excuses

see my flowers, from the FALL?  they are still pretty.  it's been that mild.  and i switched my closet yesterday, cold weather clothes to warm weather clothes.  i paid the price with children who were misbehaving because i was too busy with my project to give them undivided attention.

i hate chores like that.  i have a big pile that needs to go to goodwill.  trust me, it's goodwill.  i wouldn't even dream of donating it to the junior league double exposure, because it was shameful that i was still wearing some of that stuff.  residency clothing budget.  i kid you not, i would get rid of everything in my closet in a heart beat if you told me i could get all new clothes.  i digress.

it needed to be done.  my closet was out of control.  partially because of survival mode.

survival mode.  you've been there, right?

well.  that is where i have been.  not in a bad way... it's just... all my energy i had while i was sick, i spent.  on relishing my babies.  on making sure dinner was being cooked.  on doing laundry.  on bare minimum cleaning tasks.

and now that i feel better, i am trying to survive the aftermath of a month+ of varying levels of "survival mode."   and the time change is kicking my tail.  and i am trying to give up the coke zero.  and have failed like, a dozen times.  i think i am addicted to artificial sweetener.  or maybe not, but it is still garbage for my body... and surely the last month has taught me i need to really take care of myself.

and of course my blog has been a causality in all this survival mode.  i promise, i am back.  for real.

and it isn't like i have just been laying on the couch {although, be sure that i have done my fair share of that} we have been doing all kinds of fun stuff...

we took the kids to dinosaur valley state park last sunday.  of course, i didn't take a single photo.  but i will tell you that savannah is fearless and independent and everything an almost two year old is.  and she will tell you all about it.  most sentences are 4 words... but i have heard some that are 7-8.

and we have worked in the garden.  savannah has shown me that she is definitely her father's daugther because i don't think i have ever drawn on my self with chalk and sat in muddy shoes.  so gross.

and ethan has been really into writing {yay!!!} and has had a major growth spurt in runaway imagination.  the things he says... oh they are so funny.  like, hilarious.   

and the interactions between the two rascals.  oh.  so precious.  he cares about her so much.  and she is crazy about him.  

but back to the blog.  when i sit down to write... my mind starts racing.  like just now.  i thought.  crap!  i have to fill out the registration form for ethan to go to museum school.

and now i really need to drop it off.  and you have to pay to park.  unless you park across the street in the neighborhood... but who wants to cross a four lane street with two children?  exactly.

and then i got a phone call from my husband saying he has to take call over easter.  total bummer.  like, really, i am sad.

and then savannah bit the tip of the sky blue crayola pencil.  and is sputtering blue spit.

and i am about 2 hours behind and don't know how i will make it up.

you see why the blog is suffering??  and my baseboards?  and how organizing my spice cabinet keeps getting pushed back?

indeed.

lessons learned

hi y'all.

sequence rummy. it's a game i bought for the kids. you know, beginning, middle, end. i clearly need to put those skills into practice. obviously my cause and effect sensors are not so sensitive.

you see, i have 2 lessons for you today. you should really learn from my mistakes... because both were not fun. at. all.

lesson 1
i can't seem to catch a break. i don't want to sound all pathetic on here, but just to keep it real, let me say: if you take antibiotics for one week - and then take antibiotics another week - you better be taking probiotics of some sort.

to avoid tmi, i will only tell you that i have been sick sick sick with some sort of little bug that probably wouldn't have bothered me all that much, but i had no flora in my intestines. all the good stuff was killed off. and man, oh, man. friday morning i thought hmmm... somethings not right. by saturday morning i was begging for mercy. i *think* i am on the mend.

and i will be drinking kefir everyday for the rest of my life.

i actually felt better after drinking some. i don't think it was coincidental. did i mention that i had kefir for the kids... kefir i reserve for the children but don't give to myself because i want our grocery bill to be smaller. its like the oxygen mask on the air plane. why can't i get it???

i am curious... has anyone made their own kefir? am i crazy for thinking this might be a good thing?? i mean, if it wasn't as complicated as it seems, i think it would save me a great deal of money. or maybe not... i think raw milk is pricy... it costs so much to be healthy.

anyway, thanks to my husband, my mother-in-law, kefir, and gaterade; i am on the mend.

lesson 2
if you have to tattoo it on your forehead, please do not forget to pick up your husband's only real option of an interview suit at the dry cleaners. saturday, at 4:51, i had this horrifying realization. the cleaners closed a mere 51 minutes prior. his plane left on sunday. they re-opened on monday.

so what's a desperate housewife to do?? make stalkerish, desperate attempts to get in touch with the owner. it worked. praise god. mortified all the way around. let's not talk about this again. okay??

and really, don't cut me any slack about having kids, etc. i mean, you are nice if you thought to do that, but really, don't. even with ethan sick, i still managed to go to the store and pick up printer ink and valentines supplies. i made it to the store to get juice boxes for savannah's valentine's party. i simply forgot. dropped the ball.

whew! now that i have that off my chest maybe i can come back here and write a post where i will look back fondly at my son making valentines and my daughter answering knock-knock jokes.

'til then,
xoxo,
s

all the way around

i took these on friday... my attempt to do structured activities when we didn't have school...

ethan put his hands behind his back, asked me "guess how much i love you?" and said "all the way around."

i melted.  i mean.  could life be any sweeter?

apparently he told that to his nana as well.  and after some investigating, i think that his grammy taught him that gem.

m e l t

in other news, i am on the mend.  i am sure you didn't know otherwise, but last week i had a crippling sinus infection.  why on earth, when i started to feel bad on monday, did i not call my friend who is married to an ent guru?

i wish i could say that was the first major mistake of the week.   last week was a week of extremes... great things... crappy things...

let me back up... sunday evening.  my mother-in-law is at my house... we are talking about my husband's upcoming trip and how she would be dropping him off at the airport the next morning.  she says, "do you have all his hotel and rental car stuff squared away?"  i think it was more of a space filler type question.  not really wondering if i had done all of that.  because surely, the night before, it would be done, right??

wrong.

completely. slipped. my. mind.

so sunday night i booked things, and spent awhile on google maps trying to make sure things were indeed squared away.  and i made these great little packets with hotel/car rental/driving directions from point a - b- c- and back to a.  beautiful work that should have been done a while back.

so he leaves... the kids wake up.  ethan acts like a turd.... its all a little fuzzy.  but i am sure it had everything to do with the little guy not listening to me and not wanting to get dressed.

i make it to the grocery store and start having some sort of anxiety attack where i have to remove my jacket and scarf and find a bottle of water to start drinking.  its a busy week.  i'm off my game.   too. much. to. do.

but it wasn't.  i mean, i think that my not feeling 100% started compounding my natural stress over a busy week.  a meltdown in the grocery store is not normal.  it didn't help that i had forgotten my list.

and it didn't help that i had a list of expectations in my mind of what fun filled things i should do with the kids while the weather was perfect.  the zoo.  the stock show.  the botanical gardens.  take ethan to ride his bike.  insert mom guilt here for not getting any of those things done.

at preschool pick up, all ethan talked about was his friend's blue pen.  a pen that folds.  that was a promotional pen.  that was sent in the mail.  the kind with a minimum order.  the type of gimmicky pen that won't be at staples.  i would have spent $10 on a pen at that point to end the constant whining about the pen. he didn't shut up about blue pen for a week.  it got so bad at one point, i bought him a transformer to shift the focus off the pen that i couldn't produce.  you'd have done it, too.  don't be judgey.

anyway, we ended up spending the afternoon with a dear friend.  my friend was welcoming and generous and invited us to stay for dinner since faustino was out of town.  which, i have to say, it is a beautiful thing to share a meal with friends.  in that sense, the week was off to a fabulous start.

one thing that must be noted, is the fact that my friend's backyard is a child's paradise.  and my children were using 140% of their energy.  and might have been incredibly overtired.  and we might have had a very sleepless night that night.  one were my wiggly little cuddler savannah managed to fall asleep on my for half an hour or so.  and in that moment, it didn't matter how tired i was.  her sweet little sleeping face on my chest, and ethan snuggled next to us, was all that mattered.  it was beautiful.

but it was also 3:30 a.m.

and it beat me down the next day.  and i had a crick in my neck.  whatever.

i did a boat load of cleaning and errands on tuesday.  things that had to get done.  things that sucked the time and energy out of me.  but i ended tuesday with food in the fridge, my list checked off, and a clean house - including laundry.  i was exhausted.  my sinuses hurt with every step i took.  still prideful that my body could heal itself.  what. was. i. thinking.

wednesday came  and i enjoyed a morning visit from a sweet friend that lives out of town.  we ran errands... nothing special.  but it was nice.  i am spoiled to have such a good friend.  the best listener.  she's the one that is up-to-date on everything.  a week where i only talk to her a couple of times is strange... its usually more like 20 :)  but it was nice to see her in person.


anyway, after our visit and school pickup, my mother-in-law watched my kids so that i could work my junior league rodeo shift.  i love working my rodeo shift every year.  i even had new boots this year...but, each step of the way, from box to box of that matinee, all 5 of the whopping programs i sold... i felt my face.  horrible.  and why on earth had i not called for an antibiotic?  its like i was torturing myself.  my sinuses were taunting me. 

by the time i picked faustino up from the airport that night, i felt like death warmed over.  however, a wonderful thing worth noting:  my mother-in-law had made homemade chicken noodle soup that afternoon... so at least i had good food to eat that i didn't have to cook.  comfort food, in fact.

and then, luckily, my mother swooped in to save the day.  she stayed over on wednesday night to sit with our sleeping kids, while i picked my husband up from a long three days of travel.  and on thursday morning, i slept in half an hour later while she fed the littles breakfast... then it was off to the dentist, off to bible study, and bible study lunch... and costco because... i was co-hosting bunko.  and i managed to squeeze a junior league meeting in before that because lord knows i need all the meeting credits i can get at this point.

whew.  add in there a moment where i wanted to kick in another snarky mom's teeth and another moment where i thought i might walk out of bible study...

as one of my friends said: what?  both of those happened this week?  i would be emotionally fried.

well put.

and those of you who are friends of mine on facebook might recall the long thread of us bashing mom guilters.  i should print it off and read it every couple of days.  :)  thank you.

now, for thursday, add in time with friends... friends that i had not seen in awhile.  bunko was fun.  even junior league was fun.  and even parts of bible study were nice.

then friday came.  i rested.  i skipped a large chick-fil-a playdate because, quite frankly, that sounded like a small slice of hell.  it rained.  the kids were out of school for the day and where i normally am sad i don't have a morning of solitude, i was was singing praises that the kids could stay in their jammies late into the morning and i didn't have to push them to get ready.

and that was my week. 

i started taking the antibiotics on friday... and things are looking up.  and now that i feel better, i guess i didn't realize how crappy i felt. 

this weekend we spent time outside.  made more homemade ice cream.  i started reading a great book.  i managed to scrape my energy together and cook some decent meals without resorting to my freezer stash of organic costco goodies.  and while it took three days to do it, i posted this to the blog.  sheesh!

xoxo, s

odds and ends and ice cream

i am all over the place today.  so bear with me...

first of all, i want to publicly brag on myself for getting both kids out the door, dressed for picture day, and to school in time to take sibling photos before class began yesterday.  in the rain.  it might not seem like much of an accomplishment, but i was so proud of myself.  so.  proud.

i mean, really, who else can i brag about that to?  my husband was up and out of the house by 5:30.  in the pouring rain.  so for me to tell him about my great feat of getting out the door at 8:30... well, you get it.  so thank you, blog.

and yesterday stayed rainy all day long... savannah was quite the peach and decided that she wanted to watch her favorite princess, ariel.  it was so sweet... she had the figurine in her little purse.  and she had the little board book... when i sat her on the couch and she was still in the same place 20 minutes later, i decided i needed to take a picture.

i could eat her with a spoon.  sweet girl.

and then after dinner, as a family we watched toy story 3.  i cried {this happens every time} my eyes out at the end.  so much that ethan decided that i needed snuggles.  oh, toy story.  you get me every single time.  your ending turns me to mush...

after the babes were in bed we finished season four of dexter.  and i had strange dreams all night long.  do you watch dexter??  do you have strange dreams???  ahhhh!  so good, yet so disturbing! 

and then i skipped bible study this morning.  savannah woke up clingy.  ethan doesn't like going to the childcare there.  and i had yet to accomplish my "homework" that isn't mandatory... but sort of is...

and i still needed to get dinner in the crockpot.  {beef vegetable soup}

soooo... we skipped.  and the kids played in their pj's all morning.  and at one point i was certain that every toy had been taken out of its proper basket.  oh well.  once i finish up here, i have matchbox cars to corral.

but today is beautiful.  a little cool... sunny.... windows open.  but very muddy outside.  thought about taking the misfits out, but decided that i didn't want to fight the mud.  call me a wimp.  but seriously, the playground i like to go to becomes a super swamp when it rains... oh, the laundry!

instead ethan has enjoyed his legos.  these tiny pieces are the bane of my existence.  but he loves them... and they are good for his tiny fingers to master...  but can we say choking hazard??  ever since my friend's son swallowed a sequin and to have it surgically removed... i am a bit paranoid to say the least.  you would be, too.  i remember all that... i think i was pregnant with ethan and i thought, "how on earth does that happen?"  well folks, after savannah was born, i realized pretty quickly that when your older children have toys with little pieces... it could happen in an instant.  not to mention that my attention is split... sooo... those pesky legos...

but he does love them.

and one other reason holding me indoors?  this is the fourth consecutive day of no contact lenses.  now, you can really call me a wimp.  i just hate wearing my glasses.  i feel like i am about to go to sleep.  seriously.  and i don't have prescription sunglasses.  so i get all squinty.  in fact, in general, my face has been all pinched up lately... the glasses aren't helping things.   i had an eye infection... and seriously, i think this will be the longest time i have gone without my contacts since the 7th grade.  i must admit, my eyes look really white.  such a stark contrast to the normal bloodshot appearance...  when i go out and about, i pray that i don't run into anyone of real importance!  i feel so "undone."  i always wonder why i don't pull off glasses like other people do...i keep telling myself it is all in my head... but i dunno.

anywho...  ethan and i made ice cream this afternoon.  and i made up my own recipe.  because i only had milk and 1/2 c. half & half.  most of the recipes call for heavy whipping cream.  perhaps i can call this "light" ice cream??  :)

i received two tea kettles for christmas... you know, both my mother and mother-in-law wanted to increase the likelihood that i would successfully make iced tea without scalding myself.  so, one tea kettle went back to williams sonoma... and i got an ice cream maker in return.


folks, you've got to get one of these.  ice cream in 20 minutes!

today's recipe:


Light Berries and Cream Ice Cream

ingredients:

1.5 c. frozen berries
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. half and half
1.5 cups whole milk
1/2 T. vanilla extract
dash of salt


directions:

chop 1.5 c. frozen berries with food processor.
dissolve 3/4 c. sugar in 1/2 c. half and half and 1.5 cups whole milk.
add 1/2 T. vanilla extract
add dash of salt.
add berries and mix
pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.




if you don't have an ice cream maker... mine is on sale.  with the extra bowl.  just saying...


xoxo, s

quick brain dump

tomorrow is the big day.  my event coordination debut.  the "after-children" version.  

send good vibes my way.  please.  i know it will be an excellent event.  but i always get like this beforehand.  

my ability to multitask on the rest of my life is not all that great.  {you should see my "laundry room."  please, anyone, send your laundress to my house to volunteer.  you think i am kidding.}  my personality is very well suited for event planning.  i've known that.  but if i had too many events, the events would consume me.  i. get. so. focused.  just one has filled my mind this week.  to the paralytic point.  do you know what i am talking about??  f r o z e n.

i've been watching friday night lights on netflix to get my mind off of my nerves about saturday.  how did i miss friday night lights when it was on television??  it is so good.  seriously.  and nice to have something so good when it seems like all my favorite shows take a christmas vacation.  that makes me sound like i watch a bunch of tv.  i don't.  

i mean, if you don't count pbs kids...  but that's another entire debate.  let's not go there right now.  we will.  someday.  i want to... i feel like i could write a novel on the whole, snarky, judgey, we-don't-watch-tv thing.  you know, for the mom's who are perfect.  not. me.   

anywho, i watch maybe 3 tivo'd shows a week.  if they are all new.  this isn't always the case...  

but, yes, friday night lights is excellent.

and now i must fold a load of clothes.  before the laundry wins the war.

xoxo, s 

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

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.

halloween costumes... and good news

so, first, the good news.

chloe came home!!!  last night.  praise god.  really.  i prayed for that little cat... "keep her safe and healthy.  if she wants to come home, please help her find a way"  

i prayed that over and over. 

and all i can say is that god is faithful. 

faustino had a journal club meeting after work and didn't get home until 9 or so... we chitchat-ed a bit and then he had to get something out of his car that i am sure pertained to the big presentation this morning.  while he was out there, his phone started ringing {it had to do with the presentation} and i took him the phone.  he then stayed outside and talked on the phone awhile {he is not a soft talker, and he likes to pace... both are no-no's if anyone is trying to sleep in the house} and he was talking and walking all over the front yard.  and then he started to hear a meow.

and then he saw her.  he came in got me {still on the phone!} and i went outside and plucked her off of my neighbors porch.  it looks a lot like our porch... was she confused?

i told you she wasn't very smart.

so thankful for the timing of everything -- that faustino would be outside in our yard for an extended period of time.  so thankful he heard her.  i could go on... but there aren't really coincidences, are there? 

the even more amazing thing?  she isn't hurt.  at all.  she has a rough spot on her ear, but i can't really tell what its from.  a fight?  a scratchy branch?  who knows.  it's not something you would take a cat to the vet over...

de-clawed, stupid, cat.  out in the big bad world of feral alley cats.  and busy streets.  from friday at some point until tuesday night.  incredible.  

the only problem was that she was so gross.  i mean, a long hair cat was NOT made to roam outside.  at all.  i will spare you the details but suffice it to say that i was thoroughly grossed out by all the nastiness on her belly and it was not mud.  she was quarantined to the bathroom and i had to stop what i was doing and groom her.  shave her fur.  bathe her.  so not fun.  wow, folks.  i could never work at glamour paws.  or petsmart.

and really, she was so nasty, it would have been embarrassing to even take her there.  and it needed to be done right away.  it was 911.

and then i had to thoroughly disinfect the bathroom.

lord.

but still.  so incredibly thankful that she gets to come back and live her little life in our nest.  and now it looks like she could win worst pet hair cut ever.  EVER.  if you laugh at it, you can pony up the cash for a pro.  its not in the budget around here...

i'll get a picture of her at some point so you can feel bad for her.  i'm sure, that just like people hair, it will grow ;)

and now... halloween costumes.  it's supposed to be cold/wet/more seasonally appropriate later in the week.  so i had them don their costumes and pose for some photos.  i didn't even bother to move the plants that need to be planted from the background.  just keeping it real. 

our owl and red iron man.  i made the owl... inspired by a pin from pinterest that took me to this tutorial for an owl costume... except i ditched the mask and bought a winter hat from target for $12. 

and ethan's costume he originally picked out in costume express... you know?  the junk mail catalog that comes in september?  well... $45 before the gloves and accessories... before tax and shipping... uhhh... no.  so i lucked out and got this costume at JBF.  for $15.  and the quality of the mask is way better than the ones at target... and the accessories are at least $15.  i just had to do a little repair and buy a light for $10.  so... $25 vs. $50+  :)

so these are my two goofsters. 

i don't know what i said... but they reacted the same way.  :)

fun times. 

xoxo, s

bullets!

hi y'all.  lot's of randoms today... so i will resort to bullets.

::  thanks for the kind feedback from last week.  makes a girl feel good.  :)  maybe i should add more substance to blog, eh?  i'll try.  sometimes its a little scary to put it all out there.  i try to be open and honest on here, but i do not want to over share.  i'll work on some stuff... 

::  savannah is quite the chatterbox lately.  i've been counting and she knows over 100 words!  incredible.  ethan didn't talk this early at all, so it really blows me away to hear little things come out of her mouth.  ethan thinks it is fun to teach her or get her to say a word on cue "sa-nana.  say, applesauce!"  and she will.  so fun.

::  i will dwell on the loveliness of the above bullet when ethan pushes, pulls, hits and demands that she get out of the way or stop playing with his things.  sibling squabbles are not fun!  and i feel like they are here to stay.

::  saturday.  i made a cassorole that i thought would be awesome.  F A I L.  fail x 100.  i usually whip up really good stuff in the kitchen.  i taught myself to cook from lots of cookbooks that i read, cover to cover, in college {i like a recipe to go off of, but can tweak it.  i definitely have a comfort zone.  i am lacking the whole, i-watched-my-mother-make-it-this-way-a-thousand-times-and-this-is-my-twist.} but for the most part i don't suck at cooking.  if given ample allotments of time and money, i really love cooking. but this was not good.  at all.  it involves mayonnaise {already not my favorite} and artichokes {this is a bad combo}  argh.

::  i lost a bet to faustino and now have to eat the entire disgusting casserole on my own.  i just ate a big plate full and think i am going to die.  oh, people.  mercy.

::  friday night around 11:00 i started thinking, where is chloe?? {my himalayan cat that i have had since my sophomore year at baylor} and i looked EVERYWHERE.  she's gone, y'all.  gone.  i really don't know how she got out, but she is gone.  i am hyper-vigilant about the cats not getting out, and chole never runs for the door when its open.  so sad.  i am absolutely sick.  she's declawed and a little stupid, and i fear for her survival.  last year when we lost hobbes, i held fast to the fact that he is a smart cat... but chloe...  can you add a cat to your prayer list?  is that totally silly?  i just want her furry little self to come home safely.  and i know you must think i am awful - losing a cat last year, and now this year... i promise this is completely strange.  you can read about hobbes' escape and return from last year...

::  because chloe is super laid back and not very interactive with the munchkins, they don't realize she's gone.  so at least i don't have to field 37 billion questions about it.  and endure ethan rolling the window down and calling out her name like he did last year for hobbes.  it killed me.

::  saturday morning.  we did have fun at a bounce house party.  of course, ethan didn't bounce.  he's not a bounce house bouncer.  the couch?  yes.  the bounce house... not so much.  but really, i don't blame him.  i have nightmarish thoughts still about the time as a very young child {ethan's age??} about when i was at the "yamboree" {longview folks, you know what i'm talking about} and was playing in a bounce house in the midway section of the fair and was sucked into the edge of the bounce house while big kids jumped nearby, further wedging me down between the floor and the wall.  i was screaming.  i think someone must have dug me out but i don't remember anything after that.  and don't want to.  it must have been horrid.

::  ethan helped me decide on accessories for an outfit i wore this week, and my husband said that i have hit a low point in my fashion-ability when i seek the council of a three year old.  just wait til' residency is over.... hahahha.  just kidding.  well, kind of...

::  i dressed up another time and ethan told me i looked very pretty.  {think:  blouse and shorts and lipstick verses yoga pants and a tshirt around the house}  perhaps i need to dress up more often?!!

::  i started and finished little savannah's owl costume.  so cute.  yes, i wanted her to be a little lamb.  but this was easier/cheaper.  and money talks.  so thanks to some pinterest inspiration, she's all set.

::  maybe i'll do a little halloween photo shoot tomorrow. 

::  we celebrated sue's birthday...

:: and then went to a halloween trunk or treat carnival at the kids' school.  fun times.  i now have my bribes fully stocked.  :)

::  the lord has blessed me with a napping preschooler.  hallelujah!  almost everyday.  really.  did He know that i was at the brink of my sanity??

::  we are the humbled, thrilled, beyond grateful recipients of hand-me-down clothes for the kids.  last week it was cool enough to need a winter coat, and it was ethan's first time to see it.  he was so excited that he won't separate himself from it and sleeps with it every night!!!  i showed him a sweat shirt and he has been sleeping with that one, too.  lordy!

::  think how happy kids who really need a coat are when they get one.  the kids in the foster system.  or homeless kids.  so sad.  that motivates me to really find ways to give to children in need.  and to involve my children.

::  and one last thing, because it sounds like savannah is beginning to wake up.  do you have an iphone 3gs??  have you done the software update??  i am dying to... but scared.  please, do tell!  my inner nerd is dying for a 4s because i want Siri....


xoxo, stephanie

the bane of my existance.

is my kitchen floor.  i'm kidding.  really.  i'm just exaggerating, of course.

i think i need a disclaimer.  i am so grateful.  so, so, SO grateful.  my cup overflows.  please don't take this as whining... i'm not.  i'm just stating the facts, friends :)

***

and also, my many friends with housekeepers... just pretend you understand, k?  :)

***

and one more thing.  i'll throw in a couple of photos of the kids.  because really, you don't just want me to show you tons of tile pics.

***

i cleaned my kitchen floor this past week.  i made quick work of what was before a dreadful task... thanks to my mother-in-law, who saw a random tidbit on television.

shaving cream will clean unsealed slate.

this is revolutionary news to me.  maybe you are martha stewart, and already know this.  or maybe you are a better housewife than me, and instinctively know.

i did not.

so after a trip to the dollar store to buy shaving cream {i wasn't about to use faustino's on the floor} and 2 scrub brushes from the walmart {not my favorite place. at. all.} from last summer when i was really only thinking about cleaning my floor, i was ready to begin.

let me just say, for those of you who are not familiar with this particular thing, unsealed slate is porous.  maybe all slate isn't as porous as mine... i've only lived in one house {this one} with slate.

and as a side note, slate does best on a very sturdy subfloor.  now, i don't know much, but sturdy and or stable is not the way i would describe the flooring or foundation of my nest.  {examples:  there was the time back before i was married where the house shifted so that i had to enter through the side door because the front door lock was stuck.  that was fun... and just as recently as last weekend i was doing the victory dance because the house shifted in the last cool front and i can fully shut the kids bedroom door!  and open their closet all the way!!!!}  so some of my tiles and grout have gotten a little shifty.  and that's okay.  but i am a perfectionist sometimes, and this is a contributing factor to my inability to get it perfect!!!! 

so, when i first moved into my little home, all by my lonesome, after college, i LOVED my slate kitchen tile.  i worked all day, then came home in the evenings... faustino was in medical school, his family lived in town and his mom is an awesome cook.  what i am trying to say is that it was easy to love my floor back then.  i wasn't home to get it dirty.

and then i got married.  started cooking more.  staying home more.  using my house.  and the floor got dirty.  and it baffled me.  i would mop.  it wouldn't get clean.

getting it wet was disgusting.  how on earth could i clean it???

i did try to google it, but didn't get meaningful results.

i ended up scrubbing with rags and dawn and clorox wipes for HOURS.  e l b o w g r e a s e.

i almost finished.  but i stopped caring.  well.  nix that.  i stopped caring about finishing the last 8 tiles.  i DID care about anyone tracking dirt in/spilling things on my floor.  i was crazy.

but over time, it got grungy again.

i adopted the "we just won't eat off the floor" attitude.  if people all over the world could handle a packed dirt floor, i could handle a dirty slate floor.

when savannah started crawling, i just didn't let her in the kitchen.  i would pick her up and redirect.  oh! my baby!  get off that nasty floor!!!    

but then i heard about the shaving cream.  minimal elbow grease, people.  amazing.

but it does take a while to do it and so, while mopping up shaving cream, i was thinking.

thinking about how i am so incredibly accepting of our house now.  i am happy to live here.  really.  slugs and all.  well.  i don't know about that.

i remember thinking when we got engaged that after we got married, maybe we would move.  but that wasn't a fiscally prudent decision.  so we stayed.  and i remember thinking that when we started residency that maybe we could buy a house.  we looked at houses.  and quickly realized that this is where we needed to stay.  and then, as close as 6 months ago, i thought we could potentially be moving into a bigger house down the street.  guess what?  we didn't.

so this will be our home the entire time i have lived here.  since i graduated from baylor in 2004.  all the way until residency is over.  our little house has been the birthplace of many of my most treasured memories.  i became an adult, started a life, got married, had babies, christmases, holidays, birthdays, on and on.

i think god has been working on my heart.  my spirit.  humility.  compassion.  sacrifice.   

so as i scrubbed my tile, wiping away dark gray shaving cream sludge, i thought about our home.  and as i dug shaving cream out of the holes where grout is missing i thought about teaching contentment to my children.

how do you teach your children the peace of knowing your place in the world - being content with the little bitty home filled with love and a lack of window treatments - but at the same time, give them the energy to reject things they don't like and to strive for better?  how??  how do you teach that balance.  or rather, paradox?

it seems so contradictory.  but i firmly believe that one must be somewhat unhappy with where they are in life, in order to propel oneself forward to "better" circumstances.  perhaps i should just say "different" circumstances, since better is certainly quite subjective.

and although you can apply this to a financial/monetary scenario, it encompasses many things that are far from fiscal.

i understand, or try to at least, this in my own life.  but to teach my children... 


i want to my children to have the gift of peace.  but i want them to desire to innovate.  to stretch.  grow.  become more of what they already are.  become the best they can be.

so... i leave you with that.  shaving cream.  slate tiles.  the war of contentment and striving for excellence.  a photo of my grimy floor.  half cleaned. 

and gee, if i had a housekeeper, would i ever ponder deep subjects??

last week is over! + a link to our family photos!

last week was a long week of half done projects and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  faustino was at a conference in florida, and i had a week to "accomplish lots of messy projects" like... cleaning out closets.  and cleaning out toys.  and scrubbing the kitchen floor cinderella style.  you know, because if he is gone, i can do those drag-everything-out-to-organize-it projects.

these kind of projects give me heart palpitations.  really.  i text pictures to jenn with all the clothes spread out everywhere... and seriously.  so bad.  it made me feel like a hoarder.

i managed to get it all sorted and picked up by the time he came home.  thank. god.

i really thought i would get everything done.  i did not.

but i fully enjoyed my kids.





i also got some quality time with my mother who came so that i could get my hair cut.  wonderful.  and i used a different salon this time.  why didn't i change stylists a long time ago?  my old stylist was so frightfully negative.  the new stylist was l o v e l y.  i highly recommend ale at esoterica.  

also, ethan played lots of mighty world.  do you know about mighty world?  they are big boy toys with little pieces... he plays with them when savannah naps, and is so cute about cleaning it up.  love.







and i also did the dreaded search to find what we would wear for our family photos....it ended in success.  you can see the previews on sabrina's blog.

i am so so so so so so happy with the previews.  i have a very sweet and talented friend, no doubt.  i feel blessed so far beyond what i deserve.  so, thank you, sabrina, for capturing my family with your camera.  and i will shamelessly plug sabrina.  she has a gift.  you should have seen how ethan was doing everything she asked.  amazing.  so, go.  book your photos with her.  :)

xoxo, s

time flies

when you are trying to tackle projects.  except... i can't cross much off my list.  b u m m e r

and how on earth did that happen?  i tried so hard!  do y'all ever underestimate how quickly you can get stuff done?? 

happy monday, folks

its blurry.  but aren't they cute?  they want to sleep like that every night.  i have to be the bad guy and put savannah into her crib.  soooo cute.

so while they snuggled with their grammy in the beautiful dreary weather this weekend, mama and daddy drove to my friend jenny's wedding in houston {fun!  and fancy soul food was on the menu - YUM!  more shrimp and grits for me!!!!} and i got to visit my friend, jenn.  and yes, i got to hear her adorable son say the too-cute-for-words "hi, y'all."  m e l t. 

jenn and jenny in the same weekend.  i think i confused my mother in law with the same name-ness of it all.  but for clarity, this is jenny.  this is jenn. 

now that's settled.

i talk to jenn like 11 times a week.  i mean, a week were we hardly talk is like, we only talked 4 times.  i'm not exaggerating.  it will be nice when she lives a little closer and maybe we can get together more often.  i mean, the last time i was at her house, she was pregnant, i think.  or maybe not yet pregnant.  with emma.  i mean, it was such a long time ago.  i remember her showing me the crib...but i don't remember the chaos of a baby.  and now her "baby" just turned 5!  maybe we should try a little harder to get together, eh?  :)

and last night, i was catching up on the tivo {and recovering from too much food, champagne, and driving in the rain}... and i made a TO DO list this week.  holy moly.  i almost added read the entire bible and become fluent in italian to it just to make me smile.  there is no humanly way i can cross all that off.  but i am going to try.

there are lots of big projects.  like organize all the kids clothes/drawers/closet.  and that is a major task.  we are short on space... so if you could just appreciate that fact for a moment....  ahh.  scary.

and clean my kitchen floor with shaving cream.  i'll report back on that one.

and i am itching to sew savannah a skirt.  and... we are taking family photos this coming weekend.  what. to. wear.?????????????? hate deciding that!

and i am going to try really hard to not stay up until 3 am every night.  

must run.  i have a lot to do.  and it starts with taking my kids to the park! 

xoxo, s

the third decade.

first blogger changes.  and facebook.  and pinterest.  and it's not like i am still getting my internet from an aol cd, but i am feeling behind the times.  resistant to change.  i know i will like it eventually, but, ugh.  it's new.  and i have to think.  and ewww... i like autopilot, thankyouverymuch.  plus, i don't want to spend my time figuring out how to do whatever i used to know how to do just fine.  i still haven't taken the plunge to update my mac to lion.  change is hard for me.  y'all, too?  do you have a blog with blogger?  did you switch back to the old interface after a week because, like me, you didn't want to deal with it?

i'm feeling like an old person in the world of technology.  i guess i should mention that i turned 30 last week.  kids that were born in the 90's can buy beer.  the girl that babysat savannah the other day wasn't yet in kindergarten when our old red car was manufactured.  for reals.  i am so old. 

and i know its a "milestone birthday" and all, but it really didn't feel that way... but not in a bad way.  i'm just not a big birthday person.  i'm not the one that wants to tell everyone, or throw a party for myself, etc.

i did have a nice dinner with faustino at ellerbe.  and that was a treat.  and i ate bufalo {which i guess is like a water buffalo. it was a new food for me.}  and bread pudding.  heaven.

and my mother and ethan bought some bundtlets from nothing bundt cakes for me.  and we sang... {kids like that sort of thing} and bundtlets are good.  and i might have had the leftovers for breakfast the next day.  and i might have distracted the kids with the tv so that i didn't have to share.  poor form, i know.

the week before my parents were in town and we went out for a quick lunch and celebrated both my sister and me, since our birthdays are two days apart.  well, more like, 5 years and 2 days.  you get the point.

and facebook o v e r w h e l m e d me with happy birthdays.  and that was really stinking cool.  i have never been a big facebook happybirthday-er.  but.... i might have to change my ways.  it was quite enjoyable to see so many people write on my wall.  do y'all all read the blog??

flattered. 

anyway, i am thinking that rather than do a january - january goal setting/resolution thing, maybe it should be a birthday - birthday thing.

it sounds much less stressful for some reason.

and let's face it.  i haven't been so great on this past year's goals.  or resolutions.  really.  like, i won't even link to them because... it's embarrassing.  fail.

so, i'll work on this new method.  year 30.  i'm still fine tuning some of it... but let's just say it should begin with exercise.  :)   and probably less food.  because really, i love to eat.  not junk really.  just... bacon.  and bread with butter.  mmmm...

i'll make a list and get back to you.  promise.  i think i need to be  r e a l l y  specific. 

but for now i think i'll watch tivo'd parenthood... xoxo, s

Just to let you know...

i really really really love it when you comment.  that's all.

just thank you, friends.

it's like a conversation.  it's really nice.  

also, i really loved it when i was dropping ethan off at preschool and someone said "you don't know me, but i read your blog..."  {not stalkerish, her daughter goes there too, her husband is in med-school, she is super sweet}

isn't this blog stuff fun?  new friends!

but you know what isn't fun?

kids that don't really nap well in the afternoon.  let's hope that next week brings a renewed interest in afternoon sleep from the offspring. 

and then perhaps i can blog again :)



{i mean, if savannah wasn't hungry all the time maybe she would sleep better...does it look like we don't feed her??}

My life in a list...posting with my head elevated.

Bullet points for you...

:: nose and sinus surgery + dslr... Not a good combo. No photos in this post.

:: siting around looking at all the things {pretty gerber daisies! My kids!} I want to take a picture of = frustrating.

:: random gushes of blood from my nose are not fun

:: they scare Ethan

:: but all and all, I think I am okay-ish.

:: I don't know how I would have gotten through this week with out pain pills and my iPad.

:: speaking of my iPad, I had a monumental aha moment when I learned the "two finger" scroll.

:: I am in need of a good blogging app for the iPad.

:: I am getting hooked on pintrest...genius, I tell you.  My solution to disorganized bookmarking.  ahhh... bliss.

:: savannah said her first word on Tuesday... baby. I think ethan's was 'hot'. Kids sure are different, no?

:: My mom did all my ironing. Saint.

:: I am reading a new book... My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. I'll update the post with a link, but it's too tricky, thus, I need an app for easier iPad blogging. I'm only 4 chapters in, but gee it is fascinating. It's been on my list for awhile now, so i'm glad to finally get to it.

:: I think i've lost all my muscle mass... I will really have to move it into high gear and workout when the nose bleeds subside. Losing weight from losing your muscle mass...well, there isn't so much sexy to that kind of skinny. :)

:: Ethan is saying he wants his mommy... Gotta go try to participate in life. What an interesting spring break.

checklist

taxes -  praise the lord for a second child to deduct.
laundry
floors
water garden
drop of drycleaning
ironing  {farmed job out to my mother.  yes!}
closet clean out for kiddos - switch seasons and label drawers
dusting
buy alphabet cookie cutters, cascade, saline spray {joann's and walgreens?}
change sheets {all three beds}
pick up eggs from a friend's house
take back moldy cheese to sprouts and demand refund {how irritating is that??}


seriously.  all this needs to be done by noon.  well, most of it anyway.  yikes.

one other thing  {purely for my own record keeping} -- savannah used a spoon to feed herself applesauce.  holy smokes!  she's so grown up!!  

The Garden & Some Randoms

this past weekend was a productive one.  {opposed to the several very lazy ones that i had in february}

so... the weekend recap:

first and foremost:  the house stayed clean-ish.  which means i was "on" all weekend, picking up and nagging.  the house can really turn into a pit if i'm "off" verses "on"  and then... monday is a beast.  recover the house from its pit-like state and do monday's chores... which should be the bulk of my house work so that i am freed up for other projects in the week.  BUT  i had a killer headache on sunday night, got next-to-no sleep, so monday was still a beast.  just a different kind of beast.  :) 

secondly:  we planted the garden.  now we just REALLY need some rain this spring.  almost all my seedlings were transplanted, and leftovers were sent to a friend who wants to plant green beans in her family garden.

the rest of the garden came from starter plants.





except the lettuce.  they are from seeds too.  i am trying some in a row, and some in a pot...



i also started our cucumber seeds. they don't have cucumber plants at the nursery yet...



my mother got me these copper markers - aren't they cool?  too bad they actually are taking me a chunk of time to write on... i thought it would go a bit quicker.  i want to ditch all the paper markers...






and now we wait.  and we pray that we don't get a freeze.  or else we will be starting over...

i have a little spot in the back of the yard that i don't know what to do with...  suggestions anyone?  fruit is pretty much out, seeing as how we practically live in the desert.

third:  ethan got a tee-ball set and a new fishing pole.  my husband used the excuse:  "when my son asked for a new fishing pole, how could i tell him no?"  and i said, "hmm... i'll remember that one.  it will come in handy."

***sarcastic side note, isn't it fun having an alley behind the house??***














and fourth:  we also made it to church.  that is a feat in and of itself.  and the kids continue to sit with us.  {hmm... that might be another blog post entirely.  i've become somewhat opinionated on that one.  i mean, how on earth do you teach kids how to behave in church if they are always in the nursery?}

i also made this chili.  saturday was a chili kind of day.

and i've debated on whether or not to blog this, but i am trying to be more transparent... and not just put all the easy stuff out here on the blog.  anyway, i am a ball of nerves this week... because i am having some work done on my sinuses on friday.  apparently it's no big deal, but i've never had surgery... so its a little scary.  and i might be out of commission for awhile.  my mom and mother-in-law are going to be filling in for me "at work" - dare i say it?  i'm taking "vacation"  hahaha!  it will be nice to breathe and not have chronic sinus pain though...  so maybe if you are the praying kind, will you say a little prayer?  thanks.

sounds like we'll have a blast on spring break... :)

and i leave you with a confession.  i bought a bag of cadbury mini eggs and put them in my closet.  i told no one.  i ate the entire bag by the end of the weekend, horder style.  they are my favorite... i didn't want to share!!  horrifying, no??