I'm still here!!

Yes- I haven't yet given up on this blog!

My posts are just very. few. You'll forgive me, right?

Not real sure what to update you on!! I am still struggling to get my teeth brushed at a decent hour, however some days I feel like we are actually getting into a routine. Other days.... If Justin weren't home helping me, he may come home to find me rocking and crying in a corner ;) Certain days, I am lucky if I remember to feed myself! Although- I do remember to grab some real "healthy" snacks... haha. You know...chocolate, reeses...hey, why not grab a snickers, right? So, my goals of getting up and showering in the morning, working out, getting some sewing in.... Yeah...not happening. YET! They're on the back-burner. I know (& hope) that in a matter of time we will get the hang of this two-kid-thing and I am positive it will feel like we've been doing this all along!

In the past few weeks we have...

* Celebrated Christmas with incredible family and watched Sienna really get into the present-thing. Kinda scary because now there is no going back :) It was a joy to watch her excitement! We now our housing close to 12 plastic babies and 47 stuffed-creatures that she pushes in the stroller, or takes them to get "goshies" in shopping cart.

*Felt unbelievably blessed beyond words by family and friends this Christmas season. Whether this was by meaningful family get-togethers, unexpected gifts, anonymous mail containing gift cards, etc... We were reminded and blessed by the incredible generosity of others.

*Stayed up way too late, but had way too much fun with friends! Late nights were attributed to Bunko night, New Years' Eve with friends, and movie night with the hubby... pretty sure I fell asleep on both attempts to watch Knight and Day. But I give the movie a Thumbs Up. These heavy eyelids just have no mercy!

*Ditched Dawson's paci. Poor guy had to kiss his binky "bye-bye" before his big sis. Lucky girl, caught a break when we decided to get rid of his first. Her time is quickly approaching, but Dawson's deal was a little more important to take care of as it was hindering his sleep (and mama's sleep!!).

*Dealt with some severe fussiness from our little man. What I thought was due to my consumption of a tasty Barq's Rootbeer, is maybe from something I was eating instead. Lettuce maybe?! The jury is still out.

*Survived managing the munchkins on my own as Justin went on a 2-day ski trip to Nubs Nob with some of his students and other staff.

*Experienced crazy toddler meltdowns, but also cracked up laughing at her the crazy things she comes up with. Her sense of humor is hilarious.

*Started thinking and planning for Little Miss Thang's 2nd birthday party! I can hardly believe it! Our little, bright-eyed girl will celebrate her birthday later this month. My lack of time is keeping this party under control and pretty low-key. Sometimes I start getting a little silly with the things I want to do for her party.

*Committed to a "part-time" job, where I will be observing tutors for the tutoring program I previously tutored with. Just a few hours a week... Such an answer to prayer!

*Had family pictures taken. I will upload those when I get a chance... maybe before my kids are in high school.

*Splurged and got this mama a new toy... check it out. Can I just tell you, I am pumped!! We have been searching deep and wide for a double jogger that would fit in my Honda. Nearly impossible to find such a thing. After months of searching Craigslist and stalking people for a used one... we caved and Ebay was good to us. (Amazing how fast Dawson has chunked up and Sienna finally grew hair!)



Well, I need to attempt to end this late night streak!

A Few Conclusions...

I have come to a few conclusions...

1.) Trying to lose this spare tire during Christmas time is entirely too hard! I can't resist the sweets. My husband needs to hide them from me.... like out of the house.... because then we both know I won't ever get to them!

2.) Laundry only gets done when I am looking eye-level with the pile of clothes. Then, it takes me a week to get caught up!

3.) Sometimes laughter is the best way to get through the day! Today I had to stifle my laughter during my almost-two-year-old's ridiculous tantrum because I told her we couldn't play with playdough anymore until she learns the right way to play with it. I was wondering where it was all going, until I saw her sneak some in her mouth yesterday. Gotta be smarter than the toddler... Sidenote- I remember loving the taste of playdough and definitely eating my share when I was young. Why is this colorful, toxic-smelling, mushy dough SO tempting?!

4.) The 8-hour night seems to fly by when you are sleeping, but when you are watching the minutes and hours pass... IT'S SLOW AS MOLASSES! I wish I could know that I was sleeping to enjoy it more... anyone with me?

5.) "Me-time" now consists of doing the laundry and dishes in silence, checking Facebook without a little person crawling on me, and typing emails with two hands!

6.) Having no clue what day it is... is normal!

7.) When talking to my mom, I call her "Mommy"... I DON'T GET OUT ENOUGH and seriously lack adult conversation!!!!!!! ;)

8.) Sisters that swap babysitting are one of God's greatest blessings :)

9.) Knowing that your husband is going to walk through the door anytime is one of the best feelings in the world! He works so hard for us to come home and still change diapers, play horsey, and do bedtime.

10.) Kisses from Little Miss Thang make my heart smile :)

He is Here!! :)

Dawson Grey Smith

Born on November 23, 2011 @ 5:24pm

8 lbs
21 inches
Healthy
...and SERIOUSLY ADORABLE!!!

Yes, I am just like any other mom that just sits and stares at God's beautiful blessing... amazed that he entrusted us with such a precious gift.

He is gorgeous.

He is snuggly.

He makes sweet noises when he sleeps...even if they do keep me up at night.

He is perfect.

*The Story*

After talking with the doctor, we decided to do an induction the day after my due date. I was nervous... scared... crying... a mess :) Excited.. of course!! I felt so ready to have this baby, however the reality of labor and all the "unknowns" seemed to send me into an emotional mess!

After changing into the hospital gown, I was on the hospital bed as they began asking me family history questions and what not. They started an IV just in case it would be needed during labor. I started feeling dizzy and attributed that to nerves. Then, I could tell I was going... and going fast. I passed out on the bed and I wasn't even in labor yet!!!!!!! This was not a good start.

After coming to, they did some additional blood work to see if they could determine what caused me to drop like a fly. In the mean time, they began the induction with citotec and then 4 hours later started on pitocin and shortly after broke my water. After that, things picked up fast! The contractions I was already having began to get much stronger. Then they delivered the news... because my platelet level was so low, they didn't know if they could do an epidural. WHAT>!?!? They decided to take blood again and retest it to see if the levels had come up. In the meantime, contractions were getting MUCH MUCH stronger and I was getting a little impatient (to say the least) while waiting to find out if I could get an epidural. I was ready for it, like yesterday, and needed to know if I should start mentally preparing myself for doing this thing or not!

My husband was AMAZING during this!! I seriously could not have done this without him! Offering ice chips and holding my hand through every contraction (as I squeezed the crud out of it), and gentle reminders not to clench my jaw and to breathe slow breaths.

Long story short- they FINALLY let me know that they would do the epidural, even though my numbers were still low. However- by this point I did not realize I was nearly 8 cm and would begin pushing shortly after. Needless to say, the epidural didn't have time to completely do it's job... and I felt A LOT , but I think it calmed me, mentally knowing I wasn't feeling all of it :)

3.5 hours of active labor and 8 minutes of pushing... Dawson Grey was here, healthy and beautiful. What an incredible feeling at the completion of delivery... seeing that PRECIOUS little being that was with me for 9 months. The little one whose hiccups I felt, whose tumbling routines woke me up at night. I even recognized the sharp point of his bony heels that I would see and feel poking my belly for the past several weeks. The little one that God, in His perfection and goodness, formed for His glory. One of my favorite mental "snapshots" was watching Justin beam over his little boy. What an awesome daddy he is!

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. " - Psalms 139:13-14

So-- Sadly, it took me 2 weeks to announce his arrival to the blogworld...but frankly it has been 2 weeks of feeling good about getting my teeth brushed by dinner time. I didn't think you would mind ;)

First Family Picture :)


What does Sienna have to say about her baby brother?? That will be my next post.

Stay tuned though, she has some doosies!

You're Ready to Pop When...

...no big meals sound good, but you don't dare let a piece of chocolate slide past you without justifying a good reason to eat it!

...complete strangers EVERYWHERE ask you when you are due. It is written all over me that I am due, and due soon. One time, I want to act completely clueless when they ask me this question. "What do you mean? Due for what? Oh... you think I'm pregnant?"

...your nephew says, "Your tummy's getting Biiiiig. It's like a big hill!!"

...you knock into anyone that you try to "slide past" because you underestimate your size.

...when something drops on the floor, you debate continually kicking it to get it where it needs to be or you do the inevitable SIGHHHH and GROAN and bend over and pick it up.

...everyone looks like they're loosing weight and getting so tiny!.... hmmm- or is it the fact that I am carrying a crazy amount of extra poundage.

...your daughter can't find a good place to sit on your lap, readjusting and backing up further so she doesn't fall off doesn't do the trick.

...when looking at my belly button my sweet little daughter says, "Ouchie!"... I hear ya, girl.

...getting off the floor is an art... pretty much hitting the 4-point stance and walking your hands up your legs to stand upright. Averaging approximately 2.5 minutes and a few grunts.

...Limping or waddling is just the way you get from Point A to Point B.

...breaking a sweat while working out no longer happens because I can't walk fast enough to accomplish a sweat! However, any stairs leave me completely winded... yes, probably even your flight of 3 stairs.

...when looking in the mirror at your outrageously morphed body you say a little apology for your belly and your skin.

...laying in bed for about 3 minutes in the middle of the night contemplating the best, most efficient way to get your hiney out of bed. NOTE- this happens anywhere from 2-5 times a night. Still trying to come to the best conclusion, which might be waking the hubs up to roll his whale-of-a-wife out of bed.

...you get the door in your pajama pants one Sunday afternoon for an unexpected visitor. After they leave your husband comments, "Uhh your belly was hanging out of your shirt about 4 inches..." Awe-some.

***Here's to hoping I'm not the first person ever to stay pregnant FOREVER!***

But can I say it is 100%, absolutely, hands-down worth it. Can't wait to see this little face and kiss these little toes that have been kicking my ribs :)

So much to Say... so little time!

So I haven't been as faithful to my blogging as I intended. I have actually sat down and started a few posts, but then been interrupted (I think I am hearing a bunch of "Amen"s out there :) and then when I came back to actually finish the post... it was way outdated and I lost my zeal for completing it. So there is sits...

Today, I should not be sitting down blogging, I should probably be cleaning and finishing so many of the projects that have an upcoming deadline... BUT I am going to blog. Aren't you proud? :) This is going to be very random and sporadic, but there are so many things that Sienna has done and said lately that leaves me completely baffled and laughing. Where does she come up with this stuff?? That might be a silly question. She repeats EVERYTHING we say and everything we do.

*Sienna has picked up on the fact that we visit Hobby Lobby and JoAnn Fabric VERY frequently :) The kind ladies know us and get a kick out of Sienna talking their ears off.

*Today at the fabric store she was addressed any lady older than my parents age... "Hi Gamma!! Hi Gamma" Waving politely "Bye Gamma! As I was quietly shushing her, afraid we would offend someone, we snuck down another isle and she says even louder, "Where Gamma go!?"
Good question, girlfriend.

*Anytime I tell Sienna we are going to the store she starts explaining that we are "going to Hobby Wobby" ... pretty safe assumption, girl! Last week, she was walking a little push toy around with a baby in it and she told me "Be wight back. Going to Hobby Wobby.

*Yesterday Macy drug something out in the kitchen and Sienna looked at it and said, "Are you kiddin' me, Mace?" Verbatim quote from her mama... yikes.

*We have a little singer in the making! She LOVES belting out "Tinkle Tinkle Little Star" and usually requests it before bedtime.

* "I have a booger. Kiss it, Mama?" A few seconds later she makes the correction... "I have booger, get it, Mama?" Much better :)

*She was using some of her play kitchen toys... and brought me a frying pan saying, "Made quesadilla, Mama." Yes, she loves them and requests them for breakfast. Don't think so, sugar.

*Sienna has found the freedom to get out of her twin bed and if the door is cracked, she helps herself right out of bed WAYY too early in the morning and marches in our room... "Hi Mama!!!". A few times we have let her in our bed to snuggle if it is a reasonable time. That lasts a whole 2 minutes and then she climbs all over us bringing us Dr. Seuss books telling us to read them (in the pitch black) and then immediately puts in her order for toast and peanut butter. This girl loves her food.

*She now counts to ten and sings her ABCs.

*Not sure if we have a little OCD going on here or what... but she is REALLY bothered by messes or things being left open. Sienna comments on any cabinet or jar that is temporarily left open. She is appeased when it is closed. During the first few minutes after laying Sienna down for a nap, we heard two slams. Justin went in to find Sienna crawling back into bed. He asked what she was doing and she pointed to both closet doors and said "I closed that, Dada!" Not the first time that has happened and surely won't be the last. She is better than Mama at keeping things tidy.... (okay maybe that's a bit of a stretch- but she is sure bothered by it!) I am curious to see if her room will be cleaner than ours when she is a teen :)

That's all for now. My To Do List is calling my name~

Out my ears...

I feel like I have flowers, ribbons, fabrics, and bows coming out my ears!! I am excited for this weekends arts and craft fair at New Beginnings Church in South Bend. I have been working hard to create as much as I can to bring to this craft fair. Can I just tell you.... my house is reaping the consequences of spending Sienna's nap times working rather than cleaning. YIKES! Next week I will get it under control :)... next week.

Anyways...There are 45 local vendors that are going to be bringing their goods. My mom and I have a booth outside (so we're especially praying for no rain!!). My mom makes beautiful, unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry and I will have an assortment of bows, clips, bib sets, appliqued onesies, nursing covers, and other accessories for babes! :)

I have been working on lots of new things including some of these...
Fabric Flower Clips/Headbands


Fancy Rose Clips/Headbands

Korker Pigtail Sets

Holiday sets, tutus, and lots more that I haven't taken the chance to take pictures or list in my shop


Please come out :) We'd love to see you! Back to work I go... :)

Country Girl with City Girl Fears?!

I would like to think I am a country girl.... I grew up in the country and always had high expectations from my dad to get down to business and work hard. I never feared getting dirty, doing chores, marching around at my dad's hog farm with the glorious sights and smells of manure. I can side-step roadkill and consider the smell of pigs and cows "fresh air". However.... when it comes to rodents, I am as squeamish as any city-folk would be. I despise mice, snakes, rats, anything that slithers or darts here and there to find it's next crevice to be harbored in.

This afternoon I went out to the garage to put a few paints of coat on some things for Sienna's new room. I grabbed everything I needed, opened the large garage door and plopped myself down on the garage floor, just where it meets the driveway. I look up and see a snake, a garder snake, (or gardener, or garden....whatever, you get the point) had gotten squished underneath our garage door. Silly fella wasn't smart enough to jump in front of the sensor to avoid it's death. I was pleased to find that I had "caught" it, but am not going to lie and tell you I didn't squeal just a bit and high-tail it into the house with hopes of taking a cellphone pic and calling my husband to ask him if I stab it with a fork or whatnot... As I get back into the garage and head back to my scaly friend, I see his nasty spliced tongue sticking out at me and his body starts to recoil (I am seriously squirming in my seat as I type this!! YUUUCK!) Oh don't you worry--- he was just half-way squished and managed to slither back into our garage amongst our pile of who-knows-what-or-where-it-goes items stashed against the side of the garage. I am too chicken to peel everything away to catch the rascal and stab him with a fork (just kidding... I couldn't even get the nerve to touch it with a pole!). So, my husband will be pleased to know that this scaly friend will be waiting for him when he gets back in town. Hopefully, the snake will not invade the house in the process. I would move out PRONTO.


Anyways, as I was painting, I was thinking about God's creation and his amazing creativity. There are a few animals/insects that I just DON'T GET what He was thinking when he created them.... I guess I can ask Him someday... He probably has a really good answer... or maybe it is just to show his sense of humor.

For example: I don't know if I will ever understand the purpose of flies and mosquitoes.. or
This?!?!...

Or this...



But people probably wonder the same thing when they see these
...