Two Birthdays = Long Blog Entries

Wow!  What a week!  We've had a lot going on.  Both of my mini Coopers had a birthday this week.  Yay!  Maleah turned six and Carissa turned two.  Maleah was born on March 22 and Carissa was born on March 26.

Maleah had a skating party at the Fairfield Skating Rink again this year.  She invited all of her friends and had a really great time.  She was so happy that so many of her friends came to her party.  She truly appreciated that everyone took the time to come to her party.  She had fun skating and playing the games.  She was especially happy that she won the limbo game.  We had a beautiful black, white, and hot pink zebra striped cake that was made by Jason's cousin Lora.  It was beautiful and delicious.  I think it was one of the best cakes ever.  Maleah opened presents after we had cake and she then she got to put her handprint on the wall of the skating rink.  Each time someone has a birthday party there they get to put their handprint on the wall.  She did it last year too during her party and then a few weeks after that they put a display case against the wall and completely covered up her handprint.  I think she got a better spot this year and I don't think it will be covered up. 

We also sang Happy Birthday to Carissa at the party.  She blew out her two candles in a split second.  (She's fast.)  She also skated for the first time.  That lasted about five minutes.  Then she was over that.  She liked just walking around visiting with everyone.  Here are some pictures from that party:

Carissa roller skating for the first time!

Carissa and Grandma Sherrel

Getting ready to do her handprint.

Maleah's actual birthday was on Tuesday and she had a great day.  She opened presents at home in the morning, went to school, and then I took her to Effingham to get her nails done and to do some shopping.  She loved everything.  She is such a happy girl.  She was just having the best day.  We ate at Lonestar and she got to spend $20.00 at Claire's.  What more could a girl want?  Well, actually, she really wanted a sewing machine, a guitar, Squinkees (miniature animal thingies) and Heely's (shoes with wheels in the heel).  I think she was a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten those things because that is all she had asked for.  I gently reminded her that she still had two family parties to come - one with the Oestreichs and one with the Coopers.  She was okay with that.  She laughed hysterically during her pedicure.  She is so ticklish.  She had a hard time deciding between Lonestar and Kentucky Fried Chicken but decided to go with Lonestar for her supper.  I'm glad she did.  It was very good.

Laughing during the Pedi

Free birthday dessert at Lonestar

In my last blog entry I talked about how Jason and I had traveled to Fairview Heights, had an amazing day, and bought the girls an addition to their swingset as their birthday gifts. That was their "big" gift. Well, it turns out, it didn't work out that well. The addition didn't fit their swingset. The addition we bought was for a swingset that looks exactly like ours, is made by the same company, but the roofline faces the opposite direction as ours. The dimensions, therefore, were off. I called the company and they said that lots of people have made the same mistake and confused the two sets. Errrr. They don't make an addition for our set. Sooo, turns out we didn't have a birthday gift for our kids at all. I had already given the sewing machine idea, the guitar idea, Heely's idea, and Squinkees idea to others who had asked me for ideas. So, I had nothin'. Maleah was still happy. It didn't really matter but it was a little aggravating to me. Here is a picture of the two swingsets. Hard to tell them apart, isn't it?



Maleah got a pair of camo pants from Jason and me.  She loves camo!  I don't know why but she does.  So when I saw these pants when I was in Children's Place I grabbed them.  It was a coincidence that our friend Julie bought Maleah a camo hat that matched the pants.  So here is Maleah on her way to school on the day after her birthday.  Notice the flip flops - the weather on her birthday and after her birthday was beautiful!  It was so warm and sunny! 

Okay, so then Saturday rolled around and it was Carissa's birthday!  Yay Carissa!  I can't believe she is two years old already!  Here are some cute pictures of her from the past week or so. 

Carissa in her birthday outfit.  I made the shirts for her and Maleah.

The house was quiet and I found her under her sister's loft bed playing babies.

Wherever Carissa is, Eloise is usually very close by.

She got new sunglasses for her birthday!

Trying on her sister's fake glasses.  So cute!

She had fun opening her presents and we had a family party at my Mom and Dad's that evening. We went with the whole zebra and hot pink theme again. The cake was beautiful again and tasted great. The girls had a great time and Maleah got her sewing machine (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!), guitar (thanks Uncle Randy and Aunt Janet!), and Heely's (thanks Aunt Angie, Aunt Patty, Andrea, and Abby!). Carissa got some fun stuff too. It was a really fun party!

Cake #2

Me and my girls in our party attire. 

Maleah in her shirt that I made her.

Maleah opening her sewing machine.

Maleah getting her first guitar lesson from Aunt Janet.

And finally here is a picture of Carissa on her birthday.  It snowed on her birthday this year.  We got about two inches or so.  It was a big change from the weather on Maleah's birthday.  I couldn't get her to look at the camera for anything.  She only wanted to look at the snow.  It was a beautiful snow!  But now we are ready for spring.  Bring it on...

On Sunday we had the third and final party for the girls at the Coopers.  Maleah got her Squinkees (thank you Craig and LuAnn) and Carissa got some fun things too.  We had a great meal with Jason's parents.  I forgot my camera that day (just forgotten though, not lost) and I didn't get any pictures.  Grandma Sherrel made the girls a yummy chocolate sheet cake that day though.  All of this cake is not helping me get ready for swimsuit season!

And.... here is my big news for the week.  I have been planning on going on a girl's shopping weekend in Nashville for this upcoming weekend for months now.  I have been looking forward to shopping and hanging out with my friends from our old playgroup, Deb and Kate.  I found out today that Deb has a friend who works at the Grand Ole Opry and he is getting us BACKSTAGE PASSES for Friday night's show!  I am so psyched!  Kellie Pickler is going to be there and I think I'll get to meet her!  Yay!  The last time the playgroup moms went to Nashville we met Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy on the sidewalk.  I am so so so excited!  I can't wait for the weekend!

We Are Trained Professionals

We have had a fun day around here!  It was busy and fast-paced but fun.  Hang on to your seats because it's gonna be a fast ride...

Jason and I have been needing to go to Fairview Heights to buy the girls' birthday presents.  We needed to go to Toys R Us for sure and a few other stores.  We settled on today being the day for the big trip.  The only problem was that he had to be back at home by 2 p.m. to leave for work.  The other snag was that Maleah got out of school early today (1:30).  I asked my Mom to pick her up for me and we left Carissa with my Aunt Patty for the day.  Isn't that neat that I left her with Aunt Patty on St. Patrick's Day?  Haha.  Anyway, Jason and I left Flora at 8:40. 

He drove and I slept.  We got to Fairview Heights at 10:15.  We went straight to Toys R Us.  We picked up a few small items and the main item.  The main thing we were after was an addition to the outdoor playset that they already have.  It makes the bottom area between the swings and the slide into a clubhouse like the one on the top.  Anyway, I had a coupon for it and got it for half price.  It was worth the drive.  While we were in the store, we ended up in the checkout lane behind an employee of the store who was buying one Cadbury Egg.  She told us to go ahead of her.  We said no, no, we have a bunch of stuff, blah, blah, blah.  She insisted we go ahead.  After listening to one incoherent sentence I was sure that she was on drugs.  So we went ahead.  We stood next to her for probably 10 or 15 minutes because the people ahead of us took a few minutes, then they rang us up and had to go in the back to get a box, then I had two coupons but she didn't see one so I had to write a second check and tear up the first one.  This druggie lady was probably in her late thirties, early forties.  She had on way too much makeup and she spoke like she had an iv of morphine in her arm.  I gave her the benefit of the doubt for a minute and thought maybe she had a neurological disease that slurred her speech.  If she did the disease also impaired her ability to put two thoughts together.  She spoke to Jason more than me and we both were in disbelief.  Where was her manager?  Why does she keep talking to us??  Our cashier told her twice to go to a different line where there was no waiting but she insisted on waiting behind us.  Obviously she didn't want to go back to work.  The store had only been open for 30 minutes at that point.  I don't think she should have been on a break.  Wow.  That was all I could think.  That lady could barely hold her head up let alone assist customers or whatever her job was.  We finally left and Jason got in the truck, looked at me, and said "Heroin kills."  I said "Exactly."

Okay, so we left that store at 10:55.  Next we went to the mall because I had a few things to get there.  In order for Jason to get to work on time we had to leave town at 12:00.  So we had an hour and ten minutes to eat and shop.  We got to the mall at 11:00.  I told Jason I would need 20 to 30 minutes.  He left and went to Lowe's to buy some spindles to use as legs for the awesome new table that he is building me for my new sewing room.  First I went to Children's Place and bought Maleah a pair of pants, Carissa two new pairs of jeans, and two t-shirts.  I left there and went straight to J.C. Penney's.  They have a Sephora in there and that's where I buy my makeup.  I went in, got exactly what I needed, and went to pay.  I had a nice but rather-too-chatty-under-the-circumstances cashier.  Left there and went straight to Charlotte Russo.  I tried on three things and bought a cute zebra print cropped cardigan and two pink camis (buy one get one half off).  I called Jason on the cellie and he was pulling back into the mall parking lot as I was walking out.  It was perfect timing and the actual time was 11:27. 

Okay, so we left the mall and still needed to eat.  We decided to go to Red Lobster and hope for the best.  They're usually pretty quick if you get there early.  Plus we always order the same lunch special and I think it's pretty quick to make.  We had a great meal and left there at 12:05 (I think).  Anyway, we hit the interstate and were home by 1:50. 

I picked up Maleah and Carissa and Jason left for work.  Then, I started on my to-do list for the night.  I spray painted the aforementioned spindles.  That took several coats and quite a while.  Then I had to give Maleah a bath because she played in the yard and dug in the garden while I painted.  Then I went to Walmart to get stuff for the goody bags for Maleah's upcoming birthday party.  Then I took her to Girl Scouts.  Then I sat in the parking lot waiting for her leader to show up.  Then the husband of the leader came and said the leader wasn't coming (she's a repeat offender and that equals no Girl Scouts for us next year).  Then I went home and went on a short walk with my Mom and Maleah and Carissa.  And then I cooked supper and cleaned the old sewing room.

I soon discovered that my vacuum just wouldn't pick up the multitude of thread that was on the floor in that room.  So then I got my lint roller and rolled the whole room.  I picked up 12,687,994,345 threads.  I fed the kids.  I cleaned the kitchen.  Loaded and unloaded the dishwasher.  Then I cleaned the new sewing room and organized some boxes and made room for Jason to move my cutting table and my bookshelf in tomorrow, along with the new table.  Somewhere in there I took a break and checked my facebook.  Deep breath. 

Then I went and checked on the spindles and gave them one more coat.  Then I sat at the table and put together goody bags for the party.  Then I put Carissa to bed and had a 30 minute phone conversation.  And then I made (or tried to make) these pom-poms made out of tissue paper to use as party decorations.  They are supposed to look like this: 

Mine didn't turn out quite like that.  They are close but still need some work.  If I use them I'll post pictures later.  And then I finally sat down and started writing out my day because even I was amazed at all I had gotten accomplished.  I do a lot most days but not usually all of that.  I kept Maleah up until ten o'clock tonight and am keeping my fingers crossed that she will sleep until at least 9.  I don't have to worry about her sister as much.  As long as the house is quiet she will sleep in but if Maleah is awake and turns the tv on, Carissa will be awake shortly after. 

But please remember, Jason and I are professionals.  I am a professional shopper.  He is a professional driver.  This should not be tried if you do not have proper training.  I have trained for years and would not anyone to get hurt by trying to repeat my shopping excursion. 

Romantic Hugs Are Sick!

We are so busy!!  Sorry that I skipped a week on blogging but I am a busy woman, let me tell ya.

Okay, the last time we talked Carissa was into calling herself Map.  She still is.  No change there.  Other incredibly funny things she has been doing include singing in a high soprano voice "Baby, Baby".  I think this is her take on Justin Bieber.  She has also been speaking in a few short sentences (i.e.  "me go" or "I do").  Today Jason gave me a hug and then she came up and gave me a hug too just like he did.  Sparing you the details, I'll just say that his hug was a little more romantic than how we hug the kids.  So she hugged me like that too.  Then, as she was walking away, she said "Sick!"  It was funny and I have no idea if she meant that like I took it.  If you ask her how old she is going to be, she says "two" and tries to hold up two fingers.  That is hard for her to figure out and usually she holds three fingers up because that pesky little ring finger won't stay down.

Maleah finally lost her tooth.  I paid her five dollars to let me pull it.  It was so loose that when she smiled it stuck out over her bottom lip.  It was hanging on by a thread and I was sick of it.  It was sore because she kept trying to eat with it that loose.  That made her not want to pull it even more.  So, when all fails, I bribe her.  It worked.  I pulled it so fast she didn't even know that I had.  After about ten seconds she quit crying (pure drama) and started laughing and jumping up and down.  She was soo excited!  She looks adorable without her teeth!  I have only taken one picture of her without them though because my camera has been lost and it didn't turn out well.  I promise I will post one soon!

Yes, so my camera has been lost.  It is now found but it was gone for a good two weeks but more like three I think.  Why do I do that?  What is wrong with me?  I think I'm going to put some bright stickers on it and maybe that will help.  The thing is black as night and it gets lost in dark places.  I was desperate to find it the other night so my Mom came over and helped me search.  Lo and behold she found it in a pink tote bag that I hadn't carried for weeks.  Thank you Mom!  In the meantime I missed lots of great photo opportunities.  I wanted to take before pictures of my sewing room.  It didn't happen.  I'll take one when it's all done though.  You can count on that.

I made the curtains for the room today and the carpet was laid last week.  Jason is going to install my new countertop this week and  move my big ol' heavy cutting table in.  It's actually an old drafting table that I got for free at a rummage sale.  Nobody else wanted it.  It weighs a TON!  I think it may be made of slate or something similar to a pool table.  Jason hates it with a passion because it is big and heavy.  I love it with a passion because it is the perfect cutting table and it was free!  I am so excited to get this room done!  It is going to be great.  Carissa  has been hanging out in there this week sorting about a hundred different 4" fabric squares over and over.  She piles them up and looks closely at each pattern.  I'm not sure what her system is but that fabric will keep her quiet and still for longer than any toy in this house or the tv.  She is a woman after my own heart, what can I say?

The old sewing room is going to become Jason's room.  Originally I had planned to make it a toy room but that changed.  We (okay, HE) decided that he needed some space too.  No, I'm not making him sleep there or anything but he is going to put all of his hunting stuff, deer heads, etc. in there.  He has a lot of stuff too.   It really does make the most sense.  Why didn't I think of it??

This past weekend I went to Bloomington, Illinois for a Christian moms conference called Hearts at Home.  I listened to a lot of good speakers talk about parenting.  It was informative and exhausting.  I drove up there with my friend Bethany and a new friend named Mandi that I just met that day.  We stayed with Bethany's sister-in-law and her family near Bloomington.  Us girls stayed up too late on Friday night, then we got up too early on Saturday, and then we got home too late on the night of the time change.  I was so tired!  I'm still recovering.  This mama is used to getting a good night's sleep.  The conference was fun and much to Maleah's disappointment, I did not take a cooking class.  She had asked that since I was going to be taking classes, would I please take a cooking class?  "Not that you're a bad cook or anything Mom, but maybe you could learn to be a little bit better?"  She was hoping I could learn to make chicken n' dumplins like Cracker Barrel's.  I did not.  Unfortunately, that class was not being offered.  In it's place I took Parenting A Strong-Willed Child.  Bring it on Carissa.  That's all I have to say about that. 

Today my Grandma Rose had surgery to repair two broken vertebrae in her back.  The surgery appears to have been successful but she still has a weak spot in her back.  This is her third back surgery for broken vertebrae.  The fractures are caused by osteoporosis.  She has been in a lot of pain.  Please pray for her that she will recover and not be in pain anymore and that no more vertebraes break.  We all love her so much and none of us want to see her hurting. 

The time change is totally kickin' our butt around here.  We are all sleeping later in the mornings.  It has been so hard to get Maleah to school on time.  I wish my body would hurry up and adjust and I wish Carissa's body would never adjust.  That kid is sleeping until about 8:30 now instead of 7:30 on school days.  If the house is real quiet she can sleep til 9:30.  I love it.

Speaking of sleeping, I better go do it...

Caution: Construction Zone Ahead

I am working on something exciting.  I really can't wait to show it to you.  There is one problem though.  There is a lot of work ahead before I can. 

I am turning the family room into my sewing room.  I am turning the current sewing room into a toy room.  I am flip-flopping these rooms and it isn't going to be easy.  Both rooms have a lot of stuff in them.  All of this stuff is going to have to be moved into some other part of our house while space is cleared for it to go in it's new room.  You want to know the worst part?  I still can't bend over and am having trouble getting around without some help from a friend I like to call Aleve (and sometimes her cousin Naproxen).  I also can not lift anything heavy.  This presents a problem, now doesn't it?  Who is going to do all of this work??  Our friend Randy is coming over on Monday to lay the carpet in the new sewing room so it's not like I can just put it off and do the move another time.  And Jason can't do it all by himself.  So, any volunteers out there who enjoy a lot of heavy lifting (think gun cabinet, lots of books, tables, etc) and boxing up fabric?  I didn't think so...

I love the idea of my two finished rooms being nice and neat and tidy.  But I hate the "getting there" part.  It is going to be a mess!  I promise to take before and after pictures and post them soon.  But here's a hint as to how the "after" is going to look:  zebra print rug.

This past weekend Jason and I and the girls celebrated my birthday.  I know, I know, my birthday was three weeks ago.  But it took us that long to get a table at Lonestar.  Okay, not really.  But it's really irritating to me that everyone eats at Lonestar for Valentine's Day on my birthday weekend.  It was too long of a wait with two little starving girls when we were there last time.  You remember the story?  Three different drive-thrus instead.  Well, anyway, Jason made up for it and we had a wonderful meal at Lonestar this time.  Carissa screamed some, ran some, and refused to eat but my meal was great and we had a good time.  Carissa's behavior is just a given in restaurants these days.  It doesn't bother me.  It probably did bother the young couple that sat behind us and were discussing a very "awesome party" that they both had a great time at the previous evening.  But if it did, I don't care.  They'll understand one day.  Oh, and we had a gift card (thank you Brad and Nikki) so that made it even better.

And then after that Jason took me to buy my birthday present.  I could've gotten it closer to my birthday but I was doing some research on which one I wanted.  Want to know what I got?  Is the suspense just killing you?  It was... (drumroll in the background) A NEW SERGER!  I know half of you don't even know what that is.  So let me tell you, it is kind of like a sewing machine but it's not.  Just google it.   I can not wait to get started with it and whip up some pretty cool little projects.  I am very excited and it was a super nice gift!  We had to drive all the way to Carbondale to get the one I wanted.  The girls were a little bored on the way but overall they did fine.  Maleah loved the fabric shop we were at and even found herself something that she put on her birthday list.  So, my new serger will sit right next to Lydia (my other machine, in case you forgot) and she will need a name too. (Yes, sergers are female.)   I am taking name ideas, so if you have one that goes well with Lydia, speak up. 

Carissa is still Map.  She's not quite as insistent as she was as first though.  I'm considering changing her name from Map to Swiper.  Tonight at church she was sitting by her little friend London.  He is just a little bit younger than her and he was eating cheese.  Carissa loves cheese and she kept trying to swipe his cheese!  London's mommy, Bethany, called Carissa Swiper and I thought that it was perfect!  She can be very sneaky.  You better watch that one...

Maleah has a super loose tooth that is driving her nuts.  I expected that thing to fall out days ago and it is still there - hanging on by one or two roots.  She can wiggle it every which way and she says it hurts to eat but it won't come out.  She is frustrated and broke.  She wants the money. 

Jason's Mom and Dad brought us a dozen cookies this week and they were delicious.  Unfortunately, I have eaten more of them than anyone else.  This is bad for my Weight Watchers plan.  Real bad.  We also went to a birthday party at church on Sunday night and Maleah won a cake.  It was equally delicious.  And probably equally as fattening.  Guess who has eaten more of it than anyone else in the house?  Yes, that's right.  Me.  I have got to get this stuff out of my house.  Swimsuit season is right around the corner!  So if I look fat this summer, remember, it is NOT MY FAULT!!!!

'Til next time!