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Author: dee

Already Feeling Behind

When I said I was slowing down in 2009, I didn’t really mean that I was going to stop blogging.  It just kind of happened.  While I’ve given it my best effort, life just hasn’t slowed down all that much.  Every time I think I finally have some free time, I manage to fill it right up and still don’t do much relaxing.  I’m really behind on blogging because I can’t find the time to sit long enough to write something worth posting.  I don’t care so much about my other sites, but I hate getting behind here because I don’t want to miss documenting all the fun things my kids are doing.

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Evie is growing up and changing so fast all of a sudden.  It seems like she’s discovered something new she can do nearly every day.  Hopefully I’ll get around to writing her monthly update on time this month and go more into all of that.  She’s also been going through some pretty cruddy stuff lately – like teething, allergy testing, and being forced to sleep in her own bed.

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Zach has been going through a bit of a phase himself, which includes the not-so-pleasant baby talking.  Almost every time he speaks I have to remind him to talk like a “big boy” and it is driving me crazy.  I know it is a phase and it will be over soon, but I think it also has to do with the fact that he is with younger kids all day at day care.  I really want to get him into pre-school but until I can get my budget worked out and find the extra money it is going to have to wait.

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In the small amount of spare time that I have managed to find lately, I’ve been playing with my camera.  When I got my camera last year I swore I would really use it and teach myself about all the manual settings so that I could someday justify buying the DSLR that I really want.  After nearly a year, I still don’t know much more than I did when I got it and I am determined to figure it out.  I’ve been reading all about aperture, exposure, ISO, focal length, white balance, etc.  over the last couple of weeks and doing lots of experimenting.  I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m starting to get it a little bit.  I’ve taken some really, really horrible pictures in the process but there have also been a few good ones.  My mom got me a portable backdrop stand and two backdrops to play with for Christmas and I’ve been having fun trying to use them.  My kids are getting a bit tired of having a camera in their faces all the time though.  You would think they’d be used to it by now!

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Since today is apparently delurking day in the blogoshpere, I’m going to leave you with a question. What is the best thing you have done for yourself (no one else, just you!) so far in 2009?

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Slowing Down in 2009

Zach & Evie

So here we are in 2009. 2008 went by so fast I barely had time to blink. My hope for 2009 is that things will just slow down so I can sit back and enjoy this amazing life that I have.  Over the last week or so I’ve really been trying to stop and appreciate what I have a little more. That includes spending more time with my kids and less time with my computer.  Today, for instance, I decided to stop at the park with the kids on the way home from day care instead of rushing home.  It gave me a chance to play around with my new camera a little bit and enjoy watching my kids play at the same time.

Who is that old wrinkly lady holding my baby?!?

I don’t really make New Year’s resolutions because they never make it past the first week, but I have been giving a lot of thought to changes I want to make in my life lately. Besides the usual goals of losing weight, eating healthier, and sticking to a budget, I really want to spend more quality time with my family. We spend so much time rushing to get this done or that done and very little time just enjoying each other.

Happy swinging baby

A secondary goal – though probably the most important of them all – is to get more sleep. Over the last 9 1/2 months I can think of maybe five times that I have slept for more than four hours at a time. Evie has never been a good sleeper and since the kids share a room I always jump up as soon as she starts crying. Then she spends the rest of the night in bed with me nursing every hour or two and waking frequently. I finally decided that I’ve had enough of that, so Operation Sleep started last weekend. Grandma took Zach away for the weekend and I started sleep training with Evie. The first night I cried nearly as many tears as she did, but on the third night she slept for eleven hours straight. We’ve had a couple of bad nights in there, but for the most part she is doing really well. I do miss snuggling with her, but the sleep is wonderful.

Round and Round

Other things I want to work on include de-cluttering the house, reading more books, practicing and improving my photography skills, improving my sewing skills, building up a web design portfolio, and keeping up with my blogs. You know, just a few little things.

Zach & Evie
What do you have planned for 2009?
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Wishing you a Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas at our house and we’re not done yet. We had a nice quiet Christmas morning with the kids, then went to my mom’s house in the evening and exchanged gifts with the rest of my family. Tonight we’re heading over to my brother’s house for a meal and gift exchange with my dad his wife.

Presents and everything else aside though, what I enjoyed most about Christmas this year was just being with my family. I feel like this was the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I feel so blessed and it has been really nice to sit back, relax, and enjoy everything that I have.

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A Little Superhero Fun

When I first saw the Superhero Cape tutorial over at Puking Pastilles, I knew I had to make one. Actually, I had to make two – one for my own son and one for my nephew. If one of them gets something, the other one inevitably has to have the same thing. With my nephew’s 4th birthday coming up, I thought it would be the perfect gift. He’s very much into superheros right now and the Superman/Batman combination was just perfect for him.

As it turns out, it was a really good thing I decided to make two of them because the first one (which I kept for my son) did not turn out nearly as well as the second (which I gave to my nephew).

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He was quite excited when he first saw it and wanted to try it on right away. The size turned out just perfect. I wanted it long enough that he could play with it for a few years without outgrowing it, but didn’t want it to be touching the ground.

Superhero Cape

I think my nephew has been having fun with his superhero cape, though Zach has barely touched his. He’s a little more into race cars right now but I guess at least it will be there when he’s ready for it.

The best part of it though is that I really enjoyed giving a handmade gift. It just feels better to give something that I’ve put my heart into.

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Fun in the Snow

Every year when the middle of December hits we get super busy at my job.  All of a sudden we’re in a rush to get the end of year bookkeeping done and packing things up to start the new year.  So, of course, this is when my children choose to get sick.  I was feeling pretty cruddy all weekend due to a head cold and sinus pressure.  Then Evie came down with a stomach bug Sunday night and Zach woke up with a stuffy head Monday morning.  Even though I hated to do it, I called in sick Monday.  With all three of us down there was just no point in trying.

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Tuesday morning we woke up to snow, which had Zach all excited.  Evie was still sick and the roads were pretty horrible so we ended up staying home again.  Zach begged all day to go play in the snow but I couldn’t send him out on his own and I didn’t want to take Evie out so he had to wait.  He was just dying to make a snowman (he’s been watching Frosty a lot!) so when Daddy finally got home I bundled him up and sent him outside.

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I couldn’t stand not taking a few pictures, so I got my biggest coat and zipped Evie up inside it with me and went out with my camera.  It was then that Hubby asked me how to make a snowman.  Growing up in South Louisiana, he doesn’t exactly have a lot of experience with that.  I tried to explain, but didn’t want to dig my own hands into the snow so we eventually gave up and found an alternative snow activity – sledding!

Sliding down the hill with Daddy

The only problem was that we don’t own a snow sled.  Hubby suggested we use the lid from the garbage can in the garage and it actually worked out great.  Zach (and Daddy) had a great time sliding down the hill in our yard.  Evie was a little jealous, but there was no way I was letting her out into the cold.  She kept twisting her head around so she could see them while I was trying to take pictures and videos of the boys.

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Hairbowpalooza

Chances are if you have a little girl you’ve seen all the adorable boutique bows available.  They’re all over Etsy.  In fact, my own cousin runs TippyToesBowtique, where she sells bows, tutus, headbands, beanies, and other cute accessories.

I’ve been waiting since Evie was born (ok, so maybe I’ve been waiting longer than that!) to have a little girl with hair that I can play with.  Seriously, I was the kid that only wanted dolls with long hair so I could style it.  I think all of my dolls and barbies had hair cuts by the time I was done with them too.

I’ve been waiting quite patiently for Evie’s hair to grow out so that I could put some adorable little bows in it and the day has finally come.  There’s not a lot of hair, but enough I can put a clip in it!

Even though we have several bows from my cousin’s shop, I decided I wanted to make a few of my own.  They look pretty simple to make and I wanted some that matched her Christmas outfits.  I picked up some cheap ribbon and alligator clips, got out the hot glue gun, and went to town.  It took me a while to figure out exactly how to put everything together, but I think my first efforts came out ok.

1st attempt at making hair bows

A couple nights later I gave it another try and came up with these:

2nd Attempt at making hair bows

So far my hair clips have gotten rave reviews.  I love being able to say that I made them myself when someone asks where I got them.

I think they turned out all right, but I do want to make some changes the next time around. For starters, I’m thinking using fabric glue instead of hot glue for some parts might reduce a little of the bulk. If anyone has any expert tips, feel free to share!

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