trouble

Seth's newest discovery: toilet paper.

so busy

Hi!  I'm still alive and I haven't forgotten about blogging.  The month of June has simply been insane, that's all.   I have great ideas stirring for All Things Home posts, yet not enough time or creative juices to get it written down.  


This month has also brought about some new experiences for us.  Seth took his first plane ride to Wisconsin!  We had a great time visiting my mom's side of the family and attending my cousin's wedding.  Seth did fantastic on the plane and was super well behaved while we were there (Whew!  Thank you, Jesus!).

(On the plane!)

(Eating sugar snap peas at Uncle Jed and Aunt Cindy's house)

Good thing too, because we're leaving again in 2 days to go on our 4 day Disney Bahamas Cruise and 4 days in Disney World in Orlando.  I think excited is an understatement!  I've, #1 never been to Florida, #2 never been on a cruise, #3 never been to Disney World ... so this whole trip is bustling with excitement for me!  


Speaking of leaving in only two days ... I have a lot of laundry and packing to do!  I will definitely have lots of pictures and stories to share when I return.

Ta ta!

the next generation cj

seconds

Seth just had his second haircut!  Gotta look good for our Wisconsin clan!

p.s. He also just gave me a zerble (aka raspberry) on my leg!  That's a new discovery for him ... so he kept doing it ... and it tickled.

felt tip pens

Oh, June, you've been a crazy, inconsistent month!  I have not been blogging like I've wanted to so far this month ... and um, can you believe that this month is already halfway over?!  Wow, how time flies.


You know, I so selfishly couldn't wait for Seth to start crawling.  I thought, "As soon as he can crawl, he'll be able to get where he wants to go and will be less dependent on me so I can blog more, do more crafts, clean more ..."  Ha!  Boy was I wrong!  Yes, Seth is now more independent in the way that he can move and wiggle where he pleases, but that also means that he's getting into things that he shouldn't be in which I need to intervene, he usually will bonk his head on some piece of furniture and need my comfort every few minutes, plus he always wants to be crawling to wherever I'm at, involved with whatever I'm doing (which, I have to admit, I think is precious and I really do love!), but depending on what I'm doing, that isn't always too good either.  Oh Lord!


Right now we're in the process of changing our office into another bedroom for a friend who is moving in with us for a few months.  It has caused my home to be a disaster at the moment (I will not be taking pictures to show you ... it's that bad).  I'm actually liking the process of doing it, but when you have a squirmy baby crawling everywhere, getting into everything, it's hard to finish a project.  I'm really looking forward to having our friend move in because she's simply delightful, but also it's causing me to get a head start on our office-cleaning project (remember this post?).  Yep.


Now onto the real reason for this post, which I really should have included in the Month of Discoveries ... felt tip pens: 

They're a rare commodity these days!   I totally forgot about them until I got my hands on one this weekend.  I forgot how much I absolutely love writing with these!  You know how different writing utensils will make your handwriting turn out completely different?  Well I love how felt tip pens write.  So smoooooth.  :)

the shopping mall syndrome

Jack, Seth and I went to the mall yesterday.  Wait.  Let me back up ... we went to the mall yesterday because it was pouring down rain in June.  What is that about?!  Anyway, we went so that Jack and I could pick up a few summer clothing items for our Disney Cruise and Disney World trip in a few weeks.  We have a tight budget with me staying home with Seth, but were hoping to find some good deals and deals we found! Neither one of us shop at Aeropostale much, but Jack saw a shirt he liked in the window, so we went in.  We ended up each buying a few items.  I also ended up getting a pair of capris from American Eagle on clearance too:

The best part?  When you see at the bottom of your receipt, "You saved $78.33"!  Serious.  If Jack and I would have purchased everything we did at regular price, we would have spent almost $200.  I absolutely love the pants I got, but I wouldn't pay $49.50 for them ... I paid $20!  And I love the shirt I got, but I wouldn't have paid $46.99.  Crazy how expensive things are #1, and #2 that some people buy them at those prices.  Just because you have the money to spend doesn't mean that a simple white polo shirt with letters on it should cost almost $50.  Some purchases are just foolish.

Despite all of our amazing finds at great prices, there was one part to our trip to the mall that I didn't like.  It's something that I like to call The Shopping Mall Syndrome.  It's something that I'm pretty sure that everyone experiences, and something that we subject our own selves to when we walk through the doors.  It is the feeling of inadequacy.  You're having a good hair day, your jeans are fitting perfectly, you love the outfit you put on, you're feeling pretty and skinny ... and then you step foot inside the mall.  All of a sudden, your hair looks like a stringy mess (oh why can it never have enough body?!), your jeans are so last season (and my butt looks ridiculously flat in them!), you wonder what the heck you were thinking putting your outfit together (man I look like a really tired stay-at-home mom who doesn't care anymore!), you notice every single flaw your face you possibly hold  (and  it looks like it could use 20 more hours of sleep or 5 hours in a make-up chair ... or both), and you've definitely gained a double muffin top since you left the house in the morning (did that extra glass of orange juice really put me over the top?!).  You walk from store to store, noticing all of the gorgeous things and think to your poor, out-dated and dreary closet back home and immediately feel like you need a complete wardrobe overhaul.  Then of course there is a mirror every 2 feet, another reminder of how bad your hair looks that day and how much you really do need another pair of jeans ...

But the amazing part of The Shopping Mall Syndrome?  It's gone as soon as you get home.  One look in the mirror and you realize that your hair and face really do look somewhat okay ... heck, even better than okay.  Your jeans hug your tush juuuuust right and your husband comments on how much he loves that outfit on you.  I hate The Shopping Mall Syndrome.  Malls are supposed to be a place to solve problems by providing you products that you "need"/want.  Instead, they're the problem! They make you feel that who you are and what you already have are so inadequate that you need to buy all of these clothes, shoes, makeup and perfume to fix the problem you didn't know you had before walking in the doors (ok, I admit I learned part of this from a Marketing class I took in college).  

That's why I'm glad I'm a Christian ... one of the many reasons.  I can go into a mall, experience The Syndrome, and yet not take it seriously.  I don't rack up debt buying stuff I don't need.  And I can rest in the fact that I am more than enough, exactly how Christ made me to be, and exactly how Christ loves me.   

organized

So I have a wonderful idea. I want to start having one post each week be about home things.  Since I am a stay-at-home mom, have a degree in Interior Design, and just love all things home-related, I would enjoy passing on a few nuggets of advice/ideas about all things home (Hum ... I think that's what I might call it: "All Things Home" ... All Things Home Thursdays ... I like it!). Does that sound like a good idea?  It might be a mish-mash of design ideas, cleaning advice, cooking, etc.  I am pretty new at all this stuff, so it might be a little simple, but I hope it'll be fun!


Speaking of all things home ... my home office is a disaster!  Take a peek:

(My box-making supplies)

(Isn't a closet supposed to help organization?!)

(Things stuffed under my desk)

(The top of my desk ... grossness!)

(Even Jack's desk looks better than mine!)

So my mission this summer ... well, one of my many missions this summer ... is to organize our office.  Ugh!  I love organizing and cleaning things up, but this is one project I am not really looking forward to.  I'm thinking about getting rid of my desk and sharing with Jack.  Don't know if that'll work.  I'd also love to get some real closet organizers in there to help me with all of my craft/random stuff so it it's not sprawled out on the floor.  Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have success photos up of a thoroughly organized office.  

Until then ... 

hello june!

Hi Everyone!  It feels like it's been forever since my last blog post!  I genuinely miss it too!  


This past weekend was a blast with my friend Karlee in town.  Karlee and I were roommates while at Bible College in Lima, Peru in 2007 and have stayed really close since that time.  She was even one of my bridesmaids:

(This was right before the ceremony ... Karlee's in the middle)

We had a great time together!  We went shopping, to a few BBQ's, and just hung out with Seth.  She also babysat for a little bit so Jack and I could go go have a Pinkberry date.  I was also able to shower without an antsy baby wanting to get out of the bathroom!  She was so great with Seth and Seth obviously loved having her around.  Her birthday is in June, so we had a mini birthday celebration for her as well!  Here are a few photos from the weekend:

(Cheerios!)

(Karlee and her cake)

(At Tio Momo's house)

(Daddy's shoes)

(Seth loves hammocks!)

(Seth's first time playing at mall playground ... he found a friend!)

(Ha.  He really does love me I promise!)

(Me and Karlee)

(My baby is growing up way too fast!)

On another note, Seth is totally and completely crawling now.  He's even pulling himself up to a stand on furniture, people, toilets, in his crib ... pretty much anything he can.  Boy is he an explorer!