sanity restored!

I couldn't have picked a better blog post to go out on then "on staying sane".  Little did I know I'd be diving into my first trimester right after that post.

I've replaced my computer time with nap time for the last three months and it has been so good.  This pregnancy has been awesome and strange.  I've been nauseous but with very specific cravings.  I went from Chick-fil-a ploynesian sauce... to mini bagels with cream cheese and imitation bacon bits... to just the bacon bits, please... to sucking on limes... to mass quantities of salsa... and it continues.  I still throw up some, but it's usually just when I bend over, drink water on an empty stomach, or clear my throat.  Seriously.  Strange, right?  Weirdest part... I have not been able to stomach dark chocolate. And that has been a serious problem.  Until today.  Which may be why I decided to jump back into the blog-o-sphere; ahhhhh, chocolate high!

Well, enough pregnancy ramblings.  Although I should mention that baby #3 (let's call him/her "tres") is due Christmas Eve and we have decided to wait to find out the gender and let God surprise us on that special day.  We may or may not name the baby Jesús de Maria Emmanuel Mills.  ;) 

I am celebrating a year with my camera!  I got my gently-loved Canon 20D for my birthday last year and I have had so much fun with it.  I've even been second shooting/assisting with my good friend and awesome photographer, Heather Funk, on some weddings.  That has been an awesome experience and I have learned a ton from her.  I'm processing my wedding photos so I can put them on a website.  I'll keep you posted.

On that note, here is a few pictures of life the last three months.  

Acacia making herself and Jackson a goldfish sandwich for lunch on a day that I was feeling super sick:

Dressed up and on our way to a wedding:

 A very good daily reminder:

Building class at Home Depot.  The first Saturday of each month.  The kid's have loved it!  Best to bring your own hammer and wood glue as there are never enough to go around.

Another Home Depot class creation.  I let Jackson plant some Rye grain and it did wonderful.  Acacia planted some beautiful velvet flower seeds that didn't quite make it.

How we've been spending alot of our time lately.  The playhouse remains unfinished, but the kids don't seem to mind and I certainly don't either.

things I love: a list

jesus, yeshua
braj
my kiddos
dark chocolate
tuberose+patchouli
moss
adventure
isaiah 58:11
old cj-7s
getting people outside their comfort zones
making things beautiful
pumpkin spice lattes
candlelight
really old quilts- especially the sick blanket
lavender+balsam peru+vetiver
70 degrees
blue skies
forests
limes
fellowship
grey
worship music
trying new things
working with my hands
chili
being outside
anthropologie
dancing- when no one's looking

make a simple advent calendar this year!

By simple I mean ridiculously easy, very cheap, and at least mostly natural materials.  Oh, and I have one hour to do it while my three year old helps.  Can I get an Amen?

You'll need:
1.  Small muslin bags.  You can order them online here.  Tip- order more than 25 because your toddler will want to help and you'll probably mess up at least one.
2.  1 inch number stencils and spouncers.  Unless you have awesome handwriting like Kaite, in which case you can just use a paint brush.
3.  Acrylic paint.  Before going out for the perfect Christmas Red, check your stash.  I used brown and silver because I love the way they look together and I had them on hand.  Warning- this does not wash out of clothes but it does wash off the face and hands.
4.  Some kind of string or twine or ribbon.  I always keep a roll of twine handy so that's what I used.
5.  Small suction cup hooks to hang the whole strand on a glass surface.  If you don't have enough glass, try those command removable sticky hooks.  No need to put a hole in the wall just for a Christmas decoration.

The process:
Just lay out your bags and get to stenciling.  I use cleaned out baby food plastic containers for the paint but you can use anything.

Once they are dry, string one side of the drawstring through and hang on any flat surface.

Done!  Now some candy canes and some scripture verses or any trinkets you want go inside and you have a gift-a-day advent calendar. 

Now go get your baby because naptime is over and your preschooler has paint on her hands and face and needs to use the potty.

Acacia made flowers from coffee filters white I painted.  After the paint is dry, poke a hole in the middle and stick a pipe cleaner in.  Instant centerpiece:

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Here are some resources for more information on advent calendars, background and ideas.

jackson's first steps and other less exciting updates

JACKSON:
This boy is strong as an ox.  Brandon joked that instead of a walker, we should see if they make Defensive Line Sleds for kids.  It's a pretty good idea.

This video was taken about a week ago.  These are Jackson's very first steps.  Now that he's a pro, he's trying to walk everywhere.  Today, he pushed Acacia around in the laundry basket.  He walks while holding just my thumbs.  It's crazy.  But fun.

MOMMY:
This new walking excitement comes at a very good time.  I began to notice a lingering pain in my pelvis after carrying Jackson in the Ergo for long periods of time... which I did very often because he slept so well that way.  Turns out I basically sprained part of my pelvis while carrying/delivering him, so I need to be cautious how much I bear his full 20 lbs on my hips.  Needless to say, we are spending more time at home these days.  Although I am not at all a homebody, doctor's orders have been very refreshing.  Getting into a little routine with the kids and slowing down some is good for all of us.  Now I just need to find a good pilates workout video to strengthen my abs and other core muscles.  Suggestions welcomed!

ACACIA:
 Is loving learning her letters and sounds.  She's always pointing out letters on things and saying things like, "MMMommy starts with an M.  J-J-J-June starts with a J."   Here she is reading to Mono, who is wearing a swimsuit.

She has developed a strange habit, though.  Well, she has many strange habits, but one particularly curious.  She phrases everything in a question that begins with "what". 
- For example: Instead of "Can I have some milk?"  She'll say, "What can I have?"  And make me guess. 
- Or if she has a particular thing she wants to do (go outside), she'll ask, "What can I do?"  If I respond with something other than what she had in mind, "You can look at a book." She'll whine and say, "Nooooo."  I have to keep guessing until I figure it out.

This goes on all day.  If I try to get out of it, and throw the question back at her, she just repeats it again.  She doesn't realize it's a very exhausting game... in fact, I don't know if she realizes what she's doing at all.  Strange, huh?  I guess she'll grow out of it.  She's had other language curiosities.  When she was just learning to talk she called herself "Tita" and always spoke about herself in the 3rd person. 

THIS is the day the Lord has made?

I will rejoice?  And be glad in it?

I should be folding this pile of laundry and then going to bed.  Are those the same clothes in that pile that I've washed, folded, and put away a gajillion times?

I've been a bit grumpy lately.  The crying, the whining, the poopy diapers, the micro-naps, the laundry, the I-can't-get-to-anything-because-Jackson-keeps-sticking-his-hands-in-the-toilet, and the cleaning... oh the cleaning. 

I haven't been blogging much partly because of my grumpiness and partly because I got Acacia this new movie, The Letter Factory, by Leap Frog and I've been letting her watch it on what was once my computer.  It's worth it, though.  Great movie; I highly recommend it. She can tell you what every letter is and what sound it makes. 

I did manage to squeeze in some DESPERATE time with God the other evening and you know what... sometimes He's just waiting to give us the boost we need.  I'm trying to work my way through the Psalms and I just *happened* to come across this awesome verse when I needed to hear it the most:

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,

who daily bears our burdens. 

Psalm 68:19

I guess I just needed a little perspective, a gentle reminder of His love, an encouraging word, and maybe even a "check yourself, honey".  This IS the day that the Lord has made... I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

conversation

... over dinner tonight:

acacia: I need a napkin.
papa: Here you go, honey.
(acacia wipes hands and mouth and gives used napkin back to papa)
papa: Hmm, I don't know why you're giving it back to me...
acacia: Because I'm kind.

in the bathtub (to her koi bath fish):
acacia: Now listen, it's very important that you drink this water. Okay? Do you understand? Okay! (fish swims) Are you making a good choice? Good job!

perspective

A sink full of dirty dishes:

a sign that you've been working hard all day

...or...

just more work to be done

brainless in miami

If I only had a brain. I think I lost it in the move.

Can't think, not sleeping, no structure, poor diet (fridge still broken). I'm truly a mommy in the mist this week. It's only a phase... right?

moving STRESS!

Tomorrow is the big day. We are going to try to move a few things tonight.

I met the landlord and the gas utility guy there today. It's looking pretty good, the ac is working and the other utilities are all hooked up. The cleaning lady isn't coming until wednesday!?! Not sure what to do about that one.

I was really hoping for good naps for both kids today, but that isn't working... Acacia is keeping Jackson up saying, "Look, buddy... it's a beautiful day!" At least he's not crying. It may sound cute, but to this tired mommy with sooo much to do; I was really hoping for naps. Oh well.

I took more pictures, but my camera broke so I can't upload them... I'll try with Brandon's work camera this weekend.

I'm hoping Brandon will by me this awesome mexican looking chandelier at the thrift store (it would be PERFECT in our new florida room/dining room) to make up for this lousy day I've had. Hon... you reading this?

more snippets

1. Jackson sleeps!

Acacia didn't sleep through the night until she was fully weaned at about 15 months. Jackson sleeps through the night (8-9pm until 6-7am) nearly every night now that the kids share a room. Sometimes, like this morning, he woke up at 6am to nurse and fell back asleep for another hour. I got some good, quality time with God on my sorry-excuse-for-a-deck again. What a HUGE blessing sleep is. If you get some... don't don't take it for granted.


2. Acacia, my friend.
She zips around the room on her ladybug with Jackson crawling around after her as she squeals, "He's chasing me! He's coming to get me!" She loves to share her wooden birthday cake with him and sing him the birthday song, he likes to chew on the wooden candles. If Jackson tries to take something she is playing with, she will redirect him to something else, or get him a new toy. She is a dream.

In a "big sister" outfit I just finished for her friend, Mae,
who just became a big sister to baby Grace; born yesterday at 4lb.s 8 oz! A miracle baby.

She knows now to be quiet if Jackson is asleep, but sometimes she has trouble with that. Last night was one of those times. I explained to her that if she is loud after Jackson is in his crib, I will have to come back in and spank her bottom. Well, she was loud, and Jackson woke up screaming. I went in to comfort Jackson and tell her to quiet down. While I was rocking Jack, she repeated over and over, "spank my bottom, spank my bottom" in kind of a sing-song voice. So, I put Jack down and went over and asked if she needed me to spank her and she said, "YES, I was tooooo loud." Ummmm... okay... I guess I'll have to follow through. So I spanked her and she was so sad, she just wanted to be held for awhile. So I held her and told her how much I love her and how special she is and what a great daughter and sister she is. She even let me rock her in my lap for awhile. She is so precious. I just love that girl.

3. Almost done packing, can't wait for Saturday!

snippets

Things have been wild here; here's a quick look:

1. We're moving!
We found a darling rental house that is an extra 600 square feet + a huge backyard + $300 less per month + we're not sharing it with anyone (a first in many years). Done deal. Bonus... the yard has a mango tree, plumeria tree, key lime tree, lemon tree, and shares an avocado tree with the neighbors. We move on Saturday. Packing is underway.

2. Jackson is crawling!
This house comes at the PERFECT time since we have a very active crawler. We can let him loose on the wood floors and in the huge grassy yard without too much concern.

Two nights ago we were putting the kids to sleep; I set Jackson in his crib and Braj was reading to Acacia. I turned around for a minute and Jackson pulled himself up to standing in the crib (which was still at the baby height). Braj set his book down and said, "I'll get my tools." He lowered it right away, thanks babe!

3. Another summer trip!
We got to spend a few days in Orlando with my little bro and their awesome family along with my parents and grandparents. It was a doozy of a few days, even without Disney, but it was fun. All this travel is finally beginning to loosen me up with the kids. They have been very good travellers and I am so proud of how flexible they are.

4. WWDD? What Would Dave Do?
Still drinking the Dave Ramsey juice. Just finished paying off our student loan; it only took about 3 months. Gonna tackle the credit card next. We watched the documentary Maxed Out last night. There's one quick snip with some language, but I would recommend it if you want to get a glimpse into the credit card companies and collection agencies. Stay away from those guys!



That's it...
I don't know how much blogging I'll be doing this week, but I'll try to at least get some before/after pics up.

evicted!

Not us... just Jackson.

He's been living rent free in our bedroom since we was born, 6 months ago, and we took the plunge last night. We moved him into big sister Acacia's room, which was always the plan.

We still have to work some kinks out of bedtime and naps, but I think it's going to be just fine. Last night was successful, Jackson only woke up twice and Acacia once. Both times I nursed Jackson and he went right back to sleep and Acacia just said, "covers"... I guess we had the ac blasting! Naptime was a different story. I had Jackson asleep in the kids' room and tried to nap Acacia in mine; but Jackson woke up and Acacia was making too much noise so I ended up putting Acacia back in her bed and Jackson napped in ours while I quietly read on the floor to make sure he didn't roll off. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

The best part of having Jackson out of our room is that I can open the windows and sit out on my sorry-excuse-for-a-deck while reading my Bible and greeting the sun. I got a whole hour this morning. Glorious!

what a relief!!

I dragged myself into the doctor's office this morning for both kids' checkups. It was supposed to be routine well visits, but Acacia had a 101 fever and I was soooooo relieved to find out that Jackson had an ear infection. He has been rather difficult lately, not sleeping AT ALL... and he has this high pitched squeal that has peeled the paint off our house and broken all the neighbor's windows. So, tylenol for both kids, antibiotics for Jack... and some hot chai for mommy. We should all be better by this weekend. Then we'll go back for a true well visit in two weeks.

I mentioned a month or so ago that my stud hubby scored a Dyson DC14... well, I ordered the missing part and it still wasn't working properly. I finally had it repaired by the vacuum genius, Steve, at All Brand Vacuum (off 186th and Biscayne). I just had the most magical vacuuming experience of my life. It's 10:30 and I'm up vacuuming, and blogging about it; it was that good. After the first run, maybe 5 minutes, I emptied one canister full of yucko. Second run, another canister full. Third run, different rug this time, yup... another canister full. It was so rewarding. I think I'll hit the stairs tomorrow; and the fans (it has a telescoping reach!)

you know you're a tired mommy when...

You go to sleep wearing the same dress you wore all day, then wake up the next morning and wear it a second day, too. Reasoning to yourself, "It's not really that dirty, it doesn't smell bad, it's very comfortable, in order to change I have to unpack from Colordao... I'll just change before my hubby gets home."

a dwelling curator

I woke up before the kids this morning and God greeted me with the most beautiful sunrise and refreshing ocean breeze. I sat on our front patio and sipped some decaf hazelnut latte and dove into Titus 2. I've been craving some wisdom/ direction as a stay-at-home mom of two little ones and I knew Titus would lend a hand. This is what I gleaned (in the order given from verses 3-5):

Verse 3 says, "teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live." The Greek word used here is hieroprepes. It is the only use in the entire Bible. This is the definition:

Appropriate for sacred persons, venerable, fitting for one involved in hallowed work. To conduct oneself in a manner appropriate for one who lives in the realm of the Divine, walking in the presence of God.

Does that blow your mind or what?! Being a mom is a sacred service to God.

We (young, stay-at-home moms) sometimes have to be reminded/ encouraged to:

1. Be sane. Sleep deprived and up to your ears in diapers with spit up all over your shirt can cause irrational behavior. God knew that.
2. Love our husbands and children. Not always as easy as one would think ;o)
3. Voluntarily place limits on our own freedom. Gulp. This has nothing to do with Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate, by the way. Ice cream helps me achieve goal #1.
4. Be pure (modest). This doesn't mean we have to dress frumpy. See #2.
5. My favorite. Be a dwelling curator. My Bible actually says "be busy at home" but I looked it up in Greek and a dwelling curator is a closer translation... with a Shannon spin.
6. Be kindhearted.
7. Adapt to our husbands. This is a very good way to act out #2.

Jesus the Spelunker

For many years I have prayed from Psalm 139 that God would not let me get away with anything. That He would go spelunking in my heart and shine His light on undiscovered bad attitudes or other hidden idols, like envy or discontentment. He always answers that prayer with a "Yes! Belay On!".

I figure if I continue to ask Him to search my heart (and really mean it), hopefully I won't discover some wild thing has been taking up residence in my heart and God has to do major surgery...spiritually. I have found it's much easier to change things if I keep a short account with God than if I pretend I'm a good church-going Christian and I don't have anything to be concerned about.

Worst possible scenario would be to get to heaven and have Jesus say, "Oh, yeah... um, Shannon, right? We had some good times in those early days, but then you wanted to do your own thing. Well, I'm glad you're here." Much better would be enter the gates of heaven wiped out and hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Shannon, it is finished. Welcome into joy and rest."

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."