my epic leg burn

isn't he cute?  i know, i am biased.  but.  i can't squeeze him hard enough.  he is the sweetest little boy.  not that he has anything to really do with this blog post.  i just couldn't start off with anything gloomy.  so... i'm giving you a picture of ethan. 

****** complaining disclaimer ******

well.  i debated.  do i blog about this, or no??  well.  in the spirit of keeping things real around here, i might as well.  

the week before thanksgiving's week.  i think i was sick.  like, rough scratchy throat and voice.  people would ask... but i would think, "gosh, am i?"

i had something else that was more uncomfortable than whatever chest cold i was fighting.

you see, that wednesday night, i decided to make iced tea... and somehow knocked over the pitcher as i was pouring in the boiling water.  all over my right thigh.  i don't use a tea kettle...i use a pot of boiling water... so, uh, pretty much i poured a small pot of boiling water on my leg.

i was wearing skinny jeans.  my skinny jeans don't exactly slide off.  imagine a blanket of boiling water on your leg.  a blanket that you had to wriggle out of.  holy crap.  

i have no idea what expletives i screamed.  but i know i screamed.  i am just so incredibly thankful that neither of the little ones were hanging on my legs.  they typically are.  oh, how horrible that would have been.

anyway.  it really sucks.  i spent the evening running cold water on my leg and faustino took over dinner.  thank god.  and, after a few days of my pathetic attempts at wound care, i let him fix me up.  it makes a world of difference.  especially when he got some of the "good stuff" for me.  waaaaay better than the gauze from target i was using.

it was the most painful if a blister got inadvertently popped.  oh. my. 

would you like to see pictures??  i mean, i know they are gross, but aren't you curious??   

this was the morning after it happened.  it still had not blistered all the way.  ewww... then i put on JEANS and went to bible study.  wanted to cry.

this was yesterday... healing quite nicely.  i think i will go gauze-free tomorrow.  :)

a combo of 1st and 2nd degree burns.  it looks like a map... with "continents" that are blistered. ewwww.  i thought is would just be a couple of small blisters.  nope.  about a third of it blistered.

it is much better now.  

but all of this is nothing, really.  and so, i don't want to really complain.  it could have been worse.  other people have had much worse.  it also makes me think of sasha... an acquaintance.  a very kind and friendly girl.  her sweet wedding reception was my last event at colonial.  a couple of years ago, she had a tragic accident where 20% of her body - her face, neck, arms - was burned by one of those fire bowl outdoor lighting things...  she had a blog for awhile, and it was one of my favorites.  the summer of the accident i ended up having a couple of run-ins with my oven and had a few small burns on my wrist and arm.  i looked at those scars all. the. time. and they reminded me to pray for sasha.  send good energy her way.

the other day, i was thinking how those scars had faded.  they are so faint, i can hardly see one and the other is gone.  i thought.  well, it's about time for another kitchen mishap.  obviously, i didn't do this on purpose.  and i hope that this scar fades away.  however, it will serve as a good reminder for me to pray for sasha... i hope she is doing well.

sooo... that's the rest of the story here.  my thigh has a giant burn.  :)  be careful in the kitchen!  heed my warning!

xoxo, s

a blessed beginning to thanksgiving week

well.  somehow its the middle of the week.  but i have to tell you how we had a perfect weekend.

perfect!!!!

friday evening we got a sitter and went out to celebrate our anniversary.  5 years!  it wasn't a fancy date... but it was nice spending time together without social obligations or family obligations! 

i can tell you that marrying the right person is a huge part of life's happiness.  i don't even have the right words for how fortunate i am that i am married to the right man.  he is funny, and smart, and loves me.  he pushes me to be a better person, and he is the hardest working man i've ever known.  he loves our children and is a great dad.  i really am blessed to have him in my life.

i wanted to scan old pictures in... but our scanner is acting up.  i really am dying to get all my old film converted to digital.  have any of y'all done that??  do you send your photos off somewhere?  does that scare the crap out of you like it does me????

engagement pictures.  gee i look young.

right after we were married...

our first year anniversary dinner.  a month before ethan was born!

so that was friday.... and then on saturday, we spent the day together at our friend's farm.  picnic of "chicken and fil-a" and enjoying the 70+ degree weather. 

boots.  pigtails.  perfection.

we put the kids down on saturday night and watched one of the best football games.  ever.  seriously.
i can't wait for the next game because we will be there!  but i really don't need to elaborate on how good the game was because you would have to be living in a cave to not know about baylor's ginormous win.  i'm not even a c r a z y football person, but wow.  its a fun time to be a baylor fan. 

it made me want to wake up little savvy and put her in her baylor cheerleader uniform and dance around.  or at least a little nostalgic for some post-game celebration.

on sunday, ethan and i had the chance to go to a super fun birthday party where i was in awe of how my formerly timid bounce house boy was jumping all over everything with his friends.  my little boy is so grownup now.  bittersweet.


and then on sunday evening, faustino made the best gumbo i have ever had.  every bit as good as a restaurant.  seriously impressive.   mmmm....  it had little pieces of duck in it and the roux was perfect.  'liscious.  {in savvy-speak}  both kids ate it by the way.  spicy and all. {not too spicy.  just right, spicy}  it was starting to rain and was the perfect food to come home to.  and the aroma!  i love coming home to a home-cooked dinner i didn't have to cook!

i would share the recipe... but faustino made it.  and used several recipes.  and he wrote it down... but i think it needs a "round 2" to see if that is indeed the recipe.  we will definitely make it again.  mmmm...

but back to the weekend...

it was full of just a general sprinkling of things that make a weekend wonderful. 

and on monday morning, we went out to see the deer my husband shot, and then we headed to my parent's house where the kids have been spoiled with new toys and tons of attention.  i think it was their most fun visit yet.  savannah was talking up a storm...  telling my dad "i love you" among other adorable little things.  and i was off the hook for all my daily tasks... life was good.  i even braved the longview crowds and did my thanksgiving grocery run so that my parents could watch the kids instead of making it a group trip.  blessing.

so now i need to start cooking for tomorrow!!!  happy thanksgiving, everyone.  i am thankful for the so many blessings we have in our lives.  and now i am going to put two of those blessings to bed.


xoxo, s  

working on a bar mitzvah...

my precious little bugs.  my full time job...

last week i alluded to a new little something i was working on... and i want to tell y'all about it.  a bar mitzvah.  this december... day of coordination.  i am so excited!!

you see, i am a stay at home mom.  {everyone already knows that, right??} and with my husband in training,  {y'all know that, too - right??}  it has always been difficult for me to even fathom working because of his busy schedule.  how could i commit to a job in my previous fields when i need to juggle the kids and not count on him for help with that?  the childcare expenses would make it tricky to even come out ahead.  and the stress...  not that extra money wouldn't be really cool.  but also, i feel very strongly that i want to be the one raising our children.  my season is one of my children.  this has always been my hearts' desire.  my dream.

staying home with my children is not glamorous, but is quite rewarding.  but i have had "glamorous" and it wasn't really all that rewarding.  sometimes fun.  sometimes a boost to the ego.  but not the long-lasting rewards that motherhood has brought me.  snuggles from my children.  teaching them about the world.  if i look past the tantrums, boogers, and the poop, it really is magic to be the first person to show a little one what a popsicle tastes like or plant a flower or a see a bug or a enjoy certain kind of fruit.  to watch my daughter's face as we watch cinderella.  to see my son impressed by a firetruck or a cement mixer.  letters and numbers.  stars and planets.  grass and dirt and leaves and pumpkins.  the mundane things of the world are their magic moments.

but extra money is nice.  and retaining my own sense of self is really very important.  i am a mom, but also, i am stephanie.

so, by the grace of god, at the perfect moment, someone asked me a question.  would i help with an event?  and my answer was YES.  an absolute blessing.

let me just say, i never, ever, EVER, in a million years thought that i wanted to plan events again, especially as my own business.  i have seen others do it.  and thrive in it.  but that season of my life was very demanding.  {do y'all know about that season?  i worked here doing sales and marketing and helping plan the wholesale market, and here as the catering director dealing with the private events and the tournament events, and here as a catering manager with non-wedding large events.  whew!}

it was rough.  busy.  it's nights, weekends, happy hours, get-togethers.  all my invitations skipped.  or postponed.  so that i could be there for other people's events.  and i was always {over} emotionally attached to my events.  leaving colonial to go to the fort worth club was like a bad divorce.  i cried for the events i wouldn't get to do.  leaving the fort worth club to stay at home with ethan, had many bittersweet moments, too.

my point is that it never entered my mind that this could be an option... but it is.  and here i am.  so say prayers that all goes splendidly for the bar mitzvah in december.

and let me just say, that this is going to be an awesome event.  it's an great family... a creative theme... i will hopefully get to post some awesome photos afterwards... insert squeal of excitement here!!! 

...and then, if i were to get referrals and other business, i would be thrilled.  just a few events.  day of coordination and consulting prior to the event.

so, i guess, i am putting it out there... i'm working again.  let me know if you'd like any help with your event ;)

xoxo, stephanie

randoms...

so... this past week.  i feel like i've been picking up lots of negative energy.  i could feel it.   i kept asking myself why.... well.  to be honest, i was only selecting to tune into the negative stuff.  and it was almost like my receptors were hyper-sensitive, because i don't think that the negativity was all that horrid.  so, can i take a mulligan on this past week?  i mean, i guess i wouldn't really want to... there were some good parts to it.  but still.

we've been busy.  i'll list it out for you.  it's not all bad.  in fact, i'll try not to harp on the bad ;)

:: a week ago.  bible study child care.  ethan got a bad report.  geez.  i HATE that.  however, he has not received a single bad report since last school year... so perhaps his bible study child care teacher is having a hard time differentiating between "bad" and "boy." 

any boy mom's out there that relate?? i've become somewhat passionate about this... i could write an entire post :) but first I have a book or two saved on ibooks I would like to read.

:: i'm kinda gloomy when my kids get in trouble.  i am doomed when they are teenagers.

:: i have taken on a little project.  its literally a godsend... and would take a whole post in and of itself to explain... but friday i had a morning meeting about that... i can't wait to elaborate about it on the blog.  very exciting.  btw, the meeting went super wonderful and i felt very rejuvenated in a professional way that i hadn't realized i had been missing.

:: i made venison chili and wanted to eat the whole pot.  this recipe.  wonderful.

:: friday night, i had a massive craft fail as i tried to make flowers for hair bows. so sad. i wanted to give them as birthday gifts. bwahahahhhhahahaa. i think it looked like savannah attempted to make them.  i should have taken pictures of the failures.  they made me think of this pin on pinterest... {and i can't correctly site the source because there is something wrong with the permalink, so my apologies!}

:: a sweet friend from college mentioned me on her blog. loved that. really, in fact, it made my day.

:: double birthday party fun on saturday. i was whipped. i mean. wow. i think i went to bed at 9. really. and i am a night owl... so that says something. 

the first party was at one of those tumbling gyms with lots of trampolines and a foam block pit.  the kids literally bounced around the whole time and i chased savannah for the duration trying to save her from her fearless little self.  the kids had a blast.  and i jumped on the trampoline, too :)

the second party was a train extravaganza.  again, chasing savannah all over and coaxing her out of the bounce-house-obstacle-course clearly intended for kids and not an 18 month old.  saving fearless savvy from her happy go lucky self.  exhausting.  fun, but exhausting.  they did have wine at the last party, and i felt like had i had a driver, it might have been a truly helpful thing.  :)

this was almost the end... cake number 2...  do you like ethan's take on the conductor hat?  i was too tired to care about correcting it :)

:: i finished savvy's skirt! one super cute sewing project down. eleventy billion to go. and i put the sewing machine back in the chest... i just couldn't handle it next to my bed for another minute. these walls are closing in...

:: i made baba ganoush for the 3rd time... it was pretty good. savannah loves it by the way.   but eggplants under the broiler smell a little like death.  i don't love that.   really.   why does something have to be so stinky to be so great in the recipe??

:: i also made it out for a bit to the jwc softball game.  and when savvy made it clear it would be another game of chase, i opted to leave! no thanks, not two days in a row.

:: while we were there, i did hold a friend's little 3 month old baby.  savannah thought it was pretty cool for about nine seconds, and then she turned into the green eyed monster.  she even started to ask to nurse.  completely out of character for her!  she never wants that.  only in the mornings... so i knew she was thinking, oh no.  that's my mommy.  put down the baby, NOW.  i sort of loved her possessiveness.

::  savannah went to the doctor for her 18 month check up.  33 inches long and 26.2 lbs.  and.... we found out that savannah has had an ear infection.  but after the whole issue with ethan, there is no way we are putting her on antibiotics.  so we will wait and see.  i'm hoping its almost run its course.  she's booger free.  fever free.  and pretty much happy all the time.  just occasionally, she'll act super fussy.  and then i think she's not feeling top notch.  we go back in a month... hopefully she'll have a good "ear check" and i won't have any mom-guilt.

::  sister had a major meltdown yesterday at bible study childcare.  so i needed to pick her up early.  i think she just doesn't like to go, because this is her in the back of the volvo eating her lunch while we waited on brother {who i promised that this week he could eat at school with his friends} the classes are 3x as big as her school... but the ratio is the same.  it makes for more chaos.  i'm not opposed to sending her, because i think there is value in learning how to tolerate a little of what we don't love.  plus, it's good for me to go to the bible study.

she is eating cheese and saying cheese.  :)

but you see, her meltdown totally foiled my plans to sneak away a little early and go to the junior league lunch meeting.  as in, i was in my car, halfway there when they called me.  BUMMER.  they thought she was sick.  i think she might have just been sick and tired of them.  a little cranky with the ear and the time change, but really, sister wasn't feeling it.  after a quick cat nap in the car, she was back to normal.  she was catnapping when i drove through the neighborhood with the buzzards.  and by the way, faustino thought i was crazy for being bewildered at the sight of them.  oh well.

strange birds

okay... so i am desperately trying to piece together a post that makes any sense... and i am failing because i am also trying to pick out a christmas card simultaneously and i am thinking about calling my client {because, YES!! i have a little gig!!! deserves it's own post entirely} and so i am super scattered.

i'll keep working on that post ;)

i wouldn't go so far as to say today was a fail... but let's just say i didn't get to breeze through with my plan.

so i will leave you with this.

strange birds. on a strange day. in a very urban area, i might add, {arlington heights} i saw these two things. they are the size of chickens. i actually stopped the car. reversed and attempted to take a picture out the passenger side window.

i tried my darnedest to adjust the iphone photos so you could see them. sorry, i know the pictures suck.

but, what the heck? are they some totally common thing i am just not realizing? they weren't fazed by the car stopping by them, either.

they looked like they belonged in "raptor canyon" at the zoo.

i can't wait to ask my husband if he knows what they are... but do you?? do y'all think this is weird? the size of chickens?!!! just walking around????!!!!

i sort of felt like it was par for the course with how my week has been. :)


UPDATE: apparently these are super common, no big deal, run of the mill buzzards. Well, okay then. They still creeped me out, especially walking down the street in a neighborhood.

eighteen months old

my little grub.  she had a half birthday.  and i can not believe how grown up she is.  i know everyone says that, but lately, it has been hitting me that my kids are growing up very quickly.

we go to her check-up next week, where i can get all the stats, so i will come back and update it.  i have no doubt she will be in the top of her age curve... she's in size 24 months/2t.  she breaks my arm when i carry her.  and she wears a size 6 shoe.   we are still in size 4 pampers when we do disposable diapers.

but --- she is showing interest in potty training.  so maybe she won't be in those diapers too much longer.

in fact, we went to eat lunch with ethan and his class on monday, and he told everyone at his table that "sa-nannah toots on the potty"  thanks, buddy.  i'm sure sister would have wanted to share that as well.  :)

my girl loves to eat.  gotta love a girl who eats!  we are still nursing in the mornings, and occasionally in the late afternoon.  i'll nurse her as long as she's interested... there is so much good stuff in my milk.  i could go on and on about her favorite foods... but just know, right now, she has a thing for the mini pepperonis.  i know.  not the best food choice -- don't judge.  perhaps my breastmilk will make up for the carcinogens?  and she really loves yogurt.  it is helpful that she is talking more because she will voice her cravings at the fridge after her nap.  she typically grabs my hand, pulls me to the kitchen, stands in front of the fridge or pantry and yells, EAT.  then, she gets specific :)     

we are still waiting on her last four teeth to break through the gums.  she has her top and bottom front 4.  and her molars.  its the ones between the molars and the front.  geez, they have been giving her trouble.  motrin.  tylenol.  homeopathic teething tablets.   we are down to the paci only at night.  mostly.  but sometimes she really wants to chew on that thing during the day.

savannah asks for "med-cine."  whenever she cries, ethan says, "i think sa-nannah is getting teeth."  except sometimes it's after he's hit her... and then i have to inform him that teeth probably aren't the issue.

she has quite the vocab... i have been keeping it on my phone in the notes section - fun to see what all she says.  she will certainly be a chatter box.  lately, her big word to scream is "buckle!!" when i get her in and out of the car seat.  :)

i also really enjoyed when she grabbed part of ethan's halloween costume and put it on and looked at faustino and me and said, "ironman."  yes, indeed.

she has so much fun copying her brother.  the things he says, noises he makes, what ever he does, she wants to do too.  and they play really well together.  until he decides that he wants to play rough :) or until she takes whatever the toy of the moment is and runs off with it.

she loves to dance, sing, play peekaboo, play with fake food, and love on stuffed animals and babies.  she is very affectionate to her babies, but guards her kisses tightly from anyone else.  so when she does give a kiss to me, it melts my heart.  completely.

and when she is eating, she wants to give bites to others.  i had no idea that this was a sign of her affection until the other night.  she was eating some smarties and giving some to me and faustino.  then ethan waltz's in and totally zones in on them... and she gets them all in her hand and won't share a bit!  it was so funny!!

she has friends!  her face lights up when she's sees certain people in particular...  i remember the first time that she said "Abby!"  i nearly fell over in disbelief {it was at the beginning of the school year} that she knew and could articulate another child's name.  and it wasn't like we saw the friends every day back in the summer, either.  and at her school, the much loved ms. tracie tells me that savannah is quite the playground flirt.  nice.

she loves books.  i mean, LOVES them.  i could read to her for hours.  she loves to pick out books from her shelf... point to pictures... say the words.  i know i am biased, but i think she will be an early reader.  it's definitely her thing to make letter sounds and name letters.  A E and S are some of our favorites right now.  

she also loves shoes.  and clothes.  and stealing my makeup brushes.  she loves bracelets.  and will find my ponytail holders and wear them all day long, calling them bracelets.  my poor husband... he has no idea what is down the road.  i think he will have a hard time saying no to her big blue eyes.

she is my sweet, happy-go-lucky, blessing of a baby girl.  i want to sit and snuggle her and kiss her neck all day long, but she is too busy for that.  she is so smart and has a great sense of humor and i could not imagine our family without her.  she is a blessing beyond my wildest dreams and i can't believe i have the honor of being her mother.

and thanks, sabrina for capturing all these images of savannah.

who knew?

who would have known that my little owl would have understood and delighted in trick or treating.

she held her own bag.  wouldn't put it down or give it to me or her daddy.
she wanted to walk.
she attempted to say both trick or treat and thank you.
she understood the "pick-out-your-candy" concept.

unbelievable.

and ethan?  i think he was born to celebrate halloween.

the unexpected hit of the evening?  glowsticks.

and trick or treating with friends made the night even more fun.  i mean, iron man and princesses are a perfect match, right? 

success :)