Sophie's boo boo

Recently, Sophie slipped on our hardwood floor and hit her shin on her bed frame, resulting in a fractured tibia.  Poor girl!  She is really recovering well though.  She is able to put some weight on it now.  The first time she was able to stand up on her own, she got a huge smile on her face and proclaimed, "Mommy, I'm standing!"  followed soon by, "Mommy, I'm walking!"  She was SO proud of herself and so happy.  She gets the cast off in 4-6 weeks.  She is always asking to take it off, but then reminds herself,  "We can't take it off, it's supposed to stay on."  Yes, Sophie, you are right.  She is too cute.  She was the best little patient too.  She just laid there quietly when she was examined at the ER (with a sad little frown on her face and an occasional wimper).  I felt so sad for her.  The first few nights were rough for her because of pain, but she is back to her old self now.  Here are some pictures of her cast.

Some random thoughts about the election

Ok, so throughout the campaigning over the past few months, I have refrained from posting any opinions about one party or the other, but I decided I wanted to write about how I feel.  I don't know that facebook is the best place to post about such things, but since this is my blog, I figure, you only have to read it if you want to, right?  This post is completely random, and somewhat disorganized, but that is kind of what my brain is right now.  I totally understand if you disagree with what I say.    These are tough issues, and I do not claim to be an expert.  This is just what I think right now.

Historically, I have been pretty ignorant about politics in general.  My parents didn't strongly push the views of one particular party or another, and I don't remember a whole lot of conversations in our house about politics.  We discussed our own Christian values, but politics just seemed to be a topic that was neither here nor there.  Now I see why.  No party is completely correct or even close to it in regard to the myriad of issues there are to be addressed.  Everything is so complicated and not straightforward.  The effects of one seemingly good idea end up being good for some reasons and bad for others.  It is hard to know what is best for an entire nation.  It is hard to get a straight answer about what a candidate really believes and plans to do.  It takes a lot of work to learn about and understand all the intricacies of new policies and their implications.  And even after you do understand a lot, how do you decide what is best, particularly when there are several good (but just different) solutions? 


Now that I am older, and my life seems more impacted by politics, I have taken a greater interest in it.  I almost feel, though, that ignorance was bliss.  Not really, but it is just sad to see such division in our country.  I just feel disillusioned by it all.   I will go ahead and say that I voted for Mitt Romney, but I voted for Obama in the last election.  This year, the issue that was most important to me was our country's financial state.  I think we need to focus on reducing our national debt and excess spending.  What is most important to me next election may change.  I do think that Mitt Romney would have done a better job regarding this issue than Obama will.  However, I think that there are lots of things that Obama will do a better job of than Romney could have.

I know that God is sovereign over everything.  He allowed the results of this election to happen.  Obviously he has a purpose, and I trust it!  Even if I don't agree with everything Obama may choose to do, I believe that God has placed him as a leader over our country.  When people make ridiculous comments about our country falling apart because of Obama, it makes me want to laugh!  Yes, we will be impacted by his decision.  We may even be impacted in ways we don't like, but it is not the end of the world!  There will be another election in four years.  Life will go on.

I think what I am bothered by most of all are people who are so wrapped up in their own ideas that they won't listen to the ideas of others with an open mind and a desire to truly understand without making judgments.  I think that Christians would make such an incredible impact if they related to others with this attitude.  Even if they still disagreed, respect for others would remain.  And when people feel respected and heard, they are more likely to reciprocate in a similar way.  I think it is okay to be disappointed about the election results, but what do you really accomplish when you make comments about moving to Canada or how this country is royally screwed or make disrespectful comments about President Obama?  Whether you are excited or saddened by the results, if you claim to be a Christian, think about whether what you say conveys a spirit of love.

Halloween!

I stole this cute idea from a mom of twin girls.  This costume was really easy to put together.  I found a tutu tutorial and made the tutus.  The bread on the girls' shirts is just cardboard from a box and white paper.  If I did it again, I would use felt because the girls kept pulling the bread off of their shirts, and felt wouldn't tear through like cardboard.  We went trick or treating in a neighborhood with some friends, and I think the girls really liked it!  They looked so cute too.  Here are some pics of my peanut butter and jelly girls.  I only got a couple, and Sophie has been making this goofy smile when you tell her to smile for a picture.  Oh well! She is a funny girl!

Lately at our house

I had taken a bunch of pictures recently that don't necessarily go together, but they are all too cute not to post. 

First up, the girls posing on the couch in new outfits from Grandma:

Next, random ones of girls around the house:

playing in shaving cream for our "Parents as Teachers" visit

She is SOOO happy!

Sophie is a little more hesitant to get messy, but she eventually loved it too.

The play kitchen also converts to a car with the faucet as a steering wheel.  Who knew?

And finally, Sophie's "big girl bed." She has done really well staying in it at night.  She even waits for
me to come get her in the morning like she did in her crib.  Just yesterday, she got up on her own from nap time (and didn't take a nap), but her naps have been hit or miss lately anyway, so it isn't a big deal as long as she still sometimes takes naps.

I was really proud of myself for finding great deals on her bedding stuff.  The mattresses were given to us used from someone we know.  They hadn't been used much and were only four years old.  We even have another set for Sally now.  The bed frame came from Craig's list for $70.  I found the bedding at TJ Maxx.  Quilt $25, Sheet set $15, and sham to match quilt $10.   I love it all! 

close up of fabrics

 I want to add something above the headboard but am going to wait till she's a bit older and won't pull it down or destroy it.

Just barely hanging on. . .

to my twenties, that is.   It is hard to believe that I turned 29 last Friday!  I don't feel old at all, but that number just sounds old.  It makes me feel good, though, that customers at work think I am still a college student.  They always ask what I am studying.  And then I shock them by telling them I have 2 kids and have been married for 6 years!  I wonder how long I'll be able to pull that off.

Anyway, I had a really good birthday this year and basically got to celebrate all weekend!  I didn't have to work on Friday, which was wonderful!  All day long I was trying to decide where we should go to eat.  We didn't get a sitter because we were going somewhere Sunday night without the girls, so I was trying to think of somewhere kid friendly.  I was craving a good salad and some sushi, so I actually decided we would go to Kroger (Dillon's here) to eat at their yummy salad bar since there is also a sushi bar there.  Never thought I would be spending my birthday dinner there, but it is really what I wanted!  It was also nice for the girls since it was easy to pick out things they liked there.

Next, we did some shopping to spend some of my birthday money.  We ended the night by eating Freddy's Frozen Custard.  Their brownie fudge sundae is my new favorite dessert.  I also got an order of fries, and they were AMAZING!  They tasted just like the fries from Houston's/Hillstone (for those of you in the Dallas area), which are the best fries in the world.

The next day, I took advantage of Ryan being home and headed off for some solo shopping time.  I really am not a big shopper, but I decided I don't want to become stuck in that "mom" fashion rut of not caring too much about my appearance.  Obviously, my appearance is not on the very top of my priority list, but I don't think it should be at the very bottom either.  It was SO FUN to go shopping alone and get to take my time.  I find that I have trouble putting together complete outfits.  I can find single pieces I like, but tend to buy a lot of similar things that way.  So, this time, I checked out pinterest before I left.  I was armed with some good ideas and really was successful in finding everything I set out to.  So fun!  As icing on the cake, I came home to a clean house with ALL of our dirty laundry washed and folded.  What a great husband I have!!!  Here are some of my inspirations:

 

 

  

On Sunday, Ryan and I got to see Broadway's traveling production of the Lion King, which was a real treat.  I have seen a few Broadway shows before, and knew that this one would be good.  Did you know that they built a theater in NYC especially to house that show?  Nothing else is shown there.  I thought that was crazy!  Goes to show how successful it has been. 

I got lots of fun presents in the mail from friends and family, and felt especially loved by all the phone calls and messages I received.  Oh, I almost forgot, Ryan's gift to me was to have a cleaning lady come clean our whole house!  She is coming next week, and I am pumped!  He is so creative and thoughtful.

I guess I had better live this next year up since it is my last one of my twenties.  Getting older doesn't really bother me though.  I have a feeling my thirties will be just as good, if not better.

Sophie sings

Here is a cute video of Sophie singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  I was trying to get her to sing Old McDonald because her rendition of it is hilarious.  My favorite part of this video, though, is her request at the end: "Mommy, please turn it off."  She is so cute!

Need some extra cash?

I don't normally blog about companies or brands, but lately I have been spending some time on a website called Expo TV.  One of my friends blogged about it, and I decided to check it out (Thanks, Ashleigh!).  Basically, you submit reviews of various products around your home that you already have.  Each review earns you points.  Those points can then be redeemed for a variety of things.  For example, for 3000 points, you can earn a $25 Visa or Amazon gift card.  And really, it takes hardly any time to rack up points.  After doing 3 reviews, I had already earned over 3000 points.  Also, doing a review takes hardly any time at all.  I use the camera on my computer to record a minute long review of something, and then I upload it to the site.  So easy.  After you create an account (which is totally free), they send you emails, inviting you to review various things.  Each review earns an average of 300-800 points.  They also have a section of "Most Wanted Items" where you can earn 800-2500 points per review.  The products in every section change frequently, so if I don't see anything to review, I know there will probably be something there soon if I check back.  I usually don't like programs like this because it takes so long to rack up enough points to get anything, but this is different.  It takes much less time, and the rewards are worth it (to me!).  I figured if I earn 1000 points each day for thirty days (not necessarily every day in a row) over the next few months, I will have earned 30,000 points.  That equals out to be $250 in Visa gift cards which I can use online to buy anything I want.  I plan to use the extra money to buy Christmas gifts.  I just wanted to share this idea with others in case you might also be looking for an easy way to make a little extra cash.  If you want to know more, feel free to ask!  You can find the link for Expo TV's website here.

Celebrating 6 years!

August 19th marks the day of our wedding 6 years ago, and I am so thankful to have spent the past 6 years married to such an amazing man!  Ryan is a great teacher, a loving and fun dad, my closest friend, and so talented in so many ways.  I am so lucky to have been given him to spend my life with!  We didn't really get to do much to celebrate our anniversary.  I worked Sunday all day (I NEVER have to work Sundays, so it was a bummer that I ended up working this one) and then we had church in the evening.  Ryan started feeling kind of sick too, so he didn't exactly enjoy being left to take care of the girls all day by himself.  We did end up ordering a pizza and watching the first half of Jane Eyre after we put the girls to bed.  It's an exciting life we lead, folks.  I am looking forward to our date night on Thursday! 

Knoxville

We had an awesome trip to Knoxville this summer to see my parents and sister.  We were only sad Amelia and her husband Josh couldn't make it too.  We really enjoyed hanging out with my family.  We mostly did a lot of lounging around the house and outside in their amazing new garden/patio.  My mom and dad cooked us amazing meals every night.  We saw lots of movies at the theatre.  We went to the farmers' market, played games, and visited the splash pads around town.  The girls' favorite activity by far was swimming in the little plastic pool with a built-in slide that my parents got them.  I got to see a few close friends, but I wish we had been there a little longer so I could have seen more people.  I can't wait to go back again!  My 10 year high school reunion was this year, and I wish we could have coordinated our trip so we were there for that, but, sadly, Ryan had to be back at school at the beginning of August.  I really love Knoxville, and would even like to live there again someday.  We'll see.  Here are some pics of the trip.