Miracle me this, Miracle me that.

WE Believe,WE Believe,WE Believe,WE Believe!!!!! (shouting from the roof tops)

So our dear sweet Addie is a colicky baby - however I am happy to report she appears to be turning the corner. But we were at our wits end with her and then I discovered the Miracle Blanket on MckMama's blog and our world changed. I just knew it was the answer to all our problems.

Bill found one on Craiglist and it has rocked our world!!! Although it is a blue one, beggars can't be choosers and I am a true believer in MIRACLES!

Addie has slept in her bassinet since January 12th and not in my arms. Up until then, for 3 months I had been sleeping with a baby in my arms every night. And she is now sleeping 5-6 hrs a night, in her blanket, in her bassinet. The crib is in her future very soon....next week. This blanket will calm her almost immediately and put her right to sleep. It is simply a MIRACLE.


Here she is, ready for a nap. She loves this blanket too.

Sleeping on the couch.


Sleeping in her swing
We believe in Miracle blankets!!!

Not Me! Monday......

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


This week I did not dress my daughter in her pj's only to discover they were too small for her and that the pants were too short on her legs. And since I couldn't possibly be tired from a long day decide to just leave her in them and put on a pair of RED hello kitty socks stretched up over the too short pants. And this couldn't possibly be what she looked like the next morning.
The other night while in a hurry to get my screaming baby dressed after her bath I did not dress her in a onesie that was 12months & 3x too big for her. Nope, I didn't realize my mistake when the really big onesie snaps were down to her knee's. And I didn't say "Oh, well you're just getting your pj's on & going to sleep - you'll be okay". Nope, not I.

Yesterday, after a long day of scrap booking this Mama did not walk out to find her car had 2 flat tires. And this Mama did not get upset, cry, freak out and get upset with her husband. Nope, I was as calm as a cucumber.....YEAH right.

This Mama did not let her 15month old share some of her coffee because the cup had a straw in it and she has just learned how to sip out of straws plus she wanted to take a sip.

While blogging, checking myspace & facebook I did not let my 15month old take out most of the DVDs in the cabinet and play with them. Now, why would I let her do that & keep herself occupied for a whole 30 minutes? (next time I wont have to worry since there aren't that many DVDs any longer. we sold most of them to buy our Wii fit)

This Mama did not yet again have a freak out when she discovered that the dog chewed up another little people. And go off again about how the little people must stay together and now that set will not be complete. And I did not get upset with my husband when he started laughing at me and told me "You know they are just toys and that our daughter won't realize one is missing"

And while typing this blog I did not feed my baby, burp her and then put her to sleep. Nope that would make my superwoman and I am far from that. But maybe just maybe I have finally learned how to multi task at the computer.

Scrapbooking Adventure

What does this picture have to do with scrap booking? This is how my day of scrap booking day ended......being towed out of the woods and home.

Yeppers, came out to my car not noticing a thing - cause it was dark & snowing. Got up the driveway and almost to the main road & my car felt really weird. My friend and I got out and discovered we had a flat tire. Backed down the dark & scary driveway & called our husbands. It was then that my other friend, who was still there scrap booking discovered that my other back tire was also flat. How do you wind up with not 1 but 2 flat tires? Hmmmm, a question I still cannot answer.

Thank goodness for Melissa's MIL who buys her family AAA every year - due to that we were able to get towed home. The tow truck driver, Chris was very nice. And his 4yr old son Jaden kept Melissa entertained with questions & games of "I spy my little eye on" the WHOLE way home. He was cute but boy could he talk. He promptly told us as we got into the truck, after introducing himself, "Ya know it's snowing outside and do you know what that means? That Christmas is coming again" On a quick note - our tow truck driver had to bring his 4yr old son because his wife was at home with the 8month old. Five days after their daughter was born his wife had a brain aneurysm and a stroke. She is paralyzed on one side, had to learn to talk again and is in intense physical therapy a few days a week. I forgot to get her name, but am going to begin praying for him & his family. This tow truck gig was suppose to be a 2ND job to help bring in extra cash, but he was laid off last week. When you read this, would you please say a prayer for Chris & his family?


Although the day didn't end on the greatest note it did start well. Here are a few pictures of our glorious weekend. I doubled booked myself this weekend. Scrap booking was suppose to be an overnighter. Starting at 9am on Saturday and ending on Sunday at 4pm. However, our church Cedar Park does this service called Presentation Sunday - where we pray for infertile couples & those wishing to get pregnant. We had invited Bill's cousin & her husband for the service. (more to come on that in a later post) In a last minute decision my MIL offered to host a dinner for my husband, our girls, & the cousins so that I could stay a bit longer and scrapbook. Thank you mom!!! (she's a blog stalker)


LeAnne, Sabrina, Lindsey, Jessica, Melissa, Tiffany and I settled in with our car loads of paper, scissors, crickets, tape, glue, stamps and other assorted materials. It was a fabulous day of laughing, eating, watching girly movies (7 by the time we left), scrapping, eating, laughing, card making, talking, laughing & did I mention eating.


Here a great candid shot of LeAnne intensely working on a page, Sabrina in mid sentence, Jessica watching one of the movies, and Melissa working earnestly on her cards. All n all there were 5 baby girl scrapbooks being worked on!

Melissa's goal of 10 cards fell short at 7 but let me tell ya they were amazing cards!! I got 10 pages done in Addie's book and so I feel a little accomplished. (I'll post a few of my favorite pages in the next few days. ) It was a successful day of scrapping and fun times with my friends.


Did I mention that we did a lot of eating. What is a girls weekend without lots of snacks? I mean is there such a thing? Only one question............Did we bring enough?

Not Me! Monday......

It's Monday and you know what that means..........Here is the latest edition from Team D.

• This week in an effort to multi task this Mama did not carry down her 3month old inside an empty box of diapers along with the bag of dirty diapers out of the pail. Well, it wasn't quite empty I did pad the bottom with some extra diapers for the downstairs changing table.

• I most certainly did not wipe Ellia's nose several times this past week with the inside of her shirt. Why would I do that and not grab a tissue?

• We did not take what I thought to be a quick trip to see daddy at work and not pack a prepared diaper bag. Thus resulting in having to buy a new outfit when Addie had a major blowout. Nope this Mama always has a prepared & ready diaper bag. And that prepared diaper bag always has an extra change of clothes for both girls.

• This Mama did not urge her husband that we needed a miracle blanket and then beg him to find her one on craiglist or ebay. Why would I take so many bloggers word on a "miracle" blanket? Cause I am desperate to have a baby sleep not in my arms. And he did find one....and it is a miracle blanket. I will post a separate post just on the blanket as it is worthy of it!!!!

Need a new outfit?

Today we went to visit daddy at work and Addie wore a special outfit. We received the outfit from Bill's boss, Cindy. The outfit is a little Alaska outfit with dog sleds all over it. Cindy is from Alaska and actually has competed in dog sledding competitions. (And just another piece of info on Cindy - she knows Sarah Palin. Yeppers, they went to school together and are very close friends.)

Cindy loved seeing Addie & even posed in a picture for us. (Yes, Addie has her own Costco name tag - it says she's been an "employee" since 2008 and that she is "Daddy's little girl" - Ellia has one two with her hire year as "2007" - The girls wear them when we go shopping or visit daddy)

So we visit with Cindy and then Bill notices a nice aroma coming from Addie. Turns out she had a BLOW OUT!! All up and down her legs even into the cute little booties. Well I didn't have another outfit, cause while I packed the diaper bag I actually thought "I wont need a change of clothes we'll only be gone for a couple of hours". Turns out I was dead wrong. So we made a mad dash to the clothing area and picked out a new outfit for Addie. While I I headed to the bathrooms to clean her up Bill waited in line with the tag to pay.

This is the before picture with Cindy and the Alaska outfit:



After picture at home in her swing & in her new outfit:
Lesson learned: ALWAYS pack an extra outfit - even if just visiting daddy at work.

Get Real.....

I found this really cool gal in another blog - who found me through McMama. Such a small world but yet not. See that is why blogging is so much fun. It gives me an outlet, helps me stay in touch with friends & family and lets me meet others I wouldn't normally meet.

So over at Melody's blog she did a post about being "Real" and so here is my attempt. We found out we have a lot in common. It's scary how much we have in common...go check out her blog to see.

And so my list of being "Real" follows:

• I often find myself packing extra food & water in the car when I go out just in case we get in an accident and I am stranded in the woods in a wrecked car. And there is always a blanket in the car. Who does this???
• I think the girls must always be dressed Perfectly. Matching socks, shoes, hair bows, bibs you name it. It must all match.
• I would love to dress the girls in the cool, urban, organic, funky style but the "matchy matchy" thing in my head takes over every time.
  
• Coffee next to my husband is my BEST friend. I love it and if I could would drink it all day, every day. But when you're dieting as I am, it's a not the best for you.
• I am determined to loose the baby weight from both my pregnancies. And I was sad this week when both my friends had lost more than me. But it motivated me to try a little harder this week.
  
• Taking the girls out is hard work and although I am happy once we are out somewhere I too, like Melody find it too much work and so staying home even though it's not the funnest is what I prefer.
• I love my husband but at times he soo frustrates me. I know I am not alone in this. Isn't it weird how little things never bothered you before when you were dating or you never knew about them until you got married. And now they bug me like crazy. Like leaving soda cans on the bedside table. Or taking off his socks and just leaving them where ever he took them off.
  
• We got a dog and it was my idea. But sadly it's not what it's cracked up to be. I love Bubba but do not like the shedding of his hair, the big poops he creates in my yard or the fact that our yard isn't fenced. Which means I must take him out 3x or 4x a day on a leash to use the bathroom. And I am busy enough with two little girls that this really irritates me.
• Patience - I stink at this. And though I am getting better (having kids has helped) I am still not the best at it. Every day I battle this.
• My toes too cause some vanity issues within me. They are what you call "hammer head" toes - inherited from my father's side of the family. And it would appear that Ellia has them as well - Ahhh, I just hope she doesn't go through the same complexity issues over them as I did growing up.
• I am trying new birth control.....the "ring" - and I must confess I wanted to use this type of BC really badly. But I am hating it. It would appear that my body is rejecting the "ring" and keeps pushing it out. Thus.....
  
• I am completely stressed out about BC. What am I going to do? I forget to take BC pills and my husband & I cannot be trusted to solely use condoms....this how we got our little Addie. I don't know what I am going to do. And I have found myself thinking about this almost all day for the last 2 days.
• Like Melody I too hate it when our girls cry in front of others - even family. Something inside of me goes a little crazy and I MUST soothe them into quietness.
• I am crazy about keeping my house clean and trying to be the best mom to my girls. Almost scary how crazy I am about these things. I totally obsess about them to no end. (Just ask my husband) Am I alone in this?

Okay, so if you found my list of "Get Real" things helpful and you checked out Melody's then I Tag you to complete your list of "Get Real" things. Be completely honest. It actually helped take a load off my chest today. See God is good. He directed Melody over to my blog today and helped me to be real with myself and all of you other fellow bloggers.
**Don't forget to tell me if you completed your list so I can check it out. **

Thanks Melody!! - here's to more blogging fun & good times with one another ;o)

Random Thoughts Thursday

Do you ever just find yourself in your own little world and thinking about the most random thoughts? Well today was my day and so I decided to let you all into my Random Thought Thursday mind.....

**** Wow, my floors look clean but when I got down to mop them (yes, I mop on my hands & knee's) I realized how dirrrrty they really were.
Then my thoughts went to: there is soooo much dog hair on this floor; I bet Melissa really hates mopping this floor now that we have Bubba; Wow, this is the first time I've mopped my own floor in over 8months; Ohhh this is that song by Toby Mac - with Kirk Franklin - Bill loves it and I don't know the name of it, but there's a line in it that says...."I don't want to gain the whole world and loose my soul" - So then I think about the words and why Bill loves it. He is always telling me that he doesn't want to fall into the stereotypical Costco Management guy - get promoted, get the pay raise, loose sight of the world & his family. Wow, I think I get why he loves this song; My blog needs an overhaul. I mean a complete overhaul. I want a new name other than "curlyqfun" - And besides that in my blog picture I don't even have curly hair. How can I make it private but yet fun? Since Bill wants me to make it private & how do I do that without leaving someone out who visits it that I don't know visits it. I need a theme, a cute fun theme; Baseball theme, football, hmmmm, blog changes are coming; What are we having for dinner? Sure was nice when our friend brought us dinner as a surprise last night, hmmm what are our odds of having that again? Hmm, do I hear my phone ringing? Why was the pedicure lady so quiet? And why did she keep talking to the next pedi lady in a language I cannot understand? Was she talking about me? I know my feet were bad, but come on. Wonder when I'll get to have another pedi & mani?; I sure hope that Bill and Ellia are gone long enough for me to clean & do some blogging.; Wow, finally done with these floors.

Crazy what your mind thinks of when you are mopping the floors.

Not Me! Monday......

It's Monday and you know what that means..........Here is the latest edition from Team D.

• This Mama did not post last week cause she was too tired, too sick & just plain burnt out. It couldn't have been that crazy of a week....Or could it have, hmmm?
• Today this Mama couldn't possibly be turning 32, yeppers you are reading right 32 years old. Why, Thanks I know I don't show my age....or at least that's what I keep telling myself.
• Team D survived the 3 week invasion of family. Or we almost survived. It was a hard 3 weeks for all of us. (I won't mention kicking my dad out of the house....That was a slight CRAZY moment on my behalf) Being snowed in didn't help matters much at all. But we did survive...and dare I say this.....we miss them? Yikes! ;o)
• This Mama did not catch her 15 month old eating what she thought was teddy graham crackers.....ONLY to discover they were the dog treats...Ya know the ones that are shaped into little people...Didn't know they made those for dogs huh? Well they do and Ellia thinks they taste...G R E E E E AAAAA T!
• I did not have a small break down the other night and tell Bill "If Addie had been our first child their would've been no more" - Having a colicky baby gets you extra jewels in your "Mama" crown in heaven, right? I'm bankin on it. Ohhh, and there are Mama crowns in heaven...I am sure of it.
  
• I am not in love with my new handy, dandy vacuum sweeper. Why would I be in love with a vacuum??? Oh, but you haven't met this thing...It is amazing...I am thinkin of bloggin about this little green, mean machine. I bought this little guy for $10 bucks the day after Thanksgiving at Walmart and wrapped it up for myself under the tree. It has become my favorite Christmas present!! You thought I'd say how much I love my new Cricket cartridges, or my new down comforter, or the new amazing flat iron I got.....Nope I am in love with my green machine. It does wonders on my hard wood floors - especially in getting all Bubba's dog hair. Amazing what $10 can get ya.
• I am not falling more and more in love with little miss Ellia. Everyday she makes me laugh and her personality is coming through so much. I love how she races around with her doll stroller and plays with her kitchen. She is just so darn cute and she makes me smile everyday.
• This Mama is not obsessed with keeping the the Little People play sets ALL together. Ya know the people & all their parts MUST stay together it's a rule. And the other day when I was cleaning up and found the doll house people in the backyard set (which is only suppose to have a dog & little girl) I did not freak out. Nope, who would freak out about Little People being in the wrong set? But supposing I did freak out just a weeee bit, my loving husband did not say " You don't possibly think they are all going to stay together and that we aren't going to loose some, right?" And I didn't respond back with a resounding "YEEEES".....I was glad to know that I am not alone in my Little People obsession....I found it comforting to see Sabrina's post on this same issue last week.
• And finally speaking of obsessions - which I admit I might have a few....dog hair, Little People, dishes being done right after dinner....I don't need to go on. This morning this Mama did not wash down the suede couch yet again cause you can see all the snotty nose/ drool marks from Ellia & Addie. And when Bill tried to sit down I did not possibly tell him "Don't sit there I just washed the couch, sit on the floor" - Nope, cause why would I obsess about our couch? - Why did we buy a suede micro fiber TAN couch again? Oh, yeah we bought it before kids.
  

Birthday #32

Tomorrow is my birthday. My 32nd if you must know.

I am not sure if I should cry, jump up or down or mourn. Cry cause I'm getting older, jump up & down cause I made it through another year or mourn another younger year gone.

My husband bought me a manicure & pedicure. Or rather handed me $$ and said on Monday you are going to get a mani & pedi. Fun for me!!! I cannot wait as this is what I really wanted. A whole 2hrs of quiet and pure relaxation! I guess my mom took him aside before they left and said "Ya, know Gina really wants a mani & pedi" - Thanks mom!

Whatever happens tomorrow I know this for sure....I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful girls and age is just a number. I will celebrate with my family & enjoy my manicure oh and breakfast in bed. Yep, I hinted around to see if this was happening....and you betcha.....WoooHooo!

Christmas 2008 Dinner

Christmas dinner was a bit delayed due to the snow. We thought it might not happen at all due to a power outage in the morning. But luckily the power was only out for a little while. Once it came back on dinner was put into the oven and everyone was told to come at 3:30.

We had Bill's parents John & Jeanette, his sister Susan, cousin Scott, Nana & Papa (my parents), cousin Thomas & George. George is our older neighbor across the street. (the one Bill spent all morning helping put chains on in the snow) His wife died this summer & he was alone because his family dinner got canceled - after he and Bill got the chains on the car he found this out.


The table all set up. I made glass ornaments for each person & used them as name place cards. I even managed to make one for George at the last minute. (Thank heavens for extra bulbs!)

All of us sitting around the table waiting for the festivities to start.

John, George & Jeanette after they opened their Christmas crackers & put on their crowns
Ellia wearing her crown

Cousin Scott, Nana, Papa & Thomas with their Christmas crackers & crowns
Eating dinner

Christmas 2008 - Daddy putting together the "stuff"

Ellia opening her new doll stroller


Daddy putting the stroller together

Ellia reading daddy the directions

All put together and ready to take it for a spin

And she's off.........

Next item....the grocery cart


Daddy's handy work

And someone is in a hurry to push it around & go shopping

Christmas 2008

The cousins in their Christmas Eve service attire
Addie on Christmas morning
Ellia coming downstairs Christmas morning


Christmas morning kisses shared between sisters


Tree & presents before the kids came downstairs.

Ellia's first time seeing her kitchen

Where do all the food & dishes for her kitchen go? In the window of course!

Ellia trying on her camping backpack with her first sleeping bag, flashlight & water bottle. She is ready for camping this year!



Opening up her toy shopping cart from Nana & Papa