Happy Times

Aris April 2011 taken with the camera I borrowed to shoot this weekends wedding. Makes me wish I had a Cannon :(

There are a couple of fun things happening this weekend. I will be shooting my first wedding! I'm so nervous & extremely excited! Only nervous because it's such a special day, what if none of the pictures turn out, eeeeeeaaaaakkkkkkk! I'm sure I will do fine but please send some positive photo vibes my way, lol!

I'm really excited that Dean & I get to go to the annual JDRF Gala. It's an event that is near & dear to my heart. All the money that is raised goes to funding research to find a cure for diabetes. They are so close to finding a cure. I'm so positive that it will happen in Sloan's lifetime. I pray that they will. This has become a tradition for us. It's our one chance to get all fancied up for a night of wonderful food, schmoozing with the Joneses, & basically getting out for a night without the kids. I could care less about rubbing shoulders with fancy folk but I'm super excited to spend an evening with my sexy husband. Dinner seats start at $250 a plate so you can imagine what a treat this is for us. We get to go for free because I donate artwork for it every year. I'd do it no matter but it is a fun little treat.

Last but not least is I'm super happy about being able to sew this weekend. By Monday I should have quite a few finishes to share with you. Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Spring Is Here

Moments

There is no such thing as a "normal" smile from this girl anymore. Anytime she sees the camera she makes a silly face & promptly asks to see the photo. Then she wants me to take another photo, where she makes another silly face & quickly asks to see the photo. You get the picture. If not see the above picture for proof.

Is this a photo from Headbangers Ball? Nope! Just my homeless little Moe. Yes she did such a wonderful job fixing her hair. I must admit this photo reminds me of the creepy girl that crawled out of the well in the movie The Ring. Chills. I don't understand how she can handle her hair being in her face. She loves wearing it down! It's driving me nuts! I'm being a good mommy though & letting her do these things for herself. I know it gives her such a sense of self confidence & that she's a big girl just like her sister.

Much better! Oh how I love these two little faces! It pains my heart a little when I look at this photo. Only because they look so big! No one tells you when you become a mom that this happens. That kids grow so fast. That sometimes you'll want weeks to fly by because you feel as if you are being overrun by your offspring. That other times you'll wish you could freeze moments so they never pass. The beauty & chaos of it all leaves me at times breathless. I know one day I will look back on this moment & wish it was one of those that hadn't passed so quickly.

Stinker Pot

 Tonight at dinner you cried out of pure frustration. Why? Because you couldn't understand why I had made yellow rice for dinner. It wasn't what you wanted. You wanted breakfast for dinner. I tried not to laugh at the whole scene. It was rather adorable & you were so devastated. I had to hide my face for a second so you wouldn't see me smile. Even your dad was trying not to laugh. I explained that I make meals for my family. I don't cater to the individual food whims of each & every child or dinner would most likely be candy. I then explained how I try to make healthy meals, weather you decide to eat them or not is your choice. I won't force you to eat, but if you go to bed hungry it's your choice. You then slunked your head down & started munching on some lettuce. Lettuce! The thing most kids don't want to eat. A few minutes into the meal you told me how you would much rather your dad fix the meals because he's a better cook (I won't argue that one). Dad & I tried once again not to laugh. Mean I know but you were just being so over the top dramatic. You are not my drama girl so it was all quite entertaining. You are usually my little peacemaker so after dinner when you pushed your sister over in an effort to "help" her take off her overalls, I'd had enough. It was so hard to put you to bed without a story. I did give you snuggles & tucked you in. I don't think you will remember that. I'm pretty sure you will remember how I tortured you with yellow rice. The horror of it all! Even though you were being such a stinker pot tonight, I still love you more than all the stars in the sky.

Every Little Things Gonna Be Alright

Our house looks like this right now. The whole house. Piles of unwashed laundry. Piles of folded clothes. Piles of unfolded clean clothes. Unswept floors. Dirty dishes. Since I started this post I've almost gotten it under control. It's starting to feel almost normal again.

I woke up on Wednesday morning with a heavy heart & a sense of pure chaos filling my soul. How is it that I can go along for weeks at a time, months even, where everything is happy & fine. The house looks lovely. Kids are bathed & dressed accordingly. Happy little home. Then bam! It all changes in an instant. How is it that two weeks of sickness in our home can cause such untidiness? That two ear infections, a puking baby, lack of a good night sleep in months can finally send me over the edge? What was it that pushed my every last button? Why now & not then? So I had a good cry. Most of Wednesday morning. I let it all out. Sobbed even. I cried when talking to pretty much anyone that morning. It didn't matter who they were or what they were calling about. It made me cry. I even questioned my own sanity. Seriously Summer? I have my rough days like anyone else but it was getting a little silly. I started in on the pity party. Naming all the things in my head that are wrong with my life, no friends....check! Sick kids.....check! I'm fat.....check! The house is dirty.....check! I miss my family.....check! The list goes on (I won't bore you) It was so bad a found myself praying. I felt the only person that would really understand what my heart was feeling was my Heavenly Father. I asked him for help. Please just help me to know I can get through this day. Then the craziest thing happened. My day went from bad to worse. I took my Sloanie to the Dr. & when we got home Omri had thrown up again. Only now his hands & feet were turning blue. I quickly called urgent care where they said go straight to the ER. So we did & I cried the whole way there. I called my dad & he prayed with me over the phone. I called my best friend & she said prayers for us. I prayed too. I don't think I've ever been that scared. Scared that my sweet little baby would stop breathing or that something horrible was wrong with him. The ER got us in right away. The Dr was amazing with Omri. She explained that she has seen this a few times before & although it should always be taken serious (especially if you have any worry at all) it can happen to some babies. A sweet friend called and I explained what was happening, she brought me food & stayed with us almost the whole time we were in the ER. I didn't ask her to, she just chose to do that. It meant the world to me. Thankfully we were able to go home that evening. He has still had episodes of bluish hands & feet & he is still feeling crappy & on his 3rd antibiotic but he's okay. I couldn't be more grateful. Grateful for family, friends, prayers, & modern medicine. Mostly grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows what I need personally. He knows me. He knows me! How huge is that? He knows us all & loves us all. I'm also grateful to know I'm not crazy. Nope. Yesterday brought a monthly gift that reassured me I didn't need a straitjacket. Just some Midol.

Best Package Ever!

Can you tell how excited she is? We start pump training in the next week or so (I'm in the middle of setting up training right now). This is something she has wanted for a few years now. I think she's just plum tired of all the injections. It isn't uncommon for her to receive over 1,500 shots a year. That's one thousand five hundred. Not to mention all of the finger pricks for testing her blood sugar that she takes on a daily basis. It is not uncommon for her to take over 2,200 tests a year. Yes her little fingers are calloused and sometimes she has to prick two or three times for one blood test. In her 7 years of having diabetes she has taken well over 10,500 shots & tested her sugar at least 15,400 times. Let me as her mother digest that for a moment. It has become such a common part of our lives. I remember when she was first diagnosed & it felt like our lives were over as we knew it. It did get easier. It continues to get easier. Not that living with diabetes is easy by any means, but caring for her health continues to become a little more understandable on a daily basis.

What will this pump do you might be asking yourself? I don't know much about it myself. That is what the training is for. I just found out our first class is this Friday in our home. Yippie! I do know that her port site only has to be changed every 2-3 days depending on how her body reacts to the equipment. In reality we are looking at on the high end of things 183 site changes a year. That is a huge difference. She is excited to have more "control" over her own health. I think she feels that owning a pump is for big girls (even though very small babies use pumps). I am hoping that with constant monitoring we can get her A1c below 9, she's almost there! 

So wish us luck! If you have any experience with diabetes in your family or experience with the pump please leave some comment love. We are newbies here, advice is totally welcome. Also, like I said, we are new at this so if I've in anyway given wrong information about the pump my apologies. I can't wait to share this journey with you all!

9th Finish

Since I was a close friend of the person I did the under the sea illustration for I wanted to send her a special little something for the baby. I decided to make her a special little sunshine to go along with it. They live in Washington state so I figured a little extra sunshine sent their way could only be a good thing ;) I have made another one of these for the upcoming JDRF Gala & plan on adding a few variations to my Etsy shop in the very near future.

9 down, 43 to go

8th Finish

I know it's been a while since I've posted a finish. This illustration was commissioned by a dear friend of mine for her newest baby girl. She had purchased the Pottery Barn turtle bedding for the nursery & wanted some art to go along with it. It was a really fun process. The first sketch didn't make it but the second sketch did & this is the finished product.

I found the hardest part of this project was finding just the right papers to use. Once I dialed that in the rest of this illustration went fairly smoothly. I am making another one for the upcoming JDRF Gala. It will have a few variations but I'm keeping it pretty similar. The best part of this who process was the call that I got saying how much she loved what I had sent her. I don't think there is a better feeling than knowing your art has brightened someones day. If you are interested in having an original illustration for you or for someone you love, please let me know.

8 down, 44 to go

1st Hair Cut

She wasn't too sure of the whole process.

Afterward she was tickled pink to look just like sissy.

Little Merris donated her hair to Locks of Love in memory of her grandma Cindy's sister. She died of breast cancer a few years back. She was a little scared to get it cut at first but now she loves it. Me, I'm just glad I don't have to listen to all the crying anymore while fixing her hair in the morning. I was done with it. How is it that one moment she looks so little & the next she looks so mature? 

 While we're on the topic of hair I thought I'd mention this lovely looking homeless child pictured above is actually Mozers. Yep. She doesn't want help fixing her hair anymore. Some days I'm fine with it. Like days when we are not leaving the house or if we are going to places where people know I don't normally let my children look this raggedy shmaggedy.

Allowing her this freedom has afforded her such a sense of self confidence. I'm constantly met with, "I can do it mom. You don't need to help me anymore." I really am trying to let my children have these freedoms. The freedom to choose all those little choices that will someday turn into big decisions to be made. I know by allowing a few bad hair days here & there I'm really giving them lessons in freedom of choice. Kinda funny to think that this is how it all works, but I think I'm on to something here. No matter if I'm right or wrong in my parenting ideas I do know one thing for certain. I love these little people more than life itself. I love how each one of my kids are so different from the next. I marvel at the complexity of it all & rejoice that I get to be a part of their lives.

9 Months

So this is what 9 months looks like?

Where you are the center of their world & mine too.

Where muscles never looked so darn cute.

& the expression, "I slept like a baby!" must have come about because of you.

You love to clap your hands whenever you do something awesome.

You can pull yourself up on everything and you have even started taking a few steps with my help.

We had to lower your crib. Now we wake up to you standing in your crib.

You love music. You play on your little piano as much as you are able & when your sister practices piano you want to be right next to her.

You love it when I sing to you. You sing along in your own sweet way.

You wave hello to people & then when they say hi back you get shy & hide your face in my shoulder while you take peaks to see if they are still watching you.

You also have 2 teeth now. Your new favorite is tiny pieces of bread.

You are by far much rougher than any of my girls. With that being said you snuggle me up like none of my girls ever would.

I love you little Oblio!

On Slowing Down

 First day of Spring 2011. Seriously?

Melted snow 

Signs of spring 

Water on grass in my backyard

We are back in business folks! Computer wise that is. After a few months of Internet problems & a computer that kept shutting off intermittently we decided it would be best to take our Mac in before our warranty ends. Good thing too (more on that later). Before we took it in we even had the Charter man out here over a dozen times trying to fix our Internet. I'm not kidding. The little ones were waking up in the morning asking if they were going to get to see Dan that day. Poor Dan, he rewired our house from the crawlspace to the power poll & things still weren't working properly. Our dear friends backed up our computer for us (thankfully) & dropped it off to be fixed. After 2 weeks & no word on how the computer was coming along I decided to call. The guy was like, "Looks like it's a software problem & we are working on updating it." Really? Software problem? So I asked if software problems would be causing the Internet to shutdown, discoloration on our computer screen, ghosting (where the image stays even when it's no longer there), & a couple of other things. He said they should probably take another look. Good thing they did. They basically replaced most of the inside of the computer including the hard drive. If we didn't have the warranty it would have cost us almost $800 in repairs. So grateful we had it. Everything is working so perfectly now.

To say I didn't miss having the computer would be a total lie. I will admit the first 3 days I found myself walking over to the computer desk. Really! I was like a druggie looking for his fix. Then came the withdraws. The 2 days of sulking. Poor me, lol! Then something magical happened. Silence. A chance to listen to life, children, my imagination. A chance to slow down. I hadn't even realized that my life had been so sucked into this modern contraption. Where had I gone wrong? Why had I allowed this to happen? The best wake up call I have had in years. I got so much work done, spent time with my girls, worked out, organized the kitchen, sketched, wrote out goals, & enjoyed the quiet. Enjoying the quiet is something that I usually have a hard time with. Now I crave it. So thankful I was forced into this realization. I strongly recommend this to anyone who might be struggling with too much media. It will only benefit you & your family. 

So over the next couple of days I plan on posting some fun pictures from the last couple of weeks. I look forward to catching up on all of your blogs too. I'm off to go play outside with my kids. Hope you enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!