My Best George.

 My bestest buddy George is pregnant and expecting her first baby in August.  I threw a small baby shower for her last week.  It ended up being too much fun!  :)

Her sister practicing her Auntie duty of book reading.  Note: She is practicing her story telling abilities on a stuffed lamb, which, for whatever reason, makes me giggle.  :)

Mmmm...Yogurt Parfait Bar...Mmmm

It's the three of us!  Yay!

It's the three of us in Superstar mode.  :)  YAY!

Our next fun task was freezer paper stenciling onesies for Carlos (George's unborn baby's in-utero name) and maybe one or two for Squirt.  Sesame woke up from her nap and painted a onesie for Squirt...She also might have painted her mouth when I was taking photos.

This stripey onesie was Sesame's creation.  Not too bad for a 2-year-old!  :)  Good times had by all!

Remember when trophies were cool...

Well, I do.  I also remember not having many of them because, I don't have an athletic bone in my body.  I did, however, receive a trophy in late high school for a Speech Team, dynamic duo performance.  5th place baby.  Oh yeah.

So.  Trophies.  Didn't have many as a kid - but today - or rather a few days ago - I was gifted the equivalent of a blogging trophy!  YAY! [cue much rejoicing]  Allie, from Guten Strudel, which is a most fantabulous and  hilarious blog you should all be reading, tagged me for the Stylish Blogger Award.  I feel so loved.  :)  As a thank you, I am going to play along with the rules.

The Rules:

Uno. Link back and thank the person [Thank you Allison!!!]  who gave you the award. [check-done]

B. Share 7 things about yourself.

3.14 Award 5 recently discovered blogs.

Lastly. Contact them and tell them about their award.

On to "B" then, shall we.  :)

1.  I am a piler.  Like, the tv show Hoarders kind of piler.  No, really.  I have trouble parting with items that might some day, at some point, come in handy.  I have two boxes of empty, glass baby food jars in boxes, in the attic.  Why?  Because some day I might have a cool project that will necessitate them.  When husband says, "Hey where's the water bill?" I generally respond with, "It's in the second pile to the left of the dresser, halfway down, under the yellow folder."  Now, it may seem unorganized, but, darn it all, the water bill is right where I tell him.  If I organize the piles, everything falls apart and I can't find anything.  Thus, I will continue to hoard and pile.  :)  Sorry family.  :)

2.  I enjoy changing my hair style frequently--much to the chagrin of my husband.  :)  Here, let's look at the past 4 years:

Aw... Wedding... Skinny... Looooooong hair = husband's fav.

This is how I surprised husband when picking him up from work after 2 months of marriage.  SURPRISE!  I cut all my hair off.

He was surprised.
He was not elated.

I, however, think this is one of my all time favorite hair cuts.  :)

If I could rotate this for you, I would, but I'm lazy, so I'm leaving it.  :)

This is the "in-between" stage.

Here we are back to looong locks again.  [sigh] Ah.  I do like very long hairs.

 

Then, this cut came to us this year.  ADORE.  I'm sporting a longer version now, because I'm growing it out again!  Shock.  Dismay.  :)  There were a couple other styles between Sesame age of 0 and 18 months - but photos of myself stopped occurring during those years.  I was like a ninja.  Never seen, but always there.  :)

3.  I am a C.  I am a C-H.  I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N.  :)  I love the Lord.  Like, hard core, Praise Jesus, love the Lord.  Husband and I are trying to live a life that glorifies Him daily.  It ain't easy, but we do our best.  We were both blessed to be raised in strong Christian homes that taught us what it means to be a follower and what Ephesians 2:8, 9 really mean.  I am beyond grateful that our parents laid a foundation in us that is unmoving--and hope we can instill that same love of Christ in Sesame and Squirt. [Stops, wipes tear] Moving on...

4.  I cannot stand: slow drivers in the left lane, ants in or out of my house (now I'm itchy) or people who talk/text on their cell phone in line at any store.  I mean, really, what is so important that you can't put down your phone for 5 minutes to check out.  Honestly.

5.  I randomly start singing and dancing at various points during the day.  Like, no-one's-watching-sing-at-the-top-of-my-lungs kind of singing.  Generally oldies or Broadway.  What is the most awesome part of this???  My daughter has decided it's cool and now joins in.  :)  I heart her.

6. I am a ginormously huge pregnant woman.  I increased to a rather large size whilst pregnant with Sesame:

Approximately 29 weeks with Sesame.

And that trend seems to have only been magnified during my pregnancy with Squirt:

Yeah...this is only 27 weeks with Squirt.

It's all good though.  I'm a fan of birthing large, robust children that I don't feel I can break.  At our 24 week ultrasound, Squirt was weighing in at an estimated 2 pounds.  I might give birth to a whale.

7. I heart:  sewing, ironing (it's true...I would iron my pillow cases if I still had the time), pedicures, a large glass of ice water with lime, cinnamon toast, blogging (had one since like 2004...on xanga...it still exists...even though I don't write on it...and no, I'm not linking to it.) digging in freshly tilled dirt, spinning til I'm dizzy, Thanksgiving and Sci Fi.  (That last one is thanks to Husband dearest!)  :)

Okay...now to pass on the love.  If you aren't reading these, you so should be.  :)

1. Naptime in Naptown or Heart Gone Walking - both are a fantastically hilarious read by my real life friend, and former college roomie, Katie.
2.  In Sock Monkey Slippers - the food.  Oh.  The food.  Every recipe I have made from her blog has been scrumptious.  Especially the butternut Squash Mac and Cheese.  Oh baby.
3.  Joy's Hope - Julie is so stinkin' funny and real.  I love her blog.  She is awesome at all things crafty and has some wonderous tales of how Christ has worked in her life - through thick and thin.
4. Lots of Scotts - A grand Momma who loves the Lord and recounts how everyday occurrences are teachable moments.
5.  Vintage Dutch Girl - Amanda is just funny.  :)  She has some mad sewing skills and isn't afraid to be down to earth and honest!  Did I mention she's hilarious???

YAY!  I think I'm done!  It only took me like week to actually finish this post!  :)

Confession.

1. There has been a serious lack of photos on this blog lately.  What is that about?!

2. For the past two days I have become increasingly unbalanced.  I went to the doctor today only to find out I have been storing the Nile in my ear canal.  Perhaps that's why Egypt has been in such unrest lately...

3. I have moments like my husband.  Remember the marker incident.  Oh, and the egg incident?  Well, yesterday husband came home from work, to a giddy toddling girl and a wife still in her pj's.  He hugged his ladies and chased his dog.  [sigh] All was right in his world.  Then he went to the bathroom.  "Honey," heard his barefoot, pregnant, pajama-ed wife in the kitchen.  "HON-NEY," he yelled at the top of his lungs do his deaf wife.  "Yes," she said back.  "I think Sesame learned to open the toilet lid."  That's right ladies and gents wife, aka moi, had a catastrophe on her watch.  Apparently while deaf, disoriented Momma made dinner in the kitchen, little Sesame discovered the inner workings of the toilet.  She then pulled almost an entire roll of toilet paper off the roll, placed it in the toilet, re-closed the lid, climbed on top of the toilet to the sink where she then attempted to wash her hands.  How did husband discern all this you ask?  Because there was Twisted Peppermint hand soap all over the vanity, complete with resplendent, sparkling bubbles in the sink.  Who was supposed to be watching this child when all of this happened?!  Me.  Emily.  The Momma.  Parenting FAIL.  At least she was trying to use the potty and at least she knew to wash her hands.  Right???

4.  I fully intend to bribe my child to use the potty with Skittles.  It has been decided and purchased.  I'll keep you posted on the pee and poop in the potty progression.

5.  This is one of my favorite photos of my husband and me.  Not just because he has a crayon up his nose.  Not just because of my expression.  Not just because I'm wearing an IU shirt and he is wearing a Purdue shirt.  But because it completely captures our personalities.  :)  I heart you husband.  :)

6.  Sesame's first Valentine's Day in 2009:

Sesame's second Valentine's Day, 2010:

Sesame's third Valentine's Day, 2011:

Oh, wait...there aren't any photos.  Momma fail, again.  :)  Ya'll just have to settle for some from later today!  :)  It's close enough, right!  :)

Cabin Fever and Sesame's Stitchery!

So.  I broke out the sewing machine this afternoon.  :)  It's been awhile.  I scoured the internet searching for a pattern that could be cut out and completed in one afternoon nap time.  Dana at Made did not disappoint. :)  She has a tutorial for how to make your own pattern from you child's existing clothes which I then used to make Sesame a pair of leggings.  Guess what?!  I made them in an hour and a half!  Moi, me the girl who cuts out fifty billion patterns and never, ever actually completes ANY of them!  Seriously kids, if I can do this, so can you!  :)  AND the cost is AWESOME-TASTIC

Old pale pink Gap Stretch t-shirt from high school:  Free

Elastic from an old pair of sweat pants:  Free

Hearing husband giggle at my comments to myself while doing project:  Free and fun!

See.

Awesome.

Tastic.

And look:

They didn't turn out too badly!  :)  I'm going to try them on her when she wakes from her nap.  I'll let you know if I find any complications then.  :)

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So last Thursday we had a a bit of snow here in the midwest.  Just a tad.  :)  While I heart snow, it does tend to produce a bit of cabin fever in the house. I cried out to facebook asking for ideas to entertain a two year old.  The internet did not disappoint.

Exhibit A:

Out modified version of MckMama's Winter Suncatcher.  Too fun!  The cupcake tray made awesome sun catchers with four small versions of various colors.  We played with water and food coloring to maker ours.  Hence the brownish, purple one.  That was Sesame's creation.  :)

Another favorite (from MckMama again) was rice on a cookie sheet.  :)

We got a good solid hour of play time out of this one!  We even put our alphabet magnets on the tray, covered them with rice and went on a "treasure hunt" for them.  I might have had more fun than Sesame.  I also might have started talking in a pirate voice and scowling whilst on our treasure hunt.  And, I  might have frightened her to saying: "Momma, why you scare me??"  and "No, silly talk.  Scae-wee."

We also played in cabinets.  Because, why not really!  :)  Oh, and at this point in our play time I noticed something.

See that star.  Can you see what's in it???  No??  Let me zoom in a bit.

Blue food coloring.  On her little toe.  Now, I ask you, how does one manage to squish blue food coloring between their little and ring toe???  It's not on top of her toe, just in the crease between them.  My daughter is turning into a smurf.

But a very happy, hobbit like smurf!  :)

My First Giveaway.

Come one, come all, come win the most fabulous of fantastical cookware items EVER! :) Okay, so I might be exaggerating a teeny, tiny bit, but I really do LOVE these fabulous items Cookware.com has so graciously donated to moi, to giveaway to you, the reader. :) Can you say, 'yay'?

Again, this site is connected to several others that offer everything from kids beds to sweet wine racks to bar stools and, my favorite, globes. That's right. I said it. I have a thing for globes. Not just any globe, mind you, but the kind you might find in a Beauty and the Beast Library kind of globe. You know, the kind of regal library with books that span floor to ceiling, and you need a ladder on a rolling track to navigate through the room and read the special dewy decimal system?! sigh. THAT is the kind of globe I want. Moving on...

The giveaway includes the three items above in the depicted color (Caribbean Blue). It's such a happy color. I must say, while I do not have the items in Caribbean Blue, I do have them in Flame and use them ALL THE TIME. That is, I did use my small spatula all the time, until Homer ate it. Which is another post entirely. The 9 x 13 dish is fabulous for Ham Loaf, Roasting veggies and Carrot Puff Casseroles for church events. Mine cleans quickly and looks unused after being tested for three years. And, trust me, it has been used. The small spatula is just the right size for scraping gooey pie filling out of a can and into a pan or spreading a mix in tight corners. The spoon spatula. Oh. The spoon spatula. I cannot tell you the love affair I have with this item. It's a rubber scraper and serving spoon in one. GENIUS I tell you. BUT, the best and most fantastical part of these spatulas - the scraper part pulls off the wooden handle for cleaning. This means, the silicone heads can be dropped in the dishwasher on hi-temp wash whilst you hand wash the wooden handle. After the dishwasher is done the two can be re-united in sanitized blissdom. Sigh, and all will be right with the world again. :)


Okay. So. Enough about my creepy love for all things Le Creuset.


The giveaway rules:


1. Leave a comment answering this question: If you could re-paint/decorate your kitchen what would the color be?? (I'm secretly gathering ideas for my dated mauve-counter-topped kitchen...)


2. Leave your email or a way to contact you in the comment as well.


3. If you want another entry, become a fan of emily's eye photography on facebook, then leave me a comment again so I know.


4. If you want another entry, write a blog post linking to this giveaway post, then leave me a comment again so I know.


5. If you want a fourth entry, become a follower of my blog and, wait for it...leave me a comment again so I know. :)


6. The giveaway is open starting now until April 8th at midnight. I will select the winner using random.org and make the announcement promptly (or not so promptly if you know me) the morning of April 9th.


7. If you've stuck with me this long - you are awesome. :)


If you have ANY QUESTIONS, or found a BIG HOLE in my giveaway guidelines, PLEASE TELL ME. I am a giveaway virgin, and don't really know what I'm doing! :)


P to the S - email me at lettersmoving@gmail.com


The end.

Good Gravy...

The blogging community is going to fire me for not following through on promised posts! :) FINALLY here are some of our museum pictures! :) Most of them are SOOC (Straight out of camera) or minimal editing - be warned. But, clearly, I could not wait any longer to share. :)

Mr. Smiles (our buddy from church!) and Cranky Pants McGee (aka Crazyhair Nellie) had a lovely time romping in the cushion-clad play area, and eating the railings.

Isn't he the cutest thing?! Look at the little smirk! ADORABLE.

She was playing Queen of the cushion hill.

She won.

She didn't realize she was playing alone.

But, hey, whatever floats her baby boat.

Again with the cuteness. I'm melting over here. MELTING.

Somber and deep in thought or pooping? You decide.

Cranky pants and Smiles were uncertain about the mobile song team at first. Smiles got down with his bad self though - clapping and dancing. Cranky pants just stared in disbelief. I think she might need to have a nap before trekking to the museum next time.

So we played in water. Water makes everyone happy. :)

And we mowed.

And we fed babies red onions. When tattooed baby (It said ICM in sharpie on the head! Of all places?!) refused shared red onion, Cranky pants took a chunk for herself. We condone the sharing of germs and eating of plastic in our family. :) (note: sarcasm.)

The kiddos are entranced by a waving puppet bear. :)

And this is perhaps my favorite photo of the day. Why? Because if you look closely in the mirror ball you will see two women with cameras. One is Smiles' Momma and one is me. :) We both just might have a slight camera problem.

All in all - a day well spent! :) Hopefully we'll play again soon - and be in a better mood! :)