We Went!

Hello blog friends! I hope this post finds you each doing fantastically well on this fine Thursday evening! I have some VERY exciting news to share with y'all... 

CADEN AND I GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE TODAY!!

AND WE DIDN'T GO TO THE DOCTOR OR TO THE GROCERY STORE!!

I took a shower this morning and I DRIED my hair... the RIGHT way! I put on make-up... ALL of it! I put on real clothes... jeans AND a cute top! I wore jewelry... necklace and all! I brushed Caden's hair and made sure he had on matching socks! 

And guess what?! We went to church!!

We made it! We made it to Bible Study! Praise the Lord!

Boy did I need it! I needed to get out of the house. I am still not feeling 100% but I'm not contagious and Caden is healthy... so we had to do it! We had to... and we did!

Caden did great. Meltdown when I left him, but in the end the report was good. He was a snuggle-bug, he took a little nap, LOVED riding in the big 'ol church strollers, and they seemed genuinely sad that I was there to pick him up, so I figured all was good for Caden! 

And all was GREAT for me! How can anything Beth Moore not be good?! Gosh she's GREAT, isn't she?! I just want to stand up and shout Praise the Lord every time I hear her workin'  God's word! Get it, Beth! 

Can't wait to see what God has in store for me and the other ladies workin' it with Beth this semester! I am sure I will have all sorts of "ah-ha moments" to share with you as we go! For now I will leave you with this central truth from our study today!

God IS who He says He IS!!

Goodnight beloveds! :)

CADEN IS ALL BOY!!

Well, there is NO rest for the weary when you are Caden's Mommy! No sir! It's up and at 'em Mom! Let's go... let's play, let's go outside... I don't care that you have allergies and that our romp in the park last week is what drove you to overdose on benadryl which is what ultimately led to your sinus infection... I don't really care about that! Get up! Put on your Mommy panties and let's go!

Okay, so maybe he isn't THAT cruel! We have done our share of romping in the pollen this week, but I have tried my hardest to find FUN things to do inside so that outside won't seem near as appealing! But alas... he is MY child and LOVES the outdoors. 

So in my attempts to keep him busy without exposing myself to the elements we've been doing a lot of ballin', campin' and loungin'... and I've been trying to tap into my inner-boy, because Caden is ALL boy!!

Ballin'...

We are SO excited that basketball season is here and that our Bears are AWESOME! Justin and I have had various conversations about how we mis-named Caden. He should have been named Lacedarius Cox... perhaps even Lacedarius Tweety Cox... there is hope for kiddo number 2?!

These were actually taken last weekend... Justin is not usually lounging on the floor during the week! It's too bad though!

What a baller!! 
Campin'...

I've been wanting to build a "fort" for Caden for a few weeks now, but I haven't gotten around to it... but this week I finally decided that it was going to be necessary. Bringing the outdoors, in and all of that...

I may not be a very good fort maker though because after about 10 minutes the fort lost its appeal! Ha!

Okay, and there is definitely something I am going to need to explain... 

I am sure you are ALL wondering why I make Caden use a wooden passy?!! WELL, here is the thing with the wooden passy. The wooden passy is also a puzzle piece with a HUGE wooden knob on the other end. We have been taking his REAL passy away from him during the day lately because we like to hear him "talk." And our doctor said that too much passy use can cause ear infections... so... we've been cuttin' it out... but my child has a creative spirit and will find ALL sorts of substitutes for his passy. The puzzle piece is his favorite... the circle piece specifically...

He carries it around in his mouth like it's no big thing... just like he would the passy.

How can that be comfortable? 

KK was concerned when I told her about this and she imparted some motherly wisdom on me and said, "take that away from him and put the puzzles up... he could chip a tooth!"

I hadn't thought of that ... guess I should have, but then again that is why God gives us mothers right?! 

So the puzzles are in the toy box!

Loungin'....

Caden LOVES Praise Baby DVDs, but he does not like ANYTHING else... I tired Baby Einstein, NickJr shows, etc. I think its the music that he LOVES! When he hears certain commercials on the TV that have piano-like music, he'll stop dead in his tracks and watch, but if there is no music, he's not interested! 

He's been really wanting to watch his Praise Baby lately... so much so that he morphed into this weird, still, calm child who lounges in front of the TV. He was so freaking cute just laying in the floor watching his video... I had flashbacks of watching my brother doing the same thing when he was little!

I am continually on the mend and hoping to make it to Bible study tomorrow morning... yay! Of course as I learned last week, we really do have to take things one day, sometimes one hour at a time... so we'll see what the next 24 hours brings us!

We'll keep you posted...

I've Learned from Experience...

The Evolution of a Sinus Infection.

Also commonly known as Sinusitis. 

Sure it sounds like the insult you slung at Jimmy Applewhite in 3rd grade when he said you ran like a girl... BUT alas, it is not! It is a pesky little illness that sneaks up on you when you least expect it... or maybe when you COMPLETELY expect it, but nonetheless it's pesky!

So how did this little pesky friend of mine come to be?!

Well it all started last week... last Friday to be exact.

It all started with him...

I know what you're thinking... how could this sweet, cute little boy have ANYTHING to do with this. Well it's not his fault really... he only has something to do with this evolutionary tale because of these guys...

Yep... the peskiest of the pesky... GERMS!! Cold virus germs. Now, I bet you are all wondering where Caden picked up HIS pesky friends the germs??!! Well, now isn't that a good question?! I'm afraid I'm sworn to silence... but just between you and me, it may or may not have been someone whose name begins with a K and ends with a K. And that person may or may not have gotten it from someone who is the last living man to be carrying a "cotton germ rag," I mean handkerchief in his pocket...everyday.

Yes, those two people may or may not have known that what they thought may or may not have been allergies was in fact NOT allergies. And so the story continues...

So needless to say, Caden's friends the germs decided that they liked me BEST and wanted to come hang out with me for awhile. So on Monday night, my friends the Cold Virus Germs came to join me in my comfy little bed.

BUT. I. AM. WOMAN. AND. MOMMY. and I got up the next day ready to take them on! They weren't going to get me down... NO. NO!

So Wednesday rolls around and I am just about to cough up my last germ! Literally, wash my hands of them and then this...
A Cedar Tree... oh the cedars, may they be forever wiped from the face of the earth! Not really... not really... but maybe they could mutate and give us allergy nerds a break?!

It started mild... just a little irritation but then Friday I saw the news and I knew I was in trouble...

And boy was I?! I couldn't stop doing this...

And you think she looks bad?! You should have seen me and my ugly sneeze face! NOT. PRETTY.

So on Saturday when my body decided that a fever was in fact the only way to get me to go to the doctor, it did me a favor and spiked a little temp. I packed up the book I was currently reading and my snot rags and headed to Urgent Care. After a not so long wait, I got me plenty of these...
And was assured that YES it in fact was SINUSITIS that I was suffering from, so I would need to spend lots of time on one of these...
So I've been following the doctors orders (not gracefully I might add) and laying on the couch, ALL day! Between Legally Blonde, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and a fantastic afternoon nap I've been doing pretty well...(only complaining every 5 minutes about how tired I was... why was I tired? I'm never tired!! YOU. ARE. SICK. My poor, sweet hubby had to continually remind me.)

But the turning point of the day came when I decided I needed to do a little allergy nerd stand-by. I needed to do a little nasal lavage!!

Ahhhhh, salt water up the nose never felt so good!!

But the meds, the couch, and the nasal lavage TOGETHER could never be as helpful as this guy right here though! He has taken over Mommy duty with style today! He did say he is READY to go back to work tomorrow... which made me smile just a little... it is nice to know that he acknowledges how hard my job is sometimes! :)

Oh and I can't forget to give props for a little sinus pressure relief from my friend Frank here...

He sure knows how to light  me up!

So there you have it... the Evolution of a Sinus Infection... 

So, if you were beginning to wonder where I've been lately??!!

Well, I've been EVOLVING... clearly!

Make a Pact With Me!! Please!

So Oprah has done it AGAIN! Did you see her show today?! Are you watching right now?

In the middle of my living room Justin and I just made a pact... a serious one! One that we are going to have to WORK SUPER HARD at keeping because we are both guilty of this very very dangerous habit... 

What is it?

Distracted Driving!!

I talk on the phone while driving a lot... I use my speaker phone, but it's not about your hands...

IT IS ABOUT OUR HEADS!!

I know, I know... I am guilty! I know I shouldn't be doing it but I do it anyway because the car is the one place where Caden is confined and I can talk... BUT what kind of sense is that?

I could HURT him or SOMEONE else! I could injure or maybe even kill someone I know or someone I don't! I could be the one to hit YOU!

Make a pact with me... let's STOP! STOP talking on the phone, even if you have a headset! FOCUS! DO NOT TEXT! DO NOT EMAIL! Do not even pick up your phone! Don't do it!! Just listen to the radio, sing songs with your kids, or to yourself! But FOCUS on the road!! That one time could be THE time when it's too late!!

I'm not saying it is going to be easy, but I'm going to do it! AND I'm going to keep y'all updated on my progress!

Will you join me?! I know there are probably some super responsible people out there that wouldn't think of doing this... and to you I say, THANK YOU! You are saving lives everyday!

Just one stat to leave you with...

Driving drunk is statistically just as dangerous as driving while talking on the phone, headset, speakerphone or not... SCARY, isn't it?!

SAY NO TO DISTRACTED DRIVING!! Let's do it!! 

Thank you for indulging me and listening to me on my soap box!! 

Drive safe!!

Shock and Awe

SHOCK...

The Cowboys lost...

Despite the excellent attire of two of their BIGGEST fans!

AWE...

A blue balloon and a little boy...

Enough said.

Thanks nice lady at HEB!

SHOCK AND AWE...

My first sewing project is complete...

A pillow...

Actually a pillow slip cover...

I was shocked it turned out as well as it did!

Justin was in awe...

Front side...
Back side... can you see the seams?! The pillow is inside...

A close up for the overlapping seams to make the pillow look nice and finished...

Are you shocked?! 

I know me too!!

I used the tutorial found here to complete my little pillow project!

A Perfectly Pleasing Pair on a Picnic

A...

Perfectly...
Pleasing...
Pair...
On a picnic!

No one is going to rain on our parade!!

It's an Un Bra!

Because I am about to write a fairly silly post I feel like it is important for me to note the seriousness of the situation in Haiti and that it is crucial that we are urgent with our prayers for the people impacted (AND THERE ARE A LOT) by this terrible, terrible tragedy! There is so much we can all do and there will continue to be LOTS to do, but let's always remember to pray!!

Alright, now I can get to it. I just was finding it hard to write about bras and my love of Selena while there were so many hurting, pleading, begging for the safety of friends and loved ones!

SO... Bras and Selena? Well some of you may or may not have recognized the title of my post as a fabulously famous quote from the movie Selena. Selena, better than anyone else, knows (or knew) her way around a bra. She knows how to wear, flaunt and most importantly BLING it. She is a little bit of a "bra idol." But really, she never was MY bra idol... but an idol maybe. You see, just after her untimely death my family moved to Corpus. I was immediately immersed into the fan fare of Selena. I remember watching her statue being erected on the news and the THOUSANDS of fans who later came to pay their respects (vandalize) her statue with their notes and signatures. I remember the anniversary of her death and watching from a friend's bedroom window the commotion at the cemetery where she was buried. I remember seeing the candles, the TV crews, the flowers, the people....TONS of people! I remember when the premier of the movie came to town and I remember that my Dad was invited. I remember that he brought home the soundtrack to the movie and I remember immediately popping it into my 3-disc boom box and becoming obsessed with Como La Flor! To this day I can still bust a lil Como La Flor... Justin and Caden love it! And the movie... well, the movie is one of my FAVORITES! I love it... especially that little treasure of a line which also happens to be my title! 

"Bustier la caca!! It's an un bra!!" Ha! I love it!! It's brilliant!!

But I really didn't set out on this post to blog about Selena, although I think I might have to dedicate one to her in the near future... wait for it!!

I used Selena as my rather LONG segue into a little story about my adventure to find a new bra... post-pregnancy, post-nursing, post-rib spreadage, post-age... you get it... lots of posts!

Caden and I went to San Antonio on Tuesday to visit KK and Albi, but of course bra shopping was just a little side perk of the trip. I have been putting it off and putting it off because I needed to wait and see what size my post nursing boobs would settle on. (I am just now realizing that my father-in-law is one of my biggest blog fans... SO SORRY Herb... you don't have to keep reading if you don't want to!!) I figured it would be a small, deflated and droopy size but even small, deflated and droopy boobs need a bra! SO after a nice lunch with Albi... KK said, come let's go to Dillards... let's get you a new bra! On me!

KK spotted me some cash because a new bra just wasn't in the budget... and she also spotted me a little help with the Cade-man who sometimes becomes a little bit of an obstacle to my dressing room attempts! 

So we roll up (Caden was in his tricycle because I left the stroller at home... BUT I had the trike!) to the lingerie section and find a sweet little lady named Anita to "fit me." 

I was sure I would have no clue where to even start. So we head to the dressing room and I lift up my arms so she can get her tape measure around me. Got the width... yep, that went up! Thank you spreading ribs!! And then she measured for cup size. I think you're a "C!" I was speechless! 

A "C" ??????? 

I look at my mom and she started to chuckle! 

Um sweet Anita... I'm not thinking I'm a C! Not possible! No way in Hades... NOPE!

Oh, oh... it must be the ruffle on your blouse... 

RIGHT, the ruffle!! Dang ruffle!

So I strip off the ruffle... but I wasn't too happy about it because I happened to be wearing my muffin top jeans because I had a tunic-y top on to cover the left-overs! BUT once I stripped the ruffle it was there for ALL to see. Well, KK, Anita and Caden... ALL of them! So it really wasn't too bad!

So after the ruffle was gone we were assured that I was in fact, NOT a "C." Duh! So off Anita and I went into the racks to pick up some bras that might work for me!

Well, honey, since you are kind of a smaller size you might be interested in a little push-up bra?! 

She said it like a statement and a question... like yes you SHOULD be interested in a push-up but I'll make it sound like a question because I'm here to serve you!

 No, I said. I'm not really into padding. I need a little but nothing obscene. 

Oh okay, honey! (she seemed disappointed)

So we gather up a few choices and hit the dressing room. I try on few and then I find one... this wonderful bra called a t-shirt bra, ironically enough. It was great. She wasn't exactly convinced that it was the RIGHT one, but I new for certain that it in fact was THE one! She wanted me to try on this next choice... it could be a winner!

I get it on and she says, OOOO yes. That one gives you a little cleavage!

Okay, Anita!! I'm not really into cleavage... never had it, never wanted it, not comfortable with it. You should have seen how paranoid I was about my growing bust line when I was a preggo... no thanks!

I'll take the t-shirt bra... two actually, if I can find the right colors!

Okay, honey let's go look!

We got to the rack and low and behold they have my size in a FLASHY HOTT PINK... ooooo, what about this one, she asks?!

Sweet, sweet Anita... 

Nope, not really into pink bras! Thanks though! 

Poor Anita... she was trying to help a girl out, but I really didn't want the help... it was like Beautiful Nail... you know that comedy act... hilarious if you haven't seen it. It was like Anita was saying that a pink bra would help me get that boyfriend I couldn't quite snag... but alas, I don't need a boyfriend or even a boy that is a friend... I just needed a bra!

We head to the checkout and Anita relays the story of the pink bra to my mom and my mom tells sweet Anita that her husband wouldn't know who got into bed with him if she brought that home... ha!

My momma... she knows me all too well!

After convincing her that I really WAS pleased with my purchases, however boring they might have been to sweet little 65 year old Anita... yes... did I mention she had great grandchildren?! It adds to the story doesn't it? And that she was about 4 ft tall? Oh yes... continues to add to it. 

So I'm happy... it's comfortable, it's practical, it's new...

It's an un bra!!

To Clean. To Sew. To Worship. To Weekend!

To Clean.

I am not ashamed to admit that vacuuming might be my least favorite household chore, second to mopping of course. Anything floor related isn't really my cup of tea. Unfortunately, the floors in our house are probably the MOST important thing to clean. Caden is ALL over them and we have two shed-happy labs. The combination of Caden's drool, Caden's food spills and dog hair is quite a lethal combo, so we do the floors a lot! Up until a few weeks ago Caden didn't really appreciate the art of vacuuming, but now, OH MY! Caden loves to vacuum! I am thinking my future looks pretty bright... with two vacuum'ers on my hands!

Caden follows Justin EVERYWHERE when he vacuums. He helps keep the cord out of Justin's way and is first to offer to help push it around the house. He especially loves to watch Justin wrap the cord... remember Caden, start at the top when you start wrapping, Justin reminds him! When they're all done, Caden enjoys putting the vacuum cleaner back where it belongs!

To sew.

This summer I decided that I needed to become a true domestic diva and learn to sew. I thought it would be pretty empowering to be able to "make!" So for Christmas I asked my in-laws for a sewing machine and they SO graciously obliged. With Caden's birthday party I hadn't had much time to break out my machine until this week. I spent one nap time reading through the manual and felt COMPLETELY defeated. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do it.

BUT, last night I decided that I'd sit at the kitchen table while Justin whooped and hollered for the Cowboys and conquer the machine! Woman vs. machine! And guess what? I WON!!! I'm not saying it was an easy fight, but I did it. And I'm also not saying that I didn't call (bug) KK at least 5 times during my journey to sewing my very first straight stitch!

After winding my bobbin, inserting my bobbin, threading the upper thread and pulling the bobbin thread back through I was READY... I found some scrap fabric in my craft bag and I told Justin to get the camera... I was about to make history!

Check it out... not bad, eh?! Haha! (And yes, I wear my Valentine's Day PJs year-round!)

I had a little hiccup before I got the straight stitch... my thread was catching on the spool and coming out of the needle, causing this spider web situation below... BUT I figured out what was happening after two attempts like this and fixed the problem!

Here is the "pretty" side of my straight stitch... 

Next stop... College T-Shirt Quilt... no wait, pillow! The College T-Shirt Quilt will be an eventual project, but I think I've got quite a few buttons to sew first!! 

To Worship.

This morning we went back to church... YAY!! I have missed it so much. Caden is officially immune (as much as the vaccines provide) from all things FLU and colds and other such things are just part of growing up (no matter how much I hate it!) SO we decided it was time for him to head BACK to the nursery. He went from Nursery A all the way to Nursery G... he hadn't been since September!

We were so excited to see that our good friend Miss Gina was Caden's nursery worker today! It sure helped to see a smiling, familiar face. Miss Gina said he did well, but definitely cried off and on and got especially upset when someone else was fussing. He apparently LOVED worship time and table time where they got to ring the bells and clap their hands. If there is clapping involved, Caden is ALL about it! I am sure the crying will get better and better?! 

After church I had so many questions to ask Caden... I felt like I had missed such a special part of his day. I can't wait until he can talk and tell me about all of his friends and the songs and things he learns about Jesus. He was jabbering away at lunch today... and I just know he was telling us the good stuff, but alas... we do not speak his language!

Caden wore some of his fancy schmancy cool dude duds to church this morning. He was the recipient of some pretty cute outfits this Christmas... we are super excited for him to get to wear them to church! We were running a little behind schedule (because we have to get there EARLY, because that is who we are!) so we didn't get too many photos!

Boy was it good to be back with our church family, this morning! We are already looking forward to next week!

To weekend!

We had a GREAT family weekend with a few other fun things that didn't get captured on film. Justin and I had a date. We went to an afternoon movie, The Blind Side... SO GOOD! Yes, I cried! I took Justin and Caden to my new favorite grocery store, Sprouts and we watched A LOT of sports, including the stomping Baylor bball gave OU last night... Caden even learned to Sic 'em Bears! We were so proud!! 

What a weekend!!

Happy weekend blog world!! 

I'm Walking On Sunshine... Woooah!

I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!! I'm walking on sunshine, woooah! I'm walking on sunshine, woooah! And don't it feel good?! Hey!

Oh man, I love that song. Ever since I captured my little toddler (oh my!) on video (below) the other day it has been in my head. I'm constantly bee-bopping to it... I  love it! I need to download it on iTunes because I am sure the REAL version is much better than my head's version or even my oral interpretation... yes, for sure it is!

The song captured me because of my lil man, but I really do have LOTS of reasons to make that song my ballad as I start 2010. We are blessed to have...

• A warm, comfy home
  
• Plenty of food to fill our tummies
  
• Our health
  
• Our friends
  
• Our families
  
• OUR GOD!

Lots to celebrate! And one that tops the charts is most surely is the survival of my first year as a Mommy! I did it! (And that was the EASY stuff!) And I don't think Caden suffered too much! Being a mom is the greatest thing I have ever done! It is the best job! I can honestly say that it is EVEN better than I could have ever imagined it to be and I always imagined it to be GREAT. I am a very happy stay-at-home Mommy! 

BUT, let's get real for a second. I don't want y'all to miss something here... I don't want you to think I'm that person that wants everyone to think everything is always perfect and easy and wonderful and oh my... because it's not!

In case you didn't know being a mom is not all that glamorous... I know you're shocked!

There are certainly days when I feel lonely, tired, isolated, frustrated, overwhelmed. There are days when I just want to plop down on the couch and watch movies. There are days when I want to go lay out at the pool and soak up all the sun my body can handle and not worry if it's too hot for Caden. There are times when I feel down right disgusting and SMELL it too. There are times, like this Tuesday when I just call my mom and cry... not because anything in particular happened, but out of pure exhaustion, both mental and physical... they're usually Tuesdays... strange I know! It's Tuesday, and I'm tired... that's what I say... and then I cry... and then I take a long hot bath... and I go back downstairs and get back at it. 

But no matter what, raising my little man is sunshine in the brightest sense of the word! And it is not just because we bought the wrong light bulbs the other day and our house strongly resembles a tanning bed... really... it's bad! It's because he is full of it... sunshine... and sometimes the other "s-word" too... but mostly sunshine!  He lights up our lives!! Little stinker!

And speaking of stinker and lighting people up... he was putting on QUITE a show at the Doctor this morning. We had to wait and wait and wait, so I decided to let him practice his walking! In his RED coveralls with the funny hat... it was freezing outside this morning so we had to bundle up. SO there went my little red Eskimo... toddling up to anyone who would pay attention to him. He even got TWO perfect strangers to pick him up... a little weird, but they were super nice so I really didn't mind! He was waving and smiling... oh man... little ham, he is!

Oh yah... I almost forgot! His 12 month stats! Every time I call Justin after the doctor's appointment to let him know how it went he always says the same things... in this order...

"How did it go?" (Justin)

"It went well, he looks good!" (Me)

"How much did he weigh?" (Justin)

"24 lb. 2 ounces." (Me)

"How tall was he?" (Justin)

"30.5 inches." (Me)

"So what percentile is that?" (Justin)

I don't know what percentile... I didn't ask! I know it is a GUY thing... and you know what I mean by "GUY" "THING" that they MUST know how "BIG" "THINGS" are... including their children! It is hilarious to me out of ALL of the things we learn at the doctor, the growth percentiles are most important to Justin... ah, well!

So just in case you are wondering too, I looked it up on the Internet and he is in between the 50th and 75th percentile in both height and weight... according to the online tool anyway! So there you have it!

Since we believe that being good stewards of our gifts is very important we want to share a little sunshine with you... a sweet video of my lil man, walking on some toddler sunshine!! Love y'all!