Happy Birthday Piper!

You are my sunshine


My only sunshine


You make me happy


When skies are grey


You'll never know dear


How much I love you


And I love you more


Everyday

Happy Birthday my sweet Bug!!!

Miniswap

I've decided to participate in my first swap and I am so excited. It's a wonderful idea created by Molly and we will be swapping things to make the cold rainy dreary days of winter a little bit warmer. What's great about this swap is that involves our children. Everything we send will be homemade witht the help of the bug and the bird. I already have a list going in my head that I need to get down on paper so that I don't forget anything.

In other news, Piper's birthday party in on Saturday but is in jepordy of being cancelled due to a 103.5 fever that sprouted up Wednesday night/Very early Thursday morning. Poor girl, no other symptoms so we'll have to see how she does today to determine the fate of the party that I have already spent a good chunk of change on (how nice to end in a preposition)
(well not anymore).

Oh and Finley fell down the stairs on Sunday. The whole flight of stairs. She busted he lip and that's it, not another scratch on her but I was on concussion watch the whole rest of the day and night.

busy bee

I've been busy the past few days with some sewing projects. I am not 100% satisfied with the results, but they are wearable and I am proud of them.

This is a skirt made from a pair of jeans. The waist still fit Piper but the legs were way short. The inset is a vintage tablecloth

Front


Back


This is a pair of cropped pants made from a vintage tablecloth.

Front


Back


Both of these projects were fairly easy and only took a max of a couple hours, less if you were to be left alone and uninterrupted but who lives like that?

Eat sand

It was 82 here on Monday so the girls and I decided that we needed some color on our cheeks and so we drove the whole 5 minutes to the BEACH!!! WooHoo.

Finley relaxing in her beach chair. She was asking me, "Hey Mom, do you think if I put lemon juice in my hair that is would turn it blonde?"



Piper has mastered the "take my picture already, I'm am so over this."



There were never better sisters

Date Nite

Tonight was date nite for me and jason and especially because he had been gone all of last week, we decided to go somewhere for a quiet dinner and there aren't really any movies that we feel like wasting money or, more importantly, time on, Jason hada plan of his own for what we were going to do after dinner.

So, we're driving and he takes me to this gazebo that is at the end of a dock overlooking the Banana River that just so happens to be at a hospital. This place has great significance for us as a couple. Jason used to come to this place before we started dating to gain inspiration for his life and his goals.

Then when we started dating, a few date into our relationship, he took me here to "come clean" about all the questionable things he had done in his past, his "skeletons in the closet." He didn't want to get to deep into a relationship with me only to have it unravel when I found out things he had done (that weren't really all that bad anyway).

The next time he took me to this special place was the night that he proposed. I thought when we got there that that was the place that he was going to propose and when he didn't I was kinda upset, actually I was disappointed and mad at him and sulked and pouted (which I am quite good at doing) all the way through dinner. He did porpose and it was beautiful...on my parents' dock lit with torches over the river in the summer with the crickets and water lapping against the wood and the air hot and heavy with humidity, the only other light coming from the moon reflecting on the water...

The next time I had a view of the gazebo was from my hospital room on the maternity floor the night I gave birth to Piper. And then from the emergency room entrance as I checked into the hospital to give birth to Finley.

And then tonight. We have come so far and I'm proud of our little family. Jason has become the best kind of father who is loving and tender and nurturing and compassionate. We were talking in the car on the way to dinner about how men and women differ in their ways of thinking about their children and their emotions toward their children. He talked about the feeling of needing to provide and the responsibility it was to care for his children. I talked about the primal instinct to protect and care and nurture my babies and the love that causes my heart to feel like it will literally burst in my chest.

Tonight when we returned home, Piper was still awake (we weren't surprised) and I layed down with her while I read to her and put her to sleep. I don't normally lay next to her but I did tonight and as I layed there I felt her warm breath on my arm and felt her tiny hand in mine and then... my cup runneth over.

Tablecloth + t-shirt = dress that needs more work

Jason has been absent this week as he is doing work on-site for one of his clients in an undisclosed location. So, here I am alone at home with the girls and wouldn't you know there are both sick with runny noses and coughs and the kind of snot that is putrid green and sticky like glue and everywhere.

It is a great time for me to sew a dress for Piper, right. For some reason I decided to take on this project this afternoon and after 3 failed attempts I finally almost finished it but it needs a little flair. It is a my own creation although very simple. I took a vintage tablecloth and cut it up to make a skirt that I sewed onto the a plain white t-shirt that I got from walmart (hell on earth) that I cut a bit off the end. It actually turned out pretty cute and will be cuter after I add a sash (maybe) and some appliques (maybe) made out of the scraps of the tablecloth.

I am not a seamstress in any definition of the word and I only proved that more to myself this afternoon as I tried and failed and tried again and failed again and so on. My mother did not sew and so I am self-taught and apparently I am not a very good teacher unless I am teaching phonics "special sounds" and then, well, I kick ass.

Anyway, the flaw I encountered was too much fabric. I hate gathering and bunching because I can never do it and it didn't help that I had twice the amount of fabric I needed. So I ended up cutting the amount of fabric in half and then it sewed up real quick.


here it is...I think I need to hem it up a bit and I'll be making another one tomorrow (maybe) since I know the tricks now it should go faster than today. And it looks better when the Bug is wearing it.

I wish I was good at this kind of stuff. I wish I had time to invest in getting better. But in the end, I rather be pushing my girls on the swings than hurting my back hunched over a machine.

Favorites January Favorites

Haven't done one of these in a while so here goes:

1. The Dyson vacuum. It pretty much sucks up anything; however I have an area rug in our family room that has pulls in it from velcro and the dyson gets caught up on it and won't run over it.

2. Strawberries. It is strawberry season here and we are already enjoying the fruit by itself and strawberry shortcake, yum! I think this is also what prompted Piper to want a "Strawberry Shortcake" birthday party. Rest assured I am not buying into that kind of commercialism and buying all the crap that goes along with that theme. We will be doing strawberry related activities and maybe I'll buy the plates but that's it!

3. My baby Piper. She's gonna be 3 this month.

4. Fleetwood Mac

5. Going to the gym. Yes, I am exhausted, but it's a good exhausted.

6. Simple Green cleaning products. They're non-toxic and actually work on dried up oatmeal on the ceiling.

7. A baby that is now walking.

8. I still really love my car. A friend of mine called me up last week and said, "I am almost at your house and I want to show you my Christmas present." Well, she pulled up in a beautiful brand new minivan. Nothing against minivans, but I just can't do it. She said to me, "Now I really feel like a mom." and I said to her that maybe I should look at one of these mom-mobiles and she said, "Shannon, I don't think you're ready for this yet." I don't think she could be more right and I don't think I will ever be ready. The features are wonderful and the roominess is fantastic, but no, I can't do it.

9. Children's Triaminic Night time cough and cold. For those of us who like to get some sleep without waking to the sounds of someone coughing up every organ in their body.

10. These cutey-patooty t-shirts. I like this company and I have some of their maternity pieces that are stylish and comfy. I ordered a t-shirt for Bug and Birdie!

Random Observations

I had to get gas this morning and this guy getting gas diagonal from me actually unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, pulled them down, tucked his shirt in and then hiked said pants up extremely uncomfortably high and zipped and buttoned them back up.

I have been going to the gym 4-5 times a week since the new year and I have noticed a few things. There are definitely gym "groupies" who are there to be seen and to scope out others. It is sometimes intimidating but then I remember that I pushed out 2 kids and that my body is extraordinary for that reason alone no matter how fat I am. Then there are the older people and I like them. They are there to stay in shape and work hard and no other reason. They motivate me. So, there are times to go to the gym to get a good workout without the "playas" breathing down your neck.

Another observation about the gym: There are actually women who come to the gym with a full face of make-up and I just think...eewww. You can imagine if they are actually sweating then the make-up and the sweat will combine to form a sort of paste and that's just gross.

We have been church-hopping lately to find the right place for our family because our current church has become the not right place. We have been visiting the church that I grew up in and met Jason. It's nice because I feel sort of anonymous. There are a lot of people I know but I don't feel like I have to be all up in the church's business. I can go, drop my girls off in classes that have kids they can play with, sit down and worship without stressing out about some job I was supposed to do, and actually be ministered to and learn from a very gifted preacher.

Jason and I are closing in on 5 years of marriage and 8 years together. That amazes me. Marriage is hard work and I feel like we are really making a go of it. I love him more today than in our first few months of lustful emotional can't-live-without-you times. We have really been through crap this past year and we have actually come out better than before the crap. I feel like we are entering a new era in our family and it feels really good and really refreshing.

Piper is almost 3. She is like an actual kid now and not a baby, although she will always be my baby. She is so smart, an actual genius I think and so loving and fun.



Finley is walking now, watch out! She is always moving and always happy. Really. She loves to dance and shake her little booty.



My girls. I can't really explain the love that I have for them except to say that it is all-encompassing and all-consuming. I want to freeze them but then I think about al the things we have yet to do, I can't wait but appreciate that it is all in good time.

Which is worse?

My friend Kellie is having oral surgery and it made me wonder:

Which is worse?

The dentist

or

The OB/GYN?

fellas, doesn't quite apply to you

Nosaj

There was a summer while in college that I worked part time at a retail pharmacy type store. I only got 30 minutes for lunch/dinner and most of theother workers would bring their food with them but I usuallly went to my parent's house that was only 5 minutes away where my food would be waiting for me.

One night Jason wanted to ahve dinner with me and he told me that he would pick me up and we could eat together. He pickedme up and took me to a restaurant that I was sure was going to take more than 30 minutes but when we got there our food was waiting on the table for us and all we had to do was eat and then he took me back to work. he had called ahead and ordered for us and told them what time to haveit on the table and paid in advance. It is quite possibly one of the most thoughtful things he has done for me because he is so not a planner and he had to plan everthing down to the minute. That was the summer that we got engaged. For Jason:

"Nightswimming"
REM

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, it's so much clearer.
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge.
The moon is low tonight.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
I'm not sure all these people understand.
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water.
They cannot see me naked.
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday.

Nightswimming, remembering that night.
September's coming soon.
I'm pining for the moon.
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming.

You, I thought I knew you.
You I cannot judge.
You, I thought you knew me,
this one laughing quietly underneath my breath.
Nightswimming.

The photograph reflects,
Every streetlight a reminder.
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night.

This Woman's Work

I wonder how many of us thought that when we signed up for this thing called "motherhood" that we would literally love so much that it physically hurt, that our hearts would feel so heavy in our chests and we would feel an immeasurable amount of joy.

It was only this Christmas that I started to think about and feel the pain that Mary must have felt when her baby was put on that cross. This tiny baby she held in her arms would grow up to die and she knew that from the beginning. I wonder if with each birthday she celebrated his life but also mourned that she would lose her son.

I bought this stupid Christmas CD for the girls to listen in the car with Rudolph and other really bad renditions of the typical secular songs, but the last song on the CD was put there just for me..."What child is this?" Have you ever really read the words of this song:

1. What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

2. Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

3. So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

For some reason, this year the song really affected me to think about Jesus as a baby and Mary, his too young mother, and what emotions she must have felt at His birth. I'm glad that God chose her because I would not have been able to do what she did.

In case you didn't know

the funniest show on tv has moved to Thursday nights at 9:30pm.


and the other funniest show is at 9:00pm.

Work it out

So, Jason got me a membership to the gym for Christmas and before you berate him, I wanted the membership as one of my goals before baby #3 is to get fit just so that I can get fat again. Anyway, I do want to look good in a swimsuit and I feel like one thousand times better when I am in shape. I have gone everyday since well...I have been 3 days in a row and today I took a break because my body is in shock. Is it normal not to be able to walk because your calves are burning and in such excruciating pain that you think you are going to throw up?

Funny story...on my way to the gym I was driving and reaching for something on the floor of the passenger side and I twisted my arm and head in such a way simultaneously that I thought I was going to pass out because of the pain. This was on the way to the gym.

In my quest for a drop dead sexy body I decided that I needed to have the appropriate music to keep me motivated and since I received numerous itunes giftcards for Christmas I decided to spend them. And so I present my workout playlist...feel free to add suggestions and critiques:


Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Gold Digger (Featuring Jamie Foxx) - Kanye West

In da Club - 50 Cent

Lose Yourself - Eminem

Check On It - Beyoncé & Slim Thug

My Humps - Black Eyed Peas

I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Beverly Hills - Weezer

I Melt With You - Nouvelle Vague

Ruby Blue - Roisin Murphy

These Words (I Love You, I Love You) - Natasha Bedingfield

Mudfootball (For Moe Lerner) - Jack Johnson

Catch My Disease (Live) - Ben Lee

Bubble Toes - Jack Johnson

All These Things That I've Done - The Killers

Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

Original of the Species - U2

Soul Meets Body - Death Cab For Cutie

late addition - Portions for Foxes- Rilo Kiley