Notes from the Castle

Hayden's 5-year Portraits

2011-06-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I have no idea how we got here already.....to the place where my baby girl is five and getting ready to start kindergarten next year. I love every minute of being her momma and she makes me so proud each and every day. Here are Hayden's portraits for this year. I'm sorry but I have to say it....she's beautiful.

Father's Day Idea

2011-06-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea on Pinterest and knew it was a perfect project for me and Hayden given the fact that she's a total ham who LOVES to pose! I bought the super-cheap chipboard letters at Hobby Lobby and had Hayden paint them aqua (I wanted her to be a big a part of this project as possible so she could be proud of herself when she saw the end result). Then we went outside and I snapped away while she did her thing. I bought a triple frame so these will be framed side-by-side to spell "DAD". I plan on sending it with him to work to be displayed in his office. He should love it!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2011-06-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

I made this for dinner tonight and was reminded just how yummy it is. I thought I'd share it with you! It's made in the crockpot and it super easy. My friend, Whitney, gave me the recipe for the Hayden's Heroes cookbook.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 9-10 oz. jar sweet and sour sauce

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

3 T. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

3 lb. bag frozen meatballs

1 medium red bell pepper, cubed

1 20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

Combine all ingredients but meatballs and stir until combined. Add meatballs and toss to coat. Cook on low in crockpot for 7-8 hours. Serve over white rice or mashed potatoes. My family prefers the potatoes. Also, I never actually use the full bag of meatballs. For my family of three (which includes a man that eats like a garbage disposal) I probably use about 1 1/2 lbs. of the meatballs. Basically I just keep dumping them in until it looks like I have enough.

Hope you love it!!

The Nursery - Some more updates

2011-05-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, the nursery is coming along nicely! It still has a long way to go (bedding, stuff for walls, more pillows, decorative stuff, etc.) but I've been working hard on it and I thought I'd show you the latest updates.

Ok, so we all remember that this is how the room started out, right..... And then I showed you what it looked like with the new paint...
Here are some new pics with some descriptions so you know what else I have planned. First of all, let me say that I totally realize that rug is much to small for that space. I found it at Hobby Lobby and it was on clearance for EIGHT DOLLARS so I reeeeaaalllllyy wanted it to work. Alas, it doesn't so it looks like I will have to order the original one I found HERE for $150.00. Boo.
I'm horrible at remembering to take "before" photographs! I wish I had taken one of this dresser. It is a dresser from the '70s and the color brown was awful. The handles were brass. So I painted it the aqua and sprayed the handles red. I LOVE how it turned out. I ordered the polka dot changing pad cover to match the bedding and it should be here in a few days. I'm going to paint the small black picture frame I just don't know what color yet. I also ordered the alphabet letters for this wall but they will take 5 to 8 weeks to come in. I can't wait to start painting, staining and covering them!

Again, I totally should have taken a before pic of this lamp. It was suuupper cheap at Gordmans. I brought it home, sprayed the bottom a metallic brown color and covered the shade. The fabric has metallic leather circles on it and cost more than the lamp itself!
So, I got it into my head that I HAD to have red and white chevron fabric for the curtains. HAD. TO. Well, of course, I could find every other color of chevron fabric on the internet but absolutely no red. I finally stumbled upon a website called Spoonflower. It is the greatest thing ever! Designers (or you yourself if you want) can upload their designs to be printed onto fabric and sold. It is a wonderful place to find modern, geometric prints. I read somewhere on the website that you can contact the designers and ask them to create something for you! I found a girl that already had a grey and white chevron and asked if she could put a design up for sale in red and white. She emailed me back the next with the proof for my approval! I told her I loved it and she let me know when it was officially available to for sale. You can order swatches, fat quarters, and different yard increments. I was so happy I found the website and I was thrilled with my fabric when it came in! I found some way cheap curtain rods at Ross and painted them the aqua color to help them pop. I did both windows the exact same way.
You can't tell the color very well in the next pic, but the two larger pillows are a deep aqua velour from Pier 1. I made another pillow with the rest of the lampshade material. I'm going to order a pillow that matches the bedding to also go in the window. I'm still on the hunt for other small pillows to fill that space up.
Once again, no before pic. This rocking chair is very special to me because it is the chair my Nana rocked me and my cousins in when we were babies. She just passed away in January and my Papa gave me the chair for the nursery. While the color wood isn't my favorite, I'm not touching it. I did, however, cover the cushions because they were a ratty, old, burgundy corduroy. I also made the little dog initial pillow for the chair.
Here's a better pic of the chair fabric. It almost has an sheen to it in person.
As you can see in the next pic, I still need to find a little side table to paint (going garage sale-ing this weekend) and I need the floor lamp for the corner. I ordered a cheap one from Walmart's website that has a plain white drum shade. I will spray the base the same as the other lamp but I'm not sure about the shade yet.
Obviously, I still need the bedding. The collage of prints that I showed you in THIS post will go on the wall above the crib. You can see the bedding at that post, as well. Not sure about the other wall yet. I'm obsessed with the frames at The Organic Bloom and all the colors they come in, but I'm not sure if frames are what I want up againt another wall full of frames. Again, something else to figure out.

So that's it for now!!! I hope you like the progress and updates! More to come!

10 of my favorite drug store finds

2011-05-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

I talk a lot in my product posts about Bobbi Brown and other lines that are a bit on the expensive side. I realize that's not always practical so I wanted to share in this post some of my favorite things I buy at the drug store ( Walgreens, specifically). Here they are in no particular order:

1. Garnier Nutri-Pure Detoxifying Wet Cleansing Towelettes

I love these face wipes. I've used all the different brands of wipes and I always come back to these. Face wipes are perfect for people like me. Read: LAZY. I'm that person that totally goes to bed with her makeup on if I've run out of my wipes. It's awful and I always pay for it later. These do a wonderful job of removing all my makeup and the smell is pleasant. It could be all in my head but, I really feel like these, combined with the next product, give my skin a really great texture.

2. Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch SunblockI love everything about this sunblock. I love the smell and I love the feel. This is actually what I use as my everyday moisturizer. It soaks right in to the skin and doesn't leave behind any kind of greasy feel. I couldn't go without this product!

3. Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Fast Dry Nail Color

Since the Insta-Dri polishes came out, I have been accumulating all the different colors. It does dry faster than any other polish I've ever tried but I also LOVE the brush! It's wide and flat with a curved tip that follows the line of your cuticle. It's wide enough I can usually get my pinkie nail in just one swipe!

4. Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara

While I can't say that this is my absolute favorite mascara (that would be Trish McEvoy's High Volume Mascara) I CAN say that it is, without a doubt, my favorite drugstore brand. I try all the new mascaras when they first come out if they claim to creat volume and I always come back to Lash Blast.

5. Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash

I'm that person you see at the drugstore opening the lid of every body wash, shampoo, deoderant, etc. to check out the smell. I'm a bit smell obsessed. Smells are very personal so I can't promise you'll like it too, but I completely heart the smell of this body wash and I love that it is exfoliating like a body polish. I kill two birds with one stone that way.

6. Loreal Infallible Lipgloss

By now, probably everyone knows my obsession with this lipgloss. My personal favorite color is Sunset for everyday wear. It glides on perfectly like a gloss and then sets into a kind of liquid lipstick that stays for hours. This is one of the few lip products that I buy back to back.

7. Loreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion

This is, by far, my favorite drugstore self-tanner. The bronze liquid is very easy to see when it goes on, ensuring even coverage, and the color can't be beat.

8. Almay Oil-free Eye Makeup Remover Pads

These don't burn the skin around my eyes and are very effective at removing eye makeup - much more so than liquid and a cotton ball, in my opinion. One tiny pad can remove all the makeup from both eyes.

9. Maybelline Mineral Power Perfecting Concealer Cream

I don't recommend this for your "spot" concealer because typically something thicker is needed for those kinds of coverups but, for under your eyes, this concealer is perfect! You want a thinner, lighter feeling concealer for that delicate tissue under your eyes. Heavy creams will tug on that skin as you apply them and, over time, that will create bags. This one is gentle because it is liquid-like and it does a great job of covering under-eye circles.

10. Old Spice Body Wash in Swagger

Ok, so this one is for the hubs - not me- but oh, how I love it! Every time Old Spice comes out with a new smell I have to check it out. This is my current favorite for Ryan. It makes the whole bathroom smell good when he takes a shower.

I'd love to hear from you what some of your favorite drug store finds are!!

Recipes: Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole & Oatmeal Raisin Choc.Chip Cookies

2011-05-13T13:51:00.000-07:00

I've decided that, whenever I do recipe posts, I'm going to include both a cooking and a baking recipe. That way you kind of have dinner and dessert! First up is.....

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 stalks celery, chopped

3/4 c. mayonnaise

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 box Uncle Ben's long grain & wild rice

2 cans white meat chicken

crushed potato chips (I buy the cheap store brand version of Lays)

1. Cook rice according to package; add other ingredients except potato chips and place into a 8x8 baking dish. 2. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 3. Add crushed potato chips to the top for the last 10 minutes of baking.

My mom made this when I was growing up and it has always been one of my favorite casseroles. The potato chips on top might sound strange but it is soooo good!!! It's also quite dense so it will definitely get you and your family full!

Now for some yummy cookies!!! I found this recipe in Country Living magazine a couple years ago and they are very, very tasty!

Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 c. sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 c. flour

2 c. old-fashioned oats

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts

1 1/4 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs until well combined. 2. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, plus raisins, walnuts and chocolate chips. 3. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir to combine; stir in milk. 4. Drop dough in heaping tablespoonfuls, about 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet. 5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

I hope you family enjoys these recipes!! Mine sure does!

I'm flattered!

2011-05-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

My friend, Regan, over at Over Cups of Joe decided to do something fun and write posts highlighting her friends' blogs. She decided to start with me! She asked me some questions - some fun and some thought provoking - and she put up my answers yesterday. Head over there and check them out! Thanks, Regan!

Over Cups of Joe

Drumroll please.....(Argyle reveal)

2011-05-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sure that ever since I talked about my plans for Ian's nursery at the blog post HERE, you have been frantically checking back daily - sometimes hourly-to see if I've posted the pictures of the argyle walls. Not really, you say?? Hadn't really thought about it, you add?? Well, here they are anyway. I'm sure happy with the way they turned out!

Here's what we started out with, people. It's about a far from boy-ish as you can possibly get. I had made this room into a playroom for Hayden when she was about 18 months old so I went with pink, pink, a touch of black and white, and more pink. She hasn't played in there in over a year so it had become the room where you throw random things that don't otherwise have a place, shut the door, and pretend that they aren't there. I'm really good at that.

I don't know how well you can see it, but this pic shows where I drew out my diamonds using a ruler and level.

So step one was to paint all the dark chocolate paint. I hate taping off on detail work because have the time it bleeds and you have to touch it up by hand anyway. So, even though it takes me longer, I just use an angled brush and steadily paint the lines of my diamonds. There's still some touch-up work to be done but, in the long run, I think the lines look cleaner this way.
And here they are!!! The diamonds are in the colors of the bedding which you can see in the previous nursery post I linked above.
You can still see a touch of pink at the top of this next pic. The ceiling still needs to be painted. It will be the lemony-lime color.

I'm so happy with how it turned out! My next project is to paint the dresser aqua, glaze it with Van Dyke glaze and spray the pulls red. Should be cute! I can't wait for this room to come together!

Hayden's Heroes Video

2011-05-05T17:18:00.001-07:00

As the Great Strides walk benefiting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation approaches, I wanted to share with everyone this video I put together for Hayden. It explains in more detail what CF is and what it means for those who live with it each day. I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch it. Thank you!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

You know you've thought about it.....

2011-05-04T18:39:00.001-07:00

By now, you've probably all seen these nail polish strips by Sally Hansen at the drugstore. If you're like me, you look at them with interest every time you go to the store but you wonder to yourself, "Could I pull off leopard toenails??". Here's some examples of the patterns the strips come in. My neighbor has this houndstooth on her toes and it is darling. This is the pattern I'm trying to work up the courage to try. lol

I love how this looks like fishnet tights.
If they came in small enough sizes I would definitely do this for Hayden's nails.

Well, I decided I'm just not ready for any of those patterns. It's kinda like those feather extensions that are so big right now. I love them on other people but they aren't for me. So I got excited today at Walgreens when I found another brand and saw this silver pattern!
I loved the metallic pattern and, since it's all the same color, I didn't feel like it was too "crazy" for me.

They are basically like stickers. You peel one off at a time, stick it to your nail starting at the cuticle, and smooth it out toward the tip of your nail.

Then you take a nail file (the one that came with the packaging was worthless so I used my own) and file off the edge.

And voila!!! Ok, I realize that my toes aren't the prettiest thing to photograph but it's cute, right?Maybe by the end of the summer I'll be brave enough to try the houndstooth :) I'd love to know which ones you try!

My porch for Spring/Summer!

2011-05-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Do you remember my post HERE about how I found the perfect wreath for Spring and Summer on the blog Kiki Creates???? Well, I finally finished my wreath and I'm thrilled with the result!!!

Ta-Da!!!!!

So, it's not as perfect as hers, of course, but for a first-timer making rosettes, I'm happy with it. Again, you can find her tutorial for making rosettes HERE.

I also decided to make a pillow for my porch to match. I think it looks great next to my fleur-de-lis and my little "S" that I spotted on my way out of Hobby Lobby.

What projects do you have underway for your porch this season?

Lipstick: Q & A

2011-04-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

So, I finally received a question on one of my product posts and I was thrilled for the chance to do some research!! Here is the question I received:

Q. I know you've posted about lipstick before, but any you recommend? I'm so fair (and unlike you don't have dark hair or eyes to offset it), and also really hate the feel of traditional lipstick...any great lipsticks for fair people that feels more like chapstick you could recommend?

A. I had to look into this one a bit since I tend to go more for the drier lipsticks just because I like to know they'll stay put. However, I have come up with a few options! I went by the Clinique counter at the mall because I wanted to look at the colors of their Almost Lipsticks. Well, much to my surprise, they don't make them anymore, with the exception of their best-selling Black Honey. Since you are a fair-skinned, redhead, that's not the color for you. I asked them if they had come out with anything else that was on the sheer and soft side. She showed me two options that I think you should check out.

One was their Chubby Sticks. It's like a lipgloss/balm in a stick but it still has a good amount of color to it. The color I bought (well, of course I bought one for myself!) and that you'd probably want too is called Mega Melon. It draws on like a thick lip pencil but it glides on with the feeling of a balm. It's color can be sheer or you can build it up as you keep drawing. To really make it subtle, blend it out with your finger after just one layer. Even though it's in pencil form, you can roll the tip up and down so there's no need to sharpen it.

Second is their Butter Shine lipsticks. I have had one in the past and they feel heavenly when you put them on. I think they look even glossier on than the Chubby Stick. There are a lot more colors in the Butter Shine than the stick so you'll need to go to your Clinique counter and have them help you find the perfect shade.

For a drugstore option, Cover Girl has just come out with new NatureLuxe Gloss Balms. They give sheer color with a bit of shine and they contain mango and shea butter to make them extra soft. For you, I would recommend checking out the colors coral and cinnamon. Since they are CoverGirl, they'll be about half the price of the Clinique but you can't try the colors on before you buy to make sure they are perfect. Just something to keep in mind.
Happy shopping!!! I hope this helped!!!

If you have any product questions, please ask away!!! If I don't know the answer I'll find someone who does!

Scrumptious Potato Dish & Yummy Carrot Cake

2011-04-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

I have a couple of friends who post recipes regularly on their blogs and I love that......so I'm stealing the idea! I created a Hayden's Heroes cookbook as a fundraiser for the CF Foundation and it has all of my favorite recipes in it plus those of family and friends. I think that once a week I will plan to post a recipe from the book that we have tried and love.

I thought I'd post a couple of my favorite Easter recipes. I realize that it probably would have been more helpful if I had shared these a little earlier than the night before Easter. Sorry. I have pregnant brain and apparently can't think that far ahead.

This first recipe is for Sinful Potatoes and it is, hands-down, my favorite side dish. I could literally eat an entire 8x8 pan by myself as a my main meal. You can make it for any kind of meal - it goes with everything- but it's especially yummy with ham so my mom prepared it a lot for Easter lunches.

Sinful Potatoes

1 2lb. pkg. frozen O'Brien potatoes, thawed

1/2 c. melted margarine or butter

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 c. sour cream

unseasoned bread crumbs

1. Combine all ingredients, except bread crumbs in a large bowl. 2. Spread into a 9x13 baking dish. Cover entire surface with bread crumbs. 3. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

This next recipe is for a really yummy and moist carrot cake. I make this every year for Easter and decorate the top with some small turquoise ceramic eggs that belonged to my Nana.

Carrot Cake

4 eggs

1 1/4 c. vegetable oil

2 c. white sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 c. grated carrots

1 c. chopped pecans

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease two round cake pans; set aside. 2. Beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. 3. Stir in carrots; fold in pecans. 4. Bake 40-50 minutes.

Frosting:

Combine all frosting ingredients but pecans and beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in pecans. Frost cake once cooled.

I hope everyone has a Happy and Blessed Easter tomorrow!

Hayden's Heroes!

2011-04-22T06:24:00.001-07:00

Every year we have the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides walk. Nationally, this is the foundation's largest fundraiser. We created the Hayden's Heroes team in honor of our daughter almost five years ago, right after she was born. Every year we have so much fun gathering with friends and supporting this foundation that I am confident will soon find Hayden's cure. There are two different oral pills in the final stages of development right now that will add decades to the lives of people with CF. Because of these drugs, science books will need to be re-written where CF in concerned. We are so close and none of this would have been possible without donations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. They are the only foundation that can say they take 90 cents of every dollar donated and put it straight to medical research. If you would like to make a donation on Hayden's behalf, please do so at our Great Strides homepage here:

www.cff.org/Great_Strides/alyssasiler

Something else I'm excited about is our Hayden's Heroes merchandise store I started on cafepress.com last year. I've added a lot of new products this year - even IPhone 3G and 4 cases. Below are just an example of some of the products we have in the store. A portion of the profits goes directly to the CF Foundation. We'd love for you to become a Hero and wear around your support of Hayden! Visit the store here:

www.cafepress.com/haydensheroes

To all my friends of the pasty variety...

2011-04-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

(Note: I have changed the word in my title back and forth between "pasty" and "pastey" because I have no clue which one is correct. I asked my mother how to spell it and her first answer was "Alyssa". Ha ha, mom. She then replied that it should be "pasty" and as an example she said "haste" turns into "hasty". So there you have it. If it's wrong...blame my mom.)

If you are a fair maiden like me (make that extremely fair, in my case), then you know it can be kinda hard to find the perfect blush color. You have to find the perfect halfway mark between too much color and not enough.

All you glowing, tan people have always made me so jealous in the fact that you can wear no makeup and have the "fresh faced" look. If I wear no makeup people ask me if I'm feeling ok because I look ill. For a pale gal to get the "natural, fresh" look, we have to actually apply makeup skillfully enough for it to look like we aren't wearing any. We MUST have color on our cheeks. Even if I wear nothing else but a bit of mascara, I will always have blush on.

Up until this past year I have always searched for THE color. Everything I tried was either too hot pink, too peachy, or just not pigmented enough for me to bother with it. I was lamenting this fact to my friend Anthony at my local Dillards Bobbi Brown counter. He informed me that Bobbi had made a blush specifically for pale people. WHAAATTT???? How had I not known about this???? He then swept her Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antiqua on my cheeks and I was in love.

I'm not posting a pic of it because I don't think the color on the website looks anything like my actual bronzer. It's a beautiful peachy-pink with a hint of shimmer. It doesn't have too much shimmer though so you can wear it every month of the year. It doesn't scream summer, and I don't even think of it as a bronzer because it's so unlike any bronzer I've ever seen or used. It has the perfect amount of pigment so it shows up without overpowering your face. It is $33 which is more than I usually ever pay for blush but I've had it a year - using it every day - and I still have plenty of it. In my opinion it's worth it.

If you live in the OKC area, you can find Bobbi at the Penn Square Dillards or at Balliets on the Classen Curve. You can also order it online, of course. Enjoy!!!

You and Me

2011-04-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

I've never been a huge Dave Matthews Band fan. Sure, I think I owned one cd of his back in the day and I've always enjoyed the saxophone on the song "Ants Marching", but I've never tried desperately to get concert tickets and I've never even downloaded one of his songs on ITunes......until now that is. I was driving along this past week when a relatively new (I assume) song of his came on satellite radio. The words touched me and I immediately thought of my husband. It's called "You and Me". I didn't spend tons of time paying attention to the verses but the simple chorus lyrics are

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby

You and me together, yes, yes.

Ryan and I have been through quite a bit together. I know that there are certainly other couples that have been through so much more than we have, but I do feel we've been thrown some curveballs in our eight years of marriage.

We have a child with a chronic life-threatening disease. Cystic fibrosis is a part of our everyday lives. There are times when it is very challenging and scary but I will never forget what Ryan said to me just hours after Hayden's official diagnoses came through. He made a decision for us that we were not going to be a "woe is me" family. We weren't going to go through life acting like Debbie Downers and feeling sorry for ourselves. Furthermore, we certainly weren't going to raise Hayden with that mindset. We were going to hold our heads high and, through our faith in God, our support from family, friends, and each other, we were going to stay positive. We were going to give Hayden as normal a life as possible while giving her every chance to succeed in a life that would already provide many challenges. I have forever been thankful that he stepped up and made that decision for our family in that very trying time. And I think that's another reason I love this song. There is a line that says:

And when the kids are old enough we're going to teach them to fly.

Isn't that what every parent wants for their children. To raise them with such love and support that they can grow up to be confident enough to fly - to soar, even- toward their goals in life. I want my children to belive there are no boundaries to what they can accomplish if they work hard and put their minds to it.

In addition to facing the CF diagnosis together, we have supported each other through times of anxiety and depression, the loss of a parent, the loss of many grandparents, the loss of a job and the ensuing job search, and the list goes on and on. Together we have made it through it all, standing side-by-side, loving each other more and more with every trial. I truly believe that, like the song says,........ together, he and I can do anything. Just try to stop us...........

Painted Chevron Rug

2011-04-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, friends. Pu-LEASE tell me you follow the blog Tater Tots and Jello!!! She has some of the greatest craft and decorating ideas. EVER. Well, maybe I should actually hope that you don't follow her because, if you do, this post will be redundant. Oh well, it's too good not to share! Read her post in detail to get all the info. I WILL be making one of these as soon as I finish my Kiki Creates wreath. I'm just not sure if I want to make one for my entryway or for the nursery. Hmmmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Painted Chevron Rug from TaterTots and Jello

The Nursery Plans (thus far)

2011-04-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm a planner. I start planning things like Hayden's birthday parties (Pink Poodle theme this summer) and what she's going to wear for Halloween waaaaayyyyyy before it is necessary. You combine that with the fact that I live for an excuse to re-decorate and, OF COURSE, I'm going to have the nursery planned at only 14 weeks into pregnancy! So when we found out a couple weeks ago that we are having a boy! (Ian Bradford. We, of course, already had that picked out going in!) I immediately started pulling together ideas. Well, ok. If I'm honest, I'd already picked out some bedding I liked a couple weeks before our ultrasound. :)The thing is, it was custom bedding and, the more I thought about it, I really didn't want to pay almost $400 for crib bedding. I knew I could use that money in other areas of the room. So this past week I started combing the internet searcing for something else I liked. I want this room to be on the modern side with dark walls and white furniture. Here is what I found and what I have come up with so far: (click on the links to visit the websites and see things in better detail)

Mod Dot bedding from SkipHop

My plan is to paint the chair rail in the room white to match the white crib and trim and then paint the walls the color of the darkest dot. I order the fabric swatch card because in the pic I can't really tell if that color is chocolate or dark grey or a dark grey-ish brown. Whatever it is, I'll match it.

Below the chair rail I am going to paint an over-sized argyle pattern with some of the other colors found in the bedding. I can't wait to get started on that project! I will painting the dresser we have the blue color and then glazing it and adding colorful knobs. Should be super cute and should stand out against the dark walls and other white furniture pieces.

Ok, here's where I have been having fun.....what to hang on the walls?????? Etsy to the resue!!!!

This is what I have found on Etsy to hang over the dresser. They come unfinished but I will paint all of them differently in the colors of the room. Some solid, some with pattern. Then I will hang them in a big collage. I've seen it done on an HGTV show one time and it looks adorable.

From the Etsy shop Bornagainfurniture

Next is what I'm pretty sure will be my favorite part of the room once it is completed. I found 8 different modern-ish prints in different Etsy shops that I absolutely LOVE!!! They will customized to the colors in the bedding so they all match. Some will be 8x10 and some will be 11x14 but they will all be in the same modern, white frame. I am going to hang them in a collage above the crib. Here they are..... again click on the shop links to check out their other items.

From AppleBlossomPrint

From AddigailDesigns

From AddigailDesigns From sugarfresh

From PosterPop

From AppleBlossomPrint

From Chaiv

So that's the main stuff so far. I need to find fabrics for curtain valances, rocking chair cushions, pillows, etc. along with lots of little details. But, considering I have until Oct. 1st, I think I'm doing pretty good on time. :)

Yummiest Mac 'N' Cheese Ever!

2011-04-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Talk about comfort food!!! This recipe for homemade mac 'n' cheese is divine! I found it on Martha Stewart's website so I knew it would be good. This recipe is for a 9x13 pan but I found it made waaayyy more than our family of three could eat. The next time I made it, I cut the recipe in half and did a square pan. You could also make it for a side dish but we had it as the main course with some french bread and fresh salad. Enjoy!!!

4 T. butter, plus more for baking dish
coarse salt and ground black pepper
3 c. elbow macaroni
2 (12 oz.) cans evaporated milk
1/3 c. skim milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 (8 0z.) packages extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I used the finely shredded and it was fine)
1 (8 oz.) monterey jack cheese, grated (again, I used finely shredded colby-jack) paprika

Directions:
1. Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Prepare macaroni according to directions; drain and stir in butter until melted.
2. Whisk together evaporated milk, skim milk and eggs. Add seasoning salt, garlic powder, 1tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. In another large bowl, combine cheeses.
3. Place 1/3 of the macaroni into pan, place 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat two more times. Once layers are complete, pour milk mixture over the top. Sprinkle with paprika.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Adorable Spring/Summer Wreaths!

2011-04-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

I MUST make one (or both) of these wreaths!!! They are from the blog Kiki Creates and are absolutely darling. In my opinion they are perfect for Spring and Summer. Now I just have to decided which wreath to copy first! If you like craft projects, you'll definitely want to check her blog out. Click on the pics to visit her blog for more details.

I'm off now to find a tutorial on how to make rosettes..........

Edited to add: Well, I didn't have to go very far in my search. She has a tutorial right on her blog for how to make the rosettes. Check it out HERE.

My new favorite products!!!

2011-03-29T16:17:00.001-07:00

Wow! What an anti-climactic return to blogging, huh? I did one post and then wrote absolutely nothing for about a week! I've really gotten out of the habit of writing regularly. I promise I will try harder from now on!

Soooo, I had a friend request that I do another "product" blog post. This is where I talk about my favorite purchases in makeup, skincare, haircare, etc. I have a slight addiction to makeup and I also have an addiction to telling everyone in my sight about makeup products that I reeeeeaaallllly love. I feel that everyone NEEDS to know that Loreal Infallible lipgloss in Sunset is the greatest lipgloss on the planet and that it looks good on everyone and that it really does stay on forever because it sets into an almost liquid lipstick........for example. One of my readers told me that, after reading about it on my blog, she purchased Clinque's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey and that it changed her life. Ok, so she might have been exaggerating slightly but, hey, I never underestimate the power of a good lip product. So let's get going, shall we? I have more lives to change.

1. Clinique 7 Day Scrub Cream

I am getting to that age where I have to use a scrub regularly. My skin just doesn't seem to have that flawless glow anymore (ok, I don't think it every really had that but you know what I mean). I was complaining to a friend who works at the local Bobbi Brown counter about how I am having hormonally-related breakouts and how I feel as though I have little bumps of blocked pores all over my face - my chin and forehead, especially. He walked over to the Clinique counter and got me a sample of their 7 Day Scrub Cream.

Well, I sure did run out and buy a full bottle after my sample ran out. I LOVE this stuff. It is effective but gentle. It is very important that the scrub you are using has little smooth spheres to scrub your face or you will be doing more damage. I won't name names but, I once had an aesthetican tell me that a brand rhyming with "schmaint schmives" was horrible for your skin because the apricot pieces were jagged, therefore making tiny cuts in the skin where bacteria could get in and hide. She made me promise to throw it away.

I have also found a problem, though, with scrubs that don't do a darn thing. They don't have enough scrubbing power. That's what I really like about this Clinique scrub - it's gentle but extremely effective.

I use it every morning so my skin is fresh and free of any dead skin before I moisturize and apply makeup. I can really tell a difference in my skin since I started using it. I'm still having to deal with hormonal breakouts since I'm preggers but I definitely feel this scrub is helping to keep it in check. It is $18.50 but you don't have to use much with each wash. They must have samples at least some of the time since I received one. You might ask for one at the Clinique counter.

2. CoverGirl Natureluxe Foundation

I have never been a huge foundation user. I have just never liked the way it felt or looked on my face. Up until lately I've been able to get by with just some concealer and powder but, at almost 30, I'm needing a little something extra to look my best. I haven't had much luck finding something I like. Everything I've tried has either looked to heavy (I HATE the look of stuff just sitting there in my pores) or it wasn't enough to actually be worth putting on.

So I decided to give the new CoverGirl Natureluxe foundation a try. After seeing Taylor Swift so fresh-faced and beautiful I just had to try it. (I am a marketer's dream!) Well, it in no way made me look as darling and precious as Miss Swift but I was very impressed with this product. In fact, minutes after putting it on my face I texted my bff to tell her she needed to get some.

First of all, I found the fragrance pleasant, but what I really loved was the silky feel it had when I put it on!! Apparently they don't call it "liquid silk foundation" for nothing! It blended perfectly and seamlessly and gave just the perfect amount of coverage - not too much, not too little. It didn't settle into my pores, which I'm a little OCD about. It also has SPF 10 for a little bonus. Since you can find it at the drugstore, it isn't a huge investment. I definitely think it would be worth your giving it a try!

3. Loreal HIP Shadow Duo in Electrified

Yeaaahhh, so the actual product looks nothing like this picture. I mainly just wanted you to know what the packaging looks like to help you find it easier at the store.

The thing that is great about Loreal's High Intensity Pigment (HIP) line is, just as the name implies, the pigment is very concentrated. What you see in the package is what you are going to see on your eyelid.

The purple side is actually a beautiful plum in person but, to be honest, I've never even used that side. The magic is in the other side. I don't even know what to call this fabulous metallic color. It's a gold-ish, silver-ish, metallic taupe-ish color. Was that helpful??? Honestly, you just need to go look at it at the drugstore. It is a fabulous shadow in the fact that it goes on perfectly, blends easily and it stays put. What I can't get over, though, is the color. I put it all over my lid up to the crease for maximum impact. You can wear it with anything because the color almost morphs based on what you are wearing or what other makeup colors you have used. I think it would probably change hues on different skin tones as well to where it could be flattering on everyone. A friend asked me the other day what eye shadow I had on, telling me she was mesmerized by it. Pretty cool, huh? Who doesn't want their eyes to be mesmerizing, for heaven's sake!

Now this eyeshadow is not for the meek. You could probably get a lighter application by using your finger but this is a very noticeable, metallic shadow. I use it primarily at night. Run out and get it before your next date night or night out with the girls and bat those lashes.

Ok, so that's it for this post. I have some more products but I'll save them for another post. I'd love to hear your feedback if you try any of these. Especially if you find any of them to be life changing.

I'm BAAAaaaaack!!!

2011-03-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, hello everyone!!! It has been almost a year since I posted here and it's wonderful to be back! A lot has happened since I was last here!

I took the year off because, on April 17th of 2010, I was crowned Mrs. Oklahoma and I needed to keep up a separate blog during my reign. Being Mrs. Oklahoma was such an amazing honor. I met so many wonderful people, had the opportunity to compete at Mrs. America, and I had the time of my life. It kept me very busy and I think my family is happy to have me back, but I will be forever grateful for the opportunites I had throughout 2010 to speak out about cystic fibrosis and create awareness for the disease. I never did quite get that blog all the way up to date (I took sooo many pictures at all my appearances!), but if you are interested in checking out what I did during my reign, you can see it all at www.mrsoklahomaamerica2010.blospot.com.

Just four days before I competed at the Mrs. OK pageant, my father passed away suddenly. He had been in the hospital for a few months battling pancreatitis caused by a bad gall bladder. He was supposed to recover but, on April 13th, he had a pulmonary embolism.

I was a complete and total daddy's girl. I relied on my dad so much and I never dreamed that one day he wouldn't be there anymore. Not while I was in my twenties, especially. It has been almost one year since he passed away and I still miss him so much. I miss his laugh, his quirks, his advice and his hugs. I miss watching him play with Hayden. I find myself worrying that she won't remember him as she gets older. I keep the last picture taken of them together in a frame in her room. She still talks about "Pa-Pa" every now and then. On his birthday she said "I bet Pa-Pa is having a huge birthday party in heaven!". Her comments about him always bring me joy and they remind me that he's never very far away. He's watching over us from heaven and the day will come where I will hear his laugh and will once again be swept up in one of his huge hugs. Knowing that brings me peace.

Well, my reign as Mrs. Oklahoma began with the ending of one life and, as we found out the morning of the pageant this year, the reign ended with the beginning of another!!! January 22nd was the day I passed on my crown to this year's Mrs. Oklahoma, Megan Murray. I took a pregnancy test that morning and, lo and behold, it was positive!!!!! It was fun getting to wake Ryan up by waving a pregnancy test in his face! We are extremely excited and Hayden is beyond thrilled to be a big sister. I find myself thrilled that she will be five when the baby comes because I am pretty sure I'm going to need her help! I am 11 weeks and a day today so things are truckin' along with the help of anti-nausea medication and the drive-thru at Taco Bueno. Their slogan doesn't lie. It IS more bueno, my friends. It is.

So, I figure that that's enough for me to throw at you in one blog post. I hope you'll continue to visit me as I talk about family (mainly Hayden), my favorite beauty products, and other random happenings in my life.

Ahhhhh, it feels good to be back. :)

I won!

2010-04-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

I won Mrs. Oklahoma this past weekend! I will try to keep up this blog with family stuff but please follow my adventures over at www.mrsoklahomaamerica2010.blogspot.com !

Hayden's Ballet Recital

2010-03-13T10:28:00.001-08:00

This free scrapbook design customized with Smilebox

M.I.A.

2010-02-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

My presence on this blog might be a little scarce for a while. My new blog, HERE, is becoming a more time consuming project than I realized it was going to be. Quite honestly, I started it because many of the other contestants for Mrs. Oklahoma had one and I didn't want to look uninvolved to the judges just in case they like to do a lot of web-surfing. While I doubt that one of the questions in interview will be "And how many posts did you write on your blog this past year" I didn't want to take any chances.
I was kind of worried when I first thought about starting a blog for Mrs. Greater Edmond that I didn't have enough to blog about. I am starting it only and month and a half out from the pageant, afterall. I really didn't see myself making tons of appearances between now and then when I have a long list of things to do such as: get a spray tan, find earrings for interview, practice walking in my 4 1/2 inch heels, buy a new pair of spanx, etc.
I was envisioning posts like "well, let's see, today I did 20 crunches in order to prepare for swimsuit...." Basically, I thought I'd actually be hurting myself with a last-minute blog. But as I was writing my first post I realized.....this was the place I could have a true voice for CF. It is my platform issue and that issue is my reason for doing the pageant in the first place, so it makes sense for me to talk about it there NON-STOP. I usually try to refrain from talking someone's ear off in public about the disease, the science, the foundation because, people, I could go on FOR-EV-ER. It just isn't always the right time and place to do that. But this new blog has become that place and I feel that I have been called to this time - that this time in our journey is where I am really supposed to step it up.
I made a list and I actually have something different I want to say about CF or the CF Foundation every day until the pageant. I made myself add some other things to the list but not too many because this is what it is about for me. If I'm being true to why I'm going through this process, this is what matters above all else.
Does anyone else feel that writing their blog is like therapy? I love to write anyway but, having a place to write about our stories with this disease and its difficulties, along with the hope and excitment I feel over the medical breakthroughs going on right now, is wonderful for me. Pair that with the possibility that it might actually affect someone, or draw much needed attention to this orphan disease and I am more motivated to write than ever before.
So, I probably won't be posting about mascara or burlap over here for a while. (I'll pause while you all shed a tear). I hope you'll follow me over to the new blog and join me in my journey to make a difference....while wearing 4 1/2 inch heels.

Come on over....

2010-02-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

and check out my new blog for Mrs. Greater Edmond! Leading up to the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant in April, I will post things about my sponsors, cystic fibrosis and the CF Foundation, my preparation for the pageant, and other random things that happen along my journey. I hope you'll check it out!
www.mrsgreateredmond2010.blogspot.com

It's just making it worse...

2010-02-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

I go back and forth between being obsessed with craft project blogs and home decorating idea blogs. I think because we are coming into Spring I am way more interested in the latter. I tell you that once you start looking at these blogs you cannot stop! You find one cute one and you see her blogroll. So you think "Oh, I'll just look over here and see who she looks at. Here house is so cute that I'm sure the houses she looks at are cute too...". And you know what?.....I'm right. They are SO CUTE/PRETTY! The thing is, looking at one, two or even three beautifully decorated houses gives me inspiration -looking at the 15-20 I have found is just making me be totally underwhelmed and unsatisfied with my own house!!! Thus begins a very dangerous cycle. It all started with the buffet table in my kitchen dinette area. I decided I didn't like the arrangement anymore so I decided to come up with something else. Well, since I don't have a huge "blow-money-on-the-house" fund, I was going to have to pull items for the table from other places in my house. Sooooo, after getting the table looking better I then had holes all over my kitchen counters. Well, we can't have that! So I pulled things from the bathroom and living room for the counters.....You see the cycle! Anyway, in case you are like me and you love drooling over other people's houses just a dreamin' away that yours will maybe someday even slightly resemble them, I thought I'd list some of the new one's I have found for your viewing pleasure. Just don't say I didn't warn you....

320*Sycamore

Joys of Home

Imperfectly Beautiful

Tatertots and Jello

Miss Mustard Seed

Back in the ICU

2010-02-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

My dad is back in the ICU. I have started a Caring Bridge website for him and all my updates will post there. You can visit it at www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradbaldwin .

The next Heidi Klum...

2010-02-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Hayden has been absolutely cracking me up lately! Each morning when she wakes up I can hear her go to the bathroom, flush the potty, and then retreat to her bedroom for her daily ritual - the ritual of dressing herself in a head-to-toe outfit that is, um, special. Each morning she will walk into our bedroom and say "Momma, do you love it?!" Then I ooooh and aaaaah over her for a while. The next part of the ritual is that she asks me to get the camera so she "can do some poses". I am trying not to laugh hysterically as she is doing these poses. I swear, people, I have not taught her these! I have compiled some and I thought I would share her amazing fashion sense with you.

And my favorite....You better watch your back, Rachel Zoe. There's a new stylist in town. She tells me that feathered tiaras are all the rage right now.

The only problem with this daily occurance is that, in the process of picking out each amazing ensemble, the completely tears her room apart. She is flinging things out of drawers and baskets and pulling things off hangers.....I have completely given up on trying to keep it picked up.

Here are some pics of Hayden's room after I have picked it up and put everything in its place:

And here's what it looks like after she has completely destroyed it in search of the perfect pants, skirt, shirt, shirt to go over that shirt, socks, shoes, headband and bow to clip on the headband:I bet Heidi would never let her closet look like that.

Jumping on the burlap bandwagon...

2010-02-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

It seems as though every home decorating, do-it-yourself blog I read is featuring projects done with burlap. I love everything I've seen and burlap is so cheap so you can do a lot of the projects inexpensively. I came across a tutorial here at Where The Heart Is for a burlap wreath and I knew I had to do it. I need a wreath for my door for all the months that don't have a specific holiday - something neutral that can work year round. I thought this would be perfect. It really was simple and easy to do. The steps are well outlined in the tutorial. I took the letter I had used on my Fall wreath and added for a little something extra. I think it works well with the toile fabric behind my door's window. If you are wanting to make a wreath for January, March (unless you actually have a St. Patrick's Day wreath), May, June, August, and September, give this one a try.

For other burlap projects, check out the sisters at Shanty2Chic. Those sisters love them some burlap and they know how to use it. Not every project uses burlap but tons of them do and you can get a lot of good ideas.

This picture says absolutely everything about why I wanted a dog...

2010-02-08T16:50:00.001-08:00

While Hayden was doing treatments the other night, Tux got off of "his" chair and jumped up behind her to cuddle her. He's such a gentle and sweet boy.

It's been a roller coaster I never want to ride again

2010-02-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

After my last cheerful post saying my dad was responding to treatment, things went downhill and fast. Aside from Hayden's birth and diagnosis, this has been the scariest week of my life.
The day after I wrote my last post, his lypase counts surged back up. They concluded that he must have a gall stone lodged in his common duct. What they didn't tell me or Mom at the time was just how serious it was becoming.
They told us on Wednesday morning that the gastroenterologist needed to take him for a procedure that would send a scope down past the stomach, through the intestines to the common duct where he could then remove the stone.
This is where my world fell apart in just a few minutes. The Dr. came back and told us he couldn't do it. Dad's insides were so swollen that he could get through the intestines. The stone was still there. He then told us that some of his lab work had come back and his kidneys were only functioning at 30%. His liver was becoming very jaundiced and he was turning yellow right before our eyes. His pancreas was in such severe condition that it was actually starting to feed on itself.
Within the hour we were talking to the new ICU doctor that had been assigned to Dad. He added to the list that his lungs were probably filling with fluid and that he was at an extreme risk for a blood clot in his lung. He looked us in the eyes and told us this was about as severe as it gets. His body was going through systematic organ failure.
Mom and I went into the hallway so we wouldn't upset dad and we cried into each other's arms. At one point I was practically hysterical. I just kept saying "I'm only 28. I still need my Daddy!". I could not imagine a world without my dad. Horrible things go through your head when you are put in this position.
He was immediately moved to the ICU where we were told he was their sickest patient. At this point, he had to get that stone out in order to get better but he was way too unstable and he never would have made it through surgery at that point. The ICU doctor later told Mom that he really thought we might lose Dad that night. I slept that night in a recliner in his room but I never really slept. I watched him like a hawk, watching his blood oxygen level on the monitor and praying he would make it through the night.
As soon as I could pull myself together I sent out messages on Facebook and started sending out prayer request email to practically everyone in my address book asking them to pray. And then amazing things started to happen. Over the past four days Dad started improving. His kidney function was improving (it's now 100%) and his jaundice started going away. He was able to go from needing 100% oxygen to only 45%. Numbers that needed to go down were going down and numbers that needed to go up were going up.
On the second day of Dad's improvement, the ICU told Mom that he couldn't believe the way he was improving. "There is no explanation for why he could be doing this well", he said to mom. "Yes there is", she said "There are people around the world lifting him up in prayer." "Well that has to be it then", he replied. He actually made enough progress that he was able to have his surgery today to remove his gall bladder, something they didn't think would happen for quite a while. They also think that "somehow" (prayer) the stone in his common duct wasn't lodged there anymore.
There were still risks with today's surgery. We were told that, because of his situation, he was at higher risk for heart attack or stroke during surgery and that it was very likely he would be on a respirator for a while afterward. None of those happened! They were able to remove that stinkin' gall bladder successfully and he came out of recovery with nothing more than a regular oxygen mask on his face.
We still have a long way to go. They need to do another test when his abdominal swelling goes down to make sure there aren't any other gall stones that escaped. They don't want another one making its way down to the common duct and starting this process all over again. Dad is probably looking at 1-2 months in the hospital based on how quickly he recovers and it will be about 6 months before he is fully healed and back to his old self.
Dad is truly a testament to the power of prayer.
The week before this happened I started a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther. It talks about God's providence and how, even in the times where you can't see Him you still know He is still there. It talked about how even though God has the power to reach down and create miracles on His own, He sometimes chooses to do His miracles through people down here on Earth. To me, those people are all the amazing doctor's who were helping Dad and all the friends and complete strangers who were praying everyday for him.
Do you think it was a coincidence I started that study days before this all happened? I think not.

Update on my dad

2010-01-26T06:43:00.001-08:00

Praise God! My dad's pancreas is responding to the treatment! He still has a long way to go but his lipase counts were down to 17,000 from 21,000 last night. Still a long ways away from 60 but, hey, we're headed in the right direction! He won't be having his gall bladder surgery today after all. They said they have to treat the pancreatitis first as that is the more serious issue of the two. My father-in-law (now my dad's doctor :)) said he will probably have the surgery on Thursday or Friday depending on how his pancreas looks. I appreciate the prayers and I know my parents do too. Thank you!

Please pray for my dad

2010-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

My dad went to the emergency room this morning with unbearable pain in his abdomen. They discovered from his bloodwork that he has severe pancreatitis. Your lipase counts for your pancreas are supposed to be around 60 and his were 21,000. No typo. I meant to have all those zeros on there. They have also discovered that he has gall stones. They think this is what caused the pancreatitis. He will have surgery tomorrow to remove his gall bladder. That is pretty routine and we aren't really worried about that. His pancreatitis is the problem due to the severity. My father-in-law is a physician (such a blessing) and he is taking care of my dad so I know he is in good hands. He was honest with me and told me it was serious but that he was going to everything he could to make him better. Please pray that my dad has complete healing of his pancreas and that his surgery goes well tomorrow. Thank you.

I feel like I've just been punched in the stomach

2010-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

I just finished a 45 minute cardio session and I think I need throw up. How many workouts do I have to do before this feeling isn't an automatic part of the deal? I despise cardio. I seriously hate having my heart rate elevated. I will do handweights and squats everyday if I need to but I HATE cardio. I tried to go running with my husband the other day and after only two minutes of running I felt like my lungs were on fire. It really is sad how out of shape I am.
I am having to buck up and deal with it because I entered the Mrs. Oklahoma pageant....and they are kinda expecting me to wear a swimsuit. I am determined to win the swimsuit award. I have been doing my cardio workouts, eating waaaaaay better and way less for that matter (only when I'm hungry instead of when things sound yummy!). I have started doing my toning excercises in our bedroom at night while Ryan is watching tv. I'm actually pretty proud of myself because I normally would have given up by now.
By the way, for the pageant I have been assigned the title of Mrs. Greater Edmond so, for all of you married women living in Edmond, I guess I'm representing you now! Hopefully with all this ridiculous cardio I can represent you well!

Products I love!!!

2010-01-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I've written a product post which is strange since I luuuuuv me some product! I have some new favorites I want to share and I thought I would also touch on my must-haves that I have mentioned in the past (for you new readers).

Ok, I will start with hair: My hairdresser, Brenton, gave me samples of Agadir Argan Oil. I'm pretty sure that if my house were on fire this is one of the things I would save. I have the kind of hair that isn't straight but it's not curly. It's an unattractive middle-of-the-road wavy. It is still fine in texture and if I ever let it airdry it is frizzy ugliness. Until now, that is!!! While my hair is still very wet I put a dime-sized amount (I have longer-ish hair) in my hand and distribute it through my hair. When I blowdry my hair, it makes it silkier and it defines my natural wave. I can even let my hair air dry for the first time in my life. Here's the other cool thing that I really don't understand since it's oil....I feel like my hair lasts longer before looking dirty and yucky. Go figure. Anyhoo, you can get it at Brenton's salon, Salon Avignon. For those of you in Edmond, it is at Rankin and Second across from UCO in the gray townhouses. He's all the way back in the corner.

Skincare: I really wish I had some drugstore secret weapon for you on this one but I don't. Since I am getting closer to 30 I decided this year that I really needed to start taking care of my skin if I want it to look good when I'm older. This means I have to wear eye cream EVERYDAY without forgetting anymore. I recently started using Bobbi Brown's cleansing oil (another oil, I know) and her Hydrating Face Cream and I have been able to tell a huge difference in my skin in a short amount of time. The texture is much smoother and my face is more supple, more cushiony, if you will. I was also having problems with sunscreen causing little whiteheads on my chin and cheeks so I started using the Skinceuticals brand from my dermatologist and I haven't had any problems. Lastly, my secret weapon! It requires a prescription but in that fire I would definitely be saving this little tube of cream! It is Epiduo and it has completely saved my skin. Last Spring I started getting adult acne. I had never had acne like that before and it was very frustrating. My derm. prescribed an oral antibiotic for the red, inflammed, cystic bumbs. It worked well after a couple of months and I have since been able to come off of that. He also prescribed Epiduo topical cream to combat all the little white bumbs (clogged pores) I had all over. I can honestly say that I don't have a single one now. But, if I go a day or two without using I instantly have three on my chin. My skin texture is now completely smooth instead of bumpy and it also helps with fine lines. Oh, and it's also been fading the hyperpigmentation spots left behind by former zits. It's amazing stuff so if you are having problems with your skin I highly recommend you ask your dermatologist about it!

Ok, now we are to my favorite type of product...MAKEUP!:
Here are my staples that I swear will never change:
1. Undereye concealer - Maybelline Mineral Power
It is very important that you do not use a thick concealer under your eyes. For one, it settles into your fine lines but mainly because trying to spread and blend something thick on that delicate skin tugs at it therefore causing sagging over time. This is a liquid and I personally like it better than any department store brand I've tried. There have been a lot :)
2. Blemish concealer - MAC (the kind in the pot)
I have used this since college. It covers the best and stays on the longest. What more do you need?
3. Powder - Maybelline Dream Matte Pressed Powder
Since I am soooo pale I like the matte look. If you are more olive toned or really tan you probably don't want matte. This perfectly cuts shine without looking cake-y. I have used Yves Saint Laurent matte pressed powder before. That stuff is $45 and I put this Maybelline powder up next to it any day.
4. Loreal Infallible Lipgloss in Sunset
Any time a new lipgloss hits the market I try it out. There is still no better gloss than Infallible. Sunset is a color that works over any lipcolor I have and I think would look good with a lot of different skintones. If you don't think it's a color for you then try a different one - just try the gloss. It sets into something more like a liquid lipcolor. The texture is perfect and it stays put!

Here are some of my new finds:
1. Flirt (Kohls) Far Out Lengthening Mascara-
I still love me some Cover Girl Lash Blast but my mom gave me a tube of this and I have been very impressed! Instead of a brush it just has a teensy little comb. I thought when I saw the comb that it would help lengthen and separate but that there was no way it could volumize. I was wrong! I was right about the first two but it actually got my lashes every bit as full as Lash Blast does and, with that comb, you can easily get mascara all the way onto the tips of your lashes. Doing your bottom lashes is a breeze. I will definitley buy this again.
2. Bobbi Brown Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Antique Gold -
This stuff is awesome! You can apply it with your finger for a look that's sheer or with a brush for a more opaque look. The texture is dreamy and it is super blendable. The best part is there is no re-apply! When I go to take my makeup off at the end of the day it is still there! I love the antique gold color because it can go gray or brown depending on what you are wearing. It has shimmer in it but you can control how much based on how you apply it (finger or brush). It is very easy to take from a day look to an evening look. Like the lipgloss, even if you don't like that specific color, just get one in any color. You won't be disappointed!

Well, is that enough information in one post!!!! I hope some of you find a new product to love out of all of this. Also, I LOVE to answer product questions (I dream of having my own column) so if you have any questions about what colors to use, what products to use, etc. I'd love to help! Just let me a question in the comments and I'll write you back.

Alright, I'm off to apply my eyecream before bed!

Yes, I am writing a post entirely about barbecue sauce.

2010-01-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

A while back my mom purchased some barbecue sauce from a lady outside Mardel. She used it for little smokies recently. When we tasted it we realized that it was the greatest tasting barbecue sauce we had EVER had. When I asked mom what it was she said she had thrown the bottle out after she poured the sauce out onto the little smokies and she had no idea what the name was. Now, had she meant her kitchen trash can I most certainly would have gone digging for that bottle. Unfortunately, my dad took out the trash right after that, so it was tied up in a bag in the large trash can outside.
So imagine my extreme excitment when she was outside Walmart today when I went to buy groceries!!!! I'm sure she thought I was crazy because she could tell I was really happy to see her!
Turns out the sauce is called Sweet Spirit Food's barbecue sauce. It comes in mild, medium and hot and it is $6 a bottle. We will be having barbecue chicken this week now. I'm practically salivating right now just thinking about it.
The sauce is made here in Oklahoma and part of the proceeds go to the Christian Life Missonary. You can read about their story and order sauce at their website www.sweetspiritoklahoma.com
Seriously, if you love food as much as I do, you will not be disappointed.

I'm getting the modge podge out as we speak...

2010-01-11T13:35:00.000-08:00

I had a party recently where part of what was on display was Uppercase Living. The rep, Janae, gave me the cutest set of coasters for my hostess gift.

She told me to put a layer of modge podge over the tops of them to keep the letters in place. Well, I stupidly went ahead and set them out thinking "I'll do it soon. They'll be fine in the meantime".

Enter Hayden Siler. In no time at all she had taken my cute little coaster that said "HOPE" and turned it into...well...

That.

Seems a bit too inappropriate to display in the living room now. I wouldn't want to offend anyone ;)

I should have known better. Afterall, she is the same girl who broke six Christmas ornaments and a snowglobe last month. I'll learn eventually.

Yep, I'm actually going to do it

2010-01-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

That's right. On April 17th I will be competing to win the title of Mrs. Oklahoma.

I have one year of pageant experience from my past. In 2001 I won Miss University of Central Oklahoma and went on to Miss Oklahoma, a preliminary to Miss America. It was fun and I was able to earn quite a bit in scholarship money, but I was in it for the wrong reasons and I didn't want to go back the next year.

At that time, my major was Music Theatre. I looked at the Miss UCO pageant as a chance to perform on stage and I knew that if I made it to Miss O I was going to get a gorgeous evening gown.

I picked a platform that was extremely worthy but that I wasn't all that passionate about at the time. At the end of Miss O I knew I didn't want to come back the next year. Even though other preliminary pageants were asking me to enter, I knew I couldn't travel around the state talking to children and adults about something that my heart wan't really devoted to. I would have felt like a fraud.

Fastforward to 2010 and my platform issue is the sole reason I'm entering this pageant. It isn't because I want to perform (there's no talent portion) or because I want a new dress (I'm going to wear the same one from Miss O if I can fit in it!). It certainly isn't because I want to parade around on stage in a swimsuit! It is because I think having a title could get my voice heard even more as I try to raise awareness of my daughter's disease and all the wonderful things the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is doing to save lives.

This pageant goes on to Mrs. America. Don't think I haven't been daydreaming in the shower about what I could accomplish if I were to win that title! One of the first things on my agenda would be to travel to the states that do not have newborn screening for CF mandatory. I would love to meet with their governments and get them to understand how important the screening is. It absolutely saves lives.

One of my REALLY big daydreams about winning the national pageant would be going on Ellen...or even Oprah! Ok, ok I know it's a major long shot but a girl's gotta dream. :)
First, I need to win Mrs. O. We'll see come April 17th!

Amen, Sister!

2010-01-03T17:10:00.000-08:00

I have written a couple of times about Brock, the little boy battling leukemia, asking you to pray for him. Well, his mother, Vanessa, has started a blog and a I want you to read a post she wrote. You can read it here. I have only been around Vanessa maybe ten times at the most (her daughter, Jaycie, is in Hayden's gymnastics class) but the more I learn about her the more I like her. She, like me, LOVES Glee and is as OCD about things matching as I am. Most importantly, however, I love what I have learned from her faith. Read her post. You'll see what I mean.

Our 2009 Christmas Season Review!

2009-12-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We sure did. I feel like we have done a lot of different things in the past couple of weeks so I thought I'd just post a whole bunch of pictures for your viewing pleasure.

One of our favorite things to do each Christmas season is drive around in the car looking for Christmas lights. Well, I hope all of you that live here in Oklahoma got to see the lights at Chesapeake. They were AMAZING!!! This picture doesn't do it justice. There were lights all over the campus and up and down both sides of Grand Avenue. They were LED lights in purple, pink, green, blue, red and white. If you missed it, you need to go check them out before they take them down. Another fun thing we did was attend Hayden's dance recital. Oklahoma Gold Gymnastics offers a class that is half dance/half gymnastics and it goes back and forth between ballet and tap each session. This was the end of a tap session so they did a tap dance to "Frosty the Snowman". It was very cute and Hayden is quite the performer (I have no idea where she got that!). At one point she stopped dancing to point at me and then to her to make sure I was getting her on film. It cracked me up. Here is the video:

Make a Smilebox greeting

Here's a couple of still shots:

Hayden with Coach Melinda:

With her favorite friend at dance class, Jaycie:

We had Christmas with Ryan's parents and brother the Saturday before Christmas because that's when Nathan could come home from Brooklyn. It's a really good thing he came early because, had he planned to fly in right before Christmas, it wouldn't have happened due to the weather. I didn't take many pictures that day but I did get a really cute one of Hayden and her Chippy right after she had decorated his head with a bow..
Tim and Sherry got Hayden a really cute pink sweater and some pink "ugg" boots from Target and I just had to take a pic of her all dressed up the next day because I thought she looked sooo cute.Well, we were snowed in on Christmas eve but we still had a great day watching the blizzard and staying warm by the fire. In the late afternoon we took our bath and got on our Christmas jammies and slippers.Hayden then helped me make sugar cookie dough and we cut it out into Christmas shapes and baked them in the oven. Hayden then got to paint some cookies with food coloring to leave out for Santa.
Before she went to bed she picked the perfect spot to set out Santa's cookies and milk on the fireplace hearth.As we were reading bedtime stories, we heard Santa's jingle bells from his sleigh outside Hayden's window! She was VERY excited! We told her that meant he was in the neighborhood but he couldn't come in until he knew she was sleeping. The next morning she woke up to find all the cookies and milk gone, a letter from Santa and lots of presents to open. It was a great Christmas morning.

We then piled in the car and went back to my in-laws' house to hang around for the afternoon. Hayden had tons of fun playing in the snow. Here she is making a good snowball:

With Mommy in the snow:
Helping Chippy and Daddy make the snowman:
The finished product! We then went to my parents house for dinner. She had a wonderful time playing with Tinkertoys with her Pa-Pa and getting rides on his shoulders.
And for one last Christmas present for Hayden (and me!) was the new addition to our family:Tux!!!!

He is a whippet and the sweetest boy! I don't have many pictures of him yet. I will post a lot more soon! Here's one in the car on the way home from the breeder's house in Tulsa.

We hope you had a wonderful 2009 and that you have a Happy New Year!

The new Hayden's Heroes store!

2009-12-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have set up a Hayden's Heroes merchandise store! You can visit it here and check it out! All profits from everything sold go directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for medical research. We have all different styles of shirts as well as license plate frames and even mugs!
I have designed an entirely new logo and these shirts will be what we wear for the Great Strides walk each year. If you want to join us for the next walk in May, you now have plenty of time to get your shirts!
Check it out!

Well, I WAS feeling good about my Christmas decor....

2009-12-11T06:47:00.001-08:00

...until I saw this on the Party Wishes blog. Don't think I won't steal that Grinch theme for next year ;)

Cystic Fibrosis Gala 09 - pictures

2009-12-09T14:05:00.001-08:00

I just received a disc of pictures from the gala's photographer so I can now share some with you!
The event was at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum and we had about 325 in attendance. It was a lovely evening! We raised over $150,000 for medical research!!!
Me and the hubby:

My lovely mother:
My bff, Kristin. In case your saying to yourself "Man I love her necklace!", it's Stella and Dot and she sells it. www.stelladot.com/kmiller. I had to help her out. She's just starting up her business :)

From left to right, Ryan's best friend Jonathan Pillow and his wife, Ensa, Ryan and me (obviously), Ensa's sister and brother-in-law, Jenni and William Choi.You might remember my post here about modeling in Dallas and meeting another model whose brother and sister both have CF. Well, Allison, her mother and father, and her brother and his wife all drove up from Dallas to attend the event. I was so thrilled they came. Here she is with her mother. Yes, I know she's gorgeous.From left to right (excluding me and Ryan): Jerry Streck (his wife Sage has CF and was given an award at the event. Sage wasn't well enough to attend so Jerry accepted the award on her behalf), Jake Moran (my friend Allison's brother who has CF), Ryan's parents, Tim and Sherry Siler.This is Jackie Dubois Miller with her husband and her little son, Max. Jackie has CF and is doing well enough that she was able to go through pregnancy and stay pretty healthy. Getting pregnant can be a huge risk for CF females. It is very difficult on the body and can cause a drop in lung function. Little Max attended last year as a brand new baby and wore a onesie that said "Find a Cure for My Mommy".
Ok, I'm not sure exactly who all is in this picture but I know that some of them are from the family that owns Cuppies and Joe. I wanted to mention that they donated all the amazing cupcakes we had for dessert in honor of their friend who passed away from CF. The cupcakes were WONDERFUL and we so appreciated the donation! Go give Cuppies and Joe your business if you live in the OKC Metro area! (While I'm doing plugs, florist shop Designs by Tammy from Edmond donated all the floral arrangements on our tables for the third time in a row this year. If you need flowers use Tammy!)

Ok, back to the pictures.

This cutie is Julia Kate Richter. She also has CF and was featured in a video that we showed that evening.Here is Aubry McLendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, presenting Jerry Streck with his wife, Sage's, David Kenworthy Kerr award. Mr. Kerr was McLendon's cousin and he passed away from CF when they were teens.My executive director, Celia Palmer, asked if I would have Hayden do a painting to give to Mr. McLendon as a thank you for his involvement. I presented it to him before he gave his speech. He has since sent Hayden a letter thanking her for her "masterpiece"! Here he is with Hayden's "Beautiful Monster", as she named it.
Here is the Faulk family receiving the Breath of Life award. This amazing family quit their jobs, sold their house, picked up their entire family and moved to Tennessee so their daughter, Capri, could be a part of a clinical trial for one the foundation's most promising drugs. Without people like them we wouldn't have the medications that are available today.
My father-in-law, Dr. Tim Siler, gave a medical research update. Behind him on the screen is the CF foundation's drug development pipeline. This bar graph has every single drug in development and it shows what phase it is in. There is sooooo much promise in that one graph!
Here is the canvas and outfit I did for Hayden's auction item all in place.
This was Capri Faulk's auction package. Considering Hayden is slightly Tinkerbell obsessed, my dad staked out this package making sure no one outbid him on it. Hayden was so thrilled the next morning when she woke up and found this in the living room.
It was a wonderful evening! Now I have a few months off before we start planning for next year! Put November 12th, 2010 on your calendars!

Christmas Traditions - Old and New

2009-12-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I have something very special in my home this year. It is the first year for me to have my grandmother's Christmas village. The buildings, part of the Dept. 56 New England Village, are beautiful but that's not why they are special to me. Every Christmas break as a little girl I would help Nana set up this village in my grandparent's home. I remember loving watching her lay out all her white batting to look like snow and I always enjoyed her telling me what each building was as the placed them in their exact spot. My favorite part, however, was helping sprinkle the fake snow everywhere once everything was in place.

My grandparents moved into an assisted living apartment in Ponca City last year due to Nana's declining health. Since she no longer had room for her village she asked if I would like to have it. Without hesitation I said yes. I asked if she would help me put it up for the first time when they were down for Thanksgiving. I will always cherish this picture of her with the village in my home and each year in the future that I put up this village, I will think of her. I can't wait to have Hayden help me each year and I hope that she grows to love it as much as I do.One of the many things I love about being a parent is getting to continue cherished traditions from your childhood while also starting new traditions of your own. I decided that, out of the tradition of Nana's village, I would start Hayden her own Dept. 56 village and get her one piece from it each year. I decided on the The North Pole Village. It is very colorful and whimsical and I know Hayden will love it. Here is the first piece - The Twinkle Toes Ballet Academy:

I love picturing her passing both the New England Village and her North Pole Village down to her children or grandchildren someday, telling the story of how she and I put them up together every year. My mom has always said that I got Nana's sentimental gene. It's something we have in common that I love. She knows that each thing she passes down to me will be treasured and I hope that means something to her. When I told Nana that I was starting this new tradition she immediately said she wanted to buy Hayden her first piece. The fact that she has started Hayden's new collection means a lot to me. This way she will always be a part of the Christmas traditions - both the old and the new.

Holiday Crafting ADD

2009-11-27T19:51:00.001-08:00

I have been making stuff like crazy! The holiday season gets my creative juices flowing! The only problem is that I will be only halfway through one project when I get an idea for another one. Instead of finishing what I was working on, I abandon it to be finished later while I go start another one. This first project I actually started and finished in one day. That's because I decided two days before Hayden's tasting feast recital at school that she needed to wear a "gobble gobble" shirt. She wore it on Thanksgiving as well.
I had to show a pic of how cute the headband my friend Kristin made looked with it.

Ok, so since I was finished with the Thanksgiving shirt, I decided I would make Hayden an outfit to wear for her picture at the mall with Santa.

I had ironed the letters into place with my iron-on adhesive and sewn down one "H" when I decided I should try to make some cute new stockings. I have wanted the stockings with a leopard print ruffle from Ballard Designs forever but I have refused to pay $35 a piece. These, of course don't look identical but I think they have the whimsy to them that I liked with the other ones. For the initial I used the iron-on transfer paper you can print on. I printed my letters out from my computer, cut the letter out and ironed it on! That simple! Then I added one iron-on rhinestone for a little extra bling.

So that last picture shows all three stockings completed and hanging, but there was quite a period of time after the first one was completed before I got back around to the other two. That's because after making one stocking I was dying to move on to my Christmas pillow. I bought some pale green burlap at Hobby Lobby to go with the damask and leopard. I made it with an opening in the back so it can just slip over an existing pillow each Christmas season. It looks like the red and white ruffle is missing in the bottom left corner but it's actually just tucked under. I didn't notice that until I'd already uploaded all the pics. I ran out of damask but as soon as I get some more I am going to make two square pillows that say "joy" and "cheer".Once again, even though you are seeing the finished product, in reality, after just sewing one ruffle to the front part of the pillow the thought hit me - now that I have iron-on transfer paper, I can print out a vintage Christmas image, iron it on a t-shirt for Hayden and add a leopard print ruffle, and it will be SO CUTE!This was the easiest shirt I have EVER made! I found the image online, printed it on my transfer paper, trimmed the image out, ironed it on, sewed a ruffle around the neckline and Voila! It took twenty minutes! Since that one was so fast I actually did finish it before moving on to my next project. We do red and white lights on the outside of our house so I decided to do a Christmas wreath for our front door in the same colors. For some reason I don't think it photographed as pretty as it looks in real life. I feel like it looks fuller in person. The grapevine wreath was half-off of $3.99 at Hobby Lobby then all the sprays were half-off as well. I need to look at my receipt to see how much I spent on the wreath stuff but I know it was waaay cheaper than buying one ready-made.
I tucked one of these little red beaded birds in there. Loved him!
Another detail shot
That's it for the craft projects. As you could see I did eventually go back and finish my pillow and stockings but I still need to sew down the "ho ho ho" on Hayden's shirt. Maybe tomorrow. Right now, I'm worn out!

Ok, I didn't make these but I wanted to share with you that I found these cute shimmery cone trees at Dollar Tree for A DOLLAR! (obviously), I couldn't pass them up. Run out and get some while they still have some left! I'm going to put my tree up tomorrow. Hopefully I have some energy left!

Here's the proof!

2009-11-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

I have always told people who ask me if Hayden's hair is a pain to fix ,"Yes, because it's like she has two separate heads of hair!" The bottom half is straight and fine and the top is coarse and very wavy. It totally wants to do it's own thing. I have to confess I have used a straightening iron on her since she turned two. Well, every now and then I like to go back through all my pictures on my computer and just look at the ones of Hayden to see how much she's changed in the past three years. I came across these and just had to share. It's total proof of how crazy her hair is. Granted, this was right after a nap but it's not far off from what it is actually like. It's just longer now. These pictures are priceless.

Hayden, I'm pretty sure that first pic is going to have to go in the senior video at church someday. Won't you just love me for that?

Family Pics 09!

2009-11-15T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled with how these turned out! In fact, I could have posted a lot more but I figured you'd get the idea. My friend Molly took our pictures again this year (she and her husband, Bill, also did Hayden's adorable 3-yr. pics) and I think she did a wonderful job. She had the awesome idea to shoot at an abandoned ice house in Edmond that was right by the railroad tracks. She is running a special right now where, if you purchase the disc of all your edited photos, you get a free session. Having the disc is so awesome because not only do you have the ability to upload them to your computer and share them like I am, you can print them yourself which saves tons in the end. If anyone is interested in contacting her, visit her blog here and leave her a message on one of her posts. Thanks, Molly! These are my favorite ever!

The week in which I lose my mind...

2009-11-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's here, my friends! The week of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Breath of Life Gala. Ryan and I are the co-chairs for the third year in a row and this week always is one where I have a basquillion projects and I make about thirteen to-do lists every day. One big project I have every year is Hayden's Art Piece (or basket depending on what you want to do) of Love. There is an entire table in the silent auction set up for families of CFers to have items in honor/memory of their loved one. Some people do themed baskets but since there was an option to do an art piece I have always done that. Last year my canvas with the scripture "For this child, I have prayed" went for $300 so I decided to step it up this year and try to bring even more. I decided I would make a little girl's outfit that has the same theme as the canvas. Above Hayden's closet doors I have a sign that says "Such a big miracle in such a little girl". I thought that, given what the night was about, that phrase made sense so I decided to have my canvas say that and I would make the shirt to say simply "Miracle". Last year I did leopard print accents so I decided on zebra this year. I never remember to take "in progress" pictures so here are the finished products.
I painted the letters to match the fabric letters on the shirt. I am not going to lie, I really want to keep that outfit. Oh well, hopefully it can bring some good money Friday night! You might say a prayer that we have a successful night and that we raise a lot of money for medical research...and that I don't lose my mind before then :)

Just try and tell me you've ever seen a cuter Minnie Mouse

2009-11-02T19:29:00.001-08:00

"Mommy, I wanna take a picture where I'm saying 'Boo!'" With her God-Grandparents, Chris and Carol

Cute even from the back!
Next we went trick-or-treating to Hayden's favorite babysitter, Graham.
Graham's mom, Adrienne, didn't have any candy on hand so she gave Hayden a banana (which Hayden was thrilled about). Here she is talking on it like it's a phone.
They had the cutest new little kitty!
Hayden loves talking to their kitties.
Our last stop was to see Hayden's preschool teacher, Mrs. Holleyman. She was having a Halloween party at her house and was all dressed up.We all had a great evening. I told Ryan I would try to pick a costume next year that didn't involve tulle because he's had a heck of a time getting her in and out of her carseat the past couple of years!

2006 2007
2008

Extra prayers for Brock

2009-10-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of posts ago I asked you to pray for Brock, a little boy in the hospital who was just diagnosed with leukemia. Brock really needs your prayers right now. Also, please pray for his family as they go through this very scary time. Please read the link below to read the latest update on Brock. Thank you.
Brock's Caring Bridge Page

Pumpkin Carving Extravaganza '09!

2009-10-25T19:04:00.001-07:00

One of my fondest memories from childhood is carving a pumpkin with my dad every Halloween. I love looking at the pictures of each year to see the two of us planning our pattern, me watching him cut it out, and the two of us posing with it at the end.
Well, I decided that for Hayden I would take it one step further. Hayden got to pick out three pumpkins and carve one each with Daddy, Pa-Pa and Chippy. We are so blessed to have such a close family where all seven of us get together to do things all the time. What memories Hayden will have someday. I thought it would be neat for Hayden's Halloween tradition to be carving pumpkins with her daddy and her two grandfathers. I dressed Hayden up in her Halloween shirt I made her and we went to a church here in Edmond that sells pumpkins for her to pick out the three she wanted.This is what I got when I asked her to give me a happy smiley face:I love it! Here's a closeup of the shirt in case anyone wants to make one.I made turkey bean chili in the crockpot, set my table, and lit my pumpkin spice candles. I LOVE Fall! My table quickly went from this:To this:Hayden and Pa-Pa got to work on a classic Jack-o-lantern. (Just like the ones Dad and I used to make together)Hayden worked on her own pumpkin.

Daddy and Chippy are hard at work on theirs.Pa-Pa finishes his!Yuck!Being silly with Mommo and Mimi:Chippy is all done!Check them out!

My dad carved Hayden's name into the back of his pumpkin.I LOVE this picture. How neat it will be to take one of these every year. The pumpkins are now in place on the front porch:
Now without the camera flash:Perfect!

Thank you, grandparents, for making this a fun evening for Hayden (and for me!). I'm sure her memories over the years of pumpkin carving will be just as wonderful as mine.

This next trip down memory lane is just for you, Dad. (Killer wallpaper, by the way, Mom)

The "Hallelujah Chorus" is playing in my head!

2009-10-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, people! Those must have been some strong prayers you were sending up after my last post because Hayden got her swine flu vaccine today!!!!!! I went to her school this morning with the other home room mom to do an art project with the kids. It is part of our Festifall school fundraiser. Each class is do to a themed basket and a group project to be auctioned off. We chose for the class to make Christmas ornaments. Hayden normally would have been there and it made me so sad that she was missing it. Every now and then I would hear a child ask one of their teachers where Hayden was. Her friends miss her and she really misses them too. I left there this morning determined to find her a vaccine. I didn't care what I had to do or where I had to go, she was getting one! I first called her CF doctor to once again be told that theirs didn't arrive today either (big surprise) and to call back on Monday. Unfortunately they nurses have no idea when it's coming, they just keep being told by the state health department that they will get it. Well Monday wasn't going to work for me. I then called the cystic fibrosis clinic at Children's Hospital where Hayden used to go and talked to their head nurse, Debbie. Yeah, they didn't have them either. They've been getting the same story from the state. So then I called the Oklahoma County Health Department. That got me nowhere. "Hunny, you're gonna have ta take her to the open clinic like everybody else." "Maam, she has cystic fibrosis. I can't take her out to stand with 3,000 sick people for hours." "Well I don't know what to tell you." "Well, can't I just bring her to the health department office to get one?" "Nope. There's no one working today." "Obviously there are since you answered the phone" "Not the kinda people who can help you". Ugggghhhh! I got absolutely nowhere and was very upset by the time I got off the phone. What I wanted to yell at her is that I think it is absolutely ridiculous that the state will open up clinics to huge groups of the public before they've taken care of the people with underlying conditions who need it the most. SERIOUSLY! Just give the CF doctor 50 vials and go about your business with your free clinics!!! Or at least have a place at your office where we can take our children without exposing them to a bunch of stuff. Is that too much to ask!?!?!? Well, by this time I was a very determined momma. I was getting ready to call the state health department when i decided to get some ideas from my mom on where I should call. "Why don't you call the Logan county health department?" "You don't have to live in that county to receive the vaccine?" "I don't know. It's worth a try." I thought to myself before I made that call that if they didn't have it, I would get on the phone and call every county in Oklahoma until I found one. Hey, my grandparents in Kay county would love a visit, I'm sure. "Yes, my daughter has cystic fibrosis and I've been trying for over a month to find her a swine flu vaccine, and I've had her out of school and nobody in Oklahoma county has been helpful or can get it and I don't know if you have the injection or not ....(rambling)...but do you have any swine flu vaccines?" (please, Lord, please, Lord...) "Sure, we have some" WHAT! Just like that! "Do I have to be a Logan county resident?" "Nope, just come on up. But we close at 11:30 for lunch and don't open until 1pm. I would tell you to come then but we are usually pretty crowded so you might want to bring her later." I glanced at my clock and it was 11:03. I threw Hayden in the car and drove my little heart out up to Guthrie. It was 11:30 when I exited off the highway and I called them and was prepared to beg and plead that they stay open five more minutes until we could get there. "You're fine, hunny, just come on in." I teared up on the phone. Thank you, God for Logan county and their completely sweet and understanding nursing staff. Bless them. We made it and within 5 minutes she was vaccinated and we were headed to McDonalds. If only I had thought to call Logan county four weeks ago! Or even three, or two.... Anway, the important thing is that she has it. They said 7-10 days before she's fully protected against the virus so no school next week either, but that's ok. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that after a fun-filled week of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating she will get to go back and be surrounded by her friends and learn new things from her teachers. She is a social little thing and this has been hard on her. Get ready kids! Hayden's gonna be back soon!

Back from NYC

2009-10-20T18:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm back from a very successful shopping trip to New York City. This is an annual "event" for me, my mom and my mother-in-law (yes, we all get along that well and, yes, I know how blessed I am). We have been going every Fall Break for about six years. This year my friend Kristin went with us and she is officially part of the NY group now. I laughed as she said, "Not to make this awkward for you guys or anything but, I'm coming back next year". We would have invited her anyway. I think she can actually outshop us and the girl even had a back injury. Kristin and I became fast friends over the summer. She and Ryan went to school together and our moms teach together. Any time I would write a CF fundraising email, my mom would forward it to KayDell who would forward it to Kristin knowing she would know Ryan from high school. So for a few years she read emails about Hayden and, one day last winter, Ryan, Hayden and I ran into her and her girls at Unpluggits. We exchanged "Hello, nice to meet you"s and that was it. When my CF walk email went out in May I got an email back from her saying they had made a donation and that she and her girls would love to get together for a playdate. And that was it. On that very first playdate we had each other at "I make hairbows" (her) and "I made my upholstered headboard" (me). If we go a day without at least three text messages (we prefer talking but we have three kids between us!) then something is wrong. Don't even get me started on how much I love her girls and how much love there is going on between them and Hayden. She is a blessing in my life and I love her. So anyway, I don't usually take any pics on our NYC trip but I took a few. The first is of the Brooklyn Bridge and the others are just random pics either in the car or the airport. The last pic, you know, the extremely flattering one, is a perfect representation of what Xanax does to you while you are waiting for you plane. It's the only way we can fly without panic attacks. See, we were meant for each other.

Wow, that's a pretty one of me.

In other news, Hayden has her first modeling job this Thursday. She and I will be doing a photo shoot for Hobby Lobby modeling fleece fashions. The photos will be featured on one of the idea brochures they have hanging around the store. Last I checked, a pic of my head is still dangling from the aisle where they sell all the beads wrapped in a beaded head scarf. It's kinda weird to be shopping on that aisle and have your face staring back at you the whole time. Anyway, look for it around the fleece sometime this winter.

Lastly, a prayer request. Please pray that the swine flu vaccine will actually make it to Hayden's CF doctor this week. I have had her pulled from school for three weeks now thinking she was going to get the vaccine a while back. If this flu can kill healthy children it can certainly put a CF child in the hospital very quickly and I haven't been willing to risk it. Well, each week they either haven't made enough, it went to the state health dept. first, they got the mist that people with underlying conditions can't have instead of the injection etc. etc. I really want her to be able to go back to school. She is getting bored with me and she really misses her friends. The health dept. told Dr. Reyes that he would be getting some injections this week but they couldn't say when. Please pray that this actually happens, that Hayden gets one, and that she can go back to school.

That's all for now.

Holiday Cards

2009-10-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

Some of you already know this but, for those of you who don't, I have a little business on the side I call Polkadot Daisy. I do holiday photo cards, birth announcements, birthday and shower invitations etc. Since the holidays are fast approaching I thought I would post some of my designs to give you an idea of what I do. If there is a design you like I can add your pics and info to it but I especially like custom orders where you tell me what style and colors you like and I can design something new. Pricing for a 4x6 is $1.00 a piece and 5x7s are $1.50 a piece, both with a minimum order of 30 cards. If you are interested in getting pricing for cardstock invitations or glossy cardstock Christmas cards just let me know. The above pricing is for photo paper. The first Christmas card you see was ours from last year. I designed it as two separate glossy postcards and they were held together in the top corner by a snowflake-shaped brad. Here are some designs:
Thanks for looking!

There's no such thing as a chance meeting

2009-10-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those moments where you can instantly tell that God put you there? Sometimes it is for your benefit and sometimes it is to help others. Today was one of those days for me.
I take Hayden to gymnastics on Thursday mornings and, even though I have pulled her from school, something told me to keep taking her to "nastics". She has made a new friend in class this session and her name is Jaycee. This session has been going on for weeks and I have always noticed Jaycee's mom and little brother but, until last week, we had never spoken.
Last week I decided to sit near her and strike up a conversation. She was very nice and her little boy, Brock, who will soon be a year old, is completely adorable. We got onto to the subject of swine flu and about how scary it is for those of us with small children. I mentioned that Hayden has cystic fibrosis and that I had pulled her from school. She asked me some questions about Hayden and her story and we continued on with the normal chit chat until class was finished.
This morning at class I sat down behind her and joyfully announced I had gotten my new Ballard Designs catalog in the mail and that I had brought it along to look through during class. It never got opened.
She turned to me and instantly told me that Brock had been diagnosed with luekemia over the weekend. Tears welled up in my eyes immediately as I listened to her tell me that he had suddenly, just since last week, developed a pin-prick looking rash, blood blisters in his mouth, and bruises on his face that couldn't be explained. Within a weekend their life had changed.
She told me that she still came to class because they were trying to keep everything as normal as possible for Jaycee. Brock has already started blood transfusions and chemo and it is a lot for their family to get used to, especially a three-year-old little girl.
There was such strength in Vanessa. She talked about her faith and how it is getting them through. Some people would fall apart but here she was at Oklahoma Gold not even a week later, talking to me about it while she let her little girl jump on the trampolines and swing from the trapeze for some normalcy.
She looked at me and said, "I don't mean this to sound weird, like I'm glad Hayden has CF or anything, but I am so glad that you were here and that you have been in this position because you understand what I'm going through." She knew that I understood the pain you feel when a doctor tells you there is something wrong with your child-that I have felt that fear and have experienced that heartache. We talked about how we had both had an intuition during pregnancy that something wasn't quite right. We talked about prayer, and how you can't fully explain to someone who hasn't experienced it that you can actually feel the love and prayer surrounding your child and your family. How it can bring you an unexplicable calm in what is your hardest hour.
I don't know that Vanessa and I really have much in common. She said she used to be a high school math teacher. To say that math is a challenge for me would be a major understatement. But instantly we do have something in common. We are bonded by something we would never have chosen to be a part of but are making the best of.
I looked at her and told her something my mom told me after Hayden's diagnosis. "God chose you to be Brock's parents. He picked you to take care of His son because He knew you could do it. He knows your strength." "I know", she replied.
I know full well that everything in life is part of God's plan. With Hayden's CF it has been shown to me over and over again. In talking to Vanessa I can tell she knows it too.
Please pray for Brock. Thank you.

Catching Up!

2009-10-07T12:47:00.001-07:00

Ok, let's see.....what has been going on since the last time I posted....Well, first off, Hayden had school pics at the end of last month. I made sure to take some with my camera before school. Since the background was in autumnal colors, I thought this shirt would be cute and I added (read: hot glued) the orange crocheted flower to an existing headband. I think she looked pretty cute but since the pictures were going to be after recess there's no telling what her hair looked like in the end.
I am going to NYC in a week and a day!!!! Yay! There's nothing more I really have to say about that one, I guess.

I decided to pull Haydie out of school until she can get her swine flu vaccine. I have already had her out about a week and I thought she was going to get vaccinated this week. Unfortunately, the first round of vaccines that were delivered this yesterdat are in nasal mist form. People with underlying conditions, like Hayden, can't do the mist and instead need to wait TWO MORE WEEKS for the injection. I'm still trying to figure out why, considering the people with underlying conditions were supposed to be the first to need and receive the shot, they first made a version that those people can't even have! Anyway, I absolutely hate it for her that she isn't getting to go to school. I'm also kind of missing my alone time a wee bit (understatement), but I am trying to come up with fun and creative things to do around here so she doesn't get bored and I don't go insane. :)

Yesterday we went to see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". It was cute but I lost her about half-way through. It was her first time seeing a movie in the actual theatre so I didn't know how she would do. I also picked up a bunch of library books and I think I will probably switch them out every three days or so to keep it new.

I think this afternoon we will probably make some cookies together and then I'm sure I will precede to eat them all. I'm pretty gifted in cookie eating. I can take down two cookie sheets of No Bake cookies in no time. Not that I ever have.....just saying....;)

Something fun that we did this morning was a tissue paper art kit that I got at Best of Books for about $10. It was really easy for Hayden to do and she and I had a lot of fun with it. You peel off the paper bit by bit, scrunch up the tissue paper squares, and stick it to the shape. Here's some pics of the process and her masterpieces:

Ryan and I are chairing the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Breath of Life Gala again this year. We have LOTS of money still to raise in order to meet our goal. Ninety cents of every dollar donated to this foundation goes straight to medical research. I won't get on my soapbox right now but, the medical advances for CF are amazing right now. There is a drug in stage 3 clinical trials that will be life-changing for Hayden. She will be able to take three pills a day and do no other treatments! It will correct the underlying defect rather than just treating the symptoms. She should no longer even have a mucus problem on this drug. It will be almost as if she doesn't even have CF! We need this drug to make it but it takes funding!

There, that was a mini version of my speech :) The gala is November 13th. If anyone wants tickets or would like to donate just let me know!

Let's see, what else...I have a modeling job the next two nights at the Skirvin greeting people from 9 to midnight and a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon for The Oklahoman. I am going to be sooo tired! But hey, if they want to pay me a very nice hourly amount to stand there with a smile on my face and say "hi" to people, I'm all for that. I think I'm going to check out Mistletoe Market on Friday and then I'm doing Race for the Cure on Saturday morning. I'm sure I'll have some pics from that. We are walking in honor of my mom's best friend, Donna, who just recently found out that she had breast cancer. She is cancer-free now as they caught it in time.

I think that's all. I'm pretty sure this might have been my most exciting post yet. Or maybe not.

Dis-in-ey On Ice!!!

2009-09-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

We took Hayden to "Dis-in-ey On Ice" (as she calls it) last night and she loooooved it. I was prepared for it to go the other way. I knew we could get down there and she could get scared, bored or tired but she was completely into it until the end. I especially expected her to get tired because she didn't take her usual nap. She came out of her room after thirty minutes telling me she was "just too pumped about Dis-in-ey On Ice to sleep". She dressed up as Ariel complete with purple eyeshadow, lipgloss and cheek glitter.

Here she is giving me a wink of excitment...

Aaaaannnd here she is not two minutes later passed out. That no nap thing will always catch up to you.

We, of course, had to blow some of our money on things like tinkerbell mugs and light-up whirlygig toys...

Oh, the excitment!

I swear that my pics of me as age a child show a resemblance. Right now she doesn't even look like she could be mine.

You can't come to the fair and not have a corndog! Oh and yes, Ryan and I threw down on a funnel cake during act two.

A few pics from the show. I couldn't get a good one of Ariel.

Ok, this is my absolute favorite pic from the evening. This was taken right as Tinkerbell was unveiled. While I'm sure that Ryan's reaction was really for Hayden's benefit, I like to think that he was every bit as excited to see that little tinker fairy as she was.

Fun times were had by all. Even if the corndogs were $7.

Getting my craft on...

2009-09-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

I have been hunched over either my gluegun or sewing machine for the past two days. Man, when I get in a mood to do crafty stuff I basically do nothing else. My husband had to go get Hot 'N Ready pizzas tonight so he could have something to eat for dinner. Anyway, here was yesterday's project. It is a wreath inspired by the one I saw here. I wanted one that looked Fall-ish and would work for both September and November (I have a different one for Halloween). Wreaths like this are soooo expensive! Even when they are half price at Hobby Lobby they are still around $35. So I bought a green foam ring and a bunch of individual twigs, berries, pumpkins, feathers, etc. in HL's seasonal floral isle. They were half price this week so they were anywhere from $1-$1.50 a piece. Instead of the heavy (more expensive) gold letters they sell, I got one of the flat, plain, wooden ones back in the craft dept. They are around $2 and I just painted it cream and dry brushed it with gold craft paint. After hot-gluing all my floral pieces I tied ribbon through the letter and the wreath and voila! It was done. Here it is:Satisfied with that, I moved on to sewing. Walmart has their girls plain, long-sleeved shirts out right now in all the colors, but for now I just bought a black one and a white one to get started on my projects. I made the first one to say "Preschool Rocks" and I cut the letters out of lots of different fabrics. You definitely want to use fusible webbing on projects like this. It helps hold your letters in place while you stich them. I added a star to the back up by the collar. For the white one I did a cross, again with a detail on the back.
I also made an owl applique out of a few different fabrics but I need to get a chocolate brown shirt to put it on. I have lots of ideas still so I'm sure I'll be posting more!

My Little Soccer Player!

2009-09-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Hayden had her first soccer practice last night with "Coach Dan" through the YMCA! She looked so stinkin' cute!
I, of course, had to add pink in the outfit, er, uniform somehow! When they first got there Coach Dan had everyone sit down to decided their team name. Hayden offered up "The Giraffes" for her choice. My guess is this was because we had been to the zoo earlier that morning but I could be wrong. Another kid said "The Bus" should be the team name and Hayden's friend Karson said he liked "The Dinosaurs". I don't know if asking a bunch of three-year-olds was really the best decision but kuddos to him for trying. I still don't know what they came up with for the official name. Here's their huddle:Ryan and I were actually really impressed with how well she stayed with the ball and and far she could kick it! We were proud parents.Way to go Haydie!

A post about the man in my life...

2009-08-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

My husband, Ryan, has started running again. Now I don't mean jogging along every now and then. I mean every other day (at least), six to eight miles, in very professional looking Nike gear. Oh, and have I mentioned that he does this shirtless and he is now almost the same size as me? Ryan ran track all the way through high school and still holds a record at Tulsa University where he was their golden boy. Since being married and having a kid, life kinda got in the way of him running. Well, he decided he wanted to get back in shape and he got after it. With only six months of training he is totally kicking butt at weekend races, usually winning his age group. Well, his Memorial alumni race was this past weekend. All the high schoolers run to determine their placement on either varsity or JV and quite a few alumni show to race as well. So basically, Ryan, age 35, was trying to beat a huge group of seventeen-year-olds along with alumni that have graduated in the past few years so I don't think they should even count as alumni. There were a few other guys his age but not many. Here are some pics:

Here's the starting line. Yeah, I can't find him.

Aaaaannnnnnddddd, here's my husband's body. Here's him crossing the finish line. Oh how I wish it were closer so his facial expression was bigger. I'm pretty sure that you would hear "Chariots of Fire" playing in your head just like me.Chatting it up with some other VERY RECENT alumni:And here he is giving Hayden his medal. That's right. I said medal. Out of those basquillion teenagers my husband came in 9th overall. WAY TO GO, HUBBY! I am very proud of you. But listen, if your weight comes within 10 pounds of mine we're going to have to talk.

Ok, Ryan story number 2: So, I have a had a rough couple of days. I am doing much better so I won't go into any details but my sweet hubster came home last night with ...

and...and last but certainly not least (in fact, it may be the most important)...There were actually three chocolate bars last night. I honestly have no idea what could have happened to the other two so quickly.

So I got to go to bed last night eating milk chocolate and catching up on if Bradley Cooper is dating Jen or Renee, what drama is going on with the Gosselins and checking out who was on the worst dressed list this week. It was heaven.

Babe, you're the best. I'm a lucky gal.

First Day of Preschool!

2009-08-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, Hayden started preschool yesterday and I do happen to think that she looked completely adorable. The rosette trim you see on her shirt I have officially added to everything. The chocolate version is wrapping a lampshade in her room, the pink version and been on the edges of shelves, frames, the bottom of capris, etc. In other words, I think I am addicted to the rosette trim from Hobby Lobby. Anyhoo, here's my cutie, complete with odd new smile when saying "Cheese!" I had to do some reminiscing along the way.

Last year:

This year:Last year:This year:Ok, here's more pics from this year:

Here's Haydie with her "boyfriend" Austin:

God sent me to wear Badgley Mischka

2009-08-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I drove down to Dallas for a new modeling job. Market was going on at the Dallas World Trade Center and my friend Cortney got me a job modeling in one of the largest showrooms down there. So Thursday through Sunday I wore designer clothes and four-inch heels for ten hours a day. It was very fun and a nice little break but VERY tiring. There are a lot of different designer lines within this one showroom and all seven of us models wore a bit of everything but, since I was the tallest, I wore mostly Badgley Mischka because their gowns are crazy long. This is me with the Badgley rep, Heather. I absolutely loved her. She would want me to let you know that the dress I'm wearing in this pic is NOT Badgley. If I remember correctly, she wasn't a fan of this dress.

She lives in Soho (NYC) so hopefully when I'm up there in a couple months I can see her. She said she'd tell me all the places I need to check out shopping wise. Yay!

This is our little changing closet. All of us changed in here together and it could get a wee bit cramped. It's a good thing we all really liked each other.

This is me wearing another unfortunate dress. Gee, what decade does this remind you of?
Here is a pic of me and model Hailey at dinner one evening at LaDuni (yum!) with another model, Erica's, fingers in front doing a peace sign. With this pic I mainly just wanted you to be able to see the supercute feather headband my mom got me at Steinmart. People, they have a million cute headbands right now. You must go.
Ahhhhh, finally some Badgley! Yeah, a "1,2,3" would have been nice so I would have been smiling instead of giving the camera a death glare but anyway....more importantly, this is Allison. Now I'm getting to the part where I explain why God put me in Dallas this past weekend and it wasn't really to wear Badgley, it was to meet Allison.

The very first morning of market all of us were sitting around some tables eating the catered breakfast in the showroom. I was the newbie so I was trying to get to know everyone. At some point Cortney (whom I already knew) was asking me for an update on Hayden's health and how she was doing. I could tell Allison was listening quietly and eventually she asked me "Why is your daughter doing breathing treatments?" I told her Hayden has cystic fibrosis and her mouth dropped open. "Both my siblings have CF!"

I could not believe it. There are only around 30,000 people in the entire nation with CF and here I come for a modeling job and meet a girl whose brother and sister have it!?! Even though Allison doesn't have the disease she has been affected by it her entire life. She was there when her siblings were going in and out of the hospital. She has worried about them along with her parents. She knew exactly what I was talking about when I rattled off all Hayden's medications. I was blown away. I fully expect to meet CF family members when I go to CFF events or conventions but the chances of this happening are slim to none and it blew me away.

Her brother is in his early 30s and her sister in her late 20s. They aren't doing super great but are doing as well as can be expected for their age, I guess. They have outlived what the life expectancy was when they were born. Her brother's lung function has unfortunately dropped to only 25% after getting the flu. He and his doctors are doing everything they can to bring that number back up.

God was completely a part of our meeting. For her, I think I was able to be someone who understands what her life has been. Her family really hasn't done much with the foundation so I don't know that she has had many people to talk to that get it...really get it. For me, she gave me something huge. She put a fear to rest that I never really even openly talk about. It's not even a fear over Hayden's health but about the people in her life.

Even now as I write this, I'm crying. Until the day it happens, I will have in the back of my mind that someday Hayden is going to realize she is different. She's going to realize that none of her friends have a vest, and three hours a day of treatments, and the other kids at school aren't taking pills before they eat. Someday I am going to have to tell that sweet baby that she has a disease. I, of course, won't put it that way but, the truth is, someday she will have to know. How I wish she could stay blissfully unaware of the differences between her and other kids. Right now it is fine. Right now the other kids don't think anything of it but the day will come when Hayden will be "different". The day will probably come where she won't want everyone to know she has CF.

Since the beginning, I have prayed for Hayden that God would bring special people into her life. I want her to find precious friends that will love her for who she is and completely support her. Friends that will never leave her out of a slumber party even though she will have to come with nebulizers and a vest. Friends that will make her feel just like everybody else and not "the sick girl". Hayden has so much to give and the thought that she would ever be left out or miss out on anything because of her disease kills me.

Not only was Allison able to tell me about the wonderful friends her brother and sister had growing up, more importantly she was able to tell me about the amazing wife and husband God brought to them. She and I both cried as she told me how their spouses were so supportive when they found out about their disease. They both said it didn't matter to them. They loved them for who they were and were in it for the long haul. For them, this means marrying someone who will spend most their time in the hospital. For them, this means organizing nebulizers and medications and doctor's visits 24/7. For them, they had to be willing to commit themselves to someone who might not have that much time left. Can you even imagine how special a person like this has to be? Someone who loves them NO MATTER WHAT. Someone who never once looked at them and saw a disease.

I have prayed for this person for Hayden. I know it's a long time from now but, as a mother, I worry. Something about talking to Allison and hearing the stories of her siblings' spouses brought me comfort. It wasn't a chance meeting. It was a meeting planned by God disguised as a modeling job. The Badgley Mischka gowns we were wearing were just icing on the cake.

There's a party on my eyelids!

2009-08-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Why is it that one little tube of eyeliner can make my day, scratch that, month sooooo much better? I don't know, but all that matters is-it does, thankyouverymuch. I have all but given up on potty training. Yes, Hayden is three and yes, she starts school in 22 days and yes, she is supposed to be potty trained to go to school. I GIVE UP! Oh, and if I hear from anyone else that says their kid potty trained in one day when the day they turned two I am going to scream in their face. Why do I only hear of these people?!?!?!? Where are all the other people whose kids are in total control of using the potty, know full well how to do it, have even decided on certain days that they are going to do it, but then go back to pooping and peeing in their underwear all the time because they just DO.NOT.WANT.TO potty train? Anyway, it has once again become a power struggle and I was loosing my mind so I have put her back in Pull-Ups for now until she decides she wants to do it. Sooooo, back to the eyeliner story. My sweet mom-in-law called me the other day when she knew I had already cleaned poop out of underwear three times by lunchtime (CF kids poop a lot) and told me she was coming over. She told me to get lost and gave me cash to go spend while I was out doing WHATEVER I WANTED ALL BY MYSELF. So, I know everyone will be shocked at this but...I went straight to the mall. I did not pass go, I did not collect $200, I marched myself right on up to the Clinique counter and bought a new lipstick. Already feeling better by this point, I went down to Victoria's Secret and got my FAVORITE (I'm all into using caps for effect in this post, if ya can't tell) new makeup item. Brown Glitter Liquid Eyeliner. Now I don't mean a subtle shimmer. I am talking ga-litter! But here's the thing: I doesn't look like I put something on my face I got at Limited Too (or Justice, whatever), when drawn in a thin line, it is still very grown up looking. It just happens to be way more fun than any other eyeliner you will ever own in your entire life. Because it has GLITTER in it and that just makes everything better, doesn't it?!? It does for me apparently. Because after that I was all prepared to go back home refreshed and ready to face however much poop necessary because I had new makeup. How can you be upset when you have a party on your eyelids? Well, you just can't.

Another cool thing about a short haircut...

2009-07-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

The nap hair is quite impressive!

My baby is three!

2009-07-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Let me first start by saying that if I had known my hard drive would crash, sending my computer to the computer-fixer-man for a sweet forever, thereby leaving my last post up twelve days too long, I most certainly would not have written it about my acne! That being said, since it was up so long more of you left comments and I am happy to know that I am not the only female experiencing this freakish, probably hormonal, issuse in her late twenties. I have an appointment with the dermatologist on Wednesday so I'll share how that goes at a later date.

Anyway...I will back up on the posts after this one and share some other photos that have been taken in the past two weeks but today I had to share some of Hayden's 3-yr. portraits! They turned out sooooo good! Our friends Bill and Molly Crouch (bcpro.info) do photography and videography and Bill shot these both in their yard and down in Paseo (the arts district of Oklahoma City)in front of all the art galleries. I put a slide show at the bottom that has more of the pics in it. I'm pretty sure she looks more like a five-year-old than a little girl who just turned three and I'm also pretty sure that she's stinkin' adorable.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Ya wanna know what I bought myself for my birthday this year?

2009-07-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

ProActiv. Yeah, as in the three-step acne system. Can someone please tell me why I am 28 and just now getting acne????? It is soooo great for the modeling career too, lemme tell ya. (I love how I say career as if standing around in clothes all day at a local store is a career. Anyhoo.)
I had the occasional zit in high school just like everyone else but for the most part I had good skin. Now? Every day there is a new hurty, inflamed bumb on my chin/jaw area! What up! So, I have been doing the three step system and I can tell it helps but then my skin is just flaking like crazy and I don't know how much better that looks than the bumbs. So I quit using EVERY step for a few days and used just one to two of them and BOOM, three new zits. Aggghhhhh! I also have to say that I look really sexy coming to bed each night with white refining mask covering every spot. Ryan could play connect the dots on my face each night for entertainment since there is no summer tv to watch. Yeah, that would be fun! Anyway, because I am vain I have been spending about 15 minutes of my morning routine carefully applying concealer to every little spot with a lip brush. MAC concealer, I don't know what I would do without you, you sweet little pot of magic. Has this happened to anyone else in their late twenties? Is it hormonal? Am I going to have to use the three-step system all the way up to menopause? Did I really just write an entire post about acne? Yes, yes I did.

I'm Baaaaaack!

2009-06-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't necessarily intentional but I took about a month off from blogging. I usually blog before bed at night but lately I have been too pooped to do it! From May to July my little family has Mother's Day, my mom's bday, my bday, Father's Day, my husband's bday, our anniversary, Fourth of July and Hayden's birthday. Whew! Needless to say I've been busy. Even without all the celebrations and cake making we have been busy with school, gymnastics, planning for swim lessons that start next week, etc. I really don't know how those of you with more than one kid do it!

I'm going to show you pictures from Hayden's birthday party in a sec but first I want to show you pictures of her getting a "big girl haircut". Her hair is so wonky that I was straightening it everyday only to have it get stringy and gross looking within the hour. Sure I could pull it up but the second she sat in her car seat the back was messed up and my OCD just couldn't handle it anymore! I thought about getting her an angled bob cut a while back because it fits her personality to have a sassy 'do but I just couldn't do it. Well....we did it and it looks adorable! Here's the before:

And here's the after:

She loves it, if you can't tell from her facial expression. Now on to the party...

Her actual birthday isn't until this Sunday but since Saturday is July 4th I decided to have it the weekend before. It was a pony party! Our friends have miniature horses on their land and were sweet enough to offer to have Hayden's party at their house. It was very fun. The kids got to go in a pet, brush and feed the horses. We then had races with the stick ponies I had made as party favors. I will never do this again! Turns out it takes FOR-EV-ER to make 17 stick ponies. Oh well, they looked cute. After cupcakes and presents we ended with a horse pinata. Here are some pics...Hayden sat here to open her presents. Yes, I took the OCD to the next level and made her an outfit to match the party theme. I might have even cover a headband in bandana the night before for me to wear with my cowboy boots. It's an illness. It really is.

Each kid got a sherrif's badge after they raced. Everyone is a winner, of course, at a three-year-old's party.

Well, that's it for now. I probably won't get back to posting every day while summer's still going strong but I will definitely do my best to post as often as I can. Until next time...

It Means Something Different Now

2009-05-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ever since I was a little girl, I have spent Memorial Day not on a lake or in a camper, but in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Ponca City, OK. In fact, it wasn't until I was an adult that I even knew there were other Memorial Day options! I have many family members from both my father and mother's sides buried there and it has always been a tradition for us to put flowers on each grave every year.

As a child it didn't really mean much. I was just along for the ride, putting flowers near headstones of people I'd never met. But as I got older there became new graves. These belonged to people I knew and loved growing up. As a young adult, these visits became more and more meaningful to me.

At Odd Fellows, we visit a total of ten graves now. Two of them mean more to me now than ever before because of one huge difference...my daughter.

My Grandma Baldwin passed away while I was in college. To be honest, throughout my high-school and college years I wasn't really close to her like I was as a child. She had dementia by that point and in my teens I didn't really know how to handle that. I like to think back on older memories of her. The ones where she would always let me put on her red indelible lipstick (I can still remember the way it smelled), or where we would make cookies together, or how she would take me in the backyard and show me how to pick mint leaves, chew them up and spit them out. She was amazing with animals. As a child she actually trained ground squirrels to ride around in her pockets. I always remember her feeding bullfrogs on her back porch that she had trained to eat out of her hands. She was also an artist and I cherished the times that she would get out a little table and chair for me and show me how to use pastels or oil paints. Every time I sit down to paint today, I think about how it's a bit of her coming through me.

As I stood over her grave yesterday, I was so struck by how much of her is in Hayden. The crazy love of chocolate, the strong will and fiesty spirit and her love of painting and animals. I looked over at Hayden in the driveway the other day to see her having a conversation with a bird that had flown down to sit by her. Most of all yesterday, I wished that my grandma could be here to see Hayden. I know that she would have loved her so much.

The second grave, the one that really brings me to tears, is that of my aunt. Beverly would have been my mom's older sister but she only lived to be twenty days old. I think this would affect any mom to stand amongst the sea of graves in the cemetery's section labeled "Baby Land". More than that, however, is what my family has discovered about what took Beverly's life.

For those of you that don't know, my daughter has Cystic Fibrosis. This disease clogs the lungs and digestive system with a thick mucus making it impossible to digest food and have health lungs without the assistance of medications. Even with all these drugs the life expectancy today is 37 years. This is improving every year and Hayden's future will be very bright. However, children with CF born in the 40s and 50s never even made it to kindergarten.

When Hayden was born her belly was extremely distended. She immediately had surgery to remove part of her colon that had been detroyed by a blockage called meconium ileus. When doctors see an intestinal blockage like this, they automatically assume a diagnosis of CF. Genetic testing must still be done to confirm, but Ryan and I were told to prepare ourselves and to start learning about the disease immediately.

When we were told that Hayden needed surgery on her intestines because they were blocked, something clicked for my grandparents. Bless their hearts, it was kind of like re-living a nightmare. They started to remember what they had been told about Beverly. They were told that she had to be taken away because her belly was swollen and that there was nothing the doctors could do. Her intestines were blocked and lifeless. Back then there truly was nothing to be done.

Hayden's birth and diagnosis answered a 60-year-old question for my family. Beverly had had cystic fibrosis.

We will never know 100% if we are correct. However, the mutated gene that causes CF has to be passed down through generations. Her story is just like Hayden's. While we will never fully know, I think all of us in hearts believe that CF is what took Beverly's life.

I said her story is just like Hayden's but really, it's not. As I look at Beverly's grave I think about how Hayden is the second chance. Beverly couldn't beat this horrible disease but Hayden can. I think of all the years I visited her grave with no idea of how much she would eventually touch my life. I think of how much Hayden's health must mean to my grandparents. I find myself whispering to her, "Beverly, we will beat it this time. I promise".

As I left the cemetery yesterday, I pictured both Beverly and my Grandma Baldwin watching down over Hayden. Protecting her and loving her from their place in heaven. And as these thoughts left my mind...I felt peace.

Thank you, mom and dad, for this Memorial Day tradition. Now that I am grown, it means more to me than a million days at the lake.

A hilarious blog and some other stuff...

2009-05-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

None of the following topics were enough to form their own post so, instead, they have lumped together into a post that makes no sense. Ok? Here we go.

have found THE funniest blog ever. EH-VAH. You will laugh so hard that you will probably even snort a time or two. Unless, of course, you do not have the same sense of humor that I do. In which case, you might find it to be just mildly funny. The blog is Cake Wrecks. People send in pictures of professional cakes gone sooooo wrong. She then adds her own funny comments. The outcome is brilliant. Some are funnier than others and on Sundays she features cakes that have actually been executed beautifully, but I promise you, if you browse through two or three pages you will find some treasures. For instance, this is someones interpretation of Dora the Explorer.

I think my favorite though is the cake that was supposed to say "Happy Fatherhood" and came out saying "Happy Falker Satherhood". Seriously. Anyway, you must check it out.

My second random thought is that I'd like to do another product post but I need some inspiration. Does anyone have any questions or ideas for a post? Maybe I was wrong here because those two sentences could have made quite an interesting post all by themselves. I'm sure of it.

Lastly, I had to post some pics of Hayden and her friend Eva because they are so stinking cute. Eva came over to play with her sister Emily and she and Hayden promptly put on pink princess dresses. Hayden has on the super low-cut version.

Here they are playing Hayden's piano. I love that from one pic to the next you can tell that they switched off so each one can have a turn. I think Hayden might have even done this without my making her. Or maybe not. We're going to go with she did.

My OCD is wanting to reach out and straighten that taper candle.

Well, I hope everyone has a delightful week. Until next time...

Way more photos than you wanted to see of...

2009-05-13T18:47:00.001-07:00

First off, let's take a little stroll down memory lane, shall we?

GS 2007

Please allow me a moment to grieve the fact that those cheeks are gone and are never coming back.

GS 2008

This was our first year for the pop art theme, thankyouverymuch April Dawes!

GS 2009

New pic, new colors, new big girl. Man, how does that happen?

Ok, here we are arriving at the walk. This was four minutes before the first downpour.

Hayden playing with her Crazy Uncle Natey. This is actually what we call Nathan. This picture was taken in between downpour one and two. Or maybe it was between two and three. I forget.

This is Hayden's CF doctor, Dr. Santiago Reyes. He da MAN!!!!!
This is Hayden getting her Hero of Our Hearts Award. In case you can't tell, she's terrified.

Can't imagine why when this big dude was the one passing out the awards.

Just so you know, Rumble, Hayden loves you in pictures and videos on the computer. It's just that, in real life you're a little much for a two year old. It's not your fault. With a kid who is still scared of the Easter Bunny, you didn't stand a chance. This is me saying "Don't worry Haydie, he is waaaaaaaayy over there."

We soon recovered. This picture is a perfect example of why we call him "Crazy" Uncle Natey.

Nathan, Pa-Pa, Mimi and Mammo

My friend Kristin and her girls, Eva and Emily

Hayden with her new besties So darn cute. Back at home. Time for a nap.

Another awesome Great Strides. Even with all the downpours.

Behind the Scenes - Oklahoman Photo Shoot

2009-05-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about Linda Miller, fashion editor for The Oklahoman (aside from the fact that I found out she reads my blog!) is that she always comes up with really cool ideas for photo shoots. She has a vision (or a wision as Ryan and I like to say) and she and photographer Chris Landsberger make it happen. They may sound crazy as she is describing them over the phone but they always turn out awesome. There was the time that I was told to report to a wheat field in Piedmont, OK where I ended up on top of a hay bale...And the time she said "It's going to be really cool, we're going to white out your face and give you blue lips and I bought those crystal twig Christmas tree decorations at Hobby Lobby and we're gonna put those in your hair with some fake snow." M-kayyyyyy? Well, I'm always on board and they always turn out to be very cool and artistic. See that last one below. Chris even added sparkles to my eyelashes in Photoshop.

So...last week Linda called to say we are shooting in a mechanics garage...in all white. Then she said this!......."there is a new guy at the YSL counter in Dillards here from LA and he used to do makeup for America's Next Top Model and he's GOING TO DO YOUR MAKEUP"!!!!! Ok, people, if you know me you know I was slightly freaking out after she said that. I met him tonight and his name is Johnny and here he is:
Aaaaanddd, here's his makeup:I tried to take a picture of the artistry that was my eyelids but my phone can only do so much. The pics came out looking like I had a black eye and that would not be a very good representation of his fabulous work, now would it?

This really is going to be a great spread I think. It was really fun and the backdrop ended up being so cool. I totally got to pose in this car:

Here is my friend Cortney shooting me a grin in between pics. She and I model together quite a bit but this is our first Oklahoman shoot together. Love that girl.
Here is Chris photographing Cortney:
And here's the back of Linda's head. She refused to let me take a picture of her face so you'll just have to admire her cute razored bob.
No pics of me since I was taking them all. I'll post a link to the finished product when it comes out at the beginning of June. In the meantime, you should all go to the Yves Saint Laurent counter at the Penn Square Dillards and have Johnny Bruner do your makeup. You'll be able to say that someone who did makeup for Miss J has done your makeup AND you'll look fan-tabulous. I promise.

Four Generations

2009-05-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

Ever since Hayden was born, I have made sure to take a picture of us with my mom and my Nana. Four generations. I cherish every year that we get to have another picture. I hope these mean a lot to Hayden some day.

2007
2008

2009

Just a bit of Great Strides...

2009-05-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Despite having to take cover from the downpours five different times, Great Strides went well. Our team raised around $4000 and the OKC chapter has raised $100,000 so far with more to come. I will post many more pictures in the next couple of days. Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there!

New look!

2009-05-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so even though I'd only had my old look a couple of months.....TaDa! I have a new one! This is soooo typical of my personality. I was that kid who, every year for her birthday, asked for new bedding. Literally every year I changed my bedroom color scheme completely. My house is always changing and don't even get me started on my hair. Today I found myself on ShabbyBlogs.com through someone elses blog and I was in heaven. I know there are other websites with free backgrounds but ladies, these are the cutest ever! There are even a handful of designs that have matching headers. Free buttons, you ask? Why yes! She even has a selection of free blinkies and buttons to choose from. Don't be surprised if I have a different background every month. It's just how I roll.

A bit of randomness just for you...

2009-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

So remember how at the end of my last post about my house I said "tomorrow I'll show pictures of my bedroom"? I don't know why I said that. I should have said 'someday' because the truth is, my room is never picked up enough for me to photograph. I keep thinking to myself: "Self, you really should make your bed just once so you can take a pretty picture of your headboard." Alas, it never happens. It will just have to be a goal of mine.

One of the reasons I love my mother....she loves shoes like I do. Even better, when we come across a sale where the shoes are 30% off the already marked down price, she gets excited like I do. Even better than that, when she sees how completely adorable two pairs of shoes are on my feet she tells me she wants to get them for me because she totally appreciates their cuteness.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:Yes, I am well aware that I am just shy of six feet without shoes and that these 4 in. heels make me an Amazon. Do I care? Not one iota. (Ok, I just looked up iota in the dictionary to make sure it was a real word and not just one my mom made up because that has happened. Turns out it is.) There are countless non-superficial reasons I love my mother too. They just don't photograph as beautifully. :)

You know those times when your daughter really wants to go jump in the rain puddles and you realize she doesn't have rain boots so you go to her closet to see what will work and you spot the pink cowboy boots that you received as a baby shower gift but you remember they are two sizes too big but you go ahead and make your daughter wear them anyway and she can barely walk but she still manages to jump in the puddles and you somehow manage to get the perfect picture of the water splashing up which never happens but it somehow did? Yeah, that happened yesterday.

Note that she had to bring her little rubber ducky key chain out with her because that's what you do when you're gonna jump in rain puddles. Cutie Patootie.

Ok, I have been wanting to make a large corkboard for my laundry room since the beginning of time but the large pieces of cork to make it happen haven't been in our budget of "neccessary items".Weeellllll, I was helping my mother-in-law clean out Ryan's Granny's house (she is now in assisted living) and I came across two super-big corkboards. Yay! I brought them home, had Ryan pry off the frames, and nailed them up on the wall to look like one large piece of cork. I measured and drew lines to divide the overall board up into nine squares. Then I started painting away. I'm not finished with the zebra but I thought I'd show the progress. For me, the laundry room is a place that doesn't have to match the rest of your decor. Kinda like a kids room, you can do whatever you want and make it fun. Here are a couple of pics. I will take more as I finish the other little laundry room projects I have brewing up there in my mind. It's a scary place, my mind.

You can see a coat hanger next to the corkboard. Does anyone have any good ideas for what I could paint above it? Like a cute phrase or something. In the open space above my washer and dryer I am going to paint it to say "Domestic Diva at Work". Any of you who know me know that this will be done with total sarcasm. Above the door leading into the kitchen I am in the process of painting a sign that says "Welcome Home". Anway, I just feel like there needs to be one or two words above that rack. Ideas anyone?

Well, I hope all of you have a great week. I don't know how much I'll be able to write this week because our CF Walk is on Saturday and I'll have preparation stuff to be doing. I'm sure I'll come back with cute pics.

Until next time, my friends.

My house - Part 1

2009-04-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have realized that, for the most part, my favorite blogs to read are the ones where everyday people post pics of how they've decorated their houses. I love getting ideas for my own home and seeing the little crafty projects they have done. My house isn't anything like some of the ones I've seen but I thought I'd share it anyway. I think I'll do it in three parts so this doesn't become the world's longest post. Hope somebody gets an idea or two!

I'll start with the porch:

First of all, I have a slight houndstooth obsession. You will see it all around my house. I also have a Ballard Designs obsession. So when I saw this houndstooth doormat on clearance in Ballard's catalog it was a no brainer. The little bench and chalkboard easel came from an antique store. The bench was red but the perfect size so I painted it with leftover paint from my living room and glazed it afterward.

My favorite hobby is painting. Not walls, but objects or furniture. This year one of my favorite things to paint is flower pots. Right now this one is leopard print but who knows if it will stay that way the whole summer!

Next, my entryway. I love this secretary cabinet. My grandparents just moved into assisted living and they have passed down some furniture to me. This belonged to my grandfather's grandfather. I'm still in the process of decorating it but I thought I'd show it because I think it's beautiful.This cream can came out of their shed. I about had a heart attack when I saw it! I think my Papa thinks I'm crazy for wanting to display a "dirty" cream can in my home. It has the numbers on it and everything!This is on the wall opposite the secretary. I heart Uppercase Living. In fact, I think I might have an addiction. The "Home" is in a metallic silver.Ok, the living room: One of my favorite projects was making this coffee table/ottoman. It's soooo easy to do. Note the houndstooth pillow on the right. This wall color is Weekend Getaway from Benjamin Moore. It took me forever to find the right color. I wanted a soothing spa-ish blue-green color with the right amount of gray in it to keep it muted. Gee, I can't imagine why that was hard to find. The tray on the table is actually just a mirror. I painted it silver and glazed it to look a bit old.

This desk belonged to my grandmother on my other side. It was her great aunts. It is so neat to see something in my home and remember exactly where it always stood in my grandma's house when I was growing up. My grandpa found the little chair in his attic and I recovered the seat with leftover fabric from one of my couch pillows. The quilt was in their house too.

I am finally happy with my mantle. The topiaries are from Ballard Designs. The letter you can find at Hobby Lobby. It used to be gold but I just painted it silver and hung it from some cute polka-dot ribbon.

Lastly, my kitchen: Once again with the houndstooth. I'm not sure I will ever finish painting this table. On projects that take awhile, like this one, I get bored and move on to something else. Maybe someday..... Note the Uppercase Living above the mirror. Man, I love that stuff.

This silverware cabinet and sterling tea set also came from my grandparents. I grew up with her telling me that set would be mine one day so it means alot. Above it are a couple of canvases I painted to look like ones I saw in Ballard. On the other side of the window there are two more to balance it out. The edge of the chair you see will soon have a cream slipcover on it with a chocolate brown "S" painted on the back. Just waiting for my birthday money :)

Um, can you say easiest project ever? Think fabric scraps and lots of hot glue. Your done.

Another easy project: I taped off a rectangle on the wall and painted it with chalkboard paint. I then went and painted a silver border around it and hot glued on some rhinestones.

This little area is right next to my kitchen sink. I really need some cute dishtowels! If anyone reading this makes cute ones feel free to send me one!

This little corner is by my stove. The little birdie is holding my silver measuring spoons.

Here is my last pic: This area isn't finished because I have such cute plans for that silver tray. I saw this idea here. Just as soon as I can find what I did with my chalkboard paint I will be painting the flat part of the tray. I will then add a cute bow to the top and write different scriptures on it. Won't that be cute! I would just go buy more paint but since we are in Financial Peace University, as I have mentioned before, I don't feel Dave Ramsey would approve at this time. Bummer.

Hope you got some ideas! Tomorrow I will do our bedrooms!

Now Open for Business...

2009-04-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

Introducing "Makeup by Hayden". Call now to book your appointment for your prom, wedding or special event.

Now that is artistry.

Cute finds at Walmart

2009-04-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine had a great idea to do a post on cute finds at Walmart or Target. Since I was already in the store this past weekend to buy groceries, I decided to start with Walmart. Can I just say that people look at you strangely when you walk around taking pictures of clothing and shoes without ever putting anything in your basket. I somehow felt I was doing something illegal by sneaking my phone out my purse, snapping a quick shot, and immediately putting it back. Anyway, I did find some cute things.
First off, how cute is this tank? Pretty sure I want it in all the colors seen here. I would wear this with a pair of jeans and flipflops all summer long. Yes, I said jeans. If you could see the white-ness of my legs you would understand. Now, don't go buying the version of this tank with little peace signs or starts all over it, ladies. Not unless you are thirteen. The ruffle with the addition of a print like that makes it too juvenile. I think this was only $5.00. Woohoo!

Last year at Walmart I bought a couple of these sundresses that are gathered at the top and I wore them a ton. They are comfy and all you have to do is throw it on with some cute sandals and you are supercute in no time at all. I see this looking awesome with a gladiator sandal. I believe the price was $10.00. It also came in a purple color but I love me some chocolate brown with turquoise.

Ok, this picture is pathetic. I looked on their website for a better one but couldn't find it. I somehow didn't catch that it came out this bad or I would have retaken it. Just try to envision a cutey plaid top with a tie belt and ruffles in the front. Now there's a lot going on with this top so go simple on bottom. I love the idea of a white jean or capri and a metallic leather (or pleather, I have my fair share of pleather) sandal.

I have friends that look so stinkin' good in these knee length, bermuda-type denim shorts. I don't know if I'm too tall or what, but I always want to love them on me and I never do. For those of you out there that look cute in this type of short, check these out. They are only $15 and they have little patches of a vintage floral material showing through. I know that sounds a little young but I see it looking really cute with a plain white tank top and some flat sandals. Summer is the time of year where we can get away with things like this so go for it.

I am so firing myself from taking pictures. Ok, the thing I love about this sandal that you totally cannot see from this pic is that the straps are a satin material. That combined with the cork sole makes this perfect for summer. I also heart the silver version that is peeking into the right side of the picture. I think these were $10.00.

Since I have a little girl I can't go without mentioning some of the cute stuff I found in Hayden's section. If you have boys...sorry. I have no idea what is cute for boys and I couldn't even locate the older boys area in the store to take pictures. As soon as I feel Dave Ramsey would approve, Hayden will be owning this top in both the white and the plaid. Love!This tank too. It is $3.50 people!!!!! That ruffle is so stinkin' cute and it comes in a million different colors.Over in the older girls section I spied this cute tank. You can't really tell from the picture but the top layer has a sheer leopard print pattern to it. It is also a bubble tank so the bottom gathers up underneath. Too cute!
Lastly, still in the big girl area, I found these shirts. The remind me of shirts Old Navy has with random saying printed on the front. The great thing here is that it also has a supercute braiding detail around the neck and a flutter sleeve. I think these were around $4.50 and they also come in a lot of solid colors if you like the braid but don't want the extra stuff.
Well, that's it for this shopping trip. I would have spent more time but I needed to actually buy groceries, since that's what I went for, and get home to make dinner. Next time...Target. Until next time...

Hayden's Heroes 2009

2009-04-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Well, the next Great Strides walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is three weeks away and I am scrambling to get last minute donations and take shirt orders. My friend April is a graphic design artist and she did our Hayden's Heroes logo again this year. I luuuuuuuuvvvv it!

I thought I would post the link our HH homepage so that anyone reading this could join our walk team or make a donation online should they feel moved to do so. You can find it here.

Also, here is the link to the video of Hayden I created this year. I make one for the walk every year to let people know about her disease and to hopefully inspire people. If you watch it make sure you have your sound on. Otherwise you will miss Mark Schultz wailing on a song that makes me cry every time I hear it.

Thanks, friends!

Just to make you smile...

2009-04-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

While I was at my parents' house on Easter I found some more fabulous pictures from my past and thought I'd share. I'm pretty sure that if you looked this amazing you would share too.

This is me on my first day of 5th grade...I showed this pic to my hairdresser, Brenton, and he said I looked like I was trying to be Debbie Gibson. This look does kinda scream "Electric Youth". I love the highwaisted, tapered pink pant. It's always a good idea to tuck your shirt into your stretch pants, I think. My Fantastic Sams nightmare hair (no offense to Fantastic Sams. I'm the girl who butchered my hair in 1991 doesn't work there anymore) looks just adorable with my Blossom hat, doesn't it? That's about all I can say about this one.

Next up, my 8th grade Valentine's dance...Ok, I know I'm pasty white now but SERIOUSLY! I have to say, no updo is complete without a pair of matching tendrils in front, and to show up at the dance without dyed to match shoes?....well, that would just be embarrasing.

I saved the best for last...Aint nothing like a thirteen-year-old trying to look forty. Now that I'm in my late twenties I can't really see the appeal in that. I was so in love with the picture at the time. I'm fairly certain that, had they let me leave Glamour Shots with it, I would have worn that extremely stylish sequin jacket to school because that's how cool I was. Except that I totally wasn't. Looking at these pictures I'm starting to understand why.

I would like to challenge all of my friends with blogs to locate their Glamour Shot pictures and post them. You know you have one.

Easter '09 - Pics Galore...

2009-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter yesterday. My little family sure did. After a great church service we went home where Hayden and Ryan took naps and I did some cooking. For dinner we went to my parent's house where, along with Ryan's parents, we had a wonderful dinner. My mom set a beautiful table complete with china and we stuffed ourselves on ham, green beans, sinful potatoes, fruit salad, homemade bread and carrot cake. I made the cake from scratch for the first time off a recipe I found on All Recipes. It was soooooo yummy and, if you don't mind chopping a bag of carrots, it was easy. I'll post the recipe at the end of this post. Now for the pics...

We had Hayden's Easter egg hunt on Saturday since we knew it was going to rain on Easter. She loved it so much that we had to re-hid them so she could play all over again.

We wanted to take a cute posed family picture where all of us were smiling at the camera and this is what we got...

The Easter outfit! The pics we had taken at Portrait Innovations in her Easter attire turned out much cuter but posting those is kinda illegal so here is my handiwork....I love this picture of Hayden and her friend from church, Ellie. This is exactly what Hayden looks like when Wow Wow Wubbzy is on the tv....

Here she is with Ryan's parents aka "Chippy & Mimi"...

Unfortunately, my dad had already gone to get the car by the time I'd taken pictures so I had to snap the "Pa-Pa & Mommo" pic at lunch. Gotta love an Easter picture taken in Taco Mayo...

Here is the carrot cake recipe:

4 eggs

1 1/4 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 c. grated carrots

1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour either a 9x13 baking pan or two round cake pans. Beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder salt & cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Bake 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

FROSTING: 1/2 c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped pecans

Combine all frosting ingredients but pecans and beat until smooth and creamy. Stir in pecans. Frost cake once cooled.

Product...

2009-04-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

People have been telling me that they are looking forward to my universally flattering cosmetic colors post. Ok, so maybe just two people have said that but it's enough to make me excited to write about it. So Molly and Jamie...this one's for you.
The most famous universally flattering blush out there is by Nars. The color is Orgasm. Yes, I know. I blushed just now (no pun intended) even typing the name but there you go. It can be found at Sephora and is on the more expensive side but it really is pretty amazing. Somehow it's pinky-peach golden shimmery color works on everyone. The blush became so hugely popular that Nars expanded upon it and created a lipgloss of the same color and name. Yes, I have owned it and yes, it is equally as fabulous. You can look here at their website to see all of their Orgasm products. That just sounds so wrong. I will say that if you have dark hair and olive colored skin (think Salma Hayek), then I wouldn't go with this color. It's too peachy for you but hey, if you look like Salma Hayek you don't need any makeup anyway. This is great for redheads, blondes, and brunettes if they have fair to medium skin.
For lips there are a few colors out there that I personally think look great on everyone. MAC makes a lipcolor, "O", that I love for the fact that it adapts to the person wearing it. Even on me it seems to look different depending on what I'm wearing that day. In the tube it looks dark, red-ish, purple-ish, gold-ish. When on, it takes on whichever of those colors is the most flattering on that person. I don't know how it does it but on some people the red tones stand out more and on others the purpley-plum color comes through. If you are a blonde, this is going to be more of a Fall/Winter or "going out for a night on the town" color for you. Brunettes, you can get away with it anytime, just make sure your eye makeup is toned down.
Another lipstick that I used to have and love a long time ago is Clinique's Black Honey Almost Lipstick. I can't tell you how many times I've read magazine articles talking about the flattering factor of this color. In the tube it looks scary - almost black. But when you put it on, it is a very sheer berry color that is soooo pretty.
Drugstore brand alert! Ok, here is another really weird makeup name: Wet 'N Wild lipliner number 666. Why would you even give it that number!?! On their website it has the number and a color name, Brandy Wine, but when you look at the actual pencil it just has the number. This is another one that looks different to me on everyone. I loooooove to put LipSmackers Lip Sparkler lipgloss in Vanilla Frosting over this pencil. It is sheer with a bit of shimmer and it moisturizes your lips while letting the color of the pencil show through. It is a bolder color. I like to wear it for photo shoots because it always shows up in the picture.
Here's one for all my blonde friends and brunettes with fair skin. Loreal Infallible lipgloss in Sunset. This is my latest obsession. Just go get it. You'll see. If you are a fair-skinned redhead this color will work well for you too. If you have darker red hair and are on the tanner side, go for the Barely Nude color.
Lastly, for the eyes, I love Clinique's Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Sunlit Palm. It is a muted moss green with a bit of gold shimmer in it. I can't think of a friend I have that wouldn't look good in this color. Just apply the cream on your lid evenly all the way up to the crease. Pat it with your finger to smooth it out and voila! Just put on some mascara and your eyes are finished. I'm sure a color similar to this can be found at the drugstore too I just haven't found it yet.
Once again, I love getting your product questions so be sure to leave them for me. Until tomorrow...

Random Thoughts...

2009-04-09T12:20:00.001-07:00

My friend Gena over at Harmonious House started something called Random Thoughts Thursday. Since I can't come up with any one topic to talk about and since it happens to be Thursday, I am going to steal her idea. Thanks, Gena!

First of all, here's my daughter's Spring school picture. I think she looks soooo cute and not just because I am her mother. I am fairly certain that I could be a complete stranger looking at picture and still think "That child is so extremely cute!" The OCD in me wants so badly to reach up and fix the random piece of pigtail hair, but her sweet little face is enough for me.

I found a new blog that I am obsessed with. This lady is the most amazing and creative decorator I have ever seen and I am so inspired by her. I was telling my friend Molly that I couldn't tell at first if the pictures were of her house or a gift shop she owned. Yeah, it's her house. You should check it out.

Lastly, I will bless all of you with this image of me from my 5th grade talent show that I recently found...

Special isn't it? So many things are wrong about this. I guess the leotard and bike shorts didn't already have enough pattern so I went on ahead and added matching ruffle socks and a scrunchie. And can we please talk about the fact that I am ten wearing an 80-year-old woman's glasses. Apparently the apples of my cheeks were also having vision problems at the time. I can't think of any other explanation for why the lenses would be so enormous that they cover half my face. And an outfit is never complete without the addition of a pair of my mom's earrings. The only thing I envy about this pic is the circumference of my thighs. I mean, I was working that spandex.
That's all from me. Until next time, my friends.

My husband needs a man blog...

2009-04-08T10:53:00.000-07:00

I don't know about any of you other blog writers out there but my husband reads mine faithfully. He asks me every night if I have written a new one for him to read. He even read the one about mascara top to bottom. He says that it gives him even more insight into what is going on in my head. Sweet, isn't it? The other night, however, he started giving me topic ideas that he would like to see in my blog. I'm pretty sure one of them was about Michael Phelps. Still not getting where he was going with that one. I told him that none of what he was mentioning would be anything I would write about and that he should just start his own blog. Eventually one of the topics he threw out there was that I could write about him. As nonchalantly as he said it I knew he acutally meant it so I probed deeper. "Well, people can read all about you, Hayden and your friends but you don't ever mention me," He said. My initial reaction was "Hello! Your picture is right there on the side! And it is MY blog so it is kinda the thing that I have that is all about ME!" I'm not sure if I actually said any of that outloud which is good because it's really stinkin' selfish. I have come to the conclusion that he is right. He is, afterall, my husband, the father of my child, and my best friend. So babe, this post is for you.

Let me show you a current pic of my man:

I know, ladies, I know. But he's mine :) Now let me show you a picture of what Ryan looked like when we met:

Yes, my friends. He is wearing a dog collar. Ok, so here's the story...

My friend Jamie (now my sister-in-law) asked me one day what I wanted in a man. Eyeing her suspiciously, I rattled off a few key things on my man list. Her reply was, "That sounds just like Nathan's brother, Ryan". (Jamie married Nathan eventually, hence the sis-in-law title). Now I know what you are thinking, "Your requirements were that he'd have dyed blonde hair and a nice selection of fishnet shirts???". The funny thing about that picture is that it is nothing like Ryan AT ALL. His brother had asked him to play electric guitar for a show "Hedwig and the Angry Inch". His character was supposed to look like this - hair and all. This is how Jamie came to know him and how she came to decide that we were perfect for each other. His personality, not the hair. We arranged to meet after one of the shows. He swears that, even though we hadn't met yet, he instantly knew which one I was sitting out in the audience - that he was drawn to me. I was, at that moment, drawn to the fact that he looked totally hot rocking out on the guitar. We talked after the show and arranged to meet again. We decided with Nathan and Jamie that we would paint her kitchen that weekend. This was a good way to talk while staying busy and not having to sit and stare at one another. He still did some staring, however. He told me much later on in the relationship that my rear looked really nice in the stretch pants I was wearing. The funny thing is...I was kinda counting on that when I put them on. ;) From that evening on we were just...together. We were an instant couple and even though we were still learning each other, we both knew we were supposed to be together. Well, I knew. It took him a while longer to get there but that's beside the point. Within only six months we were engaged. I walked down the aisle to marry my best friend only a year and a week from the day we met. Six years later I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. God has blessed my life by bringing you into it, Ryan. With every year that passes I learn more and more about you, about us and about what an awesome team we are. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with - no one else I would rather raise Hayden with, share my heart with, share my hopes and fears with, share Mexican food and American Idol with...the list goes on and on. You are my man, and no matter your hair color... I love you immensly.

The reason my laundry isn't folded...

2009-04-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

my new header. I love designing stuff on my computer. It is fun for me to design invitations and stationery orders for friends but mostly I find myself designing for no reason - designing things I will never use. It's theraputic for me somehow to create a bunch of little polka-dots or cut out the image of a flower with my mouse. It's the same with painting. So a couple of days ago I decided I would "pimp my blog", as my friend Molly says, and the blogs of my friends (see Ordinary Days, Diapers and Dishes. Others in progress) because apparently I had nothing else I needed to be doing. It is fun for me and I love being able to do things for my friends. But here's the problem with my artistic side......I can't shut it off. There can be a million things I need to do around the house and I am instead painting a flower pot in leopard print. It's like I have artistic ADD. Today I was walking to the laundry room with a pile of dirty clothes when I noticed that my brown leather magazine holder would look supercute with a cream fleur de lis painted on the front of it. I put down the laundry right there and went for my paint brush. By the grace of God, (I mean that literally because I have been praying for help in the housework department. Me actually doing it, I mean, not that angels would swoop down and do it for me.) I stopped, realized I was having a weak moment of screwed up priorites, and put the brush back. So I have laundry that is clean and no fleur de lis. It's a step in the right direction I would say. Now I just need to go and fold it....

Product!

2009-04-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

My blogs have been on the deeper side as of late, which I love, because I have said what has been on my heart. Those who know me best, however, also know that I have quite the shallow, superficial, product-loving side to me as well. I am oddly proud of this side and my knowledge of all things makeup, haircare, etc. I am a marketers dream. As soon as I spot something new on the shelves of Walmart, in shiny new packaging, promising me fluffy hair or fringier lashes, I must, must try it. I'm pretty sure this obsession of mine is one of the reasons we are now enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. So here's the deal....I have decided that from now on, whenever I am having trouble finding something deep or meaningful to write about, I will have a product post. I can just envision all three of my regular readers waiting on pins and needles to find out what bit of product wisdom I will impart next. Without any further delay... Let's talk mascara. I really don't know a woman who doesn't wear mascara. Even the most granola-ish person I know still wears mascara. If you have time for nothing else in your morning makeup routine, put on some mascara and try to tell me you don't look better. I have two favorites, one from the drugstore and one from the department store. I will talk about them both. I can say that Dave Ramsey would want you to buy the drugstore brand. I am currently obsessed with CoverGirl's Lash Blast. It's big ole honkin' brush grabs every lash and makes them super thick. Combine it with the greatest eyelash curler on the planet, Shu Uemera's (found at Balliets or Sephora), and your lashes will darn near reach your eyebrows. Ok, that may be an exaggeration. Still, it's the best combo I've found for the "as close as I can get to false lashes without wearing false eyelashes" look.
My favorite department store brand is Trish McEvoy's High-Volume Mascara. If you have a problem with your mascara smudging and you have 25 bucks that you just can't figure out how to spend I highly recommend this stuff. It actually creates little tubes on your lashes that will not come off until you pull/wipe them off in the shower the next morning. (That part is really fun, I must admit). It also does a great job of volumizing, hence the name, and the teeny tiny brush makes it easy to grab all those lower and corner lashes.
Well, that's all for now. Next time we'll talk about universally flattering colors! It is really sad how excited I am already!
Feel free to leave product questions for me, by the way! I'd love an exuse to do "research"!

My dearest Hayden,

2009-04-02T20:10:00.001-07:00

I wanted to write down for you some of the reasons I love you and the ways you make me proud. This isn't a complete list - just some of the things that come immediately to mind.
I love your strength. I am so proud of the fact that you are willing to sit through hours and hours of treatments each day when I know you would rather be playing. I am so proud of you when you let doctors swab you, feel around on you, stick devices on you and even stick you with needles without crying. I am so proud of you when you fall down or bonk your head and get right back up again without missing a beat. I love that the strong mind you possess will take you far in life and far beyond any limitations that your disease may present. Your strength amazes me.
I love your compassion. I am so proud when your teachers tell me that you are the comforter in the class. I am so proud when another child's mommy tells me thank you for what you have done to help her son in class. I love that you are so concerned when you can tell that I am sad. I love that in those times, I find you rubbing my shoulder and giving me pats. Your compassion fills me with joy.
I love that you have your daddy's athleticism. I am so proud that you were moved up to the three-year-old class at gymnastics at the age of 2 1/2. I love that you can already climb the rope wall by yourself and that you are brave enough to try out the zipline all alone when no one is there to help. (Ok, I'm not gonna lie. That last one also freaked me out a bit! Freaked but proud.) I love that you can outrun me in our games of "I'm gonna get you" and that you can already send a soccerball sailing across the backyard.
I love that you like busting a move to Britney Spears with me and I love that you taught yourself to break dance. I love that when we were in Baby Gap you pointed out a dress and said "Oh, momma, that is just darling". I love that you are already starting to sing harmonies. I love that you love queso and chocolate as much as I do. I love that you will sit perfectly still and let me braid your hair five different ways only to end up wearing it down. I love that you have figured out how to bargain with me ("Just one more Capri Sun, Momma, and that's enough"). I love that you are as obsessed with lipgloss as I am (you just need to stop using my Bobbi Brown, child!) I love that, when I take you to the grocery store, you wave and say "Hi" to everyone in the parking lot. I love that you painted an entire "mountain series" with watercolors. I love that you are observant enough to point out the days I'm not wearing earrings. I love that your own form of dance is so special and unique that you were bored to tears in ballet class. I love that when I walk into the living room on Sunday mornings (the one day of the week I'm fully made up) you always tell me I look beautiful. I love that, at the age of two, you already can work my IPhone as well as I can. I love that you feel the need to point out every stop sign and every redbud tree that you see when we're out and about. I love that when you "read" yourself a book the words are always "I love Jesus and Jesus loves me and Jesus told me....and I told Jesus...". I love that you and I can quietly look into each others eyes and, without words, convey our feelings to one another.
I love that God found me worthy to be your momma.
Most of all, I love you.

Pray for Allie!

2009-03-29T13:28:00.001-07:00

Ryan and I are so blessed right now that Hayden's health is strong. The reality is, however, cystic fibrosis is a deadly disease. I like to try to forget that and just focus on the positives but that is the truth. Last year we lost a nine-year-old little boy to CF here locally. Three years ago we lost a woman in her early twenties. Now I need you to help me pray that we do not lose another. Some of you reading this have heard me talk about Allie. She is a young, vibrant college student and from the very beginning of Hayden's life I have been very attached to her. Her father was one of the first ones to introduce himself to us at a CF benefit and we have been following her story ever since. Other than Hayden, Allie was the first face I could put with CF . Her parents say that Hayden is so much like Allie: funny, energetic and stubborn! They have even called her "Little Allie" before. I look at Allie and I see Hayden. She means more to me than she will ever know. In 2007, Allie finally received a much needed lung transplant. So many of us were on pins and needles for months while they waited for the good news that lungs had become available. Every time I saw I had an email from her father I was almost scared to open it. I wasn't sure whether it was going to be good news or bad. I will never forget how hard I cried when I found out she was having the transplant! At last year's Great Strides walk I actually got to meet her for the first time. For me, it was like meeting a celebrity or something. I almost couldn't believe she was there and that I was getting to talk to her. She has been such a symbol of hope for me throughout these last three years. Allie just posted a health update on her Facebook page. She went back to North Carolina (she had her transplant there) for a check up. The doctors discovered that she is having rejection - a rare type where her antibodies are attacking the donor lungs. Currently there are no anti-rejection medications available for lung transplants. The following is from her Facebook page: "I will receive a central line catheter (IV in heart) and get something called blood phoresis. This will take all of my antibodies out of my system and put in new good antibodies. Like a blood exchange. They will then follow up with immunogobulin (IVIG its like a protein) AND THEN finally after these treatments are done they will hit me hard with the final IV antibiotic called Rituximab on April 13th. This is all totally going to kill my immune system so I'll probably be very weak for a little while. This is all brand new research they have just found this year so its a big deal!"

Please pray for Allie. Pray for her to keep up her strength and her fight. Pray that the doctors can successfully stop the rejection of her lungs. Pray for her family that they can stay strong through this tough time. Pray that Allie will feel all the love surrounding her. Please pray.

One of the reasons I love my daughter...

2009-03-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

She is so stinkin' funny! The things that come out of her mouth can make me laugh so hard I completely forget anything about my day that was making me cranky. I have been working on potty training off and on for months now. I know parts of it have clicked for her but the part where she recognizes she needs to go all by herself?...not so much. Anyway, I praise her like crazy any time she uses the potty successfully and she usually gets something like a sticker or chocolate chip. Yesterday she followed me to the bathroom (I can't remember the last time I used the bathroom all by myself!) and talked my ear off until she heard me "go potty". She got so excited and said "Ohhhh, momma! You went tinkle! Come here so I can give you a hug. You get two pinecones!!!" If only I'd known how exciting pinecones were to her. I could have saved a lot of money at Christmas!

Yesterday evening, she said "Yeah, momma, I just have something I need to do todaymorrow." Ryan and I were wondering if that would technically be somewhere around midnight?

This morning she came up to me to tell me she put Baby Sophie (her bitty baby) in her stroller and said "I just don't know about her".

I realize that I will probably find these things funnier than anyone else on the planet but, man, she makes me laugh. I'm still waiting on my pinecones, by the way.

Edited to add: After bath this evening, while Ryan was cleaning out Hayden's ears with a Q-Tip, she looked at me and said, "Daddy's getting the poopy out of my ears." Gotta love it.

Blessed by a stranger...

2009-03-21T21:23:00.001-07:00

Well, not a complete stranger I guess. More like a distant acquaintance. I received a friend request on Facebook from a girl I went to high school with. She was a year older and a lot more popular and, quite frankly, I didn't even know that she knew who I was. So kind of like a stranger. After I accepted her friend request I started looking at her profile. I saw a link to a website for her daughter and clicked on it. Over the next half hour, as I continuously sobbed, I got caught up on this girl's life and what she has been through the past couple of years. Her daughter, who was Hayden's age, passed away last month from a disease affecting the mitochonria. I also found out through her profile that they had adopted a baby boy only to have the birth mother change her mind and take him back. In a matter of two months they went from a family of four to a family of two. The thing is, I never saw once anywhere on her profile or website a complaint. She talked about the blessings of her daughter and, as people were writing in with their prayers at the news of the failed adoption, she told them thank you but please pray for the little boy instead...that he was the one who needed them. She and her husband continue on in their fight to raise awareness and money for the disease that took their baby girl. I think that when you have a child sick with a disease it is easy to think it is the only disease in the world. Our lives revolve around Hayden's CF. Taking care of it, fighting it, raising money to cure it, etc. It was almost as if I had forgotten somehow that there are other moms doing everything they can to raise money and awareness for their child's disease too. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I need to do more. I shouldn't only be reaching out and supporting other CF moms but all moms who are terrified for their child's lives. Even though the diseases are different, I believe the fear and feelings of hopelessness are the same. I sent her a message asking her to let me know of any fundraisers I could attend of volunteer to help for. I know how much it means to me when someone signs up to help or donates to CF. To me, it is the same as them looking me in the eye and saying "I am going to help you save your daughter's life." We are blessed that Hayden's health is strong right now. So maybe I need to be saying that to someone else right now. Maybe that has been part of God's plan in giving me Hayden. That I would not only get involved with saving Hayden but help others try to save their children as well. All I know is I can't read something like that and walk away. Not when I've partly been there myself. I don't think she will ever know how she blessed me tonight with her outlook and her courage. If she can have that strength and spirit after losing two children, I certainly can.

No matter what, I am blessed...

2009-03-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough couple of days. Ryan and I have had to come to terms with our financial situation and are looking at making some drastic changes. We will be selling large items, selling my car, etc. We were talking about selling our home and getting something smaller but my realtor friend did some numbers for me and discovered our house is worth less than we paid for it right now due to the economy. I am currently trying to think of jobs I could take on that would have flexibility for me to stay at home. It really is a difficult and humbling time for us. In light of this, I keep remembering that, no matter what material things we lose, I still have what's important. No matter what...I am blessed. I have an amazing husband. He is my best friend. He is strong, hardworking (that's an understatement),talented, sensitive and a wonderful father. Even in this difficult time we are rock solid. I have a wonderful child. I am so grateful that she is healthy! No amount of "stuff" is more important than that. She is strong, bright, funny, loving and an inspiration to me. Ryan and I have an amazingly supportive and loving family. Our parents and grandparents are always there for us and we are so lucky to have them, not only as parents, but also friends. Speaking of friends, I am surrounded by the best. My friends are there to lift me up, make me laugh, tell me like it is, help out when I need it, help me grow spiritually, and the list goes on and on. I have a loving God. He doesn't judge me for poor choices on purchases, He knows my situtation and the reasons behind it and loves me just as much. He hears my prayers and never leaves during the hard times. He has a plan for my life and doesn't make mistakes. He is an amazing God. These are the things that matter. This a hard time but, no matter what...I am blessed.

Who actually gets in a train wreck?!?

2009-03-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I do, apparently. I just thought I'd take a few minutes to tell you about my Spring Break trip. It definitely turned out to be, um, different than I expected. My mom and I were planning on taking Hayden on the Heartland Flyer train down to Fort Worth. My dad was going to drive down the next morning and join us. Ryan was in NYC and we just thought it would be fun to hang out, stay, eat and shop in a new area for a few days. So Friday morning Hayden, Mom and I boarded the train. We were thoroughly enjoying it when, just south of Gainsville, TX, we had a huge collision. We actually hit a semi truck/tanker that crossed the tracks right in front of us. People that were standing at the time were thrown to the floor and multiple people were injured....including my mom! My mom had a bad car accident when I was in high school were she was rear ended at 50 mph and she had bad whiplash. I guess that left her with a weaker neck because a few minutes after the crash she started having super painful muscle spasms in her next and back and pretty soon she couldn't even move without major pain. (Just so you know, we are all laughing about this now!) Ambulances came on the scene and my mom was loaded on to one in a neck brace. Hayden and I rode up front and they took us to the Gainsville hospital. This may have been a blessing in disguise because I have no idea what time they finally sent buses to take the rest of the passengers on down to Ft. Worth. We had already been sitting there for two hours after the crash before the ambulance came. Crews were all over the place because we ruptured the train's gas tank on impact and there was deisel everywhere. Eventually they wanted to drag the train back to Gainesville and get buses to take people on from there but I know it was probably a long time before that happened. Mom eventually got released from the hospital with a diagnosis of whiplash and prescriptions for a painkiller and a muscle relaxer. Now for the next problem...my dad was in Stillwater at the time of the crash and Ryan was in New York. We were going to be stuck at the Gainsville hospital until my dad could get down there to get us. There was nothing to eat there and it was dinnertime and Hayden, who was such an angel through this whole thing (no sarcasm, I really mean it!), was getting restless, understandably. One of the sweet, sweet nurses drove us in her car over to the town's Walmart. It was there that we ate dinner and killed time for the next three hours until my dad could get there. Dad eventually arrived and we drove the rest of the way into Fort Worth and finally checked in to our hotel 13 hours after we started our trip! The drama went on with my whiplash starting to kick in and my poor dad, already sick with a head cold, getting a stomach bug while we were down there. It was such a relief to finally get home last night! I have to say though, it makes for a good story! It was much more excitment than we would have had on Spring Break! I find it funny that I am the actress for the Heartland Flyer commercials but the first time I actually ride it anywhere, we crash! Something to tell my grandchildren someday!

Static electricity makes for a really cool picture...

2009-03-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hayden had so much fun playing at the park yesterday and especially loved the slide. I got the biggest kick out of seeing her come down every time because her hair would be standing on end by the time she got to the bottom. There is no wind in that pic! It's all static! Oh, how I wish the warm weather would get here and stay!!! Days at the park are the best!

When bad clothes happen to good people...

2009-03-05T08:01:00.001-08:00

Hayden's new favorite thing to do before she emerges from her room after a nap is to completely re-dress herself...

Just so you know, highwater pants with apples all over them are going to be all the rage this Spring.

Well, this is not how I pictured spending my Wednesday...

2009-03-04T10:58:00.001-08:00

...waiting for poop. Ah, the joys of motherhood! (I should warn you that if you are not a mom or someone else completely comfortable talking about poop, this blog entry is not for you. Just stop here.) Because of Hayden's CF-related digestive problems we are always having issues with her poop! (sorry if this is TMI) In this case, her enzymes haven't been successful enough at breaking down her food and an x-ray yesterday showed that she was VERY backed up. Let me first off say that I am so grateful it is nothing more than severe constipation because they were thinking it could be another bowel obstruction. Been there, don't want to do it again. So they prescribed her Golytely, the lovely stuff you have to drink before a colonoscopy. I was told to keep her at home the next couple of days and give her 3-4 oz. every six hours until she's running clear. Fun times! Well, of course a toddler isn't going to want to drink stuff so nasty adults have trouble downing it! I flavored it with crystal light powder but after one drink she handed it back to me and said "No thank you". I am not above bribery so, after promising her a Hershey's kiss and syringing all four ounces into her mouth a tsp. at a time (that's how she wanted me to do it), we had the first round down. I don't know what I expected but this hasn't been it. I was picturing a kind of Niagra Falls out her hind end. (again, TMI, sorry!) I just gave her the second dose of liquid and at this point we've only had one poopy diaper. So, I'm here, armed with my diapers, wipies, syringe and Hershey's kisses.....waiting for poop.

The blessings pour in...

2009-02-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Today has been a wonderful day for me both as a wife and a mother. This has truly been a day where I have felt blessed from sun up to sun down. Ryan and I attended a marriage conference at our church today that was awesome. I really loved it and felt like I came away from it with a great renewed sense of my role as Ryan's wife. I am positive he would say the same for his experience. Something that really struck me was the reminder that God isn't just my spiritual father but also my spiritual father-in-law. That Ryan is God's son and when I am hurting Ryan through my actions or words, I am hurting God. In the same way that I want Hayden's future husband to love her fully and out of reverance for God, God wants me to do the same for Ryan and vice-versa. Gary Thomas, the speaker sharing this wisdom, told us to picture God saying to us, "(Ryan) isn't just your husband, he's my son." Pretty powerful, isn't it?
After coming home to Hayden after the conference, my day just kept getting better. Ryan and I stopped at Mardel on our way home to get some books for her. I picked out one with Bible stories for children her age and one with little songs that have accompanying actions to go with the words. I was excited to get home and start a story with her but, I admit, I was half-expecting her to get distracted and want to move on to something else. Instead, she was totally engrossed in the first story and kept asking me to go on to the next one, and the next one, and the next one. Then we picked up the songbook and I started with the first three songs. I repeated them a few times and then suddenly she was finishing my phrases for me before I even sang them. She was even doing the motions! We brought Daddy in and she performed for him. Oh, what I've been missing out on!!!! My heart is so full and I can just see God working before my eyes. On Hayden, yes, but more than anyone I see Him working on me. To end this wonderful day I read a poem in my Bible study tonight that touched me so much I plan to write it out and keep it on my bathroom mirror. (For those of you reading this that are in the study, yes this from day one's homework. I'm behind!) I'm going to type the poem here so someone else can be touched by it:
Some have had kings in their lineage,
Some to whom honor is paid.
Not blest of my ancestors-but,
I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
Oh what a difference it makes for me-
I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success
And trust in the riches they've made-
This is my surest asset,
I have a mother who prays.

My mother's prayers cannot save me,
Only mine can avail;
But mother introduced me to Someone-
Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes...I have a mother who prays for me
And pleads with the Lord every day for me.
O what a difference it makes for me-
I have a mother who prays.
-Author unknown
Blessings to you this week, my sweet friends.

Oh, those quiet moments...

2009-02-27T17:25:00.000-08:00

You know the ones. The moments when you realize it's really quiet in your house and it shouldn't be. Yeah, that happened today. I was back in my bedroom when I noticed I couldn't hear Hayden anymore and I didn't have to go far to find her. I turned the corner into the kitchen and found her standing in the pantry playing with my FOOD COLORING! She had moved the trash can out, moved her stool in and gotten down the box of neon food and egg dye. She was so happy to be playing in the "paint" as she called it. (She's in a big watercolor phase). It was all over my tile and all over her hands. My grout now has a lovely purple hue about it. I tried everything, short of bleach, to get it off her hands but nothing worked. It is dye afterall. So for now, Hayden has a big purple thumb and I actually think she kind of likes it.

You know what, Mama?...

2009-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

I decided that today was going to be different from all other days in a really big way. I was going to make sure that I acknowledged God, and His presence, all throughout my day. Even bigger, I was going to make sure that Hayden knew it. I pray for my daughter constantly. Her health is what I pray for more than anything else. I recently realized, however, that I was missing something very important. I wasn't praying with my daughter. I wasn't taking the time each day to talk about God and point out all the wonderful things He does in our lives. I've just been trying to make it through each day with strong-willed toddler and I've been leaving out the most important thing. So today needed to be different...and it was! I was putting Hayden into her car seat to head to gymnastics and I decided to have a conversation with her about God. I told her that God loves her very much and that He made her special. I went on to explain how He made the beautiful sunshine and all the pretty flowers she loves to pick. "Even the rainbows?", she asked. "Yes, even the rainbows!" "Wow!", she said, her little wheels turning. We had been riding in silence for a few minutes when I heard "You know what, Mama?" "What, baby?" "God made you special, too." Minutes later, when I had finally dried my tears, I thanked God for this amazing day of new beginnings.

What are the chances...

2009-02-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

...that all of us would be in the air at the same time and that someone would have a fast enough camera to capture it?! I love this pic...even though my face looks like that.