Projects

I tackled a few of my projects... one being Elah's tutu! I actually finished it a week or so ago! However, next time, remind me NOT to buy glittery tulle. WHY oh WHY did I think that was a good idea?

See this foot? Imagine that... but EVERYWHERE.

And then... she wanted to eat it...

And the face she made when I wouldn't let her eat it...

So I flipped her on her belly...

I can't decide what her eyes are doing... are they turning brown? Turning green? Perhaps staying hazel? Either way... they're beautiful!

Then we went to Nana's house to get some pictures outside!

But Boogie got tired of glitter...

I had a half-finished pink tutu WITHOUT glitter... so we tried it on...

Hm... tutus apparently aren't our favorite!

The next day...... I took Boogie to see her godmother and her "man"...

which has NOTHING to do with crafty projects... but Jesse is so handsome, I had to share!

I also (with mom's help ofcourse... I can't do anything or get anything done with Elah! ha!) dyed the fabric for my new wrap....

The color is pretty exact... it was supposed to be a really pretty tropical blue, but since the fabric is made of natural fibers, it turned out the greenish teal color you see in the fabric in the sink. Mom is being kind enough to hem it for me, and I can't wait to try it out!



I've got several projects I'm in the middle of... new leggies for Boogie, fabric cut out (atleast some of it) for nursing pads, new cloth wipes, dresses for Elah, and then mom is going to make me a new nursing cover... but I think I might try and do some of that and she can help with the parts I'm not so good at, LOL!

That's really all I wanted to post about it... so I'll end with my new favorite picture of Elah and me!

Happy Momma's Day!

For my first Mother's Day, I'd have to say it was pretty good! Elah was a good girl, of course, she ALWAYS is right? :) Boogie and I headed over to my mom's house around 8:30am, J had to work (I'll talk about that in a minute), and we just hung out and enjoyed spending time with her Nene and Papaw. I have a feeling that many weekends will be spent with them in the next few months! Why is that you ask? J started a new schedule at work... so now he works from 5am-8pm on Saturdays and Sundays, 5am-10am on Mondays and Thursdays. Basically, he's gone all weekend and home pretty much all week... not to shabby if you ask me. It does make for a long weekend for me (and him of course), but it's worth it to have him home more.

Mom and I worked on my new woven wrap today! It's not at all the color I expected it to be, but pretty nonetheless! It's a greenish blue color, almost the color of doctor's scrubs I guess! I'm hoping to go by tomorrow so we can decide how long I want it! I'm so excited to get it on and take pictures of the finished product!

Sitting here, I was thinking about how wonderful it is to be a momma. A year ago, one week prior to Mother's Day I found out I was pregnant. One of the BEST days of my life. I LOVE being a momma. I love it. Seriously, LOVE it. Makes you think about how boring your life was before children, LOL! I mean really, Justin and I had fun, but life just wouldn't be the same without my Boogie. Now, of course, my everyday shower routine doesn't happen anymore (I do shower, just not as often as I used to lol, thought I should clear that up!), I never fix my hair, 9 times out of 10 there's some kind of grossness on my clothing (i.e. breastmilk, boogers, spit up...you name it)... and sometimes all I eat is snack foods until J gets home because Boogie doesn't want to be put down, worn in a wrap, or anything... sometimes the only thing that will settle her down is laying down, nursing her, and napping with her. You know what? I wouldn't trade any of it.... she is a blessing, she is everything I could have hoped for and more. I know all you fellow mommy's know what I mean by all of this... it's SO totally worth it. So happy momma's day friends... be blessed!

Five Question Friday

1. Have you ever had roommates?

Just my hubby and Elah :)

2. How many names do you/your children have? (i.e. Prince Charming William Phillip Arthur Louis John Jacob Jingleheimer-Schmidt)
Elah has a first, middle, and last name.... AND Boogie is her nickname!

3. Did you watch the Royal Wedding?
Justin and I watched clips that evening.

4. What is the messiest room in your house?
At the moment.... the ENTIRE HOUSE.
5. What is your ideal mothers day?
A quiet day at home with my little family!

Full of Dreams

So lately I've been doing a lot of dreaming, dreaming about what I want to do with my life... I thought for sure that I was going to be a teacher. I thought for sure I wanted to work in a school teaching children, but now that I am a mother I'd rather stay home, teach my own children, and enjoy the moments I may have missed if I had decided to work out of my home. I've toyed with the idea of opening an online craft shop, but I'm not sure if it's exactly what I want to do... I want to do something bigger. I live in an area known for having people of a "crunchy" nature, and while we have a natural baby store (or perhaps two) in town, there isn't one closer to me. This could be way out of the range of what I could ever accomplish, but I'm hoping that at some point I can possibly make it come true. I want to open a store that sells cloth diapers, baby carriers and wraps, cloth diaper safe detergents, leggies, natural and organic products for mommy and baby... we dont' have anything like that in this little town, and it might not even be something that would work in this town. It would cost a lot to get started... it might not even work... but I'm dreaming!

Other than dreaming big, I'm looking forward to quite a few things in the next few weeks. I'm embracing motherhood and being a homemaker... I'm learning to love cooking! (However... I'm still learning how to love cleaning, lol!) I've started menu planning, and while we don't always follow it exactly, it is helpful when we go to buy groceries and restock our pantry. I love grocery shopping, especially now that we have a plan in place to do so. So tomorrow is our errand day... we are going to get groceries, running errands to school, and then I have to find a large bucket to die my wrap fabric in.... SQUEEEEEE!!! I can't wait to finish my new wrap! Next weekend we are meeting up with a fellow mommy that I went to high school with to get some pictures of Elah. (I love pictures, can you tell?) She is building up her portfolio, and she is a phenomenal momma to her beautiful little girl. She continues to amaze me, she's a full time student, a full time mommy, a full time wife, and she still manages to find time to take some AMAZING photos! I hope to share some after we get done :) Check out Courtney M Photography! And then, on the 27th we will be having Elah's dedication. Janelle and Nathan, Boogie's godparents, will be "leading" the ceremony... it's not necessarily a ceremony though, more of a celebration and prayer session for my beautiful little girl! A dedication is basically our way of saying that although we are Elah's earthly parents, we realize that she is God's child first and foremost, and we are giving this beautiful gift back to Him. We will prayer for her future, her faith, and her health... and I'm so looking forward to it!

I think that's about it... atleast that's a pretty decent update right?

Five Question Friday

 

1. If you could buy any car, money not an option, what would it be?

Honestly? I just want a really nice van... that might sound crazy, but we're planning on having 4 kids, and we drive cars until you can't drive them anymore. Might as well get something practical right? LOL!

2. What was your worst first date ever?

Worst first date? Went out for Frosties after going to my high school choral concert w/Jeremy... came home and went to bed and woke up vomiting... yea. Not fun.

3. How old were you when you fell in love for the first time?

REAL love? I was 17, and I've never looked back :)

4. When was the last time you reconciled your checkbook?

Justin is in charge of all that now... so it's been a while! I got TIRED of doing it!

5. If you were going to fashion a "Wanted" Ad for a best friend, how would you word it?

Wanted: Best Friend who is willing to come over and just sit and watch a movie, hold a crying baby, or cook dinner... someone who understands when I can't go out or stay out late... and isn't embarrassed when I nurse my child. :)

  

4 Months

Boogie is 4 months old today! Tomorrow is her 4 month checkup, I look forward to finding out how tall she is, and if her weight is what we weighed her as (12.1 lbs). She can't decide what her sleep cycles are going to consist of... a couple of days she sleeps wonderfully, and then next thing you know it she doesn't sleep at all! Little booger! She's currently asleep on a blanket in the floor, she has been for about.... 10 minutes? She's already starting to stir however, so most likely I'm going to get her, change her, nurse her, and head to bed. I'm not going to get done what I hope to tonight anyways! Goodnight!

A Little Bit of This... A Little Bit of That...

Can you believe it? I sure can't! I never thought I'd get to the end of this semester! I was so sure I could handle taking 4 classes online AND being a SAHM to my Boogie... little did I know how high maintenance Boogie would be! I guess I should have known though right? LOL! She really is a wonderful baby, but it's hard to get things done, especially homework, when this little girl refuses to be put down and wants your undivided attention ALL the time. I started out taking Principles of Biology, Sociology of the Family, Social Psychology, and Critical Thinking. What was I thinking when I signed up for Biology? I mean REALLY? That was a horrible mistake. The other three weren't as bad, however Social Psychology was ridiculous... the way the instructor set it all up was crazy and confusing. It's not her fault that I did poorly, I just had a horrible time trying to figure everything out and missed several due dates and therefore did very poorly on her tests. So in the end I dropped those two classes and am now acing my last two classes and ENJOYING them. That's what matters right? So instead of graduating this Fall, I will be graduating in the Spring. It might be taking me 3 years to get my AA, but this little girl is totally worth the extra time :)

This week Elah turns 4 months old... yikes. Didn't I just write about her turning 3 months old? She's starting to grab things, hold things, and put things in her mouth (yea....). She's definately teething, and that "4 Month Sleep Regression" I've heard and read other momma's talk about... we're experiencing it. NOT fun. Vacation was definately a sleep vacation... one night she slept close to 9 hours! Now I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 out of her. I shouldn't complain though, it could be much worse!

I've been practicing putting Elah on my back in the woven wrap... it's much more difficult than wearing her on my chest, and not only are my arms short, but Elah is so little it's hard to reach behind me and her to wrap her appropriately LOL! Here's a few photos to show you how I've done:

I look ROUGH in the second picture... but that's because Elah and I... well I walked from our apartment to my mom's house. That's approximately 1.5 miles with a child on my back, a diaper bag, and it quickly went from a nice cool morning to HOT. It was worth it though! I can't seem to get Elah as high up on my back as I would like... but like I said, I'm still working on it. What kills me is how people seem to think she's uncomfortable or she's in danger... so let me just say... babywearing is safe if you do it correctly. I wouldn't wear Elah if I didn't believe with my whole heart that it was safe. Sure, it's a little harder to get her on my back, but I would never put her in danger. I seriously wish I could have photographed some of the looks I got walking that day... how do you think people in Jesus' day carried their children? I bet a lot of them did this! Ok... off my soap box. But seriously, babywearing is AWESOME!

Elah's dedication is coming up soon as well! We haven't set a date yet, but we are really excited to finally publicly dedicate our daughter to the One who blessed us with her. We're going to be doing things a little differently, but it will be just as special. Her godparents are going to lead the dedication, I couldn't choose a better couple to be her godparents and who better to dedicate her than them?

After all that rambling... I really have no idea how to end this.... so.... I'll leave you with this:
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." Psalm 127:3.

He has RISEN!

Our little family had a wonderful Easter Sunday... and guess what?!?!? Jesus has RISEN! Hallelujah! :) Boogie and I started off our morning by sleeping in. By sleeping in I mean, we started at 7am and I pretty much nursed her everytime she woke up so that she fell asleep again... is that awful? LOL! We got up at 10am and started our morning by reading the Easter Story from one of her kid's bible story books and then we read an Easter book by Mercer Mayer (LOOOVE those books!) Then we were basically lazy all day... I did manage to get the diapers washed, and Justin made steaks for dinner... other than that, we just hung out, played, and Elah refused to nap! Ha! She's actually finally asleep... I got her down at 9pm and she stayed asleep for about 45 minutes, long enough for me to get half of an assignment done for school. I just got her back down, however she's in my lap, and I can't move. Yay me!

Anyways, I wanted to share Elah's Easter pics... or atleast a few of them. Mom took the one's outside, I took the one's inside... enjoy!

Boogie's First Easter

Tomorrow is Boogie's first Easter! Not that she cares, but Justin and I made her a little Easter basket with a few goodies for her. I didn't pack it, and she's already played with the toys we bought... but we just wanted to get her something for her first Easter! J has to work tomorrow of course, and mom is sick... so chances are we won't make it to church tomorrow, but that's OK. Elah loves to read... she LOVES books (and mommy is very ecstatic about that) so we will probably read the Easter story together in the morning and just play! I want to teach her what Easter is really about, of course I'm sure she'll believe in the Easter bunny... that was so much fun as a child... but she needs to know why we celebrate this holiday.

I've never not believed in my Savior, and this holiday I believe in Him more now than I ever have before. I have Boogie to thank for that. I love my husband, and he is the love of my life, but nothing compares to the love I have for my daughter...except of the love I have for my Christ. It's incredible how different, but how similar my love is for Boogie and for Jesus. I wonder what God goes through when we fall in our footsteps, or how excited He becomes when we have accomplished something victorious. My heart leaps when Elah just smiles at me, it's a love so intense that you can't understand it until you hold your own child in your arms.

Something else I've been thinking about this Easter holiday is how my brother has fallen in his footsteps this past few years. My baby brother doesn't "believe" in God anymore, atleast that's what he claims right now. He's having a hard time with... well just life in general. I pray for him all the time, I try to reach out to him when I can... but I'm not going to lie. It's difficult, especially when some of the things he does and says hurt me, and could potentially hurt my daughter. When we picked out a name for our daughter, we chose a name that meant something... in the valley of Elah, a tiny little boy named David picked up a stone and flung it at a giant, evil man named Goliath... and saved his people. I'm hoping that my tiny little girl can be my brother's David and defeat all the Goliath's in his life... I know that God is already working through her, I've seen it with my own eyes... until I see a major change though, I'll continue to pray!

This has been a little random, but these are all things I've been thinking about this week, leading up to one of the most victorious holidays there are. Jesus RISES tomorrow, he defeats death and Satan and washed my sins away on this day sooo many years ago. I am blessed to know Him in my heart, I am blessed to be washed by the blood of the Lamb. Am I worthy? No. Do I deserve it? No... but does He think so? YES. I can't decide how the rest of my life will go, or what my children will choose to believe, but I hope and believe with my whole heart that someday Boogie, and her siblings, will know Christ as I do someday...

Happy Easter Boogie... tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day!

I Miss Sleep...

Just a few weeks ago my Boogie was sleeping between 6-9 hours EVERY night... yea... that's a lot of sleep! Now? Not so much. She used to go down between 8 or 9pm and sleep til 2ish or longer... all of a sudden, she fights it until 9 or 10, goes down, and wakes up 30 minutes later! I get her down again... and she's up 30 minutes later! I cherished these few hours before I went to bed, I used it as my own time to myself! I got homework done, did laundry, or just watched a movie and fooled around on facebook... but it was MY time no matter what I did. At the moment, I'm typing this with one hand, and shaking a rattle over Elah who is giggling hysterically... and it's almost 11pm. WAY past Boogies' bedtime.

Since about 10 weeks, she's been a horrible napper... she has to be worn or held to get a good nap in, I'm still trying to accept that, which isn't going so well. I need to get things done, and I can't do that if I have to hold her, and she doesn't like it when I bend over with her in the wrap, so I can't get quite a few things done when I wear her either! (When I'm more comfortable wrapping her on my back, this may be resolved, for the moment though... we're not there yet). RARELY, she will fall sleep in the swing, bouncer, or carseat, but does it last long? NO. I think we got about 30 minutes when we go to my inlaws house tonight... and that was AFTER riding in the car for about 20 minutes running errands! She sleeps great in the car, but since Justin uses the car during the day, I can't just drive her around for a nap... which would still defeat the purpose of her napping so I could get some stuff done!

I guess the point of all this is to just say I'm tired... yesterday was rough. And all of this could be because of a growth spurt and/or teething... but I haven't had much rest since about, oh, Wednesday? And after so many wonderful nights of GOOD sleeping, it's hard to feel like I have a newborn all over again. Not to mention that she was basically permanently attached to my boob yesterday, which made for a cranky mommy and a happy baby as long as I was within her piranha mouth!

I love you Boogie... but mommy needs a Boogie break... even for just an hour, please?