The Big Sister

So, Mo is excited about becoming a big sister.....sort-of. She likes the idea of having a baby sister, but I really think she has no clue what is coming her way. In the beginning, she was telling everyone, and really proud of herself for "getting" this baby. But, then we started pulling stuff out of storage and doing the nursery. Someone didn't like that very much.....I heard a lot of "Why is the baby getting all this stuff?" "How come I don't get any new stuff?"

Now, Mo is still excited for the baby, but she refers to her as "that baby." As in...."Mommy, come sit on the floor and color." "Honey, I can't." "Its because you have THAT baby in there." This is said with just a tiny bit of disdain and disgust.

For the record, the nursery is coming along pretty nicely. But, Mo is getting the big transformation. We painted her room, and she picked out some new fabric which will become curtains, and maybe even a duvet cover. We wanted Mo to feel like she is getting something new, and not being left out of all the fun.

Again I say, she has no idea what is coming her way.

Shady's Back

So, I see it has almost been 6 months since my last post. I knew I had neglected the blog, but really hadn't realized how long it has been. There are many reasons why.....but really, it doesn't matter. I am ready to jump back in.....

The big news, I am 8 months pregnant. I am sure that is a big reason for the long, blog break. With this pregnancy, I was super sick the first several months, and oh, so tired. The past few months have been much better. I am feeling fine, and have had that 2nd Trimester burst of energy.

This baby has been a miracle in every way. Both Scout and I were so nervous in the beginning. Just so worried that everything would be ok with this baby. And so far, all good news. All the genetic tests are good, all the ultrasounds are good. I guess this baby has her mind made up that she is ready to be here.

And, yes, it is another girl......lord, help us all.

So much going on...

There has been so much going on since before the holidays, it is just in the past week, that I feel like our family is back to normal. Christmas was wonderful, and I have videos to post later. And I think Simone has grown a foot in the past week. In some ways, our lives are boringly the same, and then I take a look at things, and see how much changes. It really is wild. I promise to post more and put some pictures up......you won't believe how grown-y Simone is......and she has the attitude to go with it!

Say what???

Today, we hosted a little friend from preschool on a play-date. The girls had a great time....My favorite part....

I served the girls a little snack of yogurt, apples, and oranges. While sitting at the table, Mo started talking about her princess placemat....how pretty is is, how these are her favorite princesses.....

E's response...."We don't have placemats at our house. We aren't messy eaters."

Santa Land, 2010

We made our annual trip to see Santa. We had a good time. We went on a Monday, so there was no-one there, Mo was a little shy at first, so she had time to kind of get used to the big guy.....she sat on his lap and had a nice conversation. All in all, a nice Santa trip. I think the thing that notice more this year....is how independent Mo has gotten. As you can see from the first couple of Santa pictures, she is dressed super cute....I picked out really nice outfits for her to wear......

Christmas, 2008

Or even this wonderful outfit....Christmas, 2009...she even let me put in a ponytail for this one.


Now, look to this year.....this is most definitely a "Mo Outfit"....down to wearing her shoes on the wrong feet (because she likes it that way)......

Christmas Counting Cones

I have wanted to do a cool advent calendar for a while now.....I don't really like the store bought ones.....too kitchy, or too religious. But, I wanted something that Mo could do to 'count down' to Christmas Eve. I did an internet search, and found some amazingly creative ones...I mean.....there are people out there that have mad craft skills.

So, I decided to take a few of the ideas, and put them together into this idea. Here is what I did. I got fancy holiday paper, and made cones (harder than you think with cardstock). I also got a tag maker (this was really just an excuse to buy one), and made tags with numbers on them for each day in December. Here is a finished cone.


Then, using clothespins, I hung them on a ribbon that is draped around our dining room. The cones aren't very big, but with 24 of them, it covers 3 walls of our dining room.


You can put anything you want inside the cones. This year, I have put little notes.....each one telling Mo one thing to do that day to get ready for the holidays.....ex. Drink Hot Cocoa, Listen to Christmas Music, Go look at holiday lights.

It looks so pretty......I love that it counts down the days, and doubles as decoration too. I might add more pretty things to the cones after the holidays...to make them even more festive, but I think they are pretty darn cute.


I think we can re-use these year after year, putting new and different things inside the cones.

Love Handles

So, our house is for sure a 'work in progress.' Lately, I have been obsessing over the cabinet hardware in the kitchen......I never really liked the hardware, but it was not a big deal.

But over the past few months, I have grown to genuinely HATE the stupid handles. I think maybe I spent too much time in the house while my foot was healing. Every time I walk in the kitchen, I can only see the hideous handles......they mock me....


Honestly, I think the cabinets and counter tops are pretty shiteous as well, but they are too expensive to replace (right now)....

So, I finally replaced the pulls. After weeks of searching the internet, we settled on these......mostly, they were cheap, but they also look great in the kitchen....


They are a little more square than they look in the picture....but I really like them. Maybe, I will start to love my kitchen again....

Probably not....I'll just start obsessing over the ugly counter tops and back splash.