I love it when my girls talk

Morgan: Mommy, I love you past the moon. All the way past Pluto.

Morgan again: Is the sun a planet?

Jensen: No, it's a star. (I can't believe she knew that!)

Morgan: And there's lots and lots of gas in the sun.

Jensen (totally serious voice): Yeah, and it needs to be filled up with new gas at the gas station.

So precious.

A Re-entry into blogging: Cute Teacher Gifts

I made these for M and J's end-of-year teacher gifts this year.  Of course they were delivered in October, not August.  Because my life is crazy.  I really need to simplify and cut a lot of things out, but I have issues about quitting things and saying no.  There could be a more detailed post about that some other time. 
They are glass canisters filled with bubble gum, with a red & white (school colors) ribbon and a cute little "gum-related" saying on the top of each jar. I used a hole-punch and scrapbooking tape to stick them to the lid.  And they looked so pretty in my vintage Pepsi crate from Roots in Maplewood (one of my favorite finds and only $4!).

Okay, so this isn't the best post ever, but I needed something not-so-intimidating to write about so that I would actually sit at the computer and knock something out in the 5 minutes I had tonight.  :)  I have lots of home renovation updates to help me catch up from my lapse in posting.

And Halloween is only 5 days away!  My little cuties are going to be adorable and I'll take lots of pictures. 

The Girls Room - in progress...

We are s-l-o-w-l-y getting this house in order.  The other night we knocked a few things out in the girls' room.

The chandelier was hung a few weeks ago - we bought it for 70% off at a lighting store that was going out of business.  The name sign was at the old house too - my friend Erin painted them for both the girls.  We hung the drapes, and her cross from Aunt Sarah, and her M from Julie, which are all also left over from the old house.

I feel bad that we don't have bedding for JJ yet.  She moved to a big girl bed right after the move and I can't find the same bedding as M's anywhere.  It's from PB Kids a couple of seasons ago and I got a great deal on it then.  I'm sure in a few years she'll want something else, so maybe I should just get something versatile for JJ.  And the wallpaper was already up - we are planning on taking it down and painting eventually, but this room can actually work right now and the rest of the house is so much worse off.

I need to change out the artwork since what's in there right now is from awhile ago, but I'm just glad they have something on the wall in their room.  M's painting is on the right of course - they both started out with orange pieces of paper but M covers every inch of space when she paints.  She actually has her own unique style - I'll have to do a post on that sometime!

4th of July & Haircut Tragedy

I will make this post quick because I don't know how much time I will have until JJ wakes up from her nap.  The poor little sweetheart has a croup virus and I am hoping that the steroids they gave her today will help her sleep tonight (and in turn will help me sleep tonight too).

We had a great 4th this year with all of our friends.  I love the traditions we have started with our friends.  First we went to breakfast with the Ewings at First Watch (LOVE), then we walked down the street to watch the Webster Groves parade.  We ran into a lot of people we knew - The Martins, and my cute friend Jessica and her little boy (and her little girl on the way) -  which makes me so happy.  And seeing the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales without the InBev logo anywhere makes me happy too.  Then at night we went to the Hill's house (a new tradition started this year!), and then to watch fireworks with the Nevil's.

 
I'm really glad that we have taken a lot of pictures of JJ the last few weeks because I will be able to look at them and remember what she used to look like.  Before she took the safety scissors and gave herself an Appalacian haircut.

Luckily, my friend Greta's mom, Gail, was able to make the haircut cute and it will eventually grow back so that I can braid it again.  :(  JJ went pretty high up in some places in the front and the back, so it's amazing that Gail was able to make it this cute.  She cried when she finally saw herself in the mirror.  I don't think she realized how permanent her decision was going to be.  That night she told Jeff that she didn't feel like JJ anymore. 

She's still our little princess.

Late for Work

I should be at work right now, but I came back by home to grab some oatmeal and keep looking for my lost anniversary ring. It's what I wear instead of my wedding band and engagement ring.

I thought I would sneak in a quick post linking to my sweet friend Erin's blog that shows a picture of JJ pre-haircut. JJ found the scissors on Saturday afternoon and gave herself a bob. My friend Sarah says she looks like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, but she still looks like a girl. I'll post pictures tonight, along with our fun 4th of July festivities!

And a shout out to my BFF Sarah who just found out yesterday that they are having a BOY!!!

We moved and I made a dress!

This is a really quick post because I am exhausted and I am going to watch Parenthood with Jeff - it's our new favorite show. But I wanted to give you a sneak peek to what I will be blogging about for a solid year at least - our new home renovation! We bought a 1930's Saltbox (or maybe it's a Colonial?), AS-IS on the cutest.street.ever. Don't be scared off by the wallpaper that looks like it's from Miss Kitty's Saloon. Or the pink tile in the bathrooms. Or the strawberry patch kitchen with red gingham drapes. I have a vision. I wish I had the bank account to go with it though. It will be a long process but it will be so neat to see it change! I have always wanted to renovate an older home! And I love our cute street and our new city.

The other picture is of a dress I made at my friend Sara's house the other night. This one is for Miss M and I have more fabric to make another one for JJ. JJ's dress might not look as cute because this one was half me and more than half Sara. She is an AMAZING seamstress and all-around craft genius. You should see the quilt she made for her kids teacher! I had a great time the other night, but it was almost midnight and my thread kept breaking while trying to do my ruffle so she finished it for me.

Now it's off to watch Parenthood!

My day in numbers

2 - sweet little girls that I dropped off at school
4 - times I wanted to eat chocolate before 10 a.m.
1 - frustrating day at work
270 - the highway that was backed up all the way to Hwy 40 at 3 p.m.
45 - minutes late to my daughter's doctor's appointment
120 - the number of the house that we looked at today
3 - hours ago that I should have gone to bed
0 - amount of energy I have left today

Blogging is hard for me

I really wish that I had tons of time to blog about my kids - who are amazing by the way - and funny stories, and things like that. Life is crazy for me right now. Miss M's 5th birthday was today. We both made it! I know that sounds drastic, but the last 5 years have been long and full of struggle. It's weird that at the same time it feels short and exploding with blessings. It's been a month since we got a medical diagnosis for M and while I felt validated and somewhat relieved, I am overwhelmed at everything that goes along with it. I'm being cryptic because I am a mama bear who wants to protect her cub. That seems like an appropriate example because M spends most of her days being an animal - lately it's a baby artic wolf. I am still scared to be completely open on this blog because I have major trust issues. I always have, but it got much worse in the last year for specific reasons (which I won't mention here because I am afraid to). So should I even be blogging in the first place? I'm not sure. While I ponder that thought, check out Lisa Leonard's blog where she's giving away a necklace. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lisa's jewelry and I want one with M & J's names on it since I still don't have anything with them.

On another note, I am SO ready for Spring starting this weekend! I hope the temps start to reflect that fact. Now I am going to go watch Parenthood - one of my new favorite shows.

I will wear a tutu

I finally made my personal fundraising page for the Master the Met 2010 Stairclimb. I know I have been busy selling a house, taking care of kids, working, etc., but it took me a total of 2 minutes to do. And as I promised Suzannah, I will wear a tutu during the climb alongside her if I surpass my fundraising goal. Please help me out and aid a very important cause! And I will of course post pictures of me in the tutu. :)

House for Sale

It has been one week since our house went on the market. A crazy, stressful time but totally worth it. I'll spare you from all of the details of why we are moving, but 50% is for a fresh start for us and 50% is for the girls' schools and mixed into the two is less driving time for work.

I want to share with you one of my favorite bloggers and a post of hers from last week. Sarah from Clover Lane posted about a Lesson Learned. I've been taught this many times in my life already, but I had a refresher last May. I thought that friends of ours had the perfect life - but that facade came crashing down at the same time that mine did. I am thankful that God scooped me up (once again) and helped me start to heal from my wounds. And it was nice of Him to surround me with real, true friends whose hearts are full. So read Sarah's post and enjoy - she reminds me of many of my dear friends. And hold those you love tight and be thankful for all the blessings you've been given.

No Woman No Cry

That was the song that we stood to at Leigh's funeral. I said goodbye to her 10 years ago and it feels like yesterday. I wish that I could go back in time and do things differently. Instead of being too involved and too busy in college, I wish I would have spent more time with friends. Instead of pushing people away when life got uncomfortable and messy, I wish I would have called Leigh and talked to her about things. I wish I would have trusted friends more back then. There was a lot of junk in my life that no one else saw. Leigh was the kind of person who would have loved me through my mess and helped me to see the hope that was ahead of me instead of the things I was afraid of. She taught me a lot while she was alive and she taught me even more after she was gone. I really miss her. I wish I could have been a better friend to her. I wish she could see my little girls. I hope she knew how much she meant to me and how much I loved her. How much I still love her.

I am thankful that I have all of my sorority sisters and my husband to celebrate her life with. People who knew her know how I feel. I am glad that we will always keep her alive in our beautiful memories of her.

Leigh-Leigh, I am laughing as I remember our "Coffee Talk" skit that we did for Serenades, and dancing in the hallway of our dorm to our "routines", or making prank phone calls to our friends . I'm smiling when I think of how we tried to cheer up Jaimie when she was so sick, when we went shopping to buy matching outfits, and everything else we did together. I'm crying when I think of the times that I missed an opportunity to strengthen our friendship because I was too scared. You were such an amazing person - I will never forget you.

Happy New Year

This was our card this year. I think I am going to make it a new tradition that we do this instead of Christmas cards. The Christmas season is the busiest time at my work, and my precious time at home is spent with my family, baking, watching movies, playing, and most importantly focusing on what Christmas is all about.

I hope that your year is off to a good start!

Erin's Photo of the Year

I hadn't read my friend Erin's blog in the last week because of snow days and being busy at work so imagine my surprise when I check it last night and she has chosen her Photo of the Year and I am in it! Honestly, I think it is definitely an amazing picture because of the talent of the photographer, but it is in an honor to be in it. Seriously Erin, if you ever need me for another photo shoot - I will dress up like a clown if you need me to. I wish modeling were my job because it was so fun.
Oh, to be Heidi Klum. *Sigh*

On a random note: What is the deal with people saving National Geographic magazines? Is it so you can refer to it if you are doing a report on pygmies? My parents saved theirs and I don't ever remember using them for a book report or project, or anything. Are you going to, in the middle of a conversation about something obscure, say "I'm not sure who started the ancient civilization of the Mayans. Hold on just a minute, let me reference Volume 23 of my N.G. for more information..." NO! They would just google it now. Actually, there is an online version for about $45 that looks pretty good. So free up your booksheves!

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

The Seven Spot is BACK!

My BFF Sarah has resumed blogging after a LONG break. She is such a talented, funny, amazing person and I know you will love her blog (and HER)! Check it out!

And thanks to Heidi (Mrs. Fabulous), for helping me figure out the blog link. Hey, I'm still kind of new to this blog thing and I am rarely on the computer to figure it out and/or blog.

And I would post a picture of our beautiful new finished basement, but I can't find our camera battery charger anywhere.

Happy New Year!