Helmet Bling

I decided to bling out Lucy's helmet. I couldn't deal with just how clinical the white helmet looked. It made it appear as though there was something "wrong" with Lucy and she's obviously just as perfect as can be! Ha! So, here's the front of her helmet:

The back of her helmet:

And, Lucy totally rockin' the finished product:

This helmet design is only temporary. There's an amazing shop in town called "The Wrap Shoppe" and they specialize in auto wraps. They offer an amazing service to all DOC Band babies and their families where they will create any custom design you can possibly dream up, they create a wrap and then they wrap the helmet....get this, for FREE!!!! They won't take cash of any kind. We have a wrap in the works and should have it installed within the next two weeks. I can't wait to see it!!!!

Helmets, poop, ice cream and friends!

I haven't blogged in over a year. I can't believe just how much has happened in this past year. The biggest change would have to be the addition of our sweet little LaLa! This little baby is just amazing. She loves her big brother, her daddy, music (especially Adele's "Don't You Remember"), bouncing, laughing, singing and FOOD. This chunky little monkey can put down some milk, oatmeal, fruits and veggies! Her big brother has gotten so much bigger, too! He's now in second grade and is seriously the smartest, sweetest, most lovable little boy I have ever met. I decided to start blogging again because we have so much going on right now and I want to make sure I always remember these times. I'm not going to be using "code names" for the kiddos, either. Little Dude is Travis Justin and LaLa is Lucy Julianne. Lucy currently has 2 minor medical conditions; Plagiocephaly (flat head w/facial asymmetries) and Torticollis (twisted/wry neck). She has been going to therapy once a week for the past two months and should be graduating soon. During these sessions she works through different holds and stretches while "playing" with her AMAZING therapist, Laura. I am seriously so sad that we won't be seeing her much after Lucy finishes her physcial therapy. Laura has been incredibly kind, patient and gentle. She truly has a gift and we have been blessed to have her work with our sweet little girl. In addition to therapy, Lucy will be wearing a cranial orthosis called a Doc Band...which is just a fancy way to say "helmet". This helmet will redirect the growth of Lucy's skull and correct her facial asymmetries. Lucy had her Doc Band put on today and she doesn't really seem to mind it too much. She keeps reaching up with her chubby little hands to pat it or tug on it. The car ride home from Cranial Technologies was VERY difficult to say the least as she cried the ENTIRE ride home. I don't think it's simply because of her helmet...she's also teething. Once we got home she had some teething tablets and a fantastic nap!!!

Look how adorable she is in her helmet!! After her nap it was time for her weekly therapy session. I drove to the hospital, was feeling super cool when I found a super close parking spot, got out of the car, got the stroller ready and started to unfasten the car seat straps when I noticed my hand was....wet. Lucy had pooped EVERYWHERE! It was ALL over my hand, her hands, her leg, the car seat and her clothes. Thank goodness I had a huge package of wet wipes and a clean change of clothes. I was able to change her in the back of the car while simultaneously wiping tears and sweat away. I was so tempted to just cancel her appt but I sucked it up and made the most of it. We pretty much bathed in hand sanitizer....but, we survived. I whined a little (a lot) on Facebook and I was absolutely spoiled by an amazing friend of mine. Ms. Maddy stopped by this evening with a chocolate peanut butter sundae for a treat AND brought me a box of Cap'n Crunch Berries to ensure that my morning would start off well, too. How thoughtful is she???? Sometimes it takes a rough moment for me to realize just how many blessings I truly have. I've always heard coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous. I truly believe this and I truly believe that he gave me some great friends to help make this journey just a little easier.

Beets

Meet "Beets". My awesome little sister.

She and I have a quite an age gap. There are 14 years between us. She's finally at an age where we really feel like "sisters". Don't get me wrong, I've always loved this little girl with all of my heart. I've always thought she was adorable, sweet, smart and ridiculously funny. Only now, I see her as a beautiful, kind, articulate, thoughtful, intelligent and ridiculously funny young woman. She has been through so much in her 15 1/2 years and always pulls through with a smile on her face. I am so proud to be her big sister.

Tim, Little Dude and I were lucky enough to have her join us on our family vacation to San Diego. I don't think Little Dude would have enjoyed San Diego as much without his Aunt Brittney.
She helped him build sand castles:

She sat by him at dinner:

She went body boarding with him:

Posed for silly pictures:

Helped bury Tim in the sand:

And selflessly shared a bed with my crazy little sleeper:
.

Beets, thank you for coming to CA with us. You're an amazing sister and I love with you all of my heart.

Why would you guys do this to me??

Little Dude is 6. He loves; Super Mario Bros., mac and cheese, golden (caffeine free) Pepsi, happy meals, legos, kickball, his Wii and his family. He does not love; the dark, the fact that he has to sleep alone (he really can't wrap his mind around why Tim and I get to sleep in the same bed, especially because we are "grown ups" and he is "just a little kid"), the smell of mushrooms being sauteed or wearing clothes. Seriously, as soon he walks in the door after school he starts removing articles of clothing. He refuses to sleep in his pajamas and insists on wearing nothing but his underwear. His favorite Sunday morning activity is sitting on the arm of the couch while playing any of his Wii video games while wearing nothing but his underwear, bed head and a smile. That's exactly what he was doing this morning when there was a knock on the door. The adorable little girl from next door (she's 7 and I lovingly refer to her as Punky Brewster) wanted to come inside to play with Little Dude. My sister let her in without warning Little Dude. It was at this time that I received a phone call from Tim since I'm at work. He was laughing as he explained to me the string of events unfolding in our household. Little Dude hollered at both Tim and my sister and asked, "Why would you guys do this to me???" all while trying to burrow under the couch pillows. Punky thought it was great and couldn't stop giggling. Little Dude begged her to go into a different room. Luckily, she did and Tim was nice enough to run outside and grab a pool towel so Little Dude could cover up make a mad dash to his room and his clothes. After he got wrapped up in the towel he ran through the living room, down the hallway and towards his room. He was moving pretty quickly but apparently he wasn't fast enough. Punky decided to take advantage of Little Dude's predicament and chose to have fun with the situation by yelling in her sing-song voice, "Hey, I can still see your underwear!!!!". Maybe Little Dude will re-think this whole wearing clothes thing. But, I doubt it.

(notice his lack of clothing in this picture and the Wii screen in the background. LOL!)

29.....or 7???

How old am I?! I recently turned (gulp) 29. It's the last year of my 20's and I made a promise to myself....I'm going to be more sophisticated. I'm going to take more pride in my appearance. I'm going to be chic. I'm going to be the woman that everyone notices. First on my list...a wonderful lip color. Something that makes me want to smile more. Something that makes my lips buttery soft. Something with the perfect sheen, the perfect color. So, what did I reach for? Chanel? Clinique? Mac? Bobbi Brown? Nars? Close. I reached for a blast from my past. Ye old faithful....Bonne Bell's Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker.

It sounds so silly, but it really is the perfect thing for my lips. It adds just the right amount of color without the weight of a lipstick and without the stickiness of a gloss. And, it brings me back to 2nd grade in California, when my cousin, Cori, and I would jam out to "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, slather on Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker and drool over Fred Savage in her older sister, Treana's, Tiger Beat magazines. *sigh* Love it!

Best Birthday Present...ever.

Tim bought me a supersonic jewelry cleaner for my birthday. I was super excited when I opened it...however, I was even MORE excited the night before last when Little Dude puked and I attempted to "catch" said puke with my hands. My ring is now puke free and sparkly clean. It's the little things in life that make me smile.

Unsolved mysteries...according to a 5 year old.

Little Dude: "Mom, do girls poop??"
Me: "Yes, everyone poops. Why?"
Little Dude: "Because, I never hear the toilet water splash when you're in the bathroom and girls NEVER talk about poop!"

It is SO hard not to laugh when he asks me these questions! I don't ever want to laugh though because I don't ever want him to be afraid to ask me a question. He is ridiculously funny!

Mean Face

Little Dude: "Mom, why do I like Tim so super-duper much?"

Me: "Probably because he's super cool."

Little Dude: "Do you know why I like to sit on his lap and not on yours?"

Me: "Um, no. Why do you like sitting on his lap and not on mine?"

Little Dude: "Because you're mean."

Me: "What?! I am NOT mean."

Little Dude: "Yeah, sometimes your face is mean."

Man. That hurt. But, it was also pretty funny.

Yummy...

The reasons I love my husband:

I love....

the way he smiles at me when he comes home from work.

the way his hand completely covers the small of my back.

that he always smiles at me when he wakes up in the morning.

how kind he is to animals and children.

that he always makes Little Dude laugh.

that he makes me feel beautiful.

that he doesn't seem to mind or notice when I have a "fat" day.

that he can't wait to have a baby with me.

that he thinks I'm one of the smartest people he knows.

that he puts the needs of our family first.

that I still get butterflies everytime he kisses me.

I love you, Yummy.

Kids take EVERYTHING so literally.

While Little Dude and I were eating supper tonight I asked, "I wonder how Uncle Derek is doing?"

His response, "Um, he isn't doing anything. He's dead."

No duh! It was funny because I expected to hear about how he's spending time in Heaven with God and Baby Ashton.

Nope, he looked at me like I was a crazy person. :o)

I love my Little Dude.

Blah

I'm having of those weeks. You know, the kind where nothing seems to go right? Don't get me wrong...the rational/logical side of me knows that I am very blessed and I have no reason to complain. I have a great husband, a healthy child, a stable job with benefits and a nice home. But, I still feel completely down in the dumps. I've never felt more chubby, fat, plain, ugly, unattractive or whatever combination of words you can think of. I don't know how to get out this rut....any suggestions??

Ready. Set. GO!

I caught baby fever a few months ago and apparently it is quite contagious! Tim and I have decided that it's time that we start trying to expand our family! We're both very excited...and just a little scared. Hopefully it won't take forever!!! Wish us luck!

Little Dude is hoping for a baby brother and NOT a baby sister. He's already come up with a list of names that he likes: Dashlyn (huh??), Brogan (again, huh??) and my personal favorites; Luigi (because HE is Mario) and Baby Bowser.

Let's hope it's a little girl...

"Can't we just rip it up and throw it away?!?"

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I've been super busy with work and trying to get a routine down now that Little Dude has started school.

Speaking of school...Little Dude absolutely loves it! He did get in trouble on the second day of school. That happened pretty quickly, huh? At his school they each start the school day with 3 sticks on their desks. If you're not listening you get a warning. If you continue to not listen you get a stick taken away and lose a few minutes of recess time. If you still don't listen you forfeit recess and yet another stick....if it happens a 3rd time you lose your final stick and you have to visit the principal and your parents are called.

So, I pick Trav up from school on the second day, we get home and I start going through his backpack. I pull out a white slip of paper and he instantly starts crying. The paper basically says that Travis lost 1 stick because he wasn't listening. I could barely understand him when I asked why he got in trouble because he was crying SO hard! He told me that he got in trouble for shouting out answers and not raising his hand. He had to tell me what he would do differently next time, we had to write that down on the paper, we both had to sign it and he had to bring it back to his teacher. This upset him even more and he begged..."Can we PLEASE just rip it up and throw it away?!?". He wasn't thrilled when I told him that we had to give it back to his teacher. It really was sad to see him that upset.

Needless to say, Little Dude learned his lesson and he hasn't lost a stick since! He's had 3 weeks in a row where he kept ALL of his sticks EVERY day. I'm very proud of him for learning his lesson!

Little Dude isn't SO little....

Little Dude's first day of kindergarten started with a blueberry waffle breakfast (ok, they were toaster waffles, but he didn't complain!).

Then we packed his very first school lunch ever...in the coolest lunch box...ever!
PB&J dinosaur sandwich, goldfish, fruit snacks, blueberries, grapes and a juice.

Then he posed for pictures with Yummy and I:




Per Yummy's request I won't post his picture with Little Dude since he was just wearing shorts and no shirt....sorry Ladies! :o)

Little Dude was very handsome in his uniform and couldn't wait to meet new friends!


Little Dude had such a great first week of school! He's loving every thing about it so far....the playground, having lunch with his friends, making cool projects and learning new songs. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up and I just can't believe that I'm the mom of a school age child!!! Maybe it's time to start thinking about having another one???

Chocolate. Peanut Butter. Pie. Yum.

So last weekend I tried two new recipes. The first was a bacon wrapped meatloaf, which was super delicious. The second was this delicious creation:



The crust: buttery, chocolatey Oreo goodness
The filling: creamy peanut butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and Cool Whip



Yummy says it tasted like a peanut butter cup cheesecake....(maybe next time I'll add crumbled up peanut butter cups as a finishing touch!).



Little Dude loved it, too!

My Shoes Don't Stink, Mom....

So, Tim and I took Little Dude to Dick's Sporting Goods a couple of weekends ago for new school shoes. Yesterday I was teaching Little Dude how to tie his shoes, and he picked one up, smelled it....and proudly announced, "My shoes don't stink, Mom they smell like Dick's!" I couldn't help but to smirk. SO funny!

Aw man, I'm getting old.....

So, I can't even believe it! Little Dude is starting Kindergarten!!!! I took him to his very first Meet the Teacher night last night and he is SO excited!
He was embarassed because I took his picture in front of so many people...but, here is outside of his classroom:

And, at his super awesome desk:

In the activity/reading area in his classroom:

And, finally...celebrating with a Happy Meal and cookie before we finished his back to school shopping:


I know that he's going to love school as much as I did. He's a very smart little boy and he LOVES playing with other kids. He's so kind, and he just loves making people laugh. I think I'm going to go cry again....

Do-over! Take Two.

Tim and I had a wonderful photographer for our wedding. Jacquelyn captured beautiful moments of our day and has since become a wonderful friend. Jacquelyn kindly selected Tim and I to be the subjects for a training session she held for her other photographers. Tim and I had the opportunity to have more pictures taken in our wedding attire...this time they were romantic shots taken at sunset (since our wedding was at noon..high sun!). We had such a great time! I even had "Wedding Day Butterflies" all over again. Tim and I viewed the images separately and surprisingly chose the SAME image as our favorite. It is quite stunning...here it is:



If you ever have the need for a photographer you seriously need to check Jacquelyn Phillips of Moments in Film Photography out! She is incredibly kind, funny, pays great attention to detail and has a huge heart! www.momentsinfilm.com

(Seriously, I wasn't paid for this Moments in Film review! I just love Jacquelyn's work ethic and the fact that she's created a successful business with a ton of hard work and perseverance.)

Heebie Jeebies!!!!! Yikes!

Aw, man! It's that time of year again....scorpion season. I was just saying how great it was that I hadn't seen any scorpions in the house. And, I was feeling good because we just had the exterminator out to spray. Well, last night I was walking into the bedroom and I saw something out of the corner of my eye....a freakin' scorpion! He was scurrying as fast as he could from the walk-in closet to the bathroom. I'm amazed I even saw him because all the lights were off and I only had a candle lit in the bedroom...(brownchickenbrowncow). I was talking to Tim on the phone when I saw him and I literally freaked out. He was hollering at me to grab a shoe and to kill it already, and I kept hollering that I couldn't and I was heebie jeebied out....I finally worked up enough courage and while screaming, I smacked that scorpion with Tim's sandal. It didn't die!!! So, I whacked it again SUPER hard and his guts went everywhere! I left that stupid scorpion under the flip flop for Tim to clean up. When he got home I showed him my kill....when he went to lift the sandal it was easy to see that the scorpion had gone into attack mode against Tim's sandal...his stinger was embedded on the bottom of the shoe. So, I think I'm going to get a cat. And, not de-claw it. Our very own, ferocious scorpion hunter. But then, I remember....I'm not a fan of cats. And, our dog already sheds obscene amounts of fur. Guess I'll just be walking around wielding giant flip flops!!!

(Please dis-regard all of the dog hair on the dead scorpion....impressive amounts of guts, huh??)

Sweet Yummy Goodness

It makes me so unbelievably happy that Little Dude LOVES to help me bake. He's quite good at crackin' eggs! ....and he's phenomenally great at lickin' the beaters!