celebrating

This weekend we celebrated Seth's 5th and Olivia's 3rd birthdays.  I still cannot believe they're as old as they are!  When did this happen???  I remember when I first had Seth that many people told me to cherish each moment because it goes by way too fast, and boy were they right!  I know my kids are still babies, but these last five years have flown by!  Seth is now in school every day, learning to read and teaching me things, reminding me of the promises of God and amazing us with his creativity and sharpness.  Olivia is now capable of doing almost everything on her own - from brushing her teeth to putting on clothes - and is able to sing every word of the Doc McStuffins opener song, as well as almost any other song.  She fills our house with comedy.  Such a sweet girl. I can't wait to see where they're going to be next year!  ... Except that I want them to stay babies forever.  I tell them that on occasion and they each reply, "Mom you'd have to talk to Jesus about that." ;)

Here are some highlights from our family celebration.  They had a great time with their cousins, aunts, uncle and grandparents (and Rudy!).  It was such a fantastic time together.  The kids had a blast and were overwhelmingly blessed.

Starting the party out right: party hat, super hero mask, pizza and (per his request) star-shaped watermelon!

Super Olivia!

Presents!

Papa and Auntie Carlee bringing out Olivia's dollhouse 

Olivia seeing the dollhouse for the first time.  She was mesmerized!

Seth got the Super Mario Maker Wii game he's been wanting.  He was so excited!

Olivia already playing with her GIGANTIC dollhouse.

Each year, I let the kids pick what kind of cake they want.  This year, Seth's chose: blue velvet cake with blue frosting, sprinkles and balloon candles.

Olivia's choice: strawberry cake, pink frosting, pink wafer cookies and a pink "3" candle.  It was SO HOT on party day that Seth's frosting was dripping and Olivia's cake crater-ed and all the wafers split open, creating this rather awesome flower-looking effect.

It took Olivia quite a few tries, but she finally got the candle blown out.

Blew out all the candles!

The kids decided they wanted a piñata this year.  Olivia was a rather dainty hitter, but she got a few good smacks in.

Seth nailed it quite a few times too!  Ultimately, their cousin, Naya, whacked it open.  (All of their piñata candy is conveniently hidden away already.)

Bounce house time with Naya, Bella and Seth.

after awhile

Well it's been forever!  I've been having a building desire to update and start using this blog again, so I did just that.  As I was looking back through old posts (mainly of Seth), I noticed how special it was that I was recording and sharing all the little things that Seth was into at the time.  What great things to look back on, especially as they grow.  So I'd like to do just that, with all three kids.  

Seth
He's two weeks away from being 5 years old.  5 years old!  I can barely believe it!  Right now he's in transitional kindergarten (TK), which is basic kindergarten, Monday-Friday, but ends just before lunchtime.  He's been flourishing and is already learning sight words and letter sounds.  His best friend, Tony, is in his class and they are inseparable.  They were in two years of preschool together and he lives down the street from us.  They're like brothers.  Seth's creativity is still growing.  Every day he's making me color-by-numbers and hidden pictures (and asking me to make him ones).  He loves activity books with games like those and connect the dots, matching games, etc.  He also love stickers.  We could never have enough stickers!  I even found blank sticker-backed paper so that he could draw his own stickers and cut them out.  He was thrilled.  

Olivia
Five more days until this one is 3!  The fact that she's 3 blows my mind the most.  I still view her as my baby even though she's the middle child.  She has grown leaps in bounds in her linguistic skills.  Her ability to understand and then communicate in clear words and sentences has grown a ton.  She loves animals, especially dogs and dinosaurs, and loves to cart little stuffed dogs or plastic dinosaurs everywhere we go.  She also loves ballet and frequently goes into her room, pulls out her ballet leotard and asks to put it on.  She also loves TV.  She could watch it all day if I let her!  She especially loves Daniel Tiger, Clifford and Doc McStuffins.  When we have play dates or go to the park, she loves playing with Seth's friends and kids his age more than anyone her own age.  She's our little comedian.  She can get all of us laughing so hard!  Just her silly words, stories, facial expressions and noises.  

Cora
Baby girl is 6 months old already!  I can't believe how fast time has gone.  Just today I caught her in "plank" position, getting ready to crawl.  She's also viciously teething.  She has been such a mellow, smiley, go-with-the-flow baby so far, but the last two days she has been crankier than normal!  No tooth yet, but I feel a bump on her gums!  She is absolutely refusing baby food, but loves to gnaw on peeled cucumbers.  She love love loves attention from anyone and everyone and will flash her deep-dimpled smile in return.  She especially loves Seth.  They just have such a wonderful relationship.  He can get her to giggle like no one else.  He even said to me the other day that he wants to marry her.  How precious!  

I feel so blessed to have each of my children.  I love watching them grow and learn and love.

cora's birth story

On Friday, March 6, I began feeling contractions around 9pm. They were very minor, feeling more like cramping than anything and not painful at all. I began tracking them anyway, and by 1am when they were still coming, I decided to call my mom. She had a two hour drive ahead of her and even though these contractions weren't painful and not very consistent, I decided it would be better to call her earlier than later. After answering my call, my mom hopped in the car and got here in an hour and a half ... Record time! Unfortunately, by the time she got here, what I thought were contractions had completely stopped. So we all just went to bed for the rest of the night. 

The next day (Saturday), we were all eagerly waiting for the contractions to come back. They didn't. But we decided having my mom stay until baby came was the best option, rather than have her drive all the way home and have to come all the way back on the drop of a hat. So Jack, my mom and I spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday doing projects around the house, taking walks and spending time with the kids at home and at the park. It was actually a very productive and yet relaxing and fun few days.

On Tuesday, I had a prenatal checkup and asked for Maria to see if I was dilated since I had so many hours of contractions on Friday. She checked and I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced! That's practically halfway through labor without really ever being in labor! She reminded us that when the time came, it was going to happen quickly, so to be prepared. That night, Jack, my mom and I played Scrabble after we put the kids in bed, and decided to pause the game for the next day when we noticed it was getting late (I was in the lead!  JETTED - 62 points!). I was especially exhausted that night. Around 3am on Wednesday morning (March 11), I was in the middle of having a dream. In my dream I was using the bathroom, when I suddenly woke up and found that my pants were slightly wet. I thought, "Did I seriously just dream I was peeing and then I actually peed my pants?!" So I got up to use the bathroom, noticing my mom was awake on the couch (she had a few nights she had trouble sleeping). I went to the bathroom and felt the need to sit and wait a minute, then feeling a gush of fluid come out. Did my water just break?! When I wiped, I noticed a tinge of blood and realized that it was starting. So I quietly called my mom’s name. She came right away and I told her the situation and to call Carlee, my sister-in-law, to come to the house to watch the kids. She did so while I was figuring out what to  do to get myself back to my room for a change of clothes and to wake up Jack. 

Jack excitedly got out of bed when I told him the situation and we all started getting things together (changing clothes, zipping up our suitcases, eating a few snacks and measuring my contractions). Up until this point I had no contractions. Nothing. The ones I had the previous Friday were barely anything ... Not even painful, barely noticeable ... But as soon as I got back to my room after having my water break, they were starting and these were DEFINITELY contractions. They were much more intense, but I could still talk and move through them. But since we knew I was so far dilated, and the hospital was a 20 minute drive, we knew we needed to get to the hospital soon. 

Carlee got to our house around 3:45am and we left shortly after. On the drive there I could still talk through the contractions, but they were coming closer together and were much more intense. We pulled up to El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos and had to enter through the ER. I needed to sit in the car through a contraction and then walked inside. They wheeled me down to the Women's Hospital where we met Lin, my midwife. She measured me and I was 6cm dilated. To be honest, I was a little disappointed to be only 6cm. I thought for some reason I'd be further along than that. I soon got the chills really badly, and needed Jack and my mom to hold my legs still while I was on the bed in the labor and delivery room because I was shivering so badly. Though I thought my water had broken at home, the bag was still in tact when Lin checked. She said the top of the sac might have broken at home, but the bottom was still full of fluid. I asked her to break the rest of my water to get things really moving.  Once she did, she recommended I go in for a hot shower to warm me up while I labored for a bit.  I loved it in there.  Jack was holding my hand while my mom reminded me to breathe through the contractions and Lin brought in candles and rubbed lavender oil on my belly and arm.  All very relaxing.  A this point the contractions were very intense and I had to mentally remind myself to relax my body through them.  It’s really a time of such intensity.  A few thoughts I had running through my head during this time:

• I remember telling Jack that we weren’t going to have any more children
• I was singing “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, theres just something about that name.  Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain.  Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, there’s just something about that Name.”
• The words of my friend, Julie Alvarez (who had, a week prior, had her third baby), running through my head, “You have more time without a contraction than with a contraction …” and other things about contractions that she had experienced.
• Visualizing the baby actually moving down through the birth canal with each contraction and the more I relaxed, the more she would move down

After about 30 minutes in the shower, I really felt the urge to push.  I kept telling Lin I wanted to push and she encouraged me to wait through one or two more contractions.  When I told her after another contraction that the urge to push was strong, she told me, “You know your body better than I do.  If you want to push, push.”  At the end of that contraction, my body naturally pushed a little bit, so I asked to get out of the shower and I was getting really warm anyway.  On the way to the bed, I looked up and saw the hospital wrist bands for the baby laying on the table on the side of the bed.  I remember from my birth with Seth that when the nurse gets the baby’s wristbands ready that means that delivery time is near, so that little peek really encouraged me that I was almost there.  I had another contraction come just before I got to the bed, so I braced myself with my arms at the end of the bed and ended up pushing through the whole contraction.  My body didn’t want to stop pushing.  I felt Lin checking my cervix and then yelled out toward the hallway, “Elizabeth, we’re going to have a baby!” (Elizabeth was the nurse).  I was still standing on the side of the bed, leaning over onto my elbows and found my mom’s fingers in my hands.  Lin gently asked if I wanted to sit on the bed but I wanted to stay right where I was.  She was massaging my lower back as another contraction came.  I pushed through that whole contraction too (and apparently was squeezing my mom’s fingers SO incredibly hard!).  And this time I felt as though half the baby was out.  I just kept pushing even though the contraction was over and sure enough, little Cora Belle Osorno was born at 5:39am on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 (on my Grandpa Hull's birthday ... he would have been 85)!  Both Jack and Lin were on the floor, catching her as she came out.  Then Lin passed her to me through my legs and instructed me to turn and sit on the bed.  It was in that moment that I realized what this was all about.  So crazy, especially after having three children, that I forget the immense joy that comes after laboring.  I know, after 9 months with her in my belly, feeling her move and listening to her heartbeat at each checkup appointment, that I have a baby in my tummy, but until I actually saw her face and held her in my arms, it’s almost surreal.  

I had no issues with excessive bleeding, like I did with Olivia.  And my recovery has been the best out of all three kids.  All glory belongs to the Lord.  I give Him all the honor.

But what really astonishes me from this whole thing, is the thought that, if it were up to me and Jack, Cora wouldn’t be here right now.  She wouldn’t be here at all.  Ever. Because of the fear we experienced in my delivery with Olivia and my uncontrolled bleeding and the chances of it happening again with more children … we decided we were done having more biological children and instead were pursuing adoption.  It was FEAR that was going to keep us from more abundant LIFE.  It was FEAR that was going to keep us from BLESSING.  It was FEAR that was going to keep someone else from loving God and bringing HIM GLORY.  I praise the Lord for the “oops” of becoming pregnant with Cora.  Already in her 5 little days of being born has she brought so much joy to our family and I imagine so much joy to her Heavenly Father.

healed

Body image.  

This is a topic that's been stirring in my heart for a long time now.  Dealing with it, sorting through it, seeing it in a new light and understanding it the way I should.  I decided to finally write it all down, start to finish.  It might be a little too personal, but I know it's something about 99.9% of us deal with, so I know it'll be beneficial to someone.

.. .. ..

From a very young age I was self-conscious about my chubby cheeks.  Everyone told me they loved them.  I suppose they meant it as a compliment, but the fact that it was constantly brought up, I became very aware of the fact that I had chubby cheeks.  So I'd suck them in.  It became so second nature to suck in my cheeks, I didn't even have to think about it.  I was probably around 5 or 6 years old. 

Then in 1st grade, as part of an initiative to teach children how to eat right, we were taught how to look at the nutritional fact labels on all of our food and analyze whether that was a healthy food or not.  So, as soon as I was able to read, I read the fat grams in every single thing I ate.  And if that was a big number, I wouldn't bring it close to my mouth.  Everyone said fat was such a bad thing.

I also had a brother, 4 years younger than I, who loved to get a rise out of me by calling me fat.  To him, it was a game.  He loved to taunt me and get me going.  From an early age, he knew he could do that by using that ugly three-letter word: fat.  As a young girl in elementary school, I couldn't see that.   All I heard was that word, associated with me, again and again.  

Probably the biggest influence on my body-image insecurities was my own mother. (Please don't get me wrong - I LOVE my mom.  We have a great relationship, and for most of my childhood and adult life have.  This is not a dis on my mom, merely a fact of my life.)  She herself is extremely self-conscious of her body.  For as long as I can remember, I can hear her voice saying, "I'll tell anyone my age, but never ask me how much I weigh!".  She'd constantly be putting herself down in the mirror as she stared at her own body right in front of me.  I would watch her bounce back and forth between so many weird eating habits: not eating at all during the day and then eat a huge dinner and a big bowl of popcorn with us kids at night; counting calories; trying to stay on a healthy meal plan, lasting a few months or even a year or two, etc.  She'd tell me stories of her own youth, having one older sister, known as "the thin one"and my mom therefore being known as the not-thin one.  It was obvious that she had been crushed as a child in her own body image view, and she was still hurting because of it.  She made it a point to do exactly the opposite of what had been done or said to her, so probably millions of times over my life, she had told me how beautiful I was.  Her motive was right, but the effect left me very aware of my outward appearance from a very young age.

Never in my life have I been overweight or considered fat (except for those chubby cheeks of mine).  I was never fat, but I was also never thin.  I was the regular size.  But I always managed to have friends who were extra skinny, so of course around them I felt fat.  I was pretty active growing up: being a figure skater since age 3, also being in dance classes, playing soccer and running around the neighborhood with my brother and our friends.  I was in shape the majority of my life, even through high school.  I remember, however, the first time I ever thought of going on a diet was in 5th grade.  It never really stuck, but the thought of going on a diet came and went through my middle school years.  I'd try for a day, if I even made it that far.  Looking back, I really feel as though the Lord protected me and my mind during that time.  I'd get so totally aware of my body and so focused on wanting to look thinner, that I'd set up all these rules for myself (yes, in 5th grade!), and then as soon as my mom made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, I just couldn't stick to those rules anymore. I mean, it's GARLIC BREAD!  I couldn't refuse.  And then I had a moment of clarity and realized how silly it was to go on a diet when I really and truly wasn't even fat.  So I'd eat my garlic bread and be happy and the thought wouldn't cross my mind again until months or years again down the road.

Then came high school.  By this time I was actively training as a figure skater, excelling in my P.E. and weight training classes in school.  I even won the "Best Female Athlete" award for my weight training class that semester.  Though I wasn't stick thin, I had very little cellulite on my body.  I can only remember spots of time during high school that the subject of fatness ever came up as an issue for me.  Though few, they were extremely low times for me.  Depressing times, and one time even suicidal.  They were only thoughts, however, and yet again I see how the Spirit of God abiding within me protected me from those thoughts and temptations from turning into anything more than that.  I was able to recognize at the time that it was the enemy feeding me those thoughts and to not listen to them any more.  

After high school I landed a job at a local health club at the front desk.  A perk of the job was a free membership at the gym.  I had never worked out at a gym before and was rather nervous, not knowing how to use the equipment.  It took me almost a year of working there, watching how the members used the machines and free weights, before I finally went in to work out for the first time.  And I fell in love!  I actually enjoyed working out.  During that time, my coworkers became some of my closest friends, as well as some of the members of the gym, so I found myself there quite a lot.  If I wasn't working, I was working out and socializing.  As most people do in their early 20's, their bodies change and mature.  I became thinner and fitter, the bone structure in my face became more pronounced and my chubby cheeks sunk in a bit.  I was probably in the best shape of my life during the time I worked there.  Being in that environment, I also became more aware of other people's eating habits, so my sensitivity toward food became even more elevated.  At one point in time, I knocked absolutely all white food products out of my diet: no salt, no sugar, no flour, and no dairy.  Did it make me thin?  Of course!  But I was also freezing cold all of the time, and dropped into my bed at 9pm every night because I was so exhausted.  The thing about diets and exercising to be thin is that I was never thin enough.  Though my frame was smaller and the number on the scale was dropping, it was never good enough.  I was always comparing myself to my extra skinny friends, and I was never able to get to their size.  I can't tell you the amount of torture and constant pressure I would put on myself over the things I ate or the amount I exercised.  If I didn't go run in the morning, it seriously would disrupt me mentally for the rest of the day.  If I had too much sugar or fatty foods, I would drop into a slump.

Praise the Lord that during my entire life, despite how aware I had been made of my body image, I never had an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia.  It never got there, even though the thought of not eating for a few days crossed my mind on more than one occasion.  But I would consider my many years worth battle with food, exercise and body image an eating disorder for sure.  It consumed me.  I wouldn't be even halfway through a meal before I was thinking about what I'd have for the next meal.  Food, though I hated it, consumed me.  My physical body and the shape it took, consumed me.  The way others looked at me and what they said about me, consumed me.  It was what I thought of at all times.  Just because I never looked fat to many people - just because I might have a faster metabolism - doesn't mean it wasn't a real battle for me, because it most certainly was.

Was.  

When I got married to Jack in 2009, something changed in me.  The Lord healed me from all of this.  It was like God cleared my mind and gave me His view of my body.  His view of food.  His view of exercise.  And I was freed!  

I had been given a husband who absolutely adored me just how I was.  He was very meaningful in his words, telling me how beautiful he found me and how attracted he was to me.  His words had substance, and they hit me straight to my heart.  I felt so loved outside as much as inside.  He was truly showing me the way Christ felt about me, His precious creation.  And during devotions one day, I came across the verse, "...You are fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).  I all of a sudden understood this verse in a totally different way: not only was I made by God for a purpose, but Got HAND-CRAFTED me to look the way I do!  I imagined a man with wood and his carving tools, so delicately and carefully thinking about what part to sand down and which part to chisel away.  He put so much thought and diligent planning intricacies to make ME.  Who am I to criticize the Maker of this universe and His handiwork?!  It was like God opened my eyes to see my body the way He does: He loves it because He made it that way.  

During this time, I had read a book called The Makers Diet, discussing all of the benefits to the diet that God gave His people in the Old Testament*, followed by correlating meal plans.  I remember reading through one of these meal plans and on it was 1 whole hardboiled egg - yolk and all.  I didn't even remember the last time I ate an egg yolk!  Weren't those supposed to be filled with fat and cholesterol???  And then I had another moment of revelation: God gave us food to nourish our bodies.  Period.  It's that simple!  Yes, it's a bonus that He's made food so delicious, and it should be enjoyed as such, but the root of it all: food is meant to nourish.  I suddenly started looking at food in a different light.  I was so darn tired of being cold all the time, so I started eating things like the yolk in with the egg whites and putting butter on my toast and eating red meats more often.  I was so free!  (And warmer!)  I finally understood: fat it GOOD for you!  I need fat!  God declared cows healthy to eat? What?!  I thought red meat was bad for you???  I realized so much of what the world was saying about what was supposed to be good for me didn't always correlate with what God says was good for me.  And I wanted to follow God all the way.

When we first found out we were pregnant with Olivia, I knew she was going to be a girl.  And I knew that this trend of passing on body image insecurities had to end here.  I have made it a mission to never talk bad about my body or put my looks down in front of my daughter.  Ever.  In fact, it's my desire to minimize the amount of body talk at all - good or bad.  Though we are to take care of them and keep them healthy, they're just bodies.  I want my daughter's main concern to be her soul.  My prayer and desire of her is that she have such a sweet spirit, one of obedience, humility, kindness and generosity.  Her body just holds all of that in.  I don't want to be ignorant of the many worldly bombarding ideas and images that she will see, no matter how I might want to protect her from it all.  I'm going to talk to her about it.  I want her to come to me with her own issues.  It's not going to be a taboo subject in our house, but I want to teach her where body image concerns should be in the grande scheme of eternity.  Most importantly, I want to lead her to that place by example.  Just as I watched my mother look at herself in disgust in the mirror, I hope and pray Olivia will see me rejoice that God has given me a healthy body and that's it.   

I'm at such a healthy place now.  I have freedom in what I eat.  Yes, I eat egg yolks and ham and brownies.  I also eat kale and sweet potatoes and broccoli.  I eat certain foods, not because I like them, but because I know they're good for me and that's just being responsible for the body God gave me.  I eat not-so-healthy foods because I have freedom to do so, and God-given self-control to eat them in small amounts.  I am not obsessed with the number on the scale, because it doesn't matter.  I run almost every day, but if I'm too tired to get up, that's ok.  I exercise to keep my muscles strong and my heart healthy, not to burn calories and be a supermodel.  I want to run with my kids at the park and wrestle with them on the couch, not just watch them grow up from the sidelines.  I'm okay buying clothes in the next size up because it just looks better on me and feels more comfortable.  Sure, I might not look as thin as I did when I was in my early 20's, but I sure feel a whole lot better - physically as well as mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Thank you, Jesus, for healing me!  It's truly by Your power alone that I can leave that burden behind.

*Side Note: Yes, I know that we are no longer under the Law of the Old Testament.  At that time, God demanded that His people eat the way He laid out in the book of Leviticus to keep them pure.  We're not under that Law anymore, we're free in Christ from any law, and we're free to eat anything we want!  BUT, the diet God directed the Hebrew people to eat was and still is the most healthy diet for our bodies.  God designed our bodies, He should know what's best for us to put in them!

childlike faith

Seth has been having issues recently with bad dreams and thought (mainly of monsters).  Literally they have been tormenting his thoughts.  While on a walk last week, he looked up at me from the stroller and said, "Mama I can't stop thinking about monsters.  They won't go away."  So I stopped and we prayed for protection from the bad thoughts.  And we talked about how important it is to be careful about the things we put in front of our eyes and ears. Then we kept walking and a few minutes later, almost on the brink of tears, he says, "Mama the monsters are still there!"  So we stopped again.  I prayed silently, not knowing what to do, but knowing that Seth is God's child, and that the spirit of fear has no place in him or our family.  Then I asked Seth, "Seth, do you want to ask Jesus into your head?  Invite Him in and He will come and He will fight the monsters for you."  He eagerly said yes and prayed with me.  A few more minutes went by on our walk and he yells out joyfully, "The monsters are gone!!!" :)  Since that day, Seth has not had another bad dream or thought of monsters like he did before.  AND every few days he wakes up and tells me about a dream he has had about Jesus.  Last night's dream was about Jesus being on the TV, telling Seth to "open the door."  Our God is so faithful to hear us, protect us (even from monsters!), and guide us at ANY AGE.

darling shoes

I found a great new clothing and shoe line for little girls called Zara.  Look at these shoes I just got her:

Adorable, right?!  I love them!  On Sunday, I dressed her all up so she could wear her new shoes.  Yellow dress, white sweater, brown sandals ...

Apparently the memo got out, because Olivia's little friend, Selah, was wearing the exact same combo!

project: doorway puppet stage

I had come across this idea on Pinterest I don't know how long ago.  I thought it was rather clever, and finally gave it a try.  Using a tension rod and some scrap fabric, I made the kids a little puppet stage/playhouse:

I made it to look like a house, complete with a roof, chimney, blue sky, tree and flower garden.  I'm really rather proud of it, especially since I did it all in one evening, and it only cost me $3.59 for the tension rod (which Google Shopping Express dropped off for me that day!).  

I was so excited to show it to the kids the next day.  Olivia cried when I put it up in her doorway and Seth thought it was cool to run through.  Not the reactions I was hoping for.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll bring it out again in another year when they can find something cool to use it for. :)

project: monogram flower wreath

I have been trying to clear out my craft closet lately and came across a few leftover fake flowers and butterflies from the kids birthday party last year.  I decided to make a little monogram wreath to hang on Olivia's bedroom door:

I love how it turned out and so does Olivia. She still points to it every time she goes in her room.  I purchased a paper mache letter "O" and hot-glued the flower blooms and butterflies right on top.  Super simple, and super cute.  Once I made it, Seth asked if I could make one for him.  :)  

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

A few random topics happening in our household: 

1) We had a couple of moms and their kids from church come over today for a play date.  Seth has become really good friends with one little girl, Mikaela, who's a year older than him.  They adore each other and get a long really well.  Today, they were playing in Seth's room when I heard Seth yelling and crying.  I got up and went to go see what was going on.  In between the tears he says, "I don't want to be married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  Hahahahahahahaha!  I asked Mikaela if they were pretending that they were married and she said yes.  Obviously this little boy is not ready for that type of commitment.  It gave me a chuckle.

2)  Speaking of Seth, he is OBSESSED with puzzles right now.  It started a little over a month ago, and we've been progressively buying him more and more puzzles.  He's at the point now where he's doing 60-piece puzzles in under 10 minutes.  I think we need to get him some more challenging ones.  My smart boy!

3)  Bedtime is not the favorite time of day with our children (as I'm sure is the case in many households).  Brushing teeth is especially not their favorite time ... because they want to brush their teeth themselves.  Usually I'm glad to hand off responsibilities to them as they become more independent, but they don't technically brush their teeth.  They just suck off the flouride-free toothpaste from their toothbrushes and call it a day.  In an effort to brush their teeth more effectively, we've found that them laying on the ground while I brush makes it much more fun (Why?!?!?!?! I have no idea.).  Here's me trying to do both at the same time.  It's much like trying to tap your head with one hand and rub your belly with the other ... it takes a lot of coordination.

4)  I leave you with a picture of my little lady and I.  Have a wonderful day!

little girl's first haircut!

Little Miss Olivia got her first trim today!  We took Seth in to get his hair cut and hers was looking rather scraggly as well, so we had her ends trimmed a little.  I didn't realize how much of a control freak I was until the lady was trying to give her bangs and a bowl cut.  Bangs might have looked cute, but I was not ready to commit to them yet before seeing more of her hair grow in.  So I asked her to just trim the back so it's all straight.  It was barely anything, but I can tell!  Olivia started freaking out when I put her in the seat, but then they gave her a sucker and she did fine after that.  Our little girl is growing up so fast!

project: valentine's class gift

Next to Christmas, Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday.  I don't know what it is about it, but I just love it!!  Pink, hearts, flowers, ... kindness ... It's just a really cute holiday.

Since this is Seth's first year in "school," I knew they'd have a Valentine's Day party.  At first I wasn't going to get any Valentine's for him to pass out, just for the sake of saving a few dollars.  But the craftiness inside me couldn't resist doing something!  After getting a bag of polished decorative rocks for free off of Craigslist, this is what we came up with: 

Using supplies we already had at home, Seth helped me paint all of the rocks and, after letting them dry, he helped me decoupage tissue paper hearts on top.  Super cute, and totally free!  Then, to give them to his classmates, we dropped two rocks into a little bag (that we already had), tied them up and attached a note that reads, "You rock!  Love, Seth" on the back.

Happy Valentine's Day!

the newest member of our family

Meet Tube:

He's the newest member to our family and our first family pet! He's a blue/green beta fish and hand picked by us as a family. Seth was the one to name him (he's slightly obsessed with tubes at the moment ... Any kind of tubes). That funny looking green fuzzy ball behind Tube is a living ball of moss. It eats fish poop and will eventually grow bigger and naturally break into two pieces to become two little balls of moss. How cool! Of course, I had to get a cute polka-dotted bowl. ;)

Welcome to the family, Tube! Here's to a (hopefully) long life together!

snow day

In an attempt to be like the rest of the country, I thought it would be nice for my children to experience "snow".  My aunt and uncle from Wisconsin sent us some fake snow (add water and it magically expands into a snowy powder!), so I unnecessarily bundled up my children to go play in the snow in the backyard.  It's 61 degrees here.  Hahahahaha.  They absolutely loved it.

merry christmas!

It is the best day of the year.  The day we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World.

Merry Christmas from us to you!

project: photo tile coasters

As a Christmas gift for one of my dear friends, Julie, I made coasters with photos of our kids on them.  Julie was my first "mom" friend.  We had our boys together (10 days apart) and our girls together (both named Olivia Rose, born 2 months apart).  It's been a blessing being her friend, having someone to consult with when our kids are doing weird things and someone who will pray for me and I for her.  We've been getting together for play dates since our boys were still in our tummy's! It's been amazing seeing our children grow up with each other, so to remember our time so far as friends, I made a set of coasters with pictures of our kids on them.  Starting from the time Seth and Goyo were babies, all the way to present.  I loved how they turned out.  Here are two of my favorites:

I originally found a tutorial on Pinterest, but to make them my own I decided to cut the pictures up a bit to make them more interesting.  The only materials you need are $0.16 white tiles, a photo of your choice, Mod Podge and felt (for the bottom of the coasters).  I attached the photos with Mod Podge and coated them with two additional layers of Mod Podge to protect them.  Then I hot glued flannel fabric to the back to avoid scratching table surfaces (I already had soft flannel, but using felt is good too).  So simple and a great, personal gift!

project: their master bedroom

Another room completed at my brother- and sister-in-law's house!  This time it was their master bedroom.  I can't even tell you how much fun I'm having doing this for them.  They have given me what every designer's dream is: money and free-reign.  I honestly and sincerely feel so blessed to be trusted like this and given the opportunity to do this.  What a personal and intimate thing to be doing - decorating the rooms that other people will live their lives out in; Things they will see and use every day. The design of the space you're in really does affect your attitude, whether we notice it or not.  I hope that I'm giving to them something that brings them comfort and joy and peace as they come home to rest in the place that is their getaway from the world.

BEFORE: Entry way

AFTER: Entry way

BEFORE: Hallway

AFTER: Hallway

BEFORE: Windows

AFTER: Windows 

BEFORE: Bed

AFTER: Bed

BEFORE: Desk

AFTER: Desk

BEFORE: Office space

AFTER: Office space

BEFORE: Office space

AFTER: Office space

I love it.