All About the Allens

happy...new year?!

2012-01-26T10:49:00.002-06:00

well, its still january, right?! i am behind as usual, but that's ok. we've been busy going like usual...let's see if i can do a quick update via iphone pics!
-I've been playing and loving my new iphone! its about time I got with it and got my first smart phone. and here it is...self portrait by iphone:

Someone lost their first top tooth!! at school, no less:

I made a cute cake:

and cupcakes:

I discovered a few more gray hairs. lovely (at least its under my part so they aren't so visible):

Someone broke the zipper on the crib tent and now she's in a toddler bed (tear) and she is potty trained (tear) not a baby anymore:

We've had playdates with friends from our Moms Group at church (I'm the playdate coordinator :))

I made this cute minnie outfit for a little girl to wear at her mickey bday party:

I made this after finding something like it on pinterest and we are having a women's event at church this friday night where I will be demonstrating how to make them! more on that later...

We've had yummy dinner with some new friends:

We've been playing outside in the warm Jan/AL weather!! the kind of weather that brings tornadoes when its not tornado season...the tornadoes that just hit AL were a little too close to home, literally. Like 10 miles from where I grew up and where my parents still live. Thankfully everyone I still know there is ok. The damage is pretty severe, though so please keep praying for those that lost their homes!!

We're getting ready for Valentine's day:

Of course I have been working away MWF at my job at our church:

We've been reliving Matt's last game with the Giants (was against the 49ers, who the Giants just beat...so they were doing stories about the last time they met in the playoffs...when Matt was there) He was interviewed for the NY Times and the Birmingham News. He is #12 in the picture here:

And we've been cheering on our friend, Lawrence Tynes, the kicker for the Giants (He and Matt played together at Troy and this is who we went to visit on our recent trip to NY) and his game winning FG in the last game means the Giants are going to the SUPER BOWL...and not just the Giants, but also one Mr. Matt Allen was invited by LT himself to go!! very jealous!

merry merry!

2011-12-26T10:14:00.003-06:00

Happy birthday, Jesus! So glad we can share the true meaning of Christmas with our girls. Molly has wanted to read her "happy birthday Jesus" book every night for the past 2 weeks. So, I decided I better take some pictures of the girls for Christmas....they have this cute set up in Mt Laurel and it was the perfect place to take them!

my favorite!! love them!

my lucy lu! can you tell those top teeth are super loose?! they are starting to stick out! ha

love this one too!!

and this is my other favorite even though lucy's hair is in molly's face! ha it was windy....

twas the night before christmas!!

good morning!! merry christmas!! lucy woke up about 645 got in the bed with us and waited for molly to get up! they were very excited! what makes me the most happy is how excited they get over the small stuff :)

and I finally got my Keurig!! it is the mini one and I love it...especially since I am the only one that drinks it...so easy and no coffee pot or filter to clean!

I love that face Molly is making in the pic above! so sweet. and my parents got the girls these tigers...there really are no words. Matt said he may forget we have them one day and freak out when he sees a tiger sitting there! ha. and Molly wanted hers in her crib with her last night. funny stuff. It was kinda funny though, b/c the girls saw them at the store with my parents when we were out of town and then they saw them on clearance this week...it said, was 29.99 save $22 now $7! what?! $7?? so they got them...well the sign was supposed to say save $7 now $22....hahaha...but the store let them have them for $7. wow. we really had a great day. spent the morning with the girls, then my parents came over to give the girls their stuff, then we went to matt's parents to eat our italian feast that matt and I made- homemade meatballs and lasagna! yum!! both our families ended up at matt's parents house and it was crazy chaotic fun. the girls had the best time ever!

New York at Christmastime

2011-12-21T18:11:00.001-06:00

We just got back from a short trip to New York! We went to visit Matt's friend, Lawrence, who plays for the Giants (also a Troy grad!) He and Matt played together at Troy. It was an interesting trip there...had to take 2 flights and a rental car from Philly to Newark airport! We finally made it and went to the Giants game the next day...it was all of 28 degrees outside. I had on at least 15 articles of clothing or more! The game was a bummer b/c they lost, but we had fun visiting with our friends. The next day, Matt and I ventured out to the big city and met up with another friend and Troy grad! ha. We had a blast as Molly showed us around. (thanks again Molly! you're the best and it was so awesome to finally meet you in person!!) I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was quite magical (and extremely crowded) to be in NY at christmastime! The next day we had to leave...less eventful, but still delayed flights home...and we were so happy to see the kiddos! We got them I love/heart NY shirts, but I haven't taken a pic of them with them on yet. It was also so nice to spend some time alone with the hubby :)

the big d

2011-12-02T22:45:00.001-06:00

as in diabetes...just read an interesting post on a diabetic girl's blog. apparently she is a popular blogger in the diabetic community. i have not really been into reading it, every time i do, i get really down. people leave comments that are depressing and tonight i got sucked into reading a post encouraging people to share secrets about how they feel about the disease, to vent...and i am all about that. but as i was reading, i got so down. everyone's comments were depressing...and that is ok. i know what it is like. i hate the damn disease too. i wish i didn't have it. it is not fair and no one understands what i go through, not anyone really close to me. so i posted a comment too. i had my fair share of "hates" about the disease, but i also had to share the hope i have. i only pray that someone out there reads it and God speaks to them. i know this is why i was diagnosed. to reach out to those with no hope or faith. i loved being a counselor a few times at the diabetic camp and sharing hope with those kids.
i was diagnosed at age 20, a little over 12 years ago. and i have had a pump for 10 years. i was in the best shape of my life.
i hate the stereotypes.
i hate that i have no real friends with this disease that i can talk and really relate to me.
i hate the fear that my 2 baby girls will one day be diagnosed.
i hate that i am scared to go to the dr...that he will tell me more stuff is wrong and that the consequences of the disease have finally hit my little body.
i hate that writing about this now is making me cry.
i hate feeling sorry for myself.
i hate waking up low at night.
i hate that some days i don't care and i eat whatever i want (even though i do take the insulin to cover it)
i hate that i want to be low so i can feel ok about eating something sweet.
i hate that everything has to be so negative with type 1 because it is not all bad...in my 12 years of being diagnosed, i have had no serious scares or problems, i have had 2 very healthy pregnancies and babies. my A1c is always in the 6s. most of the time i do eat what i want. God is in control of my life and He is taking care of me. that is the only way i know i can live with this. I am not mad at God b/c this is how i have to live. i know He uses it to make me stronger, to increase my faith in Him. i do hate the disease though...and am sick of dealing with it most days, just praying i make the most of the time i am here. i hate reading all these comments that are so depressing and negative. i know what you are going through, but if you are looking for hope and some peace in life, please look to God. seek Him and you will find peace.
That was my comment. i am sharing this even though most of you reading have no idea what it is like. but i just wanted to share, so that somehow you know a little of what i go through, and so many others...and for them, it seems, is so much worse than my situation. i am just thankful that ultimately, He is truly in control.

happy december!

2011-12-01T22:23:00.001-06:00

sorry for the multiple pictures of my tree! ha i was messing around with settings on my camera to get a good glowing christmas tree picture! the girls were super excited to decorate it and pick it out....they are just super excited about this time of year anyway. after we got our tree, molly started singing "happy birthday to jesus"! ha and everytime we see a house with lights she says "its almost christmastime!" too cute. lucy is super excited too...just trying to make sure her excitement is not just all about santa and presents. :)

thanksgiving recap

2011-11-25T08:11:00.001-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving! We have loved having Matt's oldest sister, her husband, and their 2 boys here for Thanksgiving this year ( it has been a few years since we have seen them)...and of course Matt's parents are here this year too. All that was missing was Matt's brother and his family (still in Colorado) Stacy hosted everyone at their house. We attempted to get some good pics of all the kids together...they did pretty good! ha...and of course, I made my favorite Thanksgiving desert...glop! (angel food cake, vanilla pudding, cherry pie filling, cool whip....layer till trifle dish is full!) and my family was able to come to Stacy's too. We are very thankful! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever. Psalm 136:1

yummy glop desert!

chilling on thanksgiving

crazy cousins...chase, jackson, jude, molly, lucy holding baby eva

jude and molly are nicknamed the "screaming memes" wonder why?

matt and his sister hiking some hills behind our house...and they made it over to matt's parents house (see all those houses down there??) i think they said it was up and down about 3 hills to get there!

scarf mania

2011-11-23T14:02:00.001-06:00

ok, so i saw this tutorial on pinterest and had to try it! making scarves out of old tshirts (or any kind a jersey knit material since it doesn't fray)!! so i just tried one last night and made 2 more this morning. the first one i made for my sis in law and the fabric ruffled on its own very nicely. the one i made for myself, i used elastic thread in the bobbin, like you would when shirring. it was easy and had to do it b/c for some reason, i couldn't get it to ruffle as easily as the other. and then i made one for lucy out of an old maternity shirt. if you sew, you should try it! its addictive! need to go to the thrift store to find some shirts to cut up!! ha

i have a 7-year-old

2011-11-21T21:09:00.001-06:00

i try to keep telling myself, but it is still so hard to believe!! my little lucy lu is 7!! her birthday was yesterday and we had a little party for her with a few friends and family saturday night. i am pretty bummed that my memory card messed up when i pulled it out of the reader to take pics at her party and they didn't turn out when i tried to download them on the computer! i was able to recover a few, but most of them are gone :(
anyway, i am just so proud of lucy and am so thankful the Lord chose me to be her mama! she is so sweet and sensitive, tender-hearted and creative...she definitely has her moments, but she is such a precious girl!!
i have just a few pictures to share...i made her a cake in the shape of a 7...turned out pretty cute

so sad i don't have any more pictures!!

happy birthday lucy!! love you so much

it's about time

2011-11-12T08:12:00.001-06:00

ok, gotta do an update! once again, things have been crazy and busy, but i have to make myself update or i'll never do it!!
So, i left off not too long before halloween/fall festivities...well, the friday before halloween my littlest pumpkin had hand, foot and mouth disease. yeah, that was real fun. She had blisters/sores whatever they are in her mouth. She cried the entire night friday night, couldn't eat all day saturday...her hands and feet weren't really affected except for a few little sores, so that didn't bother her. however, she was still contagious as long as she had the blisters on her feet. the only good thing about her having HFM was that the stomach bug was going around like crazy in her MDO class, so we missed out on that b/c even after she was contagious, i kept her out knowing it was still going around!! ugh. i mean, there are like 11 kids in her class and 7 kids had it!! awful!!!! i hope when she goes back monday it is GONE. here are some pics of the kids....molly was supposed to be scooby doo and she wore it a couple of times...but then when it was time to trick or treat, she just had to be a princess :)

at a costume party at a a friends house...too bad we didn't know we were gonna get HFM the next day!

Lucy was a cat (above) and below she is in line at trunk or treat for the inflatable slide, without mask

and here's or trick or treating group...molly was feeling better so we took her to a couple of houses

love this pic of lucy playing in the leaves! yes, she is about to be 7!!!

And....here are some of the projects I have done recently

Christmas tree! it looks really cute in person you can see the glitter better

this is the turkey i made for our door :)

Cross for a baby shower gift

Santa face ornament...very cute :) i have tons of scraps of burlap, so just thought i'd try some ornaments too!

"give thanks" banner i made for a friend

this cupcake door hanger is for lucy and her upcoming bday! of course, i'll be able to use it for molly's bdays too! i LOVE it!

and i have still been sewing some! i just love this too! i may just have to make one like it for molly

busy busy!

2011-10-20T21:23:00.003-05:00

Please excuse my lack of blogging! I have been really busy making some things for other people! It has been nice to do some extra work and create things that I love! Over the past month or so, I have made about 10 different hand cut machine stitched appliqued shirts, 6 pair of ruffle pants, 1 baby blanket, 2 bibs, 9 burp cloths, 2 valances, 1 dress, hemmed 4 pair of pants, made a burlap football, 2 burlap crosses and 9 burlap pumpkins! ha see?? craziness! I still have a few things to go on my list, but it has definitely slowed down from what it was, seemed like at one point everyone was asking to do things all at once! I have taken pictures of everything, but I won't post them all. I'll have anotherupdate on the kids and other stuff soon...I hope!

***Just added my newest turkey door hanger! love it!

burlap football-loved it!

turkey outfit already!

burlap cross

bib i made and then 2 burp cloths with fabric sewn on to make them pretty!

minnie outfit for someone going to disney!

little birdie shirt (and yes, i did sew the button on after i took the pic!)

my hemmed jeans! can you tell?? figured out how to do it and still have the original hem show! i'm one happy short girl!

I just had to share this pumpkin and last name....its a small miracle that it fit! haha

sweet baby blanket! loved this one!

welcome, october!

2011-10-03T22:26:00.001-05:00

a little glimpse of fall from our house!

the fall and upcoming holidays have made me one busy crafting girl! i have made 5 burlap pumpkins, have an order for a football and one more pumpkin (also already have people wanting some door hangers for christmas...me and burlap may not be friends after all that! ha...just hope the stores keep lots in stock b/c it is selling out like crazy! guess everybody is making these things around here!) ..not to mention all the stuff i have lined up to sew (already an order for a turkey shirt/pants) i am also working on some baby gift sets and made the cutest minky dot blanket....but for tonight, i am TIRED! i am about to fall out and get some rest so i can get busy every other night this week!

mommy's coffee....

2011-09-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

good to the.....

last drop!

so long, paci!

2011-09-26T20:32:00.000-05:00

well, since the beginning of her sweet little life, she has been a paci girl. i even remember one day they brought her to me in the hospital and she was so hungry and sucking on that paci so hard!

I knew it was about time to give it up...she is almost 2.5 and she's got, well, the "paci teeth" going for her! but it is cute, part of her little personality!

at lucy's last dentist appt, molly was with us and he said, maybe its about time for the paci fairy to come! so we began talking to her about the paci fairy coming to take her pacis and bring her a toy when she came...she didn't really want much to do with that...one day i said, molly, put the paci here in this drawer so the paci fairy can come get it...she said ok, i'm gonna put the paci in my MOUTH! ha

well, she's been also chewing on her pacis a lot lately and they were getting pretty gross. ha so much so that she chewed an hole in one the other day. then, the next day, the same exact thing happened to the other one. i knew we had one more in the house somewhere, but i didn't know if i was gonna find it and we decided it was "TIME"! she knew the pacis were broken...

and she agreed that the paci fairy could come get them and bring her a toy! i was very very nervous that night!! she still wanted to hold one (how sad is that??) so i cut it all the way down so she couldn't suck it and...

i prayed and prayed and prayed that the night would go smoothly...

AND IT DID! she did so great...she didn't cry at all that night!! the only bad thing was that she woke up early at 630 crying for it! so i ran to walmart and got her a my little pony from the paci fairy....and soon as she saw it, she cheered up....NO NO PACIS YAY she said! (no more she says no no)

and now we are all smiles around here (without a paci to hide the smile!)

now if we can just get her potty trained and into a big girl bed.....trust me, no rush on that!!

newest creation

2011-09-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to making one of those cute burlap door hangers! I LOVE it! A friend of mine had some burlap left from her daughter's bday party so we made ours together the other day. And of course now that I am on pinterest and seeing all these cute things people have made, it is making me want to do this stuff even more! ha...so look out for more crafty things and not just sewing things :) Happy Fall!

not much...

2011-09-19T22:27:00.002-05:00

not much to update...matt was out of town for work/training last week so i was just a teeny bit stressed most of the week...ha! but we survived. had a sew night, but mainly worked on some pumpkin shirts/outfits for others. i think we all got over the crud, but molly twisted her ankle/foot outside today and she has been limping on it and was wanting me to hold her b/c it was bothering her to put weight on it. oh my! and let me tell you, nothing slows this girl down! it wasn't swollen, so i don't think it is real serious, but i am just praying it isn't worse than i think it is!!
well, i don't even have a pic to post! how sad...i will be back this week hopefully with something more entertaining :)

lil punkin

2011-09-13T10:32:00.006-05:00

first of all, let me say, please excuse the lack of posts with pics of lucy! i feel so bad i don't have any of her to post, but she is at school and doesn't always want her pic taken (and she certainly has made clear that she doesn't want me to make her clothes b/c they are "too cute") so...i will continue with molly's modeling pics of things i have made for her :) oh wait, i found one of lucy and molly that was so sweet- the other day they were playing very nicely (lasted about 30 min max) so i snapped a pic while i could!

and this morning i took some pictures of molly in her pumpkin shirt and pants i made for the fall ( the same pants that go with the jack o lantern top--2 for 1!!) i LOVE this shirt...don't know why i love pumpkins so much, but this looks soo cute on my lil punkin!

2011-09-08T19:10:00.003-05:00

Well, we are trying to get rid of the crud around here. Lucy came home last Friday with a really snotty nose...then a few days later it turned into a cough and now she is running a low grade fever. awesome! so, looks like no school for her tomorrow and who knows if I will be going to work and Molly to her school...(she goes to her preschool at the same church I work at and we attend) who knows, if this fever thing turns out not to be much, Lucy can come to work with me..ha! or, maybe we'll all just stay home! I've had some of the sinus crud to and let me tell you, trying to sleep when you can't breathe is just about the worst thing ever! and Molly has been a little snotty too...so we all have it in some form except for Matt, who never gets sick! So, speaking of Molly's school, she started Wednesday and we are very excited

here she is at home saying "first day of schoooooool"

and here she is by the waterfall at the church with her backpack and lunchbox. i was glad it was a little chilly that morning so she could wear the cute dress i made!

oh and she already had to sit in time out! she was supposed to be cleaning up, the teacher said "molly, can you clean up?" she said, "no!" teacher said, "if you don't clean up you are going to time out. " molly said ok and went and sat in the time out chair. oh dear.

my little model

2011-09-01T22:29:00.004-05:00

So I made this cute little top at sew night last night and I was so scared it wasn't going to fit! But, it does and I love these pics I quickly snapped in the backyard this morning! Oh, and my Lucy asked if I could make her one of these tops too (shocker!) we'll see....

and I love this last one too...i edited the color a little. We were at a friend's house taking some pics of their newest addition (same fam from those maternity pics I posted)
here are a few of my faves from the baby shoot:

sweet feet

baby girl wanted to be wide awake (8 days old)

Mama love.

Daddy love.

the whole fam

halloween anyone??

2011-08-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

Just had to share my latest little project...molly's halloween outfit. this will probably be her costume too...a little jackolantern....and this is great b/c who knows what the weather will be like and she can wear a shirt or no shirt with it! i made the pants just in the orange dot so that she can wear them with other shirts too! i love love it! and i love this pic of her! hurry up fall!! we're ready!

feeling a little validated...

2011-08-25T12:29:00.002-05:00

about my parenting today...remember how the other day i said we were struggling with lucy's attitude and that parenting was hard, etc etc....well, she has been a little better at home and i got an email from her teacher last night saying some pretty nice things about my lucy....

I just want to let you know what an absolutely precious little girl you have! Lucy is the kindest, sweetest, most tender-hearted child I have ever met! She is so kind to others and incredibly respectful to adults. I know if I had children, I would want to hear about their good behavior, so I thought I would let you know what an absolute joy Lucy is to have in class.

I wanted to respond, you are talking about MY child, right?? Are you sure you don't have another Lucy in your class?? ha I know she can be super sweet and in this case, it just goes to show how good being in school is for her. She can really excel there and build up her self confidence and be her own little person without having to compete for attention or deal with Molly. That makes me super happy and maybe I should get some lesson from her teacher on what she is doing so I can do it at home!! lol...well I know they do a behavior chart and lucy loves when she gets to "move her clip up" the chart...and 2 days this week she has been so good that her clip has moved "off the chart" which is super good! ha Guess I'm gonna have to do something like that around here and I think it will help her at home too. We did a chart a couple of years ago, so I better get on that.

stuff i've made:: fall outfits

2011-08-22T17:29:00.005-05:00

just finished this one last night...double ruffle (!) pants with tree fabric and matching tree applique shirt..this is why i love doing my own appliques so i can match it exactly to the fabric...although, don't think i didn't wish i had my own embroidery machine that can do downloadable designs!!

and here's a pic of her modeling....(the pants above) and her new long sleeve/peasant style dress (below)

i love love how this dress turned out! and i already have her some brown leggings that will look so cute with this! you want to know what else i love about this?? when it is spring time i can cut the sleeves and make it short sleeves...and when it gets too short, it will be the cutest top!!

and another dress....brown corduroy with embroidered pink dots aline dress with ruffle...will look so cute with a long sleeve pink shirt and tights! and her brown with pink dot squeaky shoes!!

and i would have some things for lucy, but she doesn't want me to make her anything :( so sad.

lately...

2011-08-17T21:00:00.003-05:00

We are in full swing school mode now...getting up early and going to bed early (hallelujah)
Lucy said she didn't want to go to school this morning b/c they don't take naps in 1st grade.
I thought that was kinda funny b/c this child hasn't napped regularly since she was 3.5.
Think she's tired??
We have struggled with her attitude a lot lately.
Sigh.
She thinks she can tell me no and not listen to what I say without any repercussion .
double sigh.
We had a prayer breakfast at church the other day for moms to come and pray for the school year. I prayed a lot for her attitude that day. (well and everyday...and of course she is always super sweet to her teacher!) anyway, the past few days have been a little easier, but she is a girl. and the teenage years are ahead of us.
and I have two little girls.
I think I am the one who needs praying for!
Thank goodness I have the Lord for strength and guidance, because there is no way I can do this on my own!!
Parenting is way hard....eesh.
Speaking of Lucy, she had to fill out a sheet all about her (b/c she was super star student of the day on the 2nd day of school....her last name starts with A and she is #1 in the class roll...) she had to fill out the sheet and bring 3 of her favorite things to school. She brought a pic of our cat, Smokey, her favorite toy...a little puppy beanie baby kind of thing, and her favorite book...Pinkalicious. I took a pic of the sheet with her answers b/c I just had to have it to remember.
If you click on it, you may be able to see it bigger, but her answers are...
1-The things I like best about me are: God and Jesus (ha..at first she didn't want to put anything, but I told her to think about it for a little bit and she is always drawing pics of a heart with Jesus written in it, so the best thing about her is Jesus in her heart.)

2-My favorite color-Red
3-The things I like best about my family: my mom makes stuff. (how hilarious is that??)
4-When I grow up I want to be...a doctor...not really sure where she got this, she is not obsessed with doctor-y things..
5-My favorite food is Pizza
6-My favorite book is Pinkalicious
7-My favorite sport is Soccer
8-If I could have one wish come true I would wish...I would have a horse

I just love her. She has a really sweet spirit...I just wish it would come through a little more :)

Pretend photographer for the day

2011-08-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

The other day my friend, Misty, asked me to take some pics of them before baby girl #3 arrives. (and she is due any day!!) I have no idea what I am doing, barely know how to use my camera, but she said she likes my camera better than hers and I was willing to do this for my sweet friend! These are some favorites...

sweet baby girl belly #3

we were trying to get some kind of shot so we could see the lights in the trees!

baby girl #2 with her daddy!

baby girl #1 with her daddy

my favorite...all hands on baby!

and the whole fam!

Lucy's first day of First grade!!

2011-08-11T08:18:00.002-05:00

getting ready to leave the house!

by her classroom door

at her desk....she was so excited to start back!

creepy clown on the wall in her "circus theme" room!!

Fun times

2011-08-09T08:47:00.004-05:00

Last Friday we had a girls night to sips n strokes. That place is always fun, but it has been a while since I've been. We had this crazy instructor who talked for like 30 minutes about a whole bunch of nonsense before we even started! Then she asked us all to look her up on FB and be her friend! ha...she was an older lady too and sounded like she had already done some sippin'! I have been blessed to have such great friends...most from our church...and being able to hang out with them has helped me sane for the most part!! ok I don't feel like rearranging pics in order here....so, they are kinda random!

the whole group with our owl paintings!

all the owls in a row!

my owl masterpiece!
ha...the girls really like it! they have been fighting over whose room it gets to go in....right now molly has won, but I may be painting another one in the near future!

everybody hard at work!

hello armpits!

our newest sweet little niece:: eva winter allen

2011-08-04T20:37:00.004-05:00

Matt's sister had her baby today! We were so excited and waited at the hospital most of the day till she was born! Welcome to the world, little one!

this weeks projects in pics...

2011-07-31T18:18:00.009-05:00

well i have had some things to work on this week and have been very thankful...some were for gifts, but most were orders...since last saturday,

i made molly this dress

I painted these

took a break mid week to hang out with the girls

I made a big boy tie shirt for a bday party gift and some baby tie onesies

bought lots of this (AMAZING deal at $2/y-highlight of my week :))....

so I can make lots of cute things for this monkey! (lucy won't let me make her anything but pj pants. ha)

made a few more of these guys (one for our 2nd bday party of the week!)

painted another one of these (and I LOVE it!!)

and...made another one of these :)
this one is not for molly, but she will probably have one in the near future!! i love love this pattern...and it is good for the fall too with a long sleeve shirt and leggings or tights

whew! ok i think that's it...but i could be over looking something ha! and this post took forever b/c blogger wanted to be a pain uploading pics...
and please know this is not all i do! ha. i still work 3 mornings at the church and try to keep the kids entertained...gonna have a 1st grader in a few weeks! I only work on these projects and stuff when molly is napping or when they are in bed at night!

sisters

2011-07-20T22:32:00.004-05:00

i have a few pics of the girls i have been meaning to post...children's place had some amazing deals a couple of weeks back and we got them a few matching things so i had to take a few pics of them b/c they hardly ever match! ha...they look so cute...only thing is, it is so hard to get them to take a picture together b/c .2 secs later they are fighting :) awesome. just look at how sweet and happy they look separate....

molly in all her crazy-hair-buck-tooth glory. she is such a little monkey.

lucy in her "did i take a really cute picture" smile

and together...barely got one b/c i think there may have been some pinching going on....

ok here's a sweet one...i know they love each other deep down inside! ha

and lucy looking mad about something...molly was ok, i think all the bugs outside were bothering lucy. my little stinkers.

if you get a minute when you read this, pray for me tomorrow...root canal. dreading it.

oh and i also finished these little guys tonight.

one of those days

2011-07-18T15:56:00.002-05:00

today i am sad. i am having one of those can't-stop-crying-about-everything-days. not really sure why, well, i do know part of it....and i won't go into tons of details on here (the only thing i will say is that i need to stop staying up till 1am...that is probably part of it too!! britney concert was fun, great for people watching...never seen so many interesting people all in one place before!) ok that is all :(

2011-07-17T09:47:00.003-05:00

Well, I went to the dentist and I have to have a root canal. I knew that was coming. A couple of months ago one of my cavities came out and when the dentist replaced it, he told me I would have to have a root canal on it one day. sigh. Well, over the past week or so, my whole top left side of my teeth/gums were hurting enough for me to call the dentist! So, the tooth behind the one that I have to get the root canal was hurting too, but he said it looked fine and probably when I get the root canal it will help that one too. And since the day I went to the dentist, it hasn't even been hurting. ugh. But, if I put it off any longer, I know it will just get worse. And this is not my first root canal, so I know what to expect...but I have lost my mind a scheduled the root canal right before my yearly gyn visit! AAHHH. That's going to be a real fun morning. The drs offices are close to each other and I already had the other appt, so I figured I should make them on the same day and get it over with. yep, lost my mind.

In other news, I have been working on some different projects. I finished one painting for my friend's little girls room. She already had one painting with a name on it and now her two little girls are sharing a room and so I recreated as best I could another one to match. And she is pregnant with her 3rd little girl, so I will be making one for her, but we don't know her name yet! I am also making some more little owl friends and they are turning out so cute! The one that says "macy claire" is the one she alreay had and I did the one that says "madden" to match

Oh yes, in more other news...I will be attending another concert tonight...a little more random...my friend who knows the person that got her the good seats at NKOTBSB can get tix to any concert at the philips arena in atl, so we are going to see Britney Spears tonight! HA! Yes it is very funny b/c I really don't like her that much, but hey, its free and I can take a little trip with my friend and hopefully be entertained at the concert :)

late night post

2011-07-13T22:48:00.008-05:00

i'm kinda tired, but i need to get some random thoughts and happenings down...
-i'm so tired b/c i went to the dollar movie last night and didn't get home till 1am
-but i have some awesome friends and love that we have some girls nights fairly regularly
-i had to call poison control for the first time tonight
-yeah, that's right
-molly ate/drank/swallowed (whatever) some liquid hand soap tonight and it said to call PC if ingested.
-thankfully she was ok and never threw up or anything. and the lady/nurse at PC was really nice and called back after an hour to ck on us.
-she also has gotten into toothpaste (all over her legs like lotion) and chapstick in the past 2 days
-yeah, i am not real sure what i am going to do with that little one.
-lucy (6) is bored to death and all she does is fight with molly...help! somebody give me some tips to keep her not so bored and stuff that she can do and not freak out if molly gets in the way too!!
-i'm still doing some projects...sewing...and a few little paintings of friend's kids' names...maybe i'll have some pics to post next time
-i've got a tooth that is really bothering me and i have to go to the dentist friday....DREADING IT
-i know you will all be on the edge of your seats for an update on that one! ha
-i've seen God answer a lot of specific prayer requests over the past 2 weeks and it has been amazing! thank you Lord
-ok now i'll post some pics of my lastest...and maybe a few of the kiddos too..oh yeah, totally forgot about our rainy 4th of July fun at the Barons game....Matt's office hosted a little cookout at the pavillion at the game, so despite the rain, we got to eat and then enjoy some of the game before it got too late. we were sad, though, that we didn't get to stay for the fireworks...

miss priss loved holding the umbrella...and yes, her outfit was a little project of mine :)

my lucy

the girls with their cousin, jude

the girls with the barons mascot. molly was obsessed with "the puppy" and looked for him the entire time we were in the seats

love this one of molly and jude...watching the guys pull the tarp up to get the field ready after the rain stopped

criss cross top i made molly

Sweet striped cake and cookies for a 2 year old :)

Argyle and stripes for a little baby boy

updates!!!

2011-06-30T10:41:00.006-05:00

So, I was going to talk about how busy last week was....then I realized this week is almost over too! I was so tired from last week that I have just been relaxing once the kids are in bed and not blogging! So I better update before it is too late! Ok, starting with the beginning of last week, I had a sewing order for burp cloth, blanket and bib...I knew I had to finish it before I went to the concert and had to start working on the cake stuff I had for last weekend too! So, I got it done it record time (turned out really cute too) and I had one night to start on cake stuff (good thing about the fondant is that you can do some things ahead of time!) Then, last Wednesday was the concert! It was in Atlanta...there were 3 of us from bham and 3 others from Montgomery. We bought the tix back in Dec. and we decided to get the cheapest ones...way up high! Well, on the way over my friend Misty got a call from a friend of hers that works in Atlanta and said he could get 2 tickets up close. He also said if we would have told him sooner, he probably could've gotten some for all 6 of us (???? uh...Misty said, I've only been doing a countdown on facebook for 6 months! ha..oh well!) So, we decide that we can all take turns, 2 at a time, sitting in the good seats. Well, we get there, meet the other girls, go eat at Hard Rock, make it to Philips Arena, get the other tix (which are on the front row behind the floor seats!) and start walking to see where the up high seats are...well, two of the other girls from montgomery get handed 2 more tix to the 100 section...I mean, what in the world?? So, me and my friend Sally are stuck up at the top and Misty and her sis are on the front row and the other 2 are in the 100 section, but on row S. We decide that about halfway through, we would meet up with Misty and trade seats...well, finally after 1.5 hours I get a txt from her saying to come down....I txt her back, ok where do you want to meet....we gather our things and no txt back...they start a new song...I can see Misty and her sis just sitting there, taking pics, not moving! well, this is when Donnie was singing Covergirl....and he goes out to the middle, down a path, and right in front of Misty's seat!!!! I mean, what?!!? Oh yeah, she touched him. Donnie Wahlberg, Marky Mark's brother. Too bad Marky Mark wasn't a new kid. So, finally she text me back, as I am sending her "I hate you" texts..We meet up with them and she said they didn't txt back b/c they knew someone was about to come in the audience. UGH. I mean, it wouldn't have been that bad if it was earlier in the concert and she had not just said we could switch!!! Well, Donnie was her fave, so I am glad for her. ha. When we finally got to move down, the seats were awesome and we enjoyed the end of the concert. They sang all the good old songs oh, and the backstreet boys were there too and they were pretty awesome too. ha! good times. oh and Misty's sister just posted this video somebody posted on youtube when donnie came into the audience!! if you look carefully, you can see misty and her sister to Donnie's right...and yes he walks right in front of them! misty is in the black tank top and her sister is in a gray shirt! hillarious. now you see why i am mad?! lol! I'll do another post later with all my crafty things :)

oh oh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

2011-06-22T10:44:00.004-05:00

+

=

i'll be hangin' tough with these guys tonight! what?!

busy busy

2011-06-18T22:14:00.003-05:00

ok so this week has been crazy busy! we had VBS at our church...the kids got to go and I worked up in the office as usual...but just 3 hour days instead of 4 since I was there everyday! whew...just getting the kids up and ready to leave by 830 everyday in 1 week wore me out! not to mention that I was up late working on some cute little fondant cupcake toppers for a baby shower today! oh, and some sewing to add to that too! and this week will be busy as well....I have some sewing to work on and a cake order for this weekend and I have to make some cake pops for my sister in laws baby shower(also this weekend...same day as bday party for other cake ahhh!)...oh and in the middle of the week it is off to ATL to see some NKOTBSB...yeah baby! hahaha! can't wait to get away, but then I'll have to get busy again. :) I like it though, less time on the computer and watching tv is good for me. I think I will wait to post about our VBS for a few days...but for now I will put a few pics of my cupcake toppers

aren't they cute?! lots of time and love put into making each one and little A by hand...why did i have to add the A? ha! oh and did i mention i had to make 50 of these?!

baby gifts...more stuff i've made

2011-06-07T21:36:00.003-05:00

bib/burp cloth set

baby blanket with minky dot trim and backing

I meant to throw these in the post last night, but I forgot...good thing too, because I just finished the bib this afternoon. A friend of mine asked me to make something cute for her to take as a baby shower gift and I thought it would be fun to do a blanket/burp cloth/bib set. It turned out so cute!! I almost want to keep them, but I have no reason for that...and she's paying me, so ... I have a few other things I have to work on in the next couple of weeks...gonna make some baby onesies into baby dresses and an applique guitar onesie...sew night this thursday with the girls! oh, and my sis in law has a baby shower coming up so I gotta make her something too :)

my babies and another cake!

2011-06-06T20:47:00.003-05:00

my lucy, oh my little lucy....age 6 has come with quite the attitude some days! she still has the sweetest heart, but it seems like there is lots of complaining and talking back when it comes to asking her to do something. now i really feel sorry for my mom and the attitude i gave her some days! and i find myself wondering how in the world i am going to get through teenage years with 2 girls. i am already praying about it!! she has been sitting with me in church lately instead of going to her class and it is such a sweet time for me. i love sitting next to her and worshipping with her (even if she doesn't sing, she can read most of the words on the screen) and she likes to fill in the blanks in the notes too :) i am praying for her heart and praying with her and talking to her more and more about Jesus changing our hearts and how we need him to do that. sometimes she says she is just so mad in her head or is thinking mean things all the time...good way to explain our sinful nature and our need for Jesus to change our attitudes!
and here we have little miss priss. she is quite the character these days! she is a ball full of energy and is talking up a storm. she is all over the place and has been climbing on the barstools a lot lately and she can sit fine on them, it is just when her and lucy are beside each other and fighting....i just know she is going to fall off and break her arm! so, i decided to store one of them in the pantry and one of them in the other room so she couldn't climb on them (or on the countertop like she did yesterday so she could get her paci) when my mom watched them this morning. well, i heard something rustling in the pantry and i go look and there she is standing on the stool reaching like the 3rd or 4th shelf in the pantry. goodness gracious. if she wasn't so darn cute and funny she'd be in a lot of trouble! and she is so stinking sweet too. she has been saying yes maam mama alot and goes and sits in time out when i tell her and says she's sorry and gives me a kiss.
my last cake project was a perry the platypus cake. he is a character from the show phineas and ferb. we don't really watch it in our house...it seems like it is for a little older kids...this was for my neighbor's little boy. There are 2 perry personalities on the cartoon...one is the regular platypus that is a pet (in the pic below) and the other (the pic above) is perry as a secret agent or something.
i saw a cake online that i thought i could make and then i came up with this.....he's kind of a mix between the 2, don't ya think? ha
my favorite part was the tail. i used a waffle and covered it in fondant, then used a knife to define the lines more...
and i was proud of my hat too! it and the bill were formed with rice krispy treats. i think he turned out pretty cute and my neighbors really liked it!!

summer so far

2011-06-01T21:45:00.004-05:00

Well, summer is in full swing here. Juggling babysitters, finding things to entertain kids inside (how can it be 99 degrees already?!), and refereeing the kiddos! The good thing is not having to wake Lucy up at 645 and take her to school! The bad thing is we are just kind of out of whack with the schedule. I don't know if it is because they are not doing their usual thing, but the kids are staying up late (I'm am not letting Molly stay up, she just won't go to sleep and has been kind of fussy when we put her down....not sure if she is just playing me b/c she just wants me in there or what, but her cries seem genuine...and I am wondering why a 2 year old is crying like that?! molars maybe? ugh.) So, good and bad summer so far. Lucy has already spent the night with her Nana and Paw Paw as they get settled in here. She doesn't want to leave any time we go over there! And we've had lots of time to spend with Matt's sister and cousin Jude. I made an awesome cake for Matt's parent's 40th Anniversary and we were able to take them out to dinner with Stacy and Jarrod. They really liked it and I think they are ready for their new life here in AL (despite the heat)
So here's a picture of the cake...I have been having fun doing this. I wouldn't mind doing stuff for other people, you just get better and better with practice, right? I also like making the cookies and I am making fondant toppers for cupcakes soon for a baby shower...so, if you know of anyone looking for a cake or something, tell them about me! Also tell them I can sew some cute stuff! ha...yes, I am doing a plug for myself...we could all use some extra money right?!

Guess that's about it as far as the updates go...

Happy Birthday Molly-the party and an update

2011-05-19T19:34:00.006-05:00

Molly's cake I made! I loved it! I also made the cookies and decorated them with fondant
Birthday banner I made...this will be used over and over and over in our house!
Molly dancing with her cousin, Jude..they have lots of fun together...and you can see Molly's Minnie shirt I made....and it kinda matched her cake :)

Sweet sweet baby having lots of fun at her party....and please notice she is wearing a jacket. on May 15. the weather totally ruined the original plan I had for the party, but the kids still had fun playing outside, even though we didn't get to do my baby pool idea!

So the kids played with bubbles....and still had lots of fun!
Me and my lovie! Not real sure why, but I always call her love and lovie! maybe cause she's so sweet! Today she was giving me lots of kisses, I said " I love you" and she said " I love you more"!!! AAHHH melt my heart! (no, I did not teach her that :))
Look at all these sweet friends that celebrated with us! We had lots of fun. Too bad I am not going to have such an awesome party for my upcoming bday! The big 3-2...how un-exciting. But the very next day it will be Matt's parents 40th anniversary and I will be making them a cake (did I mention on here that they are moving back to AL from CO? they are making their trek across the country this week!) Ok, well that's about it for now. I still need to do my Disney post. Molly still tells everyone she went to "wisney wold" and we've been back for almost 2 weeks! ha

happy birthday to molly!!

2011-05-16T20:46:00.002-05:00

Sweet baby turned 2 Friday and we had her party Sunday. I hate that it was so cold!! But the kids still had lots of fun playing outside with bubbles. I made her a pink polka dot Mickey cake and it turned out sooooo cute!! I will post more pics soon...oh and recap our Disney trip too! Just wanted to post a bday pic before it gets too late! We LOVE this little girl!!! She is sooo sweet. She says thank you to everything...I will put her socks on and she says, "thank you mama!" She will give you a kiss and say "I love you" without any prompting. Lucy is her bff and number one enemy all in one...as I guess most siblings are! ha...she loves to dance and be the center of attention....she just has tons of personality and we pray that the Lord has great things in store for this sweet little girl! We love you so much, Molly! Happy happy birthday!

quick update..

2011-04-30T11:50:00.005-05:00

right now, molly is sitting here playing beside me and we are trying to have a relaxing saturday. so, here's a quick update...bullet point style (my favorite)
- molly just left the room to "get lucy, ok mama?"
- my little molly will be 2 in 2 weeks and is growing up way to fast!
- also, in 2 weeks we will be coming back from disney world!
- lucy has lost 1 tooth and has 3 more loose
- she also only has a few weeks left as a kindergartener!
- matt's parents are moving back to AL and close to us in about 3 weeks!
- speaking of matt, have i mentioned what he is doing now? he is working with wells fargo still, but is now doing mortgages and refinances. feel free to refer him to anyone you know :)
- i drive a minivan now, have i mentioned that one yet? still not real used to it, but the kids love it.
- WE WILL BE IN DISNEY WORLD IN 1 WEEK...oh wait, i said that already?
- i made molly 2 outfits this week. i love them. i love sewing and making things. even though sometimes it makes my cussing act up. (my friend misty's husband says that and it makes me laugh)

(this is a knot dress i made molly. i love love it! one of my favorite things i've made)

- i love that i have a few friends that sew and we get together sometimes and make things and learn from each other and stay up way too late!

(this is her minnie outfit for disney and for her bday party! can't wait to make her minnie cake!)

- i still work at our church 3 days a week. our pastor's brother is a pastor of a church in tuscaloosa. we have been collecting things to help all the tornado victims there.
- i can't stop watching the tornado footage from this week. it breaks my heart.

- we had a wonderful weekend last weekend celebrating my nephews bday and Easter.

(Matt's sister, Stacy and Jude and the cake I made!)

(me and my Lucy on Easter)
(3 little cousins laughing hysterically and having so much fun!)

(the girls in their Easter dresses after church)

- ok, so maybe this wasn't such a quick update. it has taken me off and on about 3 hours to finish this from stuff i have been doing. and this, my friends, is why you see so few updates from me! ha, guess i should've just waited till the kids were in bed! but when the kids go to bed tonight, i will be working on lucy's minnie shirt and shorts. she usually doesn't want me to make her stuff b/c it is too "cute". ha...she wants her minnie shirt on red fabric and red polka dot shorts.

-i hope to get one more post in before we go to disney and then i'll be back to update on the trip and molly's bday!

another project

2011-04-23T09:23:00.007-05:00

So I made homemade fondant for the first time the other day. It was quite the experience! It is basically melted marshmallows and powdered sugar..that's it! (plus food coloring if you are doing different colors) I have used the premade kind before, but this was the first time making my own. Jude's cake was good practice for Molly's upcoming bday...and I already know what I will be doing for hers! I also made sugar cookies with fondant icing on top and I love how they turned out also!
Happy 2nd bday to our sweet nephew, Jude!

still behind...but thank you Lord for spring!

2011-03-17T23:10:00.005-05:00

I'm still behind and it is late, so how about some pics from today! Hope you all are enjoying the springtime as much as we are!

twenty-one months

2011-02-13T20:46:00.002-06:00

...only 3 more months till molly's 2?!?! that can't be! little miss is growing up so fast! just this past week or 2 she has been talking so much more...and in little sentences! it is absolutely the cutest thing ever. the sentences mainly start off with "i want a......" or "i need a......" for example, the other day i was taking her shoes off and she said, "i want shoes on"...i mean, come on!!! stop!! i guess what makes it so funny is how fast she says it and it all kind of runs together...other favorites..."i wanna read a book" "hey guys" "i'm a mess" "what happened molly?" "here you go" "let's see..." "i pooped" yes, she is announcing when she has pooped now...looks like potty training should be happening sooner rather than later...hmmm.

well..just a little update on molly for now. i am really tired! it has been a busy past 2 weeks...matt's parents have been visiting and staying with us and matt's sister, so we have been doing a little more than usual! and poor lucy is going to be so sad when nana leaves! :(

more things i've made...

2011-02-05T14:48:00.011-06:00

so the lack of blogging could possibly be blamed on my time spent sewing...I've made a few more cute things I'd like to share that I've haven't posted on here yet (you may have seen them on FB, sorry if I am repeating) please feel free to share with your friends if you know of anyone that would like some cute, handmade things for their kiddos! :)

LOVE LOVE the ruffle pants :)

and a flower shirt to match

can you tell everyone loves the tie shirts?!

single puffy heart shirt

applique name on pillowcase

cutest thing for boys ever! argyle tie shirt

sweet puffy heart shirt -2 hearts

for your little princess...crown shirt

some of my faves!! mickey and minnie embroidered appliques

another puffy heart shirt -3 hearts

initial applique

bad blogger

2011-01-30T23:03:00.002-06:00

oh wow...i am so behind! so so behind! i will update soon. i am kicked out of our room tonight b/c matt is running a fever (if it is the flu we're all in for it, except molly who had her shot!) so i guess i will be kicking lucy out of her bed in just a little bit! ha. we have had a busy busy week this week and weekend (matt's mom is in town and i was in a wedding) ok so that was a quick update, but i promise i'll be back...still been sewing and making some things for other people, which is awesome, so i will share some of that too....anybody still with me? ha

Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T14:55:00.006-06:00

We had a great little Christmas (complete with SNOW) at our house...it was full of excitement!
( I don't even remember what she was looking at in the picture! ha)

and sweet sisterly moments

We were sad the snow didn't really stick, but it did at my parents house, so Lucy had lots of fun playing in it there.

The kiddos are getting pretty restless at home, so we are all ready to be back in the normal routine..going back to MDO and Kindergarten! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas....and Happy New Year! oh, and in other exciting news, Matt's sister told us on Christmas Eve that they are expecting! yay! the girls will be happy to have another cousin in town!

more handmade goodness and other things

2010-12-18T21:59:00.005-06:00

well, I never mentioned before that Lucy was so sick like the first week of december and then she missed 4 days of school...fever virus, ear infection, and pink eye! goodness...and she was back at school all last week, just finished up her antibiotics and now this afternoon she was coughing again...but this time it sounds like croup. goodness gracious..and another low grade fever. CAN WE PLEASE GET WELL IN THIS HOUSE?! I was sick a couple of times too, but finally took some antibiotics and have been well all this week! yay! so I hate that Lucy was getting better and now there is something else starting. at least she doesn't have school for 2 weeks! And thankfully Molly hasn't gotten anything Lucy has had..so I am praying it stays that way! Oh, and I must brag on my sweet little Lucy..I guess it was the week before she missed all that school, she got student of the week! so proud of her..it was for the character trait "joy"
i have also been making a few fun things...made some teacher gifts...christmas towels, peppermint bark and a camera strap cover..also made some cute boy onesies with a tie and a guitar and a few more owls are to come too! oh, and helped my sis in law make some felt stockings...they turned out cute too. so here are some pics of all that...love being able to make people things. makes me happy :)

some little boy onesies....LOVE the tie!

stacy's felt stockings...she had the idea, i just helped her sew

cute christmas towels for teacher gifts

cute cute camera strap cover..another teacher gift for molly's teacher who loves to take pics!

oh and see the peppermint bark in the bags! one of my favorite christmas treats! yummy

another project...

2010-12-09T22:05:00.002-06:00

Whooooooooooooo are you looking at?!

2010-12-03T20:39:00.003-06:00

I have been so bad about writing lately...like I have said before, I am not a writer! Most of the things in my head do not come out the same when I type! ha..so I love to post pics and little updates of the girls and fun things we have been doing. So, we have had 2 big milestones with the girls lately and I would hate myself for not updating and writing about what all they have been up to...it all goes by too fast and I will want this to remember later!

First, little miss Molly turned 18 months....one and a half!!! wow! I love love this age. I loved it when Lucy was this age and now Molly too. She is just so stinkin cute and sweet. She loves to give hugs and kisses and runs up to you with her arms wide open when you walk into the room. She is still very animated and BUSY....she always has a little pep in her step (she doesn't just walk, she bounces and gallops and runs and dances all while she is walking around)..she loves to dance and sing and speak her little jibberish. She can say plenty of words, but she will get going in these little jibberish sentences and it is the cutest thing. She is finally saying Lucy's name better...she just calls her Luce, which I think is so sweet. And I think Lucy is finally glad she can play with her a little more. She loves going to her little school 3 days a week and comes home and takes a great nap :) Also, she is growing like a weed! She was right under 25lbs (55th percentile)and 33.5 inches tall (95th percentile?!) She is just a little bit taller now than lucy was when she was 2! She will definitely out grow her big sis one day!!

Miss Lucy Lu just turned 6!!! AAHH! She is so grown up now it seems! For her birthday she wanted to have a spend the night party and she had a few other friends over too...2 of them spent the night. She had an absolute blast and I was absolutely worn out! (what was I thinking?!?!) She also got her ears pierced right before Thanksgiving and now she looks like a big girl too! She is doing well at school and with reading and she seems to love numbers too...the other day she just sat at the counter and wrote every number up to 75...it was just funny b/c numbers and stuff aren't usually what we work on at home as much as reading...speaking of school...I kinda don't like how going to school and being around other and older kids make them seem to grow up faster...makes me kinda sad. Anyway, Lucy definitely wears her heart on her sleeve. She will let you know if she is upset or happy or whatever she is feeling, you will know it! This can be a good or bad thing for sure. She is a great big sister when it comes to helping with things, but she is still learning to play and share her things with the little sis. That is not always an easy thing...but she is getting better finally, I think :) She has plenty of energy too..I think she could stay up all night if we let her...the girls definitely get all this energy and personality from their daddy! Ok..I think this may be all I can post in one night. My brain definitely shuts down when Molly goes to bed!

The other night the girls played dress up (molly was SO EXCITED to do this with lucy, now that she can fit in some of the dress up clothes!) they were so happy and so sweet to each other...here's a few pics and they definitely reflect their little personalities!

sorry....

2010-11-26T23:01:00.003-06:00

still sewing!!! but got caught up on my christmas orders for now, so hopefully i can do an update of the girls soon...they are growing up too fast!! (Lucy just got her ears pierced?!?!) here's a few new things i've done

a cute little snowman (still have to sew the button eyes on)

and some ruffle pants to match the Christmas shirts I did

Creative juices have been flowing...

2010-11-03T15:12:00.005-05:00

And I have been a busy little worker bee! I have always been able to sew a little here and there, but lately I have been doing a little more! Some friends and I have gotten together for sew nights to make outfits for our girls, so I have been sewing more in that regard. But I also have been making some cute appliqued stuff too! I have seen a few things I thought was cute and it has gotten my creative juices flowing.. now that I have started, I can't stop! HELP! ha...I have also even made a few things for people and that has been fun too...most of you have probably seen some of it on facebook, but for my remembering purposes, I will post pics on here too. (and if you know someone who may want me to make them something, feel free to share!) The latest thing I have been working on is the christmas tree shirt....how cute?! It is lined with a fleece backing so it is soft and puffy...I also made an owl applique, turkey applique and matching ruffle pants. I am having lots of fun creating things!

growing up

2010-10-27T11:54:00.005-05:00

In just a few short weeks this one will be SIX?!

And this one will be 1 and a 1/2!

all i want is...

2010-10-11T21:12:00.006-05:00

one good picture with my husband. but instead, we get stuff like this:

We had a date night with friends this weekend and had lots of fun. And I will just mention that with one attempt, all other (3) couples got a good pic with each other. What is wrong with us? LOL! at least we had fun laughing at each other!!

Way behind...

2010-10-05T20:05:00.002-05:00

I am so so behind on my blogging! sorry! We have been busy with school, soccer, sewing, keeping Molly out of EVERYTHING...etc, etc! Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me tired! We are loving the weather and playing outside lots too...isn't fall wonderful?! Almost everything about the season makes me happy. I will post a few pics...and then hopefully come back in the next few days and do some detailed posts on the girls.

Molly's first day of school

2010-09-14T20:30:00.003-05:00

Miss Molly started at the Child Development Center at our church (where I also work) so I am super excited about that! She is downstairs playing and I am upstairs working. It is MWF 9-1. She has had a blast so far...she is in the 18-24 month class (even though she just turned 16 months yesterday...what?!). Her little class has quite a few criers at drop off time, but Molly has been fine. I think occasionally she gets freaked out by all the screaming, but they say she is happy the whole time. She is so sweet. I have a few pictures of her first day. She is wearing a dress that was Matt's sister's (Stacy) when she was a baby, so it is like 25 years old! I love that my girls have been able to wear them!

Sweet baby went straight to the books!

her mouth is full of waffles, put I thought this was cute anyway!

Our little baby is growing up!

soccer

2010-09-04T23:10:00.003-05:00

soccer season has begun. lucy's first game is next saturday and she just had her first practice! hope she likes it!

Confession

2010-09-02T21:11:00.003-05:00

Ok, I did it.
Not really sure I like to admit it, but I gave in.
I did what nearly every 14 year old and possibly most grown women have done.
I watched the Twilight movies.
All.3.of.them.
And I kinda liked it.
Team Edward.
That's all I have to say about that.

side note-I am not much of a reader...I haven't read any of the books...some friends were going to see eclipse at the dollar movie and in desperation to go and get out of the house, I had to catch up and watch the other 2 first! remember I said I'm not much of a reader? well now I have an itch to read Breaking Dawn...dangit. I have been sucked in.

can't.get.enough

2010-08-27T16:10:00.003-05:00

of this sweet baby!
took lots of pics of her this morning, but these are my favorites!

15 months

2010-08-17T20:20:00.003-05:00

Sweet Molly baby turned 15 months last friday and she had her checkup (and 3 shots) today. She weighed 22 lbs 8 oz (up 2 lbs from 12 months) and was 31 inches (up 1 inch from 12 months). She is 50th for weight and 70th for height. She is such a sweet funny little girl. She loves to talk and will look at me so serious and say a full jibberish sentence while holding her little hand out, like I am supposed to know exactly what she is saying! too cute! And she is saying lots of words. Her new ones are "snack" "back" (she is obsessed with putting everything back and even says it when she wants the door shut) "eat, eat, eat" she goes to the pantry and says this! She loves putting her babies "night night" and giving them kisses (and making the mmmaaaa sound while kissing!) ok now I am going blank while trying to think of all her words! But she is talking good and growing fast! She is going to start going to the CDC (child development center) at our church, so while I am at work there, she will be downstairs in her little class! She will start the week of Labor Day. She loves Elmo, playing outside, sitting in my lap and reading books, eating (ha), playing with lucy when she comes home from school (I mean, you should have seen that baby's face today when lucy got off the bus!), her daddy, getting all the plastic containers out of the cabinets (and of course, putting them "back"!) She is a sweet sweet baby and we are blessed to have her part of our little family!

Lucy's Big Day

2010-08-12T20:53:00.004-05:00

Well, today was the big day! First day of real big girl school! ha...(when we sent her to school with a nap mat, she said, "why do I have to take a nap at big school"? the child hasn't napped regularly since 3.5) Anyway, Matt and I both got to take her this morning. I made her favorite pumpkin muffins for breakfast, packed a sweet note in her lunch, took her picture, gave her a big teary hug (on my part, but she didn't know...that was all I "cried" today...it wasn't too bad) and took her to school. She walked right in her class, sat in her seat and started coloring. She did great and I knew she would. Thank goodness for years of preschool and mothers day out, because she really loves school and knew what to expect. Now, I am not sure she was ready for all day in school, or the long bus ride home, but she had a great day. The bus was late (she is only riding it because she really wants to, and I don't mind her being a little independent!) it kinda freaked me out, but right before I was about to call the school, they pulled up and my Lucy sprinted off and was happy to see us waiting on her! I wish I got a picture of that, but I wasn't prepared because I was in the way of the bus and had to move my car so the bus could turn around-oops...and I wasn't paying attention at first, because I had my camera out, and snapped one of the bus, but then had to move my car! Maybe I can get one tomorrow. I was really trying to get one for Matt, because he wanted to see her get off, but he had to fly out to CO to see his dad. Some of you may have seen on FB that he had to get a stint put in his heart b/c of some blockage. When they did the procedure yesterday, it was worse than they thought and he has to get another stint in in a few weeks. So, Matt wanted to be with him. If you don't mind, would you please add Matt's dad, Richard, to your prayer list? We are hoping for a quick recovery with no more complications (he had some blood pressure issues this am so he had to stay in the hospital tonight too) Thanks! So, I guess this 2 posts in 1, but I had to mention that! Ok now I'll share some pics of the big day!

note in her lunchbox :)

me and my Kindergartener!

sweet girl by her name in the hallway

outside the school

the bus we waited forever to come!

Kindergarten here we come!

2010-08-09T14:15:00.003-05:00

It's almost here! I can't believe it. I am guessing it will hit me like a ton of bricks when we go to school tonight to meet Lucy's teacher. I am so proud of her, so excited and scared for her all at the same time! My little baby is growing up! Where did the time go (for real!)? I have honestly been looking forward to her starting school. I think she is ready and it will make a few things in our life easier, and maybe a little harder at the same time. And I know she doesn't fully know how different K is going to be than what she is used to! She has only been going to 3 day/1/2 day programs...she is in for a surprise! all day, everyday is going to be quite the adjustment. But that's ok. I know she can handle it!!

Me and my Lucy!

Sisterly Love

2010-07-23T21:05:00.002-05:00

They have so much fun playing and being silly together...but

it's all fun and games till somebody gets hurt...ouch! Don't know how I managed to get this shot. Don't worry, she bounced right back up and the silliness resumed...

4th of July week

2010-07-10T22:02:00.007-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it has already been a week since the 4th. We kinda had a lot going on and I took tons of pictures of fireworks. I tried to do this post a while back, but blogger wasn't cooperating with loading pics...lots to choose from and kinda why I was not wanting to do this post, didn't want to have to choose and upload pictures...sad, I know! Plus, they are all on facebook, so you know..

Here's how we celebrated...we had a busy weekend. Matt had two friends from college (lance and bryan black) in from out of town and they stayed with us one night and went to play golf the next day...then that Saturday night, I took Lucy to see the fireworks here in Chelsea and we met her friend, Evan and his mom. It was a lot of fun! They had a great show, but they didn't start until 9, so Matt was home with his guests anyway and stayed home with Molly since she was already in bed! Then on Sunday, we went to Montgomery to spend the day and night with some friends. They have a pool, so we spent the day swimming and hanging out. They live close to the Montgomery country club where they have a fireworks show, so we got to sit in their front yard and watch the show up close with no crowds! Molly got to stay up and see those and she was in awe! It was a great long weekend and short work week...can't believe the weekend is almost over now!

(above pic) Molly watching these fireworks in montgomery...sorry these are out of order...

fireworks in Montgomery

Molly and Lucy at fireworks in Montgomery

Sweet Molly girl!

Lucy and Evan at the Chelsea fireworks

Chelsea fireworks

Chelsea fireworks

The girls playing in the yard

hello....

2010-06-29T20:37:00.005-05:00

sorry I've been so bad at this lately (not really sure who I am apologizing to! ha) anyway, lots of cute things going on around here. Little Miss Molly is just little miss personality now. When Lucy was a baby people used to describe her as "animated" and now a few people have said the same about Molly...wonder who they get that from? (if you knew "college" matt, then you understand..."married and daddy" matt, not quite as crazy!) She is all the time dancing, blabbering, and saying new words! Her favorites now are duck, bb (for her blanket), baby...and she can make animal sounds when you ask her what a puppy, kitty, tiger and cow says. She is still all over the place and a few times I have caught her almost running. Lucy is doing good too. She is so ready to start Kindergarten. She is always talking about school and missing getting to see her friends. So to defer her boredom at home, she picks on her little sister, of course! I totally feel like a referee most days. But the times they play together and laugh so hard at each other are so sweet! We have been swimming with cousins and friends and I am working as usual. I have also had some fun with friends! We have had 2 little girl's nights with a group of girls from church and have had so much fun! We had a game night and one night we went to the dollar movie and to krispy kreme another night. Much needed time with friends for this Mama! Also, we recently got to hang out with some friends from college and ALL our kids! It was a wonderful time too and I hope it is not too terribly long before we do it again!

my two animated girls....

fun with friends....

and some fun with old friends and all our kiddos....

More pics...update continued

2010-06-22T21:23:00.003-05:00

For the rest of the pictures of our time with Zach, I just made a scrapblog...have you ever been to the site? http://www.scrapblog.com/ It is pretty neat and blogger was giving me trouble uploading earlier, so I just made a little digital scrapbook for the rest of the pics! Ok, now I am caught up with that week...now if I can go back and try to remember all we did in Disney to recap that week (even though it was 6 wks ago!)

ps-If you are reading this in google reader, you have to come to the blog to look at the scrapblog :)

Catch up time!

2010-06-22T11:10:00.003-05:00

The week of June 7-11 we had VBS at our church and we also had a visit from Matt's brother, Brad and his son, Zach. (his wife, Lara, and their other daughter, Rachel, were visiting Lara's mom in Montana)..ok, so we had tons of fun at VBS. I took the kids and still had to work in the office, but occasionally, I got to go down and watch parts of the large group time at the end of the day and it was awesome! The theme was High Seas Expedition and we had some help from Mr. James Spann (the weatherman!) as a pirate throughout the week! He helps in our Kids Worship every week and Matt volunteers with him. Mr. James has such a heart for the kids! And he does great making cute little videos and the kids love it! Anyway, Molly got to go in the big babies class and had an absolute blast! Lucy was in the 5 year olds and her cousin, Zach got to join her when they got in town. We also did lots of fun things while he was here....VBS, swimming, putt-putt, go-carts, playing in the sprinkler and just spending time with the family...we had 4 out of the 6 cousins here, so it was awesome. So, now I did all the explanations, I will post the pics! (next post I will put putt-putt/sprinkler pics)

Swimming!

Molly with her little friends on pirate dress up day

Argghhh...Mr. James pirate

Lucy and Zach on pirate day

Molly in her little class

We had close to 400 kids at VBS!

Mr. James in front of the kids

don't quit on me yet...

2010-06-18T23:09:00.003-05:00

to my faithful 2 readers...i promise i have some posts in the works...have lots of pics to share. we had a busy week last week with vacation bible school and one of lucy's cousin visiting from Colorado. so we definitely have lots to catch up on. and maybe i can muster up the energy to do some more posts about our time in disney world! this week was kinda laid back..with the exception of 2 fighting sisters to referee! i mean, lucy is constantly at molly to keep away from her stuff, etc...so molly whines when lucy pulls her away from something...ugh! and so it begins! but i do know lucy loves her little sis too...she always says, "molly is the cutest baby than anybody" (ha) but in the next breath she'll say, "get out of my room, molly!" gotta love it. i keep having to remind lucy that i am the mom and she can just have fun with molly being her sister. ok, enough rambling...good night! be back soon!

i just can help myself...

2010-06-03T11:23:00.004-05:00

I've been taking pics any chance I get. I don't know if Lucy likes it so much, but Molly doesn't seem to mind. We've had a few mini photo shoots here and there while Molly is playing and I got some cute ones last night to share...

She's a cute little monkey and a good little photo subject. Maybe I can get some with big sis soon!

yay!

2010-05-29T23:44:00.004-05:00

I got a new toy for my birthday!

Now if I could only figure out how to use it! I have been doing a lot of automatic settings for now and I can already see such a difference in the quality of pics than with my regular point and shoot. This is a Sony a230 digital SLR. Here are a few favorites I've taken of the girls so far

thirtyone

2010-05-28T23:16:00.002-05:00

today is my birthday....blah, blah, blah! ha...just another year at this point! but i have had a good day...work, spent lots of time with my girls and had dinner with special friends. tomorrow matt and i get some alone time while the girls spend the night with mimi and papa! hopefully i will also be picking out my present...more on that later if it works out! my favorite part of the day was tonight, laying in the bed with lucy and she whispered to me one more time before falling asleep..."happy birthday mama"

one-year-old!!!

2010-05-16T21:45:00.009-05:00

How fast time flies when you are having fun, right?! In a blink of an eye, our sweet Molly girl went from this

to this:

Oh, I can't describe how much we love this little girl! She is so so sweet and happy. She of course is all over the place, she gets to walking so fast, it is hilarious to watch. She will be running soon! She can say mama, dada/daddy, hey, hi, bye bye, uh oh, no (doh). I have been trying to get her to say Lucy...she kinda says Lu-leee, Lulu...it is too sweet. She takes 2 good naps a day and sleeps till 7 in the morning. We just started her on whole milk, but she is not real fond of it yet, but tonight she drank all of it out of a bottle...we are working on the sippy cup thing too! She gives good kisses/bites and has her top 2 and bottom middle teeth. She had an absolute BLAST at her bday party and devoured her cake! She loves to eat, so I figured she would tear into her cake! We had a bunny theme for her party b/c her nickname from Matt and Lucy is honey bunny! I made her cake and it turned out so cute!

Here are a few pics from the party

bunny cake!

cake face!

bday girl (shirt by mint julep monograms)

the cute bunny masks I forgot to give out! and yeah, I forgot to give out the goodie bags too! ugh!

We have had a great first year as a family of four! I am so thankful for these little girls and their smiling faces!

**If you want to see more pics, go to this facebook link

I think you can see them even if you don't have FB (Donna! ha)

good times

2010-05-11T20:51:00.002-05:00

we had an absolute blast at Disney world! I mean, how could you not? it is, after all, the happiest place on earth! both girls were angels and I feel so incredibly blessed to be their momma! (happy mothers day, by the way to all you mommas out there!) I have lots to say about our trip, but just checking in for now...and little miss priss's bday is in 2 days...and a bday party this weekend, so I've got lots to catch up on!

hey mickey....

2010-05-04T10:28:00.002-05:00

SEE YOU REAL SOON!!!!

things of late...

2010-04-27T22:14:00.006-05:00

well, another gap in my posting {sorry} even though things are pretty slow around here. molly is keeping us all on our toes with all her walking. she hasn't crawled in about 2 weeks or so. if i don't keep my eyes on her, she will go to the stairs or to lucy's room (with lots of little pieces of things she can put in her mouth) or to the cat food bowl or to the tv stand that holds our flat screen on its little wobbly base. ugh, i am tired just thinking of all her running around. i still can't believe she will be one in about 2 weeks (which means i will be thirty-one soon and i am not too happy about that, i mean, i still don't think i am over the fact that i am thirty)

our little nephew, jude, just turned one on sunday and we had a good time celebrating at his party

Jarrod, Stacy (matt's sister) and Jude

and a few recent ones of the girls...

molly, constantly on the GO {lucy saw this pic and said, it looks like she has little boobies haha}

me and lucy

oh yeah, and did i mention we are leaving for Disney in a week?!? whoop.

11 months

2010-04-15T15:12:00.003-05:00

Molly turned 11 months a few days ago....next month she will be 1!!! I can't believe it! She's pretty cute, huh...me? notsomuch...but I couldn't crop myself out.

Some favorites

2010-04-09T22:41:00.008-05:00

Ok, I am back to share a few of my favorite things. Well, not all my favorite things, but really my girls' favorite things! I am doing this as part of Hillary's Friday Favorites...she has a great giveaway this week too, so go check it out.

Here are some pics of my baby girls with their favorite things.....PACIS! I took a pic of Molly (10 months) the other day and she had all her pacis with her. Then I remembered I had one of Lucy the same age (10 months) holding her pacis. So, I am posting my girls with their favorite things...

Lucy (10 months in 2005) with her pacis

Molly 10 months (now) with all her pacis

And of course, my girls are MY FAVORITE things....so here is a recent picture of them (and definitely one of my favorites)

did you miss me?!

2010-04-02T22:31:00.003-05:00

and this is my 200th post...wow!
I didn't mean to take this long of a break. I have just been enjoying everyone else's blogs instead of writing my own! we have had a few things going on here and there, but nothing too exciting! Here's a little rundown...
Lucy had her first real trip to the dentist and she did so good!
We took a little trip to Gulfport, MS to visit some of Matt's cousins.
Molly turned 10 months!
And now, she is walking everywhere!
Oh and Molly got her top 2 teeth..
I have become a couponing fool
Lucy got her first haircut at a "beauty shop" as she calls it!
I attempted to start running again, and I am about to start P90X
I got a brand new car!!
Well, that is about it in a nutshell. I do have a few pictures to post, but I guess they are all on FB too, so you've probably already seen them! ha. I'll put a few on next time. I just wanted to get on here (finally!) and post and see if that gets me back in the swing of things!

Sad...

2010-03-02T22:02:00.002-06:00

I didn't nurse Molly tonight. I am sad and glad. We are probably not having any more babies, so I am sad about that, but glad b/c I am done and have my body back! And can get a babysitter at night now and not have to worry about having to nurse Molly at bedtime...or Matt can do it now! ha. I have only been nursing her at night for a few weeks now and I was hardly producing much milk so I decided to give her a little bit of formula at bedtime too...well she was just ready to be done and just as happy to take a bottle instead of nursing. What a difference that is from just a few months ago when she wouldn't even take a bottle! OK, just writing about this makes me sadder than I thought I was going to be.

Nana's Gravy and Meatballs

2010-02-27T15:14:00.001-06:00

I'd give you the recipe but then I'd have to kill you...

The girls

2010-02-25T21:32:00.003-06:00

Well we survived our double-child dr appointment on Tuesday. They both were going to have shots so Matt took the day off to help me (thank goodness!) Lucy had to have 4 shots b/c we didn't have any at her 4yr. She was quite traumatized, but as you can see, she recovered quickly thanks to a trip to Wal Mart and lunch at Zaxbys.... Miss Lucy is quite the character these days. I never know what kind of a mood she is going to be in. These days she needs it her way right away (HELP). At 3, she had her terrible 2s (ha) and at 4 she finally calmed down and had way less fits, etc. Now at 5, she is a sassy little thing. She still has the sweetest heart ever and loves loves her baby sister. She is a ball of energy and is constantly wanting to go outside to ride her bike or play with neighbors. She could probably stay up all night if we let her. I took some pics of her tonight and after each one she wanted to look at the camera and see each one. She was having so much fun, she kept posing...here are just a few and they capture her little personality very well...

Little Miss Molly had her 9 month check up (she was 9 months on the 13th) and she had to get 3 shots, but she did very good. She just cried for about 5 seconds, literally. She is a tough little cookie. She only gained one pound from her 6 month appt, which is very unlike what she had been doing, but she had that stomach bug about a week ago (for a whole week) and probably lost some weight then, plus she didn't have much of an appetite then too. Oh and with all her mobility, she is burning some major calories, I'm sure...ha. But she is still on the long side (80th percentile) and is 1.25 inches longer than what lucy was at 9 months. She is still taking some steps to us a few times everyday, but she is still mainly crawling. She takes 2 1.5 hr naps and sleeps 11-12 hours at night. She laughs the most at Lucy and loves when Lucy comes into the room. She is starting to clap and dance and loves to eat. I can't believe she will be 1 in a few months! I took this sweet pic of her today during her nap. As you can see, baby girl loves her pacis.

Just some pics...

2010-02-22T21:57:00.004-06:00

Sweet Molly turned 9 months on the 13th (same day we were all sick...so haven't mentioned it yet)

At a birthday party at the McWane center

Molly at the McWane center

Snow day...don't you just love the fire hydrant in our yard? At least they painted it all yellow one day, it used to be blue and yellow.

I will hopefully post some more tomorrow. We have an exciting day ahead of us...taking both girls to get shots! Thankfully Matt was able to take off so he can help me. I am pretty sure we are gonna have to hold Lucy down! Pray for her! Hopefully the promise of a toy and lunch at Zaxbys will help ease the pain.

ya'll are gonna laugh...

2010-02-17T15:35:00.002-06:00

at my little video post...hahahaha....just thought it would be fun and different because i didn't feel like typing but i wanted to update...

2010-02-14T08:24:00.001-06:00

we've been sick.
all of us.
with the stomach bug.
hopefully i'll be back soon.
oh yeah, happy valentines day.

Good Deals

2010-01-28T15:47:00.004-06:00

Over the past few days and 2 trips to 2 different Old Navy stores, I have gotten some fabulous deals!!! I was going to get a few things for myself when I came across the clearance section for the girls. I found a few things for Molly-1 little dress she can wear now and 2 things for next year...they were marked 1.99, 3.99, etc and I thought that was great...till they rang up at the register another 1/2 off! what?! I forgot all their clearance was another 1/2 off! If I didn't have both kids with me, I would've gone back and gotten more, but it wasn't a good time. So, this morning I went to another store to see what they had and got some more for Molly for next year and even the next...and a shirt for Lucy and matching one for Molly they can wear now. SO....here's the rundown on what I got
2 Longsleeve shirts for the girls to wear now...$.99
2 pair of pants for Molly next year...$1.49
2 pair of size 3t pjs for Molly.......$1.99
1 zip up hoodie for Molly next year....$.99
1 half-zip fleece hoodie for Molly next year...$1.49
1 corduroy dress Molly can wear now....$1.99
that is 9 items for under $15!!! I added up the regular price totals and it was $127.50! Crazy...that is a savings of like 87%! So, go to Old Navy and rack up for years to come!

baby steps...

2010-01-27T21:29:00.001-06:00

she's trying to walk ya'll....(if you are seeing this in google reader, you have to come to the blog to watch the video...)

The end of the swaddle

2010-01-24T21:43:00.003-06:00

From day 1, minute 1...well maybe hour 1, Molly has been swaddled. If you frequent this blog often, you know we have had our share of sleep issues. Lucy was the same way, so I kinda knew what to expect. And with both our babies, swaddling has been the way to go. It helps with the little fidgeting and startling, etc that can wake baby up. You may wonder how I have been swaddling a VERY crazy active 8 month old...well I was basically swaddling her arms with a velcro swaddle blanket and then zipping her up (arms and all) in a sleep sac...she looked like a little cocoon baby. And amazingly enough, she could roll all around and move however she wanted (except with no arms...ha!) she could even get a paci in her mouth by scooting over to it! My fear with her not being swaddled was that she would wake up in the middle of the night and stand in her crib screaming for hours. She occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night and may cry for a few minutes and goes back to sleep, so I thought during that time she would wake up more if she wasn't swaddled (b/c we had a few "tests" during naptime and her naps were always shorter when she wasn't swaddled). Well, I decided the other morning that she may be ready to stop being swaddled when I went to get her in the morning and she was STANDING UP in her crib, completely out of the blanket and sleep sack?! The zipper busted open with all of her wiggling to get her arms out and she was completely out of it all. crazy little thing! So I figured she has to be so miserable like that and that she should be old enough to sleep without it, even if it meant a few restless nights. (I mean, I was thinking I was going to have to swaddle her until she was like 5-ha!) Well the first night she slept just in her sleep sack with her arms out, normally, and she did SO good! She didn't make a peep all night and slept till 7:30! It was wonderful and she has been doing the same ever since. Yay! And her naps have been pretty good too. We are also on a more consistent schedule and it is working out great too....so, maybe things will get a little easier around here and I will get better rest too since Molly is!
Aww! here she is I think maybe the day we got home all cozy and swaddled. ok, now I am getting sad she isn't this little any more! Good night, all...hope you get lots of sleep!

For all you Dave Matthews fans...

2010-01-22T21:14:00.002-06:00

Under the table and dreaming...any time the kids play under or crawl under the table, I can't help but think of that song!

little birdies

2010-01-18T21:41:00.003-06:00

I did these paintings for a friend's nursery...I really do love to do stuff like this, just don't have time to mess around with it unless I am doing it for someone else! It really was a good creative outlet for me and looking at these little birdies just make me smile!

more...

2010-01-17T21:44:00.002-06:00

I want to post more, I really do...but I have no motivation. I need to remind myself that this is really my main scrapbook/journal type thing I am doing at the moment, so I better get to it. I am still tired most of the time. I am way way out of shape. I am lazy when I can be (if I have the chance to sit when I am not chasing molly)...and I am blaming most of these things on Molly not entirely sleeping through the night... and just being a parent period. Oh, and the weather. HA. It is looking up, the past 2 mornings Molly has slept until after 7 (she goes to bed at 8 and I would really love for her to sleep 8-8 or 8-7ish instead of getting up at 5 or 6 to nurse and then sleeping until 8) I am in the process of weaning her too...just dropped my only day feeding so now I am only nursing her when she wakes up in the morning and at bedtime. I think it will be good and allow me to be able to be gone all day if I need to. She is finally used to taking a bottle now and is doing really well with it...so probably in the next month or two I will be done nursing! I am glad and sad at the same time. Speaking of the little girl, she is 8 months now and cut her first tooth on her eight month birthday. she has done pretty well with it, except for the few weeks before she was snotty (as mentioned in my new years post). She is still crazy active and super fun. I love this age. And I love Lucy at 5 too...she is a hoot. I never know what is going to come out of her mouth, so she keeps us on our toes.
I know a lot of people have been saying they are going to do better about blogging this year and even so much as to do it everyday....and I want to be that ambitious, but I don't think I can do it...maybe I can shoot for every other day or so...it would be fun to look back next year and see exactly what we were doing the year before, so who knows, maybe I can get my act together.

Molly's latest

2010-01-05T11:42:00.002-06:00

I tried to narrow the pics down...these are some of my favorites but there are many more! She is wearing a little tutu I made her (I will make another post about that once I finish Lucy's...I used a few tutorials I'll share when I do the post) and the last pic she is wearing her great great grandfather's christening gown. Matt's mom brought it with her. Lucy also has a pic in the same gown. Molly has 2 new tricks this week....she started cruising along the ottoman and she will let go of whatever she is holding onto and stand for a few seconds at a time....looks like she will take after her sister and be an early walker! Lucy is hanging in there...I told her today she gets to go back to school tomorrow and she was so excited!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:52:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! I am exhausted and hope for 2010 that I will be getting much more sleep than 2009! This little snotty nosed baby girl has been keeping me up for most of the week (but did much better last night) and I am still tired from the lack of sleep! Not sure if it is

teething or not because she has no other symptoms, but I don't feel any teeth coming in so who knows. I am just glad that today most of the snot is gone. I tried to capture the snot in full force yesterday and she was going to town on the teether, but like I said, I don't feel anything coming in...and I just had to put these pics on here b/c her eyes look so big and blue!
Hope your new year is filled with more sleep and less snot too. (sorry, was that just a little too much snot talk? its late... i need to go to bed now!)

Christmas 2009-Year of the Snuggie

2009-12-26T09:54:00.008-06:00

We had a great day yesterday! Lucy woke up and came into our room and asked for her snuggie (that was in the dryer) and I asked her if she had gone into the living room yet....she said no....and I said, you don't want to see if Santa came? and the look on her face was hiliarious! She had completely forgotten that it was Christmas! I mean, how could she forget, right? She was so excited the night before, she could barely sleep! Well, it just made it more exciting that way! She got lots of art stuff b/c all she does is draw and write and color. The big thing was an easel that Santa left a note on for her. She loved it!

Molly enjoyed her first Christmas. She loved ripping and crinkling and trying to eat the paper! She got a little push walker/ride on toy....she thinks she can walk already! She is actually pretty good at it, we just have to stay real close and help her hold on. Can somebody please remind her that she is only 7.5 months and she shouldn't be trying to walk yet?!?

On Christmas Eve, Matt's sister Stacy, her husband Jarrod, and Jude came over. The babies loved playing with the nativity figures...I don't know what it is about this picture, but I just love it....Molly is just holding Mary like, hey mom, here's Mary!
Lucy and Jarrod snuggled in their snuggies (the gifts everyone was most excited about!)
My family came over Christmas night and we had our traditional Christmas lasagna (matt's grandmother's special recipe...she was italian so it was always a tradition in their house to do lasagna on Christmas) Matt and Lucy went to the movies on Christmas Day (another tradition of ours) and she wore her snuggie...just like in the commercial! Hope you all had a great day too!

Christmas photo shoot

2009-12-17T23:14:00.006-06:00

My dad took some pics of the girls in their matching dresses that my mom got them (from The Wooden Soldier). I just wanted a few Christmas-y ones of them, but Molly wasn't in a smiley mood and it was cold outside. There are quite a few, so here are my favorites of each one and of them together. Merry Christmas!

7 months

2009-12-14T14:47:00.002-06:00

Our little sweetie is 7 months now! She is a total mess and into EVERYTHING! When I took these pictures, I tried to sit her in the corner of her crib and she immediately went to pull up in her crib, so all of these were taken of her standing up! Crazy little thing! She crawls everywhere, tries to pull up on everything that she can reach (which I still can't believe she was doing weeks ago!) She finally started babbling a little more and unfortunately it is dadada and not mamama! oh well, it is not like she knows what she is saying! She is happy most of the time and loves her sister! All of these pictures were taken while Lucy was making her smile...and that last one cracks me up! We love these sweet little girls!

fun times

2009-12-05T21:50:00.006-06:00

We haven't been up to much, but we have been having fun getting ready for Christmas! I finally feel like I have caught up on stuff after being out of town. We got our tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving and I love it! I think it is one of my favorites so far. It is big and pretty! I have put more lights on it since I have taken this picture..we usually don't get one this big so it needed some more! We don't do too many decorations. We do the tree and have just a few little things here and there. Our living room isn't that big and the kitchen/dining room/living room is all open so just having the tree in the LR feels like the whole house it decorated!

I don't do a "themed" or fancy kind of tree...I have always collected Mickey/Disney ornaments and Lucy loves them and I like to be able to put the ones she makes on there too, so we have a random variety. It is bright and colorful! I remember one year my mom did a theme tree with all red balls and green, red, and gold plaid bows and I remember being so mad that we couldn't put all our other ornaments we always used to have on there b/c it didn't match!

Molly has been all over the place! She is crawling like a mad woman and pulling up on everything that she can reach. She loves pulling up in her crib the best, I guess b/c it is the easiest for her. She gets all excited and makes happy sounds when she does it! She is so cute! And....she has been sleeping the ENTIRE night (like 8:30-7:30 without eating or staying awake) for 4 nights in a row! yeah! I hope she keeps it up, but I am not really holding my breath! We still have teething to go through b/c she has none yet! I just took her to her 6 month appt last week (even though she will be 7 months in a week-ahhh!) and she was 16.5 lbs (60th) and 26.5 in (80th) so it looks like she will be our tall girl! She has consistently been in these percentiles. Lucy was only in 30th-40th for height (at 6 months) and she is still on the shorter side. At least she will be taller than her mommy!

thanksgiving in colorado

2009-11-26T22:26:00.003-06:00

we are thankful for getting to.... love on daddy

play with cousins

play with paw paw

crawl all over the place

and look too stinking cute in my hat and turkey shirt (even though they don't match)

Hope ya'll had a wonderful day! We are about to go shopping! The outlets here by matt's parent's house open at 10pm tonight!

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-23T16:45:00.007-06:00

Lucy had a Thanksgiving Feast last Friday at her school (which is also where we go to church and where I work) so I got to go and watch. It was cute. Lucy's class was dressed as indians....and cute little indians they were...They had some snacks, talked about the first Thanksgiving and hung leaves on a little "tree" telling what they are thankful for. I love this idea...maybe I can pull one together and make one for our table this year (or next since I am just now thinking of it! but it would be fun for the kids this year since Lucy is here in CO with her cousins....hmmm..) The teacher read each leaf saying what the kids were thankful for and then they got to hang them after she read them. Lucy said she was thankful to God for "dreams". Interesting!

We have lots to be thankful for! Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

My Baby is FIVE!

2009-11-20T21:34:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe Lucy is 5!! She is such a little grown up now! I was telling her she is going to be 5 years OLD and she says, "no mama, I am not old I am young!" So I had to say "5 years YOUNG"! She is so full of life and excitement....every little thing is something to be excited about. But she also has her shy and quiet moments (usually just around those she hasn't been around much). She loves art projects, drawing, coloring, painting, cutting. She is learning to read and loves to write and make cards for people. She is scared to death of getting hurt and freaks out over the tiniest little cut or scrape (I guess that makes her a true princess...)She is the best big sister and loves making Molly laugh and hates when Molly cries. She is athletic and prissy at the same time. She is the sweetest little girl and has my heart...her faith is growing and it is so precious to see how God uses little things to reveal Himself to her. Lucy, I love you so so so so much. I love being your Mama and watching you grow into a beautiful little girl. You are so special to me and Daddy. Our prayer for you is that you will grow up to learn about and love Jesus as your Savior and to follow Him in all you do. He loves you so much, even more than your Mama and Daddy!!! Happy Birthday, baby!

We had a little party for her at the park this year. It was beautiful weather and very simple and easy. Lucy had a blast. We are going to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year so we will have another party for her there with her cousins and Matt's parents. So, speaking of our trip, I am way behind on the packing so I better get back to it!! Oh, last year's post for Lucy's bday I had pics of her from each year, so if you want to see my baby growing up, click here.

1/2 birthday

2009-11-16T20:34:00.003-06:00

Molly turned 6 months on the 13th. I was going to do this post after her dr appt so I could put her stats on here, but the dr office called today to reschedule. So that will just have to wait 2 more weeks (couldn't make it next week b/c we will be gone for Thanksgiving). In the meantime, I will tell you what the little one is up to....

She is sitting up for long periods of time. She has a problem with it b/c she wants to be on her tummy crawling...yes, crawling, my friends. Little girl is on the move and she doesn't want to sit still for anything. You sit her up and she will sit there for a minute and then twist herself so she can get in a crawling position (she does this while I am sitting on the floor with her, or else she would hurt herself!) She also likes her walker, she goes all over the place in that thing and gets mad when something gets in her way. She is eating baby food like a champ. She loves it. The only thing she hasn't been real crazy about is peaches. I don't blame her. The baby food peaches stink. ugh. She still doesn't sleep all the way through the night...she goes to bed between 8-9 pm and gets up around 4 or 5, eats, and then goes back to sleep. We'll get there one day! She drools a lot and bites everything but doesn't have any teeth yet. Her little personality has gotten so cute. She is hilarious just like her sister. She loves to squeal and blow raspberries all. the. time. It is funny unless (like tonight) she does it right when you put a spoon full of baby food in her mouth...then it is not so funny. She is just so much happier now then she used to be (thank you Jesus!). I wish babies could just come out at 6 months. It would make for a much harder delivery (HAHAHA) but we would have happier babies and mommies! She is interacting a lot with lucy now and it is so fun to watch. Lucy makes her smile and laugh all the time (which lucy loves) and it is so sweet. Tonight Lucy was upset and crying about something and Molly crawled over to her, so I stood Molly up next to Lucy and she put her head on Lucy's shoulder and her hand on her back and Lucy just started laughing..she immediately got over what was bothering her and started making Molly laugh. It was sweet.

Lucy will be 5 on Friday, so hopefully I will get another post in this week about her before we leave for CO for Thanksgiving! We are very excited about that!

better late than never...

2009-11-04T16:11:00.007-06:00

Sorry this is so late....but I guess here is an update on our past few weekends. The weekend of the 23rd (Matt's bday...happy birthday!!!) was Troy's homecoming, so we headed down there Friday night (with molly, without lucy) and we got to stay at the Marriott (which was super nice, felt like I wasn't even in Troy-ha! and have any of you been down lately? the new bookstore is awesome, it even has a Starbucks, once again, felt like I wasn't in Troy!!) when we checked in the hotel, we got our keys and opened the door only to find someone's stuff scattered everywhere and we were a little dumbfounded....we were just standing there trying to figure out what to do when the other people checked in that room came in and we were all pretty confused! Anyway, we got it worked out and had a fun time at the game...but it was freezing! I had Molly in the moby wrap and zipped up in my jacket! I got looks of glances and comments, but it was fun. I think one time I heard someone say, "does she have a child in there?" haha. I didn't take many pics but oh well. then we had all kinds of halloween fun (even though our trunk or treat was cancelled b/c of rain)...I'll just post pics-pumpkin carvings, lucy's class pics, the girls in costumes and trick or treating....they don't need much explanation...
Last weekend we had a little (early) bday party for Lucy (who will be 5!!!!! on the 20th) but that is a whole other post!! I may post that a little closer to her bday. Hopefully it will not be this long again till I write again! It seems like so many times I have all these ideas and thoughts in my head to write about and they sound so good in my head, but then when I write it, it just doesn't come out the same. I am so not a writer!