get some extra tix and you might want to take your family or kelly, but standard shotgun rules apply. I call shotgun on being witness to your tv debut! Miss you

Chelsea

Anyone with me? That's funny stuff, right?

I know, I have some awesome friends.

Hi ho the merry-o, a thrifting we will go....

2009-01-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

All of this for just a little over $100. Almost all of it is waiting for its spray paint bath.

Don't knock the puke and vomit greens. I was thinking of keeping it that way. What'ya think?

Just kidding, I didn't buy the hat, but I was shocked it was for sale. For $3 nonetheless.

Something to make my day better.

2009-01-14T14:37:00.005-05:00

Today I found out, for the 22nd month, that I'm not pregnant.

This sucks.

BUT....then I look in front of me and want to snuggle in her beautiful curls.She makes me smile, even among tears.

I soooooooooo badly want to make her a big sister and I'm not giving up. But today sucks. You would think that after a total of five years of this crap, it would get easier.

Nope.

quite possibly the most boring post ever - because of me, not you Ms. Tagger

2009-01-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

I think I've probably been tagged about four or five times in the last few months, and I've not responded to any of them. I'm a horrible tagee. I'm sorry. I don't even remember who all has tagged me now.

Anyhow, I'm doing this because I'm pretty positive Kallie has tagged me more than once.

This one you're supposed to open your pictures folder and open the fifth subfolder, then upload the fifth picture. Sorry, this is so not interesting. It's actually someone's craft room. I do not know it's owner. If this is yours, let me know. I like to look at organizational options that double as decor.

All that formula we used was good for something.

2009-01-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

Well, other than feeding Lorelai, of course.

I'm doing my best to decorate our entire house on a shoestring budget. Starting with the awesome sofa table and now reusing old formula and veggie cans, I am doing a pretty good job so far. At least monetarily speaking.

This picture is a sneak peek into my sewing room.

You don't bring me to tears anymore, mister!

2009-01-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I started mentally preparing to make a new recipe that my dear friend, Katie, sent to me. I was agonizing over cutting the onions. I use fresh veggies for nearly ever meal. And onions kill me every time. So, needless to say, that's the veggie I save for last!

As I was procrastinating to get started, I decided to google how to cut onions without crying. I've googled this before and have gotten 10+ different answers; wear sunglasses, wear goggles, cut it under water, freeze them, etc. None of them actually worked for me.

This time I found a different idea. And I loved this guy's video - short and sweet. Check this out.

Cut An Onion Without Crying - Click here for this week’s top video clips

I tried cutting an onion using his method. It resulted in nearly NO tears. I did get a little irritation, because I'm a moron and left the bulb right next to me. DUH.

But, nothing near what happened when I cut the second onion. I decided to try cutting it like I always do, with no precautions. I was in tears in seconds. Horrible tears. I had to walk away probably five or six times to get the nastiness out of my eyes. I have mascara streaks on my sweatshirt to prove it.

Try it next time you cut an onion! It really works.

I searched a little more through this guy's videos and found a few more great ideas.

How to peel an egg quickly and easily

How to make spaghetti sauce

How to make the perfect omelette - this is brilliant!

Oh yeah, and if you haven't noticed yet, I started a recipe blog. Originally it was because I wanted to have all my favorite recipes online when I was out of town and wanted to cook. But, Laura has now started adding some as well. If you have any wonderful recipes you'd like to share, we'll give you credit, if you don't mind it being on the page.

Bon Apetite!

One of our favorite learning websites.

2009-01-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Okay, so those of you with young children are going to love this. My super-smart, super-homeschooling e-friend, Brenda, gave this web address to me a while ago and I've been hogging it since then. Guess it's time to share.

When Lorelai was a little younger, I had looked into the "Your Baby Can Read" program. It's a program that basically teaches your child to recognize letters together in a word. It seemed like a good idea, but I sought the advice of many friends who are either teachers and/or early childhood reading specialists. I also talked to some family as well. Learning what a word looks like is impressive when showing off your baby's skills, but it doesn't aid them in learning how to really read. Basically, the consensus was that phonics were the route to go.

Phonics are important for young children, in order to learn how to read. I started Lorelai on this website when she was about 18 months old. Now, at two years old, she knows what sounds about 15 letters make. This will be KEY when she starts to try phonetically reading through words.

Okay, I'll share it with you. Starfall will not only help your child to learn the sound of the letters, it will aid in letter recognition and it's FUN!!!

Click on 1) ABCs and watch your child engage completely. Please link to it, then let me know what your child(ren) think about it. I love it. And best of all - it's FREE!!!!!

Cooking with toilet water - who would've thought!?

2009-01-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

Seriously - what IS it with my kid and toilets!!??

Three times she's been in time out today for playing in the toilet. Once, it was just 100 feet of toilet paper that I had to fish out. Another time it was her putting her big girl potty seat on and splashing around. Potty training is beginning to sound like less fun than I thought. Then last, she had a toy spoon and was mixing the water feverishly. When I came in and gave her the look she said to me "mommy wook, I cooking!"

As cute as she is, she still got her butt swatted and went to time out. Again.

This year is going to be grand, isn't it!?

My Chatty Cathy

2009-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

When we were back in San Antonio, I had Lorelai involved in Mother's Day Out one day a week. It was pretty awesome. For me and her. And us a mother/daughter team.

What's funny is, she would get daily report cards. Okay, that's not funny. The funny part is what the report cards revealed. They usually always had the same type of adjectives circled; happy, curious, friendly.....and....

See anything that might remind you of me?

At least she comes by it honestly!!

How 'bout an "after" shot?

2009-01-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Remember this table I found at a thrift store last week? It came complete with a wonky leg, a broken drawer, one missing drawer pull and one ugly drawer pull. But...it was from The Bombay Company!! How on earth did everyone pass this up! It was under $10!!

Enter my spray painting addiction, a bolt, two simple drawer knobs and some hot glue and voila...I plan on scuffing up the edges a little to give it a distressed look. When I do that, and get it into place with some decor on top, I'll repost.

Not bad for a grand total of $20, eh?

Ahhh...peace and quiet!

2009-01-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

I got to ditch the ghetto "do not disturb" sign. (reads "babies" because I want to make the baby-waker-upper feel really badly when ringing the door bell...as if more than one sleeping baby isn't enough)

Now, this is what will stop the loud interruptions during the day.The Bell Stop. These are magnetic, so you only have to put it up when you need it. Otherwise, your doorbell is back to normal. Thanks to Amber at Helpful Household for her brilliant idea!!

What we've been doing (picture heavy)

2009-01-05T08:00:00.004-05:00

Our BFFs (our would it technically be BFsF?) are here for a visit! I love that they are first. They don't care about the cleanliness or order of the house (thank goodness) and are content with sitting and hanging out all weekend. And that's just what we've been doing. We hung out with our friends Brent and Andrea for New Year's Eve. We have no pictures of our time with them, but that seems to be a trend. And then we drove out to see our very pregnant (with twins) friend, Kathi and her loverly mother. No pictures of that either. What's our problem!? And then we sat. And watched a movie. Ate. And sat. It has been AWESOME.

We did, however, get pictures of the girls.

Here they are on their first night, starting the slumber party. We didn't stage this photo.

We visited a local mall with an indoor, two-story carousel.

Lorelai really wanted to give Peyton a kiss. Peyton wasn't having any of it.

We tried really hard to get them to pose in the pj's I made them, but no dice.
This is Peyton's new look. She got it from her Daddy.
The girls opened a bunch of gifts.

Then played with said gifts.
BATH TIME!
I told you Lala was determined and Peyton was just as determined to stay away.

Rob, getting his workout for the weekend.
The Douglases

We've had SUCH a great time and hate to see them go!

The excitement of a child.

2009-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I love how Lorelai falls in love with each of her presents. Every day.

Every morning she wakes up, runs downstairs and screams with glee when she sees the gifts she opened days before and has seen and used every day since.

Her new Little Einsteins Rocket Chair from Grandpa. She thinks the control button is a microphone. She's making up songs to sing into it right now.

I never thought I'd have a girly girl, but put Lorelai in a pink tutu and BAM....twirly girly.

The look on her face is just too devious. She was eating a sugar cookie that Laura made. I refused to give her some of the yummy peanut butter fudge, though. Okay, really I ate it all.

Mama's Little Helper

2009-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Lorelai is truly enjoying all of her Christmas gifts. I'm enjoying the new helper.

Lots of work going on here in sunny Virginia.

2009-01-01T08:00:00.001-05:00

When I need a break from unpacking the million boxes we have, I'm taking advantage of the 70 degree days and spray painting my heart out. Those boxes actually do serve some purpose other than frustrating me.

Is anyone else addicted to spray paint? Actually PAINTING with it!? Because of this girl, I am.

The Christmas Story

2008-12-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

We have a Christmas tradition! YAY!

Here is JD teaching Lorelai about the birth of our Savior. She was really into it. She kept saying "baby Jeeshus, baby Jeeshus!"

This was one of those moments where you giggle, but kind of get choked up and teary too. What an awesome responsibility we have as parents to teach our children about our Heavenly Father!

Happy Birthday, Lorelai!

2008-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

I can't believe you're two.

I can't believe you are more and more fun every day.

I can't believe I love you as much as I do.

I can't believe you love me as much as you do, even though I'm learning my mommy roles as I go.

I can't believe you're MINE!!

Happy second birthday, Lorelai!!