Wednesday, May 18, 2011
So I'm Cheap. I'm Also Stubborn With Expensive Taste.
This is a good combination. When I was shopping for Emma's nursery (read: drooling at things I couldn't afford) I found the cutest lampshade. I was doing her nursery in pink and brown, right before EVERYTHING was pink and brown and it was hard to find things that would go. But I found this lampshade online for a hundred dollars. Yes a HUNDRED dollars. For a lampshade! Really? Hubs would never go for that. But it's cute, right?
Yeah, so pretty and soooo out of my budget. Remember when I said I was stubborn? That's where it gets good. So I took an old lamp that I had in my bedroom when I was younger and knew I could make my version.
Remember this sad lamp? Well, I painted it brown (using the brown paint we already had on hand for the brown flowers and two drawer chest we had already painted. I bought a pink lampshade from Target for about $10.00. And I picked up some adorable pink and brown polka dotted ribbon from Hobby Lobby. Super cheap. I don't even remember what I paid but it was by the yard. I took some brown scrapbook paper, which I had on hand, cut out a capitol "E" using the Opposites Attract cartridge for my cricut, and I hot glued it on the shade. I hot glued the pink and brown grosgrain ribbon along the top and bottom edges of the lampshade. Then I took some tiny pink ribbon, made a bow, and glued it to the "E". So. Cute. So NOT $100.00. And I love mine even more!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Parnellisms...and What I've Been Up To
I know all of us have those words that our kids say incorrectly and, try as we might, we almost cannot bear to correct them. They are so cute! So I've made a list of words my children use and that sometimes, I find myself using as well!
Fwanket. Emma called her blanket this for months. She has moved on to Bwanket ('L's are still a problem) but I still like to say Fwanket.
Peek a Yoo. Emma's version of Peek A Boo. Alex has started using it as well. I almost exclusively use Peek a yoo. It's SO FUNNY!
Bootball. Pronounced like football, just with a b. Courtesy of Mr. Parnell. Oh he knows the difference between the different balls, we have baseball, bootball, asketball, and soccer ball. But by far, my fave is bootball.
Muck. Alex's version of milk. And sometimes, I ask both children if they would like more Muck. They understand me.
Um, I sort of thought there were more. Maybe there are, but I got nothing. Just asked Hubs (fresh off his second loooong nap of the day - he had a conference call that lasted until 4am last night. Er, this morning.) His brain is fried so he had no
additional comments. I'll let him slide.
So, since that was so short, I'll fill you in on what I've been working on. I redecorated the living room mantle. It just had 6 family pictures and a candle arrangement thing on it before. I didn't take a before picture, hmm...that was bad. I just get these urges and GO! Let me see what I can find in my pictures...be right back. Yawn, right? So I just rearranged and stole from other rooms and stuff and came up with this:
I'll break it down from left to right:
1. old map covered chest/boxy thing that Jeff, yes Jeff, brought into our marriage. It's been on the floor of our bedroom for years.
2. Crystal cross we got as a wedding present that has never really had a great home. Now I love where it sits!
3. Willow Tree figure of brand new parents that we got at Emma's dedication. LOVE.
4. Family picture (that yes, needs to be updated. I agree. It's on the list of my To Dos. Just not very far up there.)
5. candle covered in a pretty beaded wine bottle cover thingy. Loved the wine bottle cover but we don't really drink wine so it's been sitting sadly in a drawer for a few years. I LOVE that I get to use it and see it now.
6. Same goes for the pretty wine cork. See above.
7. Wooden sled my grandmother had (and that I played with as a small girl). There's a story there somewhere, but I'd have to get up and go look it up, but that sled is old. I don't even care that it's a sled and a. we never use those here in Texas or b. that it's a wintery decoration. i. love. the. sled. There, done.
8. Great grandmother's sewing basket. Love.
9. Random red candle sitting on pretty wine bottle coaster. See # 5.
10. Picture of Jeff and I the weekend before Alex was born. I should update this at LEAST so I don't look so fat, right??? How's that for motivation?
11. Glass bottles bound with metal. I think I got this from my mom's house during one of her cleaning out for KCM times. Filled it with some red rocks I got at Pier 1 a hundred years ago and instant love.
12. Token wedding picture in the token glass wedding frame. I love this picture so I do not plan to update it. (come on, what else do you put in a glass wedding frame??)
Sorry the picture is kinda bright. We get yummy afternoon sun in the windows next to the fireplace AND I made a fort with a ginormous blanket using the window ties from the window on the right and I didn't think it would add to the aesthetic if I included it in the shot.
And on to the kids bathroom. I have tons of storage in there. But no where to hang towels to dry. My mom gave me some really cute hooks that I thought would be adorable in the mudroom. But as you can see in my post here , the mudroom is done. I had some hooks already in there...why ruin a good thing, right? So someday I want to add bead board to the upstairs bathroom, and those aforementioned hooks would be perfect in there. AND solve my towel hanging problem. So I quickly (seriously, this project took me about 25 minutes) drilled the holes for the hooks and was pleased. But it needed something. So I fired up my cricut and cut an A and an E out of chipboard, cut another A and E out of cute scrapbook paper, and then wondered how I would attach the letters to the wall. It's not the best solution, but it was the best I could come up with. Before I attached the scrapbook paper, I just took a flat thumb tack and pushed it through the chipboard and the wall. Then I covered the letters with the scrapbook paper letters. Viola! I wasn't completely happy with the look so I carefully pulled the letters off the wall (the thumbtack is completely hidden by the pretty paper), distressed the edges with a brown stamp pad, and hung em right back up! I love it. The kids will be able to reach their hooks and hang/rehang their own towels now.
Yes, my wall is less than stellar. When we bought this house, the wallpaper situation was horrendous. Oh my goodness, it was bad. We have managed, over the years, to rid our walls of the wallpaper plague in every room except for the master bathroom. Just where the toilet is. But the upstairs bathroom took the cake. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photographic evidence of the tragic images on my walls. That was a mistake. People, we could have been laughing up a storm right now. Oh man it was ugly. It was a brownish, tannish background with like peacock blue paisley swirls. So. Bad. But here's the deal with the wallpaper in the house (Brenda Gust, you know what I'm talking about!), it is permanently attached to the wallboard. So when we relieved our house of the ugly that was upstairs, most of the wallboard pulled off with it. I am a handy gal but I don't do sheet rock. I don't tape and float. And I'm cheap, so I won't pay anyone to do it for me either. So we lived with an exponentially uglier bathroom for a while. I was pregnant with Emma. The week before Emma was born, Jeff's brother and family came over and my sweet brother in law spent most of their visit upstairs in the bathroom trying to re texture the walls and fix the mess the hubs and I had made. We thought we understood how to do it but we didn't do as good a job as he did. Meh, plenty of time to fix it. Except for the fact that Jeff's dad and step mom were coming to visit the 13th of July. And I was due with Emma the 29th of June. So one day, while I was at work, Jeff painted the bathroom. "just for now" so that our company would have a prettier bathroom to use. So needless to say, there are some gouges where the wallboard was damaged in the removal of wallpaper and I don't care. Today. Tomorrow, well, that might be a different story.
And now for today. See, I found this post here , and got inspired. I have a ton of those florist vases under my sink. In fact, at Christmas, we clogged out disposal and in fixing it (and hence getting under the kitchen sink) my brother had to pull out vase after vase after vase...after vase! They were everywhere. But who can throw them out? So I have a bunch. And I also have trees. So why can't I make this? So I clipped some dead branches out of my crepe myrtle in the back (See Jeff? I'm not really crafting, I'm doing yardwork! Yay me!) and plugged in my glue gun. Anthropologie can keep their $78.00 vases. Mine was free! I'm not 100% sure I'm in love with the natural look. I think I'd like to spray the sticks black next time, but the center of my table in the dining room looks MUCH better now, thank you. And so does my tree out back. :) I do like how high the sticks are compared to the top of the vase though. What do you think? I keep going back and forth. Try again with black? Let it go and move on? I have to marinate on this one for a while, I think.
And yes, I know this is a long post, but I thought I'd just check in with the progress on the armoire. It's going. First I ran out of Mod Podge, then foil. Then I just ran out of steam. You know when your enthusiasm runs out and you're not really far enough along to be close enough to finishing to push through? Yeah, that's kinda where I am. I'm waiting for a good fairy to come and lift the armoire so I can shove some elevating blocks under it (so I can complete the bottom) and some direction when it comes to painting the inside. It's a long story. Just relish in what I HAVE accomplished, mmk?
Have a good night peeps. I'm off the check on the littles and hop into bed myself. I have a loooong list of To Dos for tomorrow....
Fwanket. Emma called her blanket this for months. She has moved on to Bwanket ('L's are still a problem) but I still like to say Fwanket.
Peek a Yoo. Emma's version of Peek A Boo. Alex has started using it as well. I almost exclusively use Peek a yoo. It's SO FUNNY!
Bootball. Pronounced like football, just with a b. Courtesy of Mr. Parnell. Oh he knows the difference between the different balls, we have baseball, bootball, asketball, and soccer ball. But by far, my fave is bootball.
Muck. Alex's version of milk. And sometimes, I ask both children if they would like more Muck. They understand me.
Um, I sort of thought there were more. Maybe there are, but I got nothing. Just asked Hubs (fresh off his second loooong nap of the day - he had a conference call that lasted until 4am last night. Er, this morning.) His brain is fried so he had no
additional comments. I'll let him slide.
So, since that was so short, I'll fill you in on what I've been working on. I redecorated the living room mantle. It just had 6 family pictures and a candle arrangement thing on it before. I didn't take a before picture, hmm...that was bad. I just get these urges and GO! Let me see what I can find in my pictures...be right back. Yawn, right? So I just rearranged and stole from other rooms and stuff and came up with this: 
I'll break it down from left to right:
1. old map covered chest/boxy thing that Jeff, yes Jeff, brought into our marriage. It's been on the floor of our bedroom for years.
2. Crystal cross we got as a wedding present that has never really had a great home. Now I love where it sits!
3. Willow Tree figure of brand new parents that we got at Emma's dedication. LOVE.
4. Family picture (that yes, needs to be updated. I agree. It's on the list of my To Dos. Just not very far up there.)
5. candle covered in a pretty beaded wine bottle cover thingy. Loved the wine bottle cover but we don't really drink wine so it's been sitting sadly in a drawer for a few years. I LOVE that I get to use it and see it now.
6. Same goes for the pretty wine cork. See above.
7. Wooden sled my grandmother had (and that I played with as a small girl). There's a story there somewhere, but I'd have to get up and go look it up, but that sled is old. I don't even care that it's a sled and a. we never use those here in Texas or b. that it's a wintery decoration. i. love. the. sled. There, done.
8. Great grandmother's sewing basket. Love.
9. Random red candle sitting on pretty wine bottle coaster. See # 5.
10. Picture of Jeff and I the weekend before Alex was born. I should update this at LEAST so I don't look so fat, right??? How's that for motivation?
11. Glass bottles bound with metal. I think I got this from my mom's house during one of her cleaning out for KCM times. Filled it with some red rocks I got at Pier 1 a hundred years ago and instant love.
12. Token wedding picture in the token glass wedding frame. I love this picture so I do not plan to update it. (come on, what else do you put in a glass wedding frame??)
Sorry the picture is kinda bright. We get yummy afternoon sun in the windows next to the fireplace AND I made a fort with a ginormous blanket using the window ties from the window on the right and I didn't think it would add to the aesthetic if I included it in the shot.
And on to the kids bathroom. I have tons of storage in there. But no where to hang towels to dry. My mom gave me some really cute hooks that I thought would be adorable in the mudroom. But as you can see in my post here , the mudroom is done. I had some hooks already in there...why ruin a good thing, right? So someday I want to add bead board to the upstairs bathroom, and those aforementioned hooks would be perfect in there. AND solve my towel hanging problem. So I quickly (seriously, this project took me about 25 minutes) drilled the holes for the hooks and was pleased. But it needed something. So I fired up my cricut and cut an A and an E out of chipboard, cut another A and E out of cute scrapbook paper, and then wondered how I would attach the letters to the wall. It's not the best solution, but it was the best I could come up with. Before I attached the scrapbook paper, I just took a flat thumb tack and pushed it through the chipboard and the wall. Then I covered the letters with the scrapbook paper letters. Viola! I wasn't completely happy with the look so I carefully pulled the letters off the wall (the thumbtack is completely hidden by the pretty paper), distressed the edges with a brown stamp pad, and hung em right back up! I love it. The kids will be able to reach their hooks and hang/rehang their own towels now.
Have a good night peeps. I'm off the check on the littles and hop into bed myself. I have a loooong list of To Dos for tomorrow....
Saturday, May 7, 2011
'Twas The Day Before Mother's Day
What a busy day. Got the hubs back. Went to La Porte to visit the in-laws. Came home with two children who wouldn't take naps. Alex snoozed in the car for about 30 minutes, woke himself up when we stopped at a red light, and consequently freaked out because he was disoriented. Poor little man. But that was all she wrote. When we actually got home, I put him to bed where he proceeded to talk and play for the next 2 hours. But he was content so I let him stay there. Jeff took a much needed nap while Emma tried to nap with him in our bed but just ended up jumping on him. She came out to the living room to hang with me while I browsed DIY craft blogs. Whoops. Guilty! When the boys got up, we went outside to watch Jeff mow the lawn and wash my car. (Thanks babe!) But see, having the hose out to wash the car and then the lawn equipment meant that I watered some of the thirsty plants in our front yard. And my kids. You knew that was coming, right? Alex LOVED it. Emma squealed and participated just so her brother wouldn't out do her, but she would have been happier playing in the dirt. My sweet prissy girl loves her some dirt. And dirty feet. The blacker the better. I've never been so glad we bought black mulch. :/ But Alex got wetter and wetter and really, if he could have stood directly in the line of fire, he would have. He is my brave boy and by the end of the afternoon, he was s-o-a-k-e-d! And grinning. His hair was wet, his shirt was dripping and his shorts were so wet and heavy they were falling off his cute little bottom. The diapers were FULL (of hose water) so it was time to bring them inside. I grabbed Emma and stripped her skirt off, changed her diaper for a dry one (that also was sans black mulch on the outside) and she was good to go. Jeff was in charge of Alex. Which means that they were playing. And of course Emma wanted to join in. Being dry and inside was no longer fun. I looked outside and Alex is completely naked and Jeff is squirting him with the hose. I assume it was to clean all the dirt off of him, but seeing that little naked hiney was hilarious! I got some really cute pictures which I will NOT be sharing with you! But it was cute. Alex loves water! I quickly wrapped him in a towel and got him partially dressed. We ate dinner and then it was upstairs for more fun in the water. After baths, those kiddos were tuckered out and went to sleep almost before their sweet little heads touched their pillows. Love. Those. Monkeys! Is it sad that at five after nine, I'm ready for bed as well? This mamma is plumb tuckered out! Happy Mother's Day to all the moms I know.
How will your family celebrate?
How will your family celebrate?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Video Proof
I finally got the stupid video off of my phone! It gave me an error message twice. I gave up and posted that entry. But NOW for some reason, it has worked, so without further ado (or Much Ado About Nothing), I give you the counting expertise of Alexander Scott Parnell.
He sort of gives up after 5. Or 6. I don't remember. But he can count to ten, particularly when we are on the changing table. And by we, I of course, mean him. I am on the business end of Alex Parnell when he chooses to consistently start counting and I'm not really in a position to run and grab my camera. So you will be satisfied with what I have. [doing the Jedi Mind Trick on you right now, mmmk?]
He sort of gives up after 5. Or 6. I don't remember. But he can count to ten, particularly when we are on the changing table. And by we, I of course, mean him. I am on the business end of Alex Parnell when he chooses to consistently start counting and I'm not really in a position to run and grab my camera. So you will be satisfied with what I have. [doing the Jedi Mind Trick on you right now, mmmk?]
Quarter Round
Today is the first day in a week I get my husband back. He's been tied up on conference calls that last up to thirteen hours. Go back and read that again. I'll wait. Yes, you read correctly, thirteen hours. They're working on all the integration stuff for the two companies since the merger and the part he's working on is taking these crazy long conference calls. So I am happy it is Saturday because I get my man back!! All week long he's been here, but with those earbuds stuck in his ears. It's nice to have him interact with the rest of us!
So since today is our first "family" time, I of course, decide to finish up the quarter round in the breakfast room. It is sucking my will to live. We're getting there, and I am LOVING using the chop saw, but it's not pretty. My dad always said "measure twice, cut once". It seems I am measuring twice and cutting even more times than that. :/
I'm getting better, but the best angle match up so far? Yup, the one that will be hidden behind a piece of furniture. Such is my luck.
The ridiculous part? This is not hard!! I kind of don't get why I'm having such a hard time.
Enjoy your weekend!
So since today is our first "family" time, I of course, decide to finish up the quarter round in the breakfast room. It is sucking my will to live. We're getting there, and I am LOVING using the chop saw, but it's not pretty. My dad always said "measure twice, cut once". It seems I am measuring twice and cutting even more times than that. :/
I'm getting better, but the best angle match up so far? Yup, the one that will be hidden behind a piece of furniture. Such is my luck.
The ridiculous part? This is not hard!! I kind of don't get why I'm having such a hard time.
Enjoy your weekend!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The downside to crafting
So I am a very impatient person. Very impatient. Waiting 18 weeks to find out the sex of my babies (NO I AM NOT PREGNANT!!) was torture. I want what I want when I want it and the when is usually now. I cannot stand to order things because EVEN THOUGH said item would have been shipped to and have arrived by the time I actually find what I am looking for in a store, I cannot logically wait that long. Illogical, I know. So back to my downside of crafting. Perhaps I should have called this post Lesson #1. Maybe I should go back up and change the title. Nope. Too much effort and then this last grouping of sentences would have to be erased as well because they would no longer make sense. MOVING FORWARD.
OK so what day did I decorate the laundry room? Monday night? Was it Tuesday? Anyway, I hot glued that black ribbon to the frame of the mirror but wondered at its stability. Would the mirror fall? I made sure that nail went into a stud so that shouldn't happen. Boy what if it falls down in the middle of the night, breaks, and also sets off the glass break sensor thus causing the house alarm to go off, Jeff and I to wake up in a panic, and, oh, let's not go there. Mirror will be fine. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Next morning: I wake up and go about my business, with all these really cool ideas running around in my head about what I can make over in my house. Get the kids dressed, fed, we're off to take Jeff to the Park N Ride and as I start to unlock the back door, I see it. Flat on top of the white wire shelf, with about a third hanging over the open floor, is the mirror. One side of the ribbon has come unglued. Sigh. First of all, thank you Jesus for allowing that shelf to catch my mirror so I didn't have tiny feet running through shards of glass unbeknownst to their mamma. Secondly, how awful would it have been to have that totally awesome mirror break????? Tragedy avoided. So friends, one of two things happened. Either the mirror is too heavy to have used a hot glue gun, OR (and I'm sort of leaning this way) I didn't let the glue get hot enough. Because I am impatient and wanted that wall decorated now. Lucky for me, spray paint dries quickly in Texas. Truthfully, when I started attaching the ribbon, it wasn't as runny and gooey as glue should be. In fact, the first squirts of glue that I forced out were almost dry as soon as they landed on the frame. Usually a sign the glue isn't hot enough to use. Duh. So lesson learned (can't promise I won't repeat other time saving, er, impatient me actions) and this girl will be buying some Gorilla Glue tomorrow to fix that mirror once and for all.
Side Note: I have started the armoire. I am having a love/hate relationship with it right now. I am almost done the first step but I am not loving it yet. I am not hating it (as I was about 4 minutes into this project) but I'm not fully there yet. :/
We will see how this progresses and I'll show you the before, during, and after shots. I'll share all the guts and the glory (hopefully) with you when I'm done. In the meantime, lets just say that I have an armoire, minus the doors, sitting in my bedroom that looks like its shielding itself from an alien invasion. If you don't know what I am talking about, go watch M. Night Shyamalon's Signs.
I have a metallic-ish piece of furniture calling my name. But because no blogpost should be published without a picture (I totally feel obligated each time!!) I will leave you with this sweet brown eyed face.
Love. This. Boy.
OK so what day did I decorate the laundry room? Monday night? Was it Tuesday? Anyway, I hot glued that black ribbon to the frame of the mirror but wondered at its stability. Would the mirror fall? I made sure that nail went into a stud so that shouldn't happen. Boy what if it falls down in the middle of the night, breaks, and also sets off the glass break sensor thus causing the house alarm to go off, Jeff and I to wake up in a panic, and, oh, let's not go there. Mirror will be fine. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.
Next morning: I wake up and go about my business, with all these really cool ideas running around in my head about what I can make over in my house. Get the kids dressed, fed, we're off to take Jeff to the Park N Ride and as I start to unlock the back door, I see it. Flat on top of the white wire shelf, with about a third hanging over the open floor, is the mirror. One side of the ribbon has come unglued. Sigh. First of all, thank you Jesus for allowing that shelf to catch my mirror so I didn't have tiny feet running through shards of glass unbeknownst to their mamma. Secondly, how awful would it have been to have that totally awesome mirror break????? Tragedy avoided. So friends, one of two things happened. Either the mirror is too heavy to have used a hot glue gun, OR (and I'm sort of leaning this way) I didn't let the glue get hot enough. Because I am impatient and wanted that wall decorated now. Lucky for me, spray paint dries quickly in Texas. Truthfully, when I started attaching the ribbon, it wasn't as runny and gooey as glue should be. In fact, the first squirts of glue that I forced out were almost dry as soon as they landed on the frame. Usually a sign the glue isn't hot enough to use. Duh. So lesson learned (can't promise I won't repeat other time saving, er, impatient me actions) and this girl will be buying some Gorilla Glue tomorrow to fix that mirror once and for all.
Side Note: I have started the armoire. I am having a love/hate relationship with it right now. I am almost done the first step but I am not loving it yet. I am not hating it (as I was about 4 minutes into this project) but I'm not fully there yet. :/
We will see how this progresses and I'll show you the before, during, and after shots. I'll share all the guts and the glory (hopefully) with you when I'm done. In the meantime, lets just say that I have an armoire, minus the doors, sitting in my bedroom that looks like its shielding itself from an alien invasion. If you don't know what I am talking about, go watch M. Night Shyamalon's Signs.
I have a metallic-ish piece of furniture calling my name. But because no blogpost should be published without a picture (I totally feel obligated each time!!) I will leave you with this sweet brown eyed face.
Love. This. Boy.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
I Am Officially Addicted
Seriously. I am head over heels in LOVE with DIY/crafting/repurposing/decorating blogs. Let's face it, the Parnells are on a budget. My love for decorating has been on a multi-year hiatus. OK so I got to decorate two nurseries and a scrapbook room but my creative juices had no outlet and had sort of dried up. Enter my cousin Megan. She is AH-mazing. I had read her blog off and on as it showed up in my facebook news feed but really started following her to prepare for her visit last month. You know, get a peek into her life, what she liked (hazlenut creamer, good coffee, oatmeal) and get a glimpse as to what I could do to get ready for her (and her sweet family) to visit. Enter her love of crafting, a glue gun, and a budget. My kind of girl. She had a post on her blog about adding tin foil to an end table and it turned out so cool! Check her out here. So my gears started turning. She linked to another blogger who knocks off Anthropologie stuff and posts her transformations to her cool thriftstore finds and I was hooked. That blog led to another which led to another and those creative juices that I thought had dried up? Well, they appeared from whatever corner of my mind they had retreated to and are BACK in full force. If I am honest, I will confess that I spent today's naptime (the kids naptime, not mine!) googling DIY blogs and cataloguing my ideas. So. Many. To. Choose. From. I have ideas for Emma's room, my kitchen, and my bedroom. AH! There are not enough hours in the day anymore.
So, I am sort of a "gotta have it now" kind of girl. I really want to try the tinfoil treatment on my bedroom armoire (that Jeff HATES by the way. He has tried all sorts of ideas to get it out of our bedroom but I stubbornly hold on because while it is not really my style anymore, I H-A-T-E having a television visible. So ugly and dated or not, those doors close and it looks clean and tidy and NO television in sight.) Boy, I am getting sidetracked here. So, I have two rolls of tin foil but no mod podge so I cannot get started. And those sweet babies of mine? Yeah, still sleeping so I can't run to Michaels and pick up some mod podge. Hmm...so I get an idea for my laundry room. We've just finished replacing the hideous pink tile in the laundry room (and I've been working on replacing the quarter round and repainting and that room is finally finished) so that room has been in a state of upheaval. We just got the washer and dryer back in Sunday night and I needed to start getting the other things back in the room. The wall above the white wire shelves has always been bare and I've always hated it.
I remembered some things I had stashed around the house (most of this stuff I had squirreled away in drawers) and started my treasure hunt. I found an old vintage mirror that my grandma gave me which I LOVED but could never find the perfect home for. The giddiness started to build. In the same drawer, I also had a framed picture of Godey's Fashions for November 1866 my other grandmother had given to me. Her mother had it framed decades ago and while I hated the black and gold frame, I couldn't bear to reframe it. It still has the label from the store that framed it for her. Very old. But hidden in a drawer. I also found (in same said drawer) a silver picture frame with my favorite picture of my family in it. Not really going to be a picture kind of wall but it had potential. My friend Tracy had given me a Texas A&M cross and to put it up, I pulled down another cross I had on my Wall O' Crosses and that cross had just been on top of the dresser in my dining room since December. OK, what else. While scavenging that cross from my dining room, I spied a box on a shelving unit. Now I have awesome grandparents for so many reasons, but my father's mother saved everything. And I mean everything. In the box were a pair of what look like hand crocheted baby booties. I think they were my dad's. So cute. And SO in line with my vintage inspired wall I was putting together.
Some may question my decision to spray paint that vintage frame with the Godey's fashion page in it, and I did some serious thinking before I committed to it. That picture, while I loved it, had been tucked in a drawer since I married Jeff because he didn't love it. Do I keep it entirely original and tucked in a drawer to just have? Or do I do what I want to make it mine while still keeping the integrity of the piece and *actually* use it? Easy. I taped up every square inch of that frame and the backing and once the silver spray paint was dry, I sanded it in some places to distress it.
I took the family picture out of the picture frame and cut a piece of scrapbook paper I had left over from making some thank you notes for my sister in law and put that in the frame. Then I pulled the stand thing (whatever - it is what makes the picture frame stand up) off because when hung, you would see the bottom right of that black stand piece and it looked stupid. I ran some black ribbon through the crochet holes in the booties, hot glued some black ribbon to the frame of the vintage mirror, and viola. The hard part was arranging it all.
I love it. Just love it. And the best part? It was FREE! BAM! Love it even more.
Next up? I shall be attacking that armoire. I'm kinda scared, but go big or go home, right? I'll give you the before and cross your fingers that I love the after. I get very moody while doing "projects" and love something, hate it, love it again throughout the process. Here's hoping we end on a "love it" note so I don't wind up biting more than I can chew. (because truthfully, I still have to finish the quarter round in the rest of my house.)
So, I am sort of a "gotta have it now" kind of girl. I really want to try the tinfoil treatment on my bedroom armoire (that Jeff HATES by the way. He has tried all sorts of ideas to get it out of our bedroom but I stubbornly hold on because while it is not really my style anymore, I H-A-T-E having a television visible. So ugly and dated or not, those doors close and it looks clean and tidy and NO television in sight.) Boy, I am getting sidetracked here. So, I have two rolls of tin foil but no mod podge so I cannot get started. And those sweet babies of mine? Yeah, still sleeping so I can't run to Michaels and pick up some mod podge. Hmm...so I get an idea for my laundry room. We've just finished replacing the hideous pink tile in the laundry room (and I've been working on replacing the quarter round and repainting and that room is finally finished) so that room has been in a state of upheaval. We just got the washer and dryer back in Sunday night and I needed to start getting the other things back in the room. The wall above the white wire shelves has always been bare and I've always hated it.
I remembered some things I had stashed around the house (most of this stuff I had squirreled away in drawers) and started my treasure hunt. I found an old vintage mirror that my grandma gave me which I LOVED but could never find the perfect home for. The giddiness started to build. In the same drawer, I also had a framed picture of Godey's Fashions for November 1866 my other grandmother had given to me. Her mother had it framed decades ago and while I hated the black and gold frame, I couldn't bear to reframe it. It still has the label from the store that framed it for her. Very old. But hidden in a drawer. I also found (in same said drawer) a silver picture frame with my favorite picture of my family in it. Not really going to be a picture kind of wall but it had potential. My friend Tracy had given me a Texas A&M cross and to put it up, I pulled down another cross I had on my Wall O' Crosses and that cross had just been on top of the dresser in my dining room since December. OK, what else. While scavenging that cross from my dining room, I spied a box on a shelving unit. Now I have awesome grandparents for so many reasons, but my father's mother saved everything. And I mean everything. In the box were a pair of what look like hand crocheted baby booties. I think they were my dad's. So cute. And SO in line with my vintage inspired wall I was putting together.
Some may question my decision to spray paint that vintage frame with the Godey's fashion page in it, and I did some serious thinking before I committed to it. That picture, while I loved it, had been tucked in a drawer since I married Jeff because he didn't love it. Do I keep it entirely original and tucked in a drawer to just have? Or do I do what I want to make it mine while still keeping the integrity of the piece and *actually* use it? Easy. I taped up every square inch of that frame and the backing and once the silver spray paint was dry, I sanded it in some places to distress it.
I took the family picture out of the picture frame and cut a piece of scrapbook paper I had left over from making some thank you notes for my sister in law and put that in the frame. Then I pulled the stand thing (whatever - it is what makes the picture frame stand up) off because when hung, you would see the bottom right of that black stand piece and it looked stupid. I ran some black ribbon through the crochet holes in the booties, hot glued some black ribbon to the frame of the vintage mirror, and viola. The hard part was arranging it all.
I love it. Just love it. And the best part? It was FREE! BAM! Love it even more.
Next up? I shall be attacking that armoire. I'm kinda scared, but go big or go home, right? I'll give you the before and cross your fingers that I love the after. I get very moody while doing "projects" and love something, hate it, love it again throughout the process. Here's hoping we end on a "love it" note so I don't wind up biting more than I can chew. (because truthfully, I still have to finish the quarter round in the rest of my house.)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Boys Versus Girls In The World Series Of Love
OK, love's got nothing to do with it.
So I have *many* observations on the differences between girls and boys. Having one of each (and them being exactly 16 months apart) I feel qualified to discuss my ultra scientific findings. Hey, it's my blog, and I'll draw conclusions where I want to!
Let me set the stage.
Oh, my precious 2 year old Emma. She is funny, she is smart, she is beautiful and she is aaaaaall girl. Painted pink toenails, pink crocs, hair bows, and skirts. Everything must be pink because "Mommy, I yuve pink. It's just so pretty!" Her idea of playing with 5 toys is to line them all up. Perfectly. Alex, on the other hand is my thoughtful, observant, quick to smile at home but takes longer to warm up with others. He is ALL BOY. What is his favorite toy? Honestly, two of something. One for each hand and then he bangs them together. Rocks, toy cars, baby bottles, whatever. Just something in each hand to bang. He is a riot. Now as much "girl" as Emma possesses, she is equal parts, um, less prissy. See she is almost neurotic about needing her shoes on (only pink crocs please...Easter should be interesting this weekend. Easter dress and scuffed dingy crocs. If you see me Sunday, don't judge) to go outside. Interestingly, once outside, she rips off said shoes, lines them up on the windowsill of her playhouse and proceeds to fill them with dirt. She digs in the dirt, fills her shoes, and drags those filthy fingers across her face. Face and feet are subject to blackened mess at any given time. Love that girl. This week, she got out all 15 containers of Play Doh and lined them up. Perfectly. But it gets better. She then proceeded to turn all the containers until the labels all faced forward. Single tear. People, you can't teach that. She is MY girl!!
Even changing diapers puts me at opposite ends of the spectrum. Emma lays there, just as calm and still as she can be. Even when she's got diaper rash, she doesn't really squirm. She just asks for "cream" and lets me fix her up as good as new. Alex, whether wet or dry or even if we're just changing clothes is ALL over the place. Every time. And he's not just squirmy, but he is also laughing hysterically at his antics and my despair! I need 6 arms to contain him and change him. I seriously deserve a medal for changing him. Love that brown eyed boy.
Now this week, Mr. Parnell decided to shock the pants off of me. While I was struggling to keep him still and change his diaper, he started counting. At first I thought, "Oh that's funny, that sounded like he just said one!" Aaand then something came out of his mouth that sounded like "two". Hmm. That was followed by 3,4,6, "seben" (he's been listening to his sister!), 8, 9, 10. Really? He has done it several times since so it's not just a fluke. The little monkey won't come down the stairs by himself but he can count to 10?? Really buddy? When he skips a number, Emma is quick to kindly (no really, she is kind about it) correct him.
Oh she just loves him. And he adores her. One of my *favorite* sounds is the two of them making each other laugh. Not just the sweet giggles I hear, but the big belly laughs. That sound makes this mamma so happy.
We found Easter outfits today (way to wait until the last minute Heather) and I have my first new Easter dress in years. I made the mistake of letting Emma try hers on today and you would have thought I was trying to amputate her left arm when I took that dress off of her. She loves her dress and can not wait to wear it this weekend!!
I'm hoping to get some good pictures tomorrow at our egg hunt.
Sigh.
**update: I got some GREAT pictures. And guess what else? Emma let me put some silver shoes on her cute little feet. I personally wouldn't have chosen silver, I'd have picked up some cute white sandals IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WOULDN'T BE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!! But she said yes to "new shoes" and I dug around in her basket and came up with silver. They were cute. But you didn't know of my thoughts pre-Easter! Because, in true Heather fashion, this never got posted. It was actually two posts I turned into one. Let me reintroduce myself for those of you who don't know. I am Heather and I am a perfectionist. See, I videoed Alex counting and wanted to include it on this post. So I didn't publish it because I needed to grab the video off of my phone. But I haven't. So now Easter has come and gone and I now will look silly when I post this. ...off to find the cord to upload the darn video so I can push PUBLISH and be done with this once and for all! grin.
So I have *many* observations on the differences between girls and boys. Having one of each (and them being exactly 16 months apart) I feel qualified to discuss my ultra scientific findings. Hey, it's my blog, and I'll draw conclusions where I want to!
Let me set the stage.
Oh, my precious 2 year old Emma. She is funny, she is smart, she is beautiful and she is aaaaaall girl. Painted pink toenails, pink crocs, hair bows, and skirts. Everything must be pink because "Mommy, I yuve pink. It's just so pretty!" Her idea of playing with 5 toys is to line them all up. Perfectly. Alex, on the other hand is my thoughtful, observant, quick to smile at home but takes longer to warm up with others. He is ALL BOY. What is his favorite toy? Honestly, two of something. One for each hand and then he bangs them together. Rocks, toy cars, baby bottles, whatever. Just something in each hand to bang. He is a riot. Now as much "girl" as Emma possesses, she is equal parts, um, less prissy. See she is almost neurotic about needing her shoes on (only pink crocs please...Easter should be interesting this weekend. Easter dress and scuffed dingy crocs. If you see me Sunday, don't judge) to go outside. Interestingly, once outside, she rips off said shoes, lines them up on the windowsill of her playhouse and proceeds to fill them with dirt. She digs in the dirt, fills her shoes, and drags those filthy fingers across her face. Face and feet are subject to blackened mess at any given time. Love that girl. This week, she got out all 15 containers of Play Doh and lined them up. Perfectly. But it gets better. She then proceeded to turn all the containers until the labels all faced forward. Single tear. People, you can't teach that. She is MY girl!!
Even changing diapers puts me at opposite ends of the spectrum. Emma lays there, just as calm and still as she can be. Even when she's got diaper rash, she doesn't really squirm. She just asks for "cream" and lets me fix her up as good as new. Alex, whether wet or dry or even if we're just changing clothes is ALL over the place. Every time. And he's not just squirmy, but he is also laughing hysterically at his antics and my despair! I need 6 arms to contain him and change him. I seriously deserve a medal for changing him. Love that brown eyed boy.
Now this week, Mr. Parnell decided to shock the pants off of me. While I was struggling to keep him still and change his diaper, he started counting. At first I thought, "Oh that's funny, that sounded like he just said one!" Aaand then something came out of his mouth that sounded like "two". Hmm. That was followed by 3,4,6, "seben" (he's been listening to his sister!), 8, 9, 10. Really? He has done it several times since so it's not just a fluke. The little monkey won't come down the stairs by himself but he can count to 10?? Really buddy? When he skips a number, Emma is quick to kindly (no really, she is kind about it) correct him.
Oh she just loves him. And he adores her. One of my *favorite* sounds is the two of them making each other laugh. Not just the sweet giggles I hear, but the big belly laughs. That sound makes this mamma so happy.
We found Easter outfits today (way to wait until the last minute Heather) and I have my first new Easter dress in years. I made the mistake of letting Emma try hers on today and you would have thought I was trying to amputate her left arm when I took that dress off of her. She loves her dress and can not wait to wear it this weekend!!
I'm hoping to get some good pictures tomorrow at our egg hunt.
Sigh.
**update: I got some GREAT pictures. And guess what else? Emma let me put some silver shoes on her cute little feet. I personally wouldn't have chosen silver, I'd have picked up some cute white sandals IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WOULDN'T BE A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!! But she said yes to "new shoes" and I dug around in her basket and came up with silver. They were cute. But you didn't know of my thoughts pre-Easter! Because, in true Heather fashion, this never got posted. It was actually two posts I turned into one. Let me reintroduce myself for those of you who don't know. I am Heather and I am a perfectionist. See, I videoed Alex counting and wanted to include it on this post. So I didn't publish it because I needed to grab the video off of my phone. But I haven't. So now Easter has come and gone and I now will look silly when I post this. ...off to find the cord to upload the darn video so I can push PUBLISH and be done with this once and for all! grin.
Welcome Back!
I know that is what you should all be saying to me right now if we could speak face to face. "Welcome back, Heather! How have you been?" Yes. I have been gone for a loooong time. Sorry. See, you should know that in my absence, I have had Baby P (Alexander Scott), become a stay at home mom, and have increased my attendance at church during the week by helping teach Kindergarten WAM (Worship Arts Ministry - OK people, it's Children's Choir for all you good Baptists out there) and doing a women's Bible study Thursday mornings. I love it all! So while I am not leaving the house (on most days) to "work" I do, in fact, work my hiney off! I had no idea laundry multiplied when you turn your back. Or that if I clean up the toys in the living room, twenty minutes later they would all be out and perhaps "redistributed" to several different rooms in the house? Who knew becoming Donna Domestic was this hard? I used to think, "Oh what a wonderful wife I would be if I just stayed at home." Visions of me (I am serious here) vacuuming in heels and pearls danced in my head. You are welcome for that bit of honesty. To my credit, when we were first married, I did vacuum in my wedding tiara. Perhaps I should get that back out!
If I am honest, I did not think being a stay at home mom would be all that hard. Honestly. What could be so bad about staying home with my babies?? I wanted that so much! I missed that one on one time with my sweet Emma but am holding on to precious moments with both Emma and Alex. I wonder if it would have been easier if I had stayed at home after Emma was born, but whatever. I am home now. And I love it.
There are certainly days where I want to run away as soon as Jeff comes home, but it's usually because Emma has pushed my buttons (she can be very good at that!) and when she does that, chances are, she didn't nap well.
But all that to say, I love being at home. I love the changes I see in my kids. I love that my 16 month old has a vocabulary of at least 20 words and that my two and a half year old can count to one hundred. OK, really it's twenty. But recently, she has started substituting the word twenty with "one hungrick!" She will count all the way up to 19, look at me, and then shout "one hungrick!" Then she usually giggles. Oh sweet Emma Elise.
My littles are allegedly sleeping right now, but judging from the loud banging that is going on, Emma is sleeping peacefully but Alex is throwing something. Most likely his football. So in order to not post THIS for a year (see below post!) I will cut it short and push the PUBLISH POST button and be done. But I shall be back! I have so much to say regarding boys versus girls. And a husband in school. And these fun ages we are in. And so. much. more! So in the words of Tigger, TTFN!
If I am honest, I did not think being a stay at home mom would be all that hard. Honestly. What could be so bad about staying home with my babies?? I wanted that so much! I missed that one on one time with my sweet Emma but am holding on to precious moments with both Emma and Alex. I wonder if it would have been easier if I had stayed at home after Emma was born, but whatever. I am home now. And I love it.
There are certainly days where I want to run away as soon as Jeff comes home, but it's usually because Emma has pushed my buttons (she can be very good at that!) and when she does that, chances are, she didn't nap well.
But all that to say, I love being at home. I love the changes I see in my kids. I love that my 16 month old has a vocabulary of at least 20 words and that my two and a half year old can count to one hundred. OK, really it's twenty. But recently, she has started substituting the word twenty with "one hungrick!" She will count all the way up to 19, look at me, and then shout "one hungrick!" Then she usually giggles. Oh sweet Emma Elise.
My littles are allegedly sleeping right now, but judging from the loud banging that is going on, Emma is sleeping peacefully but Alex is throwing something. Most likely his football. So in order to not post THIS for a year (see below post!) I will cut it short and push the PUBLISH POST button and be done. But I shall be back! I have so much to say regarding boys versus girls. And a husband in school. And these fun ages we are in. And so. much. more! So in the words of Tigger, TTFN!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Downhill Slide Quickens (POSTED OVER A YEAR LATE. SORRY PEOPLE)
People, we are at T Minus 3 days. And counting. We, or rather, should I say, I have so much to do in this short time and yet so much has already happened.
Let me back up....oh how far to go??
For sanity's sake (both yours and mine), let me give you the Cliff's Notes version.
Last weekend, our beloved black lab Kylie Anne Manylie began to seriously decline in health. And I mean rapidly. What started off on a Friday afternoon as an "accident" that Jeff found in the dining room escalated to Kylie being relegated to sleeping outside Sunday night (I cannot believe I am admitting that I let, OK, forced, my precious four legged baby girl sleep outside, but there it is. The ugly truth for all of cyber world to read.) I wasn't sure she'd make it through the night as she stopped eating and drinking and wans't interested in moving. But she made it. By lunchtime Monday, after many many tears and many more "It's OK girl, you can go and rest now, we'll miss you but we'll be alright", Jeff said, "I think it's time for you to call your dad.
As ready as you think you are and as mentally prepared as you think you have made yourself, you're not. Not really anyway. As soon as that red pickup truck pulled into my driveway, I was hit with sheer panic and couldn't deal with the fact that this was it. It was really time. Jeff and my dad carried her, in the rain, to the bed of the truck and Dad drove her to the vet while Jeff sat in the bed of the truck with her, holding an umbrella over her head, and Emma and I followed in our truck. Good byes are never enough and as hard as it was for me to bid a sad farewell to my sweet girl and try to thank her for the last almost 13 years of her friendship, do not think for a moment that my sweet husband had an easier time. He knew her for less than half of the time I did, but that man loved him some Kylie-Mo. After our first date (when I was worried about letting him into my apartment - I mean what if he was a serial killer??) he came in and proceeded to lay on my floor and love on Kylie. First date. They hit it off from that first moment and she became his newest furry black love. With bad gas. Our sweet Emma asks about "puppy" but seems to be doing better than we expected.
We will be glad for this new baby to arrive and I am thankful that we were able to deal with Kylie's death before the baby arrives (oh goodness what if this had happened while I was in the hospital??() and have this exciting event to look forward to.
Let me back up....oh how far to go??
For sanity's sake (both yours and mine), let me give you the Cliff's Notes version.
Last weekend, our beloved black lab Kylie Anne Manylie began to seriously decline in health. And I mean rapidly. What started off on a Friday afternoon as an "accident" that Jeff found in the dining room escalated to Kylie being relegated to sleeping outside Sunday night (I cannot believe I am admitting that I let, OK, forced, my precious four legged baby girl sleep outside, but there it is. The ugly truth for all of cyber world to read.) I wasn't sure she'd make it through the night as she stopped eating and drinking and wans't interested in moving. But she made it. By lunchtime Monday, after many many tears and many more "It's OK girl, you can go and rest now, we'll miss you but we'll be alright", Jeff said, "I think it's time for you to call your dad.
As ready as you think you are and as mentally prepared as you think you have made yourself, you're not. Not really anyway. As soon as that red pickup truck pulled into my driveway, I was hit with sheer panic and couldn't deal with the fact that this was it. It was really time. Jeff and my dad carried her, in the rain, to the bed of the truck and Dad drove her to the vet while Jeff sat in the bed of the truck with her, holding an umbrella over her head, and Emma and I followed in our truck. Good byes are never enough and as hard as it was for me to bid a sad farewell to my sweet girl and try to thank her for the last almost 13 years of her friendship, do not think for a moment that my sweet husband had an easier time. He knew her for less than half of the time I did, but that man loved him some Kylie-Mo. After our first date (when I was worried about letting him into my apartment - I mean what if he was a serial killer??) he came in and proceeded to lay on my floor and love on Kylie. First date. They hit it off from that first moment and she became his newest furry black love. With bad gas. Our sweet Emma asks about "puppy" but seems to be doing better than we expected.
We will be glad for this new baby to arrive and I am thankful that we were able to deal with Kylie's death before the baby arrives (oh goodness what if this had happened while I was in the hospital??() and have this exciting event to look forward to.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Countdown Begins....
In the midst of my quest for the mother of all monitors, I neglected to post the following post. Please excuse the lateness as there really was a significance with the date originally intended for publication. (Publication. Does this mean I can call my high school English teacher – Hello Mrs. Grimes! – and tell her I finally got published??)
October 6th, 2009
Today my sweet daughter is 15 months old. I swore I was not going to be one of those mothers who insisted on keeping track of my children’s ages in months. “Oh look at my little Emma, up there graduating from High School. It’s so hard to believe she’s 215 months old!” - I bet you think I miscalculated, huh? Well, smarties, Emma will follow in her mamma’s footsteps (and her daddy’s for that matter!) and graduate at the ripe old age of seventeen. Assuming she will graduate in the month of June, that would make her 215 months old. BAM! I may not have been able to “prove” those darn honors Geometry problems, but I’d say I just did a bang up job on this one, huh? OK, back to how I was not going to be one of “those” moms. So apparently, I am. Sue me. I promise to stop when she turns two. And I won’t call her “the baby” for the rest of her life either. In the event I practice either of those two crimes, you have my permission to call me out on it and ridicule me accordingly. But back to my 15 month old. (I’m having a bit of trouble staying focused today…)
At 15 months, she has a new sentence, “Mamma, Daddy, Puppy”. It’s nice to know that her parents are finally important enough to be included in a sentence with the precious word, “Puppy”.
At 15 months, she is cutting yet another tooth. The bottom right incisor is making its way through her soft pink gum as we speak.
At 15 months, nail polish bottles are still so much fun for her to take out of my drawer in the bathroom and deposit all over the house.
At 15 months, she is getting some fun curls in her hair.
At 15 months, she says “baby” and points to my stomach.
Today also marks the official count down until Alex’s arrival. Exactly a month from today, at 8:00 am, he will be making his presence known.
I’m sure this will be a completely different experience and we are hoping a much more pleasant one, for me anyway! Little Alex is constantly moving and pushing against me and while I do enjoy this part, I’m also ready to watch him move and wiggle outside of my body.
So today we celebrate a new age for Miss Emma as well as moving into the final month before Alex arrives. Exciting times in the Parnell household, very exciting times.
October 6th, 2009
Today my sweet daughter is 15 months old. I swore I was not going to be one of those mothers who insisted on keeping track of my children’s ages in months. “Oh look at my little Emma, up there graduating from High School. It’s so hard to believe she’s 215 months old!” - I bet you think I miscalculated, huh? Well, smarties, Emma will follow in her mamma’s footsteps (and her daddy’s for that matter!) and graduate at the ripe old age of seventeen. Assuming she will graduate in the month of June, that would make her 215 months old. BAM! I may not have been able to “prove” those darn honors Geometry problems, but I’d say I just did a bang up job on this one, huh? OK, back to how I was not going to be one of “those” moms. So apparently, I am. Sue me. I promise to stop when she turns two. And I won’t call her “the baby” for the rest of her life either. In the event I practice either of those two crimes, you have my permission to call me out on it and ridicule me accordingly. But back to my 15 month old. (I’m having a bit of trouble staying focused today…)
At 15 months, she has a new sentence, “Mamma, Daddy, Puppy”. It’s nice to know that her parents are finally important enough to be included in a sentence with the precious word, “Puppy”.
At 15 months, she is cutting yet another tooth. The bottom right incisor is making its way through her soft pink gum as we speak.
At 15 months, nail polish bottles are still so much fun for her to take out of my drawer in the bathroom and deposit all over the house.
At 15 months, she is getting some fun curls in her hair.
At 15 months, she says “baby” and points to my stomach.
Today also marks the official count down until Alex’s arrival. Exactly a month from today, at 8:00 am, he will be making his presence known.
I’m sure this will be a completely different experience and we are hoping a much more pleasant one, for me anyway! Little Alex is constantly moving and pushing against me and while I do enjoy this part, I’m also ready to watch him move and wiggle outside of my body.
So today we celebrate a new age for Miss Emma as well as moving into the final month before Alex arrives. Exciting times in the Parnell household, very exciting times.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
My Apologies to my Sweet Canadian Friends...and SWEET VICTORY!!!!!!!!!
Many thanks to all who have been so concerned for me these last few days as I agonized over the Holy Grail of all monitors, the GRACO DIGITAL iMONITOR DUAL FOR TWO ROOMS. Thank you Tracey for offering your mother's sweet Canadian services, thank you Susan for suggesting our Maine peeps head over the border, and thank you Michelle, A. for bringing this much needed necessity to my attention, and B. for wishing me luck in my endeavors. Yesterday, I placed a few bids on eBay and found out this morning that I had lost. Probably just as well, I was bidding in Canadian dollars. They said they would ship to North and South America but I was a little concerned about converting from US Dollars to Canadian. Do I do that or would Paypal do that for me? Moot point, as I lost.
HOWEVER, I did another search and found My Precious as a buy it now item for less than I had bid yesterday! I clicked that buy it now button so fast...and received the following email from eBay:
You won this item on eBay: GRACO MONITOR 2794DIG iMONITOR DUAL- 2 rooms! LNIB!
So shipping is $22.00 (American) but all told, it's less than the other ones I've seen sell and much less than buying it in the store! So my new bff Genevieve Lacroix will be packaging up my newest toy and sending it with love from Toronto.
Sigh. I'd say a day's job well done. And it's only 9:04am. Thank you Canada for continuing to carry this product (is that better Tracey?) and thank you eBay. Michelle, you no longer have to guard your monitor with your life. I can guarantee that I will certainly NOT be skulking in your bushes waiting to ambush you and steal your precious monitor away. :-)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Canadian Frustration
Before I start getting bashed by my Canadian friends, I suppose I should have titled this “Graco” Frustrations. Let me backtrack. We’re getting down to crunch time people. November 6th, at 8:00 am, sweet Alexander Scott Parnell will make his arrival into this world. I have a small window of opportunity to “get ready” and I am failing miserably. Well, we’re getting there, but I am just remembering that with Emma, we were so ready weeks, months, even ahead of her arrival. And then she had the gall to arrive late. And not even fashionably late. Grr. OK, another story, another time.
So we’ve got most of the room ready – I mean I can certainly keep reorganizing (and don’t think I won’t!) but as far as the big things go, we just have the bedding and a changing table to acquire. OH! And a dual monitor. Hence this post. Please know that at this moment I have steam streaming from my ears. Truthfully, that is not good for my new haircut – surely my hair will flatten with such copious amounts of steam so close to those newly golden strands, but I am at the end of my rope.
Several months ago (I’m not even sure I was pregnant) we had dinner with some friends and Emma needed to go down to sleep and I put her in my friend’s son’s crib. And after my sweet friend tucked Emma in, she turned over what I have now begun to fondly (not really) refer to as the Golden Ticket. You see, her youngest two children are close in age. So close, in fact, that she needed a monitor that would allow her to continue to be able to hear her baby girl as well as the new baby boy that graced their family shortly thereafter. So as I am enjoying the company of our friends, I am listening to Emma sleep via this super cool monitor. Apparently it lights up and tells you which child you are monitoring, and it even lets you determine how long to listen to each child! Fast forward to Heather and Jeff finding out that they are pregnant again, and my first thought is “I’ve GOT to buy that monitor that Michelle has!” Oh what an easy task I thought that was.
So Jeff and I have casually looked and browsed for the last several months…I really wasn’t in that big of a hurry, I knew it lit up and had dual transmitters, I just figured that perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough. My mother in law joins the search. In fact, she calls one night to tell us she has FOUND IT! I truthfully was a little skeptical as we had searched high and low with no results and she had bought this one at Babies R Us. But nevertheless, I started to get excited. This was it! She was on the phone with us as she was talking to the store clerk and they were insisting that it was a dual monitor, blah blah blah. So she brings it to me the next day (and I cannot hardly contain my excitement – I might even have been doing the fist pump thing into the air on my way to work) aaaaaaaand it’s not what we were looking for. It’s got two receivers, but only one transmitter. Babies R Us clerks are so stupid. I HEARD her tell them what she wanted and they forgot to wash their ears that day because they didn’t hear what she was saying. No, we don’t need to have two parent units. I NEED TO HAVE A TRANSMITTER IN EACH BABY’S ROOM. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF TWO WHO I NEED TO LISTEN FOR AT NIGHT! So a very disappointed Heather went into work and a very disappointed Mom in Law took it back to the store. The quest continued. Finally last week I emailed my friend to ask what it was called. She sent me an email detailing the Holy Grail of all monitors and I go on an internet searching frenzy. Amazon, nope. Babies R Us, nope. (duh) Target, yes. I click madly on the link only to find out, “Oh, so sorry! This item is not in stock”. Wal-Mart – yes. [insert Pac Man dying music here] See above. NOT IN STOCK. Seriously? And the list goes on and on. Finally, I email Graco themselves. Within about an hour, I have a response:
“We regret to inform you that the product you are inquiring about has been discontinued”
Oh this is bad. This is very bad. There is NO other product on the market that will do what I need said monitor to do! How is this possible? You can buy a stinking WIPE WARMER and a robe for a baby (really? You’re going to try to put a 6 month old in a robe?) but I’m the only parent out there who has babies close in age and would like to monitor each of them??
OK, let me clarify one thing. Everything I read says that if I purchase an additional individual monitor, it will interfere with the one we already have.
We all know how the internet does not lie, right? Well I found the monitor. On the Babies R Us website. I hurriedly add it to my cart and then start to check out. I type in my address, I click “Continue to Payment” and it’s then that I get it. Remember that Pac Man music? Play it again. For the Babies R Us website is the CANADIAN version. And they will NOT ship, how did they word it?
We're Sorry. Due to shipping restrictions, the following item(s) cannot be shipped to the shipping address you have selected.Graco iMonitor Duo Multi-Child Digital Baby Monitor
To continue checkout, please remove the restricted item(s) from your order or enter a different shipping address. Click here to return to your Shopping Cart.
Restricted? Really Babies R Us? You are restricting the sale of a baby monitor across the border? I’m not trying to smuggle drugs across the border. I cannot imagine why they will not ship it to me! They directed me to the US Babies R Us website, and, sadly, we know THEY don’t carry it. I have sent an email to Babies R Us Canada and just received the following response:
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for contacting RUs.ca Guest Service
Your email has been received and you can expect a response within the next 48 hours. Your feedback is important to us and we are dedicated to assisting you in any way possible. If you should require immediate assistance, please contact our Online Guest Service Specialists at 1-800-ToysRUs (1-800-869-7787). They would be more than happy to help and are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week!
Thank you again for contacting us. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Guest Service Team
www.ToysRUs.ca / www.BabiesRUs.ca
1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800 -869-7787) Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!
-------------------------------------
Chere cliente, Cher client,
Nous vous remercions d'avoir contacte le service a la clientele RUs.ca.
Nous avons recu votre courriel et vous devriez recevoir une reponse dans les 48 heures. Votre retroaction nous importe et nous nous engageons a vous aider de toute facon possible. Si vous avez besoin d'aide immediatement, veuillez contacter nos representants du service a la clientele en ligne au 1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800-869-7787). Ils se feront un plaisir de vous aider et sont a votre disposition 24 heures par jour et 7 jours par semaine!
Merci de nous avoir contacte. Nous sommes heureux de vous servir.
Cordialement,
Equipe de service a la clientele
www.ToysRUs.ca / www.BabiesRUs.ca
1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800 -869-7787) Disponible 24 heures par jour, 7 jours par semaine!!
Thanks for the French version, there, people. You are able to create bi-lingual messages for your people up there in grand ole Canada, but you cannot ship to Texas. You even offer me the option to select “Texas” in your drop down “Ship to” box, however, that must be a cruel joke. Thanks Canada, you didn’t make me laugh. I know when I told you that you could keep your atrocious healthcare system, you were probably offended and now you are getting me back by withholding this baby item from me.
I’m wondering if Jeff can fly up there, buy one, and (smuggle it) bring it back home. Wonder what customs people would think. It does not fit the restricted categories of meats, veggies/fruits, or animals…wonder if he could get it through?
If Babies R Us Canada doesn’t come through, I’m cyber stalking 3 of them on ebay. Somehow, someway, in the words of Mike Meyers in Wayne’s World,
It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
So we’ve got most of the room ready – I mean I can certainly keep reorganizing (and don’t think I won’t!) but as far as the big things go, we just have the bedding and a changing table to acquire. OH! And a dual monitor. Hence this post. Please know that at this moment I have steam streaming from my ears. Truthfully, that is not good for my new haircut – surely my hair will flatten with such copious amounts of steam so close to those newly golden strands, but I am at the end of my rope.
Several months ago (I’m not even sure I was pregnant) we had dinner with some friends and Emma needed to go down to sleep and I put her in my friend’s son’s crib. And after my sweet friend tucked Emma in, she turned over what I have now begun to fondly (not really) refer to as the Golden Ticket. You see, her youngest two children are close in age. So close, in fact, that she needed a monitor that would allow her to continue to be able to hear her baby girl as well as the new baby boy that graced their family shortly thereafter. So as I am enjoying the company of our friends, I am listening to Emma sleep via this super cool monitor. Apparently it lights up and tells you which child you are monitoring, and it even lets you determine how long to listen to each child! Fast forward to Heather and Jeff finding out that they are pregnant again, and my first thought is “I’ve GOT to buy that monitor that Michelle has!” Oh what an easy task I thought that was.
So Jeff and I have casually looked and browsed for the last several months…I really wasn’t in that big of a hurry, I knew it lit up and had dual transmitters, I just figured that perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough. My mother in law joins the search. In fact, she calls one night to tell us she has FOUND IT! I truthfully was a little skeptical as we had searched high and low with no results and she had bought this one at Babies R Us. But nevertheless, I started to get excited. This was it! She was on the phone with us as she was talking to the store clerk and they were insisting that it was a dual monitor, blah blah blah. So she brings it to me the next day (and I cannot hardly contain my excitement – I might even have been doing the fist pump thing into the air on my way to work) aaaaaaaand it’s not what we were looking for. It’s got two receivers, but only one transmitter. Babies R Us clerks are so stupid. I HEARD her tell them what she wanted and they forgot to wash their ears that day because they didn’t hear what she was saying. No, we don’t need to have two parent units. I NEED TO HAVE A TRANSMITTER IN EACH BABY’S ROOM. I HAVE TWO CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF TWO WHO I NEED TO LISTEN FOR AT NIGHT! So a very disappointed Heather went into work and a very disappointed Mom in Law took it back to the store. The quest continued. Finally last week I emailed my friend to ask what it was called. She sent me an email detailing the Holy Grail of all monitors and I go on an internet searching frenzy. Amazon, nope. Babies R Us, nope. (duh) Target, yes. I click madly on the link only to find out, “Oh, so sorry! This item is not in stock”. Wal-Mart – yes. [insert Pac Man dying music here] See above. NOT IN STOCK. Seriously? And the list goes on and on. Finally, I email Graco themselves. Within about an hour, I have a response:
“We regret to inform you that the product you are inquiring about has been discontinued”
Oh this is bad. This is very bad. There is NO other product on the market that will do what I need said monitor to do! How is this possible? You can buy a stinking WIPE WARMER and a robe for a baby (really? You’re going to try to put a 6 month old in a robe?) but I’m the only parent out there who has babies close in age and would like to monitor each of them??
OK, let me clarify one thing. Everything I read says that if I purchase an additional individual monitor, it will interfere with the one we already have.
We all know how the internet does not lie, right? Well I found the monitor. On the Babies R Us website. I hurriedly add it to my cart and then start to check out. I type in my address, I click “Continue to Payment” and it’s then that I get it. Remember that Pac Man music? Play it again. For the Babies R Us website is the CANADIAN version. And they will NOT ship, how did they word it?
We're Sorry. Due to shipping restrictions, the following item(s) cannot be shipped to the shipping address you have selected.Graco iMonitor Duo Multi-Child Digital Baby Monitor
To continue checkout, please remove the restricted item(s) from your order or enter a different shipping address. Click here to return to your Shopping Cart.
Restricted? Really Babies R Us? You are restricting the sale of a baby monitor across the border? I’m not trying to smuggle drugs across the border. I cannot imagine why they will not ship it to me! They directed me to the US Babies R Us website, and, sadly, we know THEY don’t carry it. I have sent an email to Babies R Us Canada and just received the following response:
Dear Valued Guest,
Thank you for contacting RUs.ca Guest Service
Your email has been received and you can expect a response within the next 48 hours. Your feedback is important to us and we are dedicated to assisting you in any way possible. If you should require immediate assistance, please contact our Online Guest Service Specialists at 1-800-ToysRUs (1-800-869-7787). They would be more than happy to help and are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week!
Thank you again for contacting us. We appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Guest Service Team
www.ToysRUs.ca / www.BabiesRUs.ca
1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800 -869-7787) Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!!
-------------------------------------
Chere cliente, Cher client,
Nous vous remercions d'avoir contacte le service a la clientele RUs.ca.
Nous avons recu votre courriel et vous devriez recevoir une reponse dans les 48 heures. Votre retroaction nous importe et nous nous engageons a vous aider de toute facon possible. Si vous avez besoin d'aide immediatement, veuillez contacter nos representants du service a la clientele en ligne au 1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800-869-7787). Ils se feront un plaisir de vous aider et sont a votre disposition 24 heures par jour et 7 jours par semaine!
Merci de nous avoir contacte. Nous sommes heureux de vous servir.
Cordialement,
Equipe de service a la clientele
www.ToysRUs.ca / www.BabiesRUs.ca
1-800 - ToysRUs (1-800 -869-7787) Disponible 24 heures par jour, 7 jours par semaine!!
Thanks for the French version, there, people. You are able to create bi-lingual messages for your people up there in grand ole Canada, but you cannot ship to Texas. You even offer me the option to select “Texas” in your drop down “Ship to” box, however, that must be a cruel joke. Thanks Canada, you didn’t make me laugh. I know when I told you that you could keep your atrocious healthcare system, you were probably offended and now you are getting me back by withholding this baby item from me.
I’m wondering if Jeff can fly up there, buy one, and (smuggle it) bring it back home. Wonder what customs people would think. It does not fit the restricted categories of meats, veggies/fruits, or animals…wonder if he could get it through?
If Babies R Us Canada doesn’t come through, I’m cyber stalking 3 of them on ebay. Somehow, someway, in the words of Mike Meyers in Wayne’s World,
It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Two Very Important Lessons
So I’ve learned a few lessons in the past few days.
Lesson Number One:
Do not watch The Notebook when your husband is out of town. This may result in a deluge of waterworks and hopeless blubbering on your couch. It wasn’t a pretty picture. James Garner, I felt every twist of emotion you went through, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Lesson Number Two:
Do not compound the cinematic culmination of a beautiful love story with footage and memories of Patrick Swayze.
It took me a while to be “allowed” to watch Dirty Dancing. The title was enough to send Mrs. Cameron over the edge and ban it from the get-go. Then she rented it and I’m sure the near-miss of Johnny’s bare backside (no matter how many times I rewound it, the camera always seemed to juuust miss it) was enough to place this movie in the permanent pile of banned movies Heather was not allowed to watch. But oh Mrs. Cameron, the day I found myself at a friend’s house whose mom was cool enough to not care about preteens watching a tale of coming of age parental defiance with a smattering of abortion thrown in was the day I had the time of my life. Hello Johnny Castle. May I carry some watermelons to the secret dance lair for you? Would you please instruct me on where your dance space ends and mine begins? Please teach me to work on my spaghetti arms and please, for the love of pete, float me up in the air for The Lift! Sigh. I have spent the morning googling clips of that beloved movie and reliving fond memories that I associate with that movie. My best friend Laura introduced me to dipping pretzels in vanilla ice cream during one of our many Dirty Dancing viewing sessions. (Seriously, I thought it sounded disgusting, she twisted my arm, and the combination of salty and sweet turned my attention away from Bobby the disgusting waiter long enough to try the delish combo. Try it. You’ll thank me.) Or how about the time our sweet friend Robyn asked so innocently during The Lift practice scene
(you know the one, it’s raining, and Johnny kicks that stump out of the ground to break the car window so they can run off to the lake to practice lifting in the water – where miraculously it’s not raining), “Do you think her bra strap was supposed to fall down her arm? Was it scripted that way?” Thank you Robyn, I will forever think of you and smile when I watch that movie. Or how my friends Angela Cicirello and Libby Blanford and I would discuss the inner working of the movie during ALGEBRA II class? It just goes to show you how wondrous the movie was if it still captivated us as seniors in high school. We were forever quoting the movie, (“Sweet gherkin?”) during class. And honestly, the whole “sweet gherkin” line still cracks me up.
Years later, I was at a happy hour event with some friends and we were sitting at a table watching the night unfold on the dance floor. There was a couple dancing, who, let’s just be straight out honest here, had to have been taking ballroom dancing lessons and were anxious to showcase them at the local bar. So, to make my friends laugh, I admit I might have heckled them. Not so loud that anyone other than my friends could hear, but sadly, I did make fun of them that night. As they were counting their steps around the dance floor, I called out “DO THE LIFT!” They didn’t hear me but my friends laughed and laughed. And seriously, if you had watched them practically mouth the words “one-two-three-step together” you would have seen the need to say what I did. If you were a member of that ballroom dancing super couple, I apologize. But it was really funny.
I wanted to have those silver shoes that Baby and Penny had. I wanted to get called up on stage and have Johnny Castle tell everyone that “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” and then dance our special dance. Ending with the lift of course. While he mouthed the words to I’ve Had (The Time of My Life). Swoon.
I think this weekend, I will have to view the movie and force my dearest hubs to endure my countless quoting and dancing. Although, I am not sure how successful a 7 month pregnant woman will be at keeping up, but I’ll give it a shot. But don’t count on me getting down on the floor when Lisa does her crazy wacked out choreography while singing
Lesson Number One:
Do not watch The Notebook when your husband is out of town. This may result in a deluge of waterworks and hopeless blubbering on your couch. It wasn’t a pretty picture. James Garner, I felt every twist of emotion you went through, and enjoyed every minute of it.
Lesson Number Two:
Do not compound the cinematic culmination of a beautiful love story with footage and memories of Patrick Swayze.
It took me a while to be “allowed” to watch Dirty Dancing. The title was enough to send Mrs. Cameron over the edge and ban it from the get-go. Then she rented it and I’m sure the near-miss of Johnny’s bare backside (no matter how many times I rewound it, the camera always seemed to juuust miss it) was enough to place this movie in the permanent pile of banned movies Heather was not allowed to watch. But oh Mrs. Cameron, the day I found myself at a friend’s house whose mom was cool enough to not care about preteens watching a tale of coming of age parental defiance with a smattering of abortion thrown in was the day I had the time of my life. Hello Johnny Castle. May I carry some watermelons to the secret dance lair for you? Would you please instruct me on where your dance space ends and mine begins? Please teach me to work on my spaghetti arms and please, for the love of pete, float me up in the air for The Lift! Sigh. I have spent the morning googling clips of that beloved movie and reliving fond memories that I associate with that movie. My best friend Laura introduced me to dipping pretzels in vanilla ice cream during one of our many Dirty Dancing viewing sessions. (Seriously, I thought it sounded disgusting, she twisted my arm, and the combination of salty and sweet turned my attention away from Bobby the disgusting waiter long enough to try the delish combo. Try it. You’ll thank me.) Or how about the time our sweet friend Robyn asked so innocently during The Lift practice scene
(you know the one, it’s raining, and Johnny kicks that stump out of the ground to break the car window so they can run off to the lake to practice lifting in the water – where miraculously it’s not raining), “Do you think her bra strap was supposed to fall down her arm? Was it scripted that way?” Thank you Robyn, I will forever think of you and smile when I watch that movie. Or how my friends Angela Cicirello and Libby Blanford and I would discuss the inner working of the movie during ALGEBRA II class? It just goes to show you how wondrous the movie was if it still captivated us as seniors in high school. We were forever quoting the movie, (“Sweet gherkin?”) during class. And honestly, the whole “sweet gherkin” line still cracks me up.
Years later, I was at a happy hour event with some friends and we were sitting at a table watching the night unfold on the dance floor. There was a couple dancing, who, let’s just be straight out honest here, had to have been taking ballroom dancing lessons and were anxious to showcase them at the local bar. So, to make my friends laugh, I admit I might have heckled them. Not so loud that anyone other than my friends could hear, but sadly, I did make fun of them that night. As they were counting their steps around the dance floor, I called out “DO THE LIFT!” They didn’t hear me but my friends laughed and laughed. And seriously, if you had watched them practically mouth the words “one-two-three-step together” you would have seen the need to say what I did. If you were a member of that ballroom dancing super couple, I apologize. But it was really funny.
I wanted to have those silver shoes that Baby and Penny had. I wanted to get called up on stage and have Johnny Castle tell everyone that “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” and then dance our special dance. Ending with the lift of course. While he mouthed the words to I’ve Had (The Time of My Life). Swoon.
I think this weekend, I will have to view the movie and force my dearest hubs to endure my countless quoting and dancing. Although, I am not sure how successful a 7 month pregnant woman will be at keeping up, but I’ll give it a shot. But don’t count on me getting down on the floor when Lisa does her crazy wacked out choreography while singing
and you can wackle all you wanna, you can wackle while I walk away, away, away, away!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Logic Puzzles
I admit it. I am completely addicted to logic puzzles. Remember those from school where you are given some clues and based on the clues, you have to figure out which first name goes with each last name, what each person's favorite color is, where they were born, etc? Yeah, those. I love them. I print them out daily and become engrossed in whose last name isn't Smith, or who did not choose the putt putt golf game. I printed some out this weekend to work on while watching football (my fantasy team BLEW UP - thank you Drew Brees!!!) but Emma had other ideas. Have you ever considered the thought that two pieces of paper, when clutched in 14 month old hands could make WINGS? When said little 14 month old hands flap up and down, the paper makes a really fun noise and it's sort of like trying to fly. At least I imagine that might be what she thought. Either way, she laughed uncontrollably and thought she was having a great time. Needless to say, those wrinkled puzzles will need to be downloaded again and completed at work. But ONLY when I'm caught up. :-)
Check this link out if you'd like to see what I'm talking about...
http://www.puzzles.com/Projects/LogicProblems/SlumberParty.htm
The neatest thing? You can either work the puzzles online or print them out and use your pencil. Since my poor pencils don't get any use anymore, I prefer the pencil and paper method. Well, that and I look busier when "figuring" at my desk rather than staring at a computer screen clicking away at my mouse.
Check this link out if you'd like to see what I'm talking about...
http://www.puzzles.com/Projects/LogicProblems/SlumberParty.htm
The neatest thing? You can either work the puzzles online or print them out and use your pencil. Since my poor pencils don't get any use anymore, I prefer the pencil and paper method. Well, that and I look busier when "figuring" at my desk rather than staring at a computer screen clicking away at my mouse.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
..........Drumroll Please
We interrupt your daily activities to bring you the following breaking news bulletin:
Ladies and gentlemen, wait, do any gentlemen really read this? Hmmm. OK, whatever, I have news!!
I HAVE OFFICIALLY PASSED MY GLUCOSE TEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you. That concludes this breaking news story. Please feel free to share your well wishes and congratulations below. Or get back to your regularly scheduled lives.
Ladies and gentlemen, wait, do any gentlemen really read this? Hmmm. OK, whatever, I have news!!
I HAVE OFFICIALLY PASSED MY GLUCOSE TEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you. That concludes this breaking news story. Please feel free to share your well wishes and congratulations below. Or get back to your regularly scheduled lives.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The Elusive Perfectly Folded Fitted Sheet
I find more and more that I am a perfectionist. For those of you who know me personally, you will not be shocked by this statement, although you might be shocked at my late admission. OK, so I admit it. I think there is a right way to do everything and I strive to do things that way. It just makes more sense to me. Why do a job unless you do it the very best you can AND with the most efficiency. With working full time, being pregnant, and chasing a toddler, efficiency is the key to my life.
Alas, there is one mythical creature, my unicorn, if you will, that I cannot “catch”. The elusive perfectly folded fitted sheet. You know when you first purchase a new set of sheets how lovely they look in the package, all folded up nice and neat. Four pieces of fabric arranged just so inside that sleeve of plastic, waiting for you to take them out and spread them out on your bed. Oh yes, let’s just admit one more thing while I’m at it. I am such a nut for perfect unwrinkled sheets, that I unashamedly spread newly purchased sheets on my bed without washing them! Because, friends, when you wash the sheets, although they smell delightful, they are not as perfectly smooth as they would be out of the package. I have been known to iron sheets (please stop screaming at me – I realized what a wasted effort that was while still in college and allowed to make stupid mistakes) but when you own a king sized bed (which I have since I was in the 7th grade), ironing those monsters is too time consuming. Coupled with the fact that I have owned a black lab for almost 13 years, ironing was good in theory, until you factor in the black dog hair the clean sheets would inevitably pick up from the floor.
So we’re back to the perfection that comes out of the plastic package. I have always wondered how “they” managed to get such straight lines and how everything fits so wonderfully. Enter my mother in law. Seriously, she is amazing at folding fitted sheets. Like she could fold professionally for those brand new sheets shipping out to all of the Bed Bath & Beyond locations nearest you. It’s amazing; her handiwork is the likes of which I have never seen. I will feely admit that there may have been a time or two when she was coming to our house to watch Emma that I may have left clean sheets on the breakfast table, knowing she might just fold them for us. And then, honestly, if she does fold them, I don’t want to put them on the bed. I’d rather just wash what’s on the bed and put them right back on rather than “waste” the perfectly folded sheets that have been put away. Because they are that pretty. When I finally do use them, I fully expect those little cardboard pieces to fall out as if they were brand new. Now I have asked her to show me countless times how she achieves such magic and she has obliged. I just don’t get it! I have tried and tried and no matter what I do, they end up crooked and looking like I’ve just rolled them up in a ball. Which is what I’ve resigned myself to doing. Seriously. Sure, I fold the flat sheet and the pillowcases and they are beautiful. But the fitted sheet gets rolled up and smashed down as small as I can make it (which still leaves it ten times bigger than the flat sheet) and I stuff them all into the cedar chest at the foot of my bed. I am an official fitted sheet folding failure. Do you have that elusive task that you just can’t make happen? No matter how hard you try? Please tell me I’m not the only one who is faced with such a situation.
…and for all of you who are going to tell me to lighten up, they are just sheets, I know. I get it. I’m way more driven to all things neat and organized than the “normal” person. Heard that more than a few times in my life. So that being said, let’s all just thank Jesus for sending me such a man as Jeffrey Scott Parnell who will not only put up with my quest for household perfectionism, but who also was born to a mother who has perfected what I cannot. Here's to the hope that someday I'll finally grasp what she's saying. [grin]
At 31 Weeks and 13 Months
OK, so technically, Emma is now 14 months, but I started this when she really was 13 months old. And I liked the whole 31 vs 13 thing.
At 31 weeks, I definitely look pregnant.
At 31 weeks, I not only have a name picked out for our son, but we also know his birth date!
At 31 weeks, we have a crib, but no mattress or bedding.
At 31 weeks, I love to go into Alex's room and enjoy what it looks like so far.
At 31 weeks, I'm still exhausted. So much for a second trimester burst of energy. I've now given up hope.
At 31 weeks, I let Emma crawl up the stairs by herself and save my strength for giving her a bath. :-)
At 31 weeks, I now go to the doctor every two weeks.
At 31 weeks, Alex's presence is a constant reminder by his kicks and pushes against my belly.
At 31 weeks, I am both intrigued and frightened at the possibility that I might actually see the outline of his hand pushing out against my tummy.
At 31 weeks, I'm relieved we are passed the heat of a Houston August!
At 31 weeks, I wonder how it is that super-organized Heather is so far behind in her preparation for this baby.
At 31 weeks, it is fun to watch Jeff speak to his son through the "speaker".
At 31 weeks, I still haven't gotten swollen ankles and I'm still wearing my wedding rings!!!
At 31 weeks, I think Emma still thinks I am having a puppy instead of a baby. :-)
At 13 months, Emma got her first haircut but probably needs another one!
At 13 months, Emma's favorite thing is still the puppy.
At 13 months, she loves splashing in the bathtub and I am proud to say that I let her!!
At 13 months, Emma is a walking, squealing delight.
At 13 months, she has been moved up to the toddler class at church. (what, already???)
At 13 months, she has outgrown footie pajamas and now wears separate jammies to bed.
At 13 months, Emma knows when her daddy is gone and will call his name as she walks from room to room looking for him.
At 13 months, Emma cut four molars. All at once. Almost completely painlessly. Almost.
At 13 months, she needs new shoes, but apparently has a tiny foot that complicates things. Well, that, and I refuse to buy plastic shoes or shoes that are all pink sparkles or light up or have a heel on them. Can I just buy a pair of plain white sandals?
At 13 months, she loves milk. She is her mamma's daughter.
At 13 months, she is still a good eater, and will eat most anything we give her. Including beets. (UGH!)
At 13 months, she knows her shoes go on her feet and the brush goes in her hair, but she hasn't figured out how to really accomplish either.
At 13 months, she prefers to feed herself and will generally refuse food if you are trying to feed her.
At 13 months, she loves Little People, my nail polish, and music.
At 31 weeks, I definitely look pregnant.
At 31 weeks, I not only have a name picked out for our son, but we also know his birth date!
At 31 weeks, we have a crib, but no mattress or bedding.
At 31 weeks, I love to go into Alex's room and enjoy what it looks like so far.
At 31 weeks, I'm still exhausted. So much for a second trimester burst of energy. I've now given up hope.
At 31 weeks, I let Emma crawl up the stairs by herself and save my strength for giving her a bath. :-)
At 31 weeks, I now go to the doctor every two weeks.
At 31 weeks, Alex's presence is a constant reminder by his kicks and pushes against my belly.
At 31 weeks, I am both intrigued and frightened at the possibility that I might actually see the outline of his hand pushing out against my tummy.
At 31 weeks, I'm relieved we are passed the heat of a Houston August!
At 31 weeks, I wonder how it is that super-organized Heather is so far behind in her preparation for this baby.
At 31 weeks, it is fun to watch Jeff speak to his son through the "speaker".
At 31 weeks, I still haven't gotten swollen ankles and I'm still wearing my wedding rings!!!
At 31 weeks, I think Emma still thinks I am having a puppy instead of a baby. :-)
At 13 months, Emma got her first haircut but probably needs another one!
At 13 months, Emma's favorite thing is still the puppy.
At 13 months, she loves splashing in the bathtub and I am proud to say that I let her!!
At 13 months, Emma is a walking, squealing delight.
At 13 months, she has been moved up to the toddler class at church. (what, already???)
At 13 months, she has outgrown footie pajamas and now wears separate jammies to bed.
At 13 months, Emma knows when her daddy is gone and will call his name as she walks from room to room looking for him.
At 13 months, Emma cut four molars. All at once. Almost completely painlessly. Almost.
At 13 months, she needs new shoes, but apparently has a tiny foot that complicates things. Well, that, and I refuse to buy plastic shoes or shoes that are all pink sparkles or light up or have a heel on them. Can I just buy a pair of plain white sandals?
At 13 months, she loves milk. She is her mamma's daughter.
At 13 months, she is still a good eater, and will eat most anything we give her. Including beets. (UGH!)
At 13 months, she knows her shoes go on her feet and the brush goes in her hair, but she hasn't figured out how to really accomplish either.
At 13 months, she prefers to feed herself and will generally refuse food if you are trying to feed her.
At 13 months, she loves Little People, my nail polish, and music.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Return of the Glucose Test
Well this morning was my glucose test. There is no way on this whole earth that I could not eat. It's just not happening. This little mister inside me demands it. I talked with my ob nurse last visit and she said I could eat. Just nothing with sugar. So I made two eggs this morning and drank a glass of water. Because it was a necessity. I admit I thought long and hard about a glass of not just milk, but chocolate milk, but when I took the milk jug out of the refrigerator and read that there were 11 g of sugar just in the milk, I slowly put it back. (But you had better believe that I either need to stop for a chocolate milkshake on the way home or I'll need a tall glass of chocolate milk when I get home.) So I go in this morning, armed with a straw (thanks Grannie, for the fantastic suggestion last time!) and my sweet husband who agreed to go with me for moral support. The girl gave me a bottle of orangish liquid and told me I had 5 minutes or less to down it. In walks another girl, here for the same thing. She gets a red one. It is at this moment that I realize I had red last time. Red is fruit punch flavored. I have started sucking down orange. The only flavor worse to me than orange would be grape. I really really wanted to offer some to Emma, but I figured we'd pay for her sugar rush later and I should just suck it up and suck it down. In like three swallows the other girl is finished. I'm barely below the top of the label. Grrr. Meanwhile, the two husbands are talking and I am mystified at how she is guzzling her drink so quickly. I keep sucking that straw and after they leave (of course) I finally finish. Let me pat myself on the back for a minute. I did not have to be told I was running out of time by a nurse this time. Last time I was spoken to several times about how I needed to speed it up, so that was a good thing. I went upstairs to my ob visit, but they didn't call my name before my hour was up and it was time to head back downstairs again to have my blood drawn. Now let me just start by saying, for those of you who don't know me well enough, I don't do blood. I don't want to see it, I don't want to talk about it, and I darn sure don't want to give any away. I have this theory that my body makes X amount of blood that happily circulates around in my system for a reason. Take any amount away from said happy little system, and I think there should be a problem. So this has always been a problem for me. Add to it that one of the ladies who does the draws has been wonderful every single time I've ever done this (with Emma and now with Alex) and there is another woman who I did not care for when I was pregnant with Emma. I have a friend whose doctor is also in the same facility and she and I have compared notes several times about how we like the one but not the other. Well don't you know this is the second time I get "the other". She was fantastic. I told her I was probably her worst patient and that I would please not like to see anything. Please. She said I wasn't even close to being her worst because I didn't flinch when she [AUNT JAYNE STOP READING] put the needle in. She took her vials, band-aided me, and sent me on my way. [AUNT JAYNE YOU CAN READ AGAIN]
So back upstairs we go and get called. The little man's heart rate was 153. I gained 5 lbs. All is well with both of us and we've now entered the bi-monthly visits. 63 days to go. By the way this little boy is pushing on my stomach all the time, you can bet I'm counting.
Side note: Aggie football starts this weekend. WHOOP!
So back upstairs we go and get called. The little man's heart rate was 153. I gained 5 lbs. All is well with both of us and we've now entered the bi-monthly visits. 63 days to go. By the way this little boy is pushing on my stomach all the time, you can bet I'm counting.
Side note: Aggie football starts this weekend. WHOOP!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
We Have a Date AND a Name!
November 6th. Mark it on your calendar. Baby P will make his appearance that morning. Now that we have a date, the time is quickly pressing upon me. With Emma, we had a crib set up before we even knew she was a girl. That nursery was painted pink practically the day after we found out she was a girl. Baby P however, well, that has been another story entirely. I am realizing that chasing a one year old (holy buckets, how did my sweet baby get to be one year old??) is more time consuming than I thought.
Three weeks ago, while Emma was down for a super long Children's Ibuprofen induced nap (she had a fever and was cutting 4 molars, what do you want me to say??), Jeff and I power painted the nursery. And when I say power painted, I mean it was fast. We spent the best $4.79 we have ever spent and bought one of those edge painter thingies. Think As Seen On TV. Billy Mays in his blue shirt at his finest. I tossed the gadget in our basket hoping it would pay off and not be wasted money. Oh BABY was that thing worth it! See, when Jeff and I paint (which we have done numerous times together) I’m the detail girl and he’s the bulk guy. I do all the cutting in and “hard” parts and he covers the masses. It just works better that way. But usually I end up taking forever because of that whole perfectionist thing I’ve got going and he’s standing around waiting for me so that he can cover the walls and do his part. Not so this time my friend! I had to wait for him! That four dollar gadget saved me time and made my edges look amazing. Not so much paint on the ceiling this time, which is a bonus, and we have a chair rail in this bedroom so you can imagine what that would have taken to accomplish with a brush. We will be keeping the Shur-Line Paint Edging kit my friends, and using it every time we paint. Worth more than its price, it is one of those things that everyone should own. I’m just saying.
So back to the actual nursery. We’ve gone with a very masculine sports theme and we love how it’s coming together. The walls above the chair rail are khaki, the walls below ended up looking surprisingly Aggie Maroon (I promise I didn’t do this on purpose, but now that we’ve got that element added, I’m thinking some Aggie stuff may have to make its way into the room! WHOOP!) and we’ve added navy accents. We painted the dresser navy blue with white drawer pulls and I painted red stitches on the drawer pulls so that they look like little baseballs. Totally Jeff’s idea. Isn’t he creative? I’m so proud.
Last weekend we got the crib and it’s all assembled, waiting for a mattress and some bedding to help finish it off. We also lucked out by overhearing a lady at Babies R Us say that she heard of a promotion to get 20% off of a new stroller by bringing in your old stroller. Jeff’s radar ears snapped to that bargain and we stopped to listen to the “fine print”.
Bring in your old stroller to Babies R Us. Check.
Choose from a select line of vendors. Graco is included, that’s what we wanted. Check.
Cashier issues a 20% off coupon. Wait, that’s it? All we have to do is turn in our old stroller and we can get 20% off of the double stroller we want?? SWEET! Put that box in our cart kind sir!
So with Jeff’s wheeling and dealing, the ongoing furniture sale, the stroller deal we stumbled upon, and our official discount for buying off of our registry, we ended up making out like bandits! We’re super happy with our stroller (we took it on its maiden voyage last night and Emma seemed to enjoy it – Mamma certainly enjoyed the ease with which it steers!) and bed. We’re getting closer to being ready for this sweet baby to arrive.
So to address the name portion. He will be named Alexander Scott Parnell and we shall call him Alex. Alex and Emma. Alex Parnell. We love it. Now I just need to get some letters so I can put his name over his bed like we did for Em.
Now let me end on this humorous note:
A Daily Conversation in the Parnell Household
Heather or Jeff: Emma, I love you!
Emma: [grin]
Heather or Jeff: Emma, I love you!!
Emma: PUPPY!!
Three weeks ago, while Emma was down for a super long Children's Ibuprofen induced nap (she had a fever and was cutting 4 molars, what do you want me to say??), Jeff and I power painted the nursery. And when I say power painted, I mean it was fast. We spent the best $4.79 we have ever spent and bought one of those edge painter thingies. Think As Seen On TV. Billy Mays in his blue shirt at his finest. I tossed the gadget in our basket hoping it would pay off and not be wasted money. Oh BABY was that thing worth it! See, when Jeff and I paint (which we have done numerous times together) I’m the detail girl and he’s the bulk guy. I do all the cutting in and “hard” parts and he covers the masses. It just works better that way. But usually I end up taking forever because of that whole perfectionist thing I’ve got going and he’s standing around waiting for me so that he can cover the walls and do his part. Not so this time my friend! I had to wait for him! That four dollar gadget saved me time and made my edges look amazing. Not so much paint on the ceiling this time, which is a bonus, and we have a chair rail in this bedroom so you can imagine what that would have taken to accomplish with a brush. We will be keeping the Shur-Line Paint Edging kit my friends, and using it every time we paint. Worth more than its price, it is one of those things that everyone should own. I’m just saying.
So back to the actual nursery. We’ve gone with a very masculine sports theme and we love how it’s coming together. The walls above the chair rail are khaki, the walls below ended up looking surprisingly Aggie Maroon (I promise I didn’t do this on purpose, but now that we’ve got that element added, I’m thinking some Aggie stuff may have to make its way into the room! WHOOP!) and we’ve added navy accents. We painted the dresser navy blue with white drawer pulls and I painted red stitches on the drawer pulls so that they look like little baseballs. Totally Jeff’s idea. Isn’t he creative? I’m so proud.
Last weekend we got the crib and it’s all assembled, waiting for a mattress and some bedding to help finish it off. We also lucked out by overhearing a lady at Babies R Us say that she heard of a promotion to get 20% off of a new stroller by bringing in your old stroller. Jeff’s radar ears snapped to that bargain and we stopped to listen to the “fine print”.
Bring in your old stroller to Babies R Us. Check.
Choose from a select line of vendors. Graco is included, that’s what we wanted. Check.
Cashier issues a 20% off coupon. Wait, that’s it? All we have to do is turn in our old stroller and we can get 20% off of the double stroller we want?? SWEET! Put that box in our cart kind sir!
So with Jeff’s wheeling and dealing, the ongoing furniture sale, the stroller deal we stumbled upon, and our official discount for buying off of our registry, we ended up making out like bandits! We’re super happy with our stroller (we took it on its maiden voyage last night and Emma seemed to enjoy it – Mamma certainly enjoyed the ease with which it steers!) and bed. We’re getting closer to being ready for this sweet baby to arrive.
So to address the name portion. He will be named Alexander Scott Parnell and we shall call him Alex. Alex and Emma. Alex Parnell. We love it. Now I just need to get some letters so I can put his name over his bed like we did for Em.
Now let me end on this humorous note:
A Daily Conversation in the Parnell Household
Heather or Jeff: Emma, I love you!
Emma: [grin]
Heather or Jeff: Emma, I love you!!
Emma: PUPPY!!
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