OK OK

So so much has been happening over the course of the last couple of weeks. I will post them for you in short 'summaries' so that I can hop my smelly butt into the shower in preparation of the manifacent feast that my mom will bestow upon me for my birthday....


FIRST OFF: My skin cancer is finally gone.

Some of you know I am partially joking, most of you know that I have been mildly concerned for the blue-black mole that has been growing a little on my hand. My mom begged me and begged me to get it removed, however, due to financial reasons I never did so. She finally laid down the 'I'm your mother, and I said so. Send me the bill and I'll take care of it' card, so I reluctantly went to Dr. Hannaman's office to have it looked at/ taken off. Alas, I am now without my blue mole, and it is a DARN GOOD thing that I got it taken care of. It was what is called a "cellular blue nevus" and in lame mans terms it is a mole that if not taken care of can later on down the line cause some trouble, aka melanoma skin cancer (aka, the one that you DON'T want to get). So, thanks mom, and like always, you were right.

SECOND OFF: AJ had his first birthday

What a great day that was!!! HOURS went into that cake that I made for him, which pics will be posted of later when I get the energy to post them. It was adorable, even after I dropped three of them outside while trying to balance the big cake board, walk, talk, and laugh at the same time. Oh well. AJ got uber cool gifts, mainly because he has such an uber cool family. I especially loved the bag that Jessie made for him-- even more so that she used little airplanes in it, which I have always had a special thing for. My folks got him this awesome big wheel/ stroller/ rocking gadget that he adores, his grandma got him a super cool slide, and of course his grandpa (who he always has to outnumber, haha!!) got him this FABULOUS playhouse-- and it is for boys!!! It has a basketball hoop on one side, a gas nozzle for his 'cars' on the other, cool doors and crawl through spaces, as well as a drive through looking place for all those fantasies that boys can have! Probably one of my favorite gifts would have to be that special chair that rob made for him. It is called an adirondack chair for those like me who didn't know. Google it if you want to see, because once again I don't really have the time to post a pic.

THIRDLY OFF: My 23rd birthday

At AJ's birthday, I received my awesome birthday gift from my awesome brother and sister in law. There is a funny story about that, which you can read on Jessie's blog. Basically my mom was 0-2 when it comes to birthday gifts, which I found to be quite amusing, but all's well-- she has found great replacement gifts, I am sure. Other than that, on the 22nd (also Earth Day) we went to Texas Roadhouse, which was a lot of fun, with Trevor, Laurel, and Trenton. Lets also say that poor little Trenton has a fear of men with beards, that is super cute. He tucks his chin into his neck and stares at the table until Laurel gets him and then he didn't move for the rest of the night from in between his parents. Drew got me this AWESOME AWESOME antique looking necklace (he went to Jared's!!!!!) that matches my engagement ring. It is the first thing he ever picked out for me on his own, and it means A LOT to me! Last night I got some money which I will probably splurge on etsy.com necklaces, and we went to Chili's with Drew's family. One of the many things I love is the fact that AJ loves going out to eat. He sits back in that high chair like he is king you-know-what and makes everybody laugh. He's such a hambone. Today I get to self indulge in my favorite meal at my mom's house, in honor of the beautiful Jessie's and my birthday. I hope Jessie likes what I did, even tho it does not beat what she did to AJ's birthday wrapping! We are having Baked Chicken, Mac & Cheese (homemade with cinnamon sugar on top!!!), salad, and RED FREAKIN VELVET CAKE for dessert (notice the chicken and side are capitalized, because yes, that is how important they are). My mom is the coolest <3

LAST OFF: Pregnancy Scare

On Thursday Flora, Liz, and I went out to Smokey Bones for *donuts* and dinner. They have these AMAZING donuts there that come in a doggie bag filled with cin sugar AND THEY ARE FREAKING OUT OF THIS WORLD. Don't believe me? Try them for yourself! They come with apple & chocolate dipping sauces and you have to have a big ol glass of milk in order to be able to swallow the heavenly goodness. The only bad part is apparently Flora and I had bad sour cream on our baked potatoes, so about 2 hours later both of us threw up. Hence I thought I was pregnant, because I almost did the same thing at Chilis last night, and I have been super weird feeling lately. Well, this morning and last night I took two out of my three tests and both came back NEGATIVE. Mwahaha, soldiers, my BC pills have beat you in April's battle of conception!!!

And at this moment, I shall leave you to ponder over my last three weeks of excitement. Two birthdays, cancer, and pregnancy all in one month--- no wonder I am so tired all the time (well, more tired than normal with having a one year old!)

*doye?*

That is how I think Leon, my adorable massive border collie, says whenever I tell him something. I swear, this dog is pretty bright but when it comes to listening to me you'd think I was speaking Arabic or something. However, when it comes to chasing squirrels and birds, getting along with other dogs, being gentle with the babies, or doing one of the five or so tricks that he knows how to do I speak fluent dog.

Anyway, that was a short ramble. I'm just tired of my nice clean house getting messed up again between the dog, the cat, the son, and the husband. Its too much testosterone in this house-- its driving me nuts. You would think that throwing a kids first birthday isn't a big deal, which it really isn't, until you realize how much family and important people you have in your life!! I think that the last time I counted I had 32 people showing up??? And the funny thing is, its all people that I would expect to be there even if I wasn't doing anything, just to say happy birthday kiddo to my acrobatic baby. Speaking of acrobats, he gave himself another black eye today. I would post a pic, however, it makes me want to cry whenever I see it. It is kind of funny how history repeats itsself-- when I turned one, I had a big ol fat bruise in the exact location that AJ is now sporting one. I was hoping that he'd inherit my charming personality and my artistic and academic abilities, however, so far my clumsiness, stubborness, and murky brown eyes are the only thing his genetics are sporting of mine.

*sigh* Now I'm off to swiffer my mudstained floors... again... more posts later, in a hopefully more upbeat mood.

I know, I know, I'm horrible at this!!!

For a while I was good about keeping up with my blog. Now it is more like a once a month kind of thing. I apologize. It is not the lack of not having anything to write about, however, it is the lack of time to write anything. I am attempting this weekend to make my first 'fun' dessert item-- AJ's alligator cupcake birthday cake. Dun dun dun!!! I went to a baking supply store and the woman (who I share a birthday with.... and who is expecting her first grandchild.... and who's daughter who is pregnant is due in July... who lives in Germany right now, but is hoping that they can move to Colorado before the baby is close to being due.... yeah... we talked a lot) really helped me out a lot with how to do things!!! I feel more confident now in the cake, and am hoping that it will look good and taste delicious. will post pics as soon as it is done.


Meanwhile, Easter just came and went. What a fun day. My kid was the cutest thing on the block. Thanks Jess for posting pics up, because you and mom are the only ones who took pics of him in his outfit!



God is awesome in blessing me with such a great family and such a fantastic *almost* one year old!!!!

Anyway, not only did Easter come and go, AJ's FIRST BIRTHDAY *WOWZA!!!* is this SATURDAY. Holy Moley, to think that at this time last year I was contemplating my feet's death as they kept swelling and growing.... mmm.... I do not miss being pregnant one bit....

This year AJ's birthday theme is nonexistent, other than he is getting some fun outdoors stuff as well as other random objects. Thanks to Drew's fantastic kind of rich father, he is getting the coolest play center ever that I OKed him on getting.



This thing is the coolest thing on the block. It is the closest thing to a boy's play house that we could get. Now, we have asked the other grandparents to supply a car to ride around in the back yard, as well as a slide that can fold up and either go inside or out. I have to admit I am more excited about this birthday than any other birthday EVER. Forget the fact that my birthday is next Wednesday, it is all about my kick butt kid and his day!!!! (Seriously! I don't care about turning 23!)

Anyway, other than these exciting events of April, I have been obsessively buying off of Ebay.com.... I am so horrible... I was so sick and tired of watching the same movies with the kids over and over again that I just... got a little... carried away. But Ebay is so addictive, in case anybody hasn't had a chance to experience... I will tell you the list of movies that I have gotten, all for less than 10 dollars a piece (either bought at ebay.com or moviestop, which is another guilty pleasure of mine)....

~Aladdin
~Lady & the Tramp
~Peter Pan
~Cinderella
~Sleeping Beauty
~Robin Hood
~Jungle Book
~Pinnochio
~A Bug's Life
~Antz
~Never Ending Story I and II
~Beauty & the Beast
~Shrek I and II
~101 Dalmations
~Emperors New Groove
~The Little Mermaid

About half of these I even managed to pay under $5, which is anything short than a miracle. Nonetheless, I am ending my ebay days because quite frankly, I am afraid of spending any more money on it. I would tell you that I got all of these for AJ... however by noticing the Princess movies on there, you would know that I am lying... haha.

OK, OK I give up.

So, things have been pretty crazy around here for about a month. I broke down finally and got myself a half-job. I consider it half because I stay at home all day with my son, dog, cat, and now a 6 month old named Megan. She's super cool. One of the biggest 6 month olds I have seen.

I am starting to see what it would be like to have two kids at the house, and let me tell you--- it is NOT easy! I am so relieved and tired by the time Megan gets picked up, it is all I can do to clean up, take a shower, and/or cook dinner. Notice the "or" added in there.


Nonetheless, God has really blessed me with some kind of work, on top of going to Laurel's house 2-3 days a week. I really couldn't ask for more when it comes to working part time, plus there are the bonus points of being able to stay at home with my rad kid.

Speaking of rad kid. He is turning a year old next month. I still cannot grasp the fact that exactly a year ago today, I was sitting at home, propping my swollen sausages of feet, groaning at a whopping 165-170 lbs, wishing, praying, DEMANDING to God that I go into labor. But God thought it would be funny to let me stay at home for another 3 weeks or so before AJ made his grand entrance after my OBGYN doctor granted me mercy one fateful Friday morning.

Thank heaven for epidurals. Too bad I didn't have the time to get one. Its funny how you try to be brave and not get drugs right away, but as soon as the pain gets to the point that you WANT drugs, the doctors tell you 'oh, too late!'

Grin and bare it, my @$$. Have you SEEN the size of my child's head?


But in spite of the pain I endured, and Drew watched me endure... my life cannot be any more fulfilled. I may go to sleep worn out tired by the end of the day, but man I am so happy to wake up the next morning and know my kid will be waiting for me with a smile (most of the time!) on his face.


PS-- do you know of anybody that needs painting done on or in their house? If so, you better tell them to call Drew. If you don't and I find out about it, I will hunt you down and let my dog and cat tear you apart. <3

Wait... I thought you blogged...

So it has been... well, forever since I have posted a blog. So much has been going on that I cannot even get my mind wrapped around it. I am lucky that if the end of the day my brain has enough energy to go "Thank you LORD for blessing me, FOR REAL!"

I mean... it seems as if my life is clicking into place, everything that I have ever wanted as a child I seem to now have. I have a wonderful kick butt husband. I have a house. I have a child. I have a cat, which you know, I don't really care for cats but this one definitely is special. And now, I have a dog. His name is Leon. Drew finally broke down after we fostered a runaway pitbull that we dubbed as Charlie.

After much searching and many many applications to only be rejected because we have a young child, we finally found a litter of border collie lab mixes that we applied for. We went there on Sunday to pick out our puppy after a week of phone calls, resource checks, and applications. And of course we fall in love with the gentle giant. He was the biggest one of the pack by far, but was the most chill dog EVER. If you know Drew and I, we definitely need that kind of dog.

God has really really blessed me with all of this. I have a house full of boys/men that I absolutely adore. I could not feel more protected and at home. I really need to praise Him and let him know how happy I am with how He is working in my life.

And on top of that? We got to enjoy snow day with a puppy that loves snow and a baby that could care less about it. Life is perfect.

What is God trying to tell me?!?!?!

So this is the third time that I have read Matthew 5:29-30: "29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." or Mark's version of this same version (Mark 9 42-48) this week alone.

I have a feeling God is really trying to tell me something. Perhaps he is trying to tell me to stop worrying and trying to perfect my outer image, and concentrate more on my intimate relationship with Him. He makes a point. As usual. :)

Plus, in my devotional today it talks about me constantly praying for the Lord to speak to me. In this day and age, the language of God is so misinterpreted that it is easy to get lost in translation. I always have a fear that perhaps I am not really hearing him, that I am just hearing nothing. Then as always, my devotional or my readings or even something that Drew or my father will say will be exactly the things that I was praying on. There is no denying that, especially when I get such obvious answers, without me even asking people directly.

To me, it is once again proof of how much God wants to be involved in my life. The more I try to involve him, the more he really involves himself in more obvious ways. I prayed for more ways to help people out in need, I got a phone call from somebody asking me to make a meal for somebody who just had a baby. I prayed for more open communication between myself and God, and the devotional that I haven't read in a while (I have a couple that I like) talks of me just praying and saying "Speak, Lord". I have fears of the unknown-- you know, the world ending, when I will die, will my baby live a full and happy life-- and my Bible reading that night says "Why are you still afraid?"

I cannot deny such power from God. He strikes fear in my heart as well as love, and I can only pray and try to humble myself to even remotely deserve to live in his Kingdom for eternity.

"What did you do today?"

I wrestled an estranged cat from my son's arms. I made waffles for breakfast that just got mostly smeared into the floor. I wrestled with my baby while vacumming and scrubbing out blueberry stains from those waffles. I managed to change a boy that seemed like he had 8 arms, all fighting me the whole way. I made lunch for him while having him wrapped around my legs. I finally got some peace and quiet in the car until we saw his grams. I got out that wonderful lunch, with the green beans cleverly disguised in the ham and cheese sandwich I made for him, only to have it not eaten because he saw the little bits of green. I cleaned up the toys in my mother's preschool classroom because they were covered with bread and yogurt covered hands. And kissed about 5 boo boos he received while trying to run away from me or getting into something that he shouldn't have. After seeing he won't eat veggies, even cleverly disguised, I went to the store and bought 50 dollars worth of things that he may, or may not, eat that has veggies in it. I relaxed while he napped by working out, cleaned the house, and got supper ready for our family and another one who just had a baby. In between the cooking of our meal, I delivered the second. I petted the sweetest rotwieler I've ever met, chatted and cried with a fellow mother, and attempted to go home during rush hour. I came home, finished fixing the rest of the dinner, and served it with my boy once again wrapped around my ankles. I gave AJ a bath, kissed his boo boo when he hit his head on the door while he was trying to crawl away from me, soaking wet, and managed to dress him while once again him acting like an octopus.

Finally, after some down time of him going between me and his daddy over and over again, I laid him down with his bottle and kissed him good night. I thanked God for this blessing of mine and I smiled as I whispered, "I love you" to the little boy who completely rocks everything about my world.

What did you do today?