create.live.design

Sigh

2012-02-10T16:47:00.001-06:00

Soooo I'm blogging from my phone. Because we dont have and haven't had Internet service at our house now since right after Christmas. I have spent more time than my semi sane brain can handle on the phone with our providers than I care to admit (think entire wasted kids-are-at-school-day. So no Internet=no blogging. It's very frustrating especially when I WANT to blog. So maybe I'll get some blogging done over the weekend, while I'm in the middle of nowhere, get spotty service at best. Again, I'm a little frustrated.

Sigh

I'll be back

One day

Little green notebook

2012-01-31T12:34:00.000-06:00

Awhile back my sister sent Jenny of little green notebook blog a link to my lamp project post and she featured it on her blog. Well I wanted to return the favor so last night I emailed Jenny a link to Rachel's DIY sunburst mirror post. Lo and behold she posted it this morning! Go check it out HERE.

back to reality

2012-01-29T17:00:00.000-06:00

first, thank you for all the kind words on the previouspost. it really is fun when your “work”is something you love to do anyway. someof you asked for different sources and more pictures and im happy to share…will update soon.

but, in the other 99.5% of my time when im not ‘living thedream’, i am living my first dream…of full-on, both-feet-in,head-first mothering. i could say we areslowly adjusting to new life with three babies, but really…its such a shock toyour system how can one really ever adjust?! {i kid}.

seriously though its wonderful. i mean there are times i threaten momicideand the kitchen and I don’t have any sort of relationship past the microwaveand I might only do laundry, you know, every two weeks or so….but im really truly happy :) and i think stephen and the kids are, andthat is most important anyway.

well,that and showers. showers are still veryvery important and i cling to them with my life these days.

ok, moving on to the reality part. blogs are wonderful outlets for all thingsinspirational and pretty and ideal. of coursewe all know that peoples real lives are not all these things, all the time, but blogs can sure make itlook that way.

but honestly, i don’t check my google reader to see what thenew tragedy or complaint or miserable happening is going on in theblogosphere. i go there to escape into abeautiful idealistic world of pretty things and entertainment. when im feeling ticked off or overwhelmed or had a reallybad day, the blog isn’t the first place i run to report it. my hard working husbands ear the second hewalks in the door is usually on the receiving end, or i ball it all up and letthe shower wash away my tears {cue tiny violin}.

HOWEVER, i do findhumor in even my worst days {looking back of course} and feel the need tore-live my misery on the blog…my version of self deprecating “fun.” So now i present chapter 534 in my life’sstory, the art of frazzle.

so i take all three kids to the doctor. at the same time. by myself. something done every day by mothers everywhere. still possibly not the most intelligent move,but necessary all the same. bennetts fouryear, emorys fifteen month, jacobs one month. jacob eats around ten thirty, so appointment is at 9am…that should giveus plenty of time, right?

the waiting room is fine, dora on tv, im back and forthfilling out new patient paperwork for emory and bennett. at one point while im at the front desk emoryspies a blonde lady pushing a stroller out the door and proceeds to run overthere and scream bloody somebody-took-my-momma murder at the closed exitdoor. poor thing thought i left her{shes not clingy or anything…ha}. i hadto talk her off the ledge but she ended up settling down when she realized itwas indeed her momma holding her.

we proceed to the back, where emory and bennett are weighedand height...-ed. then it comes time forme to remove my attention from said middle daughter and place it on newborn sonwho also needs to be weighed. insert meltdown number one. sweet nurse tries to help and hold emory but it just isn’t happening and she nearly dies from terror {one would think}. a line of calm children and mothers are waiting behind us for their turn so i carry emory and empty carrier to the exam room while bennett and nurseholding jacob follow. we don’t have towait too long but in the wait i decide i will start feeding jacob to buy sometime. emory looks at the front page ofone book and is bored. she startstearing pages out of the book. i stopher but bennett’s incessant “no MAYUM” 's are getting to me.

i find two sugar free suckers and pop on in each childsmouth. i have bought myself two minutesof silence-ish. {or should i say quieter mayhem}.

dr {who is also a friend of mine} comes in and we decide bennettis first. he does great. while he is being seen emory is fussing bc I amnot holding her {im still feeding Jacob} and she is bored. i stop feeding jacob, place him in hiscarrier, and give emory a cereal bar. sheinhales it and jacob cries and she frantically signs “more”. i pick jacob back up and give emory bennettscereal bar, informing bennett of this change in plans but assuring him he willget wonderful treat after the dr appointment if he behaves. {and it is only 9:45mind you, they JUST had breakfast AND he had a banana before we left the house}.

his turn is over and he comes to sit next to me while doctortakes jacob. bennett starts screaming atme that he is STARVING while im trying to talk to dr about the kids. i tell him not to interrupt as sweetly and assternly as i can, and as he gets more adamant, i do as well. the whole time emory is fussing at me andpulling on my legs, signing “more” for more food. {which i don’t have}. bennettgets even more frustrated that im not talking to HIM and proceeds to … “BURP”emory on the back.
extremely hard.

and now we enter melt down {of the century} number two. {thanks bennett}. from this point on its just some scene out ofa gratuitous horror film. bloodshed and terror fill the tiny room. bennett is sent to time out in the corner ofthe room. he smarts off and i tell him i am not afraid to spank him in front ofsweet doctor lady. he faces the corner,mumbling something about how extremely famished he is and how he is about todie from starvation.

now its emorys turn to be seen. YEA RIGHT. she screeches and screams and flails and wont let anyone touch her,including me. i have a frightened jacob inone arm while trying to soothe emory while doctor attempts to look at herears/eyes/etc. emory leaps off the table into my armsand i almost drop her, as i wasn’t expecting this, and dr friend and i decide,over the shrieks and screams from my two youngest children, that today mightnot be a good day for this and i should come back.

dr friend gives me sympathetic eye and says “you sure dohave your hands full. I don’t know howyou do it.” to which i respond : “i don’t know what part of this looks like imsuccessfully doing it, but this is where i am right now, so this iswhat im doing!”

i tell bennett he can come out of exam room time out and heimmediately tells me he is STARVING. i saysorry bud no treat for you today but he is welcome to have something to eatwhen we get home. “BUT MOMMA…” . i cut him off and dr helps me manage crying jacobwhile i try to tend to emory while we wait for jacobs shots. emory and bennett are supposed to have shotstoo but our old pediatricians office hasn’t sent over their forms yet so imgoing to have to reschedule their shots. i don’t know if im happy i don’t have to deal with that today or annoyedthat we have to come back.

jacob is freaking out from emory freaking out so when the drleaves i try to feed jacob again to settle him down. emory is sitting on the floor throwingwhatever she can get her hands on and by this point i don’t care that she is onthe dirty germ infested floor of a drs office. bennett is opening every cabinet and snatching everything he can awayfrom emory, all the while saying “no MAYUM” at everything she does. i get him to sit in the chair next to me again andemory sits on one of my knees while i hold jacob in my other arm, all the whilenursing him. {which isn’t going wonderfully with this baby, but that is a storyfor another day, and not one for the blog…but believe me ill discuss it withanyone who moves and mentions it to me in person bc after successfullybreastfeeding two children over six months each i cant for the life of me figurethis one out. it’s a bit consuming –says any mother who breastfeeds her newborns.}

ANYWAY nurse comes back to give jacob his shots so i leave emory inthe chair {ripping apart more waiting room magazines and pulling every wipe outof our wipe container}. bennett is trying his best to be her father anddiscipline her. jacob takes his shotlike the precious little calm child he is and i smile and dream of a worldwhere he and i alone came to the dr and the other kids stayed at home.

the nurse looks at me like she wants to take away the painbut really she is thinking “wow im glad that is not my life” and i smile at herlike im appreciative of her sweet look but really im thinking “there is nothingleft here for me to be embarrassed about. i am that lady. thatlady with the kids screaming in the room next to you. the one you silently judge and think 'why canshe not manage her children. i wouldNEVER allow my children to act that way.'” {i say this bc i too once judged}

i scoop up my three manic children, skip the appointmentdesk, and head home.

i vow never to return in this manner ever again.

maybe we will just never leave the house.

one or the other.

on the car ride home bennett and emory are laughing at eachother, making “pttt” noises. jacob isawake but drowsy and happily sucking {the life out of} his paci.

the events of the two hours previous are but distantmemories in their fleeting child minds.

i on the other hand remember every. tiny. second.

its hard to forget.

but the laughs and giggles coming from the seats behind meare enough for me to at least sigh and redirect
my energy {for the time being} :
loving these rascals who employ me.

their laughs ~~and red wine~~ give me just enough fuel totrudge on through the next hurdle, because heaven knows this is just thebeginning.

sneak peak: the camp

2012-01-26T16:32:00.001-06:00

disclaimer: ive been asked so i must inform: NO, this is not my house {i wish}. this is actually some wonderful clients of mine's {aka my parents} "camp" house. they graciously gave me a unique {most likely once in a lifetime} opportunity to design their house, from schematics to floor plans to exterior to materials to interiors and now to finishing touches. honestly, i would be happy the rest of my life to work like this...one big job a year, starting from the beginning and designing the house/spaces/rooms around not only the exterior/views/terrain/etc but for the actual furniture that will be placed inside. working towards the total package.

im so excited how everything has turned/is turning out and so thankful my family and i get to enjoy this space. we have been up here almost every weekend since it became inhabitable. stephen is already debating whether or not he should get a smart car for the commute... {HA}

needless to say its wonderful and i feel spoiled at the opportunity this house gives me {and the kids} to escape. {and while it was actually nice to not look in a mirror for five days, i am happy to report mirrors are up in all the bathrooms and yes, we did kinda need them}

i know its not for everybody, but this is the kind of simple life i dream of...far away from the hustle and bustle and incessant cell phone use/calls of city life. {there is a grocery store and a subway down the road...so ere good}. all we need are some chickens, a huge year-round vegetable garden {with a sprinkler system of course}, acres of hydrangeas, butterfly gardens, and rich green grass. {is that asking too much??! ;)}
and here i am again reminding myself that this is not my house and i do not live here. im not sure my parents would have provided the room to accommodate me and my every growing brood of children if they knew it meant we would never leave! ha!

as with any job, it's a work in progress until its completely finished. and when we're talking about an entire house...when is it EVER finished?

but here what we have as of now, and things are changing weekly!
{and blogger is acting funny and i cant get these last five pictures to work...so check back and the "pic to come" spots should be filled sooner than later}

foyer

reclaimed beams used as posts to designate foyer {and a lightswitch!}

custom reclaimed barn wood barn door i designed and our wonderful contractor built.

detail of concrete hearth

"toy room" door - a vision of my mothers from day one...small little door leading to space under the stairs where kids can keep and access their toys. right off the main den space

{pic to come}

view from barn door looking back to kitchen and dining {with a little shot of emory and her mimi cooking dinner}. barn wood and beams on ceiling

concrete countertops - im in love...we did these throughout the house and they are amazing! im more than happy to refer the guy we used if you live in mid-to-southern alabama

the dish mimi was cooking {sante fe chili}

laundry room {sink needs skirt, shelves need baskets...}

master bedroom

master bath

master bath window

master shower {no shower doors throughout house...tile is slate from new england...i wasnt a fan of what could be found locally, color-wise, for this particular project}

downstairs bedrooms {still lacking bedding, artwork, drapes, some nightstands and lamps in all bedrooms}

downstairs bathroom

mirror made from left over barn wood {we used that stuff for EVERYTHING}

concrete counters

gun room {separate access to outside, where muddy shoes, jackets, hunting clothes, etc will be kept}

{pic to come}

the upstairs "bonus" room that almost was not...we knew the space was going to be there but were just planning on using it as attic space. however when my dad saw it, he couldnt imagine not utilizing it. thus was born the "game room"...to eventually house all those game things like pool table, ping pong, big tv...all located directly over the kitchen, dining room, and master bedroom :) {reason why we didnt originally plan to finish it out...but so glad we did!}

upstairs bedroom

upstairs bathroom {due to roof lines, no window in this space. still needs fabric skirt below sinks}

storage in bathroom for all the grandbabies that will one day inhabit the upstairs, and a close up of the doors {i love the way they turned out!}

bunk room {where said grandbabies will sleep}

{pic to come}

outside grill area {prior to screen...screen and railing are now in place...thank goodness says the mother of many small children}

hope you enjoyed the little sneak peak tour! {that turned out to be more than a sneak peak :)} i will keep updating as items come in...but for now, i leave you with this

have a blessed thursday and weekend!

i hope you get to throw your feet up and breathe a little bit.

me, well, my breathing time is up. {all twenty minutes of it}

time to mommy one of my many waking children!

Guest post: Rachel makes a mirror

2012-01-20T17:51:00.000-06:00

Howdee! I am natalie’s tiny baby sister who is dipping her pinky toe into the blogging world. I’ve debated starting my own blog as it seems to be a “setzler-woman right of passage” but I cant bring myself to do it just yet. In time…

However, Natalie has asked for me to do a guest-blog post and I will happily oblige!

After our wedding in September, husband and I moved to the quaint city of Houston Texas. In case you were wondering- I read somewhere that Alabama’s population is 4.7 million. The population of greater Houston you ask? 5.6 MILLION PEOPLE. In one single city. Where we live.

To say we are teeny tiny fish in a big pond is an understatement. But we are loving it out here, and being that our whole reason of coming out here was job opportunities, I must say that Houston is holding up her end of the deal.
We were lucky to find a great affordable 2 bedroom apartment in the memorial area (I think that’s what it’s called??) with shady trees and closets as big as a bedroom.

Decorating our mid 1970’s apartment on a newlyweds-so-lets-not-spend-money-on-things-right-now type of budget has not been the easiest. However, thanks to some frugal purchases, the place is slowly coming together. The newest piece to join our home is a 33” sunburst mirror.

I first saw THIS sunburst mirror on Pinterest and loved its irregular yet symmetrical rays. There are dozens of shim-made mirror tutorials on pinterest (here: http://westermanfam.blogspot.com/2011/05/sunburst-mirror-diy.html, here: http://thecraftingchicks.com/2011/09/diy-sunburst-mirror.html, and here: http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2011/03/diy-sunburst-mirror-finished.html) but once I saw this one, I knew it had to be mine. Plus, all the components could be found at Lowe’s and Michaels!

I followed the directions pretty closely, but with some variance.

Here’s what you will need:
- 2 different sizes of wood shims (found in the door/window aisle at Lowes) I used 4 packs of 42 count, 12" long shims, and 8 packs of 14 count, 8" long shims
- Elmer's Wood Glue (8 oz)
- Gorilla glue
- 10” round mirror from Michaels
- spray paint in desired color (I used Rust-Oleum Gold Metallic Finish. It is the perfect metallic gold, and does a nice coat)
- thin plywood sheet for backing (I used a 12"x12" sheet from Michaels)
- Picture hanging hardware

1. begin by grouping the shims into clusters. I liked the arrangement of my inspired-by piece and went with something similar – groupings of 9 longer shims and 7 shorter shims. I did the groupings pretty randomly because I lack patience, but tried to keep them similar as to create a more uniform appearance. Once you have the right look, begin gluing the shims together using the elmer’s wood glue. I reinforced my groupings with some craft tape so that the glue would dry without me having to hold the pieces together.

2. begin laying the “rays” onto the plywood sheet to start your sunburst. I ended up making 16 groupings of each size. I let the glue on the rays dry overnight since it was late and I was tired of sitting on the floor.

(getting a visual)

3. when the “rays” are dry, remove the tape and begin gluing them together into the sunburst shape you created using the wood glue. This was a little difficult to do since the sides of the shims aren’t perfectly smooth and I had to go slow (argh) and hold the pieces together as I went. The tutorial I read had to use some individual shims to fill some gaps between the groupings, but mine fit together close enough that this wasn’t necessary for me. Let the glue dry for at least two hours before moving forward (or overnight since it’s late again, and you want to go to bed)

4. now, take the plywood backer and squeeze some gorilla glue on it. I came to find that my gorilla glue from college had become hard as a rock. Did you know that according to the gorilla glue website you can put the bottle into a bowl of hot water and it will soften back to normal?

5. Panic. This did not work. WHY??!! I have two ¾ full bottles of gorilla glue and can’t use either!?! What the Hades this is annoying. Argh.

6. drive to lowes and spend 6 bucks on some new gorilla glue. Squirt a ton of it onto the plywood backer. Center the sunburst onto the plywood, then weigh it down with something and let it dry for several hours. (Note – don’t worry if your mirror feels flimsy at this point. Once the gorilla glue on both sides hardens, the mirror will become rigid and strong)

7. next, I took my sunburst outside onto our porch and laid it on top of a tarp to begin the spraying process. Tip – used canned goods to raise the item off the ground. Works wonders. The tutorial I read primed her mirror first. But I didn’t want to buy more paint and I am lazy and impatient so I skipped this step. Once you have spray painted, let it dry for a couple more hours.

8. after the paint dries, you want to squeeze gorilla glue onto the back of the mirror, then place the mirror on the center of the burst (covering the area where the shims come together), and weigh it down with something heavy. Make sure you don’t use too much gorilla glue because it will foam and spread and you don’t want it to come peaking out the sides of the mirror…or for it to accidentally seep through and glue your whole mirror to your rented-apartment’s carpet floor. Not that I speak from experience or anything. But it may be wise to keep some scissors handy…

9. Then secure some type of hanging hardware onto the plywood backer and VOILA! (I used a tooth-style piece with bigger nails than what came in the package. The teeny microscopic nails that come with the tooth picture hangers are a joke)

The finished product:

(I currently have the mirror hanging on this long wall in our bedroom…)

(…but I may just get the sweet husband to hang it over our bed. And yes, as you can tell by our bedside books, we are both reading the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. If you aren’t already reading them, START. NOW. Soooo good)

My total after taxes came to $49.30. I don’t think you can buy a sunburst mirror for that cheap anywhere! While it took a little bit of time to make, it was well worth it and really makes our room feel a little more like home :)

Enjoy!

thanks rachel! see doesn't she need a blog? well, i think she does. it sure would be nice to keep up with her more than phone calls. ill be back with some more posts on my house, a job (the camp) update, and a much needed update on mi bebe número tres. (how many languages did i just butcher?)
happy weekend!

(sorry if formatting is off at all. posting this from my iPad and can't do normal "things" on it but wanted to get this fabulous DIY posted sooner than later!)

xoxo

christmas vacation or one month of jacob preston

2012-01-11T16:22:00.002-06:00

there is so much to say and no real time to say it :)

one day i just know i will figure out how to do this blogging thing again, not bc its all that important in comparison to other daily duties, BUT because i do really love it and bc, when done regularly i.e. NOT how its been done recently, it provides stress relief and outlet of quasi-creativity.

so, here is a recap of our past month, many pictures and few words:

wearing the dress i wore on MY first christmas...or maybe my second...anyway:

after christmas eve at my parents house, then christmas morning and christmas day at our house with stephens family, we journeyed to the "camp" for new years. we were there for five fabulous days. five days of no mirrors or makeup {literally...i did not look in a mirror until i got in the car to go home}.

i am planning on devoting a completely separate post on the camp...posted about HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. the job is complete and we are now just filling in the gaps with lamps, furniture, and...yea...bathroom mirrors :)

stephen and i have already discussed moving up there permanently and him just buying a smart car for the commute. ;) seriously it is extremely hard to leave this place.

somebody turned FOUR while we were there:

this is what happens when i try to take "newborn pictures."

as in it does NOT happen. all three of my children just choose to cry instead of squish into anne geddes positions and peacefully doze.

baby wearing:

i heart self timers, as they provide the only pictures of me and my babies:

like i said, no mirrors and no makeup...forgive me:

new years eve bonfire {we went to sleep before 10pm}:

happy one month littlest

you, too, deserve a post all of your own.

it is coming, i promise :)

hopefully see you sooner than later!

I think I can I think I can

2012-01-05T19:37:00.001-06:00

jacobs story

2011-12-18T21:15:00.000-06:00

this baby couldnt have come with a simple scheduled induction could he?
of course not.
jacob preston was on his own schedule and writing his own story from the very beginning.

he is a week old today and life is...very FULL. ;)
actually as crazy as this time of year is, he couldnt have been more "convenient" on his timing. kids are out of school so i dont have to worry about/juggle that, holidays are here so stephen isnt working AS much {he doesnt exactly get "time off" with his job...so we are lucky for the break/slow in business this time of year}.
im already anticipating the wake up hour of 6:45 or so to be the hardest part of the day. i like to start the day at 6:30 or so with my babies, and he needs to eat, emory wakes up around the exact same time and wants her milk/bfast NOW, bennett wakes up with her and insists on his cereal "before you feed the babies."
everyone {minus the baby...} is going to have to learn they dont always get what they want right when they want it. i think that will be a lesson for all of us now, with this whole juggling of the kids thing.
this week has been a week of attempting to catch up on sleep {yep, attempting to CATCH UP on sleep WITH a newborn...new concept...more on this later}, snuggling with a laid back and an incredibly cute if-i-do-say-so-myself newborn, balancing two babies that always need to be held at the exact same time, dealing with a super sensitive at times three year old who is just adjusting to the shift of attention, dealing with a needy one year old who is just adjusting to the shift of attention, finding special time to spend with each of these older kiddos so they dont feel left out...whether its taking one to the grocery store, taking the other to the hardware store, giving one or both away to a grandparent for some special away time, reading books and playing board games while newborn is sleeping..., eating whatever we can throw together and not really worrying about it much, building fires all day, opening christmas cards {and lamenting the fact that we arent sending them out this year...but honestly being ok with it and looking forward to our family valentines card...or easter card...or memorial day card...whatever it ends up being}, and wondering when or IF christmas presents are ever going to be wrapped :)

and now, jacobs story

its friday night, eight o clock, december 9th, and the sickness comes.
tummy virus at its MOST EVIL. go to bed, not to sleep, cry on the bathroom floor, crampy tummy, crampy contractions. my dad comes to get bennett and emory early saturday morning. stephen was sick too, but feeling a smidge better than me saturday morning so he handled the hand off.
i was in bed all day, getting no sleep, contractions timed around twelve minutes apart. i call the nurse on call and she suggests its probably dehydration. tells me to take a zophran so i can keep some liquids down. i do this around noon or so? im able to drink two glasses of gatorade and later two glasses of water. still feeling like death. my skin hurts and my contractions are getting really painful and eight to ten minutes apart. i talk to on call nurse again {who was with her kids at wal mart...God bless} and she says she is supposed to tell me to go to the hospital and at least get some fluids.
i really dont want to be one of those girls who hits up the hospital in false labor just to be sent home.
really didnt want to be that girl.
SO we sit around some more, contract some more, not sleep some more, contractions get closer to around 6 minutes apart and are really starting to hurt. they get to the point that i know i was getting an epidural with bennett and emory at this pain level. its four thirty and im lying on the sofa and all of a sudden the contractions are every three minutes apart. no warning. they are basically making me cry.
we gather our things in a hurry, but sort of not in a hurry bc i am annoyingly proclaiming this might actually not be labor and its probably just dehydration and maybe we should wait and see if the contractions keep coming and blah blah whine whine and then the next contraction hits and lasts a good two minutes and i am in the car faster than stephen can say "stop being ridiculous".
the contractions remain at 3-5 minutes apart until i literally get hooked up to the machine at the hospital and then they slow to six minutes apart.

the nurse says im dehydrated and will probably go home in the morning.
i AM 2.5cm tho, so those painful contractions DID get me somewhere at least.
we finally decide to call our families and let them know where we were.
and tell them not to come bc it doesnt look like there will be a baby tonight. or tomorrow apparently bc as soon as that first bag of fluids emptied the contractions slowed to around 15 minutes apart and eventually 20-30.

but yall.
they still HUUUUUUURT. they gave me some sort of something in my iv that made them better but by midnight when we "went to bed" i still couldnt fall asleep. well i guess i just woke up every thirty minutes if i did.
4am comes and contractions are every six minutes apart again.
and i am 5cm and family is called.
epidural is had.
i fall asleep in the middle of talking to people, and again feel guilty that i am in labor and feeling so relaxed.
but the relaxation is much appreciated seeing that no sleep has been had over the past 36 hours.
jacob is born very quickly and surreal-ly, as in instead of tears with like our first two, stephen and i are just looking at each other saying, literally, "did that just happen?" "did we just have a baby?" "this is crazy!".

in simplest terms we are in absolute awe.
from the second we found out about this third blessing of ours, the journey has been surreal.
the pregnancy just felt like a continuation of the previous one.
people we didnt see much thought i was still pregnant...as in same pregnancy as the one before. they were always a little confused at first :)

when bennett was born we were both so speechless there wasnt much "thought" to be had. we just blubbered like babies and had NO EARTHLY IDEA what we were getting into.

with emory, we blubbered like babies and thought OMG SHES HUGE and LORDY LOOK AT THOSE EYELASHES.

with jacob, we thought "that was crazy" and OMG LOOK HOW BIG HIS HANDS ARE.
i held him for the first time, stephen came up and said "hey buddy" and jacob turned his head and looked at stephen.

surreal.

he is so calm.

and so pretty.

he was not jaundice {our other two were}.

he slept both nights at the hospital until we woke him to feed him.

his brother spent an afternoon at the hospital with us and obsessed all over his little brother.

emory

she did not enjoy her visits and family took turns taking her out of the room so she did not see me in a bed hooked up to devices holding SOMEONE OTHER THAN HER.

until we gave her some food

jacob preston is here and its like he always has been.

its amazing how much love your heart is spontaneously capable of producing.

i know we are only a week in but i can say with certainty that we are keeping him

bennett loves him and wants to hold him all.the.time.
emory loves pointing to and saying "bay bee" and giving him his "bay bee paci"

and pointing to his eyes {gotta watch this...}

i have {finally} reached a point in my life where i feel that i wont have an issue asking for help.
i dont know how breakfast and lunches and naps and dinner time are going to work without daddy here.
i dont know how im going to get them to school and pick them up and still feed the baby when he is hungry.
i dont know how im going to ever catch up on the sleep ive lost since last thursday night.
and honestly its ok.
i think this third pregnancy/baby has changed a lot in me.
i think God knew that.

all i do know is this charge of motherhood is great. it involves every part of you and evokes every emotion. you can feel on top of the world and completely helpless at the same exact time.
people do it every day but its still the most special, miraculous gift.
i may be on number three but lets just say i dont even remotely have it all figured out.

but i have a wonderful partner who is "all in" with me on this, who gives 100% of himself to me and the children, with whom i have never felt insecure or uncertain about our future together, because from the very beginning we have just always known this is how we were meant to be.

for each other.

happy seven days

happy seven years

sunday miracle

2011-12-11T21:57:00.001-06:00

Jacob Preston
12.11.11
8:55am
8lbs
21in

Our hearts are full
God is so good

i was born a ramblin' (wo)man

2011-12-09T16:01:00.001-06:00

sometimes its just the way i post
it works for me...

this baby is coming soon...so soon and bennett is counting down the days, telling everyone the countdown as we go.
we have been celebrating christmas so hard every day i actually feel like i might enjoy it this year :) i mean i always love christmas, but santas been busy since june so he/shes feeling pretty well caught up at this point. so with the hectic buying-up-the-town part out of the way, the christmas spirit at our house is running quite strong. fires, lights, dancing, and nativity talks. baby jesus and the ~~dang~~ elf and the advent calendar and our christmas cd's are the most popular things running at this point. celebrities, all four of them.
is this a daily occurance in your house?

half naked children jamming out to manheim steamroller?
presenting the true meaning of christmas in all their innocent goodness.

why do all baby dolls these days either cry, suck pretend bottles, poop, play peek a boo, or dress like miley cyrus? baby sally cloud {god rest her soul} was a recent victim of the tummy virus so this attractive gal will be her replacement come december 25th:

im calling fashion police on her 90's washed blue jeans and rainbow tunic.
seriously people, what happened to the good ole sweet baby doll dressed like a BABY?
santa has some last minute wardrobe adjustments to make before sally jr makes her debut

and three months of searching and seventy dollars later we are the proud owners of this $20 train.

one of the only things bennetts asked for for christmas. that happened to be discontinued years ago.
thank you ebay ~~rapists~~.

these pretties are being installed on a job on monday.

all concrete.
i was pretty ocd and type A on the finish of these. i had a really hard time handing all my pictures and thoughts and explicit graining and toning information over to the concrete "artiste" and leaving it up to him to "see" what was in my head. i like to personally choose every slab of stone that goes in a project, and THEN figure out which way the graining runs/where they are placed on said job. this was a stretch.
but from what i can see via email and picture message they look fantastic.
{whew}

look what my big 14th month old can do

thats right, eat like a 6 month old, finally.
ladies and gentlemen she is eating minimally solid foods off spoons right now, without gagging.
oatmeal, yogurt and the like.

and trying to feed herself {sorta}.

and this one thinks this is the appropriate sized spoon for eating yogurt

and why shouldnt it be?

kangaroos are at the exploreum downtown right now

{apparently bennett applied too much base this morning and looks a little ghostly}

i almost stole one of these little joeys AND their pouch, but thought three kids and a baby kangaroo might be a little much to handle inside city limits.

maybe one day when i get my dream farm i can add baby kangaroos to the wishlist, joining year round vegetable garden with a sprinkler system, butterfly garden, chickens, sunrises and sunsets, and open green fields where the kids {or...more realistically by the time this ever could happen...GRAND kids} can run free till i call them in for dinner.

this juice is really good but im having a hard time finding it consistently

anything to help me get my vegetables and fruits in right now, since neither ever sound good
{i love you carbs}

this is what happens when its cold outside and mommy is 52 weeks pregnant

bored children live in their jammies and impulsively do things like empty every single container-resembling thing in their playroom onto the floor or rake every single piece of clothing off the rod and then apparently roll around in them.
i might have had to turn my back to stifle the laughter at my hardly-ever-impulsive-almost-four-year-old before "sternly" telling him to clean it all up.
and that he was {snort} very {giggle} naughty.
it was a good lesson on properly hanging clothes.
and what is really happening when kids are quiet for too long...

i love getting christmas cards. i think i may email one out this year if picture even gets taken.?. if not, be expecting a new years, valentines, or perhaps memorial day card from the roe family...depends on this whole "third baby" thing

i sure cant wait to meet this little i mean big chubby fat man
;)

have a great weekend everyone!
i am vowing to myself that i will have some hot chocolate at some point.
or, if i get so inspired/leave the house, THIS

Source: luuux.com via Natalie on Pinterest

got elf?

2011-12-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

we now officially elf.
do you?
dumb question. of course you do.
its more than obvious now that everyone with a child under the age of 10 elfs. there is no reason we havent, i just never thought too much about it or ... im sorry .... cared? enough to go get one and do it. {i realize now how terrible this makes me. bad mommy. i had NO idea.}
that is until bennett was bombarded with questions from church friends, neighbors, school friends, etc like "what is your elf's name?" "where did your elf hide last night?". the most recent inquisition happened at his good buddy jack's house where said questions were asked and i was told by jacks mommy that bennetts response to "what is your elf's name?" was "zero. because i dont have one."
so, before picking him up i ran to buy him his very own "elf on a shelf."

the next morning bennett saw the book on the kitchen counter and thought his buddy jack brought it to him :) after reading it he excitedly searched the house for his elf.
and that is why everyone should go buy an elf on the shelf.
so they can watch their child, overcome with that christmas spirit sparkle, search excitedly for the little elf who magically appeared just for them.

{im so glad those holes in the wall arent there anymore...sconces installed this past weekend! woop!}

we, including bennett of course, thought zero was a perfect name for our elf. i asked bennett to spell it for me. he said "zzzzuh - eeee - ruh - ohhhh. momma he has my name in his! just like me!"
this completely went over my head so i just did that typical mom "uh huh ok buddy what letter comes first?"
and he said, "Z. E. R. O. E. just like OUR name!"
...i know. you cant make this stuff up
and that is how zeroe the elf came to be. we love him and ive already had to get back out of bed to go move him to his new location. its going to be a long month :)

{and ps take note: those of you who might be parenting my children whilst im at the hospital working to bring another one into the mix, the elf changes location every night while the children are sleeping. and, just like santa, zeroe the elf will know that bennett and emory are at someone elses house and will obviously find them there as well... have fun :) }

its saturday

2011-12-03T18:48:00.001-06:00

i love saturdays.
i love having an extra set of hands with the kids and, in having them, stephen and i both accomplish so much.
for starters i took a shower and dried my hair and put on clothes, all by nine thirty.
the kids were dressed soon after, and we didnt even have any plans to go anywhere.

clean house, clean car, baby clothes washed and on hangers, stockings made, emorys {new} crib skirt made, santa gifts picked up and hidden, SEC football, delicious dinner tag teamed in the kitchen {post to come}...
lots of good saturday things.

but the TWO biggest pieces of news around here are as follows:

emory and bennett officially cohabitate.

we moved her into his room on thursday night and the past two nights they have slept better and longer than they have apart. i have no idea why and im not really going to press the matter.

who knows if it will last but all these rosy little dreams i have about bennett and emory sharing a room are looking like they could possibly come true.

please pardon the drool and runny nose. this is life. it is real.

ahhh ... theres that REAL smile. blurry, but REAL

and i love how it now gives jacob his own room, waiting for his arrival. im waiting to post pictures until all is complete. and IT WILL BE COMPLETE. for the first time EVER i WILL have my childrens rooms complete enough to take pictures of.
what an incredibly important, appropriate goal to have placed at the forefront of my "these things are important" list.
;)

in other news,
emory is walking! she walked for my sister erin on wednesday before thanksgiving, took a few more tentative steps on turkey day, but started walking across the room and the like this past monday. and doing things like this:

she is a little proud of herself. always takes a moment after first standing to give herself a round of applause before continuing on her walk.

and to close,
my family {esp mother and mother in law} think im about to go into labor any second now. i have been having PRE labor contractions {really strong wednesday night} and baby is low and ready to G.O. according to my doctor. and while it might not look that way, ha, i am 38 weeks but my tummy only measures 35.
cause i have a baby living in my PELVIS.
not my tummy apparently.
MY HIPS.
and i FEEL it.

however i just dont see me "going into labor."
maybe its bc i never have.

i see that there is a CHANCE, since im pretty much getting induced {due to my monster sized newborns} right before 40 weeks...a date i just recently moved back even further so as not to miss bennetts christmas play at school.
he gets in the car babbling about his christmas play this past week and i say, "bennett thats the same day that mommy will be in the hospital to have jacob! your christmas play day might be jacobs birthday! but daddy will be there to see you"
bennett, big doe eyes starting to water: "you arent going to be there? but momma you HAVE to be there. they TOLD me you were going to be there. i am a shepherd and mary alice is my sheep!"
yeah jacob can wait one more day this mommy is going to see her son and his "speaking part" in his 15 minute preschool play.

boxwood bliss

2011-11-29T16:21:00.001-06:00

they might not smell like fresh pine garland...

{but then again NEITHER DOES OUR TREE...

please someone tell me why our tree doesnt smell...}

but boxwoods are chic and gorgeous for holiday decorating.

im smitten

and i LOVE indoor wreaths on windows...

if i wasnt so preggo and about to POP, i might take the time to do this.

next year!

of course this southern girl loves her some magnolia as well!

what about you?

boxwood? magnolia? traditional pine?

its all good in my book!

happy decorating :)

{im so super lazy today, and im sorry. all photos found on google images or pinterest

cept for the last one. that one belongs to me :) }

redemption

2011-11-25T19:59:00.001-06:00

with a title like that, i imagine the subject of this post could be all over the place.
however, as i sit here doped up on two days worth of fried turkey, there just arent many deep thoughts left in this tryptophan saturated brain of mine.

what i DO have to say, though, is still extremely important:

GO.MAKE.THIS.

we never really search for recipes for leftover turkey, simply because we fry our turkeys and there is never a problem getting "rid" of the leftovers. we eat it three meals a day until it is gone. its that good. {so go fry a turkey}

BUT tonight i saw that left over turkey and leftover brie from my antipasto appetizer and just knew i had to have a panini. {i might be pregnant...}

a trip BY MYSELF {when does that happen?} to fresh market later and this is what was produced:

Turkey, Brie, and Avocado Panini

leftover turkey
brie cheese
avocado
foccacia or other hearty bakery bread
red pepper and ancho chili jam {honestly, im sure there are a million jams/preserves/jellies you could use...even left over cranberry sauce...BUT this is what caught my eye and it was PHENOMENAL. just the right amount of sweet and smokey savory all smushed into one little jar. delish}

butter
rosemary

slice four pieces of foccacia bread, in the middle of the loaf like so

place them out on a cutting board. spread the jam on two pieces of bread. layer the avocado, turkey, and then brie on each slice. sprinkle with rosemary. place remaining pieces of bread on top.{makes two sandwiches}
if you have a panini press, use it.
i dont.
so take a grill pan, spray it with cooking spray, melt some butter, and keep it on medium heat. {just like when making a grilled cheese, you dont want to burn the bread before the cheese has a chance to melt}

place sandwiches on the grill pan and cook until grill marks form. press on top of each sandwich to smush all the goodies inside. either spray the top of the uncooked side or spread some butter on it before flipping. flip sandwich and continue smushing.

slice each sandwich in half and serve with sliced honeycrisp apples {just a suggestion :) }.

HEAVEN.

now, you ask, why is this post titled redeption?
well its because i craved and therefore made a chocolate pecan pie for turkey day and it turned out really gross. i dont know why...it was a combination of pioneer womans and paula deans...i mean HOW could i go wrong?? all pecan pie recipes only differ in the teeniest amounts of the exact same ingredients. maybe it was the pecans. i dont know. it was NOT good. luckily my mom made a carrot cake and there were only two of us who tasted the pecan pie. i sourly left it at my inlaws for them to...enjoy...eh

so, turkey panini, thank you.
i am redeemed.
until my next mammoth cooking blunder.
being one of those non-measure-ers of ingredients or not-really-following-a-recipe-ers leads to equal parts sweet success and miserable failure. with a dash of "eh?" thrown in there.

alright! gotta go play on pinterest or something else lazy and friday-night-ish.
i leave you with some pics of our wonderful but extremely fast feeling thanksgiving:

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand SCENE

*******************************************************

and i really dont know what kind of shot {if any} we have tomorrow,

but you never really know with this game.

so,

W A R E A G L E

with thanks

2011-11-23T14:29:00.001-06:00

im thankful for many things this year

two healthy children

a healthy baby boy who is bound and determined to make his presence known {from one sciatic nerve to the other}

a hardworking, attentive, loving husband

and two fantastic families:
crazy and dynamic and entertaining and loyal
all those things

Source: marthastewart.com via Natalie on Pinterest

but this year i guess i am most thankful for the gracious love my two families have shown each other for the past, five{?} years at thanksgiving.

Source: mydesigndump.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

you dont choose your family, and even though stephen and i chose each other, our two families did not. its just a special situation that our families have mushed and merged over stephens and my twelve year relationship and love each other like one BIG family.
special indeed.

Source: shopgramercy.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

so while i know this might not always be the case, as other members of our family are marrying and starting families of their own, this year i am very thankful that for the past many years our thanksgiving has been stress free. no deciding who gets what meal or how many huge meals we have to eat in one single day.

i read on a friends blog that thanksgiving is perhaps the purest christian holiday of them all. nothing less than giving complete thanks to a wonderfully loving God and gracious Savior, for all the fabulous blessings we are given because He loves us so much.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

eat lots of good food, hug your friends and family, and thanks for reading :)

{pictures in the post serve as inspiration for the table setting task i face tomorrow}

sneak peak: camera phone edition

2011-11-16T20:01:00.001-06:00

because who really carries a real camera anymore?

some of these are different jobs, some are my house, some are kids rooms, all are in progress.

and to answer some of your questions from a few posts back:

my sofa is this three cushion, tight back sofa from lee industries

its only two inches or so longer than our old sofa, but i can completely lie down on it {much more room to SIT vs old sofa with monstrously thick rolled arms}. i was really leaning towards the more structured, nail-head-ed sofas but decided since i was going a little crazy/statement with the color then i probably should stay traditional with the sofa lines. i love the look of two cushion sofas but we dont have much seating in our den and three cushions makes it look like more people can sit on the sofa {vs in the middle crack}. three cushions also have less sag since they are smaller :) {FYI}. there was an option with five pillows but i opted for the two pillow sofa, knowing i would add more myself. i wish i had done the five pillow just because the pillows are so comfy and i usually pile both of them behind me when im lounging.

and honestly who KNOWS when im going to get around to buying/finding more pillows.

the throw pillows are a fabric by lee, but i did COM for the body fabric:

robert allen's gentle dream in thyme

its a polyester velvet, from their contract line. this picture doesnt really do it justice...its a very pure limey green, no brown or blue or "hunter" undertones. im pretty sure its one of those mass marketed fabrics, available through many different names and many different distributors {i think i saw it at a local fabric warehouse recently}, but robert allen is where i found it originally.

it has already been spit up on, thrown up on TWICE {sick teething baby...}, wiped with snotty noses, and marked on with a sharpie pen {accidental babysitter blunder}

ALL came out with extreme minimal effort.

to say i am pleased is an INTENSE understatement.

five stars

*****

well, i have another baby coming along in possibly less than a month and i am way less stressed than i was last year at this time.

i might be delusional, or just simply in denial.

either way, im enjoying these days with my family and enjoying my ridiculously left field,

spur of the moment kind of nursery.

{changed my entire vision/plan ON THE PHONE while giving the painter,

who was at the paint store, the paint color.}

my houston sister was not available for comforting after my hasty decision so i took a shower and talked myself down from a paint color cliff. and thankfully my wallet and i are thrilled with the outcome. stephen and i have both realized this will most likely be our favorite nursery yet {thats right...he is really vocally liking the looks of things and i am thrilled we are on the same page. i really value his opinion and taste,

i just dont always agree with it ;)}

well its past nine oclock which means its past this old lady's bed time.
adios!

fall turned christmas

2011-11-14T20:11:00.001-06:00

well halloween is over, we are halfway through november, and we have already seen santa.
all in a matter of two weeks.

we trick or treated around our neighborhood this year with a big group of neighbors.
kids had a blast and emory ate five or so graham crackers on the golf cart so she was happy past her normal bed time.

one house gave out toys instead of candy. bennett got a gun.

a very LOUD gun.

and he didnt get one single Mounds {my fave halloween candy}.
PLENTY of starburst {eww}

weve been spending lots of time outside thanks to the fabulous fall weather. the fact that we have even had a fall the past few years is enough to make me love my home even more. i have to have a fall. ours may not be as bold or as beautiful as several states north of us, but its provided comfortable weather, some fires in the fireplace, warm soup suppers, boots and scarves, and lovely fall foliage.

this little lady is changing daily...for scrapbooking sake right now she is: saying ball, momma, mimi, dada, puppy, eat, byebye, uh oh, signing more and eat, waving, playing patty cake, generally being a huge flirt, saying animal noises for sheep and horse, NOT walking, blowing kisses, obsessing over her shoes, loving outside and her puppy, taking longer afternoon naps {now that molars are pushing through}, taking three VERY warm sippy cups of milk a day while being held like a baby but refusing to drink while she eats, throwing tantrums, loving attention and touch, and loving to GO.

bennett went on his first hunting trip with daddy last week

there was a gun there only as a prop for bennett's sake. they basically just went to see the deer {which bennett informed me before they went that you only shoot buck deer, not white tails [what he calls does]. i was very happy with this three year old assessment}. they might not have seen anything, but bennett was decked out and ready in case they did :)

we have been living in a construction zone the past month. painting, small "alterations" around the house,

updates {vents, shoe molding, cased openings, light switches, etc}, and a big adjustment in bennetts room to accommodate his little sister moving in.

all the workers have "moved out" and i am FINALLY enjoying my dust free home. it was the closest ive come to breaking down this pregnancy. i have learned to overlook baby clutter and general LIFE as it comes with the territory, but i do NOT...i repeat do NOT do well with DIRTY. and our house has been D.I.R.T.Y.
dirty no more. all the rooms in our house are back to general normalcy, except my office. and i can handle that for now. goal: clean that up before jacob makes his debut.

and since my nesting has been quite drastic and intense this baby-go-round, ill have plenty of "afters" to show you very soon. {!!}

for now, more pics of the babes and i at santa breakfast with junior league this past weekend. daddy was on a work {-related} trip this weekend so that is why he is MIA.

bennett loves meryl. they have been friends basically since birth and the older they get the more i think they look like siblings.

emory was not afraid of the man in red

bennett told him he wants "a lightning mcqueen bike {check}, the black hunting truck power wheel {check}, and a 'hero of the rails set' {...urmmmm need to get on that...just know its thomas the train related}"

i dont know what is in emorys mouth. probably good that i dont...

after santa breakfast bennett went home with buddy jack so he could play and attend another friends birthday party while i took emory to her grandparents so that i could attend a celebration of a very good friends upcoming wedding. there was no way bennett was missing this birthday party and these pictures almost brought me to tears. thank you schwants for taking care of my boy on saturday! i can tell how happy he was seeing his buddies again!

im back to my computer aversion, similar to the early days of pregnancy. i mean i could spend hours on pinterest or checking blogs on my phone, but i dont last very long doing ANYTHING on the actual lap top. this may affect my blogging but i will try not to allow it...as i have many things planned to blog about! :)

happy fall yall

food

2011-11-08T07:30:00.000-06:00

its what i really like to do when i feel normal.
cook it and eat it.
so, since ive been feeling normal recently, ive been cooking and eating a whole heck of a lot more than .... normal.
im in that happy pregnant stage where i gain four-six pounds over the course of two weeks.
lovely.
these stripes arent helping the matter

so i thought i would share the recipes/links to some pretty delicious treats.
here goes!

easiest pumpkin bread ever

found recipe HERE, but all it requires is box of cake mix {yellow or spice}, 1/2tsp pumpkin spice, and 1 can of pumpkin. i made one large loaf and a few teeny muffins. the batter is pretty thick but it does indeed rise {just not as much as regular bread}. i cooked it at 350 for over 30 minutes. but dont cook it too long, dont want it to dry out!
rating: A+ for ease of recipe, A- for taste. {i prefer my MIL's recipe but it was still delish and sometimes you just do whats easier!}

mexican chicken crock pot soup

Source: shine.yahoo.com via Natalie on Pinterest

very delicious. however, please note....WATCH THE CHIPOTLE CHILI PEPPER IN ADOBO SAUCE. it does NOT need two AND all that sauce. we cried all the way through our supper due to the spice intensity, but kept eating bc it was so good. will make again, just with maybe ONE chile pepper and like a TEASPOON of sauce. whew!
rating: A for ease {crock pot!!}, B+ for taste, due to intense spiciness, i bet it would rate much higher with adjustment

the "make-this-dip-and-you-will-be-famous" dip
or...spicy white cheese dip
{no picture bc every time its been made its been GONE}
first had this dip at my sisters engagement shower. her soon-to-be sister in law made it and it was a hit with both the men and the ladies. BIG hit.
{for you friend/readers this is the appetizer i made last week}

1 small onion diced
2 garlic cloves minced
2 10oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles {aka rotel}
1 cup chopped cilantro {i just chopped up an entire bunch of it}
3/4 c milk
1/2 tsp gound cumin
1/2 tsp black ground pepper
2lbs monterey jack cheese {i could only find that big bag of shredded mj and colby}
8oz cream cheese, softened

mix all and pour into 2 qt casserole {or little larger...it says it will reduce but mine did not!}. bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. {took longer than 25 minutes for me}

serve with fritos or scoops.
absolutely addicting!!!

more to come!
jacob is a hungry little fella these days...

its all his fault
{and now im laughing inside at the ones of you, who shall remain nameless, who i know are freaked out by that picture and caption. ha!}

h-town

2011-11-06T15:00:00.000-06:00

my baby sister is in houston now. she is applying for jobs {interior design, like moi, anybody know of anyone hiring super qualified, amazingly talented, hardworking gals?}. she called and told me about a couple firms she had found.

lets just say their...repertoire...differs a little from those i chose from when i was applying for places down in the simple south. {not knocking my home OR firms at all...i love my simple south!}

anyway, a few gorgeous inspirational spaces i just had to share:

{if you cant tell im loving the contrast of stained wood and light walls right now. so fresh}

{1}chantos

{2-11}lucas-eilers

my new hire

2011-11-04T11:41:00.000-05:00

if anyone needs me on fridays just contact my assistant at emory@natalieroeinteriordesign.com

have a great weekend!

spoooooooooooooooooky

2011-10-31T15:21:00.001-05:00

i hear that word like 80 times a day, and i cant blame him.

he only copies things he hears ME say and i do love saying that word.

have a spoooooooooooky sugar filled night!

did yall catch the new green velvet addition to our rapidly growing family?

it has arrived. obsessed i am.

its already serving as a marvelous backdrop for spoooooooky spiders and plump little pumpkins

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

fall festivities

2011-10-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

a post with many pictures, few words

mom trying to do a "photo shoot" with kids that did NOT work.

so here are just a couple that were kinda sorta "ok":

visit to the pumpkin patch

school field trip to the farm

emory just being early morning emory

playing "go fish" with daddy

with mr jacobs birthday fastly approaching, i have to say i really am enjoying my fall this year.

nice weather, feeling good, good routines {minus a few emerging molars and their dreaded side effects}, football and food.

speaking of food, i thought i was feeling huge until i unearthed this picture from last year...

the day before i had emory

umm...YEA.

got a ways to go...

{as i was just looking over these pictures i realized any professional photographer out there might be gagging at how terrible my color balances are...meaning some pictures look really green, others blue, blah blah. i really need to read up on how to fix those sorts of thing cause i sure as heck dont know...i wish i had that "auto fix" button all you iphoto people use! :) ... any tips out there photogs??}

hello everybody

2011-10-23T16:30:00.000-05:00

my

name

is

and i am an animated fella

and pretty darn flexible, too

i am also measuring 2.5 weeks bigger than my actual age and have a nice 98th percentile head circumference like my brother did.

but i appear to have my sisters lips {aka mommas}.

other than that i am all kinda identical to my brother and sister.
my mom and dad couldnt be happier

bennett

emory

quick project update

2011-10-20T22:28:00.001-05:00

so i did something crazy and took both kids up to a jobsite today. bennett is no trouble but thankfully my sister was with me bc emory cried nearly the entire time. poor girl wants to walk so bad. or maybe she doesnt really care about walking, she just wants to MOVE and NOT be held....but letting emory crawl around the dusty, construction-byproduct floor *might* have just crossed the line.

this is one of those jobs that just makes me giddy.
great clients {*wink}, full spectrum involvement {ideal}, awesome setting, blah blah blah
i could go on and on but instead ill just let you view the progress!

ok we are starting kinda backwards, but this is the upstairs bunk room for all the kids. the walls are only primed and havent been painted yet. windows look out the south side of house, small door on the right will lead to a little toy room. this is where bennett will sleep. there is another closet fit under the roof line around the corner to the right, across from the entry door, that fits a pack n play. we are calling this "emory's room"

view out stephens and my bedroom, upstairs with the kids room {go figure :) }. we might need some serious black outs since our window not only faces EAST but also bc of the metal roof. HELLO SUN. this room connects to the bathroom that also connects to the hallway. a closet and entry door are in the left corner out of the picture. this closet also fits a pack n play and will be "baby number three's" room. {btw...he has a name. i need to tell yall. but not now}

this was a room that was kind of "added" during construction. we knew this space would be here, but planned to just have attic access. its huge, and on the opposite end of the house as the bunk room. last minute my dad decided to close it in and eventually have a "game" type room...ping pong table, pool table, etc. this is also the room i have approved for the display of animal ... heads. this IS a hunting camp so its inevitable. while a select few or maybe one might tastefully grace some part of the rest of the house, this room is fair game. {pun intended}. window is under sloped lower ceiling, attic access doors on side walls.

upstairs, back is to the game room door, stephens and my room behind to the left, front of the house to the right, bunk room door down at the end of the hall on the right, past the bathroom and mechanical room on the left, stairs directly in front right.

one of my sisters bedrooms downstairs, all bedrooms have east facing windows {facing lake}, and horizontal knotty wood on walls

downstairs bathroom. i am IN.LOVE. with the slate floors. i prefer this color slate to the "traditional" multi colored slate. it was a search but i finally found what i was looking for. walls will be beaded board, cabinets will be painted a medium gray-green. bottom drawer at sink will pull out as step for kids

downstairs shower with niche.

standing at shower in downstairs bathroom. this is the only tub in the house, for bathing grandkids.

back hall, looking north up the stairs. bathroom behind to the left, two bedrooms behind to the right. immediately to the left at the bottom of the stairs is the mud/gun room which will have cubbies with separate access to outside. main living space directly in front, with small door under stairs for another toy room. barn door will close off this entire side of house and upstairs when just my parents are here.

stairs behind to the left. den to immediate right, dining table against windows on the far right, kitchen and island on the far left. master bedroom through the far door on the right, pantry/laundry room around the corner through the kitchen on the far left.

gorgeous reclaimed barn wood ceilings and beams {remember?}

looking back the other way to the fireplace in the den on the south wall. window seat with wood storage and outdoor access to this storage to the left of fireplace. barn door will open to fill space to the right of the fireplace when not in use. still trying to find the perfect hearth material. tick tock..tick tock. mantle will be reclaimed wood. tv will be above mantle.

master bath. those tall cabinets sitting on top of base cabinets will actually be slid into niches on the side walls of the vainty. the bottom cubby is an "appliance" garage for all things needing to be plugged in. this room will also receive bead board on walls.
i used all new, never seen used paint colors {to me} for this job and will save that for a post on another day. it was fun. the names of them might have had something to do with my initial attraction to them, {but of course wasnt the decision-maker} and they did not disappoint.

master shower. lets just say we measured twice and cut once to make sure these windows were birthday suit friendly ;)
note to self: this shower is NOT 5'-8" lady friendly.

combined laundry room/pantry. this room connects to the kitchen on the far left around the corner and the master bedroom through the master closet, which is off the master bathroom. washer and dryer to your right, standing utility sink between the cabinets in the middle, open shelf pantry area to the left around corner. windows face west, towards driveway.

wood stain for exterior doors, next to exterior house stain.

lights, plumbing fixtures, and some furniture has been ordered. its definitely going to be a work in progress. i like acquiring pieces...just not filling a house so it can be "done." more pics to come as this job is rolling along at a wonderful pace! its actually a little unreal and extremely invigorating.

after my walk through with the contractor i scooped up my sister {bless her sweet soul}, not-so-toddler, and screaming not-so-infant-anymore and we quickly rode around the network of trails my dad has bush-hogged on the front of the property.

pirated from my sisters facebook

i know this place is actively being referred to as their "camp" as in "hunting camp," but its turning much more into a woodland wonderland upon which my parents are getting to express all their child/adulthood dreams and loves upon.
{with thoughts of their grandkids' enjoyment right up there front and center}
its a real labor of love.

and after months of me saying it, they are now the first to admit this will most likely become their primary residence and the city life might just be their necessity during the work hours of the week.
you might have always THOUGHT my family was a "beach" family...but i have to be honest and say the love of the {wood}land has actually always been right there at our core.

burlap + pinecones = fall mantle

2011-10-17T21:19:00.001-05:00

= free and good

= basically free bc im a fabric hoarder, and GOOOOD

a couple weeks ago the kids and i drove to the area around our botanical gardens to gather pinecones. lets credit this idea to another pinterest find. {are you tired of hearing about that site yet?!?}

when we first moved in our house, there was not a working fireplace. not so good for my pyromaniac husband. so installing a corner fireplace was one of the first moves we made. tore out existing OLD built ins {considering our tv didnt remotely fit the tiny tv space anyway}

picture of old built ins from previous owners, before we bought the house...our tv sat on the floor in front of those built ins for a month before we braved the fireplace renovation

and made way for the largest fireplace we could fit {which just happened to be the smallest wood burning one they sold} ;). we bought an antique mantle from plunderosa on hwy 59 and had it rebuilt by our handyman to fit our fireplace opening.

and then, bc there was just no other wall in our living room to place it, the tv made its final resting place above the fireplace. it really does serve the room well, but it makes decorating the mantle a BEAR.

so i am always on the lookout for creative, low profile ideas.

this is the happiest, easiest...ONLY fall mantle ive ever had.

please ignore the eerie orange glow on the tv...should have turned off the lamp

pinecones = nature; candle sticks = already had them; burlap = left over scrap pieces from my christmas tree skirt; plastic pumpkins = 50% off halloween decor at michaels, painted them white with leftover paint from my office project

not to mention the fall fun that was had in all in the gathering

i love it when the ground is covered in a blanket of pinestraw.
depsite her happy smiles, this lady did not.
so she spent most of her time here

while brother and i did the gathering

facelift de mi casa: master bedroom

2011-10-10T19:29:00.004-05:00

so, last we spoke about dealings with my house, i think i mentioned something about adding on a room instead of redoing the kitchen. then the thought of doing all of that before baby was born overwhelmed my pregnant brained self and we just decided to get a new roof.

because i mean HOW much FUN are new roofs???!!!???
EVERYONE loves spending money on new roofs.

ok it was a {way} long time coming and the house really does look leaps and bounds better, BUT i can think of a million different ways to spend that nice chunk of change.
being an adult = house maintenance = ew

so i am slowly picking away at the rooms in our house, to appease my need/want to do SOMETHING. little tweaks here and there to update what has never been updated.
i may or may not be nesting {more on that in separate post}

we will start with the master bedroom.
this is what it looks like now {minus those tiny wal mart lamps...those were replaced with larger jc penney ones a couple years ago...cant find them. must be discontinued}:

not bad. but maybe just not me.
anymore.
it WAS me when i was 4 months newlywed and dreamed of traveling abroad.
{ha}
this is exactly what our bedroom looked like in montgomery, too

no that is not the same room. two different rooms, two different houses, two different cities.
6.75 years and no change
i still LOVE the paint color
valspar mark twain house olive from home depot

in real life it looks more like the photographs...deep olive-ish gray

in our current house, our bedroom used to be the carport and the previous owners enclosed it, so it is HUGE. i really dont need that much room in my bedroom {would rather have it in my den and kitchen} but this color is so nice to fall asleep/wake up to and our room is big enough to support such a saturated color.

so, that is not changing.

other side of the room:

we have since gotten a flat screen so the big box in the corner is no more. right now the tv is sitting ON that top mirror shelf, but im thinking that mirror might hit storage and the tv be more purposely placed. we also have replaced that tiny bin to the right of the dresser with a huge basket for TOYS. looks exactly like this one from crate and barrel but is from our local southeastern salvage:

we have another one in the den. they are both full. no matter how many times i clean them out.
{and i love that...bc that = my babies}

this is the window wall view. i know you all want sources for the wonders beheld in this photo.
i think im just going to leave you hanging ;)

our original quilt {shown above} was from west elm and a great color but way mis-sized {which i have found most of their quilts to be??}. so i bought a fluffy white one from company store {discontinued} a few months ago and SOMEHOW changing the quilt made it feel like we were sleeping on a cloud. i know, quilts have nothing to do with mattresses....but it changed the entire feel of our bed just the same.

and now we get to the "i know what i want in my head, now i just have to FIND it" part of any job i do. i create the look in my head and then have the hardest time finding the fabrics/furniture that match what i designed in said head.
i envy those who are able to design/manufacture/sell their own fabric/furniture lines.
i would DIE
and be broke

and, i digress.
so, on the agenda:

new pillows. our old ones consisted of three floor pillows from stein mart {still love those monstrous tufted things, just need a break from that burnt orange color}, and two striped pillows...my first sewing project as an "adult." i loved stripes then, and still do now...just take a quick peek in my closet...talk about needing to branch out...

just a TINY glimpse at the plethora of memos ive run through

such a pretty print - great colors

new drapes: probably white linen/cotton blend, for versatility and timeless-ness. two things i need more of in my house. depending on budget, either euro/parisian pleat

or simple flat pleat top

but with hooks, NOT clips...

= yes

= no

skirt bedside tables: we never use the drawers. i can get a dish for my chapstick :) and i need to break up all the wood in the room, since our bed is a big solid platform-ish bed.
new artwork over the bed and around room: yes, my italian vista fields have got to go. italy looks nothing like these prints, as i learned years and years ago, and, well, yeah, their time has passed. and this is the part that takes me forever. have it in head, cant find it {affordably} in reality. if i rediscover my art-bone ~~and find a huge chunk of available hours in my day which i know will be SUPER easy once this baby is born~~ i might try painting something myself. maybe
something to the stools at the end of the bed...reupholster? slipcover/skirt?

and thats the crux of it.

i think ive decided on the main pillow fabric, and already have materials and glass to skirt the nightstands.
hopefully this project will be done sooner than later, pictures of the finished product and other rooms in my house to come!

the days of my life

2011-10-05T12:32:00.000-05:00

ive been thinking about this a lot recently, bc, well, its happening a lot.
instead of a bunch of regular ole days strung in a row, it seems that i have seriously exhausting, unfulfilling days immediately followed by fabulous, inspiring ones.

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

what makes it so????
if you havent gathered, im generally a glass half full type of person. i just dont see how those who arent get through daily life. i would be miserable. i know its a choice to be positive, and even though sometimes its hard, i sure do try to choose it every morning when i wake up. {try being the operative word here}

and so ive thought about it, and i have sort of realized a trend of my days/what makes some SO much better than others.

the things that can affect my entire day:

1. feeling sick
ok this one is self explanatory and just part of the stage of life im in {pregnancy}. any sort of sickness i had with emory {bc i had none with bennett} was gone by second trimester and, besides feeling generally UGLY at all times with her pregnancy, i otherwise felt ok. this one, i feel much better about the superficial junk, {i now firmly believe girls SUCK YOUR PRETTY from you. its just my unprofessional hypothesis} but i have many more days resembling first trimester yuckiness. and im in the dang third trimester. anyway, while i still believe while im feeling yuck that baby is happy and growing, feeling yuck does not a great day make.

remedy: eh, nothing really. just deal with it and at least they are few and far between. this shall pass...and you arent worthless when you spend a random day crying on the sofa while your children buzz around you, eating shoes and watching hours of sprout and climbing on furniture and eating ungodly amounts of cheese bc its all they can reach in the refrigerator. you are just pregnant. {i need a dictaphone, some ear buds, and a repeat button}

Source: marcusdesigninc.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

2. not getting dressed vs. taking a shower
the rare mornings when stephen is still home at 7am and i get to take a shower and get dressed are life changers. i know i should be able to wake up earlier and take care of this before the kids get up, but when im preggo i just gotta sleep when i can. its like my day gets a little kick start and i feel presentable {vs throwing on "exercise" clothes when in fact i have not step foot in a gym in a year and a half}.

remedy: stephen needs to cancel early morning cases and not leave the house till 7:30. ok, no, but maybe i should put more effort into dressing in the morning vs having abundant "jammie days" {as bennett calls them, and i do love me a jammie day every once in awhile, but maybe need to stay away from the spandex and sports bra route and veer more towards the "brush your hair and put on a real bra"}

Source: shop.emersonmade.com via Natalie on Pinterest

3. purposefully announcing my intents to God before i leave my bedroom
this is huge. the mornings i spend in even just a little silent prayer before i run to feed and nurture the children result in such brighter days. it seriously is an A+B=C thing. so why i dont always do it, God only knows. and He is probably shaking his head when i forget so maybe he doesnt get it either ;) BUT just simply asking God to rule my day and direct my tongue and open my eyes as im walking to the bathroom makes the days happenings just fall that much better in line. and now i resort back to number 2, when i take morning showers, i have wonderful morning quiet times.

remedy: start my day with a purpose and give thanks to the one who gave me this day, before i run out of my room and start living it

Source: alifesdesign.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

4. running tons and tons of errands while the kids are at school
ok this is a weird one. i actually feel WORSE when i have been moving around town non stop between the hours of 9-1 than if i have a moment in there to breathe and do something, i dont know, frivolous.....like talk on the phone to a friend or eat lunch with my mom and sisters or get a pedicure or browse the garden center at lowes or sit in my backyard and read a magazine.

remedy: give myself some me time, bc i certainly dont get it during "nap time" anymore....bennett takes, on average, one nap a week these days. and he is developing a runaway imagination that always needs some momma input or viewing or acknowledgement. {aka notsomuch silent play time in the playroom anymore...}

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

5. having dinner planned
i used to go to the grocery store and buy a weeks worth of meals. then i could pick and choose what we ate every night and always had something. recently i havent exactly enjoyed food or cooking {thank you sweet baby three} so i have to run to the grocery almost every day and blindly choose random things to throw together for nurishment. it doesnt work very well. i like not going to the grocery store every day.

remedy: duh. go to the grocery store once a week and spend the time on sunday or whenever to make a meal plan. even if its just for three nights, at least its SOMETHING.

Source: authenticsuburbangourmet.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

{this is delicious}

and these are just a few things that i have found that seriously affect my attitude/daily outlook.

what works for you?

Emory is a fish

2011-10-04T18:23:00.001-05:00

em bop turns one

2011-10-03T16:25:00.001-05:00

happy birthday

to you

happy birthday

to you

happy birthday

dear emory

happy birthday

you

.......................................................................................................................................................

emory,

i havent written you a note in awhile, but i really want to tell you all about how much you mean to us, and how much you have added to our ~~rapidly growing~~ little family.

your brother is S.M.I.T.T.E.N with you. he picks you up and hugs you so hard you cry and runs into your room when you wake up from your nap and makes sure you dont play with any toy smaller than a tennis ball {his rule, not ours} and talks to you in a high pitched soft coo and calls you things like "precious baby girly" and "em bop a teeny reeny" and "baby girliest" {i swear he didnt hear any of those from me ;)} and wants you to have your very own super hero cape {like he does} so you can be his "super princess emory" and so he can save you. he somehow figures out a way to save you without your cape, and you usually arent really excited about it bc it means he has physically removed you from whatever it is you were happily doing. he is an excellent big brother and i honestly never have to worry about you when you are with him. i routinely leave you in the playroom and you two will play and play and play with each other...just as long as you dont touch his train tracks on his train table {note: all small chokable toys were removed from playroom a long time ago}. and i trust him in this bc, as i said, he has a self-imposed "no toy smaller than a tennis ball" rule in his head and he ENFORCES it. we call him our little police man, but more on big brother later.

your favorite noise is your daddy coming in the side door. you hear the door close and keys jingle and you are grunting and babbling and crawling at lightning speed through the kitchen to meet him. he has to pick up both you and bennett for hugs every day bc you will NOT allow him to hold just bennett, even when bennett beats you to him. you insist on immediate attention.

i learned at your birthday party that you also will NOT allow momma to hold other babies. ive never seen you "aggressive" but there might have been a few stiff arms thrown at baby friends of yours when they crawled into my lap. i didnt have to deal with this when you were born bc bennett thought you were great. i have a feeling you will think baby brother is not that great.

you enjoy stacking objects, nesting objects, opening and closing things {DOORS} and digging through my purse and makeup bag {that i leave on the floor so you CAN play with it. you dont know how to unscrew anything...yet}.

your first word was puppy...or "puh puh" but recently you have been saying "hi!" when you first see someone and the puppy is now "stee stee", we guess you are trying to say steele. you say all sorts of other sounds and consonants and are constantly "talking", and will repeat/try to say things we say like "bottle" and "eat" and "dada". you only say the sound "ma ma" when you are crying and want someone to pick you up or when you are really REALLY tired. otherwise you just give me blank stares when i ask you to say my name.

your one year appointment is yet to be had, but you finally fit in 12 mo size bubbles/one pieces. you can still wear 9 mo dresses. your knee wrinkles are slowly fading away, despite our attempts to fatten you up and add to the rolls.
you want to walk and love walkers and running holding onto our fingers.

you scrunch up your nose and breathe out of it fast when you are being "sneaky" as we say.
you are very snugly and give us hugs on command.
you are quite the "diva" as we titled you, mainly bc you know what you want and you want it WHEN YOU WANT IT.
but you are very easy and as long as someones holding you or paying you attention you will go anywhere and do anything with us with little to no fuss.
'cept you dont like long trips in your car seat.

you are addicted to your pink blankies, you have three. your brother had around ten different types of blankies and never showed preference. we never gave you one blankie over the other but apparently you are NOT color blind and ARE a girl bc you look strangely at the blue, green or yellow blankies and throw them down. the pink ones, however, you carry around like your own little papoose...thrown over your shoulder, on your back, in your tight fist, or even lion-cub like in your MOUTH.

speaking of mouths youve been eating table food since six months and, even though ive tried, you will not touch baby food of any kind. therefore the only vegetable you will let past your lips has been broccoli in a casserole and most recently mushrooms, carrots, and celery in a crock pot recipe. thats it. but you are a very...healthy...eater like your brother aka you love food.
as of today you are on sippy cups with whole milk and happy as can be. your last bottle with solid formula was the night of your birthday, just like your brother, and its been sippy cups with formula-milk mixture until today before your nap.

you also love me.
and i love you.
boys and girls are so different and while the love is not more or less, the love honestly is a little different, at least for me.
bennett stole my heart when he was born.
but you have my soul.
i honestly feel like we just "get" each other...ive always known exactly what you wanted or needed when you cried, unlike your brother. we actually joke together, if thats even possible at this age, and youve always acted like you understand what im telling you.
you are more dependent on me and your daddy than bennett was at this age, but thats probably bc you know nothing different.

your little feisty spirit is exactly what God knew you needed, being thrown right slap in the middle between two brothers.
you make your daddy smile his biggest smiles and
you make your momma cry her biggest blessed cries

those big blue eyes stare at mine when i hold you and i know there are a lot of things you have tucked away to teach me one day.

you are one.

you are amazing

love

momma

wedded bliss

2011-09-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

my baby sister was married off this weekend

i am very happy that the boy we "gave" her to has been considered family for quite some time now, so its not like shes going anywhere

OH WAIT.
she is.
we havent been more than three hours apart our entire life and she is moving off to houston, tx. i actually couldnt be more excited for them and their little newlywed adventure, but cant help but be a little jealous of the city that will now get to have her as its newest resident.
shes been on her honeymoon for just a couple days and i already have wanted to call her thirty three times about thirty three different things.
*sigh*
i need to just cut the cord and let her go.

BUT i have to say she did make probably the most stunning bride EVER...and while i may be biased, i think you might agree:

more pics to come when we get some back from the photographer. these are all i was able/remembered/in the mind frame to take!

kirklands home anybody?

2011-09-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

ok i have a major confession to make.
and many of you probably have been there.
and im not knocking those who still are....
BUT when stephen and i were first married we lived in an apartment in montgomery, al. {note: thats not the confession :)}

we lived there for about 5 or 6 months, surrounded by all the goodness that is bachelor-with-hand-me-down-navy-and-maroon-furniture. dont get me wrong, we were grateful for it. and its not like we had any money to be buying things ourselves, so hand me downs were FABULOUS. thankfully i had also not "come into my own" when it came to: what exactly is natalie's grown up adult taste aside from the taste of the company she works and designs for?.

yea, i wasnt really "there" yet.

anyway, we bought our first house in a wonderful little...cookie cutter...neighborhood. we envisioned strolling our babies on the perfectly groomed sidewalks to the picturesque little pond and feeding the ducks after work.
i would tell people "turn onto grayson grove, drive a little ways, and its the third house that looks exactly the same on the left."
there is a lot of nostalgia tied up in that great little house...we drive by it every time we visit or even drive through montgomery.
well, after being in the house for probably 2 or 3 weeks i made a trip to target and then kirklands home. two wonderful wallet friendly stops to quickly "decorate" our new home. {insert clearing of the throat}
i came home with a trunk full of towels, tuscan inspired "wall art", clocks, candle sticks, and other rusti-cized metal decorative objects...with receipts totaling right over $200.

it was stephens and my first...discussion...concerning finances and what exactly we are to be spending money on {i.e. NOT stuff to decorate the house...think power bill and a brand spankin new mortgage}.

oh the good ole days

well, i still love me some target, and thankfully they have stepped it up over the past seven or so years with some nicely stylish things for the home {i still occasionally spec their stuff for clients}.

kirklands, however....well to say ive avoided the place is an understatement.
its just not my bag baby.

so enter pleasantly surprised me when i stumbled upon their website {due to a pinterest find, then curiosity, then click...}. they actually have some fabulous little gems hidden between all the particle board, polyester, and "s" scrolls.

let me treat you to a few

and because halloween is right around the corner:

for your door, not your wall of course

amazing right? i love seeing these consumer stores step it up a notch and infuse some sophisticated style on their shelves.

maybe i should stop by ours and see if my $8 merchandise credit is still good.......

abundant blessings

2011-09-15T10:17:00.002-05:00

there are those moments that hit you like a ton of bricks...those little moments where you feel God has opened up a little outlet to heaven right here on earth.

{iphone pic by rachel}

i am finding that if you train yourself, literally train yourself, to always be searching for these tiny blessings - that finding them becomes the easy part.

it is also true that it seems in the darkest, hardest trials of my life i have felt Gods hand the strongest. i have leaned on him and depended on him more intensely and my faith has been strengthened...even if it has taken me what i later feel is too long to truly turn all over to him.

but what of the good times? the happy times? the every day life times? too often during these times i can casually forget my eyes are to always be looking towards him. if its not praying for strength and relief and wisdom during difficult times, then there should be praises and thank yous and gracious awareness of how wonderful the "dailies" of life are.

{iphone pic by rachel}

when i think about all the things i do on a daily basis - the thoughts, actions, motions, etc that i dont even realize i am doing...the habitual things...i realize just that - i have developed a habit of doing them. without sounding trite, i believe being grateful and thankful every day - even in the worst of times {i.e. seeing that "silver lining" or "staying positive"} - creates in you a habit of being positive and always deferring to the good things. therefore making you a happier person. if we are always looking for huge miracles or blatantly amazing occurrences, we miss all the wonderful blessings the Lord daily surrounds us with.

and i hate that i miss so many of them.

{am i starting to sound like a self-help-er?? :) }

if you havent read "one thousand gifts" i highly recommend it. its a beautiful reminder of all the simple, commonly taken-for-granted things in life that should NOT be neglected or forgotten to be thanked for. and since, personally, i love making big deals out of tiny things if it means deriving happiness....i am all behind the premise of this book :)

and when you are more aware of all the blessings the Lord DOES place in our daily lives...all those ordinary miracles we mistakenly allow the world to cloud over for us, daily life itself turns into one abundant blessing after another.

even if its as simple as snuggling with your sickly 11 month old watching praise baby while her unborn baby brother kicks her in the back.

or ~~almost~~ tearing up upon walking into "sesame street live" with your four year old because you are so excited for how excited THEY are {dont laugh...or do laugh. im fine with that! :) }

or dipping warm french bread into hot savory chicken noodle soup

or just watching butterflies flutter and land on wildflowers at sunset.

{iphone pic by rachel}

i love feeling God in all these moments...and realizing that - even when i neglected to or forgot to thank him for them - he was always there in them just the same.

how great is our God??

{oldie but a goodie - gets me every time}

the perfect storm

2011-09-07T19:48:00.001-05:00

lee has come and gone, and thankfully there isnt much damage down on our end. we didnt change our plans and still headed down to the beach for the entire holiday weekend. honestly there isnt anywhere else i would rather be during a storm. i like the beach sunny, rainy, stormy {loooove it stormy}, cold, hot, fall, you get the idea.
stephen was on call in baldwin county so we actually got to see him this weekend, and thankfully it was a slow one so we saw a lot of him!

it was a weekend filled with relaxing, lots of food and snacks, a couple outings {yes even in this weather we were out on the streets}, lots of football, and other kid friendly indoor activities.

saturday morning mimi, doc, and my sister accompanied the kids and i to pensacola to the naval air museum. this was our "go to" rainy day outing when i was little. we spent a LOT of time at the beach when i was little. first at my grandparents cabin in gulf shores and then at my parents house on weekends {no matter the season} and most of the summer.
we hadnt visited the museum in probably more than 15 years but when we realized it would be raining the entire weekend, i knew we had to take bennett {and emory but, you know, mainly bennett}.

honestly we kinda took my dad too bc, like his father before him, he LOVES this stuff. years in the air force and a general love of every type of knowledge made him like a kid in a candy store.

and he and bennett ATE.IT.UP.

they had a great hands-on activities, a kids open play area, and plenty of cock pits for the kids to climb in/on

~~/for the adults to prop the kids in/on~~

im sorry emory...i just had to record this phase in life of yours...: whenever hand goes to mouth, at least one finger goes to nose. it is SO attractive

they also had amazingly flattering curved mirrors

we cheered on our auburn tigers when we got home...and i was a little ok a LOT perturbed when those wanky auburn fans started to leave the stadium at the end of the game bc they thought we were going to lose. yes, i have left the stadium when we were getting PUMMELED by some high ranking team and there were seconds left....but COME ON the score was SO close and the game was NOT over yet. obviously.
so, war eagle by the hair of our chinny chin chin!!! whew!
i guess a wins a win at this point, no matter how ugly it was.
{right?}

{above pictures result from camera being on wrong setting, which produced solid black photos, which was thankfully remedied..sorta...in photoshop. so THANK YOU photoshop bc i LOVE these pics of my war eagle babies}

so, like i was saying, we ate and we ate and we ate.

{what we call "little bits of everything"...for lack of any real title. i give this to bennett for dinner/lunch when he is burned out on his usual/i remember to do it. he always eats EVERYTHING i put in the pan...and he never would if i just put it on a plate!!}

i made these

Source: ohmysugarhigh.com via Natalie on Pinterest

that i found off pinterest and they were not good at all.
i mean the flavor was OK, but they were extremely cakey and mainly dry vs ooey and gooey like all good donut holes SHOULD be.
and, sure, it could be the extremely hot oven we have or just a chef issue {i dont have good luck baking at the beach...remembering hockey puck biscuits}...but i dont think ill be trying them again.
*sigh*

back on the kiddo front, stephen taught bennett how to play "battle" with cards and we played several games.

and if you know anything about that game you know how long it takes to go through an entire deck.
......
{minus the jack, queens, kings, and aces}

the clouds finally opened a bit on sunday afternoon and we were able to take some walks on our little beach.
bennett and stephen went first and, while they were down there, bennett told stephen: "daddy we are seashell brothers" {as they were picking up shells} and continued to refer to him as "seashell brother" the entire little walk. and when i decided to go join them bennett excitedly exclaimed: "mommy! daddy and i are seashell brothers and now you are our seashell sister!".

emory learned how to cruise along furniture and go from one piece of furniture across to the next and is now trying her darndest to walk. its happening a little fast for me but, as with bennett, i am not one who subscribes to the "push them down!" "dont let her crawl/walk!" mentality. {yes i actually have people say that repeatedly when i mention they are about to crawl/walk!}. my kids are so much happier once they can propel themselves in some way and i LOVE seeing those little smiles of satisfaction when they figure it all out :)

tropical storm lee proved to be a fun and interesting "event" for us...lots and lots of rain, water that rose to the bottom of the boat dock but thankfully not over, wind that shook windows and woke us up at night, no loss of power {crazy}, and a wonderful amount of family fun time.
...and eating.
did i mention eating?

{this does not of course take away from the damage that lee DID do to other areas...our little alabama coast has had its share of intense hurricanes/natural disasters so im just thankful this one did minor damage in comparison...}

hope everyone out there in bloggy land faired ok, and all your power is back on!

my little blue dessert

2011-09-01T19:42:00.002-05:00

poor little baby number three.
he has not had much mention on the blog, but he definitely is topic numero uno around our little household. so i thought i would do a post in honor of our little caboose...and in honor of all things BLUE and MASCULINE and BOY

Source: oheskimo.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: fabricworm.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: shak-shuka.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: flor.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: vivafullhouse.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: fschumacher.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: shop.emersonmade.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: josevillablog.com via Natalie on Pinterest

i am eagerly anticipating this re-entry into the world of BLUE

and BOY ;)

photo dump day

2011-08-25T16:45:00.001-05:00

i seem to best write blog posts when there isnt one specific big thing to say. just random ramblings.
and when im done, i feel very accomplished at covering such a myriad of topics. :)
so here goes:

when coloring this morning, bennett called me in to see his "potato bug on a skateboard"

excuse me??
anybody??

fabric inspiration for clients formal living room

4.5 yds just received for future project in casa de moi

our back to school supper happened the night before the second day of school, but it was memorable nonetheless ~~because honestly when was the last time i a)set the table b)ate at the table c)cooked many things at once~~

stephens job is a crazy one. he is on call every weekend of the month save one {so basically only has two days off a month} and generally walks out the door by 6am and is home 12-13 hours later. we are blessed he has a great job but it does not come without sacrifices from all of us. however, as time marches on one little perk of his job is that every once in awhile we are able to "steal" a day...work is slow and he is able to manage his own time as a result.
take today. after working all morning, he comes home and we decide last minute to venture out

lunch at bimini bobs {never been there} which was delicious.
it felt like a saturday but unlike any saturday weve had recently! gotta love that spur of the moment family time. my babies sure do love this man

{i guess i kinda do too}

stephen took bennett while i was gathering all the GEAR from the table and, when i got up to pick up emory, the older couple behind us gasped and started whispering "honey! do you see that!" "aw yes she is getting the baby" "no look at her...she is pregnant AND has that baby AND i swear there was another little boy at the table!" "oh my i think youre right."
i didnt realize we were a spectacle but it makes me smile very happy blessed smiles.
{and dont they know that, while i may be pregnant yes and have many small children, i am not DEAF}

cause this pregnancy thing is FOR REAL
{sorry pic is in front of the shower...its the only place there is a mirror with good lighting in my house...}

emory is learning quickly

i obviously {OBVIOUSLY} waited too long to do any "pretty naked baby sitting still" pictures.

there was no staying on the white blanket and the paci props my assistant was supposed to be using to distract emory from crawling ended up just being used as she saw fit

i wish i had discovered this tea earlier in my pregnancy...or in either of my previous ones

seriously - the peaceful mama tea makes you feel like someone hit you upside the head with a two by four and it was the best experience of your life. you just want to chill on the sofa and think pretty thoughts.

the heartburn tea really does work wonders on my poor squished tummy.

i just wish i had discovered this tea back in the first and early second trimester...

hope everyone is having a great week! i have a bachelorette weekend coming up for one younger sister of mine and i am so ready to bare this belly in all its pregnant goodness and strut the streets like i own them.
and by that i mean curl up in a hotel bed and watch a movie and sleep in {till 7:30 or so} and eat in restaurants and wander streets aimlessly with no inner clock i.e. child telling me its nap time.

till next time!

back to school

2011-08-23T21:22:00.001-05:00

and we were all smiles around here

no tears

{from any of us!}

which makes my heart very happy

as does our new school this year. its a church school. a tiny beautiful church school {mothers day out through 4 year old preschool}. bennetts class read a book called designed by God, so i must be special on the first day. bout time God took his rightful place as head of bennetts education! :) i just love that his spiritual self will also be receiving attention, along with his social, mental, and physical self.

but dont get me wrong, just because there was an exhausting day of school does NOT mean my afternoon was spent relaxing as both children konked out for hours upon hours of naptime.

NOPE

bennett didnt sleep a wink and his sister only rested for 45 minutes.

we shall see how things even out/calm down as this new routine carries on.

{naps naps naps naps please please please please}

random thoughts by natalie on a thursday afternoon

2011-08-18T16:14:00.003-05:00

haha

thought this was an appropriate follow up title to mondays post...
;)

i just bought three more of THESE...light switch extensions that glow in the dark. we have had one in the playroom and one in each of the bathrooms in the back of our house since bennett was old enough to walk to his playroom and play by himself. now we need one in his room and eventually the other baby rooms.

they are LIFESAVERS. {also helps with potty training! more inclined to "do it by myself" if they really can do EVERYTHING by themselves}

this girl is on the move

and i cant get enough of her roly poly chunks of thighs.
{seriously...where are all my pictures of her thighs??? i know i have some...}
she is happier, i am happier, and poor steele is perhaps a little un-happier.
the girl LOVES her "puh puh" {puppy}{i am THIS close to counting it as her first word...but im just a little thrown off as bennett wasnt even vocalizing recognizable sounds until over a year old. so ill just wait until she starts asking me for her bottle straight out to consider her talking for real :) }

i am loving pinterest.
i kinda go on spells where i will forget about it, but the other day i somehow came across THIS pretty mess of a site and was overwhelmed with inspiration.

its been awhile since i was overwhelmed with inspiration to this extent.
gorgeous pictures of all kinds and i
ate. it. up.
for 45 minutes one night while stephen was watching deadliest catch.

speaking of, look who we ran into in orange beach last weekend:
{facebook friends youve already seen this silly pic}

you are exactly right.
thats none other than wild bill of the kodiak crab boat, out of alaska, and his son.
they were in town visiting a friend they said {and on a stop of their...world tour?...since driving from alaska is pretty much traveling the GLOBE in my opinion}
and i was the one who first saw and recognized him.
maybe embarrassing to some, but to my husband i might as well have bought him antique dueling fire arms off pawn stars and served him homemade smothered porkchops with rice and gravy, all at the same time. he was proud of me and the few skills ive gathered from my random glances at the tv when deadliest catch is on.
{as i mentioned, im usually working or at least oogling the latest wonder in the blogging/design world}

speaking of oogling...i know ive said...and said...on here that we are thinking of redo-ing some stuff around our house {furniture/accessories/paint/KITCHEN...i.e. doing to my house what i do to others for a living...}. ive been quite giddy and have had the plan and vision worked out for, oh i dont know, YEARS.
and now little mr. baby #3 has changed things a bit.
instead of all the things in my head, we might be tearing down an old ugly tree, adding a room, and getting a new roof and new insulation in our attic.
= no fun but must be done.
{love you teenie tiny little baby...you are changing our lives in more ways than you {or we} well know...and we couldnt be happier :)...id trade a million new kitchens for one little newborn snuggle from you}

*happy sigh*

a girl can still dream so i am still looking and thinking...so while a kitchen redo ~~might be~~ is WAY out of the question any time soon, maybe a little bit of sprucing up around the ole humble abode might occur along the way.
as in gradual.
as in baby step by teenie tiny baby step. {literally...}
i finally found my green velvet i want to use on a sofa one day...i knew it could never be real mohair velvet, or anything similar. it needed to have the look and feel and richness of velvet but be kid friendly, durable, and TOUGH.
oh, and pretty darn affordable.
AND it had to be the right color...no brown-y, sage-y, or neon-y hint.
DONE, DONE and DONE!
my dear friend robert allen has this in their contract line and the wholesale price is quiiiiiiiiitttttttteeeeeeeeee pleasing to my eye

and it would look great on any of the following sofas {i have to decide if i want traditional english rolled arm or more structured, nail head look....what are your votes?}

ill let you know in 5-10 years what we choose

;)

jk.

the kids start school and MDO on monday {cyber fist pump} and we are trying to cram some beach weekends in while we can. last weekend was our first trip since the 4th and it was a welcomed change of pace.

and now a litte comparison:

emory

natalie

i woke up saturday morning and decided i wanted to make biscuits.

who knows.

i scrounged around the house and found most of the ingredients i needed.

had to make my own buttermilk with milk and white vinegar but other than that everything was there.

they were good but did NOT rise. might have something to do with the baking soda and baking powder dating back to prehistoric times....just conjecturing ;)

whew!

ok i think im all out of thoughts for today!

well maybe except for this one:

adios!

deep thoughts by natalie on a monday afternoon

2011-08-15T11:38:00.003-05:00

ok im probably the most fickle blog writer ever, but i have reposted the original post, WITH the dream below. honestly this was a testament on how much we bloggers sometimes depend more than we think we do on commenters {you!}. i posted the original post, and didnt get a single comment for more than 30 hours. no big deal but when i already felt like i was sharing something a little...personal/deep/intense to me, i got a little insecure and thought maybe it was crossing that extremely fine "to post or not to post" line. BUT, your comments were so sweet and you did really seem to get what i was trying to imply with the dream, vs something morbid or whatnot.

SO, its back up :) thanks for being supportive and understanding me sometimes! haha

love you ALL! {even you crazy non commentors...yea, even YOU}

i had a dream last night...and i want to write about it because i dont ever want to forget it.
{and you know how the second you try to remember a dream, you forget it...}

i also love hearing other peoples dreams and figuring out what they mean...ive always had such intense, vivid dreams. and i always remember them. especially when im pregnant :)

anyway, in this dream, there was some crazy typical dream stuff i dont remember...but somehow i ended up in a car...like an old crown victoria or something, and a young boy was in the drivers sear {probably 7 or so}. he had the car in reverse and pressed full force on the pedal. we zoomed backwards, and i was in the backseat. we crossed over two lanes of busy interstate and somehow made it ok. i was trying to get him to stop but couldnt get to the front with all the bumps and, well, that lack of strength we seem to have in dreams. we shot backwards out to a road with a construction "danger" sign and i knew there couldnt be anything good behind it.
i knew what was about to happen and i prayed for the little boy and myself and then started saying the Lords prayer.
and then there was complete happiness. and i felt so ... complete. no pain no nothing. just happy and free and wonderful. i opened my eyes and there was a podium in front of me, with a figure behind it. there were colors and beauty all around me...dont remember specifics, just so gorgeous. the podium had bright flowers all over the top, and they felt like velvet and every time i touched them they flew off into the air and more appeared.
the figure at the podium looked at something and then let me walk past and then i was just happy. i thought about stephen and emory and bennett and the baby, but knew they were ok. i felt sad in missing them but at the same time i wasnt sad at all. i was just so happy.
then my sister erin showed up. i knew by now i was in heaven, or at least waiting to fully enter into heaven? there were other people there too, but i dont think i knew any of them. i dont know if erin was a figment of my imagination or actually there, but she told me stephen and the babies were really sad, but that there were a lot of people with them and they were going to be ok.
all of a sudden an image popped up in the midst of all the colors and i could see the big car, where it landed. it was all crushed and totaled. i felt a surge of pain and intense sadness for the first time since the wreck and i ran to the image, knowing it meant i was going to go back to stephen and my babies.
then i heard a voice inside me tell me: it is your choice to go, but i would love for you to stay. you are my child. you will see them again. i am letting you choose.
i stopped dead in my tracks and the second i did, the image disappeared. all the hurt and pain disappeared too. i then felt intensely happy and complete again.
and then i woke up.
wide awake at 3:30am.
and i was actually happy and wanted to wake stephen up and tell him about my dream.
i feel like i remembered more at 3:30 than i do now...but still what i remember is so...memorable.

how weird is that??? i dont do well talking about these types of things, with me or especially with anyone i love. i think i have too big of an imagination so its just too....intense to even spend a thought on it. so the fact that i was so happy...so blissful and comforted...threw me off {and still does...im almost in tears writing about this bc its just too REAL}. i dont think the dream means anything in the foreshadowing aspect {ew creepy}...but the fact that i woke up happy means a lot to me :) ive never had a heaven dream...but this was a good one.

and now to jump from what some might feel is a morbid sensibility to an uplifting song i heard on a day i really needed to hear it.

probably another pregnancy-crazy hormone thing, but it was on a day i was just feeling down. no reason i can pin point, just down in the dumps and slightly annoyed, a long day at home. stephen had just gotten home and i was in the car by myself {a very rare thing}, drinking some hot tea, driving to see my sister and her final wedding dress fitting. i took out bennetts preschool songs cd and put in a cd i made years ago, titled "hope" {i made three cds for all the women in my family one christmas, titled "faith", "hope" and "love."}

the first song that played was one by mindy gledhill...i will rest in you

ive heard it a million times but at that moment it was the exact song i needed to hear.
it amazing sometimes when things get crazy, life gets wild, and i get too caught up in it all...all i need is a place to rest. and its so beautiful that His arms are always open, and they always available, and they are always waiting.

we just have to remember where to turn! :)

enjoy!

long way home, OR: how NOT to fly with young children

2011-08-10T15:06:00.000-05:00

as i mentioned, stephen left me for a WEEK a couple weeks ago for a once in a lifetime trip opportunity to alaska.
i had been planning my week flying solo for awhile...a few nights at home, maybe a few nights at my parents, maybe a beach excursion, definitely a few "rachel {youngest sis} will you stop by on your way home from work and give a momma a hand" nights.
however stephens plane had barely left the tarmack when we received word that his grandmother, who had been sick and battling failing health for years, had passed away. its never easy to lose a loved one, but comfort was gained in the knowledge that, after years of discomfort, nursing homes, and emergencies, she was vocally ready for rest. she was ready to go Home.

i thought about making the 6 hour drive to louisiana for all of two seconds, since with two children that drive would easily turn into an at least 8 hour trek with potty breaks, diaper stops, bottle feedings, snacks, and meltdowns.
no thank you.
of all times to skymiles it, this was the time.

i psyched myself into thinking this was going to completely be manageable...all i needed was a pantry filled with snacks, a refrigerator, a few jump houses/ball pits, a movie theater, a bottle warmer, and a crib.
ive SO got that.
seriously though, i packed as many snacks from all food groups as i could, formula, brand new puzzles and markers and paper, praise baby dvds, charged dvd player, baby sally cloud {emorys baby doll, named by big bro}, pacis, blankies, diapers, blah blah blah.

i ~~naively~~ fully anticipated emory taking a nap on the first leg of the trip {hour flight to atlanta} bc, i mean, she would be tired. yeaaaaa no.
our first leg was...bumpy. some predictable fussing and squirming and not sleeping by "infant-in-arms",

but overall amazement and excitement by "traveling-with-young-child."

baby sally cloud is quite the attention-hog {see feet in foreground}

phil and teds served us well this trip {still cannot express my undying love for this thing} and emory quickly fell asleep once we unloaded ourselves off the plane {bc it took some serious unloading}. i was fine, just a little flustered, until i got to the escalator to switch terminals and realized i was going to have to take an elevator.
and wait in a line behind no less, NO LIE, than 35 wheelchairs.
i started mumbling "im going to miss my plane" under my breath but noone really cared about the frazzled pregnant lady and the bright green stroller. *sigh*
we finally made it down to the tram, over one terminal, and back on the right level. brother in law called to make sure we were there and went to stand in line for me at burger king so i had something to eat for lunch {kids had plenty of snacks, and i grabbed b a smoothie...i should have had a smoothie, too, but gross pregnancy feelings were leaving me lightheaded and weak and momma needed SUSTENANCE - if you can call burger king that...}
i got to the gate and met my other brother in law who was watching his and michaels bags.
and now, stage left, enters our devilish antagonist: queen imabitchflightattendantwhohatesmyjobandeveryonecanjustcrawltoyourdestinationidontgivearatsbehind.
for real.
first strike: basically told me in slightly fewer words that i was up a creek and there was nothing she could do about my "gate check in" seat status, even though i was traveling with a companion who had been placed four rows behind me, and even though that companion was THREE. she shoo'd me away and just told me to deal with it.
strike two: she starts loading up the plane fifteen minutes early, and zooms from "first class and medallion flyers" to "final call! final call getcho self up here or were leaving your a$$" faster than bennett could say "i like trains." the second half of this strike two was that david and i tried calling to michael, who was still waiting in line at burger king for me, but she told us we could not call him, leave any part of our individual luggage to run over to him, or stand there for one more moment or she was closing the doors. {there are still wheelchair passengers waiting to be helped on the plane}.
strike three: she literally pushes me and my baby-filled stroller through the door, david...with michaels suitcase...right behind me. and then she closes the door.
this may not sound very dramatic in type, but GAH it was exhausting.
michael and the burger king DID get on the plane - but not without some "blah blah wah wah"-ing from queen she-devil.
and i was able to get bennett and me on the same row.
and during take off emory may or may not have tee teed through the side of her diaper, all over me and my skirt.
i might or might not have waddled to the bathroom at the opposite end of the plane to change her diaper standing up, then drenching my skirt and legs in that tiny plane bathroom sink with my extra arm.
BUT, we made it.

the funeral was in the tiny country town of coushatta, LA. bennett was well behaved but emory started making happy "ptttttttt" noises during the actual funeral, so the kids and i opted for a "nature hike" around the funeral home, looking for locust shells {remember those? i thought they were SO cool when i was little}.
we stayed with emory and bennetts great grandmother, mamaw preston, during the trip, and later that afternoon emory got to meet her great great grandmother mamaw thomas {shes 100 yall}.

i LOVE this picture...mainly bc emory looks HUGE and more like her big brother at this age :) CHUNKY MONKEY

and there is always the visit to hickory stick barbeque - funny how these traditions of my inlaw family are mine now as well, as ive almost known them longer than i havent. i took and texted this picture to stephen. so what if he was fishing on a pristine glacier lake in the middle of wilderness USA, i was in shreveport eating hickory stick. so THERE

we probably slept all of ten hours total those three days in louisiana, but i still wouldnt trade it.
even the part when i got to the airport on friday to fly home and didnt have my ID. bags were searched and calls were made but i knew it wasnt just misplaced...it was gone. out of a pocket of my purse at some point during the trip over.
it only took some haggling by my dear brother in laws, a few purposeful belly rubs {i mean sometimes you gotta milk this pregnant-lady thing for all its worth}, and some intense questioning by a TSA agent on the phone with Big Brother {who knew, besides all the expected stuff, my neighbors names, mother in laws birthdate and full name, how many kids i had, was having, and their ages, how long we had lived at our house, mothers full name including middle and maiden, and old address.}
im glad they needed to know all of that, but it was a little movie-esque.
but we got home.
tired, plane-dirty, completely out of snacks, and did i mention TIRED.

{kelley how did you fly to china with two small children...i kept thinking about you the entire time...i probably sound ridiculous :)}

it really wasnt that bad, it was just memorable and typical of flying with small kids by yourself.
and makes for a kinda crazy story.
but i got my ID back {thank you delta}
bennett got to meet the pilots {thank you delta}
bennett got to eat lots of biscotti cookies {but never soon enough...he asked me the entire taxi and take off "is the fight attendant coming now? are dey bringing me my cookies and apple juice?"}
emory got to see what life would REALLY be like if she did indeed live in my lap {like she thinks she wants to while we are at home}
and momma had intense bonding time with her two babies...and honestly, honestly, loved every minute of it.
even the tee tee part
ok maybe not the tee tee part.

and we were SOOO glad to return to the airport early sunday morning to pick up a weary daddy, straight off the red eye, exhausted from his week long visit to the frozen-at-times U.S. tundra.

poor guy

{insert worlds tiniest violin}

;)

snapshots

2011-08-05T22:40:00.000-05:00

of recent work...

finally, a place to use my beloved hicks pendants {circa lighting}

items purchased...


{hickory chair simone headboard}

bench for the same bedroom, by hickory chair...

upholstered in this:

completely differnt project: reclaimed shutters-turned queen headboard. love the hardware

antique door panels-turned queen headboard

old door-turned king headboard. gorgeous weathered soft gray finish

items coveted...

i wish this picture was bigger...lee industries shelter wing chair


schumacher bleecker in biscuit

christopher farr cloth venecia in voile

progress made...

i love the design phase of work, of course.
but i LOVE the implementation.
and the CONSTRUCTION

its fun to FINALLY see where all your time is going...and the design business is a slllloooowwwww one...especially when dealing with those blasted 14-16 week lead times.

oh, and i love old wood

that will serve as a ceiling treatment {reclaimed beams and barn siding} on another project...

ive got some catching up to do on this here blog...husband left me for a week last week {to alaska nonetheless}, during which the kiddos and i quickly and unexpectedly hopped...or scrambled...on a plane to louisiana to attend a relatives funeral.

it was quite the interesting week for all involved.

good news though, i received my drivers license in the mail today... thank you delta

...if that gives you even the remotest glimpse into the insanity that accompanied me and my two monkeys on our "quick flight" two states over.

yea, there are some stories...and pictures...always pictures

:)

ratatouille

2011-08-03T10:32:00.000-05:00

the dish, not the animated rat

im always looking for easy dishes, things that i perhaps can make ahead, forget about, and then VOILA its dinnertime and i dont have to do more than spoon it on a plate.
enter the crock pot.
such a friendly little guy. i need to give him more attention. hes just so darn NICE.

i recently found this ratatouille recipe simply by googling "organic natural foods crock pot".
just trying to find healthy stuff using fresh ingredients {you can make it organic or not based on what you purchase}.
it was GREAT.

recipe:

Ratatouille
2 onions, cut in half and sliced
1 large eggplant, sliced, cut into cubes
4 small zuchinni, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into thin strips {i used one red and one orange cause i dont like green}
8 oz mushrooms, sliced {i easily could have -and should have- added another 8 oz}
2 lbs stew meat {i think its two pounds...i used one package and they are usually in about 1 lb increments. it definitely needed another package of the meat}
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 6oz can tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
olive oil {it says 1/4 c, i didnt measure}
red pepper flakes to taste {be careful with these...heat from the dish makes the spicy flavor intensify!}
freshly shaved parmesean cheese
fresh parsley, chopped

1. layer half the veggies/meat in large crock pot in the following order: onion, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, meat, tomatoes.
2. sprinkle half the basil, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper on veggies.
3. dot with half of the tomato paste.
4. repeat layering process with remaining veggies/meat, spices, and paste
5. drizzle with olive oil
6. cover and cook on LOW for 7-9 hours

there are so many ways to serve this. for the first night, i toasted a demi parmesean loaf of bread, sliced lengthwise and cut it in half to have four pieces of bread. i placed the bread toasted side up in a bowl, poured ratatouille over it, and topped with parmesean cheese and fresh parsley

i couldnt eat all my bread but stephen gobbled it up. so so good and good for you.

last night i took the remainder of the ratatouille, poured it in a blender, and blended it into a tomato type sauce. i sauteed some shrimp, boiled some whole wheat tight spiral noodles, and combined all {topped with parmesean and parsley of course}. another hit.
i still have a ton of this noodle dish left but it will be great for freezing and using in the weeks to come.

the ratatouille would also be good as a base for a pizza, served over rice or pasta, or just by itself.
it could also easily be halved to produce a more...manageable portion :)

enjoy!

i caved

2011-07-31T16:32:00.001-05:00

so i had big, crazy plans of not finding out was little bebe #3 was {gender wise}...to which stephen quickly replied: thats ok. ill just find out and not tell you.
um NO!
plus, i loved LOVED knowing what each of my other babies were...same surprise just different timing :)
anyway, we found out and im so glad we did!
here is the video of us telling bennett {who was still in his "sleepy shirt" aka nap shirt at mimi and docs}:

* walker is one of bennetts best friends...i thought it was so funny that this was his immediate thought after us telling him about the baby. and that he and walker talk about these things at school. AND that walker has every plan of his mommy having a baby girl...hear that ashley? better get busy! ;) hehe*

we are SO excited, of course, and couldnt wish for anything more than our precious healthy baby.
i have to be honest and tell you, the pure miracle of life does not get any less sweet with each pregnancy.
i still cry like a baby watching that little life {who, at our last viewing, was a teeny little tadpole-looking, flipper-yielding bean} all of a sudden look so ALIVE and REAL...opening and closing his mouth, kicking, twisting, pulling and grasping at unknown objects, responding to movements on the outside of my tummy {i.e. us proding and shoving the belly trying to get him to change positions for the anatomy scan portion of the ultrasound}.
one of my favorite things to see is the spine...i mean WOW how intricately and beautifully we are formed...even in the womb.

it is true, though, that i am so excited about this new baby that i kinda conveniently forget just how crazy the next few years of my life will be.

well, to that, i say
BRING.IT.ON.

i know there will be tears, and tantrums, and drama, and chaos...from both babies AND momma...but i am attempting to start this off on the right foot and already praying that i will take the precious, much needed time to realize that with great blessings come great responsibility...that each insane sleep/planning deprived day will also be filled with more than my deserved share of coos, kisses, and snuggles; nose scrunches, first steps, first words, developing feisty toddler personality and death grips of unconditional love and dependency; imagination, ideas, questions, and innocently beautiful life truths as revealed through the mind of a four year old.
and now im going to bookmark this post so that when i AM in the midst of an overwhelmed, laundry throwing, spit-up cleaning, dirty dish rearing tantrum i have somewhere to go to snap me back in line :)

daddys home!

2011-07-26T22:33:00.000-05:00

my favorite time of day

and this is what he is met with every afternoon when he does make it home:

God bless those daddys :)

a little texture

2011-07-22T15:29:00.000-05:00

you know i love it in interiors

Source: myhomeideas.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: None via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: simplyseleta.com via Natalie on Pinterest

texture added by natural woven shades, knubby throws, velvets mixed with linens mixed with natural fibers, weathered or worn accents, antiques, organic or living accents {i.e. house plants, living or once-living artifacts, "brown" or "green" items}, mixing metals, etc.

mmmm gets me all tingly inside.
;)

well i ALSO love texture when it comes to food.
while my daughter shys away from nearly anything with texture less than solid food, i on the other hand love the play of textures when it comes to edibles.
and in our quest to eat more natural, or whole, or less processed, or whatever you want to call it, i found this recipe that was definitely a reach into the world of food super texture.
stephen has always been a good sport when it comes to trying things...since marrying me he now regularly eats {and enjoys} things like couscous, edamame, sushi, mushrooms, and more recently hes traded in his oreos and lucky charms for things like these

and these

not too shabby, my processed food lover of a husband.
anyway, here is a recipe using an ingredient i have never cooked with before, wheat berries.

Chicken Cranberry Wheat Berry

1 lemon
3.5 cups of water {more if needed}
2 cups wheat berries, rinsed
1/2 cup white wine {i just used organic veggie broth , bc its what i had}
1 bay leaf
2 chicken breasts {ok im being honest here, i used rotisserie chicken which may completely defile my all-natural recipe, but im having an intense aversion to chicken right now and this was all i could deal with. we take what we can get}
exra virgin olive oil
1 ear of corn, cooked and corn removed from cob {i just boiled an ear of corn, frozen corn works too}
2tsp dried rosemary
3/4 cup dried organic cranberries
1/4 cup pistachios, shelled and toasted
2-3 sliced green onions
s&p to taste

extract juice from lemon and set aside. add water, wine {or broth}, wheat berries, and bay leaf to a pot. peel lemon and add peels to the pot {i just put the juiced lemon skin in the pot}. bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for around 2-3 hours, adding water if/when needed {you will}, until wheat berries have softened and start to split open a bit.
if you dont use rotisserie chicken, coat chicken breasts with olive oil, s&p. bake at 400 until cooked through. shred chicken.
when wheat berries are done, drain water and discard lemon and bay leaf.
add chicken, corn, rosemary, and cranberries.
stir then add lemon juice. add pistachios and sprinkle with green onions.

serve immediately warm, or at room temp, or cold!

it was a party of flavors and textures and absolutely delicious. we had it warm and then i ate it for lunch the next day cold. tastes great both ways!
note: i cooked half the recipe and it made plenty for two single-dish servings and then lunch the next day plus a little extra.

go and be bold! try something new!
{and three cheers for texture!}

the camp

2011-07-17T17:10:00.002-05:00

thats what my family calls the "hunting camp"... somewhere i have been visiting with friends since i was very young, then frequenting with my boyfriend in high school and college, then traveling to almost every available weekend during the "season" as an adult with my husband, children, and family on both sides.

ive written about it many many times on the blog over the years, but recently we have been without. basically timber companies stripped our family's leased land so there wasnt really anything left to lease.
so we have been campless, and therefore "woods-less" for awhile now.

*tear*
im not what one would call a big hunter, even tho ive done my share throughout the years,

im more of a sit and enjoy the fire and woods and cool breeze and outdoor smells and ok im about to have a conniption.
i want FALLLLL

anyway, while you might think of me as a beach person, considering it is where i have spent a third of each year of my life, i am finding that i am much more a woods person. nature and hills and trees and lakes and NATURE.

so lets just say i was thrilled when my parents purchased some land just north of us, about an hour away by car. {i wrote about it earlier this year, here}

we are used to staying in trailors at previous camps {or "country homes" as my father in law so aptly puts it} and while we have absolutely LOVED our trailer home winter weekend living, my parents knew it would have to be some sort of ridiculously ginormous trailor to house them, their three kids, spouses, and growing number of grandchildren.
so they bought the land and i started drawing the house the very next day :)

its not the first house i have ever drawn, or ever seen built, but its the very first house ive drawn and seen built that ive done all by myself. {aka not while working for someone else}
...i feel like i am four years old and waiting for my mom to say "natalie you are SUCH a BIG girl now."

my parents and my vision for this place have seriously evolved since day one, and i really doubt they will be able to kick me out once its built. especially since it should be finished right around the time i have a teenie newborn and will probably be housebound with three kids {cause seriously how do you go ANYWHERE with three kids? anyone? seriously how?}.
so i imagine i will be more than willing to sit in a cosy camp house enjoying this view:

{looking out back door and windows from dining room to lake - that is still filling up with water - master bedroom on the left, im standing in the foyer, den to the right, kitchen behind me to the left}

{looking through the den window and back door. fireplace on right wall}

while i sip on some hot tea and eat some sort of home made something. {bc if i am there with my newborn and two older kiddos, i expect my momma will be there too and she always has some sort of home made something lying around...like every good mimi should}

currently the house is under construction, so i will share some pics. i also might be posting some inspiration pics for different aspects of the home in the future, since i will definitely be in "camp house decor" mode over the next several months

{front of house, there will be huge gable with exposed timbers coming toward you that will serve as a porte cochere. window to the left is kitchen, front door in middle, door and windows to the right are second entrance to mudroom/gunroom}

{standing in dining room, looking towards kitchen window and front door to your left. laundry room/pantry to your right}

{view through master bedroom windows}

{view through upstairs window where stephen and i will sleep, since its next to the bunk room that houses all the grandkids...}

windows should ship at the end of this month and cabinets are being worked on as we speak.

i am one happy little lady...and very lucky my parents gave me this wonderful opportunity!
{and that i actually get to enjoy the fruits of my labor for years and years to come - i would say this is second place next to one day designing and building my own home :)}

______________________________________________________________
and if you are interested in this type of thing, i finally found the sliver of time to join pinterest and now i am happy to report i no longer have time to sleep or eat bc i am too busy pouring over my own personal form of crack.

its ridiculous. you are welcome to come follow me or just check out the deliciousness of all the inspiration available: HERE

au naturale

2011-07-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

ive had myself a sort of food revolution recently.
ive always cared about what i ate, and before kids always watched my fruits and veggies and portions.
and then i had kids and all care as to what was entering MY mouth flew out the window, accompanied by daily showers, alone time, and the "perfect clean house."
now that i think about it, the time i spent carrying and breastfeeding my children should have been the most AWARE periods of my food-and-drink-consuming life, buuuuuut i didnt always have the time {or stomach} to do more than just grab a bag of chips.

SO, after grabbing said bag of chips a couple weeks ago for the kazillionth time....i decided i was disgusting and everything i ate probably had some form of red dye 40 or some cancer causing processed THING in it.

i decided i {and my children/family} needed to enter into a healthier, more conscious way of living.
organic as much as possible, and processed as little as possible.
{cause seriously how much processed junk does bennett eat? for real. too much.}

its amazing how many resources there are out there to educate you on things like this. i definitely need to learn a lot more, but for now im doing what i can with the time and resources i have to help make us just that much healthier.
it definitely takes more effort, but i really believe this effort is some of the most important effort you could put forth, especially for your kids.
plus, you can buy organic at wal mart if necessary and it DOES taste better.

my first attempt to TRY a little harder came at lunch. i made homemade little pizzas with whole wheat english muffins, organic marinara, sliced mushrooms, and cheese {all organic}.

emory and i ate them UP and bennett took a couple bites before gagging and asking for a pb&j.
*sigh*
i tried.
bennett has definitely NOT been my biggest cheerleader.
in fact he is either wanting mac and cheese or a cereal bar 99% of the time.
it comes with his age, i know...but i WILL keep working on him.

something else emory LOVES is carrot cashew spread.

Carrot Cashew Spread
{from wholefoodsmarket.com}

3 carrots, chopped
3/4 cup raw cashew pieces
15 dried apricots, quartered

put carrots in small pot and cover with 2 inches water. bring to a boil, reduce to medium low heat, and simmer about 10 minutes. add cashews and apricots and cook for about 5-7 more minutes. reserve 1/2c cooking water, and drain well. place carrot mixture and reserved liquid in food processor and blend until smooth. chill for at least one hour. spread on whole wheat organic crackers, or emory likes it on toast and even just off a spoon :)

mmmm.
and healthy!

eating "organic" and "natural" i.e. less processed may not always work or be realistic, but i am serious in making this a conscious effort for my family and our daily eating habits. its amazing what having children will do to your outlook/perspective on things!

ill let you know what other recipes i find but i would love any advice on kid friendly tips/methods for getting your three year old to eat more than cereal bars {which have been banned} and mac and cheese {oops! sorry bennett we dont have any}.

and thanks for your concern for our crazy ridic fourth of july. i am happy to report that, after a late straggler caught a killer fever version of the mutant virus {stephen} we are all healthy and actually feeling better than ever {bout time this second trimester thing started to ACT LIKE IT}.

cheers to health!

a weekend for the books

2011-07-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

im not quite sure if its a comedy or a tragedy, but it is definitely off the pages of some sort of thriller.

lets just start at the beginning.
bennett threw up two times one night, i think it was tuesday night. ew, gross, yuck. honestly though its amazing what does NOT really gross you out when its your own child. i just wanted to hug the fool out of his little shivering, sleepy, big eyed self. by morning he was back to himself and we didnt know if it was a virus or something he ate.

i had a really bad week pregnancy wise. just the norm.
college roommate and best friend mandy made the six hour drive down my way on thursday for a long weekend getaway...to find me on the up side of a pretty down day.
and then the next morning she found me down down DOWN after some toilet hugging during the night.
virus? pregnancy?
at that point, we didnt know.
friend mandy turned into my personal nurse/babysitter as i snailed my way around the house trying to get us all ready to head to the beach.
and i mean sluggedddddd around. most of my time was spent dragging myself from room to room throwing random items into bags and telling myself it was what we needed for a long weekend at the beach.
then super mandy changed hats and, after packing the bags and children into the car, drove me and my brood to the beach.
and the ride down sounded something like this: {warning: you dont want to play this at work}

mandy took it all in stride.
bennett had on headphones watching some dvd {lifesaver} and i was too...UGH to really be upset by it.
{awful, i know}
we stopped several times to re-apply the paci but little lady did NOT want to be in that seat.

we finally made it to the beach and i slumped around for the next couple days.
i think over those two days i had a couple pieces of toast and a cup of broth, and believe me that was all for the baby.
it did not do this body good. just more nausea and exhaustion.

saturday we had a huge fourth of july party, as we do, and i did manage some crab trap checking, pool side sitting, and pics of the babes:

{dont worry, this feisty escape artist only slightly wounded steele's ego with a quick snip to his nose. a couple claw-rearing snaps at the big black beast and then a quick dunk in the boiler and he was quite the tasty addition to our saturday feast - or so i hear}

{fourth of july parade on the island. bennett participated once before}

{"i am sad momma"}

{goggle war wounds}

after some more toilet hugging, tears, and zofran, by saturday night i was feeling better.

and then i woke with a start to a SCREAMING crying bennett "mama! mama! maaaaamaaaaa!" through the monitor at 11:30pm.
he and emory shared a room all weekend and when i ran in there she was awake but quiet and kicking.
bennett, on the other hand, was on all fours on the bed shaking with fear. he was burning up and i just knew he had his first nightmare.
especially after all the things he started telling me, about trains running off the track, cars trying to hit him, and boats going "all the way in the water."
so i laid in bed just stroking his hair and trying to talk him down.
i asked him to roll over so i could scratch his back and he said he couldnt because he would fall into the water and sink.
that, and his burning hot body, scared me and i carried him upstairs to stephen.
i laid him in the bed next to stephen and he briefly fell asleep while i looked for a thermometer, which was 30 years old and mercury and we couldnt shake it down. we got a reading over 103 so i decided to take him back downstairs and just sleep in the other twin bed with him.
that is until he kept mumbling and talking and when i realized he was talking TO me, and not just in his sleep, i got back in bed with him just to experience one of the scariest things ive experienced as a mother thus far.
he started having all out hallucinations.
he kept talking about boats sinking and cars wrecking and trains coming off the tracks but the worse thing was that i could not get him to understand that we were not sinking in the water but actually in bed at mimi and docs house at the beach. and then he freaked out and started moaning that "its getting so dark momma! it keeps getting so dark!"

eventually he said: "oh! okay. i see our house!" {his eyes were open this whole time, he was never asleep since we were upstairs} "there it is right there" {pointing at me, staring into my eyes} "my house is the one with the garden. oh! and look. there is mommy and emory" {he never calls her that...always 'em-bop'} "mommy is holding emory. i see them below me. everything is below me."

and then he wouldnt respond to me while i was talking to him, he just kept telling this third party about our house and what "mommy and emory" were doing in the garden "underneath" him.
it was all i could do not to go into a crazy mommy-brained freak out.

needless to say i scooped him up and headed back upstairs.
and ran into mandy in the hallway, who had just left the bathroom after her own toilet hugging episode.

SERIOUSLY

we gave bennett some infants tylenol and put him to bed on a pallet in our room. we all fell asleep well after midnight/one a.m, and well after some serious prayer and late night googling "children fever hallucinations."

bennett woke up a little sluggish sunday morning and held a low grade fever for another day or so.
and he kept asking to go take a nap :(.
i woke up sunday morning feeling pregnant... but not sick.
i took a solo drive to publix to get some formula, but mainly to have a big ugly praise-and-cry-fest in my car.
a little selfish thankful for finally feeling better but a LOT thankful and happy that my babies were ok and that we had been gifted with their fabulous selves.

and then i came home and everyone in the house started dropping like flies with some crazy mutant stomach/fever virus.
vacation smaycation.

despite a low grade fever, benney woe did enjoy the orange beach fireworks from the front porch sunday night

but dear, sweet friend mandy had to drive the six hours back home on monday sick as a dog.
"thanks for coming to see me friend!"
:)
:(

just another crazy chapter in an otherwise pretty un-crazy life!
its amazing how resilient children are, though.

looking at them you would never think any of these things happened just hours before

i feel so blessed to be their momma!

and that my little boy is back to his rambunctious, CLEAR THINKING self.
whew!

heres to hoping your weekend was all kinds of less-crazy than this! :)

oh where to begin :)

2011-06-28T21:16:00.001-05:00

first of all, thank you SO much for all your kind comments and sentiments concerning our latest news. i have to be honest here and say this pregnancy hasnt been the easiest, by any means. part of it due to the fact that there are two other little monkeys demanding my time
and sometimes not taking naps
and getting up early.
i definitely am getting hours less sleep than i did with my other two pregnancies :/
but despite all this yuckiness and sleepiness and lightheadedness {due my insanely low blood pressure while pregnant...like barely alive low}, i do still love being pregnant.
L.O.V.E.
its really hard to have the time to just relish over the belly like i did with emory, and even more with bennett. but thats just the nature of the beast. i think i have felt the nugget wiggle around a couple times...in fact im pretty sure thats what it was.
and with those wiggles a flood of excitement came rushing in.
and a little twinge of sadness.
excitement that i get to experience that fabulous part of pregnancy again {i cannot, and will not ever get enough of feeling a baby move in my tummy. its magic}...
but sadness that this is very likely, in fact nearly 100% likely, to be the last time i experience it.
its actually an amazing thing that i didnt know if i would ever feel...feeling wonderfully excited and content that this is my last pregnancy.
of course ultimately God will be the judge of that {as He as made clear!}, but in our little world this is our last baby and i am so excited about this upcoming chapter of our lives.
and selfishly excited for a little bit of "operation own myself again" starting approximately six months after baby number three makes his or her debut.
:)

so while our news is still met with laughter and gawking looks, i can also say we have been so embraced during this pregnancy by friends and family and even strangers/blog readers that it makes it so much more special than it already is.
so THANK YOU for continuing on this journey with us, and for reading, and for caring.
its flattering but even more humbling.

{i dont get many pictures of this rascal these days...and when i do i have to say repeatedly "bennett look at the lens of the camera please." and this is what i get :) }

and now moving on to that little check-list i made for myself, for scrapbooking purposes.

emory completely skipped baby food and now eats everything in sight. even fish and green beans and peas and whatever we are eating chopped up.

the only things we have run across that she does NOT like are turnip greens and raspberries. this will explain her current....weight status. the girl loves to eat and all of a sudden my teenie little bitty has turned into one chunky little monkey.

im in love with her THIGHS {pictures to come, dont worry}

bennett took four days of swimming lessons and by the last day he was diving to the bottom of the pool {shallow end, with a push} to get diving toys and swimming by himself {for a few seconds...he has a tendency to start looking up while his face is under water and therefore his legs start moving down and therefore....he sinks.}

i am so proud of him. hes taking more lessons next week and will be working on keeping his legs up and then jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder :) watching bennett learn to swim has been one of the most amazing milestones as a parent. its like you {the parent} have to teach yourself over and over again to let go...hes growing up and its freakin' beautiful ;)

to make our mornings even more interesting i signed bennett up for tennis lessons this week. i was pleasantly surprised at his ability to hit the ball. he loved it.

{hes a little hot natured}

this lady happily sat by and watched {and fought off the hoards of mosquitos}

thats about all i have for tonight!

baby steps

hi!

2011-06-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

were still here! im getting assaulted {nearly physically} by family members to do a post of some sort, any sort, but after an hour and a half conversation with the IRS concerning taxes and refunds and all those things that you could throw into a "its monday" sized pile....i just dont have the energy!
not to mention that, as mentioned in the previous post, something about early pregnancy makes me detest the computer.
hate.
it.
i havent even used my camera recently and therefore no fun pics of kids to post. so maybe if i give myself a list of things i need to talk about, ill be more likely to follow through...

swimming lessons
emory eating
emory getting CHUBBY
new rugs
very exciting projects in the works
recipes i promised, what, like a month ago? and some more new easy ones {as in the only ones i cook recently...very few ingredients, very little time, very little effort type meals. this is my season at the moment and im perfectly ok with it. for stephen, the verdict is still out...}
VBS
fabrics

hopefully ill still have a couple of you loyal readers left when i get around to doing so!
whew! i thought the summer was supposed to be a BREAK from the rigors of the school year?

NOPE

:)
love to you all!

seven things you might not know about me

2011-06-07T21:34:00.001-05:00

my friend and fellow blogger, hadley {go check out her blog and show her some love, shes currently doing a giveaway and is a very talented graphic designer, who also happens to have fabulous taste}, just gave me a thoughtful honor:

the rules are:
1. Thank the person that awarded you by linking them back in this post.
2. Tell us 7 random things about yourself.
3. And pass on love by awarding to least 2 recently discovered new bloggers (or blogs you love!)

honestly, if you have been reading the blog for any decent amount of time you probably know more about me than you ever wished to....but in following the rules, here goes :)

1. i am allergic to stinging insects.
i was mysteriously stung by a mysterious bee of some sort {looked like a huge fuzzy bumble bee to me} while riding on a waverunner when i was younger. it was the first time i was ever stung, it was in my leg, and i was in bed with throbbing pain all afternoon/evening. it left a scar. later that summer i was stung by a yellow jacket at summer camp {saddle rock} right before the camp dance with camp laney. my friend sarah beth asked me what was all over my face and after going down to a mirror to look i could see i was breaking out in hives everywhere. needless to say it progressed incredibly fast and i had to hop in a station wagon with the camp nurse, bundled in sweaters and shaking crazily, and head to the "local" emergency room for a big ole nasty shot. my high school chemistry teacher proudly told me the next time i get stung i will probably die. i do not believe it is that ridiculous but i do carry an epipen with me at all times. my mosquito bites last for weeks. i do not love this little random thing about me.

2. i am sensitive to certain types of lighting.
fluorescent lights make me crazy. when i was younger they seriously affected my mood. think department store changing room lighting. uuuggggh. during the beginning of my pregnancy with emory i had a strong aversion to the computer. my mom suggested it might be the lighting of the screen, referencing my problem with fluorescent lights as a child. i think she is right. i prefer natural and lamp light. i could live without ever seeing/using a fluorescent fixture or can light. i know they are sometimes necessary, but if you ever stop by my house it will probably seem dark to you bc all i ever turn on is the lamp in our den. i WISH we had floor to ceiling windows all over our house and i could just live by the sun. mmmmm

3. i double pierced my own ear {and about seven other girls ears} at camp one summer.
we used flames and alcohol and needles and it was all very primitive. we decided i should do it bc "my dad was a doctor" {fabulous reasoning girls}. my mom in her eerie sixth-sense way SOMEHOW found out and threatened me short of my life that it better not still be in there when they came to pick me up. i think all my friends had similar threats but they were smarter and took it out when their parents were around but continued to wear it. i however was ~~blessed~~ cursed with a crazy HUGE conscience and i took that earring out immediately and the hole filled in before camp was over. you would be surprised to know how badly i regretted that. for YEARS. its a little embarrassing but as late as college, as my roommates know all too well, i still wanted to run to claires in the mall and re-double pierce my ears. ??? i dont have any answers for you...just keeping it real

4. i cannot do a cartwheel.
when i used to take gymnastics/when i was a cheerleader in high school, i could do back flips on trampolines, and standing back handsprings...but to this day i still cant do a cartwheel.

5. i know i cant sing but i sing anyway.
i always apologize to those who are around me at home/in the car but its just something that comes with being around me. i somehow know every word to every song and most tv jingles from the 1970's-1990's. besides a few exceptions i still prefer classic oldies, rock n roll, or alternative/indie stuff vs current top 40. i am the last to learn current hits, i will be the first to admit that. but i love singing. mainly to myself, but it is still outloud. so you might hear it. i do not pretend that it is something you remotely want to hear.

6. i have never, ever used anything on my face other than dove soap...
until recently and now i use rodan + fields products. still not regularly bc i am just not a product type of gal, but i really have enjoyed having a "routine" when i want to adhere to it and some good face scrub and eye cream. i actually have noticed a lessening of my premature crows feet. {victory}

7. i am working towards nearly-no-time-ing my "part-time" job.
as most of you know, i am a stay at home mom and i am also a self employed interior designer. i love my job and i hate my job. it is my passion and my creative outlet and part of my personal fulfillment. however over the recent past it has overwhelmed me and i have not been ready or aware enough to handle it as i should and still be all the other things i hold much more dear: wife, mother, friend, human being. like ive mentioned recently, i had a come-to-jesus meeting with myself and decided i just cant do it. at least nowhere near the way i had been. {stephen was my biggest cheerleader in this decision}. so jobs were handed off, finished up, and turned down. i still have a few lingering jobs but as of right now they are manageable. however, things have happened recently that have made it even more...pertinent...that these jobs be finished and my "job" turn more into an infrequent "hobby". and this is all because... {yes you get a bonus "number" for being so faithful and reading this far...}

8. i am pregnant.
yes. if you need to read that again i understand. i had to read it over and over and over again myself and i still have some disbelief! for all the very real reasons why i should NOT be pregnant...which i wont go into...the fact is i AM and we are beyond THRILLED. its been quite an exciting, emotional, humbling past few months. to be honest, the day we found out was quite rattling and...shocking? i cant come up with a better word. to be completely honest, i was more scared than i was thrilled like i was when i found out about my other two miracles. i had no idea how far along i was. bottom line: i had no idea about ANYTHING. and it was the first time, the FIRST TIME in my life something big had happened that i didnt actively plan to some extent. now dont get me wrong, i have always been the first to tell you that we are not in charge of things...and to think we are is arrogant and ignorant. God has this life so intricately knitted and knows our comings and our goings. He gives us free will and the freedom of choice, but he already knows the decisions we will make and the good he has planned to come out of these choices if we just surrender to him and accept his blessings. but i was still arrogant and ignorant. even in the craziest moment of "oh my gosh this is happening", i STILL tried to control some part of it by trying to figure out when/where/why/how this actually happened.
the most God-sent grace of that entire afternoon was my husband who, if you had asked him the day before, would have told you and me that we were only going to have two kids. i knew i was going to have to fight for a third. but when i ran outside to him sitting in the carport, with emory on his lap and bennett running around with sticks and trains, his immediate reaction wasnt: "are you kidding me?" but a huge giddy smile and a: "thats incredible!" he didnt stop smiling. he told me this is how we were always meant to have our third baby and how wonderful is it to know this is all in Gods hands. i agreed but i wasnt fully calmed down until i found out the next morning i was a little over 4 weeks, not 12 like i feared {i mean over the past few months i had been to events and parties and family meals: aka WINE}. we didnt exactly see anything except a black hole that confirmed the fact that i was pregnant, but we returned for another ultrasound two weeks later to find out we were actually 8 weeks one day...meaning our boulder of a child had done four weeks of growing in a two week period of time. {typical} and then today i heard the heartbeat {not to mention i have been showing for a week now...INSANE}.

i cannot express the blessing this has been for us. i love everything about how it is unfolding...so completely and utterly out of our hands. i cannot begin to understand anything about it, how it happened, how it happened to us and not to all the many many other dear friends of mine praying for it to happen to them...and the second i start to try and reason it or figure it out i step way above my head and enter back into the world of ignorance and arrogance. this is not about me, this is not about the hows or the whys but more about the Whos. and i dont know about you but i refreshingly embrace another humbling reason to look upwards and outwards. so i will praise Him in this blessing and do all i can, to be all i can be to this new baby number three.

and i would be remiss not to mention that i might need some prayers to support me in this, as
emory and this baby will be around 14 months apart.

since i started showing i am already getting confused looks/gawks in public: three year old on my hand, 8 month old on my hip/in carrier, bulging belly. you could do the math but modern math doesnt do it justice...

i think its a boy
:)

oh, and two blogs {one new to me and one...old{?} to me} that i think are versatile and always interesting are:
1. tessa from nine and sixteen
and
2. vanessa from this and that