La Vida Leipprandt

Two New Chicks

2012-02-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

Pullet - a young hen, esp. one less than a year old.

Having chickens here at Casa Leipprandt was my idea in the first place...if you'll recall I got very romantical about the notion of freshly laid eggs for breakfast and suburban farming and living off the land around two years ago. But after Charlotte's unfortunate demise I got used to just having Hester around. There's a lot less poop with one chicken. As a matter of fact, it's cut in half, if my math is right.

Not that I clean out the chicken coop all that regularly anyway. But with Charlotte gone and Hester not laying enough eggs to earn her keep, caring for another chicken seemed like a big (unrewarding) task. And one I wasn't up for what with my two toddlers pooping gracious plenty enough for this mama's liking.

Last week however B Daddy came home one day with two new ~~chicks~~ pullets. Um.....really??When did we have this conversation about the family addition? Oh that's right, we didn't. I feigned annoyance when he eagerly pulled out the apple carton they were hauled north in and told him, "coop poop duty is all yours now mister."

But then he let them out into our coop and it turns out they are GORGEOUS! And little. They are like pint-sized Hesters with different coloring.

Oh and Hester hates them. She's a total pullet-bully. Which in truth makes it way more entertaining to watch them all down there now.

The day of their arrival she stood guard at the entrance to the coop and pecked them if they dared walk the plank. She's mellowed a bit after a week, but she still stands in the middle of their run and plays Shark & Minnows with them as they try to dash across to get their food and water.

The internet people say that pullets start laying when they are around 6-8 months old. Not entirely helpful since I don't know how old they are now...but that just adds to the excitement. Never a dull moment around here you know.

Now We See in Part

2012-02-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to fill you in on. We made some mega-big decisions around here about the co-habitation of our children and the porch renovation and there are now THREE chickens taking up residence in our palatial backyard coop (none of whom will lay a darn egg).

I'll get around to all of that I will.

But it came to my attention last night that my post about buying Fruity Cheerios inadvertently made another mama friend feel bad about her mothering/grocery store-ing skills. And that is a matter I feel needs to be dealt with ASAP.

I have a few things I'm good at when it comes to my newly-acquired mothering skills. I am good at feeding my children mostly nutritionally balanced (non-organic mind you) meals on a budget. I'm good at breaking into Disney songs without warning in the car. I'm good at snuggling. I'm good at not freaking out over a little blood (generally speaking of course.)

But when it comes to most other things...I am a serious work in progress. Patience is not my strong suit. I never knew I had anger issues until I became Mom. I don't like playing pretend. I usually make an exasperated face and sigh when my children wake up in the morning or from naps. (I know! Awful. And true.) I run out of joy, kindness and grace before lunchtime most days.

My sister? She is SO CONTROLLED with the tone of voice she uses with her kids.

My girlfriend Amy? She is JOYOUSLY SILLY with her little man.

My high school friend Lindsay lets her kid GET DOWN AND DIRTY when he plays.

Another mama I know from afar has done an incredible job of TEACHING RESPECT to her 6 yr old.

This lady's blog I read? She feeds her family of 6 way more healthily than I do on a budget that's less than HALF OF MINE.

I admire these women so much because I struggle with these things. I struggle not to yell and to just be silly at times, to get over the inevitable mess of play dough and finger paint and focus on the joy. To patiently correct again and again until respectful behavior starts emerging. To better myself and my children in our days together. And these women, in the snapshots of their mothering I see, seem to have it so much more together than I do. And so I wanted to remind you and remind me that what we see in glimpses is not the full picture. What we read on blogs is the best, or the funniest, or the healthiest or the most noble of parenting moments.

But it's just a piece of the whole picture. They're not perfect. I'm not perfect. (Although I suspect you knew that coming in here...) So give yourself a little grace for today and go on being the best mama you can be. One Fruity Cheerio at a time.

Because I Love You

2012-01-30T06:07:00.000-08:00

Dear Elijah,

I bought these at the store last week because you asked for them. I paid $3.99 and didn't even have a coupon. They are full of bad sugar and artificial coloring and flavors.

I just wanted you to know that sometimes I'm a REALLY good mama.

Love,

Belated Christmas

2012-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today I finally filled up the memory card on my camera which means I was forced to download all the pictures from Christmas at last. And so, a month after the fact I'd like to share my favorite moments from Christmas with you.

Anyone else only just now getting around to seeing their pictures?

Why I'm Not a Nurse

2012-01-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

*Warning* If you are squeamish like me or prone to preggo-nausea, you may want to stop reading now. It's your call.

But really maybe you should stop reading.

We had a lovely three day getaway in the mountains this past weekend. My favorite in-laws watched our children and B Daddy and I snuck up to a cabin with my parents and sister/brother in law to relax, play games and eat. This was our 8th annual trip over MLK weekend and it was perfect.

B Daddy brought his bike. He never used his bike. But he brought it. Along with two fishing rods and a paddle board. The man has never happened upon an outdoor adventure unprepared in his life.

So late Monday night after the kids were in bed, we were busy putting away the mountain of outdoor gear that we had taken up with us. I was stowing the fishing gear and B Daddy was pulling his bike down from on top of the car. He was fiddling with the front wheel, trying to lock it back into place when I heard a loud CLANG! followed by a deep sucking intake of breath and turned in time to see B Daddy awkwardly drop his bike, grab his hand and moan as blood dripped down onto the garage floor.

B Daddy is no wimp (and clearly I'm no hero) so I give him a minute or two before addressing the situation. Um....you ok? Do you need something babe? You look a tad bit pale. (I'm thinking he cut himself - like a paper cut - like a really really bad paper cut.) Paper towels, he grimaces. So I run into the kitchen, grab a wad of paper towels and pray my nurse duties are complete for the evening as I run them back out to the garage. He pulls his right hand away from clamping his left fingers to grab the wad I've extended and now it's my turn to suck in my breath and turn away as I see a gush of bright red blood pool at his fingertips and soak the towels quickly.

I am not the nurse in the family. My sister is. And for very good reason.

As I type this I'm sucking my breath in through my teeth and stopping to shake my hands back and forth in the classic ew-ow-oh-my gosh-yuck weak stomached person kind of way. Never mind actually being on the scene. God help the person in mortal need who has the unfortunate luck of my presence as Good Samaritan.

He came in to the sink and ran his hand under warm water until we could finally see what happened. (And by "we" I do mean "he"... I was busy on the floor in the corner, rocking back and forth and hugging myself tightly.) It was not exactly a paper cut. More like a disc brake slice. Across the tip of his finger. Straight through his nail. As in, he now had two very distinctly separate index finger nails. (Stop, frantic hand wringing, full body shiver.) So anyways....

I asked from my corner, is it deep? Should you go to the ER? Do I need to drive you to the hospital? B Daddy dismissed me (after all I'm no nurse) with a speculative, what are they going to do? I don't think you can stitch this. He's busily prodding the tip of his finger with a steak knife (clearly also not a nurse) and determining that he still has feeling and can move his finger.

Phew. A wave of "no big deal!" relief washed over me and I bravely offered to bandage up the nail, which was accomplished by squinting my eyes and singing This Little Light of Mine to myself. Then I got the man a beer. (I may not be a medical professional, but I'm a VERY qualified wife.) Before turning in for the night B Daddy texted a picture of the nasty finger tip to my sister (always wise to get a second opinion!) and I made sure we re-bandaged the finger so he wouldn't bleed all over our nice white sheets.

Tuesday morning my sister determined (via highly graphic severed nail text message) that B Daddy should seek medical attention. And we discovered that some nurses and doctors and hand specialists had slightly different opinions of the disc-brake-sliced finger than we did.

You're shocked. I know, I was too.

Wednesday morning (aka yesterday) B Daddy went in for SURGERY to remove his nail, clean up the sliced bone (!) and sew back up his nail bed. Is this too gross? It turns out that if you cut your bones, there's a good chance they might get infected. And that, my non-medical professional friends, is a VERY bad thing. Also, sever your nail bed and your nail will never grow past that point. Who knew? Certainly not us.

And so yesterday I had a drugged up hubs at home and two kids who were really excited to watch movies and eat cookies on the couch while climbing on top of their recovering Daddy. I was really excited to finally have an extra set of hands around this place during the day.

And today I am once again EXTREMELY grateful for those in our community who did go to medical school. Thank you for the years you spent sucking it up and learning to look at grossly severed body parts. Thank you for putting better-paying jobs on hold so that you could work at urgent care clinics and take care of the lesser-medically inclined.

And most of all, thank you for not disdaining your family members when they text you graphic images at 11pm to ask for a medical opinion. There will be more to come in the future I am certain.

No One Puts Baby in the Corner

2012-01-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

Or the closet apparently.

Back in August when B Daddy and I found out we were expecting child #3 in as many years, I cried. Many of the tears were shed because it meant no more wine and impending heartburn, but then there was also the fact that we had no room for a baby. No. Room.

Then I cried because I was finally skinny again and being pregnant would mean getting fat.

But back to the room thing. We live in an adorable little three bedroom ranch house. We bought it in 2005, with the assumption (like everyone who bought a house in 2005) that we would live here for a few years, decide to start a family, bank $30K when we sold the home and move on up a la The Jeffersons.

Side Note :

When we went to get a loan to buy our "starter home," our mortgage broker practically called us everything but losers for not taking out an interest-only 5yr ARM with 0% down. She was 30 and had her own mortgage company and a really shiny car and a million dollar house. Or something like that. I mainly remember walking out of her office feeling like an idiot dumbo backwoods country bumpkin kiddo for asking about 30 yr fixed rate loans.

But that's what we got. And then two years into our marriage Dave came to speak at church and I went home and convinced B Daddy that what we were doing wrong with our lives was having a second mortgage (to avoid paying something called PMI...) and that we needed to pay it off pronto.

And so from 2007 to 2008 we (both making good money with no diaper or formula or OBGYN line items in the budget yet) dutifully plunked down cash each month until that mortgage was gone and we could proudly say we owned a full 20% of our home.

Then in 2009 we brought home our first bundle of joy. And I found there was more than enough room for three of us. I loved that we had no stairs to put baby gates on and that there was absolutely no reason to use a baby monitor when you could hear a whisper in the kitchen from our back bedroom. So in 2010 Sweet B graced our lives with her presence and Casa Leipprandt became fully occupied. Now the plan has always been to have more than 2 kids, but apparently my knack for anal-retentive life planning went out the window with my birth control pills in 2008. So here we are with #3 on the way and No Room.

Which is where I should bring the financial side note on our mortgage status full circle. We could afford to move. We are thankfully not upside down. We bought a small home that we could more than afford and have worked hard to pay it down. We live in an amazing neighborhood where our house would sell for more than we paid for it.

But along the way we fell in love. You know how much I love our house. I don't want to move. Ever. I love it here. I love the scratched up hardwoods that we naively installed thinking they were lab-proof. I love the swing in the front yard and the chicken coop in the back and the big master bedroom and the renovated kitchen. I could go on and on and on.

When I finally stopped crying and we started talking about where Baby #3 would sleep, I thought the master closet was a brilliant solution. It's big, close to my bed for midnight feedings and hey NO windows! That baby would sleep like the dead. B Daddy was totally on board.

And then suddenly he wasn't. Something about not wanting to get dressed in the hallway and having to take silent showers.

So we are back to the drawing board. Sweet B cries out in the night A LOT. I really do love her and want to continue loving her and I'm worried that if she shared a room with The Squirt and woke him up ever I wouldn't love her for a while. But babies cry A LOT as well. So it's not exactly reasonable to expect my angel Squirt to sleep through a newborn's wailings either.

All this to say we're getting estimates on turning the screened in porch into a sunroom/nursery/playroom/guest room room. And it ain't gonna be cheap. But it is exciting to think about. I'll keep you posted.

Anyone have sibling room-sharing tales to regale me with?? Or brilliant ideas about where else to put the baby? I'm open to any and all opinions...we have 11 weeks to figure it out.

Mama Monday

2012-01-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

This post is exquisitely written and sums up my feelings about the stage of life I'm in so very well. Highly recommend the full read if you're a mom, if you're married to a mom or if you're an elderly woman who occasionally tells young moms that it all goes by too quickly at the grocery store...

I think parenting young children (and old ones, I’ve heard) is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they’ve heard there’s magic in the climb. They try because they believe that finishing, or even attempting the climb are impressive accomplishments. They try because during the climb, if they allow themselves to pause and lift their eyes and minds from the pain and drudgery, the views are breathtaking. They try because even though it hurts and it’s hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard.These moments are so intense and unique that many people who reach the top start planning, almost immediately, to climb again. Even though any climber will tell you that most of the climb is treacherous, exhausting, killer. That they literally cried most of the way up.

Read the rest of Don't Carpe Diem here - it's been shared over 180 THOUSAND times already on Facebook. That's crazy. Oh and if you're the elderly lady at the grocery store who tells me how quickly it goes by, I appreciate it - I truly do, I need the reminder every day.

On Pregnancy the Third Time Around

2012-01-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

The mood I'm in is directly related to the stretchiness of my pants.

Tums are my new favorite dessert.

I get a LOT of stares when out and about with my littles. Not sure if they are meant to express judgment, admiration or sympathy.

Stretch marks DO come back.

I don't recall what it feels like to not be pregnant.

There is only one "belly" picture of me this time around.

I no longer sit on the floor or cushy couches if I can help it. It takes far too long to get back up.

I've become a laissez-faire kind of mama. A lot of the fight has left me. :)

I still drink coffee, eat deli meat and have the occasional glass of wine.

I still love to feel Baby Boy move.

I still make B Daddy put his hand on my belly each and every day to feel him.

I am still eager to meet this new little soul, to hold his tiny hands and smell his yummy head.

It is still a miracle.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

Today it's back to life, back to reality (whoa...did anyone else just take a trip back to the early 90s with me and En Vogue there??) for the Leipprandt clan. B Daddy is off at work - yes, in spite of all of the college football madness going on - and it's me and the babes holding down the house. Our Christmas tree is already down, which usually makes me sad and unjolly, but this year I think it just makes the house feel cleaner. New year - clean slate.

All across Facebook and blogland I'm reading about peoples' New Year resolutions and feeling less than ambitious. B Daddy and I took a walk over the weekend and joked that our only goal was to survive 2012. Which in all truth is not a joke. If we ran into each other in December of 2012 and I had a baby on one hip, a husband holding my hand and two toddlers running circles around around us I would be well-pleased with the year in review.

But there are a few things that I am going to put on a To-Do in 2012 list that I thought I'd share (for the accountability and because I like lists). In no particular order they are:

1. Finish the slipcover

2. Maneuver two children into one bedroom. Not sure which two, not sure which bedroom.

3. Knock out the rest of my 30 Before 30 List

4. Have the new living room chair re-upholstered

5. Not get pregnant

Ambitious I know. You're intimidated by my boldness, my discipline, my goal-setting capabilities. Astounded that I will attempt to complete all of the above in a mere 364 days. Let's just say that makes two of us.

Present Over Perfect

2011-12-20T04:23:00.000-08:00

I know I said I'd be saying adios in order to get my crazy Christmas house in order, but I came across this article in my dark and still quiet time this morning and thought you might need the reminder (as I did)...

Relationship over rushing. People over pressure. Meaning over mania. ...You've been entrusted with one life, made up of days and hours and minutes. You are spending them according to your values, whether you admit it or not....

Read the rest on Shauna's blog. Merry Christmas friends!

Christmas is Coming!!

2011-12-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

I thought I was on top of things. I already have like 15 presents wrapped. And a decorated tree. And my in-laws' gifts purchased. But somehow a thousand things are on my to-do list already this Monday morning so this is my cry of, "Uncle!" Something's gotta give this week and it's the blog dear friends.

Today I'll be grocery shopping, sending out the last batch of Christmas cards, buying a gift for the babysitter and starting my final homemade gift (which promises total awesomeness if I'm actually able to finish it). Tomorrow there's wrapping and baking and a doctor's appointment and then from Wednesday on it's a blur of social engagements and oh yeah, Christmas day.

I have loved all of our little morning chats this year so much. I hope your Christmas is very merry and hope you stick around for more in 2012!

The Squirt Goes Skiing

2011-12-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

My amazing in-laws picked the Squirt up on Monday afternoon and drove up to Beech Mountain North Carolina for a little holiday getaway (with a toddler!) and some East Coast skiing. B Daddy and the rest of us are driving up Thursday to meet them, and in the meantime Sweet B and I are enjoying some girl time - finishing up homemade Christmas gifts and making more cookies than should be legal.

I got this picture text from my mother-in-law this morning:

I almost started crying. Sometimes my sentimental motherly side comes out of nowhere on me. Or maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones. Either way, I'm really excited to join them this weekend and see if the little man has learned some sweet moves.

Bringing Christmas Cheer

2011-12-12T05:55:00.000-08:00

My sister has been doing this activity from Lil Light O Mine with her daughters to help them get in the Giving vs. Getting spirit this Christmas season. Yesterday we were the recipients of an awesome note from the Squirt fan club (number of members - 1. Cousin Kate.) telling the Squirt how much she liked coming over to his house and having him chase her. Honestly!

I love all the ideas Lil Light O Mine has. They are simple, doable things that help teach kids the joy of giving. So we decided to jump on the bandwagon and bring some Christmas cheer to our local children's hospital. (Which just so happens to be where Aunt Anna works.)

The Squirt and I mixed up some peppermint bark, dipped some buckeyes and then went to town decorating Bakerella's gingerbread heads (which turned out SO cute I squealed. For real.) to take to the nurses at the CHOA ER, who have been earthly angels to this family on two occasions already in our short time with kids.

It was really fun to talk to Squirt about what nurses do and why we were making goodies for them. He totally understood by the time we got to the hospital why we were there and what we were doing. Not to mention it was really fun to see Aunt Anna at work and see all the fancy ER equipment.

If you're looking for some fun (and easy. Seriously. You do not have to decorate cookies...) ways to spread Christmas cheer in your neck of the woods, check out Lil Light O Mine's Light 'Em Up Idea List. There are tons of great ideas even if you don't have kids!

Happy Birthday Sweet B!

2011-12-07T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe a year has already passed with this little one. And yet I have truly felt every day of the past 365. The days are incredibly slow but the years go quickly someone told me once. So true.

Sweet B has been a challenge for us in many ways. She was a spitter. Remember this?? She wouldn't touch a bottle until she was 4.5 months old. She has been an early riser from the get go. She sleeps fitfully and teething has been a bear to endure with her. She HATES being alone. She wants to be held (preferably by mom) 24/7. Generally speaking if she's in her car seat she's screaming at the top of her lungs.

But when you put her in any kind of childcare the report is always the same, "she's so sweet!" or "We just love her!" so she clearly has a few endearing qualities as well...

She has an infectious giggle. When she smiles I think my heart will break. By the grace of God she's walking already. (I can't imagine carrying around a 16 month old when I'm 9 months pregnant.) She learned to communicate much earlier than the Squirt. She gives kisses and high fives and waves buh by to Da Da. When she and the Squirt actually play together I feel every bit as privileged as I am to stay at home and watch them grow up together.

We celebrated her first year with us this past Saturday with our families. Since it was the SEC Championship game that day for Georgia I decided to just go with it and we had tailgate food, a football cake and gave out footballs to my nieces as party favors.

Happy Birthday Sweet B! We love you.

Handmade Christmas Ideas

2011-12-05T05:28:00.000-08:00

It's killing me that I am making a bunch of gifts this year and can't share the awesomeness with you guys in advance. (Approximately half my followers are also family members and will be on the receiving end of my craftiness.) So I wanted to share some of my favorite things I've seen across blogland that I will not be making myself this year. All B Daddy wants is a finished slipcover and he's not even getting that...

For a neighbor

Source

For a friend

Source

For a mother in law

Source

For a grandparent

Source

For a little boy

Source

For a little girl

Source

For a co-worker :)

Source

Are you giving any homemade gifts this year? Is your shopping done already? (If so, I hate you.) I'd say I'm about 40% there. If you don't count all the half-finished projects. If you do...I'm probably sitting at about 10%.

Headless Wiseman

2011-12-02T06:05:00.000-08:00

Just wondering how your Christmas decorating is going. I've had a lot of help over here and our decorations are already starting to show a bit of toddler lovin'.

Personalized Pillow Cover Tutorial

2011-11-30T12:15:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a good throw pillow? I personally can't have enough of them. So here's that tutorial I promised on the easy and inexpensive (ok fine...cheap) pillow I made B Daddy for our anniversary recently.

What you'll need:

An old pillow you no longer love with removable insert

Enough fabric to cover insert (I used scrap drop cloth from my yet-to-be-finished slipcover)

X-acto blade

Freezer paper

Iron

Acrylic paint (mine was just the regular stuff, but special fabric paint is probably better, right?)

Step 1. Choose a design and print it off your computer.

Step 2. Trace design onto the matte side of your freezer paper (I think you may be able to print directly on freezer paper, but I'm no where near that clever.)

Step 3. Cut design out, making sure to save the little bits that serve as the inside of your Bs, Ds, Os, etc. (A Cricut or Silhouette would make this first part a breeze...)

Step 4. Iron freezer paper (shiny side down) onto your fabric.

Step 5. Paint! I did several quick coats to be sure I got full coverage.

Step 6. Pull off stencil while the paint is still wet and let your beauty dry.

Step 7. Sew up the sides of your fabric (I did an easy envelope closure because buttons and zippers scare me) and admire your crafty self.

P.S. I took a zillion amazing pictures of this pillow from all angles (including the front, imagine that!) but my computer and my camera are apparently not on speaking terms. I hope to remedy the problem ASAP, but use your imagination if you will. The K + B front is fantastic. :)

The Most Stressful Morning of Her Life Thus Far

2011-11-29T08:50:00.000-08:00

Also known as "Family Pictures in a Pasture at 8am in 40 degree Weather While Wearing High Heels Pregnant"

At 6:45 am she and her husband woke their slumbering children and dressed them like porcelein dolls. By 7:15 they were rolling down GA-400 at 20 miles an hour with the rest of northern Fulton County towards the city of Atlanta. At precisely 8:00am on the dot they pulled into the (dirt) drive that led to the polo (read: dirt) fields on the far side of town. The car thermostat read 45 degrees. She rolled up her trouser jeans and hopped jauntily out into the icy air to retrieve both children, a diaper bag and her beloved red velvet peep toe high heels.

A photographer greeted them as they made their way down the long drive (read damp dirt road) out to the polo field itself where at least a dozen thoroughbreds trotted out through the morning haze towards the group as if to say good morning.

"How lovely," she thought, "what a beautiful morning this will be."

Mistake #1 was her red velvet peep toe high heels. Polo fields is not a place for heels, high or low. Especially not when the ground is quite soft from last night's rain.

Their second mistake was her daughter's cream-colored leggings. Putting a crawler down at Polo Fields in cream colored leggings ensures they are soon covered in red Georgia clay.

Her third mistake was telling the photographer she would gladly climb down into the creek bed if she thought it would make a good shot. She was quite pregnant you see. And wearing red velvet peep toe high heels.

If however, in spite of her folly, you'd like to see how the photo shoot unfolded, please visit Alea Moore Photography.

Bless your heart Alea Moore.

E-mealz Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-28T11:29:00.001-08:00

So are you all shopped out from Black Friday sales? We went out to a few stores on Friday, but I haven't even gotten started on Cyber Monday, which is how I've been getting the majority of my Christmas gifts in the past few years... so I'm feeling WAY behind and need to be planning my grocery run for when nap time ends.

But when I went to print off my E-mealz meal plan for the week I saw that they are running a Cyber Monday special and wanted to share it with you. 30% off any new subscription or gift subscription that you might be thinking of giving. I can't imagine any busy mom who wouldn't appreciate this kind of gift. You know what a fan I am.

Go here to get your discount!

Number Three is A...

2011-11-23T05:49:00.000-08:00

Scroll down...

Keep scrolling...

A little bit further...

Come on you're almost there....

Finally....

BOY BOY BOY!!!!

Random Ramblings

2011-11-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. Has it been a while? I've been busy...and so have you I know. Because Thanksgiving is THURSDAY! Yeah for family time and fried turkey and football and the Georgia Bulldogs being the SEC East Champs. (Not that that last one has anything to do with Thanksgiving, but I am thankful for championship game to look forward to this year.)

So Saturday was our 6th wedding anniversary. Whoa. Did you know the median length of a marriage in the United States these days is 11 years? That is crazy. I feel like B Daddy and I haven't even hit our stride yet. We had the chance to go to Athens, where we met and were married, and were able to go out while my parents watched Sweet B (the Squirt was with B Daddy's parents.) Praise the Lord for willing and able grandparents - what a gift it was to go out to dinner and a movie all alone!

Us 6 years ago

Us now

And I made B Daddy a gift - here's a little peek. I'll be back later on with a tutorial. It only cost me $0.59! Talk about affordable.

In other news - we went to the doctor this morning for a 20 week ultrasound to see Numero Tres! What a miracle. Every time. We saw 10 toes, 4 heart chambers, 2 kidneys, 1 diaphragm, a zillion vertebrae and those little bits that happen to make this baby male or female. I'll spill the beans tomorrow once I can get some of the ultrasound pics uploaded. I swear I'd be a rock star blogger if loading pictures was less of a hassle.

I am just loving this week. My turkey is thawing in the refrigerator and I'll be making pie crust for a completely from scratch apple pie tomorrow... life is good.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree & Pumpkin Granola

2011-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

It's two weeks after Halloween and we still have 3 un-carved pumpkins hanging out on our front porch. Until yesterday morning that was. I have contemplated cutting, roasting, scraping and pureeing raw pumpkins into homemade puree before - but it has always seemed to be such an unnecessary pain when Libby makes such a fantastic canned product.

But then I read Ashleigh's post and gave it a brief consideration. ...And then decided against it.

And then my sister bragged to the Facebook world that she had made her own pumpkin puree and it was amazing. And I just wanted someone to come make some for me.

But then Ashleigh posted this recipe and I was done for.

So I cut. (Into unnecessarily small pieces mind you.)

I roasted. (For a bit too long... 1.5 hours at 325 is the recommendation.)

I scraped, then pureed.

And you know, it wasn't the biggest pain in the world. I was able to freeze 8 cups of puree from one medium sized pumpkin, which makes doing this yourself a pretty good idea money-wise too.

Once I had my beautiful orange mush I made this Pumpkin Granola and oh my is it delicious! I don't think you'll be disappointed if you make the effort (even if you do use good old Libby's.) My munchkins loved it straight up, but I am salivating over a big bowl tomorrow morning with some dried cranberries added for good measure.

(Sorry for the horrid iphone pic.)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Granola Adapted from Lisa Thiele's recipe on With Style & Grace

Ingredients
4 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp
nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup homemade pumpkin puree (or Libby's) :)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 Tbsp maple syrup (I didn't have any on hand, so I subbed honey...B Daddy thinks maple syrup would be way better...)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together oats, chopped nuts, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract and using a whisk or fork, whisk until smooth.
Add wet [sugar] mixture to the dry ingredients and with a spatula, mix until everything is coated. If it seems too dry, add a little more applesauce & maple syrup.
Spread the granola mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Carefully remove and mix for even baking. Bake for an additional 18-20 minutes or until the granola looks nice and golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool before stirring in the dried cranberries, if you chose or add in before serving.
Store in an airtight container.

Thanksgiving Traditions

2011-11-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

How is it possible that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK? Did that sneak up on anyone else this year? Y'all know by now that it is my favorite holiday. I love that there are only three things on the agenda: cook, eat, watch football.

This year my in-laws are traveling to Texas which sounded about as appealing to us as a root canal considering the not-yet 2 1/2 year old, not-yet one year old and achy-like-an-old-man pregnant passengers B Daddy would have to drive there and back for a total of 28 hours in the car. Not happening.

We'll spend the day with my parents and sister's family. They've asked us to fry a turkey (any other fried turkey addicts out there?!) and make an apple pie something for dessert. My mom and sister will handle the stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese and the ever important cranberries out of a can.

Besides the food, family and football, we don't have many established Thanksgiving traditions. I have been looking for a book about the first Thanksgiving (aka Pilgrims & Indians) that I can start reading to the kids each year. Since the Squirt still doesn't sit still for a book and Sweet B is rather oblivious, I figure I can pick one up on post-Thanksgiving sale and start that tradition next year??

Do any of you have Thanksgiving traditions I need to know about? Any food dishes that absolutely make or break your Thanksgiving dinner? Dish up!!

Thankful for Veterans

2011-11-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

I've been trying all week long to narrow down the list of things I'm grateful for to just one to write a post about. Our kitchen chalkboard lists off the usual suspects: a warm home, our neighborhood, Buckhead Church, family in town, wonderful friends, etc.

I've also been trying to figure out a way to properly honor the Vets in my life as this is Veteran's Day... which I usually only recognize when I go out to get the mail and remember why there isn't any today.

I didn't grow up in a military family and didn't really have any friends who did. War wasn't something on the radar of this 1980s child. I had a soldier pen pal in 2nd grade who flew bombers over in the Middle East. I wrote a few letters and sent a few care packages to soldiers serving overseas post 9/11. For the most part though, a soldier's sacrifice is hard to wrap my brain around and warfare is something that happens far far away.

Today I want to say thank you to the soldiers I have known. Both of my grandfathers - who served overseas in World War II and the Korean War. I wish I had some pictures to share with you - they are handsome men in uniform! Thank you for leaving your families and the comfort of the known to defend the defenseless and offer your strength to those in need of it.

To my amazing in-laws Bill and Debbie who served for many many years and sacrificed time with their young children (my sweet husband and sister-in-law) and the stability of living in one place in order to proudly serve in the Air Force both here and abroad, thank you so much. The values you passed along to B Daddy, so many of which were demonstrated through your service in the military have been and will continue to be a great blessing to our family.

It is something I think about far too little but am truly grateful for - to have never known war in my hometown because of soldiers willing to fight far away from theirs. Thank you for your courage, your honor, your sacrifice, your selflessness. Happy Veteran's Day.

November is for Being Thankful

2011-11-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday EVER.

Therefore I'm understandably protective of it and each year I find myself getting more and more defensive of it. As in, "BACK AWAY FROM THE PINTEREST CHRISTMAS DECOR BOARDS AND GIVE THE TURKEY SOME RESPECT PEOPLE!"

Sorry. Had to get that out.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE me some Christmas. There is something undeniably wonderful about your home when it is decorated for Christmas and smells wonderful and feels merry and bright. The lights, the music, the meaning...Christmas has A LOT going for it. But here in America it has also been hijacked by marketers and retailers and every year I inevitably find myself sucked into the game sometime between now and the 25th...spending more money than anticipated and meditating less on the birth of Jesus than on which cookies I'm bringing to the family exchange.

Thanksgiving is still so pure. Family, food, grateful hearts. So simple. I love love love it.

I'll be dedicating one post a week up until Thanksgiving to the things I am grateful for and would love it if you would play along in the comments. Here's to recognizing how blessed we are and ushering in the Christmas season with a heart appropriately full of gratitude.

Originally posted 11/24/2010

My Dad is the One

2011-11-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

Today is my dad's birthday. It's hard to write a tribute post without taking up far too much of your time and without spending weeks perfecting the narrative, but I'm giving it the old college try. (No idea where that expression comes from...anyone?)

My Dad is the one who got Anna and me a rabbit for Christmas one year...and then told us it ran away after it bit me one day.

My Dad is the one who coached my tee ball team. Who taught me how to throw like a boy but let me cry like a girl when I got beaned with a 2nd grader's errant first base throw.

My Dad is the one who taught me how to whittle and gave me my first Swiss Army pocket knife.

My Dad is the one who all throughout my childhood would look a waitress in the eye after she asked, "Is Pepsi okay instead?" and would reply, "We'll all just have water then."

My Dad is the one who took me on dates throughout my girlhood. From breakfast at McDonalds before I went off to kindergarten to a premiere with the prince for my Sweet 16.

My Dad is the one who would sneak lessons from Proverbs in on a family road trip and who taught me that the Bible was more than a collection of old stories.

My Dad is the one who would show me his Family Finances spreadsheet, complete with the little boxes that showed what happened to my college fund when Coke stock went up. I attribute my love of spreadsheets and Diet Coke to Dad to this day.

My Dad is the one who never failed to show up on the soccer game sidelines in a suit and tie and run up and down shouting encouragement.

My Dad is the one whose job meant moving every couple of years...and who taught me that it never gets easy to say good-bye, but that it gets easier to say hello each time.

My Dad is the one who took me shopping for a prom dress and then secretly went back and bought it for me after he looked at the price tag and said we needed to go home and think about it.

My Dad is the one who taught me to love business and came all the way to Athens to hear a b-school presentation he knew I was making.

My Dad is the one whose opinion I sought when B Daddy and I first started dating. And who told me he was a great catch when I was still on the fence.

My Dad is the one who gave me my brown eyes and who spun me around the dance floor to Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl at my wedding.

My Dad is the one who taught me that you can only buy love for a small window of time in a child's life... which is the reason my little niece Kate and I get along so well.

My Dad is the one who continues to teach me and gave me stick-shift lessons for my 29th birthday.

My Dad is the one who sacrificed much of himself to train me up and provide well for me and words cannot say how very blessed I am to have been gifted a dad like my Dad. Happy Birthday Dad, I love you.

Super Easy Super Hero

2011-10-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

So B Daddy and I decided the Squirt should be "Dash" from The Incredibles for Halloween this year. (What do you do once they are old enough to decide for themselves?!?) One of my goals for the time being is going to be to make at least one of my kids' Halloween costumes each year. My mom took care of #2 by purchasing this adorable ladybug get up...

...so Dash's bad-guy-fighting gear was up to me to create.

Here's what I did:

I used a craft store piece of foam to cut out a mask, patterned/sized from an existing Green Lantern mask the Squirt loves.

A hand-me-down red sweatsuit worked perfectly as the body of the costume since it's 12 month size and fits pretty snugly.

I was really excited when we were given these boots...the Squirt loves them and they are black. Check! We had a sweatband laying around that just needed a quick Rit dye bath and it became the right color for Dash's belt.

The only sewing I had to do was to make the "gloves". I figured the little man wouldn't last long with actual gloves on, so I created tubes of fabric from an old t-shirt (what else?) and sewed them on to the sweatshirt sleeves so they wouldn't be pulled off before we hit the 'hood. (Bonus: the gloves cover up a too short sleeve.)

The most time consuming part of the costume was creating the Incredibles logo. Here's a mini-tutorial if you need to make your own Superman/Batman/Incredibles chest emblem in the future:

1. Do a Google images search and print your logo off the computer, approximately sized as you want it.

2. Cut a backing piece of fabric that each different colored piece will adhere to. (In this case - a black t-shirt.)

3. Cut out the detail pieces in appropriate colors.

4. Working your way from the very top color on your emblem (white in this case), heat-n-bond each piece to the next, until the entire logo is attached together.

5. Heat-n-bond the emblem to your shirt.

It seriously took 15 minutes. And I was trying to take my time.

So that's my Dash costume. I have to say I am pretty pleased. It was free except for the piece of foam to make the mask. (I'm also buying black face paint in case Squirt goes on a mask strike Monday.) What are YOUR kids being for Halloween this year??

Oh yeah - and I am hosting a Halloween party. Be still my heart. It's for the kids in the neighborhood...but I am decorating with a craft or two off my Pinterest Spooky Party board - I can't wait to share pics next week.

My (Inerrant) Theology on Child Birth

2011-10-24T04:57:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this post by saying that pregnant women everywhere are welcome to deliver their babies any which way they feel like having them and I will cheer them on and laugh and cry with them when they tell their labor story.

Let me also just say I usually try not to go proselytizing those of y'all who just want my Blueberry Cobbler recipe. But in this instance a little background is necessary, so bear with me if you would.

I have developed a theology on child birth that informs my feelings and thoughts about the matter and since enough people have asked me about my plans for Numero Tres, I figured I would just go ahead make my stance on the subject public.

Most readers will be familiar with two little Biblical characters named Adam and Eve. In the Old Testament creation story this happy couple are frolicking about in paradise when they decide to break God's one and only rule for them.

Consequently, God hands out some punishments, (in addition to the whole - separation from God for eternity thing...) One for Adam, and one for Eve. Adam's goes something like: working will be hard and you will sweat and toil to obtain your food. (Paraphrase entirely mine, Gen 3:17-19) Eve's punishment is given one verse earlier (Genesis 3:16) and is pretty cut and dried:

"I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;

with painful labor you will give birth to children."

So let's review mmm k? Painful childbirth is a curse and a punishment. Straight from the mouth of God.

Now - some good news comes to both men and women in the New Testament. And here's where theologians have come up with two fancy terms: saving grace and common grace. Saving grace refers to the gift of Christ's sacrifice, which fixes the whole separation from God for eternity thing.

Common grace (the grace most related to child bearing and my point in writing this post) refers to the grace of God that is common to all mankind. "Common" because it is intended for the whole human race and "grace" because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God. (Definition Wikipedia)

Examples of common grace for moms include: nap time, coffee and my personal favorite - The Epidural.

I love dearly and truly admire all of my friends who have taken Bradley classes and eschewed medication in favor of a painful Natural Childbirth. That is insane and amazing.

I however, feel that I would be remiss were I to forsake the marvelous and amazing common grace given to modern woman in the form of the epidural. My God has providentially and graciously provided a way out from under the punishment of painful child birth. I give thanks for my coffee. I give thanks for nap time. And come April 2012, I shall once again give thanks for The Epidural.

Amen.

Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie

2011-10-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have a counter full of apples from your recent trip to the orchard or who just can't resist 88 cents a pound at the grocery store...here is the easiest apple pie recipe you will ever come across. (Besides the one that goes, take frozen Mrs. Smith's out of box, put in oven for 90 minutes.) I served this when we hosted small group at our house this week and it was so perfectly fall I swooned.

Flat Apple Pie Adapted from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Makes 2 pies

5 peeled and sliced Granny Smith Apples (Granny's are always great in a pie since they don't turn to mush with the baking and the sugar, but truly you can use whatever variety you want)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 pie crusts (PW uses homemade, I used Pillsbury...the choice she is yours)

6 Tbsp butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. In a large bowl, stir together the first 5 ingredients.

2. Roll out two pie crusts into large circles, place on large (rimmed!) baking sheets

3. Place half the apple mixture on one crust and half on the other crust. (Rocket science)

4. Fold over the edge of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture. Don't fuss over this part, rustic is better!

5. Brush the crust with an egg white wash or just spray it with some Pam and sprinkle with raw sugar for some sparkle and crunch.

6. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of butter.

7. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the filling is golden and bubbly. If the crust browns too quickly, cover the edges with foil until done.

8. Drizzle with jarred caramel topping (the piece d' resistance!!), slice into wedges with pizza cutter and serve a la mode!

It's absolutely heavenly right now and not too heavy. Enjoy!

TV options: What Do You Do??

2011-10-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I had a chance to hang out with some of my oldest and most favorite girlfriends and in the course of conversation discovered that B Daddy and I are the only ones in the bunch who subscribe to full-blown Bravo and HGTV-filled cable.

I was stunned. I kind of thought everyone had cable. I mean, except for my Amish friends who don't have a TV at all.

I brought the subject up because B Daddy and I are debating cutting the cord in December when our current specially priced package expires. So I'm curious...is my group of girlfriends an anomaly or are we? Do you have full-blown cable? Do you Hulu/Netflix/Roku it? Or do you have no TV at all?

Do tell.

#24 - Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Fall

2011-10-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

I am feeling pretty awesome about the recent progress I've made on my 30 Before 30 list. Two weekends ago I crossed off #23 and this past weekend I crossed off #24. B Daddy and I took off on Thursday afternoon, leaving both munchkins in the very capable hands of their aunts and headed north.

Thursday we drove for three hours and ended up around the Nantahala National Forest, where we spent the night at at friend's lovely mountain home and ate a very very overpriced and sub-par three course dinner. We both took naps before going to dinner. That was probably the loveliest part of the day. Friday morning we got up bright and early and hit the highway. 7.5 hours later we had made our way here....to Monticello.

I am a BIG history geek and love all things related to the Revolutionary War. I was born on the 4th of July after all; it might be inevitable. Monticello, if you've never visited, is simply beautiful. It is easy to see why Jefferson chose this plot of land for building his unique home. You can see mountains off one side and a beautiful valley of rolling Virginia hills off the other. The tour we took was short and informative (my favorite kind) and we had plenty of time to explore the grounds on our own. I had no idea Jefferson was buried here - and his descendants are still being buried here in the present day.

After visiting Monticello we headed to Charlottesville to eat dinner and spend the night. We booked a hotel last-minute (we had originally intended to camp out) and paid WAY more than we wanted to after calling a dozen different hotels for availability. Turns out UVA had their Homecoming game the following day...whaddya know. Being in a college town the night before a football game is always a fun experience though (especially in the South) and we loved the people-watching.

Saturday morning we were up early again to hit the main attraction - the Blue Ridge Parkway! I was seriously giddy. I kept squealing for the first hour we were on it. But was very different than I expected...I thought it would meander through quaint towns along the way south...but it truly is just a scenic parkway. No gas stations, no quaint towns, just scenic overlooks (every hundred yards) and rest stops. The scenery in Virginia was truly breathtaking - you've got George Washington National Forest (aka mountains) to your left and the Shenandoah Valley (aka rolling hills with mountains beyond them) to your right. Oh yeah and leaves at peak color. Gorgeous.

3 hours into our drive Saturday morning we realized we had barely driven 120 miles. This was going to take a lot longer than I anticipated. At this rate, we wouldn't make it to Asheville until well after dark. So a little after lunch time, we broke away from the parkway and took a local highway that paralleled the parkway for the next hundred miles. It was still slow going, but we passed through some quaint towns and were able to get gas and some provisions before jumping back on the parkway around Boone, NC. From Boone to Asheville the parkway scenery is absolutely STUNNING. Grandfather Mountain, Linville Falls and all the other landmarks in that area were breathtaking. I think my mouth was open the whole time. I highly recommend a weekend trip to Asheville just to drive the mileage in and around that area. Stunning I tell you.

We spent the evening in Asheville at a super swanky hotel - got massages in the morning! - and had a nice breakfast with the local hippies and protesters in Downtown Asheville Sunday. I'm still trying to understand exactly what the Occupy Asheville movement is all about.

This will be our only real vacation prior to Number 3's arrival...and it was such a relaxing time; no whining toddlers, no cooking, no dishes, no laundry, did I mention no whining toddlers? No crying babies either. :) It was wonderful. Thank you to Aunt Anna and Aunt Allie for the gift of watching the kiddos!!

Maybe The Best Way to Get Over Yourself

2011-10-12T04:58:00.000-07:00

I just read this post by Gypsy Mama and found myself nodding along with each sentence. You'll probably only want to click over if you're a mom in the trenches or a husband who wonders why his wife has become a different person in the past few years since having a kid....but it's worth reading if that's you.

I'm a person who has desperately needed to get over myself since I was born. This mothering thing is possibly the only thing in the world capable of accomplishing that task.

We Survived! (Camping with an Infant and a Toddler)

2011-10-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

We did it!! I'm thrilled to report that everyone survived our mini-camping trip and I'll venture to say we even had a good time. A few tips from our experience if you want to take your (little) kids along for your next camping adventure...

Bring a BIG tent. Our loaner had room for an air mattress and TWO pack-n-plays. It was seriously big. I'm pretty sure the kids slept as well as they did because it was so similar to being at home.

Pick your camp site wisely. Ours was at the far end of the campground next to the playground (clutch!!) and faced the lake. We had a gorgeous view, only one set of neighbors to annoy and the white noise from the water lapping against the shore helped put everyone to sleep. Oh yes and we were a short walk away from the bathhouse. Very important when you have the newly potty-trained with you.

Make peace with dirt. Your kids will be dirty. Your tent and gear will be dirty (our kids never quite mastered taking their shoes off before coming in the tent.) You will be dirty. Get over it. This is camping. It's just a day or two and the clothes and hands can be scrubbed up.

Keep meals simple. For dinner the Hogans pre-prepped chili, so all they had to do was throw the dutch oven on top of the fire while we were setting up camp and dinner was ready. For breakfast I made muffins ahead of time, brought bananas and cooked a big skillet of scrambled eggs in the morning. (My mom had the brilliant idea of cracking and whisking the eggs together in a gallon Ziploc ahead of time, which was key in getting breakfast served quickly!)

Make S'mores. No explanation needed, right?

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. #2 has been in the habit of waking up SCREAMING at approximately 4am for the past several weeks. Here at the house we just let her cry, as she's not sick and there's really no telling why she's doing it. We crank up the white noise in our room and she quits eventually (she's silently sleeping when we wake up). We figured this might not go over well at camp however, so we mentally prepared to get up with her immediately and walk her around camp. This was my privilege at 5am. And I think I handled it rather well (if I do say so myself) because I was expecting it. She fell asleep after 10 minutes of walking, so I headed back to the tent, where she woke and started screaming again as soon as I tried to lay her down. So off we went again...this time accompanied by B Daddy. It was actually quite romantic, walking in the dark early morning, holding hands and looking at the stars. The best part was the sleep I got after she went down at 6am...I think it was the soundest sleep I had all night.

Bring your Camera. I forgot mine. So the only pictures I have were these, taken on my iphone. :(

Do any of y'all have a camping trip planned soon? Or tips of your own to share about camping with little ones? The weather in so many places is absolutely perfect for camping right now! In fact, B Daddy and I enjoyed it so much, we're skipping a hotel one night on our upcoming long weekend away and pulling out the tent again.

Gone Camping

2011-10-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

We are heading north today to fulfill Numero 23 on the list - taking the kids camping!

We've had a countdown on the chalkboard all week long. (I know I've got mad art skills.)

We bought this on Tuesday. (It's a lantern. A Lego lantern! Which I definitely lobbied for. Isn't it awesome!? I'm a total sucker at REI.)

And this was set up in our front yard all day yesterday.

This may be a total nightmare, or it could be the best thing ever. Who knows until you give it a try? I'm definitely not gonna pretend that we're roughing it....B Daddy and I have an air mattress and both children will be corralled into pack-n-plays for the evening. The plan right now is to meet my sister and brother-in-law (and their two toddlers) at a campground about an hour north of our home on tonight.

Chili is on the dinner menu to be followed by s'mores (but of course!) for dessert. We're hoping the kids will conk out before 10 and sleep until at least 6:30. :)

Saturday we're going to eat breakfast, break camp and head to Ellijay for some apple pickin' - our third year in a row! - and pumpkin patchin'. Why stretch the autumn activities out when you can cram them all into one big day of craziness, right??

Come Monday I'll hopefully have a few helpful tips about camping with toddlers. (With any luck, something other than, "don't do it!!") Have a great weekend!

And Baby Makes Five

2011-10-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Bada bing baby! The Leipprandt clan is expanding yet again.

I know I know... our fan club has been pestering us for ages as to when we were going to have another kid. Turns out April 8th is the doctor's best bet.

As of today I'm 13.5 weeks pregnant. And -oh yeah- have already gained 10 pounds. Feel free to take a second to revisit this picture to reference what I looked like 10 pounds ago. -Sigh- See you next summer waistline.

A few more details for those of you who are into this kind of thing:

- We found out I was pregnant this time the same way we found out with #2 - the sudden and inexplicable presence of a belly at week 5. Week 5 people. Yikes.

- We are TERRIBLE at natural family planning. I will no longer give advice on the subject.

- The Squirt was tasked with bringing the pregnancy test results over for Yours Truly and B Daddy to see. Neither one of us felt our legs were up for the journey from the edge of the bed to the toilet and back.

- I thought the test was negative at first.

- B Daddy informed me after my sigh of relief that two lines meant Baby.

- It took several days for me to get excited about the new resident in my belly. I hope that Baby Tres will completely get that one day.

- I have been ridiculously nauseous for the past 5 weeks and have a newfound appreciation for Zofran.

- Being ridiculously nauseous hasn't slowed my weight gain. What can I say? I'm a champion eater and will power my way through most anything.

- We are out of bedrooms at Casa Leipprandt. Baby #3 will most likely sleep in our (spacious!) closet for its first few months. I've floated the idea of renting a room for the newborn at a neighbor's... but early responses haven't been overly enthusiastic.

- I am (naively?) optimistic about the prospect of having children share rooms. It feels very Brady Bunch to me.

- If someone had told my 18 year old self that she'd have three kids in three years before she turned 30 she would have vomited or died laughing.

Most days now I can just shake my head at that control-freak of a girl who ~~occasionally~~ often rises to the surface. This is the life that God is shaping for me and it is proving to be far more interesting than the neat little life I had planned out for myself.

I'm sure I'll post a belly pic or two in the coming months. We're currently taking any and all name suggestions. (But please - no need to submit anything already on this list.) The baby's sex will be announced within a month or so, but the winning name shall remain a closely guarded secret until the big day.

Say a prayer for us and then feel free to call and schedule any babysitting you'd like to do in advance. I'm sure the calendar will fill up quickly! ;)

Dying to Throw a Spook-tacular Bash

2011-09-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

October is only one day away! Can you believe it? And for whatever reason (I have a great costume in mind) this year I am really really hung up on the idea of hosting a Halloween party. B Daddy was working late quite a bit this week so I made the most of my alone time by watching Extreme Couponers (can't decide if I'm disgusted or envious) and pinning the heck out of some Halloween party ideas.

Here's a glimpse at my Spooky Party Pinterest board. If you're a Pinterest junkie.... Every now and then I get a wild hair and go nuts with a fun board. (Did I mention I need an excuse to make cake pops again?)

Source: hgtv.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: itswrittenonthewalls.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: lilsugar.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: simplystated.realsimple.com via Katie on Pinterest

Are Halloween parties your idea of a good time? Would you come if I invited you? I'm worried that everyone already has amazing killer awesome party plans that weekend. Or that the adults I know are all party poopers and would show up sans costume (LAME!)

A Weekend Away

2011-09-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend B Daddy and I had the awesome privilege to head up to Sharptop Cove in the North Georgia Mountains with the high schoolers we work with at Buckhead Church.

What a blessing! The weather was perfect. Warm in the sun, cool in the shade and positively chilly at night. My favorite combination.

And the best part? No kids! :) My amazing in-laws volunteered to watch them from Friday to Sunday so we could head out and enjoy this time with our freshies. And did you catch on Facebook that #2 came down with hand, foot and mouth disease on Thursday?? Yeah. Lots of fun for Gigi and Aunt Allie. Isn't hand, foot and mouth disease the worst name for a virus EVER? I felt like she suddenly had the bubonic plague or something.

Today she's feeling much better and I've recovered from a weekend of no sleep and high school drama, so I'm debating housework or project progress during nap time. Decisions, decisions. B Daddy has put the kibosh on starting any new projects until I've finished the ones in front of me. Namely: the slipcover and car seat cover. Boo. He's no fun at all.

I think what I really need is to host an event here in the near future. Nothing motivates me like trying to impress a few guests. Remember my fancy baby food jar centerpiece?! :)

My Second Born

2011-09-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I feel like I haven't given #2 a whole lotta love on the blog so far. I mean, by the time Squirt was 9 months old he already had 17 posts dedicated to his bad self. Sweet B has only had 8. I suppose that's the curse (or blessing?) of the second born.

So let's catch up on all things Britain shall we?

She started crawling approximately 10 minutes after she could sit independently. This has created untold headaches for Yours Truly. EVERYTHING she finds on the floor is immediately picked up and then examined orally. And there's apparently a large amount of strangeness on our floor judging from the objects I've pulled out of her mouth.

She has 6 teeth now! 4 of which have come in the last two weeks. Poor baby. (Poor mama.)

Girl can EAT! See pics. (She comes by it honest...)

And she also packs away food like a chipmunk. This is NOT an exaggeration. Monday night I gave her a small piece of red pepper to chew on while I was making dinner (thinking it might keep her occupied for more than 5 seconds)....well she ate dinner (a full serving of ravioli), drank a bottle, slept for 13 hours, woke and was tossing her morning bottle around when I noticed she was chewing something in her high chair. I panicked - what had she found on the floor?? - and did the blind finger sweep to pull out the foreign object. It was - you guessed it - a mushy piece of red pepper. Stored safely overnight in those ridiculously chubby cheeks.

She is SO different from the Squirt. She needs to be around someone at all times. She is much more expressive (the Squirt rarely smiled at her age). She is even more active and more curious than he was.

But then she'll laugh and it's HIS laugh. I love that. They are siblings. They fight and they giggle and they entertain each other. She is such a blessing and a true Joy.

Living Room Update

2011-09-21T08:30:00.001-07:00

The room is still VERY much a work in progress, but I wanted to show off the part that is (sorta) finished.

Here's what our living room looked like BEFORE:

Then my Uncle Tonny (of our kitchen re-model fame) spent about a week here doing things like this...

And this....

And this...

And now the back wall of the living room looks like this:

The new doors (which let in SO much more light!) unfortunately look out onto a not-so-finished porch. We're planning to move the grill out onto a patio (as of yet not budgeted for or begun) and maybe put a table and some chairs out there for al fresco dining.

I'm working on accessorizing the mantle...I'm really still adjusting to the fact that I actually have a mantle to accessorize. It's so much fun! How I've lived here for 6 years without being able to seasonally adjust a mantle baffles me.

The rest of the room is S L O W L Y evolving as well. We moved the buffet that the TV used to be on over to this wall and I'm loving it so much more than the console table that was there before. Again, it needs some work on the accessorizing front. Give me time. :)

A new rug and new chair are on their way to us and if I can ever motivate myself to finish the slip cover for the couch, we'll have a more modern looking space that has more natural light and gives our kids WAY more room to run around and play.

As always thanks for reading - I can't wait to share more progress soon.

All I Want for Christmas is a Nicely Wrapped Present

2011-09-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's barely fall! But I had a birthday party to attend over the weekend and took great pleasure in wrapping up the gift we were taking. With the holidays quickly approaching I felt compelled to share a little somethin' somethin' with my nearest and dearest, my faithful readers.

I Adore Wrapped Presents.

I love wrapping them. I love unwrapping them. I love to give them. I love to receive them. I love to admire them from a distance. I love to buy cute wrapping paper. I love presents wrapped in the funnies and presents wrapped in fancy handmade paper. I love bows and ribbon and jute and string. I love embellishments too.

There is just something SO special about a nicely wrapped gift. Am I alone here? I for one would be fine if tomorrow all gift bags were banished from the earth. Gift bags are certainly convenient and I'm not saying I am opposed to the use of one when an oversized or awkwardly shaped present is being given - but wrapping a gift is such a lovely gesture.

A nicely wrapped gift is like a firm handshake - it makes a killer first impression. (Profound, I know. Feel free to use that analogy in your own world...)

There is so much more anticipation with a wrapped gift. Pulling the ribbon off, tearing the paper, fumbling with tape, opening the box, un-peeling tissue and then and only then....the ah ha moment! I love to watch both children and adults rip into a wrapped present and have the wonder of their gift unfold before them. As for me, I appreciate the extra time it takes to open a wrapped gift, knowing that it is but a fraction of the time the giver spent selecting and wrapping it up.

For real, am I alone here? Has anyone else noticed the subtly invasive nature of the gift bag? Anyone else feel that a gift bag is equivalent to phoning it in?? Anyone terrified of gifting me anything in the future now?! :)

Round 2: Fast Food Biscuits

2011-09-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Squirt and I attempted another round of biscuit making last week. Disappointed but not discouraged by our lackluster first effort, we made use of one of the recipes my grandmother had sent via snail mail and went at it again.

And this time? Success! We're not considering the search for the perfect biscuit over by any means, but this one got some really good reviews from third parties. And I think I've identified at least a few crucial steps in getting that perfectly dense, buttery biscuit.

You should be forewarned that making biscuits is a DIRTY business. You might want to get your work boots on first.

Fast-Food Biscuits

From "Southern Biscuits" by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart. Makes 12 2-inch biscuits.

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour, divided

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 3/4 cup buttermilk, divided

Softened butter for brushing

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk 2 1/4 cups of flour in a large bowl (preferably wider than it is deep) and set aside the remaining 1/4 cup.

The bowl is definitely one key to a great biscuit. I used one of my serving bowls since I didn't have any baking bowls that met the requirement of wider than deep. This is where one of those beautiful antique dough bowls would come in handy. I'm keeping my eyes open at antique stores now!!

Scatter 1/4 inch size pieces of butter over the flour...

and work in by rubbing fingers with the butter and flour together (kind of a snapping motion) until the mixture looks like well-crumbled feta cheese.

Next scatter the 1/2 inch size pieces of chilled fat over the flour mixture and continue snapping thumb and fingers together until no pieces larger than a pea remain.

Make a deep hollow (as deep as possible in a shallow bowl...this was confusing) in the center of the flour. Pour 1 1/2 cups buttermilk into the hollow, reserving 1/4 cup, and use broad cicrcular strokes to quickly pull the flour into the buttermilk. Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Add more buttermilk or flour as needed. (I think I should have added more flour here, but I was afraid of making dry, tasteless bricks.)

Lightly sprinkle a clean surface with some of the reserved flour. Turn the dough out onto the counter and sprinkle the top with flour. This pile of mush is my dough. It was scary sloppy looking.

With floured hands, fold the dough in half (next to impossible), and pat into a 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick round, using a little additional flour only if needed. (Impossible - you will need extra flour. But use as little as possible! Adding too much flour at this stage is definitely a rookie biscuit maker mistake.)

Fold the dough in half a second time. If the dough is still clumpy, fold a third time. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick round.

Cut with a 2 inch floured biscuit cutter or whatever you have on hand. A juice glass worked just fine for us. Using a spatula if necessary (it was), move biscuits to a baking sheet.

Bake on the top rack for 10 minutes rotating halfway through. After removing from oven, brush tops with softened butter and scarf!!

I gave about half the batch away for outside opinions and my sweet neighbor Caroline (of Linen & Boxwoods fame) shared this review:

"Moist and buttery all on their own!! My recommendation - heated plain or with a bit of your favorite jelly. Perfecto! Ohhhh perfect for apple jelly this fall."

So there you have it. A recipe worth sharing. I'll be trying more recipes out to make sure we've got a good thing going, but for now we're happy with this recipe.

Where Have I Been?! You Ask

2011-09-13T04:59:00.001-07:00

Let's just say it's been quite the month around here. Like I said before, we are tackling some seriously big projects, most of which will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Here's what our house looked like yesterday while we were busy "tackling". The kids had just gone down for a nap and I started looking around, trying to decide where to direct my waning energy....

(yes, that's a partially finished slipcovered couch you see there...)

Sheetrock dust is EVERYWHERE. I have vacuumed and dusted every day for two weeks now. I swear it's multiplying.

There are a dozen half-finished projects within eyesight of my blogging perch, most of which make me want to go hide and take a nap. And there's a pack-n-play in my living room for some unknown reason. So instead of tackling anything I took pictures for you and then I sat down and wrote this post.

Thank goodness for little helpers and a husband who is willing to tackle DIY projects after hours.

Nice forearms babe.

# 16 - Stick Shift Lesson

2011-09-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

In addition to tackling biscuit making, I also had my first stick shift lesson recently in an attempt to cross something off my 30 Before 30 list. Given by my dear old dad, it was VERY reminiscent of my high school years. We both agreed that I'm probably a much better learner and he's probably a more patient teacher nowadays. Plus, my learning vehicle is now a Corvette... I'm glad I waited!

In our first and only lesson to date we covered 1st and 2nd gear. In a parking lot. But you gotta start somewhere right? Dad assures me that with about three more lessons I'll be on the highway and starting uphill with confidence. We'll just have to see about that...

#25 - The Perfect Biscuit

2011-08-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been posting much lately; life is BUSY! There are some truly awesome projects in the works at Casa Leipprandt that I'm excited to share with you soon.

But today - let's talk about biscuits. I love biscuits. The Southern American kind of biscuits that is. Warm and flaky, served with butter or with a thick slice of ham sandwiched between them. I'm a sucker for them whenever they are on a menu and one of my 30 Before 30 goals is to perfect a homemade version.

So on a whim last week I whipped out the only cookbook on my counter and gave the only biscuit recipe I had all of the ingredients for a whirl.

And they were mediocre. On their own (no butter!) they were a 5. Flaky and moist but with a bit of baking powder aftertaste. With butter, they got a 6 and when topped with chicken and gravy they were decent. But decent is not what I'm striving for. The version I'm after needs to be an 9 on its own AT LEAST. And a dab of butter or a slice of ham needs to elevate them to swoon-worthiness.

What a wonderful surprise this week when I received a letter in the mail from my grandmother that included an article from her local paper all about biscuits and at least 4 different versions to try out. I bought buttermilk at the store yesterday... so maybe during nap time today I'll give it another go. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted. :)

The Squirt Rides

2011-08-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last Christmas we bought the Squirt a Strider bike. B Daddy and I were WAY more excited about it than he was at the time. Over the past two weeks though, the bike has become a pretty big hit and we thought a video was in order.

Enjoy and have a great weekend! Oh and the part at the end where he's boo hooing is when I told him we had to go home.

T-shirts to Fun Fall Hat

2011-08-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

I might be in danger of going overboard with all the things I've now made out of old t-shirts...but I just can't help myself. Fabric is usually expensive...rarely soft and oh yeah, requires a trip to the store to purchase. Since my sewing inspiration usually strikes at nap time, it's SO much more convenient to reach into my stash of well-loved but no longer worn t-shirts and pull out some pre-washed, pre-loved and totally FREE fabric.

My last t-shirt project was this dress, which I found online at Dana's site MADE. And once upon a time I made this sweet newborn gown for my niece out of an old tee. This project for the Squirt was made using a pattern and tutorial I found at I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar. She has the BEST boy projects and her creativity blows me away.

I've still got a bit of embellishing to do (couldn't find an embroidery needle and again...it was nap time) but my client was pleased nonetheless. With cooler weather around the corner (a girl can dream right?) I can't wait to put it to use!

An Update on the Little Ones

2011-08-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday and both B Daddy and I woke up wishing it were Friday. We're burnt out and ready for the weekend. So instead of pulling together and editing pics to update y'all on one of the half dozen almost done projects I have lying on the dining room table, I am going to take the lazy blogger's way out and write about my chilluns.

The Squirt

Likes: The Incredibles, riding his bike, Band Aids, bath time

Dislikes: all vegetables and most fruits, sharing

Favorite Color: blue (we're unsure if he is aware of other colors)

Favorite Food: Craisins

Newly Acquired Skills: climbing out of his crib, remembering song lyrics

Question of the Month: "How was your day Daddy?"

Best Feature: insanely deep brown eyes

Personality in a Nutshell: Adventurous Helper

Sweet B

Likes: anything edible, bottles, puzzles (strictly for chewing purposes)

Dislikes: having her diaper changed, riding in the car seat

Favorite Activity: swinging

Newly Acquired Skills: crawling and pulling up

Strangest Thing I've Found in Her Mouth: Dental floss

Best Feature: an infectious gummy smile

Personality in a Nutshell: Happy-Go-Lucky Gourmand

Slipcover City

2011-08-17T05:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all your input on the artwork decision...I am really a fan of the Vineyard like many of you, but the jury is still out. :)

Guess what I'm working on this week???

I know, crazy right? But these video tutorials from Miss Mustard Seed make it seem totally doable. If the whole thing works, I'll have spent about $100 and probably a third of my life slipcovering the sofa. And if the whole thing doesn't work out, you'll never hear about it again. Well, that's probably not true. Misery loves company. I'll keep you posted!

Everyone is thrilled about the undertaking.

Fear of Commitment

2011-08-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

Next week my uncle is coming to do some renovation work on our living room and I can't wait to share the changes with you! It's definitely going to be a slow evolution as we get time and money to work on the room over the next several months, but I need some advice/opinions STAT.

We ~~need~~ want to purchase a piece of art to hang prominently in the room as part of the update and I'm in need of advice. Something about buying ART, even if it is a reproduction, intimidates me. I feel like it's a momentous occasion and I'm rendered utterly incapable of pulling the trigger on my own.

There is virtually NO color in our room currently. Gray walls (love them) dark brown coffee table (love it), brown sofas (hopefully getting the slipcover treatment soon)...you get the idea. I want to bring in a piece that I can draw colors out of for the rest of the room. And lately I've been hung up on reds, indigos and golden hues.

What do you think of these??

Van Gogh - The Red Vineyard at Arles

Van Gogh - The Sower

Hokusai - Ocean Waves

Cezanne - Mount Sainte Victoire (1906)

Van Gogh - Wheatfield with Cypresses

I want something bold, but not something that I'm going to tire of looking at ALL the time. I'm thinking of buying from art.com...has anyone had a good experience buying from them or another online art reproduction company? If you're reading this I really need your opinion. So leave a comment okay! Thanks!

Playmates

2011-08-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

When the Squirt was #2's age I was constantly wondering what to do with him. He was mobile, but really too young to "play" by himself. So he'd crawl around after me as I did things around the house and when I'd sit down to play with him, I'd get bored after about 5 minutes. Luckily this has not been an issue with #2.

She LOVES to "play" with her big brother. He entertains her just by being around, such a huge blessing. Unfortunately he doesn't always appreciate her company.

But at least I get some time to myself, right?

Christmas in July Craft Party

2011-08-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last month most of the girls on my mom's side of the family (we missed you Erin!) got together to do some crafting. The idea was to make little Christmas gifts for neighbors, co-workers, etc. and have some gifts already knocked out before the insane holiday season got started.

We decided to try our hands at glass etching, figuring it was an easy way to make a custom gift. As usual with this group, we did a lot of talking, a lot of eating (my sister made Christmas cookies!) and a little bit of work.

The process is super simple. You need a bottle of etching cream, craft brushes and a stencil.

We used Contact paper, which was pretty easy to position and re-position until you had it just where you wanted it on your piece. The Cricut machines made cutting the stencils super fast, but I've seen stencils around blogland cut out with an Exacto knife as well. (I have no where near the patience needed to do that.)

Once your stencil is cut, you just position it, paint on the etching cream and wait. We found that waiting longer than the bottle recommended worked out better - we waited about 10 minutes. And I don't think you can go wrong waiting even longer.

After your time is up, wipe away the cream (Use gloves! Etching cream is nasty stuff.) and remove your stencil. Voila! Simple, quick and so pretty.

These goblets were my project. B Daddy made fun of the idea of having numbered glasses, but I LOVE them. No more, is this my glass or yours?? 4 is my favorite number. Drinking from my Four Glass makes me smile. And I am sure I've seen etched glasses like these somewhere expensive before...

I loved my aunt's sweet country-esque design. Perfect for the kitchen!

And we all loved Mom's Laugh Often vase...who wouldn't love to see that on their desk?!

My cousin made monogrammed beer steins and wine glasses for her neighbors but I somehow failed to get any pictures of her pieces. I think she was the only one of us who planned to gift any of her projects anyways, the idea of parting with any of our beautiful projects was too much for the rest of us to bear. Guess we'll be needing to have a Christmas in September party too...

This House is Home

2011-08-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

I never knew what to say when people would ask, "where are you from?" Our family moved around so much... there wasn't a city, a house, a state that I could answer them with. Wherever our family was became home and that was pretty good. It was a great family. And so it never bothered me much, that I didn't have a physical place where home was.

A lot of my mom's family live in Savannah and we'd go there for Christmas and Thanksgiving sometimes. I think I came to think of it as a sort of home. But then we'd be there and they'd have to give us directions to the new Piggly-Wiggly or they'd talk about high tide and I'd realize Savannah wasn't home. It was their home, but it wasn't mine.

Georgia was the closest thing I ever had to a permanent physical home. I guess that's why I applied to three colleges here even though I went to high school in England and Illinois. I wonder if that's a universal experience, people gravitating towards home, or if it's just something I did out of some subconscious need to belong somewhere.

Once B Daddy and I got engaged we started looking for a house. This one was the 2nd house our realtor showed us, 2nd out of what felt like dozens. And B Daddy felt home right away. It took me much longer to come around. We came back twice with the realtor and we brought our parents and our friends by to see it before it was ours. We'd walk them up on the back porch so they could peek in the windows and we'd imagine ourselves sitting out there with a glass of wine staring at the trees.

B Daddy moved in before we got married and slept in the guest room. The room sweet Britain is sleeping in now. He slept there and then his grandparents gifted us a king size bed for a wedding present and I remember the day we went out and brought it home, strapped to the top of his green Ford Explorer. We finally got it down the tiny hallway and set it up and jumped on it like little kids.

On the night we got married we came to this house and B Daddy picked me up and carried me over the threshold and down the tiny hallway to our room for the first time ever.

That king size bed was where I lay the night we lost our first baby. And B Daddy held my hand and ran to the store at 11 o'clock to get me Tylenol and I curled up in that bed and wept when it was over.

And we came here, home, from the doctor's appointment telling us our second baby too was gone and all afternoon we knelt and planted red and white flowers in the front bed. To remember.

I cried the night we got in the car and left this home for the last time as a couple with no kids. I cried all the way to the hospital and wore sunglasses while I checked in so no one could see my ridiculous tears. And when we drove back down the street towards home three days later, the first thing I noticed were the two signs on our black front door that welcomed Elijah Brock home. Now his home.

Our daughter now sleeps in the guest room and so there is no guest room. And there is no guest bathroom. And there is no playroom. And we'd like to fix up the porch and change out the fireplace and re-tile the master bath. Friends ask how long will you stay? Will you move when you have a third? Won't you need more space?

So far the answer is that we'll stay as long as we can and the kids will share rooms and they'll play outside instead of in a playroom. Because this place is rich in memories and this place is deep in love. The feeling of belonging is thick in the air.

This house is home.

Shark Tooth Beach

2011-07-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Last week while y'all were being inundated with Craft Room posts from Yours Truly, the kiddos and I took a break from our normal routine and drove down to Savannah with my mom for some extended family time.

Thank heaven Mom came along or I would have turned the car around before we reached Turner Field. (I realize now that parental threats of "Stop that this instant or I'll turn this car around!" were not in fact threats at all but rather desperate pleas for a good excuse to forgo the road trip altogether.)

Anyway...we left Monday, came home Thursday and managed to squeeze in two trips to the pool, a day at the beach and a boat ride to a deserted island. We had a great time, but it was not in the slightest bit relaxing. I think I need to adjust my expectations on what it means to "vacation" with two littles. The character Claire from Modern Family summed up the trip perfectly, "I'm a mom traveling with my kids. For me, this is not a vacation - it's a business trip."

So back to that deserted island thing. My wonderfully chivalrous and Elijah-adored cousin agreed to take us out on his boat one afternoon along the Savannah River. Once we got on the boat he asked if we just wanted to cruise around or go look for shark teeth.

Um, hello!? Was I or was I not the kid who wanted to be an archaeologist? Doesn't looking for shark teeth sound a bit like scouring an ancient desert in search of Noah's Ark or fending off Nazis in a desperate bid to protect the Ark of the Covenant??!!

Maybe that second one was a bit much. Suffice it to say I had no interest in merely cruising around.

We came.

We dug.

We discovered. (Literally dozens!)

We got buck-nekid and splashed around. (Ok so, only one of us did this...)

We pooped out.

Now I'm trying to decide what to do with E's collection of shark teeth. Right now they are rattling around in a baby food jar. (Enough with the baby food jars already, I know.) I was thinking of creating something like this and putting it up in his room (using shark teeth, not cereal. Duh.) Any suggestions?

Craft Room Reveal!

2011-07-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

Yeah! It's Friday at last. Get ready for a zillion pictures of Mom's redesigned and totally functional craft room. Of course we did the reveal Extreme Home Makeover style and had the camera out when we walked her into the room...

I think she thought we had just organized or cleaned it.

I'll give you a quick tour: The Craft Desk

Soup cans hold scissors, markers, colored pencils and brushes

Our jury-rigged paper towel holder. (Dowel rod + ribbon scraps + staples)

And yesterday I showed you how we created our own Stenciled Fabric Window Treatment

The Goodwill Gallery Wall

(most of the frames were found in our homes or Mom's,

but we bought a few at Goodwill and painted them all white to match.)

We searched high and low for interesting things to frame in the gallery wall.

This picture of my grandfather is a favorite of mine.

It's an odd size, so we bought an (ugly) piece of framed art (cheap) at Goodwill, painted over the painting with chalkboard paint and stuck the picture on top. I love it!

My sister embroidered this simple design on a manila folder as a child.

It's probably the only embroidery project she or I have ever completed.

The Sewing Desk

Wrapping fabric around scraps of cardboard is a simple way to organize and pretty it up

Spray painted diaper boxes (with a chalkboard label) became storage for projects-in-process

And remember these baby food jars? Now they hold buttons and bobbins.

So there you have it - 3 days of work and under $100. Thanks for indulging me for a whole week of crafting and projecting. I will share pictures of the kids and more poop stories next week I'm sure.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Other projects that we did as part of this room makeover are:

Ceiling Fan Update

(Almost) No Sew Table Skirt

Chevron Bulletin Boards

Spray Paint Makeover

Linking up to Tatertots & Jello tonight...check it out to see a ton of other craft inspiration!

Stenciled Window Treatment

2011-07-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our budget was pretty skimpy for this makeover, so when we scored a great deal on more than enough fabric to make our table skirt, we knew we had to figure out a way to have it double as a window treatment. It was boring white fabric, so we came up with the idea of stenciling a pattern on it using paint we had on hand from the table and bulletin board projects.

Cost of fabric = approx. $10

Cost of paint = $0

Not bad for a brand new window treatment huh?

We measured, cut and hemmed (again, using Heat N Bond) our fabric first. Then we taped the stencil down (with a piece of styrofoam behind it...which paint DID seep through onto) and started stenciling from the center of the fabric moving out. We decided to use both turquoise and black paint to pull the room colors together - I was worried it would bleed together as we stenciled, but we just used two different brushes and it worked out great.

We used regular old whatever kind of paint it is house paint. Not fabric paint. It worked really well and since I don't imagine Mom needing to wash it ever, I'm not worried about it holding up.

I have better pics of it in place, but I'm intentionally holding out on you...check back tomorrow for the big reveal!

Chevron Bulletin Boards

2011-07-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

My sister (who has a now-defunct blog and is therefore unable to share her awesomeness with you herself) was dying to get crafty herself during our Craft Room Makeover. She found two plain bulletin boards (that used to hold all kinds of totally awesome notes and pictures of our high school selves) in the back of our bedroom closets and transformed them into these much trendier and way more fun to look out chevron bulletin boards.

Aren't they amazing!?

She used this tutorial to help her line up all the ziggidy-zaggidy goodness. Uncle Lee helped her do the math, which was apparently the hardest part of the whole she-bang. The pop of turquoise and white was desperately needed on this wall and they will hopefully hold all manner of inspiration for Mom soon!

Ceiling Fan Update

2011-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Another project we knew we needed to tackle right from the start was the lighting situation in Mom's Craft Room. This room had no less than five mismatched lamps (check out the before pics...five!) all trying to make up for the lack of overhead lighting.

This was the lightless ceiling fan before (ok - during...Uncle Lee had already gotten to work by the time I whipped my camera out)

Nothing a little elbow grease couldn't handle. It was actually relatively simple to remove the bottom of the ceiling fan and add a light using an $18 ceiling fan kit from Home Depot.

And by relatively simple I do mean it looked relatively simple of course. Uncle Lee did the actual "work" part of the lighting switcheroo.

Much better already right!? While Lee was busy with the power tools, Anna and I took the fan blades outside for several quick coats of high gloss black spray paint. Had it not been 98 degrees with 199% humidity that Saturday, I think the whole shebang would have been completed in under an hour. As it was, we literally let the fan blades sit all day waiting on them to dry, until we got smart and moved them inside (on a drop cloth Dad).

For $18 (the majority of the spray paint was used on a different project, so I'm not including it in my expense tally here) this was probably the biggest bang for our buck we had out of the entire makeover. It makes a HUGE difference and enabled us to get rid of two lamps that were doing a whole lot of nothing for the aesthetics of the room.

What do you think? Are you just dying to see how it turns out? Are you amazed at how many posts I've made of a single room re-do? I'm just trying to keep you entertained at work you know. : )

(Almost) No Sew Table Skirt

2011-07-19T06:00:00.001-07:00

Our first order of business in the Craft Room Makeover was Mom's big ugly table. It was well on the way to acceptability with its paint job and accompanying glossy black chair, but it was still lacking. It takes up a lot of space in the room and more storage (for all those kiddie toys and scraps of paper) was a definite priority, so we decided we'd make a table skirt to give Mom lots of hidden storage.

I bought lining material from Jo-Ann's (lining = cheap) and some Heat N Bond and set about making a table skirt without making too much fuss.

The first step was measuring the material out - I saw a little trick on Young House Love where Sherry used the edge of a rug to make sure her cuts were perfectly straight - so I measured out two identical panels for the sides of the table and two matching panels that would meet in the middle of the front of the table, using the edge of a rug as a guide.

I had planned to staple the top edge of each panel behind the lip of the table, so I only added a hem allowance to three sides. Heat N Bond hem tape is a fabulous thing. Have you used it?? It is SO much easier than using a sewing machine. The roll I used to do this whole project cost around $3.50 (before using my 40% off coupon.)

You just iron your hem, slip the Heat N Bond in your little pocket and press down. About 20 minutes later, I had four finished panels, ready for stapling.

Here's the (almost) no sew part: I wanted Mom to be able to access underneath the table easily, so I decided one section of the table skirt should be Velcro'd (apparently not a word) on. Problem is that Velcro is only available in either sticky back or sew-on. I wanted both; one half sticky (to go on the table) and one half sew-on (to attach to the fabric). So I bought a roll of each and combined them. Does that make sense?

So that was it! We spent roughly $20 (on paint, fabric, Heat N Bond and Velcro...and we have most of the paint left) to take this table from side of the road cast-off to kid-friendly and craft ready. Oh and this was our most expensive project!

Great for storage AND hide and go seek!

Spray Paint: My New Best Friend

2011-07-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

I've always been thoroughly convinced a can of spray paint can make almost anything look better.

As far as Mom's Craft Room was concerned, this chair was enemy #1. It clashed horrifically with our new glossy craft table and needed a paint job stat.

We primed using a roller and brush, but knew spray paint was our best bet for getting full coverage on the cane back and spindles.

We tried both Rustoleum and Krylon in Glossy Black. I wish I'd taken side by side comparison shots because Rustoleum beat the stew out of the Krylon. It was only 50 cents more and covered way better way faster. Just FYI.

This was my favorite project by more. Totally fulfilled my need for instant gratification. I'm eyeing up every piece of furniture we have at home now....what doesn't look good glossy black?!

Free Table Transformation

2011-07-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

The first thing you see when you walk into Mom's craft room is the big ugly desk. So that's where we started our makeover efforts.

This desk - one that my mother literally had B Daddy and Uncle Lee drag down the street, into their house and up a flight of stairs after it was left curbside by some moving neighbors - is where all the crafting magic takes place in the craft room.

It had experienced a good bit of wear and tear in its previous life. So the first step was to wood glue the sagging trim, putty all the dents and dings and then give her a good sanding.

After letting it sit for a bit (approximately 5 minutes, even that was a test of our patience) we slapped on a coat of primer (we avoided the edge where the wood glue was still REALLY wet.)

After a first coat of black paint I was really worried this ugly duckling was never going to clean up. But three coats later it looked like maybe the plan was starting to come together after all....

Labor of Love

2011-07-17T05:13:00.000-07:00

For my Mom's big birthday this year, my sister and I decided we were going to give her a Craft Room Makeover. (Yes, the capitals are in order. We're anticipating a call from HGTV with a TV show offer any day now.)

A little background will serve you well since I'm dedicating a whole week to the undertaking...

Mom's current craft/sewing space used to be the guest bedroom. Then she and Dad bought a condo, moved the bed and the side tables out and it became an empty room with an antique dresser.

A year later Mom found a ginormous (hideous) abandoned table down the street and decided it would make a perfect cutting table for her (not yet existant) sewing room. So now the room had a big ugly table and an antique dresser.

A few months later Mom bought a great corner desk dirt cheap from Ballard's Backroom that fit the space perfectly. Now the room had a nice modern corner desk, a big ugly table and an antique dresser in it.

Fast forward a year and Mom's room looked like Michael's, Goodwill and a pre-school classroom got together and threw up. Scraps of paper, abandoned sewing projects, clothes waiting to be altered, kiddie toys, random pencils, scissors and bottles of glue were everywhere.

I can only imagine the pains it gave my father each night as he passed it on his way to bed. (He's an "everything in its place" kinda guy.) And their precious cleaning lady had stopped going in the room altogether. Anna and I knew drastic action was required and collaborated with Dad to get Mom out of town for a whole week so we'd have time to tackle the project.

This is Mom's room on Day 1 - after several hours spent cleaning and emptying the room. Big ugly desk is front and center. I only wish you could have seen the mountain of clutter on the desk, the pile of toys in the middle of the room and the old red gingham checked curtains. It was truly breathtaking.

The Ballard's Desk - fits this short wall perfectly.

Antique dresser has already been moved to the closet.

This was our blank canvas. We gave ourselves $100 and 3 days to transform it; check back in this whole week - I'll be posting all of our projects and then the big reveal on Friday!

Baby Food Jar Centerpiece

2011-07-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Yup. You read that right.

We had 4 couples over for dinner last weekend and the afternoon of the dinner, I found myself looking wistfully at the dining room table. It was just so sad and plain. I set the table, but the place mats and solid cloth napkins were still looking a bit drab.

As both kiddos were napping, there weren't a whole lot of options on the table (hahaha....pun intended) for getting a fabulous centerpiece whipped together. Spending $$$ was also off the table (last time, promise) as we're working hard to stick to the budget for July.

So I went house hunting. And oh was the recycling bin a total gold mine! About a dozen baby food jars and a few jars that formerly held salsa and parmesan cheese beckoned to me from amidst junk mail and Diet Coke cans.

Washed, scrubbed and with votive candles dropped in, my dining room table suddenly looked much brighter.

It really looked pretty classy and elegant. Candlelight does that every time doesn't it?

And the lids? Two coats of chalkboard paint transformed them from trash to re-usable place cards.

How's that for recycling?!

Thanks to Nike at Choose to Thrive for the inspiration, she always "rocks what she's got" rather than buying new.

Dropping The Bomb

2011-07-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

There are times in a Mom's life when you're having a horrid day and your kids push all your buttons and by God's grace you respond with self-control and kindness.

This is not a story about those times.

This is a story about the other times - the times when you're having a perfectly fine day and yet you still find yourself on the brink of sanity...and then you lose it. This is the story that you don't tell your spouse for fear they won't leave you alone with their children anymore. This is the story you don't tell your neighbor because she'll never ask you to babysit again.

This is a story about being an average mom on a below-average day. I'm sharing in the hopes that you'll give yourself a break the next time you lose it and maybe laugh instead of cry.

The Squirt and I had been tooling around the front yard for half an hour or so when I decided I should make the most of having only one kid awake and go for a run on the treadmill currently taking up space in our garage. (Another story for another day.)

I figured this was a brilliant plan since Squirt enjoys the garage. There are lots of fun things in there, boats, bikes and of course a mini-van to play in. So I lace up my Nikes and head to the loo (Brit speak for potty) before starting my run. The Squirt is of course on my heels and I ask him point blank, "Hey bud, do you need to go potty too?"

"Nuh uh."

For whatever reason, I accept his reply as the gospel truth and we head out to the garage. I'm literally just stepping on to the machine when I hear, "I go tee tee Mom." I look down. Yup, big puddle.

- Big sigh -

I step off, get a towel, say it's ok buddy, remove his shorts, remove undies, sop up the mess, throw everything in the washer, head back inside, get new undies, new shorts, share a loving big smile and head back out to the garage.

Phew. Ok, let's get a move on.

I set the workout for 30 minutes (a tad ambitious...my conscience chimes in) and start running. 5 minutes in and I'm dripping head to toe. "Breathing" is more like sucking air in through a damp cloth. Running in a garage in the summer in Georgia is a completely idiotic idea I realize. But the Squirt has figured out how to work the windshield wipers and is happily clicking headlights on and off - this is certainly no time to be a quitter.

Every few minutes I have to answer a question like, "What dis Mommy?" or "Mommy run all done?" but I'm feeling pretty empowered by my Super Mom self as the workout winds down and I reach the 5 minutes remaining mark.

That's when I heard the unfortunate declaration. No way...he didn't really say that did he?

"What was that buddy?" Oh yes. Yes he just said that.

I GO POOPY MOMMY.

"Oh buddy..." I jump off the treadmill. Irritated - only 5 more minutes! Hot - why is Georgia so friggin' hot? Dripping - who goes running inside an un-airconditioned garage Katie?!

I open the car door and hoist out a bow-legged toddler. He's doing the poop-in-my-undies waddle. I'm sure you can imagine. We're holding hands, but there's no sympathy in my heart as I march him inside. Why oh why hasn't this kid figured out pooping in the TOILET yet!?

He's reluctantly tottering down the hall and whining about the turd caught up in his Incredibles undies and I'm really very sweaty now. Also teed off. About my cut off work out, about having to change another pair of undies, about the incredibly slow way this kid is walking. Why didn't he just TELL ME he had to go back when we were in the bathroom!?

We reach the bathroom and I plop him down on the toilet. The potty training books tell me I'm supposed to get the turd out of his undies and into the toilet without pulling the undies down somehow. And he's whining now. A high-pitched, donkey-bray kind of eeeeeeaaaaaawwhhhhhh whine. And squirming. The turd is too close to his hiney for comfort. I'm squatting in front of him, the backs of my thighs sliding off my sweat-slick calves when he decides he's had enough. He defiantly stands up from the potty, which in turn magically releases the turd from its Incredibles prison and sends it sliding to the floor via my forearm.

It lands. And as it does, I drop it.

The Bomb.

You know the one.

If you've never dropped it then we're probably not friends. Or you're my mom. In which case, you're an exception to the rules.

I drop The Bomb loudly and emphatically and turn with a spent sigh to the Squirt, now seated contentedly atop his turd-free hiney, who looks right back at me and shouts with a straight face, "F&@*!"

Just thought I'd share.

Simple Summer Pasta

2011-07-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

E-mealz provided us with another new family favorite this week!

I adore this dish because it was ready in under 15 minutes, did not require the use of the oven, used seasonal garden ingredients and would easily satisfy a vegetarian or a meat lover! (Not that any of us Leipprandts fall into the herbivore category, but I think it's considerate to have a few veggiehead friendly recipes up your sleeve just in case!)

Here it is:

Creamy Penne & Squash

8oz penne pasta

2 yellow squash

1/2 tsp dried dill, salt & pepper

1 vine ripened tomato, diced

1/3 cup half n half

5 oz crumbled feta cheese

In a large saucepan, boil pasta. Meanwhile, grate squash (with a cheese grater. I'd never done this before...SO easy!) Add grated squash to pasta for last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain well. Return squash/pasta to saucepan and stir in tomatoes, cream and dill. (I think the dill is critical. Go splurge on some! Better yet, pick it from your garden.) Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and toss with feta. Serve warm with a crisp salad!

YUMMY! B Daddy gave it two thumbs up...which is serious praise from a committed meat lover. And no, I did not plant a vegetable garden this year. Have I already lamented that catastrophe here? It made me so sad to go out and buy squash and a tomato.

Perhaps in the end it's for the best as I'm quite certain I would have up and died from the culinary bliss that is harvesting/cooking/eating all within half an hour.

Birthday Wishes

2011-07-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

I had one of the best birthdays in recent memory this year. Despite it now being officially the last year of my Twenties, it was an altogether happy occasion.

We made plans to hit the Georgia Aquarium up as a family early Monday morning (GA residents get FREE admission on their birthday and children under the age of 3 are FREE as well...so B Daddy was the only one paying for a ticket!) and spent a delightful, tantrum-free morning there. If you live in the ATL and haven't been, I highly recommend it (especially for FREE), but I think it's best seen through the eyes of a little one. The Squirt was a perfect age for exploring and Sweet B took in the sights from the comfort of the Baby Bjorn carrier. We had to hit up the penguin tunnel twice it was so exciting. I think B Daddy and I could have spent all afternoon here, watching the whale sharks circle by.

We spent a silent afternoon at home, as the kiddos took insanely long naps, and then had family dinner at my parents' home. This year almost everyone conspired in their gift giving to help me knock out my 30 Before 30 list!

B Daddy is giving me lessons in kayak rolling (#11) and is outsourcing voice lessons (#8) to a professional! My parents are giving me stick-shift driving lessons (#16, also providing vehicle, instruction AND babysitting). My sis and bro-in-law gave me a sewing project and $$ to buy supplies for it and both sets of parents and parents-in-law gave me cash for a new clothes shopping spree. Does it get any better??

Actually it does. Anna capped off the evening with this cake we'd both seen in blogland, which I was floored by. I really do appreciate the homemade love. If you want to add it to your 4th of July arsenal for next year, there's a step-by-step tutorial here.

There are a few updates to the 30 Before 30 list that I need to post, so hopefully I'll be sharing my progress soon. Hope you guys all had a Happy Fourth!

Death in the Family

2011-07-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Since I last posted, we've been to the beach, the lake, the Georgia Aquarium and celebrated my birthday, but I can't get to sharing any of that until I get the bad news out of the way.

Charlotte was murdered.

I got a text while we were away in Panama City last Sunday from my mother in law saying simply, "an animal got in the coop and took Charlotte. We found her past the fire pit dead. I never heard any squawking..."

I was stunned. Then I felt truly awful. We wrapped that coop up on all sides and even buried chicken wire under the dirt to keep intruders at bay. We know there are coyotes and hawks in our area and thought our precautions were sufficient. Our neighbor has told me multiple times that a black cat prowls around the coop eyeing the girls, but I've never considered that a cat could bust through our defenses.

We have no idea who the murderer is and can only assume that they are still at large.

Bless their hearts, my mother in law, sister in law and a friend of theirs kept the kids occupied (they told the Squirt Charlotte ran away) while they reinforced the hole in the chicken wire, cleaned up all Charlotte's golden feathers and disposed of the um, er...body.

This was nowhere in my instructions left for them on how to care for the kids and the house while we were away.

I have wondered how it would be when one of the girls finally died (of old age was my assumption). Would it be like when a beloved family dog dies? Would we have a little ceremony and bury them in the backyard? In fact it was nothing like that at all. Granted we were out of town, but I'm fairly certain we would have dealt with it similarly to my MIL and would NOT have buried her in the backyard for fear that Predator #1 would return and dig up the body. There was no ceremony and not a single tear shed in fact.

I have actually found myself thinking, "I'm glad it was Charlotte and not Hester, she laid way less eggs." (I know, terrible, right? But maybe my farming ancestry is coming back to me...survival of the fittest and all...)

So we're on the hunt for a new occupant for the Tyson Corner coop. This time we're looking for an Easter Egger (they lay blue or green eggs, sometimes even pink).

In lieu of flowers or cards, the family humbly requests you share a favorite memory of the girls or a favorite egg recipe in their honor.

Hi Nester Friends!

2011-06-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

I had something exciting happen earlier in the week. The Nester featured a project I tackled for #2's nursery on her new site Window Mistreatments! Squeal!! Here's my original post for that project in case you missed it.

So if you're here for the first time from The Nester's Window Mistreatments site, thanks for stopping by! Leave a comment so I know you visited or follow me...thanks!

And since you're a Nesting Place fan like me, you might like these other posts:

Master Bedroom Headboard

Pops of Color

Buh Bye Ceiling Fan

Thrift Finds

Dramatic Kitchen Reveal

Again, thanks for stopping by and checking out my Roman Shade project! I would love to see how yours turn out if you tackle the same kind of thing.

~ Katie

Week 5: Last weight loss update!

2011-06-21T11:14:00.001-07:00

Are y'all as excited for me to stop blogging about weight loss as I am?!

We leave for our beach trip in 3 days and I'm happy to say the scale finally weighed me in under my goal today. 142.6 to be precise. Wahoo!!! Bring on the peanut butter pie.

"Gosh Katie, however will you reward yourself?!" my faithful readers might ask.

Fabulous question.

I thought a little shopping spree was in order. $10 for each pound lost as a matter of fact. Shopping at Old Navy really stretched my cash too ("spree" is still a relative term around here).

If you read last week's update you know I needed to pick up some new shorts - size 6 thank ya very much.

This beach bag was also irresistible. No heading back to the room for sunscreen, book, ipod or Kindle. No sirree; they will all be stashed away in my handy I'mAwesomeAndIStuckWithaWorkoutRoutineForSixWeeks beach bag.

How great is this chevron striped skirt? I've never been a "tucked in" kind of girl, but I couldn't hide this sweet waistband.

I also got a black sundress, and two t-shirts. Gotta love how far 3 20s goes at Old Navy. : ) I'm sure I'll be back before we take off on Saturday morning...but tell me now anyways: what are your suggestions for a great beach read??!

Mothering as a Mission Field

2011-06-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

I know we're coming up on Father's Day and so this is entirely the wrong time to be posting this, but I was encouraged by reading this today and thought some of you readers who are moms might be to.

From DesiringGod.com:

Mothering as a Mission Field

Enjoy your weekend!

Week 4: Ugh.

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I GAINED a pound. Cue booing and hissing. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. I was SO close!!

This is most certainly less motivating than all the losing I have been doing up to this point. I've been trying to pinpoint the culprit: increased muscle mass? a certain time of the month? faulty scale? Certainly the blame does not lie with the half-eaten pan of brownies in the kitchen. No, I'm quite positive I saw B Daddy eat one or two. Clearly not it.

Hmph. I guess it might take 6 weeks after all.

However, if you are keeping score at home please do note that bonus points have been awarded to Yours Truly for dropping a shorts size.

Muddy Buddy Champs!

2011-06-13T12:21:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was a glorious one for the Brock girls. ;)

My sister Anna and I competed as a team at Muddy Buddy for the first time ever. 4 years ago I ran the race with B Daddy and ever since I've either been pregnant or have just had a baby. I think Anna competed 3 years ago and has had the same story since as well.

So we signed up, named our little duo HoLei Cow They're Not Pregnant! and then promptly forgot all about it. Until Saturday I hadn't been on my bike since way before Brit was born. Anna did sneak off to some trails a few weeks back and had her husband to remind her how to shift gears. Regardless, we enthusiastically jumped in the car at 6am Saturday morning and drove out to the sticks to get our mud on.

PRE-RACE

I took off and biked the first leg of the race. (Please note our adoring fans piled high in the Bob stroller, lower right corner. Special thanks to Mimsy and B Daddy for watching all 4 kiddos in the hot Jawjuh sun.)

Anna ran the first leg.

Basically, one buddy starts on the bike and after a 2 minute delay, the other buddy starts running. After a mile you leap frog your buddy and pick up the activity they just finished doing. Does that make sense?

Here I am running (actually hurdling...brings back fond seventh grade memories.)

Anna Banana on the bike.

At each interchange there was an obstacle to complete before starting the next leg. This tower was the final obstacle before the famous mud pit.

Finally getting muddy!

That's more like it.

And the best part? ....Victory!!! We won our division.

Total race time 49 min, 38 seconds!

(And the girls we beat were most decidedly NOT mamas. Not that I'm ridiculously proud of us or anything...)

What a change of pace to let my competitive side out for a while and to leave all diaper changing and sippy cup filling to B Daddy for the morning! I'm so grateful to live in the same city as Anna, it was a blast to re-live our high school days of being on the same team. Love you banana!

Breakfast Gone Wrong

2011-06-09T06:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would let the Squirt help me make breakfast this morning. My first mistake was letting him hold the egg.

After reassurances that we had plenty of eggs, this Mama cheerfully cleaned up the ick and we cooked another egg. Smart Mama that I am, I turned off the burner and moved the skillet to the middle of the stove (safety first!) as I added some blueberries to the plate.

My second mistake was leaving the spatula in the skillet. The Squirt reached across the stove, planting his right hand squarely down on the turned off, but still very HOT! burner to reach for it. No picture; but just imagine tears, hugs from a guilty mama, ice pack, magic kisses, more tears, more hugs and finally...back to breakfast.

Alas, it was just not meant to be this morning.

My third mistake was not locking his high chair tray down all the way. SERIOUSLY!? At this point it was starting to look like the universe was conspiring against a peaceful morning.

At least we have a dog.

Three eggs later, we had a happy camper. Just a typical morning in mom world.

Week 3: Still Losing

2011-06-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Fact #1: This past weekend was B Daddy's and my inaugural weekend leading 9th grade students at Buckhead Church, which meant a lock-in Friday night and then church Sunday evening with dinner afterwards.

Fact #2: This weekend I ate a pecan waffle at Waffle House, Papa John's pizza AND a double cheeseburger from Wendy's. The waffle was definitely worth the calories, but the cheeseburger - NO WAY. I was so bummed out when I realized how bad it was for me. And it wasn't even that yummy.

Fact #3: Facts #1 and #2 are irrevocably related.

This has all led to a personal revelation of sorts. Being involved in high school ministry is going to be very dangerous for my waistline. Note to self: eat BIG semi-healthy dinners before attending future events.

Regardless, I'm still slightly down from my weight last week and I have Zumba, days at the pool and a Sunday morning run to thank for that.

Start weight: 149

Current weight: 143.5 : )

Goal weight: 143

Our Picture Window

2011-06-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

I stopped dead in my tracks one morning as I walked by our front picture window.

Out the left side of the frame I watched a young father and husband hustle out the door and down front steps, off for the day to his newly acquired dream job.

Passing through to the right side of the frame, I saw a wife and mother walking a dog once again around the block, her morning laps providing refuge from the weight of the cancer ravaging her husband at home.

I stood still and watched them, suddenly struck by the very very different worlds they were living in.

Yet somehow they live in the same world. In the same neighborhood. On the same street even. They shared the stage of my window for a brief moment and I pondered the privilege it is to be called neighbor. To be a part of these characters' stories if but for a few years.

As a stay-at-home mom my world can seem so very small, but through our picture window I'm reminded that it's full of incredible opportunities.

6 wks, 6 lbs: Week 2

2011-05-31T04:33:00.000-07:00

After another week of working out and using MyFitnessPal.com to track my food and exercise, I'm down to 145! (I have seen 144 and change on the scale a few times this week, but I'm going to sandbag and call it 145.)

Over the weekend B Daddy and I took the kids to the YMCA pool twice and I realized that I'll probably be there 3-4 times a week this summer. Being a in a swimsuit for a couple hours each day is AWESOME motivation to eat a healthy breakfast and get a morning work out in for sure.

I really like the way myfitnesspal is set up. I think (readers can you confirm?) it's similar to Weight Watchers in that you have a set calorie (points) goal each day and you can eat whatever you want to meet it. You end up making your own healthy choices because you want low-calorie food that is filling as opposed to being commanded to eat fish and steamed veggies for dinner each night. I always opt for the hardest workout I can squeeze in each day too, because I know a harder work out will mean I get more calories alloted to my day.

I've blown my calorie allotment on several days, but I still don't feel like I'm "dieting". And so far....I am seeing progress. Hard to believe it's only been two weeks though. Feels like forever. Anyone else working to lose some winter weight or baby weight out there? How's it going? Encourage me! :)

The Lake Party

2011-05-27T05:06:00.000-07:00

I told you about the Cars Party Part 1 - and how my camera was AWOL for the Cars Party Part 2. "Cars Party" is probably a bit of a stretch since I forgot my Cars plates and the only reference to the movie was an exact replica of the cake I'd made 4 days before. Let's call it the lake party shall we?

I didn't have my big girl camera, but I did have my iphone handy, so here's a glimpse of how we celebrated The Squirt's big day with B Daddy's family.

Let's get our priorities straight: Cake first.

...onto presents.

Now for some boat time.

Driving with Pops always wears this guy out.

What a day!

Growing up, it was rare for me to see as much extended family in a year as our kids see in one weekend. What a gift to have both sides of our family in the same state!

PIcture of the Week

2011-05-26T01:14:00.000-07:00

My God makes beautiful babies.