A Day in the Life of......

a ham named TEGAN.

Camera Strap Cover

A while back I made myself a slip cover for my DSLR camera strap. Anyone who has one of those cameras knows that the leather strap is not one of the most comfortable straps in the world. I have LOVED my strap cover and gotten so many compliments on it sooooo I decided to make a few and put them up for sale in my ETSY shop. They are an awesome accessory to add to your camera at a very inexpensive price. I make them reversible so for $10 it's like you are getting two slipcovers for the price of one. You can remove it and throw it in the washer. It just slides right on over your current strap.

Go check them out at Polka Dot Pixie!

The above fabric is my favorite fabric of all time!

a letter to nick jr.

If you are a parent and are forced to watch endless amounts of cartoons to entertain/babysit your child...you totally need to go read THIS!

I laughed so hard b/c she just put lots of my exact thoughts out in to the blog world!

A Cupcake Party

This has to be one of the best birthday parties you can give a 7 year old girl. I have to say...it is for sure one of the cheapest I have ever done. We called it the Cupcake Party and it was a HUGE hit! I did the whole party from start to finish (including making Rylee's outfit) for under $70.00. Not bad for a party where I needed an activity, decorations and lunch.
To start, I went to Hobby Lobby and got the pretty green and pink plates for super cheap and I also was able to purchase 40 clear goody bags for $1.99 total. Then I went to Walmart and got 5 plastic pink and green table covers that were $1.50 a piece. I then started focusing on an activity and decided to let the girls decorate their very own cupcakes. I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and just left them plain. I took whipped vanilla frosting and split it up in little bowls and added food coloring to each so they had different frosting option. Then I had other bowls all along the table with jelly beans, gummy bears, sprinkles, and all different colors of sugar. This kept them occupied for forever. They loved it and surprisingly most of them ate their creations right up!
Here are some of the very simple decorations that I did...


Then I set up a goody bag table. This was a huge hit and cost less than $10 for the whole table. I went to the dollar general and Walmart to gather up some little items and bought candy, pencils, erasers, suckers, silly straws and bubbles. They loved being able to do their own bags.

And then the fun begins! She had a great turn out. I was so afraid only one or two girls would show up but in the end she had 11 girls and one little brother show up! Here is a picture of just some of the girls and her brother...

Singing Happy Birthday to the Birthday girl.

The gift of the day was Rylee's second zhu zhu pet. The girls chased that thing all over the place!Proud of her cupcake!
I made Rylee's outfit (2nd from the right) but I'm not sure whose scarf she is wearing???
We call these girls the Busy Box Four! Rylee, Brynne, Ella and her bestest friend ever Emma. They where all great friends in preschool and even though they all go to different schools, they still go to each others birthday parties and get along great!

A preview of just a few of the final cupcakes!


It was fun and she said it was the best birthday party ever!

Retracting my vent...

well...sort of, atleast for the moment. Last night after putting Tegan and Rylee to bed I was pretty sure that my only option in life was to go jump off a bridge somewhere....it would have to be peaceful at the bottom don't you think. Anyways, after venting on my blog and praying really hard last night the good Lord woke me up this morning with a better attitude and some pretty positive thinking. So as I climbed out of bed to the sounds of Tegan's screams, I put a smile on my face and repeated over and over that this was going to be a good day and Tegan was going to be in a wonderful mood. And he was! Shocking enough he got up, ate all of his breakfast with no crying or food throwing, played ALL BY HIMSELF with his toys while I finished some homework, ate his lunch with no food throwing again and went to bed for his nap and actually went to sleep today! For the past two weeks he has played, talked and screamed from his baby bed during nap time for the whole two hours but not today...he is ASLEEP!!!!

I never once had to put him in his baby bed as punishment this morning although when I got him out of bed this morning I got down to his level and told him to listen to me. I told him to please be a sweet boy for mommy today and just have a fun day playing...and he did. Then at nap time I asked him to please lay down and sleep or else he would be in there all afternoon...and he said "yes mommy, I love you mommy!" and then proceeded to lay down and go to sleep! Who is this kid and can I keep him!!!!

I don't want my venting about parenthood to in any way sound as though I don't realize my blessings. I do, and I thank God everyday that I have the two children that I have on earth and even for the child I have in heaven. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Tegan being spoiled and wild is a direct result of me not caring what he does and just being glad I have him. I let him get away with everything and after he is in trouble he is so sweet and just wants to hug all over me...how can I resist that. It's just some days all I do is yell and scream and throw my own tantrums. But not today...today I have had a great day and got lots accomplished. I hope for a great afternoon and an even better night!

In My Defense...

Wow...it has been one of those weeks. It kind of feels like groundhog day where I keep having the same day over and over. Tegan is for sure proving that the terrible two's are terribly real! Let me give you some background:
Rylee...albeit a sassy little lady she is a good girl. As a baby and toddler she was perfect. Not much crying, never pitched a fit out in public, always sat happily at the table whether at home or in a restaurant, never hit anything, never threw stuff, would sit for at least 30 straight minutes and watch TV...just all around a good CALM child.
Tegan...albeit my baby boy and can melt my heart when he says "I love you mommy" (which he is usually saying while running from a spanking) he is a VERY frustrating little man. He not only is all boy in the terrible two's but he has second child syndrome. You know what I am talking about...where I say if I'd had him first I wouldn't have had another child. He is wild, never never never sits still. He is the kid at the grocery store that throws your food out in the floor and while you are picking up one item, he reaches back and grabs another (clean-up on isle 10). He is the kid that snacks on bread when you go to a restaurant so by the time the appetizer is there, he is full and ready to go and not afraid to let the ENTIRE restaurant know. He has quick hands and grabs at anything he can. He throws things constantly. Hits Rylee all the time for no reason. Has somehow figured out how to climb the baby gates and exercises this new found talent over and over again. He is VERY loud and uses his voice to get what he wants. He NEVER lets TV or any toy entertain him at all ever and NEVER NEVER SITS STILL! An all around WILD CHILD!

To say that I have been frustrated this week would be an understatement. Along with all of life's other little issues, he has worn me down and I just want to throw in the towel. In some ways I have thrown in the towel by just giving him what he wants just to make the screaming stop! Some days I wonder why I ever wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and maybe, just maybe if I got out of the house and went to work then maybe, just maybe I would be a better mother. Maybe, just maybe if I got to take a lunch break everyday all by myself then I would come home refreshed! Being a stay-at-home mommy is not for those who have little patience (which is me) or for those who need more than 3 seconds all to themselves (which is totally me). Of course this doesn't help that Paul works second shift so every single week night it is me doing the cooking, cleaning, Rylee's homework, baths and bedtime all by myself. I am TIRED!

Well to stop me from constantly spanking and yelling at this WILD child, I have found a new way to deal with him. Today is only the first day but so far, it is proving to work. When he frustrates me or does stuff he knows he isn't suppose to I calmly and quietly walk over, pick him up, take him to his room, put him in his baby bed and walk out closing the door behind me. He HATES for his bedroom door to be closed all the way. This is where he stays for 2 to 3 minutes. Sure it doesn't seem like long but remember earlier when I said that I never get 3 seconds alone....that 2 to 3 minutes of listening to him scream from afar is like a freakin vacation! I know, I know...locking your kid in his room is horrible but in my defense, if I don't do it I scream, he doesn't listen and wash, rinse and repeat! So yes...I'm saying it, Had I had Tegan first...I would have never had another child, at least not until he was 18!

Wish Upon a Star...

I wish I was here today....

With these people....
Watching these swim (see the dolphin)...

And just enjoying the view....

A Chair, A Field and A Hay Bale

It is amazing to take pictures. I mean, some times I get pictures that I can't even believe that I took. Back before Christmas I went to a friends house and did about 8 mini photo sessions for lots of different families. There was the one little cutie that stuck out in my mind. He is all boy and all about being outside, which always makes for the very best pictures! Sometimes it just amazes me how the most unlikely places and props can just make a picture. Really...when you drive past a hay field, do you see the opportunity to get an awesome picture? I use to not but now I do! Don't take my word for it....

Yuck Yuck

That is what Tegan says when there is something nasty. Well Yuck Yuck pretty much describes the past week of my life. First Tegan had a bug last week then something totally different has hit Rylee. Saturday night Paul took her to grab something to eat b/c I was feeling a little weak to my stomach. The minute they walked in the door I could tell something was wrong but she hadn't complained to Paul about anything. Well within minutes she was throwing up. That was 7:30 pm Saturday and she continued to throw up through 6:00 am Sunday morning. She went all day Sunday without throwing up but she was really weak and just laid in the bed in and out of sleep all day. Well by Sunday night at 11:30 pm...she was throwing up again. She continued to do so a few more times throughout the night and today has been no different. I have her a dr.'s appt. but they couldn't see her until 5:40 this afternoon!!! I hope she isn't dehydrated but she is so much like me...I can't eat or drink ANYTHING when I feel the slightest bit sick.
As for me....I put my sickness on hold while she was sick and then yesterday when she was free from vomit, I laid in the bed fighting mine off. I'm a warrior (ha!) b/c it doesn't matter how sick I feel, I WILL NOT give in and let myself throw up. Unfortunately this results in me feeling awful for a lot longer than I probably would if I would just throw up. So I slept most of yesterday and today I feel like a new person. Hopefully that was it for me. I don't think she has the same thing as Tegan b/c his lasted a few hours and then he was back to normal but not her. Hopefully Paul will stay free from it. I have been cleaning, washing sheets and disinfecting my house all day so maybe that will help to free us from this dang bug!

Cupcake Anyone...

So MUCH FUN!

More pictures to come soon!

Haiti

Tonight Rylee tells me that today she didn't go to school...I was confused as normal and asked her where she went. She tells me that in her mind she became a super hero and went to Haiti to give water to the poor children there (poor meaning...sad, not poor).

I keep watching the pictures flash across the news and see the faces of the children and even the adults that hit me hard. One thing that I was watching tonight was talking about how the orphans have been left to take care of themselves. Some are just babies but yet have no one to take care of them. They were talking about how even though these children were not hurt that they were at the most risk for death and disease b/c there is no one to care for them or find them food and water. WOW!!! I mean really...could you imagine your two year old child wondering the streets among dead bodies and collapsed buildings???

Over at 4 little men and girly twins she is offering you a chance to help. All you have to do is leave a comment and pray! Just click the highlighted words in the previous sentence. Money is a huge deal and is greatly needed to help these people but Prayer...prayer is a powerful thing. Will you say a prayer for the earthquake victims, the hurt, the homeless, the orphaned and the ones who lost their families???

Tulips

On Ry's birthday I took Tegan to Ingles and he got her some flowers and balloons. I plan to do this every year in hopes that when I am long gone, he will still think about his sister on her birthday and send her flowers. Paul doesn't like to buy flowers b/c he says they just die but I on the other hand LOVE to get flowers so I want Tegan to learn that the point in flowers is to make the person feel special in that moment. Needless to say...SHE LOVED THEM!

Party numero uno...

Rylee is taking after her Aunt Amy...she is celebrating her birthday for a solid week! It started last Saturday, 2 days before her birthday and will continue until this Saturday.
Me and my much younger older sister had our kids (her fourth and my first) 3 days apart in January of 03. Well we have always worked it out to do one party one weekend and one the next but this go around we decided to just do one big family party and split the cost. Made it much cheaper for us:)
On Monday it was Rylee's actual Birthday and she wanted cheese fries from Outback. I was happy to oblige her with her request so we headed there to celebrate.
This coming Saturday we have planned a "friends" party. Apparently at age seven it isn't cool to have your family and friends party together...who knew! So I have been preparing a very economical but pretty and fun party for her this Saturday. So far she has eight little friends coming so hopefully we will have a good turn out. She is super excited and I can't wait to post pictures for you guys.
Here are some pictures from Birthday party number one...

The birthday Queen and King!

Let's have some homemade cake...compliments of Nanny!

Just give me my sucker and you can keep the presents.

FINALLY a Zhu Zhu Pet!!! (

Zach loves silly putty!

All the kids (minus the three babies) at the bday party. One from Paul's side of the family and the rest from mine! Apparently we are in a race to repopulate the world:)

These two are trouble...especially together!