The Glamorous Life of a Housewife

7 Little Moments.

2012-01-27T00:02:00.000-06:00

Woo hoo! I remembered to document my week intentionally! :)

Friday, January 20

We had a fun little shopping day! We walked into a store full of accessories, purses and all things feminine and Levi exclaimed, "look at all of these Mommy things!" :) Then he tried showing every sales lady in every single store his Transformer. This child has never met a stranger.

Saturday, January 21

Daddy had the weekend off! What a treat! We spent the day out and when we took this pictures I said, "why are we so bright", and right before I snapped the pic, Husby said, "because we're vamps". And then I died laughing. Apparently, Weebie isn't so "vampish".

Sunday, January 22

After church, we took Levi to the movie theatre to see Beauty and the Beast. He absolutely LOVED it and had a blast. He kept frowning when it ended and we thought he was going to cry. It was such a fun day.

Monday, January 23

I can't remember what we did that day, but that evening when Daddy got home, he and Weebie had their nightly light saber battle. They turn out all the lights and fight it out. Levi calls them "light savers", and I'm pretty sure it's his favorite time of day.

Tuesday, January 24

I had a play date/luncheon with a couple of my friends and their little ones - who happen to be Levi's little friends! :) Us ladies laughed, chatted and noshed on girly food like chicken salad, while our boys played their hearts out. I forgot to take a picture, but that evening while we waited for Daddy to get home, Levi and I played bow & slingshot. He always wants me to shoot the bow and he uses the slingshot. He calls himself David as we play. (David & Goliath is his favorite Bible story.) Have I mentioned I LOVE having boys?! And their toys are too much fun. :)

Wednesday, January 25

I didn't feel well at all this day. I was sick to my stomach, it was raining and so Levi and I laid low, stayed in our jammies, made a crock-pot supper and spent the day playing and napping.

Thursday, January 26

Levi had "Grammy/Poppy Day", and so Mommy had errand running day. I usually just grab something to eat in my car when I'm out alone, but this day I decided to go to my favorite fast casual restaurant and eat my favorite sandwich - the chicken TBM at Cosi. Delicious! I got a lot accomplished and it was fun to shop leisurely without any time constraints due to naps and such.

And there we go! 7 moments out of the past 7 days! :)

Redheads Unite.

2012-01-25T00:03:00.002-06:00

The intro paragraph has nothing to do with the point of the post ... but it was cute and it happened that day, so I had to share.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Levi and I had a day out with my Mom. On our way to meet her, we got pulled over by a policeman. I was going 73 in a 65, and he pulled me over for a "courtesy warning". Gee, how courteous. Levi sat quietly in the backseat throughout my entire conversation with the cop (he was a friendly, talkative little officer), and when he left, Levi said, "we got pulled over by a police officer ... I've got to tell Glam*Ma"! I laughed that the first thing he thought to do was tattle on his Mommy, but forgot about it as we kept on driving and singing at the top of our lungs. When we arrived to see Glam*Ma, she opened the door and he bursted through like a gust of wind and screamed, "MOMMY GOT PULLED OVER BY A POLICE OFFICER"! I can't get away with anything when this little dude is around.

We laughed for a bit and went on about our day. We did some lunching, shopping, snacking and more shopping well into the evening. We made our last stop at Hobby Lobby and it was well beyond dark at this point. When I was checking out, I noticed this red headed employee standing in the doorway. He seemed super friendly and every time I glanced his way, he smiled. Mom and Levi were standing near him, so I figured he was admiring Levi. That, or admiring my hair that was just a shade or two darker than his bright red. We redheads have an unspoken comradery, you know. We stick together.

Composing a mere 7% of the population, we feel a duty to band together as brother and sister. It's just what we do. It's part of our chemical makeup. Tucked inside our fiery strands of locks holds an intricate bond of allegiance to one another. We are fiercely drawn to protect and uphold one another. It's the redhead bond of unity.

It's just that he took the whole sticking together thing to a whole new level.

I grabbed my bags and walked toward Mom and Levi. As soon as we started walking, he soon followed. I stopped to look at something in the entryway, and he stopped too. Smiling. I said something to Mom and she laughed. He laughed, too. He was stuck to us like glue. I was so confused! We kept walking and I stopped again to see what would happen. Wouldn't you know - he stopped, too!! Smiling all the way. This was the happiest stalker I had ever met.

I made a quick glance at Mom out of the corner of my eye and she stopped with Levi and mouthed to me, "WAIT here". I just kind of looked at her like, "are we just going to stand here with him staring at a bird bath for 10 minutes and not go outside? We have to leave eventually!" (Yes, I said all of that with my eyes.) While we were having this little eye chat, he was standing right beside me. I couldn't help but laugh. The thought of a smiling red headed Hobby Lobby employee attacking us was quite comical at this point. I started walking outside with Mom and Levi following behind. But not him. He was right next to me. Grinning like it was his job. I looked at him and kind of laughed a nervous laugh like "what on earth are you doing here, buddy"? When the cool breeze hit and dark enveloped us, Mom sprinted up beside me like a bodyguard. She looked over at the jolly guy and he whispered something to her.

This was the weirdest HobLob experience I have ever had.

"There has been a man in our parking lot attacking women. I saw you and your daughter, and you looked like easy prey. I thought I would walk you to your car," he said - all with a smile on his face.

Ohhhh. So he wasn't a stalker! He was a superhero! Yay!

But wait a minute ... hey! Why do we look like easy prey? I think I was half grateful/half offended, here.

He continued on with creepy details of the scary attacker as he safely escorted us to our car. What a nice guy! We thanked him and he went back inside, seeming quite proud of his heroic duties, and we buckled Levi in the car seat. Mom peered behind the car and out of NOWHERE a man in a long jacket appeared and was headed toward us... fast. "GET IN THE CAR ... NOW!!!!", Mom screamed.

I jumped inside in a sheer panic as she stayed outside buckling Levi in. "GET IN THE CAR, MOM!!! I WILL BUCKLE HIM INSIDE!"

She high-tailed it in the car and I hit the lock button as fast as I could and we burned rubber getting the heck out of there. It was quite terrifying. I'm pretty sure we left him in the dust. Literally.

Now, was the man headed toward us the attacker? I don't know. He did look creepy, and he did come out of nowhere. But then again, Mom and I have pretty explosive imaginations, so we had him pegged as a serial killer immediately.

But I do know that something was going on because all of the employees were standing at the front of the store whispering to one another and peering outside. The funny thing is that there was woman after woman walking out ahead of and after us, alone with no escort at all. They all walked right past the red headed guy as he waited for me to checkout and stood close to Mom and Levi. His eyes were fixed on us like he was told to protect us and only us. But why? Why us?

Well, I think there is only one logical answer, here.

Our hair.

Redheads UNITE!

Tiddly Bits.

2012-01-23T00:11:00.000-06:00

* So, I spent the last week completely purging and organizing our house. I started with Levi's room and went around the house emptying every room, closet and some out-of-control cabinets and drawers. I can't tell you how WONDERFUL it feels to get rid of so much stuff and implement some better organization. I feel like it's easier to keep on top of the chores and upkeep of the home when it's not filled to the brim with stuff. I still have the master bathroom to tackle, and then I will have hit every room. Husby told me I was nesting early. I figure hey, better to do it now when I have some energy than when I'm whale-ish and can't fit into small spaces! ;-)

* Raise your hand if you love Downton Abbey! Here at our house, we are completely obsessed with the show. We discovered it in it's premiere season last winter and absolutely ate it up. We were thrilled when season two started up a couple of weeks ago. If you haven't watched, you simply must. But you need to watch Season 1 first. I'm so in love with it that the other night I dreamed about a new makeup collection based off the series and it was the most fantastical makeup you've ever laid eyes on. So gorgeous. I think someone should take my idea and run with it! I texted my Mom the other day and asked her if we could all move into an English Manor together and dress up in formal gowns every night for supper. She was all for it. Now if we can get the rest of the family on board. I'm just not sure if the guys will go for wearing tuxedos every day. Hmmm.

* After going through my blog book the other evening, I realized I have totally slipped on keeping up with my 7 Little Moments. This week, it's back in force! I loved going back through the different weeks and seeing little bits from our days. Some ordinary and some extraordinary - but all so meaningful and lovely. Oh, and several of you asked what site I use to print my blog. I use blog2print.com. It's simple, it's FAST, and it's good quality. I tried Blurb one year, but I didn't have the time to keep up with uploading/formatting my posts into it each week. So, I go the easy route. And I love it!

* It's January and it's hot. I long for chilly air and blankets of snow. That's what winter is all about, so BRING IT ON, already!

Okay ... I planned on writing more, but my eyes are heavy and my warm bed with cool sheets is calling my name! Happy Monday, friends!

Weebie Wednesday!

2012-01-18T22:10:00.003-06:00

Levi is hilarious. This age is amazing. He has his own precious little personality and he's such a joy. There is rarely a conversation with him that doesn't end in giggles or a smile - you just never know what he's going to say next. I got my 2011 blog book in last night and it was so much fun flipping through there and reading different things he has said or done that I had forgotten about, so here is a post full of Weebie-isms. Things I don't want to forget!

The other night we asked him if his ear hurt and he said, "No, it feels like marshmallows. And my other one smells like chicken."

Every morning after breakfast he asks for his "kid vitamins".

He kept asking if he could eat lunch in my closet the other day. I told him "no, baby, that's a little bit weird". He replied, "Don't say weird, Mommy. We don't talk like that."

I was going to ask him something but then remembered whatever it was I was talking about. I said, "Oh, nevermind, baby." He said, "never yours?" HA! I guess he thought I said "never mine."

About a month ago, we were driving home from a play date with friends at Chick-Fil-A. He found a toy with candy in it and he kept asking me to open it. I told him I was driving and that I couldn't open it right now. He said, "please, oh please will you open it yes ma'am? Please yes ma'am? Will you open it yes ma'am?" Hilarious. He was thinking of all the polite things he could say to change my mind. :)

We were in Target and he spotted a Sesame Street hoodie. His eyes lit up and he quietly said, "whoa ... I can't believe it."

That same day that we were in Target, I took him with me to the bathroom. I take him with me in the stall all the time - no big deal. This day, he looked at me and then just BURST out in a fit of laughter. He started screaming, "YOU HAVE LEGS AND UNDERWEAR!!!!" I swear I've never seen him laugh so hard. Well then I started laughing. And we were both laughing in this tiny little stall and couldn't stop. When he (and I) finally regained our composure, he said, "I'm just teasin', Mommy." I can't help but wonder what everyone else in that bathroom was thinking!

He was completely obsessed with Christmas songs this year. His favorite was Jingle Bells, and he would say, "oh what fun it is to ride sup sup open sleigh - HEY!" He also called the Polar Express the "Polar Expressed", and he asked to watch it every day.

The other morning he ran and jumped in my lap and said, "I have the BEST mommy! This is MY mommy." :)

His little prayers are so sweet. He wants to pray before every course at dinner if we're in a restaurant. If we get an appetizer and we pray before we eat it, he insists we pray before our main course, as well. It's so sweet. He always says, "Dear Jesus, thank you for this GREAT food and this GREAT day, Amen." His nighttime prayers are precious because he goes through and names everything and everyone he is thankful for. The other night he said, "thank you for Grammy & Poppy, Glam*ma & Papapa, Daddy, Mommy, Uncle Luke, Aunt Hollie, Maxwell and my baby brother. That's all I need. Amen." I MELTED!!!! Other nights he thanks God for the fan and Ernie and the iPad ... I'm always happy it's dark so he won't see me giggling. You never know what he's going to be thankful for.

We picked him up from the Church nursery about a month ago and the nursery worker said, "are you expecting a little boy?" I said, "Yes." Then she asked, "And are you naming his Ezra?" I laughed and said, "yes, how did you know?" She said Levi told her. How precious that he was telling his teachers about his baby brother!! So sweet.

I was so sick the other day and laid on the couch all morning and put cartoons on for him. He kept coming up to me and saying, "Are you happy, Mommy? Are you sick? Do you not feel good?" It was sad. Then he came up and said, "You need a hug", and he hugged and kissed me. Then he smiled and said, "You're not sick anymore!" :)

One day he asked, "can you come clean this cookie mess up on the couch?"

I was on the phone with my Mom last night and I said to her, "what time is it?" I saw Levi glance over at our (digital) clock and he said, "It's 7." My mom heard him and said, "did he just say it was 7!?!?!" I said, YES!!!! And I was completely freaking out. I looked at the clock and it read 6:58. I asked him how he knew it was 7 and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know". I asked him if he read the clock and he said, "oh yes I did." HAHA! I'm still wondering how on earth he knew what time it was!

We went to the Aquarium the other day and when we first got there, Husby was telling Levi about animoles. (I don't know if I spelled that right because I don't even know what one is.) A couple hours later, Levi pointed at something and said, "is this an animole, Daddy?" Pretty sure my 2 year old knows more about sea life than his Mommy.

Any time Husby comes and gives me a hug while I'm laying on the couch and Levi sees, he runs and jumps on top of us screaming, "FAMILY HUG! FAMILY HUG!"

I just eat up these precious little moments with my baby boy. He's a delightful little angel and I'm so fortunate and blessed to be his Mommy.

A Few of my Favies.

2012-01-17T00:02:00.000-06:00

I think it would be fun to do a post every now and then showing a few of my favorite things. I have done it before and when I go back and see them I think, "Oh! I forgot about that! I love it!" And when I'm dead and gone, maybe my great-grandkids will enjoy reading about what I liked back in the day. Always thinking ahead! :) In my mind, my printed out blog books are going to be family treasures in the long run. I mean, don't you think it would be cool to read old journals of your great great great grandma? I sure do! Hopefully, my future family will be as nostalgic as myself.

Okay! A few of my favorite things right now!

My Nook & Nook Cover.

My brother gave me a two-day lecture on why I simply must have a Nook. So, I got one and he was right. It's life changing. I love the simplicity of it and the ease of reading one handed. I also think it will come in handy in the wee hours of the morning when I'm up feeding Ezra in a couple of months. It makes reading in bed a breeze, and ... let's face it, I just kind of feel cool using it. It's fun! And when I found this super cute cover, I was all over it. It's just the cutest thing in life and it makes me smile. I'm convinced the Nook makes me read more. The Nook and cover (Kate Spade) came from Barnes & Noble.

My New Area Rug.

Our old area rug was red and cream/tan and stained to HIGH heavens. I can't tell you how many hours both Husby and I spent on our knees Resolving the sin out of that thing. Nightmare. I wanted a new dark one (always go dark with children) and we were in desperate need of one. SAM's just happened to be having a "rug show" this weekend and we picked up this beaut. I love it. The colors go perfectly with our furniture and it gives just the *pop* that our living room was needing.

The Infamous Slippers.

Remember the video of Weebie telling what he got me for Christmas? "Slippers! No, it's a surprise! A surprise!" :) Well, these are the slippers. They are hands down the most amazingly comfortable slippers my tootsies have ever slid in to. I wear them all the time. They're Uggs and they have a cute pink leather tie. Perfect! When I took these pictures, Levi insisted he be in the picture. Hehe. I love these slippers with all my heart. And the story behind them is so special to me.

Boots for Levi.

My big foot baby is so hard on shoes. I swear, he wears a pair for a week and they are torn and tattered, looking years old. It's unbelievable. These super cute Ralph Lauren boots that his Glam*Ma got for him are my favorite. They are super durable and equally adorable. He looks like a doll in them. So far, he's kept them in really good shape. And that is quite a task if you are a pair of Weebie's shoes!

Cute Little iPhone Case.

I got this adorable red Michael Kors iPhone case for Christmas and I love it. It's perfect for errand running because it has a spot for debit cards and cash. It will really be good in a couple months when I'm juggling a toddler, a newborn, a purse, a diaper bag, etc. I have a feeling I will throw this bad boy in my bag for quick runs out. The inside is gold and it's so pretty!

LUSH products.

My Mom gifted us with tons of delicious LUSH products for Christmas. Lotions, shampoos, bath bombs, soaps, body wash, etc. My bathroom smells like a sweet flavor explosion! You could actually smell the products in the shipping package before we even opened it. We love LUSH in my family and we don't have one near (though Oklahoma City just opened one! Yay!), so these products are such a treat. This specific body wash smells HEAVENLY. I like to bathe Levi in it too because he smells like a sweet little sugar plum when he gets out. Yum. And he is especially enjoying the bath bombs. They're too much fun!

The Perfect Shade.

Well, y'all. I have found the perfect shade of lipstick. And you know what? It's unavailable now. It was a holiday special and they are completely sold out everywhere. I guess everyone loves it. The shade is "I Love Winter", and the gloss that goes over it is beautiful, too. I truly believe that any complexion can wear this shade and it looks good on everyone! It's like a magical lipstick. Too bad I'll never see it again. ;(

The One Trip Grip.

This little gadget is amazing. You can slide tons of grocery bags on it, lock it in place and carry them in with ease. It's awesome! I gifted several ladies in my family with this on Christmas and I have two for myself. It makes carrying in groceries not so dreadful.

An Encouraging Devotional.

I don't always have time to do in-depth Bible study every day, but like to saturate myself in some part of the Word - even if it is just a little devotional. This one is perfect for the "quick mornings", and offers the encouragement and inspiration to get me going. :)

Wooden Utensils.

I am in L-O-V-E with wooden utensils. I asked for several nice wooden spoons for Christmas and my Mom got me a variety from Williams Sonoma. This spatula is one of my favorites. It is perfect for grilled-cheese flipping because the end is curved slightly. I use it for lots of things!

Just Call Me "Little Edie".

2012-01-15T22:27:00.001-06:00

So. Here's the sitch.

I'm taking this whole week to purge and organize each and every room and closet of my house.

Just go ahead and send me to the Silly Farm.

I need to do it now before I'm too big and sore and swollen to do it later. And it must be done before the baby comes.

Because he will TOTALLY care what our house looks like.

:)

I figure it will be easier to do now than after he comes. Because I very well may be headless for a while as I figure out life with 2 kiddos and a resident husby. You've heard of the headless horsemen? I'm the headless housewife.

Glamorous.

Here's the plan!

I will dedicate one whole day per room. This should get me exactly where I need to be - clutter free. A purged home is a happy home!

It's the getting there part that's not so fun.

But ... I'm super excited about all of my new storage containers. :)

Wish me luck!

I would do before/after pictures, but you might disown me as a blog friend after you see some of my closets.

No. For real.

Think Grey Gardens.

Without the raccoons.

Okay, and the filth, because who could live like that? But the junk? Oh, the junk is there.

Alright, I'm off to wrap a scarf around my head and dress up in bizarre little outfits.

And get to organizing!

As Levi would say, "Are you ready? Set get! Goooo!"

"Listen, kid! I'm extremely organized. I know exactly where to look for this stuff. I've got it under control right here, but I can't find it. Get it?"
Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale
Grey Gardens

(And if you're totally lost on this Grey Gardens talk, you simply must watch it at some point in your life. You won't understand why, but you'll become sickly entranced by the utterly bizarre lives of these two women.)

Chasing rabbits. Off to organize and de-Edie my life!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Angel Face - Up Close!

2012-01-13T00:09:00.000-06:00

Oh my friends.

My heart stood still yesterday as I did my 4D imaging and video with baby Ezra. As I laid on the big comfortable bed in the dim lighting and soft music, I watched my precious angel on the screen with my other precious angel by my side. It was the sweetest thing.

Meet Ezra.

He is an absolute doll and already filled with so much personality. He smiled at us nearly the entire 15 minutes! It was SO funny that I couldn't stop laughing.

It was like he knew we were watching him! He yawned, opened and closed his mouth a ton, opened his eyes a couple of times and stuck his tongue out twice! Quite the little showboat, we have here. :)

He kept hiding behind his hands and this picture below shows him playing peek-a-boo with us. Look at him hiding and smiling behind his arm! That precious little lamb!

Levi was absolutely mesmerized by the entire thing. He kept saying, "Baby brother has MY nose and MY arms!!" Then he kept asking to hear the heartbeat. When we listened to it, he said, "That is my favorite sound! Can we listen to it again?" We bought him a little bear with a recording of Ezra's heartbeat inside and he just loves it. He is such a proud big brother and he just knew that Ezra was looking at him and that is why he was smiling. I think so, too. :)

I got over 50 images of Ezra (plus a DVD of the entire thing!) and when I got home, I compared them to Levi's. I could not BELIEVE how much they resemble one another.

Check it out!

I LOVE IT!

My two precious little angel boys. I am so, so blessed. My heart is bursting!!!

Winner!

2012-01-11T00:06:00.000-06:00

Wowza! Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. As always, I wish you could all win, but sadly I'm not Oprah. :*(

The winner is #219 .... EMILY!!!
Comment posted below:
Roll tide roll! (Alabama)
I posted a link on my blog!
http://emily022589.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-manicotti.html

The Random Generator helped me choose a winner. Thank you all for playing!

Emily, please contact me at glamlifehousewife@gmail.com with your mailing address to claim your prize. And CONGRATS!

To Splurge or Save.

2012-01-10T00:02:00.000-06:00

Gift cards are such a great thing to receive. The possibilities of what to do with them are endless and shopping with "free money" is one of the most fun things in the world! Some think that they are an impersonal gift, but I sure don't. I love them. What better thing to give someone when you just don't know WHAT to get them, you know?

But y'all. Oh, friends. Husby and I have completely different opinions when it comes to gift cards.

Especially Target gift cards.

In my mind, it's to buy fun stuff. Things that we wouldn't usually buy with our regular budget. It's extra! It's for funzies! Splurges! Shopping sprees! I buy things with gift cards that I would surpass if shopping with regular money.

Husby likes to use it for necessities. For toothpaste and groceries and Tide and paper towels. Ya know, things that we actually NEED. Boooooring! He views it as us being able to save the money that we would typically spend on those things and having a free grocery bill for that week.

I would rather pretend we didn't have a gift card, spend regular money on groceries and have lots of fun extra stuff that we bought with the gift card. Makes perfect sense in my mind! Hey, we may be without deodorant, but by golly we have that heart shaped pink cake pan! ;-)

With me being more of the saver of the family (I still have money I was gifted with LAST Christmas), this is quite a funny little conversation that we go 'round and 'round with when we do in fact, have a gift card. It's a total role reversal, and it makes me laugh!

What do you do with your gift cards? How do you view the "free money"?

(* There is still time to enter yesterday's giveaway! Winner announced tomorrow.)

Giveaway Day!

2012-01-09T00:02:00.001-06:00

I have spotted several cute decorative milk bottles at various places lately and I just think they're adorable. I think it's the old soul in me who wishes for simpler times and milk men coming to your door.

....

This coming from the girl who runs and hides when UPS comes a knockin'.

Anyway, enough about me. Time for YOU!

I spied this precious little milk jug measuring set at Anthropologie and immediately thought of y'all. Isn't that sweet of me? And isn't it just too cute for words?

I think it would be adorable sitting on your countertop, but if you don't have room, it's great because it doesn't take up much storage space. But who would want to hide this beaut in your cupboards?

I seriously can't even get over the cuteness. I want it for myself. Maybe I should nix the giveaway.

Eh, but what fun would that be?

Want it? Leave me a comment and tell me where you're from! You can just tell me the state (or country for all of you out of the US!) if you're uncomfortable with disclosing any more than that. I just like reading where all my readers hail from.

Tweet, Facebook or blog the giveaway (including a link back here), and you can enter up to 3 more times!

Good luck, loves!

*Winner announced Wednesday.*

The Balance Of The Home.

2012-01-06T00:04:00.002-06:00

The picture looks different in each household, but most every family has one. The "easy" parent and the "hard" parent .... also loosely known as the Disciplinarian and the Softie. (NOT to be mistaken for a pushover.)

The Hard Parent has the reputation for being firm in their ways - never wavering from the rules and regulations. This parent has no problem with correction and discipline and does it with great force and a gentle ease. They're just good at it. And, ultimately, respected for it.

The Easy Parent has the reputation for "giving in" more often and struggles with discipline. They are lovers of peace and wanting everyone to be happy all the time. They are more apt to bend the rules and go with the flow in order to get that. This parent fills the gaps between the meltdown of the child and the correction of the Disciplinarian.

Both parents have their positive and negative qualities and bring both good and not-so-good to the table depending on the situation and which parent is handling it. If the Disciplinarian is handling a situation better suited for the Softie, chaos often ensues and vice versa. God distinctly gives each parent different attributes and strengths so they can all work together in one accord to make a family work functionally and beautifully.

It's all part of His plan.

In our family, Husby is more of the Disciplinarian and I am more of the Softie. Sometimes, I don't know what I would do without Husby and his ability to get on Levi's level, calmly yet forcefully explain why we do or do not do things, and correct him in a firm and gentle way. Levi totally respects his Daddy and I absolutely learn a lot about "sticking to your guns" from him. God has given Husby the gift of discipline and it creates the perfect balance in our home.

For me, it is sometimes h-a-r-d to discipline my boy. I have no problem with it if it is something Levi has blatantly done - like stealing a toy from his cousin or disobeys me by not doing as I say. That's easy. (And correction is easy. I correct him with with absolutely zero hesitancy.) It's the more tricky issues of childhood that I have a hard time sticking to - like giving Levi something different to eat if he's not eating his supper. Husby is fine with telling him that is what we are having and if you don't eat it then you don't get something else. And there I am scrounging up a peanut butter and jelly so that he will just eat SOMETHING. Or if Levi is in his bed screaming, "I need my Mommy,; I JUST NEED MY MOMMY!", Husby can totally let that go by turning up the TV and telling me not to go in there. And in 3 seconds flat, I'm cuddled up next to him telling him I'm here and everything is okay.

Hence, the Softie.

It's extra hard for me because as annoying as this sounds, Levi is just such an "easy" kid. He does everything he is told to do and his super tender heart is always eager to please. I can't recall the last time he's had to go to Time Out, because he is really good to mind and obey. Discipline, when he gets it, breaks his heart. And that breaks MY heart.

(Note: Levi is often corrected. Daily. There is a big distinction between discipline and correction. Discipline is a result of blatant disobedience. Correction is necessary and vital in teaching proper behavior. You are doing your child a disservice by avoiding correction, and I believe it should be enforced and displayed by both parents equally and as needed.)

The other evening, Husby ran into a sticky situation at work and had to stay late, supper was already cooked and on the table, and Levi refused to eat. I was exhausted from the post-holiday housework I had done all day and frustrated that supper was done and Husby was not. Levi was testing me by not even trying one bite of anything and after 10 minutes of The Battle, I lost my cool, threatened Time Out and then I lost it. I started crying.

"Levi, please just eat your food!" I said with tears streaming down my face.

It takes me by surprise when Levi pushes the limits because he's usually so good to just do what I say. But there is something about this child and food where he gets this strong will that can't be broken!

Levi took one look at me and burst into a fit of tears screaming, "don't cry, Mommy!!! I'm sorry!!! Don't cry, Mommy!!!' as he wailed and wailed. And I wailed with him. The two of us sat in the floor bawling. Over absolutely nothing .... in the grand scheme of life, that is.

Husby got home and took one look at us both and immediately jumped into the situation and saved the day. He gave me a pep-talk and lots of hugs and then tackled the Levi situation. He was calm, he was poised, and he was firm. He was exactly what we both needed.

And there are times when I think Husby is going a little hard and I am able to bring some ease to the situation, too. But, those are his stories to tell - not mine.

The situation the other day was such a picture to me of the team that God created us to be. When one is down, the other is strong. When one is out of ideas and energy, the other swoops in with a fresh perspective. When one needs a break from it all, the other relieves them. God so uniquely created Husby's personality to perfectly compliment mine .... not only in the interaction of us as husband and wife, but in our roles as Mommy and Daddy, as well. It just blows my mind! Yet another reason it is so unbelievably important to wait on the spouse GOD has created FOR YOU. Simply put, He knows exactly what he is doing.

Together, we balance our home and our vision toward our children is the exact same - to bring up God fearing, polite, respectful little boys in a loving, secure and peaceful home.

I'm fortunate to have a spouse to jumps in there and fulfills his role. I know lots of Mommy's who are left to do it all on their own and that leaves them exhausted and stressed. Plus, they always feel like "the bad guy", and that's not fair. I believe each parent needs to use and enforce their God given gifts to parent together as a whole. There are times Husby and I have role reversal days where he is extra easy and I am extra corrective. It's a fluctuation and an ever changing life experiment, this parenting gig. And just when you think you have it figured out, there's a wrench thrown in and you're left starting all over.

I'm just happy I have the perfect partner to do it with.

What does it look like in your home? Are you the Disciplinarian, the Softie or both?

25 Weeks.

2012-01-05T00:06:00.000-06:00

I can't believe we have 3 months (or less) before little Ezra's arrival. Where has the time gone?! I blink and another month has passed. Wow.

We had an appointment last week and got this gorgeous picture of our little boy. Would you just look at how precious he is?

Oh, he's just an angel. A perfect, lovely little angel. My heart!

He is weighing in at 1 lb. 12 oz. and he is currently frank breech - where his head and feet are up by my ribs and he is positioned to come out hiney first. He's still so small that he's flip flopping all the time, so it's not a concern right now. It was quite cute seeing his little tootsies up by his face. What a little lamb boat.

He is measuring about a week ahead of time. He takes after his big brother. Husby and I grow 'em big, I tell ya!

Levi talks about him ALL of the time. He pats my tummy and gives him kisses. The other day he was feeling my tummy and said, "Mommy! He kicked me! Ezra kicked me because he loves me!" I said, "That's right, sugar bear." And he leaned in close to my face and said, "he loves you too, Mommy."

Melt my heart.

He also always asks is we can "go to Mommy's doctor to see my baby brother". I can't wait to see what kind of brother Levi will be to this precious soul because I know he will be phenomenal. Levi has such a sweet tender little heart and he is so excited about his baby brother. These boys are my life's joy!!!

I'm feeling pretty good besides back pain at the end of my days and some swelling if I am on my feet for too long or just exhausted. I am starting to get real tired again ... reminiscent of the first trimester, but of course, not nearly as bad. It's an adjustment compensating for a big belly and it's not an easy task. The other day I swore off grocery shopping without Husby until after the baby is born because it seemed like every single thing I needed was on the bottom shelf! My back was killing me when I got home.

Next week, we have a scheduled 4D ultrasound/video like we did with Weebie and I am so excited!! I can't wait to get a closer look of this dreamy little fella.

I'm so grateful for such a great pregnancy. An enormous blessing, for sure.

On a Tuesday Night.

2012-01-03T21:27:00.003-06:00

Phew! The holidays are over and life is slowly regaining some sense of normalcy again. I was so ready to tear down the decorations this year and get the place back to it's regular state that we got them down and up in the attic the day after we got home. I can never truly enjoy the decorations for knowing I have to take them down. Is that weird? Probably. But I feel like it's looming over my head! Anything looming over a pregnant ladies head is too much. The relief of having things back to normal is so nice.

Today was the first day Levi and I were back in our routine and it was weird. I kind of felt like I didn't know what to do! After a full week of running and busying and always having something new to do, it was strange to just stay home and fall back into our old ways. Levi watched Super Why and was beyond thrilled. With the constant entertainment of grandparents and cousins, he never even asked to watch a show for over a week, so it was extra exciting today!

The laundry is caught up.
The gifts and clothes are put away.
The pantry and ice box are stocked.

Life is back to normal.

And hopefully, my blogging will be back to normal. It was so nice to get away from the web and social media all week, so it's a little difficult trying to get back in the swing of sitting down to blog. But, I will make time for it because it's that time of the year when I print last year's blog posts into a book, and it always makes me so happy that I document life. So document, I will do!

And y'all can stay along for the ride. This is going to be one exciting year!!!

Now time to go take a bath with all my delicious Lush products (holla at the bath bombs!), and curl up with my Nook. And Husby. He's home in the evenings now for the first time in almost 3 months. Loving it! :)

Goodnight, sleep tight!! XO

I Resolute.

2012-01-01T23:13:00.001-06:00

* To "unplug" more & more to always be present with those I'm with.

* To spend quality time in the Word each day and to nurture an ever growing and maturing prayer life.

* To be the best I can be - as a wife to my husband and Mommy to my boys.

* To memorize 4 new Bible verses/passages each month with Levi.

* To ride in the local bike race with my Husby, some of our friends and my Mom!

* To cut processed sugar from our lives except for one baked (by me) treat per week.

* To live healthy - mentally, physically and spiritually.

What are YOUR resolutions?

Christmas Day.

2011-12-31T22:54:00.000-06:00

We woke up bright and early to see what Santa left for Levi and Maxwell and then got ready to head to Church! Santa was good to the boys and even ate his milk and cookies - the first thing Levi checked when he got up. :)

Mommy/Daddy Santa left the dinosaur and Glam*Ma/Papapa Santa left the Leapfrog Leap Pad + Games. Levi LOVED it. Funny story: Levi kept telling everyone that he asked Santa for a dinosaur, so Santa was on the hunt for the coolest/biggest dino he could find. Santa found this one that walks, throws rocks, roars and is interactive. The whole shebang. When Levi saw it in action he said, "that makes me a little bit nervous", and wouldn't go up to it. When someone asked him what Santa brought, he said, "he brought me a dinosaur ... but I wanted a small dinosaur." SANTA FAIL!

Decked out in Christmas Sunday clothes!! Which he promptly got sick on in nursery. So we had to leave Church after about 15 minutes. Ha!

After Church, we had a delicious meal over at my in-laws and began the celebration over there. It was yummy!

The boys dug into their stockings!

Levi's great grandfather's name is "Happy". He always says, "all Happy's buddies raise your hand!", and they do this. It's so sweet. :)

After lunch and clean up, we all gathered to open gifts! My MIL got my FIL flying lessons for Christmas. She asked me to write a poem for her to read to him as we opened presents for her to tell him that way. Instead, I rewrote the words to Merry Christmas Darling by Karen Carpenter and made her sing it!! It was hilarious. We were are rolling with laughter and my MIL & FIL were crying. We felt bad that they got emotional, but it was just so funny. You should hear the lyrics. :)

Out of all the things they received, Levi's and Des' favorite toy was the umbrella.

They ran around the ENTIRE DAY screaming, "OH NO! IT'S RAINING!" If we heard it once, we heard it a bazillion times.

Grammy got some good cuddles from baby Lincoln.

And Levi got some from Aunt Casey! :)

And Lincoln got some from me!

My MIL got us matching aprons to make her Mom's famous sweet rolls - a recipe she brought over from England. They are DIVINE and simply not Christmas without them. I wish I had one now!

.... even though Casey and I had to do all the hard work - RIGHT CASEY?!?!?!?!? ;-)

(We gave her a hard time the entire time we made them because we had to roll out the dough over and over and over and over.)

The day after Christmas, we woke up and got ready to hit the sales and a fun day out together. We rode in the Church van so we could all fit. Ha!

The boys wore their matching shirts they got from Grammy and Poppy.

It's impossible to get a good picture of a 2.5 year old, almost 3 year old and almost 1 year old.

See?

This one above just takes the cake. Hysterical.

A few days later, we celebrated baby Lincoln's upcoming 1st birthday with all of Husby's cousins and extended family. It was a great time, but I was a sneezing, swollen mess, so I only got a couple of pictures with my phone.

(He INHALED this cupcake in under 20 seconds. I've never seen anything like it in my life!)

All that Christmasing caught up with this preggo and I hit a wall. Husby was like, "Honey, you look horrible." We had planned a small family trip (just the three of us) over the next couple of days just for some fun alone time, but we decided to delay it because neither Levi or I were feeling up to it.

When we got home ... we CRASHED.

It was an awesome week away with our families and I'm so grateful for the time spent with everyone. Precious moments, indeed!

Christmas Eve.

2011-12-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

Husby lucked out and got the week of Christmas off, so we were able to spend a couple of days with my family before Christmas and a couple of days with his family after Christmas. It worked out perfect and we had ample time to spend with everyone - not something we usually get the luxury of during residency. It was a big blessing.

Here are some pictures of the time spent with my family!

Levi and cousin Maxwell on "It's a Wonderful Life Night" in their Mr. Grinch jammies. These boys love to play together!

Would you just look at how precious they are!

We had so much food that night. We always do snack foods and we had: cheese, sausage and crackers, hot bread dip, jalapeno dip, cookie ball, cheeseball and cheesy potato soup. It was delightful!

Here is the Christmas Eve celebration!

It's always fun trying to get pictures of all the little ones. :)

Grandma and all of her great grandkids singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Levi was the first in line for a slice.

This picture will always make me laugh because as soon as I snapped it my brother said, "since when do we get romantic on Christmas Eve?" HA! I love the picture though!

An amazing dump truck/back ho from Glam*Ma & Papapa!

It was such a sweet time with my precious family. I love these people so much!!

Christmas morning and Christmas day next!

Christmas at Glam*Ma's!

2011-12-29T21:20:00.001-06:00

I know many of you are always eager to see my Mom's holiday decor, so I took lots of pictures for you girlies. I swear this lady should have been an interior designer (and still should!), because everything is always so picture perfect. If you think it looks warm and cozy in the pictures, you should BE there. It's just home.

Mom adorned my bed with new flannel sheets with red and white snowflakes on them, an oversized soft PB pillow and throw blanket - all of which I got to keep. It was like sleeping in the clouds of Heaven.

Our Christmas jammies were at the end of the bed.

The dresser was gorgeous. I got to keep these things, too! YAY!! Big flickering candles are my favorite. So soothing - I slept with them on. :)

The bathroom was flowing with bath goodies for me and Husby, my brother and his wife and my grandma - all who spend the night. It was so fun picking new things off the tree to use each day.

When you walk through the front door, you are greeted with a beautiful white and gold tree. It was marvelously beautiful! It was decked in horns and crowns, representative of THE KING!

And her lavish nativity!

"It is finished."

The den is the coziest spot and the Old World tree sits in there, dripping with colorful ornaments!

This year's table theme was T'was The Night Before Christmas. It was awesome!!

A Fitz & Floyd Santa sat in the middle of the table, and the transferware dishes had bits of T'was The Night Before Christmas on them. SO pretty!!

The party favors were these adorable little lit candles. Oh, I loved them!

We had the entire family over for Christmas Eve and about 1pm that afternoon, my mom got SUPER sick and had to spend the entire day in bed. All that work and she missed out on the family and the dinner. We all felt so bad for her that after everyone left, we got busy and took down all the decorations for her and put them away in the barn. When we woke her up that night to open presents, she was beyond thrilled. One less thing to stress about! She always goes above and beyond to make everything so extraordinarily special for us, we wanted to show her in some tangible way just how much we love and appreciate her.

I'll recap Christmas Eve and Christmas Day soon! :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:13:00.000-06:00

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11

A very merry Christmas, from my family to yours.

XOXO

Pondering of My Heart.

2011-12-22T00:07:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Levi, I wrote this post close to Christmas and I love to go back every year and read/reflect on those thoughts and feelings I was bombarded with as I, for the first time in my life, felt like I related to Mary. I could sympathize and imagine her scenario in ways I never could and her story took on a whole new meaning for me. That Christmas in 2008, Mary became my hero.

To be 9 months pregnant and riding on a donkey through the treacherous hills of Israel, looking for a place to birth her son - our Savior. Now that I know what pregnancy entails, I'm sure she was swollen, achey, weary and just plain miserable. Then, I imagined her feelings as I related them to my own concerning carrying a son, but intensifying them in knowing that she was carrying God's son. But now, now that I am a mother to a two year old boy, I find myself wondering about Mary even more.

There is a special relationship between a mother and son. I am Levi's refuge and when no one can make things better, Mommy always can. We are best buddies and our dynamic is unique and precious. We have a bond unmatched to another, and every day I thank God that I get to experience it. I know Jesus had the same thing with Mary. And she with him. I know she loved him more than anything in this world ... not only because he was God in the flesh, but because he was her son.

I imagine their day to day interaction and the stories she must have told to her friends. What funny things did Jesus say? What things did he do to make her laugh? What imaginary stories did he make up? What was his favorite toy? What made him laugh? What did he enjoy? To imagine the very God of very Gods in the form of my two year old son is absolutely mind boggling. How did she discipline? How do you discipline Christ? Was she overwhelmed with the responsibility of parenting the Lord or was she comfortable in viewing Him as her son? Oh, to sit down and discuss these things with her - how I would devour her words!

I imagine their special relationship. Their inside jokes and their sweet kisses. When Levi asks to hold my hand or randomly comes up to give me a hug and a kiss or screams out "I love you more than anything" as he's playing, I am completely overwhelmed with love. A deep, fierce, almost hurting love. A love I simply can not explain with words or bring to life with expression. It's just there. It was from conception and it's God given. Now combine the love that you have for your child with the love you have for God, and that's what I imagine Mary to be bursting with. I am just not sure if I could even process that in my human nature.

Levi asks me questions about Jesus all the time. He tells me that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then always asks why. Trying to explain that Jesus IS God to a two year old is tricky, (he tells me "no He's not, Mommy. He's God's SON!"), and trying to explain sin and the salvation of our souls is something I try to do as simply as I possibly can. But he's still not satisfied. He wants to understand. And I know he will with time. But I imagine Jesus. Did He have similar conversations with Mary, or did He just innately KNOW? Did he know, at that early of an age, that He was both 100% man and 100% God? Was she able to ask Him questions as He grew older about faith? Did she have the inside scoop about all the things (i.e. "gray areas") that we always wonder about? Did He teach her just as she taught Him?

My questions just grow and intesify with each passing year and I'm certain that when I enter into eternity with my God, I will at some point seek out Mary and have a good long talk with her. Her life and testimony intrigue me to no end and as each new stage with Levi develops, I can't help but imagine Mary entering and soaring through the same stages with Jesus.

They were mother and son. God and child. She devoted her life to bringing Him up so that He might die - and that we might live. Praise GOD for His plan, His sovereignty and for the heroes in faith that we have to admire and aspire to emulate. I find myself beyond blessed this Christmas, that the Lord saw it fit to not only bless me with one son ... but with two. And for these precious souls, I pray will come to know and love the Son of God who was once like them, and then died for them.

And for myself, I pray for divine wisdom, as I do my best to lead them to Him.

Our Cozy Christmas Cottage!

2011-12-20T00:01:00.001-06:00

Christmas decor just makes the house so warm and cozy. Don't you just love it? I wish we could keep it up for months because I feel like I don't get to enjoy it long enough. I use the warm classic colors of Christmas - lots of reds, greens and golds. I never tire of them. They're so sparkly and festive!

Christmas trees are hard to photograph.

Our tree is a pre-lit artificial (not as festive, but oh so pretty) and I decorate with classic glass Old World ornaments. I buy new ones to represent each year, phase of life, interests of my family members, etc., and it is so much fun looking at all of them and knowing each one holds or represents and special memory. I write the year on the bottom of the special ones so that when I'm old and senile I will remember. I love that we started this ornament collection so early in our marriage! Maybe when the kids are grown I can fill a 12 foot tree!

For filler, I use gold bells that jingle (Levi's favorite), and red green and gold sparkly "sticky-outies" (as I call them).

Ignore the wire mass under my Christmas village table. Now that's all you'll be able to see. ;)

Oh Christmas tree. Oh Christmas tree! How lovely are your branches!

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care.

Notice the mini stocking next to Weebie's! It represents our new bundle of baby joy who is very much with us this Christmas, but won't be able to enjoy the goodies of a real stocking. But he still gets one of his own to represent! :)

Next to the fireplace, we have Santa's cookie plate and mug! And a key for him to use, just in case he can't fit down our chimney.

I went a bit overboard with the milk and cookie bit, and he has one waiting in the kitchen, too. I'm milk & cookie crazed! Blame the pregnancy.

And my leaning tower of Christmas tree'sa. I think it's time to retire that bad boy. I have a better one in mind for next year! :)

My most prized Christmas decor is this beautiful hand carved nativity that my parents bought for us in Bethlehem this summer! I mean, really - a nativity from Bethlehem?! How SPECIAL! I love love love it! Levi loves it, too, but I encourage him to play with his Fisher Price one (which he is obsessed with), so he doesn't break something on this one. It's not like it's easily replaceable!

Levi has his own tree this year! (Last year he had a planes, trains and automobile tree but somehow we lost that entire tree and all the ornaments. They are NOWHERE to be found!)

It is Santa themed and he adores it! He was at Glam*Ma & Papapa's when I put it together and when he came home and saw it, I had gone to bed early and he ran to the side of my bed and said, "Mommy, I love my tree! I looked at it over and over and over!" :) I'm telling you, this baby is such an encourager.

He makes you feel like everything you do for him is so special.

And his beloved "Cracker Man" friends guard his "tivity" snow globe.

We added to our Christmas village this year and it is growing! I don't know where I'll put it next year when I get a new piece. We have a house, Church, pharmacy (represents my Dad), bike shop (represents Husby), train and train station (represents Weebie).

I am in love with this village set because each piece is so detailed. Through the windows, there is a Mommy baking in the kitchen of the house, children having milkshakes in the pharmacy, bikes in the bicycle shop, stained glass windows in the Church, etc. It's so magical.

Levi stands and plays with it every single day and moves things around and has a blast. Mater and Cracker Man Nutcracker have also made surprise appearances in the village, which always takes me by surprise when I walk by. :)

My wrapping paper this year is fun! Leopard, cheetah and zebra in holiday colors. Love!

There is something about gifts under the tree that just complete the look.

And there is a peek into Christmas at my house! I failed to get a picture of the mistletoe with crystal hanging from my entry hall chandelier and the peacock and jeweled wreath on my front door. Just believe me when I say they're festively fun! :)

Have you blogged your holiday decor? I'd love to see it! My favorite blog posts are those that feel like I'm spying and peeking into your windows! :) Hope you enjoyed spying on us!

The Christmas Snitch!

2011-12-19T00:02:00.000-06:00

Husby and I always get each other a gift from one another and a smaller gift to each other "from Levi". The other day, Weebie and Daddy dropped me off at the mall while they went on the hunt for my gift. When we met back up, I whisked Levi off and asked for some hints. The results were hysterical.

His Daddy trained him well to tell me that it was a surprise. His Daddy knows me too well and knew I'd probably ask.

Sit back, relax, grab a Coke and enjoy the show!

My sweet little angel! HAHA!

My favorite is when he slips and tells me it's slippers and then says, "No! A surprise! It's a surprise!" :) A few days later we were driving down the road and he said, "Mommy, Daddy bought you slippers, but I told you it was a surprise."

Husby: Note to self - DO NOT TELL LEVI WHAT HE GOT MOMMY FOR CHRISTMAS! Hahahahahaha! I love it!

Oh, and that evening as I gloated over knowing my gift and talking incessantly about my slippers, we came home and tore the house apart looking for some medicine for Levi. Wouldn't you know Husby looked in a spot that he has never once looked at in our entire 4 years of living in this house AND FOUND THE PRESENT THAT "LEVI" GOT FOR HIM! I was furious.

I guess what goes around comes around! ;)

The Golden Ingredient. Literally.

2011-12-14T15:53:00.005-06:00

I braved the wind and rain this afternoon to grab some ingredients for special Christmas cookies. The only Christmas cookies I've ever made are plain old sugar cookies (and who are we kidding .... those are the best kind!), but I've always dreamed of becoming one of those women who makes a special variety of cookies each year. On top of that, I've always wanted to package them up in special tins and deliver them to those I love. Not really because I love making cookies, but because I'm a sucker for cute tins.

So, as I grabbed up my ingredients today, I perused the "cute tin aisle" and purchased a couple. I wanted to buy like 78 because they were all so adorable, but then I realized I have to MAKE cookies to GO in the tins, so I only bought two. HA!

There is a special cookie that I wanted to make last year, but it calls for candied pineapple and though I searched high and low, I could not find the mysterious ingredient ANYWHERE. So, I skipped out on the cookie and hoped for better luck this year. Yeah, so guess how that's worked out for me? Not so good.

The lady grocery store I was at this morning looked at me like I had 3 heads when I asked about the pineapple. They had candied cherries up to the ceiling, but nary a candied pineapple to be found.

Nary. What a great, totally underused word. I'm going to start using it in real life. Then again, I may get stared at like I have 3 heads again. Some things are just better written.

Chasing rabbits here ....

When I got home, I called around since I didn't want to haul my two year old to a billion stores in the downpour.

This is how it all went down.

Calling Docs:
*Ring Ring*
Lady: Hello, Doc's Country Mart, can I help you?
Me: Yes, I was wondering if you carry candied pineapple.
Lady: Huh?
Me. CANDIED PINE-APPLE.
Lady: I don't know what that is.
Me: Ya know, like candied cherries, but candied pineapple?
Lady: No, we don't.
Me (to myself): Thanks for at least CHECKING.
Me: Okay, thanks. Bye!

Well, wasn't that pleasant?

Calling Reasors in the next town:
*Ring Ring*
Man: Hello, thanks for calling Reasors. Can I help you?
Me: Yes, do you carry candied pineapple?
Man: Yes we do, but we only get a shipment of it in once a year and a lady came in this morning and bought my last box.
Me: Oh man. Okay, thank you.
Man: I'm sorry. Please check one of our other stores.
Me: I will. Thank you. Bye!

That lady better appreciate what she has.

Calling Reasors in the other town:
*Ring Ring*
Woman: Hi, thanks for calling Reasors. Can I help you?
Me: Yes, I was needing to know if you carried something.
Woman: Let me get Josh. He's on the floor and can help you.
Me: (Wanting to laugh because of an inside joke with my BFF about this store and boys named Josh.) Okay, thanks.
Josh: Hi, can I help you?
Me: Do you carry candied pineapples?
Josh: Hold on and let me go see if we have any left. I know we carry them, but let me go check. Can you hang on?
Me: Yes.
*Holding. Holding. Holding.*
Josh: Are you still there?
Me: Yes.
Josh: Yes, we have it.
Me: GREAT!!!! Where in the store can I find it?
Josh: Do you know where our pop aisle is?
Me: Yes.
Josh: It's there. On our pop aisle.
Me: Ohhhh.... your POP aisle. (Well doesn't THAT make perfect sense?) - Okay, thank you so much.
Josh: You're welcome. Bye!

So. My baby is down for a nap and there is a box of candied pineapple waiting for me at the Reasor's in a few towns over ... on the pop aisle. Not the baking aisle. Not the produce section. Not the holiday displays. But in the pop aisle. With the Sprite, Diet Coke and Root Beer. Yup, why didn't I think of that last year?

These cookies better be worth it.

I'll keep you posted.

A Peek Into Our Festivities: iPhone Edition!

2011-12-13T00:10:00.001-06:00

We've been up to a lot of holiday fun this past week. Here is a recap through the lens of my iPhone! :)

Story time with Santa!

Our local Pottery Barn Kids has story time every Tuesday morning. This week the one and only Santa Claus showed up. He read to them The Night Before Christmas, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Llama Llama Holiday Drama. Then they sang some Christmas songs together. Levi LOVED it. (He's in the far right corner in the purple puffy chair.)

Fun with the Nutcrackers!

My little guy is OBSESSED with nutcrackers this year. He has a green and gold one at home (he's an Irish nutcracker), and Levi named him "Cracker Man." Wherever Levi goes, Cracker Man goes. It's so funny. He even battled it out with Captain America the other day and won! Tough nutcracker, that Cracker Man. When we stumbled upon this giant nutcracker one day, Levi exclaimed, "He looks JUST LIKE MY Cracker Man!!", and he ran up to him. So sweet. We wanted to take him to see The Nutcracker, but our schedule was just too full this year.

Building a Gingerbread House!

As soon as I bought the g-bread house kit, it was all I heard about from Mr. Weebie. As I was paying for it, he asked if he could put it together in the car. Then he had a meltdown that evening when I told him we would put it together the next day. He's serious about his love for the gingerbread houses. When we built it the next morning, he was BESIDE himself. He was thrilled. And I let him have full reign of what went where and I was totally impressed with the way he put the peppermints on top! So funny! He did a good job and was so proud!

Christmas Light Night with Glam*Ma & Papapa!

(Levi thinks Glam*Ma is the funniest person on the planet.)

Mom picked up Levi and cousin Maxwell up early Thursday morning and took them to lunch at Chik-fil-A and then to Toys R Us to pick out a toy. (A dump truck for Levi. He is currently loving them.) Then they went home for naps and when Papapa got off work they headed to Chuck-E-Cheese and to look at the Christmas lights around town. Then they spent the night and had an absolute blast!

These fun things were waiting for the boys under the tree when they arrived. Levi's favorite thing was the bug kit and magnifying glass! Mom said they just ran around screaming with excitement!

The Christmas Train with Grammy & Poppy

(Our phones did not take good pics that night!)

A town near us has an awesome camp ground that hosts the annual "Christmas Train" and the whole village is decked out like an old Christmas town. It's really neat, and there are tons of fun things to do for kids like pony rides, hay rides, play grounds, old shops and lots of other fun stuff. Then the train takes you on a ride and tells you the story of Jesus. It's a great, super fun place for kids!

Levi was quite mesmerized by Mrs. Claus.

And was pretty shy around the man himself. :)

It was a really exciting evening and Levi had a ton of fun!

Mommy's Day Off!

My mom, sister-in-law and me had a great day out on Saturday! We shopped, ate and laughed til we dropped! I was so swollen by the time we got home. Mom spoiled us with goodies and treats all day. I told a friend it was so bizarre not getting a child in and out of a car and having to think only of myself at meal time at the restaurants. It was such a nice and refreshing day!

The Advent Calendar!

Each night, we let Levi open the little door and get a chocolate. He eats the treat as we read the verse of the day. We also have a sticker version that we do. Then we read The Christmas Story to him and he has it nearly memorized at this point. We get to certain pages and he says, "there was no room for them in the inn", and "they were very afraid" (referring to when the angels appeared). He seems to really understand and it just thrills my soul. I heard Husby asking Levi the other night why we celebrate Christmas and he screamed, "IT'S JESUS' BIRTHDAY! HE IS BORN!" :)

We have lots of other fun activities and adventures planned and I am so excited to see them through Levi's eyes. This year has truly been magical. His excitement and love for all of the lights, the snow globes, the nutcrackers, the villages, the ornaments, and everything else is contagious. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

One Of Those Perfect Nights.

2011-12-09T00:01:00.003-06:00

It wasn't the leisurely browsing and shopping at stores we rarely frequent.

(Though I was 2 minutes away from a free paring knife.)

It wasn't the exceptional dinner at a nice and quiet restaurant.

(Though it's after midnight and I still can't stop thinking about how exquisite our food was.)

It wasn't the cheesy movie with the buttered popcorn and Milk Duds.

(Though it was highly enjoyable.)

It wasn't the late night run to Target for a couple of necessities.

(Though our impulse splurge purchases were extra fun.)

It was the laughter, the hand holding, the reminiscing, the talk of the future, the non-stop chatter, the inside jokes, the creating of new ones, the quiet, the time to soak in one another and focus our attention on no other person or thing but each other.

It was those things that made our date night absolutely wonderful.

But you know what made it perfect?

Enjoying it with my guy. My one and only.

After two months of a ridiculously long and hard work schedule - mostly the night shift and only a couple days off in the midst ... tonight was much needed, much appreciated, much anticipated, and much enjoyed.

Decking The Halls : Family Style!

2011-12-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

Husby and I have always decorated our tree together, beginning our first year of marriage.

I tried to make the sparkling cider bit a tradition, but we forgot to pop it open this year. :)

Levi joined in the decorating fun a couple of years ago and has enjoyed it each time!

(His first time decorating.)

(His second time!)

This year was especially fun because Levi was totally into all of it and his excitement was so contagious. He was just in awe of each ornament and each light. He was such a little delight! I try to always make tree decorating night a special one, so I surprised Husby with his very favorite meal: Hungarian Beef Goulash with a big hunk of crusty sourdough. Scrumptious! He appreciated it because he's been working the nightshift for weeks on end and hasn't had a home cooked dinner (besides our Thanksgiving dinner) in ages it seemed.

We capped off the evening with a cherry cheesecake I whipped up that morning as we watched a Christmas movie by the light of the tree. Perfect!

It's so fun seeing sweet traditions fall into place and the excitement that proceeds. I just cherish these times with my little family. Oh what fun!

I can hardly wait until next year with another little one in the mix! :)

Moment by Moment.

2011-12-06T00:03:00.000-06:00

The parent/child relationship can't help but reflect that of our relationship with the Lord. Nearly every day, God gives me glimpses of how He feels for me, through my little Levi. I've always known that He loves me and that I could never fathom that type of love, but having children of my own has given me an entirely new perspective. I love that He draws us nearer to Him through the natural progression of life. I know He works differently and reveals Himself uniquely to each of His children, but He has used my children as an enormous tool in my personal spiritual walk.

The requests I get from Levi daily are bountiful. "Mommy, can you help me open this, please? Will you read this to me? Can I have this?" The sheer dependence and reliance he has on me has brought me to my knees numerous times as I realize God is asking for that same type of reliance on Him. Not for the same type of requests, of course, since I am fully capable of pouring my own bowl of cereal ... but the same concept. :) All too often it is easy for me take matters into my own hands and work them out for myself, when He shows me, through my own son, that I need help. I need guidance and I need advice from He who will lead me in the right direction - just like I aim to do for Levi. And ultimately, I need direction on how to point Levi in the right direction. Every single day.

The other evening Levi crawled into my lap and said, "Can I hold you"? (He thinks he's holding me when I hold him.) I smothered him in sugars and we cuddled together on the couch. I am so fortunate to have a two year old who asks to be held and lets me for long periods of time. I realize that's not the case for every mother, but Levi just loves to be in my lap. (I rocked him until he was almost two, so that is probably why. Oh, and how I do not regret that for a single nanosecond!) As I sat there and loved on my little lamb and soaked in every kiss, giggle and breath, I thought of how the Lord longs for the same from me. To sit. To be still. And to let Him hold me. He relishes in it and enjoys it because I am His child!

With age I know Levi will gain his independence and his self reliability and that is healthy and normal and great. I just pray that when he stops letting Mommy hold him, He runs to the arms of our Father .... knowing that the peace and love that he once felt in my lap is far superior in the presence of God.

And in the meantime, I'll be growing and running right along with him.

Baby Boy Has a Name!

2011-12-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

His name is ...

Ezra Ray.

We are so excited to have and name another little boy! When I found out I was pregnant and sat and dreamed about this little life, the only name that ever crossed my mind was Ezra. I tried to come up with girl names just in case, but this little name always rang out in my head every single day. We knew if he was a boy we wanted to use the middle name Ray, after my Dad. Levi's middle name is after his Daddy, who has HIS Dad's middle name. So, both of my boys will bear middles names of both grandfathers.

So special. So blessed.

Thank you, Lord, for my precious little Ezra Ray.

21 weeks and overwhelmed with gratefulness.

Weebie Wednesday: The Man With The Bag!

2011-11-30T00:06:00.000-06:00

Levi is so funny. When he was 7 months old, he loved Santa's lap. At 19 months, HE DESPISED HIM. And now, at two and a half, he loves him again.

When we took him to see Santa this weekend, he was mesmerized. He walked slowly up to him with a sly smile and Santa scooped him up on his lap. Levi kept doing the funniest nervous laugh I have ever heard and I couldn't stop giggling. I have NEVER heard that sound come out of him. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and Levi looked at him out of the corner of his eye and said, "I want toys". Santa kept trying to get Levi to look him in the face, but it was NOT happening. He just kept nervous laughing and glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes. He never once turned to look at him straight on. I wish I had it on video because it was the funniest and cutest thing.

Whenever we ask him what he wants Santa to bring him, he says a dinosaur. Levi has several dinosaurs, so we are on the hunt for a really neat one that Santa can bring. Any elves out there have any suggestions?

I was glad that he loved him this year because I am fully prepared for him to hate him next year. Especially considering his past love/hate relationship for the man in red.

Who couldn't love this man? He's just so jolly and magical!

:)

Thanksgiving: Take Two!

2011-11-29T00:06:00.000-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving at my grandma's house and that evening at my other grandparents house. I had three Thanksgiving dinners in 24 hours. Aye yi yi! I'm sure the scales will reflect that at my doctor's appointment this week. :) It was a great time and filled with special family moments. Especially when grandma gathered up the four of us grandkids and gave us our special Norman Rockwell figurines that she collected while we grew up. Each time we were all together, each of us got to "pick one out" and write our names on the bottom of them to claim as our own. It was neat seeing which ones we picked out all those years ago.

The next day, my parents took us all to Branson, Mo. to see the Christmas lights and take the boys to Silver Dollar City. We had a blast! Levi absolutely loved everything we did and at the end of each day, he ran up to Glam*Ma and said, "That was so fun, Glam*Ma!" :) He's such an appreciative little thing.

I love this time of year with all the fun family traditions. There's just nothing like it!

Thanksgiving: Take One!

2011-11-28T00:03:00.000-06:00

Well, folks. I did it. I hosted my very first Thanksgiving and I am happy to say, it was a great success!! I got a little carried away and doubled every recipe, so we were certainly not lacking in the food department. (I inherited my Mom's paranoia of running out of food.) Everyone got to take home plenty of leftovers and left with very full bellies. The true mark of a good Thanksgiving! It was great!

I was so excited to use some of my pretty fall plates!

I set the table fairly simple, to make room for all the food! :)

Speaking of food ... check it out!!!

We started with a cheeseball. It's not a holiday in my family without a cheesball.

We had ham, dressing, creamed corn, broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, crunch salad, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes & gravy and hot rolls. Yummers. My mother-in-law said she didn't know what to eat first!

Delish!!

Everyone had a great time, and as we were eating my father-in-law told me that it was safe to say that I had hit a home run!! As I beamed with pride, my grandfather-in-law chimed in, "I'd say it was a grand slam!"

SUCCESS! :)

After dinner we visited for a little bit and Levi even shared with them his baby brother's name!! So exciting!

And there was pie that Husby's grandma brought but we were all too full for a bite, so we cut some to eat later.

I'm happy to say it was a great evening and thank you all for your encouragement. With y'all on my side I feel like I can do anything!

(Levi with all of his grandparents on Husby's side.)

My Thankful List!

2011-11-25T00:03:00.000-06:00

Each morning on Facebook, I began each day this month stating something I'm thankful for. I wanted to blog them so I could go back and read them later and remember what I was thankful for in November 2011.

***

Going to take the month of November to give thanks every day on my Facebook. Today, I'm thankful for the gift of family and the love, security and pure joy they bring to my life.

Today I am thankful for the gift of children and being able to conceive. Also, so very thankful for my two precious, healthy baby boys! :)

Today, I'm thankful for the Word of God and the direction, comfort, peace and wisdom it brings to my life. I am thankful for a church home that challenges me to study it and the friendships formed while digging in the Word together.

Today, I'm thankful for the calm days with nowhere to be. It puts into perspective that the full and busy days are reflective of a fulfilling and rewarding life. With that, I'm so grateful to be able to stay home and care for my baby(ies), the house, and everything in between! :) Such a huge blessing.

Even though Jesus didn't return last night like I thought He was doing during the earthquake that shook me awake from a deep sleep, today I'm thankful for the promise that He will one day return for His children. I hope I'm alive to experience it. :)

Today I'm thankful for a husband that makes a conscious effort to lead his family toward Christ. He is our spiritual leader and rock. The time he pours into Levi through their prayer together and little Bible studies every night speaks volumes about this man. He works so hard and sacrifices so much, yet is always there to give us 100%. He's our superman.

Today I'm thankful for a wildly jumpy baby thrashing around and doing flips in my tummy. Seriously, this child doesn't stop! The feeling never gets old and it is hands down THE most incredible thing to experience. I'm so happy he's mine to feel. The little love!

Today I'm thankful for a mom that is a best friend and life mentor and a dad that is a constant rock and source of humor. My parents are the greatest example to me of a godly marriage, and always display what true respect, love and friendship inside that relationship should look like. They are the two greatest influences and role models in my life and the love they pour out and into not only me, but my husband and son, also, makes my heart burst with joy. I am forever grateful for the parents they worked so hard every single day to be for my brother and me. They've paved an excellent path for following...

Today I'm thankful for a little boy that freely expresses his love and affection. It is especially sweet for me, as physical touch is one of my love languages. (I think it's his, too.) He often stops playing and runs up to randomly tell me he loves me, crawls into my lap just to hang out (and will stay there forever!), gives so many sugars and hugs every day and often says, "let's hold hands, Mommy." Yesterday, he said, "I need a hug!", so I hugged him tight. Then he leaned in for a kiss and said, "and some sugar bears, too." :) Then he smothered my face with kisses and said, "I'm just loving on you, Mommy." I'm so grateful for this precious time with my precious son.

Today I'm thankful for my amazing friendships - the old ones, the new ones, the true blue ones! I have a list of girls I can call on at anytime and they'll always be there. This is a rare treasure that I cherish. And on top of that, I'm so grateful for the older, wiser, Titus 2 women in my life who come alongside to encourage me and pray for me (and my family), and let me know it regularly through various ways. They often give me a boost in my step that I didn't even know I needed! These women are heaven sent and their influence and example to me is invaluable. I pray I'm a friend to others like mine are to me, and that I evolve into a godly mentor to always encourage the younger.

Today I'm thankful for medicine. Our physicians and our pharmacists are especially of great importance to me ;), and without them, we would be in a world of hurt. Literally! I'm especially blessed to have a Dad who has always been our source of medical wisdom and healing, and now a husband, too. It's so very comforting to have them around! ;) I'm ultimately grateful to the Great Physician who leads these people in the tremendous tesponsibility of helping and healing others.

Today I'm thankful for the changing of the seasons. I love that we get to experience each time of year with such vibrance here in Oklahoma! The nourishing rain, the warmth of the sun, the gorgeous snow (and ice!), the falling leaves, the refreshing breeze ... we see it all. It makes it hard for me to choose a favorite season, and I'm so grateful we get the best of each.

Today I'm thankful that we live close to so many family members. Maybe not down-the-street-close, but close enough to see and love on one another more than just a few times a year. I love that Levi & baby will have many memories of lots of family.

Today I'm thankful for makeup. As shallow as that may sound, it's mornings like these that YOU should be thankful I wear it, too! ;)

Today I'm thankful for all of God's beautiful creations. Levi and I went to feed the ducks this morning and it was so much fun! And beautiful.

Today I'm thankful to live in a country where necessities are easy to come by. I am well clothed (even with plenty of maternity wear as I grow); I am well fed with more than just the staples; I am comfortable with heat, air, light and a hedge of protection in the refuge of our home; I have transportation, entertainment, washing/cleaning machines and devices and the list could go on for days. I take all of these things for granted all the time, but I am truly blessed by the ease of life in this country.

Today I'm thankful for health. I'm blessed with a healthy body and a family with no bleak diseases of which to speak. Levi has 5 spunky, vibrant great grandparents who, most are the picture of health. I know wellness is a treasure, and I'm so very thankful for ours.

Today I'm thankful for the most wonderful time of the year!!

Today I'm thankful for the sweetest little wakeup call. A precious baby boy 2 inches from my face saying, "I need a sugar bear, Mommy!!" (Sugar bears are kisses in our house.) You better believe I gave him a couple dozen and then he said, "and now I need some hugs." Best way in the WORLD to start your day.

Today I'm thankful for a brother who has always made me laugh harder than anyone. Siblings are such a gift from God and I'm so grateful for mine.

Today I'm thankful for smart phones & text messaging. Without them, I wouldn't have had near as much conversation with my husband this month as he's worked out of control hours. It helps us feel close when we're apart!

Today I'm thankful for aprons, dish washers, refrigerators, and these amazing cookies Darin made last night to help my cooking day go by a little bit better! I'll be hibernating in the kitchen if you need me. Thanksgiving #1 is tomorrow night!

Today I'm thankful for prayer and the power it holds. I love how I can go to God with the everyday things of right now to the huge things of the future and know that He holds us safely in the palm of His hand. From the safety of our days to the future wives & lives of my boys - the Lord is slowly weaving, working, preparing and moving. I love that He is always there, and that I have the priveledge of praising and petitioning to Him every day.

The Wreath of Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:06:00.000-06:00

This year I began a new tradition with Levi called the Wreath of Thanksgiving. We cut out a wreath and some leaves from construction paper and every morning I would ask him what he was thankful for and I wrote it down and glued it to the wreath. I got the idea from a Christian children's activity website. It was so much fun and I so enjoyed seeing what he would say each day. Oh, the precious mind of a two year old.

I thought I would share his thankful list with you!

* Daddy
* All the people
* Me! (Himself)
* Grammy & Poppy
* Glam*Ma & Papapa
* Mommy
* Woody & Buzz
* My Toys
* Maxwell, Hollie and Uncle Luke
* My baby brother
* My Yo Gabba Gabba toy ad my slingshot
* My Brobee backpack
* The color red
* My snow globe
* Chickens
* Presents
* Bible stories
* Milk & oranges
* Foofah & Brobee
* My grocery list
* My Thankful Wreath
* Pluto & Mickey Mouse
* The ABCDEFG Song

I'm excited to see how his list changes throughout the years. Precious little boy. How my heart explodes for him!

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!!

The Day Before The Day Before Thanksgiving.

2011-11-22T17:56:00.005-06:00

Oh. My. Lanta. WHAT A DAY!

You wanted me to keep you updated on my first ever Thanksgiving dinner, so here you go folks! Today was prep day!

I woke up and hit the floor running knowing that I had many dishes to prepare and lots of chores ahead of me. So I gave my Mom a ringy-dingy (that's how I begin my days), while Levi watched Super Why and had his breakfast. When I hung up, I headed to the kitchen to start my marathon day of cooking.

Here's how the rest of my day went in a bullet point list!

* I had a bit of a sweet potato massacre that involved the mushy orange substance all over the kitchen and all over my toes. I screamed. I now have a new appreciation for the game "hot potato". The Lonestar song, "Mr. Mom" rang threw my head the rest of the day ... "sweet potatoes in my lazy chair." They. were. everywhere!

* My favorite dish to prepare today was the broccoli casserole. It went by in a flash! Super easy and always yummy.

* This cute little blond headed boy followed me around all morning saying, "I can help you, Mommy!", every time I turned around. I didn't have the heart to send him away, so I let him help. This delayed me by about 78 hours. Give or take a few. (Oh, but he was so precious.)

* Two dishes down and around lunch time, I realized I needed a couple things at the store. So, I jumped in the shower, threw on some makeup, clothed Levi and myself and headed out. We stopped for tater tots to boost morale. It worked.

* When we were hopping through the store throwing random things in the cart, Levi hung his head over the front of the basket guiding us along. I stopped to look at something I didn't need, and he turned around, gave me the biggest smile and said, "I love you so much, Mommy." Ah! My heart exploded right then and there as I smothered him with kisses in the middle of the aisle. It definitely put in perspective this crazy day I was having. None of that mattered. My little boy made it all better.

* I wanted to face plant in every dish I made today. It might not be the best idea to have The Preggie host Thanksgiving. I doubled most of the recipes, but with my appetite, there may not be anything left.

* Michael Buble's new Christmas CD totally made my day a happy and festive one! The perfect accompaniment to a day in the kitchen!

* In between each dish I made, I stopped to load the dishwasher and switch out the washing machine clothes to the dryer. I swear I repeated this process 92 times today. (Again, give or take.) And each time I went to make a new thing, I'd grab the same bowls and pans out of the dishwasher to reuse! My little pink mixing bowl and my big skillet were used and washed over and over and over again. I think I used 4 dishwashing tablets.

* I called my Mom probably 291 times today and HeyTell'd one of my BFF's 291 times, too.

* I made dressing for the first time in life. It wasn't near as hard as I had once imagined, and it looks and smells really good, but of course I don't know how it tastes yet. I doubled the recipe and my gracious sakes, I needed an industrial bowl to mix it all with! I have crumbs ALL over the kitchen floor. I also couldn't stop eating the cornbread before I mixed it all together. Heavens oh HEAVENS do I love cornbread.

* I broke a measuring cup. I broke the handle off. That was one well worn measuring cup. I kind of wanted to have a memorial service for it.

* I still haven't dusted. I still haven't vacuumed. I still haven't picked up Weebie's room. I still haven't set the table. Depending on how the evening and tomorrow goes, my guests may be eating amongst Buzz, Woody and a heck of a lot'a crumbs.

* There are enough AlphaBits cereal letters on the floor to spell supercalafragalisticexpialidocious. Three times.

* When I cut onions, I cry. I mean, I have tried every trick in the book and my eyes still water. When I watch the Food Network, I wonder how on earth they cut onions and never bat an eye. I think I have super sensitive onion eyes. I can look at one from the other room and the water works begin.

Today only one eye watered. The toothpick in my mouth must have only worked on one eye. Gah!
Oh, and I have no idea why my nose is so red. I could lie and say I'd been sneezing all day, but I wasn't. I guess I'm just embracing my inner Rudolph this season.

* Levi asked me what everything was that we were making and then he'd say, "Oh, _____ is my FAVORITE!" (whatever said dish was.) So hilarious. Such an encourager.

* My mother-in-law is bringing the meat and Husby's grandma is bringing the pie, so those are two huge things I don't have to think about! Yay!

* Husby is on his way home and we are having leftovers for supper and then I'm back at it. I think I'll set the table and clean the bathrooms tonight.

And there you have it, my wild day in a nutshell. Tomorrow is the big day. Wish me luck, lovies!!!

Running Through My Head

2011-11-21T00:02:00.000-06:00

I've been so hit and miss with blogging lately, so I'm going to do a Running Through My Head post. It's a fun thing to do when you've been so busy that your brain can't coherently create a decent post. :)

* Thanksgiving is in T minus 3 days! Which means that the Thanksgiving at my house is in T minus 2. AHHH!!! The groceries are bought, the coupons were used, and now I'm just waiting for Tuesday to begin cooking. Thank you ALL for your awesome tips for cooking a full blown T-givs dinner. I really appreciated each one! I need to print them all out and hang them all over my kitchen so when I start to hyperventilate, your words of wisdom will calm me down. I better keep some brown paper bags on hand.

* Y'all asked me to take pictures. I will. Are you kidding me? If it's a success, I'll be posting those bad boys all over the world wide web! I'm real vain like that. If it's a disaster, I'll just ditch my pictures and find some real pretty perfect ones on the internet and post them like they're mine.

* This month has been brutal. Husby hasn't had a day off yet! :( By the time he does get a break, he will have worked 20 days in a row. YUCKA!! Plus, he's been working horrible hours. He had two 24's in a row, which means that he worked 24 hours straight, had 12 hours off (slept 11 of them), and then went in to work another 24. How he does it I will never know. We are beyond ready for this month to END.

* I caught a little stomach bug of some sort the other night and it was miserable. I still don't feel 100%.

* Baby boy is now able to be felt from the outside of my tummy! It's amazing!! He even kicked Levi's hand and Levi thought it was the funniest thing in the world. So precious! Now he always runs up to my stomach and says, "I'm just feeling my baby brother!" :)

* Every time I'm with my Mom and I break something in a store, I hide and she apologizes for it. It's hilarious. This also happens when Levi breaks something and we're with her. Now, I know it sounds like we break stuff all the time, and we really don't, but it's happened several times within the past year and she always takes the blame and apologizes while we stand back. I don't know why we do that!

* I love anything with cream cheese in it. Especially cream cheese frosting.

* I know a girl who hates cream cheese and I can't understand it!!! (Hi, Lindsey!) :)

* I'm wearing a Hanson t-shirt and Halloween socks. Hot stuff right here, folks!

* Cheeto fingers gag me. Well, really any kind of chip fingers sicken me. Especially when people lick them. Oh, I can't even think about it without kind of throwing up in my mouth. Quit talking about it.

* I often wonder when Rachael Ray is going to have a baby. It's really none of my business, but I can't help but wonder. Maybe she doesn't want kids. I mean, she doesn't really have time for anything else, so maybe it's just not in the cards for her. But I still always think she's going to announce her pregnancy.

* It bugs me when people say "it's not in the cards". And I just said it. Therefore, I bug myself! :)

* By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, I'm so tired of fall decor. Pumpkins, leaves, gords, and all of the oranges? Ugh! Go away and bring on the greens and reds! The fall holiday season seems to last forever and I think that's why I tire of it.

* I'm all out of thoughts. Bzzzzzz.

Feed The Birds

2011-11-17T21:03:00.001-06:00

Give a boy a leftover breakfast biscuit and a couple of duckies, and his day is MADE! (Ducks love McDonalds ... but next time we'll remember the bread loaf.) :)

He ended the beautiful morning by picking Mommy a flower. Oh, my love.

XOXO

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Facing The Culinary Giant.

2011-11-16T10:49:00.005-06:00

I am cooking my very first Thanksgiving dinner for Husby's side of the family this year. Husby works on Thanksgiving (sad face!), so we are having everyone over the night before to celebrate and give thanks. I couldn't let the year pass without celebrating this day of thanks with both sides of the family, and I couldn't let Husby not get a Thanksgiving dinner! That's just so un-American!

I feel like this feat is going to initiate me into being a true woman. I'll soon be graduating to married lady and mommy, to professional Thanksgiving dinner host and chef. Guys. This is huge in my book. What a great thing to add to my little tricks-of-the-trade book. Hosted and prepared Thanksgiving dinner? Check! (Well .... almost.)

I am making my list (and checking it twice), and I am trying to figure out how this one oven thing is going to work. Those of y'all with two ovens - YOU ARE BLESSED. And on Thanksgiving Day, if your family goes around the table and says what they are thankful for, you better say, "Today I am thankful for my two ovens and that is all, goodnight." I know I would. One day, I hope to have like 5. Ha! I've cooked several dishes FOR Thanksgiving, but I've never been the one to cook it all. You guys better add me to your prayer list. Better yet, just go ahead and get a prayer chain started for me. Call everyone you know.

Of course, people will bring things and that will be a huge help, but I am responsible for the majority of it. I am half freaked out and half excited. I'm freak-cited. And if I burn it all and turn the rest to mush, we can always make a trip to the dump and high-tail it to Cracker Barrel. Mmm ... Cracker Barrel. I wonder if they cater?

Husby's family: YOU DID NOT SEE THAT.

So. I need you to weigh in and help a sister out. I want my first Thanksgiving dinner to be a yummy hit with everyone, and with my pregnancy brain, I'm sure to leave something out. Like the turkey. I'll probably forget the turkey.

Clean and brown and baste and whaaaa?

What is the one Thanksgiving dish that you simply can't live without? If you even want to throw a few tried and true recipes my way, get with it sista!

Pregnancy Update!

2011-11-12T15:15:00.005-06:00

I am now in my 18th week and feeling great! It's hard to believe that I'm almost half way there. And if he comes early like Weebie did, then I AM half way there! Wowza!

Let me fill you in on what's been going on.

* At our appointment a couple of weeks ago (at 17 weeks), we confirmed that our little boy IS in fact, a little boy!! :) I had no doubts, though, because we found out at 13 weeks with Levi that he was (clearly) a boy, and this little one looked just the same. YIPPEE for BROTHERS! :)

* He looks like such a little angel!!!

* I had all the blood work done for the tri-whatsitcalled screening, and it all came back perfect. Praise God!

* I feel him move ALL the time. In every ultrasound we've had, she's like, "my goodness, this child is active"!, and I'm certainly feeling it. He's like a little boomerang in there flying off the walls and doing flips. It's amazing!

* He always measures about a week ahead of what he is (Husby and I produce massively tall children), and his head is big. Just like Levi's always was. This means delivery is going to kill me dead. Again. YAHOO!

* When I first got pregnant, I said that if it was a boy I would keep the nursery the same (because I just love it oh so much), and change it if it was a girl. Then Husby and I got to talking and we decided that we want this baby to have his "own room", and not feel like we're just putting him in Levi's old room. You know what I mean? (I don't want everything this baby has to be a hand-me-down from big brother.) So, we have decided upon a theme and we are going to change it up! It shouldn't be a huge deal since we already have all the furniture and stuff. And I think it's going to be adorable. (Oh, and several of you have asked if I am going to sell all of my Peter Rabbit stuff. I'm not going to. So much of it are great collectibles, so I am going to keep them just in case Levi's future wife would like to have it for their little babies. Look at me planning ahead!) (And if she hates it, well ... then she's crazy, and I'll create a Peter Rabbit nursery in my own house! Grandma style! Haha!)

* My #1 craving is still spaghetti. And then queso. And salad. And always hot dogs and turkey sandwiches, but of course, those are off limits. I will go CRAZY eating them after I pop him out.

* My pants buttons are getting tighter, so I think I will have to make "the switch" here in the next couple of weeks. I was already in maternity clothes at this point with Levi, but I was smaller then, so maybe that has something to do with it.

* I've gained 3 to 5 pounds, depending on the day. (HA!) (I keep going up and down between the same numbers.) I'm gaining much slower than with Levi, but again, I'm not as small as I was, so I keep thinking that's why. Well, that, and I'm not eating french fries every single day for lunch. ;)

* I'm totally going to be a BOY MOM!

* I tell Husby all the time that I'm going to be like Paula Dean - The Lady & Sons. :)

* I also tell him that I'm going to learn to do all kinds of boy things, like kayak, hike, ski, rock climb, camp, etc. He just laughs ... (hard), but I'm totally serious. I definitely won't lose my girliness (um, impossible), but I'm dead set on being a fun and active boy mom. As long as I have my hair done and makeup on. And cute sporty clothes.

* I absolutely can not wait to see what this child looks like and find out his personality. I'm so eager to know the details of this precious life!

All in all, I'm just soaking up these moments and looking forward to introducing this little love to his family. The three of us already love him more than words can describe!!

How Much Fonder Can My Heart Grow?

2011-11-10T00:03:00.002-06:00

Every marriage and family has their share of sacrifices, and each of those sacrifices looks different for each relationship. For some it may be financial, putting careers on hold, time constraints, giving up self wants, and the list goes on and on. For each season of life, new sacrifices and changes come into play and rather than looking on them as something detrimental and world altering, I think it's important to work through them together as best as you can and strive for excellence in maintaining a positive attitude. It's vital in getting through those times.

Husby and I would rather be together than with anyone else. It's always been that way. We hate being apart and when we do have to be apart, we spend most of the time longing for the time we can get back home to our little family. Life just doesn't feel right when we're not all together. That being said, with him being a Medical Resident now and for the next 2 years, we don't always get to see one another regularly.

For the past two weeks, he has been on the night shift which means that he gets home when we wake up and then he goes to bed. When he wakes up, he grabs a bite to eat, gets a shower and heads back out to work. I usually get to see him for 2 hours (sometimes more or less), and Levi is often in a nap, so sometimes he goes a whole day without seeing him. It's been a yucky and difficult couple of weeks, to say the least. And lonely. Did I mention lonely? (What would I do without my Levi?) I know it could be worse and I know that some of you live this type of schedule day in and day out. (Bless you, women.) I am just grateful it's for a couple of weeks here and there, but also I don't discredit what we are going through at all ... because it's hard. And just plain ole not fun. And there is a month ahead of us (when we have a brand new 1 month old newborn), when he has an entire month of this schedule. As daunting as that month that looms ahead of us seems now, I know without a doubt that we can do it. With excellence. Because that is what we ask God for in our marriage relationship, every single day.

I know that our lives right now can't be fully understood by anyone who hasn't done the same thing before, or something similar dealing with time apart. And believe me, I don't think anyone who hasn't done this CAN understand. And sometimes I want to scream something from a mountain top when we don't feel "understood", but then I realize that's the way life goes and I shouldn't expect everyone to relate. How can they if they don't live it? Just like I can't understand the next couple's sacrifices, not everyone can understand ours. This is our special situation and this is something that only we can understand with one another. This is our day in and day out and when we come out of it, just like we did with Medical School (NOBODY cheered louder than me at his Med School graduation), we can look at each other and say, "Hey, WE did this TOGETHER." With the hand of God on us every single day.

The Lord has been so very gracious to us in these past 6 years. SO GRACIOUS. And He continues to prove faithful. He called Husby into the medical field at a young age, and we know that as long as we are living His will, He will continue to guide and bless us. And he most certainly has. He has also given us some wise mentors/prayer warriors who have encouraged us greatly along the way. For those people I am forever grateful.

Now on to the point of the post! I got off on a little rant, but hey, I will enjoy going back on this years from now and reading my thoughts and remembering the truth of our lives right now. It's heavy on my mind right now since these past couple of weeks have been so non-ideal. So yay for blatant honesty.

But anyway!

Making best of your situation! (The original point of this post!)

The other night, Levi and I were just so "Husby sick", that we picked up a picnic dinner (Ah - hmm, Chick-Fil-A), and brought it to the hospital and hung out with Husby/Daddy in his call room! It MADE his NIGHT. And, it made ours!!!!

Levi was so very excited to "go to work with Daddy" - and that's all he talked about the whole way there and then the whole rest of the night. He was on cloud 9. It was just the sweetest thing.

Sure, it wasn't the most ideal local for a nice family dinner, but it was awesome. We got to be TOGETHER, and that is all that mattered. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to see your Husby, and if it's in the hospital, then so be it - it's totally worth it.

We plan on doing this as regularly as we can when he has this schedule, but it's tricky to time it just right. Husby got three new admits while we were there, so we had to cut the "date" short and let him get back to work. But that time we did have together was precious. And you would have thought Levi was at Disney Land. :)

His Daddy is most certainly his hero.

And you know what? He's mine, too.

Just Throw It All In There!

2011-11-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you guys, but I have an entire bowl full of leftover Halloween candy haunting me. Ha! Did you like what I did there? Oh dears, that made me laugh. Anyway, my neighborhood is completely awesome in that they hand out TONS of chocolate!! Forget that cheap Kiddie Mix junk, our neighbors get down with the good stuff. That makes me want to both kiss them and slap them across the face.

Momma don't need no more chocolate.

Y'all. My grammar just gets better by the day.

Anyway, I decided to pick out all of my favorite chocolates (SNICKERS) and get them out of my life. And by get them out of my life, I mean dumping them into a pan of brownies and adding even extra calories to them before they go into my belly. Makes sense, right?

Let's face it. I would probably be better off just sitting down and polishing them off one by one, but for some reason, putting them in brownies sounded like a better idea. Blame the pregnancy brain. It's not always rational.

So, if your bowl of Halloween candy is haunting you, too (Ha! I laughed again), then this recipe is for you. Oh, the brownies are homemade. From scratch. I've never done that before in my life. Look at me! ;)

2 cups candy bars, chopped (any combination that you like!)
1 cup butter (or margarine)
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa, Hershey's
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°F Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Remove wrappers from candies. Cut each candy into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add sugar and cocoa; stir to blend. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir together flour, salt and baking soda; stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in vanilla and candy pieces. Spread in prepared pan.

(Proof that it's homemade - the cocoa on the rim! HA!)

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan and begin to crack slightly; do not overbake. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

(Oh, and I added some peanut butter swirls. Just dollop some PB, take a knife and start swirling.)

(I am sure you could use a boxed mix and throw in your candy before baking. That would be easy and I'm sure would taste scrumptious.)

Oh guys. Guys, guys, guys. These babies are divine. The surprise bites of Snickers are like a party in your mouth.

You're welcome.

A Levi Fun Day!

2011-11-08T00:04:00.000-06:00

Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE came to our town last weekend and since it is Levi's absolute favorite show, we knew we just had to go. That, and I am a sucker for all the "LIVE" shows - they're just too much fun. Um, you know how they say having a child makes you a child? I am why they say that.

Anyway, we started the day by having breakfast at an old local diner. It was such an enjoyable morning with my handsomes.

The kind sir at the checkout counter gave Levi a quarter to get a handful of jelly beans, and as he devoured them in the car, he ended up choking and throwing up all of his breakfast. So, we headed to Target to get a new shirt to wear. Then, we went to Yo Gabba Gabba!

We had been telling Levi about this for days leading up to it, so he was so very excited. When they took the stage, Levi froze. He did not know WHAT to do/think/say. He just stared at them with a look of wonder and awe and occasionally looked at us and would die laughing. It was so funny!

During intermission, we ran up and bought him a toy.

I am here to tell you that no child has ever loved this toy like my son. He carries it with him everywhere he goes. He even tried to take it to Sunday School the next morning. It plays 4 songs from YGG and you can even hook your iPod up to it and play your own songs. Fun! He loves it.

We have been to several LIVE shows, and this was hands down our favorite. It was really, really fun - and the REAL DJ Lance Rock was there (and so was Biz). I was so excited! :) Husby and I enjoyed ourselves as much as Levi.

My favorite part was the fall leaves that came flying out at us, and then the snow. Oh, and when they did the Puppet Master Dancie Dance. That's my favorite dance on the show.

At the end, they started to sing the Goodbye song, and I looked over at Levi and he had giant tears in his eyes! (I have to admit, for some reason, that song makes me want to cry, too!! I don't know what it is!)

He knew what was coming. And he started to frown.

It was the saddest thing, ever. He did NOT want to say goodbye to his YGG friends. When they exited the stage, he lost it.

"I don't want to say goodbye!" :(

I eyed this super cute Brobee backpack on some kids and decided to get one for Levi. He will NOT take it off - ever. He wants to wear it all the time.

We had an awesome time and hope to go back next year. It was such a fun filled day. Moments that I treasure!

I Feel The Earth Move

2011-11-07T00:04:00.001-06:00

Friday night at about 2am, I was fast asleep in bed when Husby started yelling, "WHAT IS THAT? WHY IS THE BED SHAKING?" I jumped up and screamed, "Is Levi in here?!" .... as if he could shake our bed at the magnitude it was wobbling at. I woke up at the very end of the shaking and the first thought that ran through my mind was "JESUS IS RETURNING!" After a couple of minutes, when I realized that He was not coming at that moment and that I was still in bed here on planet Earth, I dozed back off to sleep.

When we woke up the next morning, we saw on the news that we had experienced an earthquake. In Oklahoma. An earthquake measuring in at a 4.7, no less. A very significant quake for our part of the country - considering tornadoes are our natural disasters of choice. Wow. What a weird night.

Saturday night in the 10 o'clock hour, Husby was in Levi's room putting him to bed and reading him his nightly Bible story. I was in the living room messing around when all of a sudden I heard a loud deep roar from the bowels of the earth. It was hands down the creepiest, strangest noise I'd ever heard - kind of like thunder from below, but different. Seconds after the howling, the house started shaking. Violently. My pictures and plates hanging on our walls started clanging, and all of our furniture was rattling. It sounded and felt like the earth, at that very moment, was meeting it's demise.

This is when I lost all sense of sanity and took off running.

Husby was in Levi's room in the middle of a Bible story about Jesus and the violent storm (Luke 8). The house started shaking and Husby calmly continued with the story saying, "God is always in control, Levi. He controlled the storm and the waves and He is controlling this earthquake right now." Can I just mention that Husby is amazing in panicky situations? Levi was looking all around and looked very uneasy about his room shaking all around, but Husby kept him perfectly calm.

Until, that is, I came BURSTING through the door screaming, "EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!", like a complete wild woman.

I tend to freak out during calamity.

Levi's eyes were as big as saucers and he burst into a sea of tears. I swept him up out of his bed and took off running. Outside. All while screaming. For whatever reason, in the crazy turn of events the night had taken, yelling, grabbing babies and running outside made perfect sense in my mind. And the Momma Bear in me came out tenfold. I felt like I could fight this earthquake one handed while holding Levi in the other. All while screaming of course.

Clearly, I don't know the rules on handling an earthquake. Nor did I ever think I would need to.

We found a neighbor outside as well as we just kind of stood there waiting for the earth to stop shaking. It lasted for an entire minute, and I am here to tell you, it felt like an eternity. Our neighbor yelled from across the street, "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Husby yelled something back and I clung on to Levi on the porch. I could see the lady neighbor in her doorway holding her baby, too. Once it stopped our neighbor screamed, "Y'all better pray!!!"

Trust me, I was on it.

We came back inside trying to process what had just happened and tuned in to the news. The earthquake we experienced measured in at a 5.6, breaking the record for the largest quake in Oklahoma history (the last being a 5.5 in the 1950's). Wild. We are about 50 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, so we were shaken majorly. My armiore was shaken open and my dishes pushed forward several inches. If the shaking would have lasted any longer, they would have fallen out and shattered everywhere. We were thankful nothing fell off the walls - several people we know had pictures and things broken.

{And, I just felt an aftershock. Almost 24 hours later. As I am blogging about it. SCARY! My house just rumbled for about a second and Levi stopped dead in his tracks and said, "WHAT WAS THAT?" Yikes!}

It turns out, 2011 has been a huge year for Oklahoma, breaking all kinds of records in our history: Coldest temperature, most snow in 24 hours, highest wind speed, EF5 tornado, largest hail and now .... the biggest and strongest earthquake.

I'm not sure what's going on in our little part of the world, but it's awfully strange. I feel like we never know what's going to happen from one day to the next! A tornado? A blizzard? An earthquake? It's all possible! We all know one thing for sure though ... regardless of what happens, I'll be here screaming, running in circles, swooping up babies and declaring the Lord's return!

I'm convinced it's soon, friends.

What a wacky, wild weekend.

Oh, and I wouldn't advise ever seeking me out in the midst of chaos. I tend to make things worse.

WINNERS!

2011-11-04T12:04:00.002-05:00

The random generator chose these numbers for 25 free Christmas cards!

101 - LAYLA WEAVER (from Messy but Loveable)

54 - KATIE (from the Quiroz family blog)

13 - LAUREN (from Defying Gravity)

CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS! I'm so excited for you! :)

Please contact me at: glamlifehousewife@gmail.com with your e-mail address, and I will send back your free card code!

YAY! Thanks everyone for playing!

Christmas Cards GIVEAWAY!

2011-11-03T00:02:00.001-05:00

Now that November has snuck upon us, it is officially "the holiday season" - which means, time to start thinking about Christmas cards. I don't know about you guys, but I like to plan my cards out early so that I have plenty of time to get them processed, printed, shipped, addressed, stuffed and mailed to all my family and friends. Nothing makes me happier than a mailbox full of cutesy Christmas cards, so I like to think that everyone gets equally excited to see my little families faces! :) (If not, just keep it to yourself and don't crush my dreams.)

I stumbled upon Shutterfly's holiday cards this year and was blown away. They are just so cute and colorful. I like all of the different options they have with the layout and designs. I could spend all day designing and redesigning my Christmas cards with them. See what I'm talking about? Cute Cute Cute! Basically any design or look that you're going for, they have it. I can't wait to start designing mine. I've just got to have a little photo shoot with my little family to capture the perfect picture!

But, not only do they have cute Christmas cards, but also great deals on Photo Books (which I LOVE), and fun little Gifts for the toughies in your family that you haven't a clue what to buy them! (i.e. grandparents or parents!) I mean, you could throw a picture of your kid on a paper towel, and most grandparents would lock it away like the crown jewels.

Anyway, I am just very excited about my Christmas cards this year and thought you guys would want to check it out, too. So excited, that, I want you to head on over to my Review Page and enter my giveaway for 25 FREE Shutterfly Christmas cards!!! I am going to give THREE of you 25 free cards, thanks to Shutterfly. Isn't that amazing? I tend to go overboard and order crazy expensive cards, so I know that I would jump on this offer if I were you! :)

Tell your friends and you can enter as many times as you tout it! :)

October Festivities!

2011-11-01T19:23:00.002-05:00

We did lots of fun Octoberish things last week. We did a Fall Family Fun Day on Saturday and it was perfect.

We started with breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, and Levi is enthralled with the checkers game they always have there.

He played his Daddy!

I had a plate full of carbs: chicken 'n dumplings, mashed potatoes and gravy and hashbrown casserole. It was amazing! :)

Later, we headed to the pumpkin patch and Levi had an absolute ball.

It was the perfectly cool crisp day to hunt for pumpkins. And I took this picture that I absolutely LOVE. The way Weebie is looking at his daddy is priceless.

That evening, we went home and carved the pumpkin. Daddy carved a rocket ship in honor of our cute little astronaut!

We also did these, and they made us laugh. A lot.

On actual Halloween, cousin Maxwell and family come over and go trick-or-treating together. I made them their own pumpkins representing what they were for Halloween (Levi was an astronaut and Maxwell was Mickey Mouse), and some fun gift buckets! It looked so festive waiting for them to tear into. :)

Yes, I am the cheesy Mom/Aunt. :) But it's just too much fun.

They scored lots of good candy. My neighborhood passes out tons of chocolate - and he even got a full size Hershey bar! Score! I'm glad he has a cousin close in age and close in proximity to enjoy times like these with. It's just precious because they love each other!

The next day, when I asked Levi what he wanted to do, he said, "Let's go trick-or-treating!!!" :) Such fun memories!

What a great October. Here's to a just-as-great November! :)

NASA's Littlest Astronaut.

2011-10-31T00:07:00.000-05:00

Happy Trick-or-Treating from my little space explorer!

(He wanted to be Buzz Lightyear, so we got him the costume and it was entirely too big. So, we made him Buzz Aldrin instead.)

(Hee Hee Hee.)

I love it!

Have a great day!

A Confectionary Question.

2011-10-28T13:14:00.003-05:00

I have been so hit and miss this week due to a wretched illness that hit our home - first striking baby boy and then me! But we are both almost at 100% and back among the living! We have been shut-in's for a solid week, with the exception of a fun evening out for a Trunk or Treat ... more on that next week.

But today, I have a question.

Candy.

We have lots and lots of candy that Levi gathered up from the Trunk or Treat, and there is more in our future. Levi still insists on getting "potty treats" (even though he's been trained for months - I swear he's going to want them until he's 8), so I have been using the little bites of his trick or treat candy for potty treats since Wednesday. (I usually don't use candy as treats, but now that I have a plethora, I have been.) I know a lot of parents let their children go hog wild on their candy when they get home from trick or treating and others limit to a couple of pieces a day.

Oh this candy - this multiplying candy. I was wondering what y'all do with your trick or treat candy. Do you let your kiddos gobble up as much as they can handle for one night? Do you limit to a couple pieces until it's gone? Do you let them have some and then give the rest away? Or do you do something totally different?

I don't think my child is old enough yet to get more than I want to let him have, because trust me, he'd never stop eating it. And I don't want this baby to get cavities, so I'm always running around brushing those little teeth after he eats a piece.

Hmmm.

Maybe I'm paranoid? Maybe I'm over thinking it? Tell me your policy on Trick or Treat candy!

Give Me Sghetti.

2011-10-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

My cravings with Levi started very early. I wanted lettuce wraps and Cool Ranch Doritos like nobody's business. With this little love, all I want is spaghetti at all hours of the day. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, I want some SPAGHETTI.

(Stole this picture from The Pioneer Woman, and I may just drive over, break into her house and hold her at water-gun point until she makes me some. I don't mess around.)

I have had this little craving for a couple of weeks now, but this week it has hit with such intensity that it is almost unbearable. I mean, I have to have it. I would give an arm and possibly a leg for a big bowl of my dad's specialty spaghetti. It's the best your buds will ever taste, and I've GOT to get my lips on a bowl. And fast.

Last night, I wasn't feeling so great and I begged Husby to whip up a batch (he makes good spaghetti, you guys - must be something with the men in my life and their mad pasta skillz), but all we had were linguini noodles. I'm sorry, but it's just not the same. Especially when we're talking about red sauce and meatballs. My mouth was watering at the mere mention of noodles and sauce. I turned the channel and someone was eating a giant bowl of spaghetti. Of course. I almost jumped into my TV screen to join him. And then a commercial for Olive Garden came on. Um, Heaven. Not only have I wanted spaghetti, but my ENTIRE pregnancy, I've craved salad. Specifically, Olive Garden's. Great. I was in complete and utter desperation at this point.

Husby offered to go get spaghetti noodles, but it was late, Levi was hungry and I really didn't feel like cleaning up the kitchen. So, we hopped in the car and headed to Wendy's for a spicy chicken sandwich. :) Not quite spaghetti, but it was delish.

I am determined to get my big bowl of spaghetti soon, and I am afraid I will go to great lengths to get it. A craving will turn a pregnant woman into a crazed lunatic. Trust me. It won't be pretty.

I polled my FB friends with this question yesterday morning, since clearly, it is all I can think about. And now I'll ask you: Do you break your noodles before you boil them or throw them in whole? I'm a whole-noodler myself. I like to twirl, spin and suck up long noodles like a true blood Italian. How do you do it?

Hallow, There.

2011-10-24T00:06:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, Halloween was something the whole town looked forward to every fall. We got to wear our costumes to school and after school a herd of mine and my brothers friends would pile into the back of my Dad's truck and come home with us so that we could all go Trick-Or-Treating together. I have so many great memories of those nights and the crazy amounts of candy we came home with after Dad took us all around town. Dad knew all the great stops - my favorites were the lady with the homemade popcorn balls and the man with the king sized chocolate bars. It's sad that these days all homemade treats get an immediate meeting with the trashcan. Times were just simpler when I was a kid.

One year I was Rapunzel and my long locks dragged the ground ALL around town and raked up every leaf in every yard. It got so heavy that it was falling off my head and my friends carried it around like a bride's train. What great friends I have! My brother and I would trick or treat with pillow cases and those things would be filled up to the brim! We had candy for months. When we got home, we would dump our piles of candy in the floor and divide them into categories: chocolate, hard candy, gummy candy, etc. I don't know why we got such pleasure from this, but there was something about seeing all that candy sorted out that made us ridiculously happy. Halloween candy truly is a child's treasure.

When we thought of Halloween, there were only two things that we ever associated it with: Costumes and Candy. We never celebrated with ghosts or ghouls, blood or gore - those things were completely left out of the equation in my family. My Mom shielded us from the "scary" stuff and the creep aisles in the stores, and the scary movies were always out of the question. It was simply about fun - NOT spooks.

I have several friends who choose not to let their kids dress up and trick or treat, and I completely respect that. My husband grew up only going a couple of times because of the halloween reputation. For us, as parents, we are choosing to let our child(ren) participate in the dressing up and candy seeking, like I did as a child, but I think it's important to emphasize that this is not a "holiday" that we observe like the other holidays - simply a fun evening of dress up and sugar. We even call it "Trick or Treat" instead of Halloween, and yes, I have done plenty of "guarding" from the spooky things this year. Yuck!

Did you grow up trick or treating? Do you let your children?

Weebie Wednesday: The Face Of An Angel.

2011-10-19T00:07:00.000-05:00

Love.

On The Pregnancy Front!

2011-10-18T00:04:00.000-05:00

I am a couple weeks into my second trimester and I am slowly but surely getting my energy back. I thought this day would never come! I had forgotten just HOW tired growing a little person makes a girl, but boy howdy, it was a rough couple of months and I am thrilled to welcome back some much-needed energy.

My baby love is the size of an orange and I felt his first little kicks the other day!! It was THE most precious feeling in the world. I mean, there is just nothing like it. Nothing at all. I sit and wonder who he is all the time. Who is this sweet little angel that the Lord has given to us? What will he be like? Who will he look like? Oh, this baby!

My appetite is back, too, which is nice. It was bizarre not wanting anything to eat ever. That's definitely not the case these days. I don't have any huge "cravings", but sometimes something will strike me and I'll really want it. I went 14 weeks without gaining any weight and then after spending some time with my folks last week, I came home and had gained two pounds. THANKS, MOM AND DAD! I blame the crazy amounts of cream gravy and fried food I consumed. Oopsy! (Oh, but it was worth every LB. YUM.)

We've been tossing around a couple of names, but one is really sticking out to me. Before we knew that he is (more than likely) a boy, I could not come up with ANY girl names. Not ONE! The only name I could come up with was this particular little boy name. It kept creeping up every single time I thought of this little angel. Maybe this name was "meant to be"! :) Anyway, it's adorable and I'll be excited if that is what we settle on. There is so much pressure in naming a child. I mean, it's his name for the rest of his life! We have his middle name set in stone, though. I'm excited!

Levi points to the ultrasound photos hanging on the 'fridge all the time and says, "that's my baby brother!!!" with such excitement. I am just so blessed. I can not wait to see the little relationship they form and have for life. I was picturing them as one another's best men at each other's wedding the other day and almost lost it. Oh, my BOYS! They sure have captured their Mommy's hearts. My cup runneth over.

I know that every baby is a miracle and such a gift, but I think that I am realizing that more deeply with this pregnancy. With my first, it was "baby baby cutesy baby - we've got to do this - we've got to do that" and completely jumping into everything with such blinders. I was just thrilled to be pregnant and finally start living my dream of being a Mommy, that I didn't truly stop and realize every day, like I am with this one, what an absolute blessing and enormous responsibility this is. This child was chosen for us from the beginning of time, and the honor of God entrusting him and Levi with us will just bring me to my knees. I don't even feel worthy.

Husby and I feel such a responsibility of raising this little baby boys to be strong and mighty men of God - something this world is absolutely lacking and desperately needs. But the fact that God trusts us to do so? Well, that's just the most humbling feeling in the world. I trust my carpet will be worn smooth from seeking wisdom. :)

Several people have asked me if I am disappointed that I'm not having a girl. Honestly, the answer is a big ole "not at all". (And that question hurts my feelings, because ... gosh, y'all just don't know how I feel about my baby boys. And how could you be disappointed over a LIFE inside of you?). Before I was married, I had my life planned out and always said I wanted two children: a boy first and then a girl. Then when the Lord gave me Levi, my heart was completely changed. I didn't have that feeling of "my next one better be a girl" or "when I have a girl" or anything like that. My heart turned to "the blessing of another CHILD" and whatever that baby may be is exactly what the Lord has ordained. Boy or girl, I just want for us what HE wants for us. And my heart means that one hundred percent.

I remember driving into our neighborhood when Levi was only a couple months old and I looked at Husby and said, "I kind of feel like we're going to have another boy ... and you know what, I kind of really hope we do." He smiled and agreed with me. My heart didn't only change concerning the gender of my children, but also the number. I was always dead set on two, and after Levi, we're just not sure now what the plan is for us. It's something we always approach prayerfully and never "this is the way it's going to be". I have no idea what He has in store for my family in the coming years, and if that is for us to have and parent more children - then bring it on! And if He gives us a little girl one day, then we will be thrilled, of course, because most every parent would love to experience each gender and that will be another precious little life given graciously to us.

But right now, y'all, I'm rejoicing head over heels because of these baby boys. And I couldn't be more grateful.

Okay, I'm off to cut a slice of pineapple carrot bread and pour a glass of orange juice. Oh guys, this is the best bread you've ever laid lips on! I just might justify two pieces tonight. :)

Fall Festival (And A Winner!)

2011-10-17T00:04:00.000-05:00

*** First off, the winner of the cutesy kitchen giveaway is H HoopThiel! The Random Generator chose your number, so please e-mail me at glamlifehousewife@gmail.com with your mailing info and the color of crate you would like! CONGRATS! And thank you everyone for playing! ***

Every year, it is tradition for my Mom, Weebie and me to head off to Northwestern Arkansas and go to a pumpkin patch and to an annual fall festival/craft fair. I have blogged about it the past three years, so it may look familiar to some of you. It's a always a magical day and I have some of the sweetest memories from these days spent with my baby boy and my Mom. We always have an absolute blast together!

Here are some photos and captions from our day.

We started off at the pumpkin patch bright and early! Levi did NOT want to leave and he was tearing through that place with such excitement. It was the sweetest thing .... but made it hard to get many pictures! :)

I have pictures of him on these type of pumpkins in this same location for every year of his life! I need to put them side by side and compare them. So sweet is he!

He was "a little bit scared" (as he said) of this slumped over faceless scarecrow (and for good reason, baby!), so Glam*Ma was the buffer. Then, he loved it.

After we left the patch, we headed out to the craft fair. After several hours of browsing, we stopped for rest and nourishment. And a few cuddles, of course. Where there is a Weebie, there is lots of cuddles.

And, I did not realize I was in this photo, so here I am mid-chew a cheeseburger and looking rather mad. I promise, I was NOT! :)

Some of these photos are from my phone - hence the poor quality.

After almost four hours at the fair, Levi was exhausted and full from all the treats he had. He had a little accident and "got sick" all over his little shirt. Wouldn't you know, we were right by a booth selling children shirts, so Mom ran over and bought one.

It said Little Hunter. Hilarious. He looked like such a ragamuffin by the end of the day. But that didn't stop him from having fun!

Glam*Ma picked up lots of fun little things for him along the way, but the one thing he wanted with all of his heart was this ...

A CANE! Hilarious. He picked it up and said, "I'm a little shepherd boy!" So, of course, Glam*Ma bought of for him and he carried it the entire rest of the day. We called it his hiking stick. And it was bigger than he is. That boy has some muscles!

He loved watching the grist mill go 'round and 'round, and really enjoyed throwing rocks off the ledge into the creek.

We spent a total of 5 hours there that day and snagged some Christmas gifts, fun treasures, toys and yummy goodies - but the best part of the whole day was the time and laughter that the three of us spent together.

We will see you next year, War Eagle. Thank you for the memories!

Cutesy Kitchen Giveaway!

2011-10-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I posted a recipe on my blog and several of y'all caught a glimpse of my cute little egg crate. It is one of my most favorite things in the kitchen and THE favorite thing in my refrigerator. There's just something so fun about opening my ice box and seeing this cheerful little egg holder. It makes me smile every time! Love it!

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to give one away!

It is the stoneware Farmer's Egg Crate from Anthropologie and girls, it's fantastic!

Oh, isn't it just delightful?

It comes in this pretty blue (this is the color I own), and white. The winner will get to choose which color you would like.

All you have to do is leave me a comment! :)

If you would like to increase your chances of winning, tweet, facebook or blog about the giveaway, including a link over here and enter as many times as you have told about the giveaway! So, if you do all three (twitter, facebook and blog), you can enter four times!

I will be super busy over the next few days, so I will post the winner on Monday!

Good luck, sweets!

Fallify.

2011-10-11T21:48:00.002-05:00

I've had my home bedecked for fall for a couple of weeks now, but just got around to taking pictures of it today. I love the warm colors of this season; they're just so warm and inviting! I love peeking into other people's homes and getting a glimpse into their taste and lifestyle, so I hope y'all enjoy peeking into mine!

The mantle. I love having a mantle. It brings so much life to the room when it's seasonally decorated!

I am really enjoying these colors together. They scream "AUTUMN"!

Seasonal fruit and sparkly leaves.

Next to the fireplace, we have a buffet table and underneath I have four large uniquely shaped pumpkins. I use them every year and I think I like them even more every year. But, I forgot to get a picture of them, so you'll have to use your imagination. ;)

For the kitchen table, I just did a clustering of three ivory pumpkins instead of my usual spread of dishes, centerpieces and whatnot. We sit at the table three times a day at this point in our lives, so I figured simple was best.

I call this next little gem my Cinderella Pumpkin. It's just so magical looking to me!

My camera didn't catch the glimmer of the little swirls. They're so sparkly and beautiful.

This summer, after our trip to the beach, my Mom bought me this beautiful candle holder and she filled it with sand and seashells as a little reminder of our little family vacation. So sweet of her! It was waiting on my entry table as Husby, Levi and I got home. I cried. Anyway, I love that you can change it out seasonally, so I poured my sparkly acorns in it. Pretty!

And THIS little delight has been burning in my home every day. I believe it's a new scent and it is hands down the best. LOVE IT!

Two Things.

2011-10-10T00:02:00.001-05:00

Well, folks, this weekend changed my life in two ways.

HeyTell

&

Coupons

First of all, a friend introduced me to HeyTell and I spent the entire weekend walkie-talkying my friends and family. It was hilarious. And so much fun! Do y'all use it? It's an iPhone app where you can send each other voice messages without calling the person. Kind of like texting, but using your voice. It's so much fun! I describe it to others like a walkie talkie. I especially like to use it when whatever I have to say is longer than I want to type. And just when I want to hear the other person's voice. It's my new favorite thing ... and obsession. Friends, Family, if I'm driving you crazy voice messaging you every other second, I apologize. I tend to run things into the ground when they're new to me. I'm kind of annoying like that. If you aren't my IRL friend and just know me through blogging - you might want to count your blessings. ;)

A friend and I had a long conversation over COUPONS over HeyTell and I think she has convinced me to be a couponer. That, and the adorable coupon binder I found at Target. I think that's what really won me over. (It's pink and it's CA-YUTE!) She started in June and is an expert with like a billion different coupons and a hundred different binder categories, and my piddly little binder has a couple of coupons from the Sunday Paper. I haven't a clue what I am doing, but am willing to learn! Especially with my ever-growing little family! Groceries aren't cheap, y'all. Can I get an AMEN?

If you have any couponing tips and tidbits, HELP A SISTER OUT! I have tried to get into it once before, but I didn't try very hard. Like I said, I run things into the ground until the excitement wears off. (Note: the sewing machine sitting in my closet -untouched for two years.) Now, from seeing my close friends experience, I am convinced that it's for me! Especially since it will benefit my family and our finances. But ... I don't want to be one of these people who have 18,000 packs of gum and 72 boxes of macaroni and cheese. Really? Who has the ROOM or PATIENCE to deal with that? I just want to save some money on the things that I actually need each week. I'm really bad at looking at prices, and just grabbing what I need. I got in trouble the other day when Husby asked me how much the bacon was and I didn't have a clue. Oopsy. I should have just made something up.

Dearest Husby, you bring home the bacon, and I'll buy it. With a coupon. And then fry it up. And we'll have BLT's. K? Thanks, love ya.

Alrighty, I'm going to get off here and bombard all my friends with voice messages. And clip coupons.

Now, SHARE THE TIPS! :) Thanks, lovelies.

My Baby.

2011-10-06T16:08:00.002-05:00

Y'all. Y'ALL. !!!!!!!

I went in for my checkup today (nearly 13 weeks), and we were quite floored with what went down. As the doctor pushed and wagged the ultrasound stick all over my belly, I thought I saw something. I didn't say anything. She checked the heartbeat and it was SO strong and beautiful. In the 150's. Immediately, I was filled with peace and my nerves went away. A strong heartbeat always does a Mommy's heart good. :)

She measured everything and said the baby looked great and it was moving and bouncing around like crazy the whole time. SO PRECIOUS. Then she said, "do you want to know what it is?"

I said, "DO YOU KNOW?"

She said, "I looked ... and I can give you a guess."

I said, "YES!"

She said, "It looks like a BOY!"

I squealed and KNEW that I had seen something on the screen!!! She told me not to go painting any rooms yet or anything, and that she will check again next time, but that it really looks like a boy. From what I saw, too, it definitely looks like a precious little baby boy!!

Oh. My. GOODNESS!!!

You guys don't even know the joy that is flooding my heart! As I looked over at little Levi eating his Tic-Tacs quietly in his chair, my mind was bombarded with plans of the future of Levi with a baby brother. I just KNOW they will be best friends and I feel like there is no greater gift that we could give Levi and this new baby boy, than the gift of each other. Praise GOD!

I am blessed to tears for this precious life that the Lord has so graciously entrusted me with. Thank you, Jesus, for this BLESSING!!! We are in for the most amazing journey with these two little boys in our lives, and I just can't express how grateful I am.

Bring on the blue!!! YIPPEE!!!

The Power of the Tongue.

2011-10-05T00:06:00.000-05:00

Do you remember when you were a little girl and dreamed of your Prince Charming sweeping you off of your feet and carrying you sweetly into your happily ever after? The dreams of who he would be and the excitement that flooded your heart when you imagined him was almost overwhelming. You looked ahead to your wedding day, your life as newlyweds, the future with that perfect someone that was filled with endless possibilities and opportunities. It was the greatest adventure a little girl could ever dream up!

And then you meet that special someone and your dreams quickly become your reality. You are so wrapped up in love that it's hard to see straight. You look back on what you dreamed your husband would be like and proudly smile with who he is.

I love seeing newlyweds with that spark of such enthusiasm and love for one another. It's so charming and just a delight to see, especially in this day and age. But something that I love even more than seeing newlyweds with that passion, is seeing an established, well-aged marriage with that same spark. The couples who have been together for many years and you still see that look in their eye when they catch each other's glance from across the room. The man who cherishes his wife and the woman who respects her husband. It is the absolute essence of romance.

I feel like there are many "secrets" to a happy love-filled marriage (those "secrets" are plainly revealed in Scripture), but one I have been very passionate about lately is this one.

This quote (from Pinterest) caught my eye a couple weeks ago and I think it should be plastered on every wife's handbag, fridge, mirror - wherever they can see it often. A lot of married ladies get sucked into the trap of "husband-bashing", especially when out with girl friends, on social media, etc., and nothing irritates me more. You know the saying that those you love the most, you end up treating the worst? Well, there is something extremely wrong with that mindset. How dare the people we cherish the most in this life become the dirt on our feet. It's just not right. ESPECIALLY when it comes to your spouse.

Proverbs 31:10-12
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

How can your husband trust you if you are bad mouthing him behind his back? Are you harming your husbands reputation simply by the words you choose?

Our husbands are our soul mates. Our other half. How would we feel if they were out with their guy friends speaking horribly about us? It would crush our spirits. It would give us a bitter attitude. It would give us a spirit of distrust and dishonor. It would wound our hearts.

We, as husband and wife, have a responsibility to one another. To love. To cherish. To honor. To obey. To respect.

Sure, we all have things that irritate us about each other and things that sometimes make us crazy. But I am a firm believer in going to each other with our frustrations and concerns - NOT anyone else. A marriage relationship is a sacred, holy union. We have to guard it with everything we have - our hearts, our minds, our actions ... and our words.

Something I have found with myself is that the more I edify my husband, the harder it is to see the imperfections (even those giant size 13 shoes laying around all over the house). ;) I think it's important to not only edify them to others, but also TO THEM. They need the encouragement and need to see that you are their biggest fan. And you know what? I guarantee they will be yours, too.

And trust me, I am by no means an expert in being a Proverbs 31 wife and mother. It is something I strive for daily, but am lacking in often. I hope and try to live it out as best I can, but goodness sakes, sometimes my attitude just basically needs a BIG overhaul and often times I just throw in the towel for the day. I am humbled to my knees in studying this woman and it is my life's goal to be named with her attributes. This little token of marriage advice is something I feel like I am equipped to encourage y'all with, simply because it's always been something I've been aware of and passionate about. There are other areas that I fail at miserably.

But I just want to encourage you as wives and girlfriends to not get sucked into the world of husband-bashing. Next time you're around it, throw all your friends off guard and say something great about your husband. It will likely change the tone of the conversation, and the evidence of your love and respect for your husband will surely be a testimony.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Ephesians 4:29

Guard your marriage. Guard your words. And value your husband for the gift that he is. Choose to find the Prince Charming in your man every single day.

The Fair!

2011-10-03T16:47:00.002-05:00

You guys know my love and devotion to our State Fair. It is one of the highlights of my every October, and this year did not disappoint. Usually, Husby and I go solely for the yummy food and booth browsing. This year, out little bundle of two-year-old energy made it even more fun because everything was so new to him! We didn't end up eating near as much as we usually do and did a lot more activities/fun stuff than we ever do. My, how children change things. :)

Levi had a ball.

We visited a butterfly exhibit and Weebie just loved it. He held as many as he could and just giggled so much. He was great with them!

He got to visit a firetruck, a police car and an ambulance. He saw that police car and literally took off running for it. He started shoving kids over and knocking them out of his way so he could get in there. We were dying because Levi never acts that way and it was just so funny. Of course, we did a lot of apologizing. Kid loves police cars ... apparently.

He also got stickers from each place and that went over wonderfully with him. He was decked out in gold stickers galore!

He played a fun game and won a big prize - a BATMAN! He loved it and was beaming!

We noshed on lots of delicious treats on the way.

Cheese on a stick is one of my favorites!

And of course, the corn on the cob that Levi wanted nothing to do with.

The best thing of the night were the fried mini donuts. They were piping hot, smothered in sugar and absolutely delectable!

Husby enjoyed a polish sausage and the smell was TOO MUCH! I snuck a few bites. (Please, please, please, don't give my lysteria!)

Levi's favorite thing were the Dip-N-Dots.

We also visited the petting zoo and all of those pictures are on my good camera (these are all from my phone). I haven't uploaded them yet, so I don't know if we got any good ones. But Levi had such a good time feeding the pets and he even rode a horsey!

So much fun!

We had his picture taken with these bunnies and a little tiny baby goat, but the goat jumped off the hay right before the picture. He was so cute!

Isn't he just precious? He had SUCH a fun day.

But then, had even more fun that evening when my parents met up with us and took him and cousin Maxwell to see Disney on Ice: Toy Story!! He. Loved. It.

WOODY!

BUZZ!

Levi never took his eyes off of the ice for two solid hours. Both of the boys were in a trance.

Guess who spoiled them with every treat and goody imaginable?

These boys were in hog heaven!

By the end of the two hours, they were so tired (it was almost 10pm!), but they both fought through the sleepies and saw it to it's finish!

He woke up talking about this morning. :)

It was a wonderful day and just so much fun! I will cherish these moments and great autumn days spent with my boys forever. They are the delight of my soul and they make my life an absolute dream come true.

Muenster Chicken

2011-09-29T00:01:00.000-05:00

You guys have probably heard me talk about my favorite homemade dish of all time - Muenster Chicken. I grew up on this stuff and it is hands down the best chicken your taste buds will ever tango with. I have had several requests for the recipe (I've shown pictures of my Mom's before), and I made it last night so I figured now was a perfect time to share with you a recipe that will change your life.

Now. Let's get to cooking.

Let's rewind to the night before. Take a bag of chicken tenders (or breasts - but tenders are easier), and cut them into bite size pieces. (I use an entire bag of frozen Tyson chicken tenders.)

Marinate them in 4-5 egg yolks. Let marinate overnight. If you don't do the overnight, let it marinate for at least 4 hours.

(I did not include a picture of this because it is not exactly the most appetizing of combinations. Raw chicken and egg yolks? Ew.)

Roll the chicken pieces in Italian flavored bread crumbs and fry them in butter, margarine or Crisco. I used margarine because I had several boxes. We usually always use regular butter, but for some reason I had a lot of margarine.

It may seem like a ton of butter (and it is), but with all that chicken, you need it!

Fry all the chicken until golden brown. (It takes me 3 batches to fry it all.)

Place in a 9X13 pan.

(It looks like a bunch of Chik-Fil-A nuggets!)

Pour 1 can of chicken broth over the chicken and top with Muenster cheese.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

I'm telling you, your family will DEVOUR this stuff. And no, it is by no means "heart healthy", but it is delicious. Trust me on this one. Nom nom nom...

Easier to read recipe:

6-8 boneless chicken breasts
Margarine or Crisco
Seasoned bread crumbs
1 can chicken broth
1 package muenster cheese
4-5 egg yolks

Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Place chicken in egg yolk and marinate for at least 4 hours. Roll chicken in bread crumbs and brown in margarine or Crisco over medium heat. Place chicken in a large casserole dish. Pour chicken broth over cooked chicken. Place cheese over chicken. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

ENJOY, LOVIES!

Weebie Wednesday: Imagination!

2011-09-28T00:06:00.002-05:00

The imagination exercises a powerful influence over every act of sense, thought, reason, -- over every idea.
Latin Proverb

Levi is at the age where he is really starting to use his imagination a lot. I absolutely love this because I remember all the fun I had as a child, simply from using my imagination. I want to encourage him to enhance that part of his precious little brain, and hopefully always be the type of person who can entertain himself and not need the distractions of television or the iPad.

I have started an in-home "Wee School" with Weebie recently and he absolutely loves it. We devote 45 minutes to an hour out of the day for learning exercises, Bible verse memorization, and other fun toddler-appropriate activities. I'll blog more on our specifics (if you'd like!) in a couple weeks when we really get our schedule down pat. Levi just eats it up! The great thing about toddlers is their excitement for learning! His enthusiasm makes me want to just keep teaching him and encouraging him to keep that mindset. Children are just such fascinating little creatures!

After wee-school, Levi loves to play pretend. He's always telling me he's a pirate or a superhero or a fireman or something. Always. Glam*Ma picked up several cute little play costumes for him a couple months ago so that he can go all out being who he says he is. He just LOVES picking out a costume and running around the house being whoever he chooses that day. It is the cutest thing. So far he as a Spiderman, Superman, Policeman, Fireman and Pirate costume. The police, fire and pirate costumes are Melissa & Doug and they are by far the best. The quality and little accessories that come with it are so much fun!

Oh, and when Halloween is over and all the costumes go on sale, I am definitely planning on picking some more up! This is such a fun activity to play with your kids and encouraging them to let their imagination run wild!

Yesterday we played pirates and after I put his clothes on him (he wanted nothing to do with the eye patch, so I wore it), I just kind of let him take the reigns and see what he would do. He immediately picked up his sword and started swinging it and laughing and looking through his telescope. He took out his map and studied it for a little bit and then said, "I need to go THIS way to find the treasure chest. There are COOKIES in the TREASURE CHEST!"

I laughed at what he imagined the "treasure" to be, and went along with him. I put an Oreo in a secret spot and then we used the map to find the "hidden treasure". You should have seen his little face when he found the cookie. Priceless!

He hopped on his pirate ship (ah-hmm, the couch), and spotted bad guys (he doesn't realize that pirates ARE the bad guys), and hopped down to get them with his sword. If I heard "AHOY, MATEY" once, I heard it a thousand times. He was good and worn out by nap time.

What a precious little pirate!!

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.
Dr. Seuss

Runnin' Through My Head.

2011-09-26T21:47:00.000-05:00

I'm having a difficult time today formulating my thoughts into anything coherent (HELLO PREGNANCY BRAIN), so I am just going to throw my jumbled up thoughts out there into one discombobulated post. Here we go, kids.

* Levi was sick last week and at 4am I couldn't find any children's Tylenol and our thermometer was broken. He was so very hot, so I threw on a pair of ripped jeans and a hoodie and booked it to Wal-Mart. I was the only person there. Well, besides the employees who were riding around on the floor cleaner (and if I hadn't been in such a panicky rush, I would have asked if I could play. It looked fun!). I thought about how great it would be to shop at that hour, but seeing as my yawns never subsided, I pushed that idea far into the dark corners of my mind.

I bought a $40 thermometer and Husby wasn't exactly thrilled when I came home with it. $40. For a thermometer. He asked how much it was and I said, "thirty-shmine" and kind of trailed off hoping he would only hear the 30 part. I didn't fool him. He's on to me and my tricks. Anyway, the $40 thermometer worked like a dern charm and I am happy I bought it. I think. It was from my birthday money stash anyway (I had some in my pocket from the Hanson concert), so I don't see what the big deal was. Now, let me tell you we can't afford a $40 thermometer. Like .... at all. But I can with my birthday money because it's mine and I can do with it what I please. Right? RIGHT?? Okay, I spent too much. But it's top of the line and I'll never have to worry again. His fever was 104 and I was ultra-paranoid for the rest of the night. But I did sleep a tiny bit because of the peace of mind I had of the accuracy of my $40 thermometer. I mean, it was an impulse buy and the "Doctor Recommended" completely blinded me. And you know what? It was NOT doctor recommended by the doctor in my house.

* That wasn't a thought. That was a novel. My thoughts tend to wander.

* Speaking of novels, I can't find any good CLEAN books out there to save my life. Tried reading Water for Elephants and put it down after the second chapter. I was excited about reading One Day and my sister-in-law told me it wasn't very clean and I probably wouldn't like it. So. I need some recommendations for a good clean book, y'all. Help a sister out.

* Fake M&M's just don't do it for me. They have to have the classic imprinted M&M on there, guys, or I can't eat 'em. The fakes are not worthy. Neither or the fake Oreos. And don't get me started on fake Pop-Tarts. Oh, but you know what fake thing IS better? Dollar Store chocolate covered graham crackers. They blow Keebler out of the water!

* Did I really spend $40 on a thermometer?

* I hope I don't comments that say, "children in 3rd world countries never know their temperature ... how DARE you buy a top-of-the-line thermometer for YOUR child." I once got chewed out on here for declaring my love for king size beds! You just never know what's going to irk someone, do ya?

* Irk is a funny word. It reminds me of Dierks Bentley. Dierks really irks me! Just kidding. I don't know much about the guy.

* Have you decorated for fall? I have half way. I hope to finish the rest today, but I'm not going to do our table elaborately because we eat at it every day and it's too much of a hassle to move things around. Plus, there's this little boy at my house and he loves to explore. And sometimes his explorations involve a breakage every now and then. :)

* You should have SEEN the mountain of clothes I folded today. Your jaw would have dropped. Mine did. It was out of control. I hate getting behind on folding laundry because it only takes a few days for it to become completely unwieldy. Laundry just makes me crazy on a daily basis, though.

* If I could have one in-home service done for me every week, it would be laundry. Hands down without a question.

* Anyone want to call themselves a Merry Maid and come do my laundry? I will pay you in cookies because I'm too busy buying $40 thermometers to actually pay you in currency.

* Oh! Or I could pay you in M&M's! The real ones with the letters on them and everything!

* I can't seem to find a robe that I am in love with. They're either too long, too short, too hot, too cold, too sheer, too thick. Ugh. I need a plethora of robes so I can choose based on the day. What kind of robe do you have?

* Okay, time to go. I've got places to go and people to see. Not really. You know what I'm actually going to do when I get off of here? I'm going to go take my temperature. Over and over and over again.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

7 Little Moments

2011-09-23T00:02:00.000-05:00

I finally remembered to take more pictures with my phone this week and actually had one for every day. It has been far too long since I have done a 7 Little Moments, but it's back baby!

Friday, September 16.

It was a gorgeously rainy and cool day - finally feeling like fall. So, I initiated this new beauty into the fall decor family and I just love it. I will decorate the rest of my house after the first day of fall. I'm a rule follower like that.

Saturday, September 17.

My parents were babysitting Maxwell that weekend and Husby was working all day, so I asked them to come up and go with me and Weebie to see The Lion King. It was a fun adventure!

Sunday, September 18.

We celebrated Maxwell's birthday! It was a Mickey Mouse theme (as you can see from all the little ears!), and it was a lot of fun. Levi ate more sugar that day than I think he has his whole life combined. He had 3 entire rock-candy suckers (nibbled down to the stick!), some Twizzlers, some Starburst, a cookie, a giant slice of cake, some Skittles and some M&M's. My gracious, that boy was in HEAVEN.

Monday, September 19.

Levi is SO into superheroes right now. Especially Spiderman and Batman. Glam*Ma bought him a couple of dress-up costumes to play around in and let me tell you, he did NOT want to take this thing off. He was trying to climb the walls and screaming, "SPIDERMAN IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!" all day long. It was so cute.

Tuesday, September 20.

Hanson concert! I already wrote about this and already posted this picture, but it was absolutely the highlight of my day! :)

Wednesday, September 21.

Levi and I went grocery shopping and SOMEBODY placed this little treasure on the conveyer belt when I wasn't looking. When I got home and was unloading the food, I found this and stifled my laughter. What a little BOOGER!

Thursday, September 22.

Levi played outside for a little bit with a couple neighborhood dogs. He just loves dogs so much. They loved him, too. They were jumping all over him. :)

And there you go! A few moments out of our week! :)

14 Again.

2011-09-22T00:06:00.000-05:00

If you guys have been reading my blog for any lengthy time, you probably know about my love for the greatest band in the world - Hanson. They have been my favorite since I first laid ears on them doing crunches in my bedroom when I was 14 years old. And a little later when I laid eyes on them, forget about it - I was LONG gone. ;)

Little Levi so preciously gifted me with two Hanson tickets for my birthday this year and when I told my best friend she was going with me, she freaked out. See, she is just as obsessed with me. You should have seen our bedrooms when we were teenagers. They looked more like Hanson shrines than anything. It was unbelievable.

Last night we met up for dinner before the concert and laughed hysterically hashing out old memories together. We were giddy with excitement of seeing them again! It had been six years since we last saw them in concert. Actually, it was the night after I got engaged to Husby that we saw them last, and it was on my birthday when I turned 21. Wow, it had been FAR too long to say the least.

We rushed up to get the closest spot we could to the stage and ended up with an amazing view! We were so close! When they took the stage, we absolutely lost it and screamed like little school girls again. It was total deja vu from our teen years and it was a BLAST! We sang along with every song and kept looking at each other and dying laughing. These boys were SUCH a part of our childhood. They consumed our every thought and we have so many memories of stalking them/running into them/planning out our lives with them. Ha! I just knew I was going to marry Taylor and she just knew she was going to marry Isaac. ;)

Three-fourths of the way through the concert, I started to feel dehydrated and our feet were KILLING us. We had been standing in the same spot for 3 hours and were getting a little irritated at the loony girls dancing wildly next to us. They kept jumping up and down and I was paranoid they were going to break my toes! We decided to go buy our t-shirts, get a water for me, and take a break. When we plopped ourselves down on the lone set of bleachers, I guzzled my water and she looked at me and said, "we're not 14 years old anymore, are we?'

I died laughing. Grabbing my stomach I laughed and said, "Not at all. This pregnant momma has about had it!"

Just then, they started playing Amber's ABSOLUTE favorite song and we took off running back to the stage screaming and freaking all over again.

They were absolutely incredible last night. They are better now than they were when they were huge. I was just astounded at what a fantastic concert they put on. This was our 6th Hanson concert together, and you can be sure there are MANY more ahead of us!

We'll be 90 and still MMMBop'in with the best of them.

It was the best evening with the best band in the world and the best friend at my side.

It Was Fate.

2011-09-20T12:34:00.002-05:00

It is fascinating to me how you can go your entire life not knowing someone and then when your lives finally do become entangled, you can look back and see fun little coincidences and happenings that just blow you away of how your lives crossed paths without you even knowing it.

That is exactly what happened with Husby and me.

I went 18 years of my life not knowing him, yet our lives were strangely intertwined time upon time. The hand of God just blows me away. I think He gives us those moments to show us that He has always had a plan for our lives. And with each little step, we were getting closer and closer to our destiny. Our destiny with each other.

Husby grew up in another state and his grandparents live where I grew up. They have been a part of my Church years before I was even born. I grew up knowing and loving Husby's grandparents before I even knew Husby existed! When Husby and his family would come to town to visit his grandparents, he was always at my Church. Even in my Sunday School classes! The funny thing is, I don't even remember him. He remembers me, but I haven't the faintest recollection of him. He remembers me sitting on a table singing something. (I was probably trying to showboat for the cute visitor.) ;)

My Mom has always been a part of a women's Bible study at Church. She can recall time after time sitting in prayer group with Husby's grandma and praying specific prayers for him that his grandma asked they pray about. My Mom prayed for my Husby for YEARS without the faintest idea that he would one day become her son-in-law and husband to her daughter! Incredible!

The first time I met Husby was at a national Church conference within our denomination. He was best friends with one of my best friends and when we all met up, we were introduced. I don't remember much about him except his smile. And how friendly he was. We had only a very brief time together, so neither of us made a lasting impression on the other.

We were both in Branson, MO. with our families the weekend the Lady Diana was tragically killed. I wonder if our paths ever crossed?

His cousins often visited our Church and I was great friends with a couple of them.

He went to Church Camp with my youth group one year and that was the one year I chose another camp over the one I usually went to. Apparently, we were not supposed to meet yet. :)

I was just about the only person in our youth group who didn't know Husby on some level. I chose another camp to be a part of for the summers, and he went to the one a lot of my youth group went to, so he was good friends with a good chunk of my friends. I only knew his name. And faintly remembered his face. Again, we were not supposed to meet yet.

I see all of these "almosts" in our lives and it just makes me laugh. It's funny how our paths crossed time and again, yet they were only brief, faint encounters. The Lord had a divine appointment for us, and the timing of that fateful meeting was absolutely perfect.

Not long after we were married, we were at Husby's grandparents visiting. They have a lot of eccentric art work and doo-dads hanging around their house, and this specific one caught my eye.

A hand-stitched picture of all of their grandchildren. They had this made when most of the grandchildren were born and then added a name each time a new one came along. My eyes immediately searched for Husby's name and I gasped at what I saw.

Husby's name is the little boy on the left - bottom corner. Look who he's holding hands with. It just so happens to be one of the only blank spots on the entire picture, and he's holding hands with a little red-headed girl in a green dress.

That's ME!!!

Coincidence, folks?

I think not. :)

Weebie Video!

2011-09-16T12:58:00.003-05:00

It's cold and rainy here today, so we have spent the morning in our jammies, watching movies and just hanging out. I did a little interview with Weebie and just had to share. I never know what he's going to say!

The Crazy Lady With The Metal Spoon.

2011-09-15T18:37:00.003-05:00

You guys. The weather is absolutely amazing over here. It's cool, it's crisp, and it's just downright perfection. I have been opening my windows and doors to kind of "air out" the house from the smothering days of summer. There is nothing better than fresh air blowing through the house and recirculating the air. The summer staleness is GONE, friends, and my home is thanking for me for it. Yay!

The other night, I was in the kitchen cooking supper waiting for Husby to get home. Levi was hopping around like a frog, burning off some two-year-old-boy-energy and screaming, "let's go outside, Mommy - PLEEEEEEEASE!", over and over and over again. I explained to him that I was busy cooking, but he didn't let up. He hopped and he begged for HOURS. Okay, maybe it was just 10 minutes, but my ears believe otherwise.

Our backdoor that leads to the backyard just so happens to be in our kitchen, so I opened that bad boy up and told him to go play. We have a fence that encloses our backyard, but we do not have a fence on the sides of the house to completely close it off from the front yard. I always hesitate about letting him play without me out there at all times, because I never know where he'll wander off to. OR - who might meander back there and grab my precious angel and head for the hills.

I'm morbid, but you gotta be morbid to protect your babies. Right?

Anyway, back to the story. Levi was begging to play in his sandbox, so he built castles as I browned my meat nearby. I stopped what I was doing literally every minute or so to pop my head out and make sure he was still there. When I wasn't popping my head out, I was talking to him to make sure he stayed where he was supposed to.

My meat was finally browed, and I gave it a quick stir with my large metal spoon and stepped outside to check on Weebie.

Um. He was gone.

"LEVI?" I said.

No response.

"LEVI!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

No answer.

My eyes darted all around the backyard at lightening speed checking every little crevice. He wasn't at the sandbox. Not on the trampoline. Not under the trampoline. Not in his fort. Not under his fort. Not on his slide. Not under his slide. In approximately .02 seconds, I was off.

I sprinted like Jackie Joyner Kersee on the side of the house screaming his name and flailing my arms about - giant metal spoon in hand. We had been running errands earlier that day and when we got home, I took off my clothes and threw on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt. A Minnie Mouse sweatshirt, no less. I was lookin' h-o-t.

I rounded the corner with Minnie and my spoon at my side, stopped dead in my tracks and scanned the yard. Screaming. I never stopped screaming. My spoon never stopped waving. My sweats never stopped sagging.

He wasn't there.

My. Heart. Stopped.

I Jackie Joyner'ed it across the front yard in a cold sweat, heart racing, stomach churning ... and let out one giant yell, "LEVI!!!!!!!" as I peered around the other side of the house - praying with all I had that he was there.

And wouldn't you know, there he stood. He stopped and stared at me as he held the big yellow sprinkler in his hands. He was looking at me like I'd completely lost my mind and he said ever so calm and collectively, "what, Mommy?"

I threw my spoon, hiked up my sweats and tackled him to the ground hugging him and trying to stop shaking. I instructed him to NEVER leave the backyard without Mommy and he looked me right in they eyes and said, "okay, Mommy", and laid his head on my shoulder and gave me the biggest hug.

My precious little baby. How he rips my guts out and scares me to smithereens.

When we got back to the sandbox and my heart rate went back to normal speed, I replayed the scenario in my mind. I can not imagine what it looked like to anyone who may have witnessed the scene. If you are my neighbor and you saw a flash of pink and metal flying through your yard earlier this week, I offer my sincerest apologies. I promise I'm not a fruitcake.

I am normal.

I think.

But then again, I was wearing a Minnie Mouse sweatshirt.

And Husby, if supper had any bits of grass in it last night ... blame the spoon.

Quiche.

2011-09-13T14:57:00.002-05:00

I tweeted a picture of a quiche that I made last night and had several requests for the recipe, so I figured I would just blog it for easy access.

I feel like quiche is either something you love or something you hate. I went my entire life thinking that I hated it because I am not a fan of eggs. A couple years ago, I tried it for the first time and my life was changed! It is so not eggy! It's absolutely delicious and one of my very favorite breakfast/brunch foods. Nom Nom Nom!

This is Paula Deen's recipe and it was a huge hit in my home. If you are a quiche lover, you must make this one.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche. Here is what you'll need:

6 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper
2 cups chopped fresh baby spinach, packed
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust, fitted to a 9-inch glass pie plate

While you're frying up your bacon, throw the eggs and heavy cream in a food processor (or blender) until smooth. Add your salt and pepper.

Then layer in your (pre-made) pie crust: Spinach, Bacon & Cheese. The colors are beautiful!

(I threw in a handful of cheddar cheese, too, for good measure.)

Then pour your egg mixture on top.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

It turned out beautifully!

Most people think that quiche is a "girly" food ... this is where you are wrong. Husby absolutely LOVED it. I mean think about it, it's everything guys love whipped up into a pie! Bacon. Eggs. Cheese. How could a man not love it?

Mine did.

Of course, it didn't hurt that I served it alongside a heaping plate of biscuits and sausage gravy. There you go. Man food.

What I really loved about this dish is that it keeps and reheats perfectly. Husby grabbed a slice and threw it in the microwave on his way out for work. He had a simple, nutritious breakfast on-the-go just like *that*! I told him I need to start making a different kind of quiche every Sunday so he will have it for his work week. Not a bad idea! :)

Enjoy!

My 16 Year Old Self.

2011-09-12T00:05:00.002-05:00

If I could talk to my 16 year old self today, I would tell her these things:

~ Doc Martens are no good for future fashion sense, but optimal for leg toning right now ... so keep wearing them, girlfriend!

~ Left turn yield on green. Drill it in to your brain, child.

~ There are other clothing stores out there besides Abercrombie & Fitch. Believe it or not!

~ Stay close to your friends who act around others as they do around you. They'll stick around for life.

~ Don't get your hopes up; you don't end up marrying Taylor Hanson.

~ You will, however, marry someone even better. He'll walk into your life when you least expect it. And turn it upside down.

~ When you meet him, play hard-to-get. Works like a charm.

~ When you make a decision because your heart says it's right, don't go back on it.

~ Pay attention in Algebra. You won't remember a bit of it in college and will cause unnecessary stress. And a less than amazing grade.

~ Your happily ever after is better than the fairytales - so keep doing what you're doing and stick with your convictions. It's worth it. Trust me.

~ Hey WhitBug24, Chat Rooms and Instant Messaging are a thing of the past. Technology gets much, much better.

~ You might want to change your e-mail address. Explaining TIZ14 to people may be a little awkward. (Taylor Isaac Zac and 14 being part of Taylor's birthdate.) (Hanson obsessed doesn't EVEN cover it.)

~ You don't realize what great shape you are in right now. SEE IT and RELISH in it! :)

~ You know that shirt you have that says, "cheerleading is life, the rest is just details"? Burn it. And stop being ridiculous.

~ Don't showboat and run down that hill at Casa Bonita. It doesn't end well.

~ Don't take curves going 65mph. You will almost die in your future Husby's college town. PAY ATTENTION.

~ WHAT are you going to do with all of those red gum balls?

~ Keep your life goals a priority and don't change them just because they're not "the norm". You'll get there, child. And it will all be totally worth it.

What would you tell YOUR 16 year old self?

I Met My Little Buttercup.

2011-09-09T00:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finally got to meet another love of my life! It was absolutely amazing. I will never tire of seeing the Lord's creation within a mother's womb - so, so beautiful.

I am a day short of being 9 weeks, so I had an internal ultrasound done. As soon as that precious little angel face popped up on the screen, it took my breath away. Buttercup was so teeny, so angelic, so perfect!

Husby wasn't able to get away from the hospital to accompany me, so Glam*Ma came up to help wrangle Levi as I had my appointment. All day long I told Levi we were going to go see a picture of his baby brother/sister and he was oh so excited! As soon as they dimmed the lights and we looked at this little miracle inside of me, Levi got really quiet and just stared and stared. He couldn't take his eyes away .... he was in love!!

Glam*Ma videoed the ultrasound monitor with her iPhone and I sent the video to myself. The entire rest of the day, all Levi wanted to do was "watch my baby". He calls it his baby. SO sweet. He totally understands that the baby is inside of me and he kisses my tummy all the time. My heart just melts.

The baby was measuring perfectly and the little heartbeat was in the 160's-170's - FAST little booger! The baby love looked to be sleeping and was just so little and sweet laying there. Oh, the LOVE!

(I compared Levi's first ultrasound with this one. Levi is on top and was about 1.5 weeks older than the Newbie.)

Seeing my precious one really made this pregnancy realistic - instantly. I am just so in love. So in love, and so extremely blessed.

Thank you, God. Thank you for the incredible gift of children. They are a joy that is simply unmatched.

How WONDERFUL are Your works.

Weebie Wednesday: Words With Weebie

2011-09-07T09:51:00.002-05:00

Levi has been cracking us up lately with the things he says. I wanted to write them down here so I wouldn't ever forget them. He is such a little delight!

Weebie has a new obsession and fascination with superheroes. It's funny to us because he's never watched one, so we don't have a clue how he even knows about them. Spiderman, Batman and Superman are all we hear about these days. Oh, and Superweebie. He jumps around the house screaming, "I'm Superweebie and I'm here to save the DAAAAAY"! - Again, I have NO idea how he even knows about superheroes! So bizarre.

He stayed with Glam*Ma & Papapa the other weekend and so they picked him up several superhero toys. When he got home, he was playing with them and I overheard him say, "Hold on tight, Spiderman and bad guy!" I laughed so hard. Bad guy? How does he know about bad guys? Hilarious.

He often asks me if HE is a bad guy. HA!

The other day he took off running past me and said, "Gotta potty mommy, COME ON!", so I followed him in there and helped him up on the toilet. We sat there and he said, "hey Mommy, look! A wall. Look! A bathtub. Look! A sticker." I said, "Levi, do you really need to go or are you pulling Mommy's leg?" He said, "I need to go". A couple minutes later, he started pulling at my jeans like crazy. I said, "What are you doing, baby?" He smiled and said, "I'm pulling Mommy's leg." OY!

If you correct him or say his name in a stern voice, he gets a serious look on his face and says, "You're not mad, mommy?" The other day, he was about to do something ornery and I said, "LEVI ALAN". He said, "you're not mad, mommy?", then he laid his head on my chest. I didn't say anything and he looked up at me, planted a BIG kiss on my lips and said, "now you're happy". Yup, he knows how to work his Mommy.

He's super sensitive these days. He just melts and crumbles if he truly gets in trouble. It breaks your heart to even get on to him because he just gets so upset. He rarely does things that gets him in big trouble and he really does obey so well. But, when he does act out, all we have to do is threaten Time Out and he is in inconsolable tears and sobbing, "I'm so sorry." So sweet. The kid is TERRIFIED of Time Out, so if we mention it, he straightens up instantly. Here's to hoping our next child is equally "easy" to discipline. HA.

He loves to point out numbers and letters as we are driving. He recognizes single digit numbers perfectly, but has never pointed out a double digit one. For instance, if we see a 13, he says, "Look Mommy! A 1 and a 3!" Well, the other day we were on 81st street sitting at the stoplight. I said, "what number is that?" He looked up at it and said, "EIGHTEEN!" So close! My jaw dropped. So funny!

He is really into talking to his toys. The other day he was playing with Buzz Lightyear and I asked him to go pick out some underwear from his undie drawer after his nap. He grabbed Buzz and said, "Come on, Buzz, let's go pick out some underwear."

He loves our bathroom scales and the other day he was standing on them and I said, "how much do you weigh, Levi?" He said, "Twenty minutes."

We got him an ice cream cone the other night and when we got home, he was an absolute MESS. From head to toe. I flipped on the car light and looked back at him and he said, "You need to clean me up, sometimes."

We told him we were going to run to Target and he said, "but ... what's the point?"

I asked, "Are you my baby angel?"
He said, "No, I am your yittle boy."

He always pats my tummy and says, "My baby brother is in there and he is growing and growing and growing!" Sometimes, he says it's his baby sister. It depends on the day. :)

My whole family was together the other day and my brother was telling him a big fancy story. When he was finished, Levi started dying laughing and said, "you are so funny, uncle Yuke." He talks about Luke all the time at home and tells me how funny he is.

He often disappears for a little bit and then comes walking in with his step stool. He'll take it wherever he's wanting to go and then stand up on it to reach for whatever he needs. I can be standing right next to him and he won't ask me for it - he wants to go get his stool and do it himself. Mr. Independent.

I heard a little pitter patter the other night and Levi crawled up in bed with us and snuggled up next to me. He said, "mommy, let's hold hands," and he grabbed my hand and fell right to sleep. So precious!

He is the most snuggly, loving little child. He loves cuddles, hugs, kisses and to tell you he loves you. I hear, "I love you MOON and BACK, Mommy" approximately 87 times a day. Or more. He is just so S.W.E.E.T. When we watch TV at night, he crawls in my lap and lays his head on my chest as we watch. The baby loves to be loved and affection is his middle name. I love it.

WINNER!

2011-09-02T07:39:00.000-05:00

The winner of the luxurious Chanel face wash is ....

#84 - LESLIE

Congrats!!!! Please e-mail me with your mailing address to glamlifehousewife@gmail.com.

Thank you EVERYONE for playing!!!

I Vlogged! The Accent Vlog.

2011-09-01T13:52:00.003-05:00

**Winner for the Chanel face wash announced tomorrow!**

Okay, so I felt totally STUPID doing this, but after some requests from y'all, I thought it would be a lot of fun. It's flying around on the web out there, so I am going to post the rules and then I hope you all play!! If you do, be sure to come back and share the link of yours with me so I can watch. :)

Please ignore my WILD hair. And my DIRTY kitchen. But play close attention to my ADORABLE child. Tee Hee Hee.

The instructions are to say these words:
Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you use to change the TV channel?

Horray Horray - A Giveaway!!

2011-08-31T00:05:00.000-05:00

I interrupt this weeks Weebie Wednesday for an exciting giveaway for y'all. Levi insisted. ;)

I like to give away things that I love and use, and just couldn't pass up the idea of giving away my favorite skincare product.

This face wash is hands down the best on planet earth. It's all I have used for several years, and I get so many compliments on my skin! (Not trying to toot my horn, just saying GIRLS, THIS MAKES YOUR SKIN SOOOO NICE.)

Not only does it make your skin look nice, it makes it feel even better. I'm telling you, it's like washing your face with liquid satin and when you are finished, your face feels like a new born baby. It's incredible.

Introducing Chanel Mousse Douceur!

Here is a description:

A rinse-off foaming mousse cleanser and makeup remover for normal-to-combination skin with the de-polluting power of Tulip Tree Extract and the emollient properties of Mallow Extract. Gently purifies while respecting skin's eco-balance, with moisturizing effects.

Translation: This stuff is thebomb.com.

This is a splurge that I am willing to make for myself, because let's face it - it's my FACE I'm dealing with. If you take care of your skin now, it will pay off in the end. And this stuff will change your life.

{I also splurge on the moisturizer. I can NOT sing it's praises ENOUGH. Maybe I will give one of those away soon. Be on the lookout!}

Oh, and the bottle lasts me about 6 months. I use a pea-size and it lathers up into more than enough for a great cleanse. And the smell? Oh....My....Gracious. I am positive this is what Heaven smells like.

So, girls. Even though I would love to give you ALL a bottle so you could experience the wonderment of this product, I simply can't. I can, though, give away one.

And hopefully YOU win it. ;)

TO ENTER:

1. Leave a comment saying what you wash your face with.

2. If you tweet, blog, or facebook this post, come back and enter yourself again!

GOOD LUCK, LOVIES!

Dear Baby Cakes.

2011-08-30T12:27:00.002-05:00

Hello, little one. It's me, your Mommy! You are almost two months old in my tummy, and you are reminding me of your presence all the time. I have been much more nauseas with you than I was with your brother, and I think it's just your sweet little way of saying, "Hey Mommy! I'm here! Don't forget!" :)

I've been thinking about you a lot lately - who you are, what you'll be like, who you'll look like. You are such a little mystery, angel face! I do know one thing, though. You are my blessing. My precious little blessing from the Lord. How wonderful that He chose YOU for ME! I can't wait to get to know you better through this pregnancy, lambkin.

Although I didn't think the pregnancy test would be positive when I tested several weeks ago, I did have a moment in the car several days before that when I thought you may have been hiding in my tummy. You see, I had an intense NEED for Olive Garden salad and Glam*Ma was in town, so I texted her and had her meet Levi and I there. On the way, I was sitting at a stop light and the song The Man You Didn't Have To Be by Brad Paisley came on the radio. Out of nowhere, I just started crying! CRYING at a COUNTRY SONG that has ABSOLUTELY ZERO RELEVANCE TO MY LIFE! It was the strangest thing, and there was no other way to explain my insanity except for, "I must be pregnant". I've heard that song for years and never thought a thing about it. That day? Well, it was the saddest sweetest song I'd ever heard. Strange.

Another time the thought crossed my mind that you may be lurking around is when I woke up a couple months ago and popped open my morning Diet Coke and when I took a swig, I spit it back out and nearly thew up. The taste absolutely sickened me. I thought something might be up because I've had a Diet Coke every morning since I was in High School. Little One, you are doing strange and funny things to your Mommy.

I have some intense food aversions right now. They are: Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Diet Coke, and most all greasy foods (except french fries. Oh, and hushpuppies. Yum.).

The food I love and crave daily : Smoothies, Salads, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit Bars (the peach is AMAZING because it's tart and delicious) and frozen fruit (mango, specifically).

My appetite is insane. I'll be hungry, take a couple of bites and suddenly be stuffed to capacity. I think there are 12 of you hiding out in there taking up space in my stomach.

I still have z-e-r-o intuition of your gender. I stared at a tiny new born baby boy the other day and hoped you might be a boy. And then I saw his older sister and thought you might be a girl. When I pray for you, I subconsciously throw "he" and "she" in there intermixed. It's just strange calling you an "IT", so I just call you both. :) Levi says he hopes you are a "sister", but I think it's because he is obsessed with Caillou and really likes his little sister Rosie. Ha!

I keep thinking I feel you move. I don't think I really am, unless you are much bigger than I am expecting, but I swear I feel something. The other night I had a dream that you were kicking around like crazy, and I woke up expecting it to be much closer to April. It was so realistic and it instantly took me back to my pregnancy with your brother. I can't wait to really feel those kicks and jabs. That is my favorite part.

Well, you little love lamb, keep on growing and doing your thing. I'll be right here with you, doing mine.

I love you, baby. To the moon and back.

Mommy

10 Reasons To Get Away!

2011-08-29T00:09:00.000-05:00

Husby has been working a really tough shift this month that has left us not seeing much of each other at all. Just a couple of hours each night. We really miss each other! He had his first weekend off in three weeks this weekend, so we loaded up and headed out of town for a much needed little getaway. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Today, in honor of our fabulous time away, I will do a TOP TEN REASONS TO GET AWAY WITH YOUR HUSBY list. As if we even really need a reason at all! :)

1. To laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more. Husby and I found ourselves in numerous laughing fits this weekend, and it was oh so good for the soul. Even if we couldn't keep a straight face every time our anxiety riddled waiter came to our table.

2. To relax. There is something so freeing and fantastical about not setting an alarm (or waking up to a toddler alarm), and sleeping as long as you so choose. With an exhausted Husby from early and long hours all month and a first trimester preggo, we slept like absolute champs. And it was exhilarating!

3. To see movies. When you have a child, you're rarely able to frequent the theatre. So this is always a must on our times away together. And um, popcorn & milkduds. Need I say more?

4. To dine leisurely. It's enjoyable beyond measure to sit across from one another in a nice restaurant (or local dive), discuss whatever and whoever (mostly Weebie), nosh on yummy food and do it without any distraction or time restraints.

5. To listen. Getting away alone is the perfect time to listen to one another intently without one eye/ear always on the kiddo! :)

6. To reminisce. I don't know about you, but Husby and I always get to reminiscing when we have some alone time out. This weekend we pointed out some of the greatest days we have lived, and wouldn't you know - they were all days that we have lived out with each other.

7. To look forward. To pray about and excitedly talk about the days to come. The lives to be born. The memories waiting to be created.

8. To play "people who look like people". This is a game Husby and I have played for years and every single time we end up in tears from laughter. Best game ever.

9. To indulge. In things you want to do. Yummy food. Sleep. And the wonderful excess of time with one another.

10. And lastly, to truly appreciate and relish in the excellent life and family you have created back home ... together.

Husby and I have been together for 10 years (4 dating, 6 married), and I love that we are still each other's favorite people to be with. He is my soulmate and my precious gift from God. We had such a blessed time away nourishing our marriage and enhancing our awesome friendship. It was the most refreshing weekend we have each had in a long time, but we were more than eager to get back to our precious Weebie Boy!!

The weekend wouldn't have been as great without the dozens of pictures, precious phone calls and multi-text play by play of our little angel boy. We miss him so much when he's not with us, but we hadn't been away alone together in nearly a year, so it was high time. And I'm so glad we were given the chance.

Babies.

2011-08-25T18:41:00.000-05:00

Has anyone seen the Babies Documentary?

I found it absolutely fascinating, but it left me ...

A. Overwhelmingly thankful for diapers.

B. Wanting to put on a bra. Or seven.

C. Feeling the need to buy a mosquito net.

D. Teaching Levi how to balance things on his head the next day.

E. Thinking of getting Levi a pet rooster to parade around his bed.

F. Feeling very, very ignorant about life outside of the United States.

If you haven't watched this, you've just gotta.

Catching Up!

2011-08-24T18:42:00.000-05:00

Oh guys, sorry I have been MIA! I have been N to the A to the USEAS! Oh my lanta, it has been brutal. I haven't been blogging because when you feel like cruddies, everything sounds like cruddies. Even blogging. My Dad hooked me up with some great vitamins that have helped with the sickness a TON, and my Doctor prescribed me some Zofran that I use when it gets unbearable. I know that it's 100% safe, but I just don't like taking a lot of medicine when I'm in the family way.

I've also been wiped out. Completely exhausted at all times. But, the vitamins have really been helping a ton with that, too. Horray!

Husby turned the big 2-9 Tuesday and we had a great time celebrating him! Weebie and I made him a pie and as soon as Husby walked in the door, Levi started screaming, "MOMMY MADE YOU A PIE!" It was scrumdiddlyumptions, if I do say so myself! (Note: if you ever have a secret, DON'T TELL LEVI.)

Very Berry. :)

My parents had his favorite pound cake on earth sent to him, and let me tell you, it's deeeelish. As great as it tastes, the presentation simply can't be matched! Absolutely gorgeous! What an amazing way to tell someone happy birthday!

Husby has had a b-r-u-t-a-l schedule this month, being at the hospital every day at 4:30am. He got to come home early yesterday, at around 3, and when I walked back to our room to grab another pile of clothes to put away, this is what I found:

What? Who falls asleep like that? How is that even possible? Oh, bless his poor little precious heart. He's just exhausted. He works so hard. And he is such a blessing to Weebie and me.

Thank you all for the advice on Weebie's bathroom/guest bath. I really appreciated reading every one of them. What would I do without my bloggies?

And on that note, it's time to pop a vitamin and head for the hills. Have a great Thursday, everyone!

The Room of the Bath.

2011-08-22T00:08:00.000-05:00

I have stumbled upon a decor dilemma of sorts, and I need some good old fashioned bloggy advice. Because, let's face it, sometimes I need you guys to make my decisions for me. That's what I get for being indecisive. I'm the type of girl who will take an hour to decide where to eat because I hate being the one to make the final decision. Well, besides when it's just me and Husby. Then I'll gladly voice where and what sounds good. Ha!

So. Back to the topic at hand.

The Guest Bath.

Our guest bathroom is a small space with a toilet, sink and bath/shower combo. It is right next door to the nursery and across the hall from Levi's room. It's also at the front of the house, so it's always the bathroom that people use. Currently, it is decorated in pretty blues and browns - a nice soothing spot for guests to do their business, if I do say so myself.

The room is a great guest bathroom, but mainly, it's Levi's bathroom. It's where he bathes, goes potty, washes his hands, etc. It houses his rubber duckies, his squirt-toys a plenty, his step stool and his toilet seat. When you walk into the room, you know without a doubt that a little boy hangs out in there the most.

And this is where my problem lies.

Do I want to keep it a pretty guest bath that transitions smoothly into the flow of the rest of my house?

Or

Do I want to transform it into a cute (yet classy) children's bathroom that transitions smoothly into the flow of Weebie's room and the nursery?

I simply can't decide!

Help me! Voice your opinions! What do you have at your house? If you have a "children's bathroom", do your kiddos enjoy it? Do they even care? Do you feel weird tinkling in a kids restroom at other people's houses? Would you rather tinkle in a pretty bathroom? Am I over thinking this? I need answers here, people!

Please and thank you.

Round Two.

2011-08-18T00:05:00.000-05:00

Two nights before my birthday, I told Husby to pull over so I could run in and get a pregnancy test. I honestly didn't think I was pregnant, but I just wanted to rule it out. I didn't "feel" pregnant and I honestly had zero hopes of seeing a line when I used the test. Husby and I decided when he started residency that we would begin praying about and trying for Baby Number 2 since we didn't know how long the journey would take. Much to our surprise, we were quickly blessed and I was in complete disbelief when the little line appeared.

"Um. Husby? Um. There's a line. Am I really pregnant?!"

He wrapped me in a bear hug, told me I was, and at about that time, Levi came walking in.

I saw his little angel face and burst into tears.

Immediately, I was overwhelmed with love for this little life inside of me and at the same time, feeling kind of sad for Weebie. I can't even explain the weird feelings I had rushing inside of me. Levi is SUCH a loving and people person and I know he will be thrilled to be a big brother, but in that instant, staring at his little face that didn't have a clue what was going on, it made me cry. And I don't really know why, because I know that he WANTS a sibling. Bad!! It's just that he's my baby. He's my tiny little baby and now he's quickly turning into a big boy. And it makes me cry.

Over the next couple of days we began explaining things to him and he seems to be as excited as we are about the whole thing. I know that there will be a lot of emotions over the course of the months ahead of us, and from what I gather, it's normal. I hope. I'm praying God gives me wisdom and direction on how to prepare Levi for the change ahead of us. He's my little lamb and I truly can not wait to watch him evolve into "big brother". He'll be amazing.

(Me, the night we found out. Smudged mascara and all.)

I told my parents and brother & family on my birthday. Best birthday gift EVER. (Thank you, God!) When they came over, I put a Big Brother shirt on Levi. My mom started jumping up and down and saying, "I KNEW YOU WERE PREGNANT!", and my Dad was thrilled, as well. I think everyone was half way seeing it coming and half way shocked. We told Husby's parents the same way, with the shirt, and they seemed to be pretty shocked as well. Mom, Hollie and my other sister-in-law Casey all had the exact initial response: they all thought I was pregnant and had just been having feelings about it all week. How bizarre is that, since even I didn't think I was?

I had a doctor's appointment the next week and it seems that as soon as my pregnancy was confirmed, the symptoms started hitting! I am so tired, all of the time. I have the most energy in the morning hours, but when late afternoon/evening hit, I am worthless. I am a night owl at heart, and have been going to sleep at 10 and 10:30 every night. It's like I can't get enough sleep. I have occasional bouts of nausea, but nothing bad. And nothing that has made me "sick". Praying it stays that way!

When I read my pregnancy test with Levi, I knew instantly that he was a boy. I mean, I just KNEW. With this sweet little thing, I have no feeling whatsoever! I just don't know! I told a friend that the best case scenario would be boy & girl twins because I just can't decide on what I hope this one is. Levi has made me so boy crazy that I would be thrilled with giving him a tiny brother, but I'm sure it would be great to have a girl, too. I just can't figure it out, but in all honesty, I really don't care. At all. I just pray I'm having a healthy, precious, happy little baby. Who could ask for anything more?!

I have had some cravings and they are pretty strange. I want salad at all hours of the day. I can't get enough of it. I also want salty snacks like Gardettos. I crave crunchy tacos with hot sauce and jalepenos almost every day. Actually, I've been putting jalepenos on everything. Nom Nom Nom!!

So, there are some details of what is going on with us and this tiny little love lamb inside of me. We are so excited for this thrilling new adventure before us and covet your prayers for my baby and pregnancy! Thank you so much, friends!

Weebie Wednesday: Some Little Treasures!

2011-08-17T00:41:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that Weebie is going to be a big brother? We sure can't!! :) We are so excited and just know he is going to fulfill his role with such excellence. He was made to be a big brother, I do believe. Thank you guys so much for all of the congratulations and well wishes. You absolutely made my day! :) (Pregnancy details later - today is Weebie Wednesday!)

Levi is at the age where he is starting to make things in Sunday School and create special little projects at home, so I decided to find an organized way to store them all. I thought about doing a plastic bin, but thought a 3 ring binder with page holders would be best so that we can flip through and see all of his projects with ease. I'm loving it!

He is such a big boy helper around the house. He follows me around and likes to help me fold clothes, pick up toys and his favorite - dusting. I like to let him help wherever he can because the look on his face is priceless when I praise him for being my helper. He beams with such pride!

The other evening as Husby and I were cleaning up from supper, I heard a strange noise in the other room. I didn't think much about it, until I saw a little boy run into the room with two large crayons in each hand. Gulp. I ran to the scene and happened upon a MESS. Four walls covered in crayola. Oh My My.

Little Critter got in trouble.

Little Critter ran to his room and cried.

Poor Little Critter.

The other day, he kept getting his play-dough stuck in his noodle maker and he would run up to me and Husby and say, "I need some problem help, please." So funny!

Whenever he has a boo-boo, he asks us to "kiss it all better".

Anytime he has the hiccups, he proclaims, "hiccups make me grow". The other day he sneezed and he said, "sneezing makes me grow".

When he gets in a bad mood and wants to act out, he says he doesn't like things. For instance, the other night we were driving home and he was mad and tired and he looked out the window and said, "I don't YIKE the moon. I don't YIKE the stars and I don't YIKE the sun." He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. He thought was really showing us. A couple days earlier he said, "I don't YIKE underwears and I don't YIKE pull-ups".

The child is obsessed with tunnels. Like, it's all he wants to talk about. He begs me to make him tunnels all day long and when I do, he won't come out.

The other day we went to the creek and my brother Luke was there without his wife Hollie (she was working). Levi looked around and said, "where's Uncle Luke's friend Hollie?" A couple of days earlier in Target, he looked up and said, "where's my friend Papapa?" He also calls certain toys his friend. My friend puppy. My friend dinosaur. And the strangest one of all: my friend drum stick.

He tells me at LEAST 18 times a day that he loves me to the moon and back. Oh, I melt.

My baby boy is growing up and it both breaks my heart and fills my heart with joy. He is such a delight, I can't even express it. Husby and I are so proud of our little lamb. He is our heartbeat.

Over The Moon.

2011-08-15T09:45:00.000-05:00

Surprise! :)

Lots'A Thoughts!

2011-08-10T22:33:00.004-05:00

Hello there, friends! Life has been a little bit ca-razy over the past couple of weeks, so I'm just going to throw my jumbled up thoughts out there for y'all. Hopefully, it's at least a little coherent. :)

* I turned 28 on Sunday! Yay me! It was a very exciting birthday. My boys smothered me with love and we had several little celebrations. After all, birthday WEEK is the way we roll around here. Tee Hee.

* Mom had a Carnegie Cheesecake sent to me from NYC. It just so happens to be my very favorite dessert in the entire universe! Every time I open the fridge and see that little beauty, my life gets 10 X's better. It's extremely good with fresh summer peaches. Drool-worthy!

* Husby has a really tough shift this month where he has to be at the hospital at 4:30am. This means he gets up at 3:30am. This means he goes to bed at 9pm. This means that I have been sucked in to some ridiculous television shows that leave me brainless. I watched the Kardashians for the first time the other night and really, there are no words. Unreal. And then I watched a Real Housewives for the first time. Left me speechless, and confirmed to me why I don't watch these shows. Then I found the ridiculousness that is Dance Mom and could NOT look away. It's more of a train wreck than Toddlers & Tiaras. And I like it better. Although, it leaves me wanting to punch someone. Actually, all of those shows do.

* Pinterest has inspired me to be more organized. Remember that time I overhauled my pantry? You should see it now. I need to do it again, Sam. Along with basically every closet and drawer in the house. Is it just me or are drawers impossible to keep organized?

* Oklahoma has been named the hottest state in the month of July ever in history. We have had weeks straight of 100+ degree temps. And I don't just mean 101, 102. I'm talking 112-115. It HURTS. We've been praying for rain and had a downpour the past two days. It's been gorgeous!

* To beat the heat the other day, we went to the creek by where we grew up that is known for being COLD, no matter how hot it is outside. That day the temperature was 115, and the cool water was a refreshing 58 degrees. It was amazing. Weebie had so much fun!!

* The Help is out! I want to go! Now! I can't wait!!

* Levi called me "Mommy Bird" for the past couple of weeks and insisted I call him "Baby Bird". This week, he has alternated between calling me Mommy Bird and Mommy Lion. I'm wondering if he's trying to tell me something about my demeanor, but I'm really hoping that's not the case. ;) Anxious to see what I'll be next week.

* Husby got me an awesome new lens for my camera for my birthday and Weebie got me HANSON TICKETS! I'm thrilled about both. My best friend and I are going to be mmm-bopping our little hearts out next month.

* I need to learn how to use a curling iron, but I can't do it for the life of me. Anyone know any Curling Ironing For Dummies techniques?

* Levi still wants a sticker and a treat (m&m) every time he goes potty. Ha!! Will I still be rewarding him when he's 18? Probably.

* A new outlet mall opened a couple towns away from us. I gotta get there and I gotta get there fast.

* Tonight I smashed my finger in Levi's underwear drawer, thought Husby broke my wrist by tossing me the remote when I didn't know he was going to, and dropped the Wii Fitness board on top of my foot. And then I went outside and I swear almost got struck by lightening. Tonight was not my night.

* I never answer my door. Ever. Unless I am expecting someone. I am far too cautious. (paranoid).

* My Dad installed a peep-hole for me. That helps a lot. But I still never answer it because you never know when the Fed Ex guy is really a dressed-up psycho murderer.

* My favorite salad is The Cheesecake Factory's Cobb. Minus the egg and bleu cheese. It. Is. Amazing. I could eat it every day for the rest of my life, I do believe. Also, the Chicken B.T.M (balsamic, tomato and *fresh* mozzerella) from Cosi.

* A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a People Magazine at the check out of the grocery store and the clerk (a teenager), stopped what she was doing and studied it for a while.

Her: "Who is this?"
Me: "It's the Bachelorette."
Her: "Who's the Bachelorette?"
Me: "Ummm....she's the Bachelorette. From The Bachelorette."
Her: "Oh. Never heard of it."
Then she proceeded to stare at me for 5 minutes. Weirdest moment of my life.

* Okay, maybe not the weirdest, but one of.

G'night, lovelies!

Comedy & Tragedy

2011-08-08T19:37:00.001-05:00

The many faces of Mr. Weebs.

:)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

WINNER WINNER!

2011-08-07T21:48:00.003-05:00

And the amazingly cute measuring cups go to #54 - LORRIE FROM FAYETTVILLE, ARKANSAS!!

Please contact me at glamlifehousewife@gmail.com with your shipping addy and you will receive these shortly! :) Congrats!

Thank you everyone for entering! I wish I could give you ALL a set!

Giveaway Day!

2011-08-02T00:02:00.000-05:00

It's been FAR too long since I've done a giveaway, guys! I thought since I haven't done one in awhile, I'd make it extra cute.

Get a load of these.

How dreamy are these measuring cups? I mean, really. They hail from Anthropologie and are begging for a place to call home.

Who will the lucky reader be?

TO ENTER:

1. Leave me a comment telling me where you're from. I love knowing where my readers come from! Don't worry, you can just tell me the state if you're scared I'm a psycho creeper. I'm not. I promise. I'm a nice girl.

2. Blog/Tweet/FB about the giveaway and you can enter up to 3 times depending on how you get the word out!

Woo hoo! Good luck, lovelies!

The Little Boy's Room.

2011-07-31T23:25:00.002-05:00

If there was one central theme to last week, it would without question be: Potty Training. We began on Wednesday and stepped through quite a journey for the next couple of days. I wanted to document it so that I could look back on this one day when I go through it again with future children. And if I'm blessed with another little boy, it might be especially useful.

We were homebound Wednesday through Saturday, working intensely on potty training. I had a lunch date planned with a friend on Friday, so my gracious Mom volunteered to come stay at my house with Levi (Day 3), so that he wouldn't have any setbacks. We wanted at least three solid days at home to get it down. We ended up having four! Even better! So, let me recount those days - for myself and for whoever else may be going through this little adventure.

And boy is it an adventure. :)

We went straight to big-boy underwear all day, and diapers at bedtime.

Day 1. (Wednesday)

I set the potty watch for every 30 minutes. We were in the bathroom a LOT the first day. I took him every half hour and since he had no bladder control at this point, he went almost every time. We got used to sitting on the potty and waiting for something to happen, even if it took several minutes. He had several accidents in between potty times, and would always tell me. When we weren't in the bathroom, I was doing laundry. ;) This was a vital day, because it was his first real and consistent interaction with his potty and relating it to having to tinkle.

Day 2. (Thursday)

This was the hardest day. Levi woke up and had suddenly learned bladder control! I was NOT expecting that. He went when he woke up and then didn't go for a couple of hours. I still took him every 30 minutes, so I was having a difficult time trying to know when he needed to go, since he was now holding it. He had two accidents that day, and it was sort of frustrating for me because I was still taking him every 30 minutes and feeling like I just didn't time it right when he'd have an accident. I didn't show my frustration to Levi at all. I absolutely realized that this is all brand new, and accidents WILL happen. I felt like I was doing something wrong.

I talked it out with Mom on the phone, put Levi down for a nap, and wouldn't you know - HE WOKE UP DRY! I was floored. I took him to the potty and he did his business and had an awesome evening with all but one successful potties. While Husby was putting him to bed, Levi told him he needed to potty, so they got up and Levi pottied and went to bed. Again, we were thrilled!

Day 3. (Friday)

Levi woke up at 3am crying because he tinkled in his diaper. I thought nothing of it and went ahead and changed him to make him more comfortable. He woke up at 9am DRY. He went 6 hours through the night without going. We were so happy!!

He had an amazing day with only one accident the entire day, and it was right before bed.

Day 4. (Saturday)

Levi woke up completely dry. (10.5 hours through the night!) We were truly expecting night training to be a whole other animal that we would deal with when he got older. This was a total surprise to us. A nice, happy surprise.

Levi told us several times on his own that he needed to go potty and the rest of the day, he waited until his watch went off to go. He had an awesome day with no accidents! He also poo-poo'd for the first time in the potty. (Before, he was waiting until it was almost time to go to sleep and he had a diaper on.) Saturday was an awesome day!

***

And there you have it. Those were our four days of intense potty training. It took a lot of time, a lot of dedication, a lot of patience, a lot of encouragement, and a lot of stickers & treats. :)

We put a Pull-Up on Levi for Church on Sunday, just in case. We were glad we did because when we took him to a big (regular) potty, he would not go. When we went out to eat afterwards, I took him three times to the restroom and he held it until we got home. He seems to have it mastered at home with no accidents, but we haven't really tried the "out & about" training, yet. I guess we'll work on that more this week as we get out of the house ... finally. :)

This very big, very intimidating beast that is Potty Training has been confronted and conquered, y'all. I am so glad because the thought of doing it had my stomach in knots, for some reason. But with all things, we've got to face our fears and cover it in prayer. This was one of the most successful, most stressful, most rewarding weeks of my life.

I'm so very proud of our baby boy! He's our little champion.

Potty Time.

2011-07-27T23:31:00.003-05:00

Well, folks. We have embarked on the overwhelming journey of Potty Training.

Levi has shown signs for a while that he is ready to go in the potty, but I have been waiting on a few things before we jumped in full-force. It's funny that it doesn't matter how ready for something a child seems and how you, as his mother, have a greater intuition about it. A gut feeling. I just didn't feel that it was time until now, and I am happy we didn't push him.

That, or I was totally in denial and pretended he was a newborn.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Levi will be 26 months old in a couple of days, and guys, he's .... a big boy. There. I said it.

(Excuse me, I'll be in a corner somewhere shoving Oreos in my mouth to drown the sorrows. It helps. Don't judge.)

Ah*Hmm. Where were we?

Ah-ha! Potty Training!

The other day, I got an overwhelming excitement for potty training! (And, um, a gift card burning a hole in my handbag.) So, I ran out to our new children's store in town and loaded up on gear. He's had his little potty for awhile, but he needed some little extras. Ya know, potty goodies.

I went all DIY on myself and jazzed up the boring little bulletin board that we bought for his charts.

Bumble Bees! This fabric was some I had from back in my apron-making days and it turned out to be perfect because as we sit and wait for the tee-tee to come out, we count the bees!

And the best thing about the whole thing?

The Treat Jar!!

I go overboard on making things cutesy. But hey, it brings me joy. Happy, gaudy joy.

I picked up the greatest invention of all time for my little man in our new adventure together. He loves it.

It's the Potty Watch!

It has 30, 60 or 90 minute intervals and when times up, it lights up, plays a happy little ditty, and Levi screams, "IT'S POTTY TIME!!" with wide eyes and a big smile. After that, he's gone like the wind to the potty. So funny.

It's like pullin' teeth trying to get him to take it off at nap and night time. Dude loves the thing.

I know a lot of people have different ideas of what to do while the child is on the potty. For us, we keep the potty in the bathroom at all times and when he's sitting there waiting to go, we read potty books. It's WONDERFUL. After today, he basically has all of these books memorized, and it's great seeing him understand and relate what is going on in the book with what is going on with him.

When we're not reading, we're rolling toy trains and cars back and forth to each other. :)

I write the day on his chart since we are also working on days of the week. He gets plenty of reminders throughout the day what day it is! ;)

Every time he goes in the potty, he gets to pick out a sticker and put it on his chart, and then get a Skittle. Oh, it's like he's getting a hunk of gold and a banana split. He gets SO excited.

We began this journey around 10am yesterday morning and it was an awesome 1st day! He had 7 successful potties and a handful of accidents, too. Every time he tee-tee'd accidentally in his big boy underwear, he would scream, "UH OH - I'M TOOTED!". Oh, so funny. He's a mess. A beautiful, precious, incredible little mess.

As I wrote on Facebook yesterday evening, Levi and I are definitely both learning the in's-n-out's of potty training. The fun thing is, we're doing it together. Those moments sitting on the bathroom floor today and the inevitable ones that lie ahead of us, are what motherhood is all about. Time, patience, instruction and encouragement. It was a long and hard, special and sweet day. We are ready for tomorrow! :)

So. Potty Training. Any golden tidbits of advice?

Weebie Wednesday: Fishers of Men.

2011-07-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Levi got his Daddy a gift card to Bass Pro for Father's Day so he could buy a couple of things he had been wanting. Husby had some money left over and kindly bought Levi a fishing pole. Nearly every day since then, Levi has asked me if he could "go fishing a daddy" when daddy got "home a work" (he doesn't quite have his prepositions down - tee hee). One day this weekend, Levi's dream came to life!

The three of us hopped in the car and headed down yonder for a fishing expedition. The lake we went to is only a hop, skip, and jump away from our house (err, 15 minutes), and though not an excellent fishing spot, it's a great, quiet little place.

They have a dock accessible by a bridge, that makes the perfect setting for a father/son (and camera-crazed mommy) fishing frenzy. So much fun!

Our little critter was enamored with the swinging bridge. We couldn't keep him off of it. Forget fishing, this boy wanted to explore!

Daddy bought crickets (yipe!) instead of worms for bait and the entire way to the lake the nasty little things were CHIRPING in our car. I nearly had a heart attack. And I could swear I smelled them. Weebie said he could, too.

When Daddy baited the hook, Levi was right in the big middle of it.

And then they cast their line out into the great waters.

Levi sat there for a few minutes, lost interest, and went back to exploring the new territory.

I could tell he just wanted to jump off the dock and have a free for all in the water.

Finally, after a half hour of waiting ...

something bit the hook ...

tugged on the line ...

and made one little boy ecstatic!!

YAY! A FISHY! A FISHY!

Weebie was beyond thrilled with the day's efforts. And even caught another one soon after!

He wanted to pet the fishies and throw them back, so that's just what we did.

If there is anything that I learned that day, it's that ...

My boys are quite the catch. ;)

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19

Summer Sweets

2011-07-26T10:35:00.001-05:00

Nothing says sweet summertime to me like strawberry shortcake with a big, dense sugary biscuit and a generous dollop of whipped cream. It's my absolute favorite treat for this time of year!

What is your favorite summery sweet?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone ... hence the reason the post was so lame. ;)

A Mother's Sick Day.

2011-07-25T00:05:00.000-05:00

I woke up last week with one nasty stomach bug. When I laid down I was super nauseous, and when I stood up it triggered ... le vomiting. (Putting "le" in front of anything makes it a little more classy, right?) When you have a two year old (very active) little boy, laying down is not much of an option. So, guess what I did for the majority of my day?

That's right, I threw up. A lot.

And if there anything I hate most in life, it's throwing up. It hurts. It's miserable. And I'm not very good at it. (More on that later.)

I tried lying down as much as I could, so let's just say that Levi got a good healthy dose of PBS Sprout that day. Poor baby; it was like hiking Mt. Everest just to make him lunch. (Ah*hmm ... PB&J.) He kept running up to me, getting in my face and saying, "mommy doesn't feel too good."

He was right. Mommy felt like death.

He was such a good boy all day. He quietly watched TV, colored some pictures and played with his toys. I tried napping when he did, but my body hurt so much that I couldn't sleep. That, and my head and the porcelain throne had far too many meetings.

Levi didn't know WHAT to think when I had those meetings. There I was, sprawled out in the middle of the bathroom floor heaving and screaming. Remember how I said I'm not good at throwing up? Well, it's as if I lose all control of my body. Tears come flying out of my eyes at warp speed, sweat oozes out of every pore of my body and I can't help but scream. It's uncontrollable and involuntary. I sound like a cross between a strangled duck and a choking seal. It's horrific.

My knees were so sore from the hard tile, so I grabbed Levi's little step stool. As soon as I sat down and continued heaving, the blasted thing starts playing, "brush your teeth every day to fight off tooth decay" over and over and over again. Levi was keeping me company me on his potty, playing the harmonica and screaming, "MOMMY IS SICK!! MOMMY IS SICK!!". In between each heave, I wiped my mouth and said, "I'm okay, baby. I'm okay," and then it started all over. Levi blew his harmonica with all his might and then started screaming, "I'M BEING QUIET, MOMMY. YOU ARE SICK. I'M BEING QUIET!" I think I might have laughed in the midst of that round of sickness and I prayed that I could just stop throwing up. Between the tooth brush song, Levi's harmonica and yelling, my horrific barf-barking and convulsing, I know I had to be scaring the poor lamb.

By the grace of God, Husby got off an hour early that day and was able to come home and rescue me. Well, more like rescue Levi. I went straight to bed.

I have a friend who once told me many years ago, "moms don't get sick days", and if ever that statement was ringing true in my head, it was that day. The next morning I told Levi how proud I was of him for how he helped Mommy and was such a good boy when I was sick and he said, "thank you - I'm proud of you TOO, mommy." :)

That's a day I won't soon forget. But I really, really hope Levi does.

OY!

Small Town Superstars.

2011-07-19T00:04:00.000-05:00

There's a little diner down the road from our neighborhood that prides itself in their open face roast and gravy sandwiches, black bottom pie and ... karaoke.

The place is hoppin' most every night and though the food is pretty darn tasty, I think it's the open stage and free mic that keep people coming back. Husby and I love going because we get homemade chicken and dumplings with a side of more entertainment than we could ever dream. It keeps us laughing, that's for sure.

The other night we had supper there along with most of the county. It's funny to see a restaurant in this area so packed because our little town is surely classified as "the middle of nowhere" on the map. Though we are a suburb to a large city, most of "city-folk" have never heard of our little town .... even though we are just a few minutes outside of the city. Funny how that happens. Anyway, the 4th of July fireworks and this restaurant are the only things to bring people around these parts, and though we have one gas station and no grocery store, we often have to wait to be seated. Hey, people know a good time when they see one.

The only open table was the one right up next to the stage in the center of the restaurant. We sat down and had a way-too-intimate distance between us and the karaoke-ers. I felt like I had to smile and nod when they made eye contact, like I was just lost in the song and the magic of their voices. And then when they passed me to go back to their tables, I felt like I had to tell them they did good. Oh, the pressure! Husby had his back to them, so he just ate his little heart out while I head danced to each ditty and encouraged them with smiles. It was a weird situation. If I didn't look at them, I felt like I was being rude and hurting their feelings. If I did watch, I felt like I was staring and making them nervous. I kind of didn't know what to do. And I clearly overanalyzed the situation.

But it was way too close for comfort.

When something good happened (the ones who busted a move and the ones who raised their hands and closed their eyes like they were on American Idol), I kicked Husby under the table and murmured "you've GOT to see this" out of the side of my mouth so he would know to turn around and gawk. The perfect seat of the house is in the middle of the place so you can stare all you want, but be just another face in the crowd.

There were some awesome voices. There were some terrible voices. I think I shoveled my food in at warp speed during the bad ones. One lady almost made me choke on a jalapeno.

I dared Husby to sing. Who was I kidding? Not a chance. Then we played "who do we know that WOULD do it, and who would NOT". That was fun. I asked Husby what he would sing if he had to and he said he didn't know. My guess is that he wouldn't give it any thought because he knows he'd never do it. He asked me the same question and I popped off, "Hit Me Baby One More Time" (I don't know where that came from; I don't even know all the words), but then I retracted that when I thought that I might start dancing. Fast songs get me movin' - often times when I don't even realize it.

I thought long and hard (er, about 3 minutes), and ultimately decided upon "Killing Me Softly". It's easy. It's good. And I could kind of sway and groove instead of worrying about busting a move and humiliating myself. It's the perfect karaoke tune.

What about you? What is YOUR perfect karaoke song?

The American Idol.

2011-07-18T00:02:00.003-05:00

I've felt convicted lately about my time management. Specifically, time spent on my phone. More specifically, time spent on Facebook and Twitter. A couple of weeks ago, as I was going about my daily routine and something happened, I immediately thought, "Oh! I should share that on Facebook!" ... and it was right then and there that the Lord said to me loud and clear, "Whitney! You are conversing with Facebook more than you are conversing with Me."

And I felt like I'd been socked in the stomach.

The other evening, after a movie with my Husby, we started talking about what time period we'd like to be transported to. I instantly said the 1950's and part of my reasoning was that it was a much simpler time and technology hadn't yet overtaken society. Funny that this is something I long for, considering I was spending so much of my time using that blasted technology. If I want it so much, then what am I doing wasting my time perusing Facebook and Twitter multiple times a day? Talk about a giant waste of time.

I mean, really. Do I really care what my elementary school acquaintance that I haven't seen in 20 years just ate for a snack before bed? Nope. But I could tell you verbatim what she did that day! Ha! Lunacy!

Now I do think there are great sides to social media. I think it's brilliant and can absolutely be used for good. And also, just good fun entertainment. I love being able to keep in touch with people I wouldn't otherwise keep up with. And I love the peek into day-to-day lives that it gives. It's just that anything that comes between us and the Lord is an idol .... and it was becoming something I was NOT controlling myself with. And when I realized that I was spending more time updating my status throughout the day than I was prayer, it was a giant eye-opener. A conviction. Something I am in the process of fixing.

It's scary to come to a sudden realization like that. I don't like that something as trivial as Facebook/Twitter had a greater hold on me than I realized. Often times, I'd open up Facebook in the morning before thanking God for the day. Now if that is not terrifying, I'm not sure what is. I'm abhorrently ashamed!

For me. Personally and for myself. (This isn't a shame-on-you if you spend hours on Facebook post. Your convictions are not mine and vice versa. This is an honest look into my personal life and journey. For me. And only me.)

I dread the day Levi and our future child(ren) feel the need to be on social media all hours of the day. For crying out loud, I am a 27 year old wife and mother, updating five+ times a day - I can't imagine being a teen! I want to fix this now so that I can pave the way and be an example to Levi. I want to set ground rules now so that we are not floundering when he is old enough for the responsibility of a phone. (And my phone has such a hold on me that I just typed "for the responsibility of an iPhone!!")

Forget Crackberry ... more like Heroiphone. (Ba-da-CHING!)

I haven't shut my Facebook down or am getting off of it completely, I am just toning it down and prioritizing my moments. I'm sure there will be days I update more than others and times I waste a half-hour catching up .... but not multiple times a day. I've had a spiritual awakening in my heart and it's not something I am taking lightly this time. I have cut my time back considerably over the week and I can't tell you how GREAT it feels. The longer I'm away, the less I care about it. I want to look back on these "good old days" when I'm a little old lady knowing that I didn't waste my energy and time on anything unnecessary. I want to see where the Lord refined me and pulled me in closer to Himself. This is definitely one of those times.

I'm a work in progress. And will be until He calls me home.