Practicing Creativity or Gettin' Crazy With The Purple Paint

Because I don't want to spend a lot of $ on Bug's nursery but still want it to be a cute cozy place for her I have decided to stretch my artist creativity. I went online and got some ideas and then went thrift store shopping. Got me some paint and went purple crazy.
Even though she's 5 months old her room is still a work in progress. I'm the kind of person who stretches out decorating over a long period of time until I'm satisfied. It takes so long mostly because I refuse to buy things full price so the hunting to find the things in my head at cheap prices takes some time. Maybe by the time she's 15 I'll have her nursery just the way I want it. As for the rest of the house, that'll probably never get completely finished. But that's part of the fun and also totally off the subject of this post. So, back to my fledgling art skills.
Without further ado....


Purple Piggy
This little piggy [bank] was once a white and orange pig that looked like something the 70's threw up. I got it for 75 cents at a thrift store. The paint I got for $2 bucks and there you have it. A cute little piggy for Lydia to one day save her hard earned $$ in.

Wall Art

I wanted something on the wall besides just pictures so one day at Crafts 2000 I saw these wood cutouts for 50 cents a piece. I already had crafters paint so all I needed was the cutouts. I thought they would be perfect for the space and they are.
It took me awhile to get them all painted but I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.

Pictures

I needed two small pictures for the shelves in her room so I priced them. Small pictures are expensive.

I found a picture like the "sweet" one in a store for $20 and I thought, "I could make that". So I went to Goodwill and got a picture with a decent wood frame. It cost me $1. I found another nice looking wood frame for 50 cents which I used for the "precious little one" picture. I used my purple paint to paint the frames and the rest is just card stock and stickers.

All in all my decor cost me very little and I had fun doing it. I actually enjoy it more knowing I did it. And since I didn't spend that much $ I can afford to do more decorating and develop more of my artisitc side.

Lydia's New Discoveries

Oh Look! I found something yummy! Maybe I can eat it.

Yes! That does taste good. Almost as good as my thumb. Well, almost.

But my bottle is best of all.

And I can hold it by myself now.

I'm getting so big!

But my biggest new discovery is this

Ta Da!

All this new stuff is wearing me out.

Think I'll just lay here for a bit.

It took her awhile to learn how to roll over because she hates tummy time with a PASSION!

Now that she rolls over from her back we get to play the baby flip over game all day.

That's fun.

She doesn't mind being on her tummy as much since it's her getting herself in that position but when she figures out she's on her tummy she starts fussing.

I should let her lay there and figure out how to get from her tummy to her back but I only make her stay on her tummy until mommy's had enough of the screaming.

She'll figure it out one day.

One week later:

She figured it out.

:)

You Know You're A SAHM When...

(SAHM- stay at home mom)

you're the only one who can't smell the dirty diapers in the trash.

your new perfume is eau de spit up.

you consider a solo trip to the grocery store quality "me" time.

jammies and no make-up are your daily attire.

you are forced to use the toilet while holding your baby on your lap and with your whining 2 year old watching you and asking constantly when you are finished.

you have conversations with yourself in baby talk.

you wear a shirt because it’s “only” got one stain.

your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

you have no idea what the current hit song is on the radio but you can sing right along with the Wiggles, Blues Clues, Elmo and Dora the explorer.

watching Barney makes you understand why dinosaurs are extinct.

you're so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls...and HE hangs up on YOU!

your husband comes home early and you have to fight the urge to get irritated because it messes with your routine.

you have accidentally brushed your teeth with Desitin.

you have caught spit-up in your hand.

you leave for a date with your husband carrying a diaper bag instead of your purse.

you can recite Goodnight Moon and Green Eggs and Ham by heart.

you have shared a fifteen-minute conversation about your baby with a complete stranger at the grocery store.

you forgot your mother-in-law's first name because you now only refer to her as "Grandma."

you consider it a major triumph if you shower by noon.

you find yourself humming the "Rubber Duckie" song in the shower.

you have dressed your baby in whatever is on top of the clean laundry pile.

you cry at Johnson & Johnson commercials.

you can no longer wear black, for fear of massive spit up marks.

you find yourself constantly talking in 3rd person, “Mommy said NO!”

you know more about baby products than the latest trends.

you have had entire conversations centered around poop and pee.

you don’t own a shirt that hasn’t been stained in some way.

you think your baby is the cutest and smartest baby ever, other babies? Not so much

you think nothing of sniffing behinds for the poopie test.

you catch yourself carrying on a play-by-play in the grocery store (”Okay we need a some sour cream. Where’s the fat-free? It looks like they ran out of it again! Rats. I guess we’ll get the low-fat version this time and just not use as much…”) all to realize you’re by yourself for once and chatting with nothing but a dairy case, much to the amusement of your fellow shoppers.

your favorite moments of the day are cuddling up with a sticky, smelly, slimy, oozing, beautiful, precious, soft and wonderful, wiggling baby.

you consider parenting to be the best job in the world.

Happy 5 months, Baby Girl!

Happy Mother's Day!

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.~ Psalm 127:3

In My Front Yard

Here are some flowers from my yard. I know Daffodils are "common" but I just love their cheery yellow color.

And below is my "happy tree". I love it so!

When we moved in last summer it was a pretty tree with red leaves but this spring when it came to life I got the lovely surprise of finding it had little white flowers all over it. I guess they don't last that long and then you just get the red leaves, but either way, still pretty and for now the flowers make my day. Every day I look out and see them I think, "oh how pretty, look at those lovely flowers."

Part of the fun this spring has been watching flowers pop up where I didn't know we had flowers and seeing all the bright color. The lady that lived here before us apparently liked plant life.

(I won't mention the fact that we hacked a lot of it. There was just TOO much. Sorta looked like a jungle and I didn't want to do that much yard work.)

In the back yard I know there are a lot of lilies and some really pretty bushes that have nice color to them but they haven't quite bloomed all the way yet. They're getting there.

I'll post those pics later.

My "Happy Tree"-

A close up of the cute little flowers-

My Thoughts Exactly

I need to get busy today.

I don't WANT to get busy.

My to-do list is slightly overwhelming. Mostly because all week I haven't WANTED to get busy.

This has been one low motivating week.

So the question is...how much will I get done today? Who knows.

I'll be impressed with me if I just do the basic house maintaining stuff like

make the bed

do the dishes

straighen up the living room

Lydia's laundry

That's been the key this week-maintain, no extra.

Now where's my chocolate!?

At The End Of The Day

It's 10pm.
Lydiebug is all tucked in for the night, all is quiet.
Vince is gone on a trip so I'm alone. Trying not to hate that but after him being home for 2 months I'm still getting used to nights alone again. I miss him. Nights are still hard.
I should try to sleep.
I'm not ready to go to sleep but I know come morning I will wish that I would have.
But since I can't sleep yet I'm in bed with my head propped up with a bunch of pillows and I'm all curled around my favorite blankets.
I've got my laptop, my notepad and a book. What more could a girl need for a moment by herself before she goes to sleep. Well, coffee would be nice but I do want to sleep at some point so I'll scratch that.
So just because I'm having a random day I'm going to share some random things that I am currently addicted to...in totally random order.


THINGS I LOVE
(subject to change at my whim)

Lotion-
Bath and Body Works Ultimate Silk Velvet Tuberose Lotion....purrrrrr

Bubble Bath-
Mr. Bubble
"I don't want to grow up"

Candy-
Plain M&M
Always only M&M's. Perfect little chocolate bites of yummy goodness.

Hot Drink-
Hot Chocolate (not the yucky mixes but homemade like my momma used to make)
This is not to rival coffee because we know you can't beat drinks like Vienna lattes and such but we are just talking current addictions so that's what I'm drinking at my house right now.

Cooking Gadget-
Silpat
Found here
My MIL gave me one, along with some muffin pans and I am in love with them! I use them on lots of stuff. I highly recommend them.

Pillow-
My memory foam contour pillow.
I got it at Kohls and it has been a life saver, or at least a neck saver. I used to get really nasty headaches but since I got the pillow I hardly ever get them. And it is very comfy. I sleep so much better.

Blanket-
When I lived at home I had this comforter forever. It was old and dingy. When I moved on my own I bought a new one but kept that one.
Now I use the old comforter as a blanket. It's perfect on a chilly evening to curl up with it and some hot cocoa and a book and just chill in my favorite chair.
I did that a lot when I was pregnant.
The blanket is still dingy and frankly, looks rather gross but it really is clean and oh so wrap-upable.

Socks-
Right after I had Lydia our Pastor's wife, Laura, gave me a baby gift and in with the gift she gave me a pair of socks. I don't know if she was aware of this but she could not of gotten me a better gift.
On those long MI winter evenings or the cold mornings I need something to patter around in and these are perfect! They are also very cool looking. They kinda snuggle your feet and make your toes wiggle in glee.

Dental Product-
Okay, maybe it's weird that I have a favorite dental product, let alone an addiction to one but I do.
Last time I went to the dentist they gave me a sample of G.U.M soft picks and my mouth said "ahhh".
Seriously these things are great. I will sit around reading or playing on the computer and use these. They feel so good and help keep your smile all pretty like. Can't beat that!

Baby Bug
*Her smile- It just turns me to goo and makes me all squishy inside. No matter when, no matter where, no matter my mood or what's going on. When she smiles, life is just good.
*Holding her- I could spend all day holding that girl. And when she reaches out to touch me with that cute little chubby hand, mommy mush. That's all I am.

Food Addictions of the Moment-
*PB and honey sandwhiches
*Dried Apples- And I don't like fresh apples unless I personally pick them off the tree.
*Cottage Cheese
*Blueberries- frozen from when we picked the 30 lbs of them last summer (I'm on my last bag. bummer.)
*Popcorn- and not the microwave kind, I want the real stuff
*Grilled hamburgers- When I was pregnant I craved CRAVED them. And I didn't want a resturant or fast food (shivers) one, I wanted a homemade, on the grill, hamburger. I still think that's my favorite supper menu food right now.
*Red Bell Peppers
*Grapefruit
*Avacado
*Fresh Italian Bread dipped in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar (I just drooled)

Overall Biggest Addiction-
My husband :)
And that one won't change!

BARK!

I like dogs. Really I do.
But there's one dog...

I'm slowly developing a strong dislike to a certain neighbor dog.
This dog, let's just call him Wheezy, likes to bark...constantly. Especially right around 10pm. Every night. Nice.
What's worse is that this particular dog sounds like it has a terrible case of emphysema. It's the most grating bark EVER.
I hope he's cute (never seen him) because there has to be some redeeming quality to this mutt or that is one useless piece of dog fur.
He's the one black spot on what should be a pleasant experience of opening the windows at night to sleep with the gentle breezes blowing and the soft sounds of nature singing their lullaby.
It should be quite relaxing. And it is...until.
Until Mr. Wheezy comes out for his nightly concert that seriously makes my ears hurt and my toes curl.
I should feel sorry for any poor creature that sounds like that but I don't because I think he knows what he sounds like and is happy about it, carrying on all the while imagining what he is doing to all the people around him trying to sleep. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's proud of himself because he sounds proud. And the prouder he gets, the louder he gets. He's showing off. And before he finally decides to call it a night and curl up in a ball somewhere to fall asleep laughing at the noise he's made, I'm laying there thinking of all the ways he could "accidentally" go away.
And as I think, I smile as I pull the pillow over my ears and try to uncoil my toes before drifting off to sleep dreaming of a day where there shall be no more Wheezy kind. At least in my neighborhood.

Baby Girl's First Trip

The first part of April we took LydieBug on her first trip to Oklahoma.

I was worried about the plane ride but she slept the whole way.

What I should have worried about was the visit.

Bug apparently doesn't like being away from home.

She was way fussy.

But fussiness aside, she got her first intro to Oklahoma and to meet family.

It was a precious time for me because it was an answer to many years of prayer.

My grandparents aren't in the best of health and haven't been for some time. But it has been a prayer of mine since I was a teenager that they would live to meet my child.

They were such a huge part of my growing up years that I couldn't imagine them not being there to hold my baby.

So seeing that happen was priceless to me.

The pictures you are looking at are more than just sweet first meetings, they are an answer to many prayers.

Now hopefully next time she meets them she won't scream her little head off or look scared spitless anytime they hold her.

These pictures were taken in a very small window when she was tolerating someone besides me.

Grrrr! Oh well. Life ain't perfect. And it was still great.

If I Had My Life To Live Over

by Erma Bombeck

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the "good" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching TV - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love yous"...more "I'm sorrys"...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.

Just Because This Picture Makes Me Smile