Military Mommy

Patience is not my virtue

2012-01-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

And I wonder why my kids are so impatient?

Our house has been on the market for a few weeks now! We are so thankful that we are seeing quite a bit of action. I think we are up to 16 showings now and we are waiting impatiently for the perfect buyer to make an offer. I know God has our back and I flip flop back and forth daily on my feelings about it. In the midst of worship I realize how blessed we are and know that if we never move that we still have so many things to be thankful and grateful for. What is a house but a simple surrounding for a family.

And then I step on a lego and desperately wish for more room.

God knows my gemini multiple personality spaztastic ways. And guess what, He loves me anyways!

Pray for my patience...and my sanity next time I have to mad rush around clean the house, load up 4 kids, 1 dog and myself for another showing. Maybe, just maybe, that will be the one!

Easier Said than Done.

2012-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

I know I am not the only person out there who struggles with this.

My Verse.

If I had to pick a verse that is all mine this would be it. This verse singlehandedly gets me through the toughest times, the most confusing phases and all the stages in between. This verse brings me peace. I have it memorized simply because when my bipolar gemini tendencies jump into play it helps me to focus and remember that God has my back. Even in moments of near panic attack anxiety I recite this to calm myself down. In moments of question, doubt, worry, stress and fear, and definitely when the enemy whispers lies into my ears I remind myself of this.

For I KNOW the plans I have for declares the Lord, plans to PROSPER you, and NOT to harm you, plans to give you HOPE and a FUTURE.

So here is the struggle. Perfect example, selling our house. I volley back and forth like a beach ball of emotion. My internal dialogue has multiple personalities that read like a one man play.

"We are never going to sell this house and I need to start accepting how to raise 4 kids in a small space. There are people in China who live in eetsy teeny apartments and you are complaining about 1600 square feet? Do you know how many people would rejoice for 1600 square feet?"

"This house is driving me insane. I can't keep track of anything and we are stuffed to the gills. If I step on another lego I am throwing them all away. Too many toys"

"Toys, maybe I should rent a pod and put up even more toys than I already have. How can I get rid of all of our toys and manage to entertain all these kids?"

"For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and hope"

"Yes Lord, you know my intentions, you know the desires of my heart. You have perfect timing when we submit to your will. I know you are going to work everything out perfectly so that we don't end up in an apartment or in a home that is not right. Every home that we don't get is not the right home or you would work it out. Thank you for reminding me, I trust you. Lord help me to give it up to you"

"Maybe I should redo the kitchen, I hate those oak cabinets and if there was white cabinets with a white backsplash it would look so clean and crisp. I wonder if that would help. Oh Wait I already decided to wait, Yes wait. Our house has been on the market 3 weeks, Jessica! Three Weeks! That is nothing, what am I stressed out about after 3 weeks? In 60-90 days I will make changes if it is still on the market"

"What am I stressed out about? Oh yeah, showing a house with 4 kids under the age of 4. Yeah that, this is torture, I can't keep this house clean! I need a maid...should I hire someone to come in and clean once a week, maybe Fridays"

"Fridays, its Friday! No showings today? Hmmm, not good. Ahh Friday I have so many costumes to work on for work. Why am I worrying about nonexistent house showings when I have a house to clean, no maid and work to do, no nanny?"

"For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you (crap is that toast burning?) to give you a future and hope"

"Oh yeah God, thanks again for that reminder, take this stress away, help me to focus on what needs to be done and submit to you, again. Sorry bout that"

Toast is burnt, kids are calling.

Please tell me I am not alone! Why is it so much easier to tell others that God has a perfect plan than to remember it ourselves? Why is it easier to allow a 1000 thoughts to run through our brains at all moments of the day instead of pausing and focusing on what is TRUTH? I guess thats our human nature, the constant battle between flesh and faith. With a good dose of house selling, 4 kids and 1 scatterbrained mom thrown into the mix.

"Fast" Food

2012-01-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post that we are fasting right now....we decided after some time with our Life Group to do a 21 day Daniel Fast. The Daniel Fast is not a liquid fast but its still pretty restricted. Basically it's eating vegan (no meat, no dairy, no animal products) plus no sugar, no caffiene, no processed foods, no white flours or grains. We are eating eggs and Rob is still drinking a morning cup of joe but other than that its fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

I wanted to share some recipes that are getting us through these few weeks as we attempt to declutter our systems and start our year with a clean slate focus on Christ and His will for our family!

Green Minestrone
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used a mix of penne and large shells)
1/2 bag frozen green beans
1/2 bag frozen broc
1/2 bag frozen cauliflower-
1/2 bag frozen spinach-defrosted and squeezed dry
1 can cannelini beans (white, great northern) drained and rinsed
8-10 cups veggie stock
1 Onion-diced
2-3 cloves of garlic-minced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning Blend

In a large pot or dutch oven add your olive oil and heat on medium high. Add the diced onion and the garlic, stirring until translucent but not browned. Add the tomato paste and spinach and stir to heat. Add 8 cups veggie stock and season WELL with Italian Seasonings, salt and fresh cracked pepper(chicken would be fine if not fasting or vegetarian). In a large microwave safe bowl combine your green beans, broc and cauliflower and defrost for 5ish minutes, just long enough to get rid of some of the water. Remove and roughly chop to 1/2 inch-inch pcs. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cover for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Check the pasta to be sure it's done and add the cannelini beans. Remove from heat and cover for an additional 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld and the beans warm up. If needed add more veggie stock-mine was a great consistency with 8 cups...be sure to taste and add more salt and seasonings as needed! Serve with whole wheat crackers.

Hello 2012

2012-01-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to wrap my head around it being 2012! I keep writing 2011 on checks and looking at old calendars. Mommy-brain or denial?

Max will turn FIVE this year. Stella will be 2! The twins will have a first birthday bash! We are gaining another nephew this year. My parents moved 1000's of miles away. Our house is for sale. We will move to a new home this year! I want to garden and sew more and plan big kid rooms. We are fasting as Christ followers to give the first of our year to Him in spirit. Max will start pre-k this year! We hope to pay off our van, save more, spend less and give more. My best friend is getting married on my birthday! We are aiming to eat better healthier foods this year, less meat, less sugar and less processed foods. We want to work out and move more. We want to grow closer to God and learn more about Him. we want to lead our kids to become followers of Christ and model that life for them. We want to grow closer together and make our marriage a priority despite our brood of littles. We want to serve others and love people more. We want to be more like Him and less like everyone else.

We have great plans for the New Year but most of all we have great HOPE in Jesus! Thank you Lord for every blessing, every challenge, every gift, every sacrifice, everything you place in our path.

Always,
The C Family

Stocking Tutorial

2011-11-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

I made our Christmas stockings this year and I love how they turned out! I loved the Pottery Barn Kids ones but so many people have them AND they are expensive unless you get them on sale. And by the time they are on sale they are sold out of the different designs and I kept putting it off. I am glad I did because who woulda thunk we would be a family of six?

I wanted something FUN, WHIMSICAL and NONTRADITIONAL. So these stockings are not for everyone but they are perfect for me!

They really were an EASY sew although a littttttttttttle time consuming to sew down all the detail on the fronts. Overall easypeasy. Here are step by step instructions so you can make your own!

1) Start by laying down an old stocking or a Dollar Tree stocking that you like the shape of on your base fabric. I like to leave my fabric folded like they have it on the bolt and pin through 2 layers so you only have to trace and cut once. Tracing with chalk is a good idea because a wipe of a damp cloth can take it off your fabric.

2) Once you have your 2 main pieces cut set them unpin them and set aside. Now take the fabric you want for your hook and cut a piece about 6-8 inches long and 5 inches wide. You are going to fold this pc in half lengthwise RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER and pin together. Sew down the length being sure to double stitch at the beginning and end.

Now turn it rightside out and set aside.

3) Fold down 1/4 inch at the top of each stocking pc and sew being sure that you are sewing the unfinished side in what will be the INSIDE of the stocking.

3) Next you are going to design your front of stocking including the fake cuff. Take different ribbons and fabrics and lay out your design leaving extra that hangs over for a seam allowance. Pin everything down. You may have to pin down bottom layers and lay top layers in place to pin down later. Some things like the burlap flower I did on Presley's will need to be hotglued or handsewn.

4) The not hard, hardest part....starting with bottom layers of your design sew them down using straight stitches and zig zag stiches for texture. Once you have completely sewn the design onto the front of your stocking you are close to finished!

5) Put the RIGHT SIDES or FINISHED sides of the 2 stocking pcs together. Pin around and then sew leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Be sure to double stitch at the start and finish. Now go back and trim trim trim all the loose threads and any extra fabric or embellishment that is past the sewn seam allowance.

6) Turn the stocking right side out and you are so close! All you have to do is fold the first pc you did for the hook and pin it inside the stocking. Lay it down and sew it into the cuff portion, being sure to go back over it several times so it can hold the weight of a stuffed stocking.

7) At this point I finally got out my iron (a better seamstress would have had you press your pcs and embellishments but I am lazy) and pressed the entire stocking and ironed on the "fake" embroidered monogram for each of us.

Ta-Da! Done! Easy and Unique and even better, CHEAP!

He makes me laugh

2011-11-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

This kid...

Me- "Max STOP SCREAMING, how many times a day do I HAVE to tell you that?"

Max-"10 or 11"

Me-"I need to tell you 10 or 11 times?"

Max-"Yep that sounds about right"

Touche' Max, Touche.

Food is Love

2011-11-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

A few more things we were able to do as a part of our Month of Thankfulness! We are a family that believes in hospitality. We like to open our home to our friends and family and want to be a home where everyone feels welcome and included. This past week seemed to be crazier than normal but we still managed to squeeze in a little love for others to celebrate all that we are thankful for!

First we gave our sitter Ms. Riah a gift card to Sonic to treat herself to a drink. Mariah started babysitting for us last year when we just had Max and Stella. She is a great sitter and we so appreciate her! She is responsible, dependable and even at her young age she manages to watch all 4 of our kiddos without an issue! She is also very giving of herself and her time! When she was just 14 she started a ministry project to provide stockings for the homeless of OKC on Christmas Day, along with a hot meal and respite from the cold. In just 3 years her project has grown immensely and she is often found speaking to local youth groups and working to get more sponsors and donations for Stockings for the Homeless. Check out her project on Facebook HERE!

Another way we chose to show our appreciation and gratefulness for others was to give a little gift of Tastefully Simple! I have been so blessed by my Tastefully Simple business and it allows me to give to others as well! In particular I was feeling led to provide some meal ideas and products to make a holiday meal a little more special for a family in need. I hope it is just a small way to give back in a way that would be important to me. Holiday meals are a special time of conversation, memories and special treats and I want this family to enjoy all of those things without a burden.

Food is Love this week!

Check out all the things we have crossed off our list here!
http://lifewithmadmax.blogspot.com/2011/10/month-of-thankfulness.html

We are Adopting!

2011-11-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

Gotcha here right?

Just another small way we can teach our children gratitude this month. At our campus of LifeChurch.tv we have adopted an elementary school where 90% of the students qualify for free lunch programs. Our goal as a church is to be sure every kid is blessed with something this Christmas. I find it affirming that when we picked up our Lifepack we got a card that was for a 3-4 year old boy, just like our own Max. We talked to Max about some parents don't have enough money to buy Christmas presents for their kids. Since we are blessed to have enough we are going to adopt a little boy for Christmas and make sure he is blessed too.

We are buying a book, a toy and school supplies since these teachers spend their own money providing what their students need. Max picked out the following and keeps asking about our boy. What boy? "That boy we are adopting!"

For the record I haven't ruled out adoption someday but for now I am living vicariously though my friend Kari! Check out her blog HERE

We have also been blessed this month to be able to give an offering above our tithe, Thank you Lord for meeting all of our financial needs that we may have more than enough to give unto the kingdom of God and promote the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Always, Jesi

What a week!

2011-11-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Month of Thankfulness
(days 8-9-10)

It has been one of THOSE weeks. You know the ones, where you spend more time trying not to pull your hair out than anything else. My kids have been snotty, sick, screaming little messes this week and its thrown a kink in our plans! But we still managed to knock a few more things off our list!

This week we visited the animal shelter in our town. We donated dog treats and old towels and blankets which cost us nothing but our time. Max and Stella also LOVED seeing all the animals. I forgot just how sad it is to see so many sweet animals without a home. Please, PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. The last thing we need is more homeless animals and backyard breeding going on in our society. Also if you are looking for a forever pet, ADOPT! Do not buy from "pet stores" So many of these animals are bred in puppy mills and are not treated the right way. Go adopt one of the awesome animals that are sitting on death row waiting for a forever home.

Here is our adopted forever pet

Deuce still has the shelter tattoo on his belly that labels him as #8095. When he drives me crazy I remind him of that but in reality we would never give him away.

Go love some animals this week!

Jesi

{Maybe it's because I am tired}

2011-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

That I think coffee is such a good way to be kind to others!

(day 7 of our month of thankfulness)

I didn't get to include the kiddos in todays activities but they were fun nonetheless. I had found a starbucks gift card with $20 on it and decided to put it to good use. We are having CRAZY weather here in Oklahoma, tornado warnings, hail, heavy rains, high winds and EARTHQUAKES. Yeah, in OKLAHOMA!

So on the way to work I got coffee for my coworker and my boss. I consider myself very blessed to work with awesome, fun, caring people and I just wanted to give them a little Happy :) I also decided at the last minute to buy the coffee for the guy behind me. It ended up taking awhile for my order (probably due to my boss's crazy order :)) so I hope it was a nice surprise to have his drink paid for when he pulled up. I know I get frustrated waiting in a slow drive through line!

Maybe when I get more sleep from the little ones I will get more creative in my kindess! Maybe!

{Donate}

2011-11-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today we are talking about GIVING to others who are not as fortunate as we are. we have wayyyyyyyy too many toys in a small house so today we are going to go through our toys and fill a tub to give to Goodwill. We remind Max of how many toys he gets for his birthday and Christmas and let him take part in selecting what toys he is ok giving to kids who may not have any.

Another thing we choose to donate is kids clothes. We have been so blessed by the generosity of hand me downs so instead of consigning our kids clothes we simply give them to others. I have 2 baskets and 2 trash bags full! We are going to sort and seperate them today for some friends who appreciate hand me downs as much as we do! We also plan to give to my friend Gabby who works at a family center where they house mothers and kids.

I feel like we have this many kids clothes!

Todays RAOK is DONATE!

{Pray for a Friend}

2011-11-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of our Month of Thankfulness *andgratefulnessandkindness*

Today we have 2 RAOK that we are planning! First we are going to spend time this morning praying for a friend. This ties into something I am very thankful for which is my job. I am very blessed that I get to work part time at a job that I love doing, with wonderful people! My boss is pretty dang cool and we are praying for his family today. A few years ago he had to have a hip replacement surgery which the doctor pretty much botched. This resulted in a 2nd surgery, more time recovering, missing playtime with his kids, missing work and medical costs. Not to mention the physical ramifications of having 2 major surgeries on the HIP! Have I mentioned that we work in performing arts? Not only is this hip an instrument of his work but it is an instrument of praise! He and his wife both have to appear in legal appointments today and tomorrow regarding the first surgery. We are praying that they are fairly compensated for the doctors mistakes! Join me in praying for the T family today!

Our second RAOK is for the director of our MDO program, Miss Bree. We are going to bring her one of these...

just to say Thank you for everything she does! We really love our experience there and want to bless her day and warm her up from a very cold coldfront that moved in last night. We were even able to sneak it onto her desk with just her name written on the lid so it was anonymous.

Prayers and Starbucks, pretty awesome ways to show kindness we think!

Always,
Jesi

Tip Someone!

2011-11-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

What a great first and second day of our month of Thankfulness!

Yesterday was our first day and we started by Turkey'ing *yes I made that word up* our neighbors! It was a fun way to show a little neighborly appreciation and Max really liked it. He has started saying we are celebrating Nicegiving this month.

At the end of the night, after a long day we HAD to go grocery shopping. I don't know about anyone else but we get paid 2x per month. October was a longgggggggggg month with the second half having 3 weekends! We are also attempting to honor God more with our finances so we are paying a lot extra towards our few debts and that leaves very little "extra" to go around. It's a Dave Ramsey way of thinking but it gets a little panicky when you have $3 left at the end of the month (after saving, tithing and budgeting everything else). But God IS faithful and our finances are already lightened for November which we are thankful for!

Rob stayed home with Stella, Jackson and Presley while Max and I went shopping. We loaded our cart up and spent a good chunk on groceries. We had a FULL cart and a HUGE bag of dogfood so when the young teenage boy offered to help us out (which ONLY happens at Crest, never at Target or Walmart) we accepted. His friend came up in the parking lot and helped as well. I saw the perfect opportunity to do another ROAK for our month of Thankfulness. I whispered to Max and asked if he would like to bless these young men for helping us. Of course he was excited to do so! We got out a little cash that I had in my wallet and Max tipped each of them. You could tell that they were surprised and they shut all my doors and told me to have a GREAT night (with a maam thrown in there too, sigh :))

Max was also BEGGING for a spiderman toothbrush and toothpaste so I let him pick it out IF he picked something out for Stella. We decided on a Hello Kitty toothbrush and Disney Princess toothpaste. She was in bed when we got home but he got to give it to her this morning. She LOVED it and he kept talking about how it was nice to take care of your little sister when you are a big brother. Melt my heart.

Today I am thankful for SIBLINGS and my sweet kids who are learning how to be kind to others and each other. Growing up an only child I never got that super close sibling bond until later. I am greatly blessed by all of my stepbrothers and half brother, my brother in law and sister in law and especially brothers sweet wives. It's nice to have siblings.

photo from Sarah Billheimer Photography

Always,
Jesi

You've been Turkey'd!

2011-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our first item to check off our list! I love the idea that I have seen floating around to BOO your neighbors for Halloween. BUT October is just a crazy month, we have a birthday in there and we never got around to it. So as part of our Month of Thankfulness I wanted us to do something for our neighbors. We aren't really close with our neighbors but we do have some good ones who keep their yards and houses looking nice and always wave hello so we wanted to say Thank You to them! I made up this poem and we are going to attach it to a small bag of treats (popcorn, fruit snacks, some of our Halloween candy, granola bars=all free in our pantry) and a big colorful turkey made by the kiddos. I hope it catches on and they do the same to other neighbors! It would be fun to see turkeys in windows and know we spread some kindness in the neighborhood!

It's time for fall
and time for turkey
Time for thanks
those skies are murky
We just wanted to say thank you
for all you do and being you!
Neighbors come and neighbors go
but you always manage to say hello
Pumpkins, treats and cold winds too
This is our special treat just for you.
Enjoy this Thanksgiving Treat and funny Turkey
and remember that you are Lucky!

Pass on the kindness and don't spoil the fun! Choose two more neighbors and give them their own Turkey and Treats, be sure to hang your Lucky Turkey in your window so we know you are part of the party!

A Month of Thankfulness!

2011-10-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we start November and we are inching closer to Thanksgiving! I can't believe how quickly time seems to be going by this year. The twins will be 5 months old on November 7th, Stella is 18 months and Max is FOUR!

Something that I think is really important to Rob and I in our parenting is teaching our children to be grateful. There are SO MANY adults and kids today that have a HUGE sense of entitlement and it drives me bananas. Instead of being grateful for the blessings that we are given we are constantly on the hunt for more or unsatisfied, even when our every need is filled. We are not perfect and can definitely be guilty of this as well!

In an effort to remember just how blessed we are as a family, we are going to be celebrating November with a Month of Thankfulness and Gratefulness! We plan to show our appreciation for those around us with random acts of kindness and little things that just say THANK YOU!

Some ideas that I have for the month are...

Make treats and take them to the fire house down the street. These firefighters are the ones who responded to our scary 911 call with Max last year.
~~Send treats to Mommy~~ and Daddy's ~~coworkers.~~
Give a $5 gas card to someone.
Leave a $1 by the coffee machine at a gas station.
~~Donate our old clothes to friends and others.~~

~~Donate toys we don't play with anymore.~~
~~Turkey our neighbors with a surprise on their doorstep.~~
Visit the Oklahoma Food Bank and donate canned goods and $ for meals.
~~Pick up trash somewhere.~~
Take a treat to our LifeKids Director at church.
~~Give an offering at church.~~
~~Make dinner for friends.~~
~~Take old towels and treats to the local animal shelter.~~
Write a Thank You card to a friend.
~~Send a TS gift to someone just to say we love you.~~
Leave candy for the mailman.
~~Adopt a kid for Christmas.~~
Leave change on a vending machine.
~~Treat our sitter to a sonic drink.~~
~~Take a coffee to our MDO director.~~
Bring breakfast for our MDO teachers.
Leave nice notes on bathroom or dressing room mirrors for the ladies.
Make a military care package for a deployed soldier.
Take a dinner to a military wife.
~~Pay for the person behind us somewhere.~~
~~Pray for a friend.~~
~~Call our grandparents just to say Hi.~~
~~Tip the teenage boys who helped us take our groceries out.~~
~~Give a gift to our siblings!~~
~~Adopt a family for Christmas.~~

Other little things we want to do are be kind, smile at strangers, teach Max to open doors for ladies and the elderly, put carts back at stores, let someone cut in line, give more hugs, say Thank You to everyone, complain less, laugh more and pray often!

I don't know that we will get close to doing everything on our list but we are excited to show others that we are thankful for them!

Our month was inspired by this!
http://ticklestogiggles.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-birthday-was-awesome.html

Tithing and Praises

2011-10-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have written about tithing a lot on here. We firmly believe in the tithe and I am so thankful that its one area where we have easily agreed. BUT you can still tithe and not be the best stewards of your finances. Rob and I noticed our spending was less than ideal over the summer so we decided to rein it back in. It's hard! We cut back several bills and severely cut our spending and it seems like things are REALLY really tight. I was worried about an outstanding check hitting our account this week. Just as I fretted and freaked and had a few tears, Rob reminded me that I AM NOT IN CONTROL. God HAS THIS. He is BIGGER than this. He WILL honor our tithes and offerings.

And bam, Rob checked the mail and there was a check that made up the difference for what we needed. Almost to the dot.

God is SO good. He won't ever leave us hanging.

Ranch Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-10-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I can't follow a recipe to save my life. It's a good thing in cooking, I don't need a step by step guide when I cook, instead I just use recipes as inspiration and 9 times out of 10 I find myself winging it, making substitutions and adding flavor. Bad part-it makes it hard to share my "recipes" But I am going to try, this was so yummy and perfect fall comfort food!

Ranch Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
3 poached chicken breasts-cleaned of all fat and cut into chunks
1 can chicken broth
around 6 cups of water
1 onion diced
2 cups baby carrots diced
3-4 celery stalks-diced with leaves (celert leaves=good)
1 can cream of chicken OR 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon onion onion
1.5 tablespoon garlic garlic
fresh cracked pepper
1 packet dry ranch seasoning
1 package frozen homestyle egg noodles (I used yolk free to be healthier)

Directions
Poach chicken by adding raw defrosted chicken to warm water in a large pot. Bring water to a boil and then simmer until chicken is cooked through (15 minutesish). Remove from water, remove any fat or funky parts and cut into large chunks.

Dice onions, carrots and celery. In a large stock pot coat the bottom of the pn with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Over medium high heat saute the veggies, adding the salt, onion onion, garlic garlic and fresh cracked pepper until starting to get golden color and onions are transluscent. Deglaze pan with 1 can chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add 6 cups water and 2-3 tablespoons of chicken granules (or2 boullion cubes). ~You could just add several boxes of stock or broth but I didn't have any...water+boullion is fine~

Add chicken and stir in 1 can cream of chicken OR 1/2 cup of heavy cream. This gives the soup just a little more body and richness. Whisk in the dry ranch seasoning. Taste your broth and be sure its flavorful. If it is too salty add more water. This makes a BIG pot of soup!

I let this part of my soup simmer all day to really meld the flavors and cook the veggies down. I am sure 30-40 minutes would be fine though!

About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat bring the soup up to a boil. Add the frozen egg noodles and cook for 25-30 minutes. They will expand and be firm but not taste like raw dough when they are done. Return soup to low heat and eat it up!

Typing this out makes it seem WAY harder than it really is. I used the recipe below as my inspiration and I was pleased! I don't like chicken noodle soup but this was WAY better than a can or restaurant. I really think letting the veggies get some good color, deglazing the pan and a low long simmer make all the difference in the world!

Inspiration
http://picky-palate.com/2010/06/07/homemade-chicken-ranch-and-rice-soup/

Twin Talk

2011-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

practicing our tummy time

hey pj!

hey jack jack!

sweet sisters

best big brother

I love you sister!

I love you too!

First Piggies

2011-10-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Stella finally has enough hair for some tiny little piggie tails. It makes me smile.

hair model

dressing up

these little ones are 4 months old!

2011-10-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are 1/3 of the way done with their first year of life!

Jack Jack

Presley-4 Months

13.3 Pounds

50th Percentile Height

25th Percentile Weight

25 Percentile Head Circumfrence

Jackson-4 Months

16.5 Pounds

60th Percentile Height

75th Percentile Weight

60th Percentile Head Circumfrence

Both are perfect and strong. Not rolling over yet but definitely coo'ing and starting to laugh. Upper body strength is good and we need to increase tummy time and start oatmeal. We don't do rice cereal because I feel like its just ground nothing with no nutrition or flavor and its upsets all my kids stomachs. They each got 2 shots and 1 oral vaccine and were NOT PLEASED about it.

Maximus Owen-4 Years

Max had his 4 year check up at the same time. I missed his height measurement but she did say that he was 75th percentile for height and if he continued at this growth rate he would be around 6'2. Woot Woot for a tall boy! He was 39 pounds but he has had a bad stomach bug for the past two days so that might be a little off. He is smart as a whip, speech was awesome and manners were good :) We need to continue working on letter and number recognition and tracing since he doesn't LOVE those. He does better at numbers and math, especially adding. He got the flu mist but has to go back in a month for his 4 year old vaccines so that they officially count for school shots.

Stella lucked out and only got the flu shot...she was NOT a fan.

So funny how much they change.

Praying for...

2011-10-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

I decided to blog each week some of the things I am praying about so that I can look back and see how God is faithful.

This week I am praying for...

My marriage, just because I love my husband and I am blessed by him! Help me to be a blessing to him and a godly wife!

Sara, a friend of mine who lost her baby to SIDS. I am praying that no bitterness will take hold in her heart but that she feels peace and healing.

Annabelle, one of my little dancers who lost her mom and grandfather in a car accident. I am praying for hope and peace for her dad and her two brothers as well as their extended family.

Summer, my dear friend, just praying happiness and joy over her birthday month.

Davis Family, praying they feel comfortable and at home after a move. Continued blessings on their entire family!

Max, praying he has a joyful birthday and that God grants us another year of health and happiness with our awesome boy.

Stella, Presley and Jackson, praying thankfulness and gratefulness that I get to be their mom....praying that God helps me to do my best with them and give them the time they need unselfishly.

My parents-help them to feel peaceful about their big move and easy acclimation to new jobs. Praying they make connections to feel more at home.

Kera Don, praying she loves her new job and that it is a perfect fit for her.

Veronica, praying continued healing after the loss of her baby girl this summer and continued strength and healing.

Jenn, peace of mind and heart.

Kari, praying their adoption process continues to move swiftly and easily with no snags or hold ups. Praying for the sweet baby that will soon be blessed by Kari as a mom.

Fellow Military Mama, praying for her courage and her spirit not to be broken.

Baby Z, praying for his health and comfort. Praying for D as she navigates being a mama for the first time.

Laynie's mama and Lolly, praying for them this week that God would continue to show them all the ways she impacted the world!

Tabetha, praying for her work.

Finances-Help me to be a better steward of your blessings this month Lord. Take our tithe and use it as you see fit to glorify your kingdom.

House-praying for the perfect home for our family....financially smart, space to grow, room for friends and family.

Meal Plan courtesy of Pinterest

2011-10-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

You gotta love Pinterest right? Here are our meals for the next two weeks.

1. Slow Cooked Pork and Cilantro Lime Rice Bowls

2. Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

3. Penne with Cajun Alfredo, Sausage and Spinach-my recipe!

4. Beef Enchiladas with BSpicy Black Bean Dip and Chips-my grandmas recipe. Yum!

5. Pot Roast with Beer Bread-my own recipe with this new Tastefully Simple pot roast sauce

6. Chicken and Rice Ranch Soup

7. Crispy Panko Chicken, Steamed Veggies and Rice Pilaf

8. Pepperoni Rollups and Caesar Salad

9. Cajun Shrimp Casserole with Salad

10. Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Rosemary Potatoes and Veggies-my recipe using Tastefully Simple of course...best seasoning ever!

11. Ham and Cheese Sliders to take to Life Group

Treat-Pumpkin Rice Crispy Treats with Tootsie Roll Stems for Maxs MDO class

He is Faithful

2011-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

He is.

Recently I got such an awesome reminder of that. There was something that I had been struggling with for about a year and a half. I really really wanted Rob and I to join a Life Group. We had been invited to one with a friend of mine but I work on the night they have theirs. I was so sad because I really really enjoy all of the people in their group. But it just didn't work out. Then when we were close to having Stella it just wasn't a good time. We needed to spend that time focused on our relationship first and then worry about a small group later. Being pregnant with the twins and working and being a momma to M&S and being a husband to Rob took a lot out of me last year and our schedule was packed. There just wasn't a good time to commit to a weekly group.

On top of that Rob was hesitant. Rob is an amazing leader for our family but the idea of going to someones house, who we didn't know and "sharing" was intimidating. Heck I am the extrovert here and it intimidated me! Plus it seemed like every group met on Weds nights...the night I work at the dance studio.

All I have done for the past 3-4 months is pray about it. I say that's "all" but really isn't that "everything" Prayer works friends.

Then we entered a series at our church that was ALL about connecting. There was a LG connection event that I really wanted us to attend and Stella was sick.

The next week we sat through an entire service about HOW and WHY you should join a LG and what EXCUSES were preventing it.

Are you seeing the pattern here? God was slowly beating me over the head with a 2x4! Literally within the HOUR I got a text inviting us to check out a LG. OH I wanted to but I just knew they met on Weds. NOPE they meet on Thursdays and the campus across town offers childcare. FREE childcare.

I talked it over with Rob and we decided to give it a shot. I am SO thankful we did. We really enjoyed it and felt very comfortable. I am excited to get to know the other women better and for us to enjoy this weekly time as a couple.

He is FAITHFUL. Even when things don't come in our time, or things don't seem to be working out...eventually in HIS time HE WILL MOVE. He is faithful, all the time!

Always,
Jesi

Happy Anniversary

2011-09-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our 6th anniversary! We had a great day staying home with the kids and then our babysitter came over and we got to go out! On a date! Just the two of us! It was really nice to spend some one on one time together. We went and saw a movie and then tried a new restaurant. It was SO yummy. I highly recommend Signature Grill for a special occasion. Rob had tenderloin medallions with herb grilled zuchinni and the fingerling potatoes. I had the scallops with truffle cheddar broccoli and mushroom and bacon risotto. It was not calorie friendly but so good!

http://signaturegrilledmond.com/index.php

Happy 6th Anniversary to my amazing husband. It has been quite the adventure but I love you more today than I did when we got married. I know you better and I feel like we are better. I love watching you be a Dad to our crazy kids and I love that you love me.

ILYx3

Always,
Jesi

What's in the workboxes?

2011-09-13T14:01:00.000-07:00

Oh workboxes, how I love thee. Let me count the ways!

I got this idea from my friend Jess over at The Ruby Zebra. I researched it and found her post and the posts from Confessions of a Homeschooler and 1+1+1=1 really helpful in deciding to use workboxes for preschool at home with Max.

Here are some helpful links about workboxes
The Ruby Zebra-Jess's post on workboxes
1+1+1=1 Post on Workboxes
Another from 1+1+1=1
Confessions of a Homeschooler Post on Workboxes

workboxes after I loaded them up!

I fill ours 2-3 times per week as Max generally does 4-5 in a day instead of all 10.

On a PERFECT day *which doesn't happen often* we get the twins settled and get started. I put Max and Stella at the table for breakfast and we start by reviewing our learning board.

Then we start with our first box which is Bible Time. We read a little from the Jesus Storybook Bible and look up our memory verse in mommys bible as well. We also discuss how our memory verse is applicable to our day.

Here is the rundown of what was in our boxes this morning...remember we are on the letter S and all of the printables are from our Raising Rockstars Preschool curriculum.

Getting Ready for S tracing sheet-crayon box is in there too

Workbook-marked to the S page

S is for Spiderman-Puzzle

Cutting Practice with Memory Verse and Scissors

S Vocab Words

S is for Superman! New book from Dollar Tree

Spiderman Math Sheet-Max loved this!

Memory Verse Craft- with needed scissors and glue

Puzzle Sight Word Cards

Loaded up and Numbered! Ready to go!

Keep in mind Max will only do about half of this in one setting and I don't push it. We also have lots other S activities and workbox stuff that we do throughout the week. One craft that was easy and a big hit was S roads and cars.

We simply cut big S shapes out of black construction paper and used a white crayon to mark road dashes. Then Max moved them around in different combinations and shapes and used them as a road for his hotwheels.

We are also doing a lot of Starfall letters this week and Max has figured out how to manipulate through the letters on his own. He really enjoys it!

I really like the workbox system for our family. Since we have THREE younger siblings under Max it helps to have everything loaded up and ready. Even after we are done with school time for the day Max will often go rummaging through the boxes looking for something to do and I know he is going to find good learning fun stuff instead of zoning out in front of the tv. Although we do plenty of tv watching too :)

Always, Jesi

The twinsies are 3 months!

2011-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the twins are already 3 months old! Time goes by so fast, faster and faster with each kid it seems. We celebrated by getting family pictures taken with my friend Sarah again. She is SO talented and everyone just raves about each of the pictures that she does for us. So blessed by her friendship and her talent!

Here are our little owls...

presley-left, jackson-right

Mama with the babies

The Conder Crew

September 2011

maximus owen-3.75 :)

Maximus! I can't believe you are almost FOUR! Where does the time go? This picture is SO perfectly you. You are definitely crazy and a little bit, ok a lotta bit stubborn but you are also incredibly smart and funny. Daddy and I often have to hide our laughter at the things you come up with. You are still a bad sleeper dude....but you have solved the problem by sneaking into bed with us like a little ninja. We don't even know you are there until you kick Daddy 19x in 5 minutes and he gets irritated with you. We are doing preschool at home with you and your smarts astound me! You love to learn and you love Jesus and that is all that matters to us!

stella katherine-16 months

Sweet StellaBella. I can't believe you are already 16 months old. First off you are a drama queen but we love it. You throw big ol temper tantrums with real tears and ugly looks. You are feisty but gorgeous as ms. sarah says. You are a DADDYS GIRL! Half the time you just tolerate me. :) You are still our little pipsqueak but you are getting taller. We go back to check on your PDA heart stuff soon and we know you are going to be fine. You love your babies but you REALLY love Jack-Jack. We love you and adore you, our little comedian!

presley jane-3 months

PJ, your hair and eyebrows have a reddish tint and your eyes are light but not blue. I want to call you Gingersnap but you have definitely picked up PJ as a nickname. You are very chatty with your constant gooing and cooing and you already love your daddy. You are sleeping better at night and usually wake up once to eat in the early morning. You are our sweet baby girl and we love you!

jackson gage-3 months

Jackson you are 3 months old! you are so handsome! You have dark dark hair and beautiful green/brown eyes like your daddy. you have lonnnnnng dark eyelashes. You are seriously one chill baby and you are a mama's boy already. There are times when you cry and cry but if I hold you, you just fall asleep. You are definitely owning the nickname Jack-Jack and Stella is a little bit obsessed with you. We love you little man!

The whole family

Thank you God for blessing me with an amazing husband and beautiful healthy children.

Check out more of Sarah's work HERE!

Meal Plan

2011-09-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

I planned to buy for 1 weeks worth of meals but our local store was having a GREAT sale so I have more than planned.

1) Taco's with homemade queso and chips
2) Tostadas for Lunch with leftover taco fixings
3) Mac and Cheese with Salad
4) Garlic Alfredo with Chicken, Broccoli and Penne, Garlic Bread
5) BBQ Chicken in the crockpot, served on buns with Italian Pasta Salad
6) Tangy Tennesee Pork Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Corn
7) Salsa Chicken made into tortilla soup
8) Pigs in a Blanket/Pancakes-making big batches for several breakfast next week
9) Crockpot Queso Blanco with Sausage and Chipotle-great for nachos
10) Lasagna
11) Taco Pizza
12) Sweet Treats-we are making Lemon bars and Oatmeal Cranberry bars this week!

We are heavy on the mexican food, what can I say? I am mexican and I love it! I also have lots of extra meat and snacks because of the sale. Yay for groceries!

Learning Board

2011-08-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

I had a few people ask me about our learning board so I figured it would make a good post!

Here is our Learning Board

The reason I did this is because we have NO extra space in our house. I would love a room dedicated to play and learning but all our rooms are full. So I will show you how I have things organized for preschool at home.

You can see in this picture that we do preschool stuff on the kitchen table. And we like to learn in pajamas :)

Our Learning Board is just a trifold foam core board. I like the foam ones because they stay a little nicer than the cardboard ones. I think it was $4 at Hobby Lobby.

things I let my kids do when daddy is at work

This is the little nook next to our refrigerator...it houses supplies, craft stuff and games/puzzles. Basically most of the stuff we need. I do stash new games and puzzles in the linen closet because if Max sees them he wants them and I try to space stuff out.

This metal paper sorter is great for holding puzzles and our dry erase letter book.

This basket holds crayons, markers, glue, clothespins and clips, art supplies galore! We need more space for this stuff.

This crate is my planning box. I try to keep everything in it that I will use in our daily workboxes. It houses workbooks, all the letter of the week printables from our RRSP curriculum, flash cards, magnet letters, construction paper, my bible and my parenting devotional. Also my RRSP binder that I am compiling with Max's completed work!

The learning board components are SIMPLE!

They are just page protectors taped on with double sided tape. The weather strips and our calendar on the backside I got from the DOLLAR TREE! The printed materials are all from our Raising Rockstars Preschool curriculum!

Maybe someday we will have a playroom and a little more space. For now this gets the job done and makes it a little bit easier to keep an eye on the little ones since we are in the same space!

N is for Nana

2011-08-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

This little lady says NaNa now! Add it to her list of growing words. She is a spitfire but she isn't feeling good this Monday. Praying she feels better soon!

Chocolate is for Kids

2011-08-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Chocolate is for KIDS MOM!

making chocolate cake for daddy

such a good helper

taste tester

but NOT for babies MOM!

Funny Moments with Max

2011-08-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

"school" this week at home has been interesting to say the least.

One aspect of our preschool work is singing. This week I introduced Max to the song "This little light of mine" Sadly mama is NOT a singer because he told me that was a horrible song. He also started singing the words opposite, so he wants to hide his light under a basket and blow it out. Not thinking he learned the lesson with that song!

Since we are studying L I decided to get him a small pack of legos. This was the first time he got them and he was SO excited and telling me over and over again that 2 year olds can't have legos but 3 year olds can!

Workboxes! We went to Mardel to get workboxes to start using next week. After chasing Stella around the store, requiring help out of the store and trying to buckle everyone in, Stella locked me out! She locked me out of the car and was in the front seat pretending to drive. Thank you to our police department who sent out a very nice officer to help us. He rescued us for sure! Thankfully the air was running and she didn't drive off.

Max's weather predictions....

Just another week in crazy town!
Always,
Jesi

L is for Light

2011-08-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

L is for Light

We started preschool at home this week with Max and I am so pleased with how he is doing! It was an absolutely CRAZY week to start and I wasn't 100% ready to get started. He kept asking to do school stuff so we just sort of started with a bang. This week we are studying the letter L using our Raising Rockstars Preschool Curriculum.

So far this week we have....

~Put Together our Learning Board

memory verse, life lesson, song, weather, show off section and highlights

~Practiced L's

~Learned that L is for Lego!

~Worked on our memory verse

matthew 5:16

~Cutting practice with our memory verse

cutting and pasting

~Learned L is for Lorax

~Worked on our L slideshows from RRSP and on Starfall.com

~L is for Listen and talked about our Life Lesson

{I can obey Mommy and Daddy. I can be kind to others. I can learn about God. I can tell the truth. I can share. I can show love to others. I can be brave. I can tell others about Jesus}

~Learned L is for Light and played with a new laser sword and glow necklaces

It's been a lot of fun to learn with Max this week and he really surprised me with his memory verse! I am so proud that he is starting to remember his verse for the week! He struggles a little bit with lettering so we go at his pace and do it casually when he wants to. It's been a fun week and I can't wait to finish up the letter L next week using our new workboxes!.

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven"

Matthew 5:16

A few times Max has substituted the word Daddy for Father which I think is sweet. He definitely loves both his earthly and heavenly Daddy's!

Always,

Jesi

TS on TV!

2011-08-22T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! I conquered my nerves and anxiety and did my food demo for Tastefully Simple on the local show All About You. It was 4 minutes and it went SO fast. I felt like a big mess but I watched it later and think I did well. It wasn't perfect but it was LIVE TV! And cooking on live tv! It was a lot of fun and the producers and hosts of the show were super nice and helpful. Thank you Tastefully Simple for letting me shine!

Here is my tv debut. Thank you to my friends Sarah and her husband Brad for getting this clip online for me!

Jesi on All About You

Live from Oklahoma Cityyyyyyyyyyy

2011-08-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am excited to share that I am going to be on live tv next week!

What I really want to do is throw up from nerves :) but I am genuinely excited. I have been a food tv watcher my entire life so I kind of get to pretend that I have my own cooking show for an entire 5 minutes.

i will pretend that I am paula deen...that will boost my self confidence!

So here's the deal, it's Monday at 11AM on the show "All About You" which is on local channel KSBI OK 52. I will be doing a 4-5 minute cooking demo on easy summer recipes featuring our AWESOME Tastefully Simple products. We will be celebrating National Panini Month which should be fun. I have a LOT of prep work to do and I need to get some timing practice in the next few days.

I know it might seem silly but I honestly feel like God is blessing my TS business and it reassures me that I am in the right spot. Sales is never an "easy" job but it's one of the most prevalent in our nation! How many people are in some sort of sales? We are all selling something! Heck, even bloggers are selling themselves to their readers!

gotta love our beautiful marketing!

To God be the GLORY for this super fun experience. I pray that anyone out there who is looking for a way to bring in extra income to their family or needs to experience Tastefully Simple in some way will be tuned in a watching. God can use ANYTHING to bring Glory to HIM!

Always,

Jesi

Food for Thought

2011-08-12T09:14:00.001-07:00

What would you do if you never worried about what other people think?

Create an Atmosphere of Worship

2011-08-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not posting this because I am good at it, rather as a reminder to myself!

Today I got in a tizzy because I wasn't able to get ANYTHING done. Every time I tried to stand up one of the twins would start fussing and Stella was being needy and Max was running around getting into things and I was feeling overwhelmed. I called Rob, just to tell him I was going crazy. He gets a lot of those calls these days ;)

I decided to snap out of it. I reminded myself that babies cry. I put them down and took Max and Stella into the kitchen. We baked a chocolate cake for Rob to say "Thanks for being a great dad and the kind of husband who lets me off duty after you worked for 12 hours to let me take a bath and fall asleep for an hour." And by bake I mean we mixed up a Tastefully Simple chocolate pound cake which takes 3 minutes!

Then I got out my devotional and did it.

I was feeling better already. I blared some worship music and turned the tv off. I cleaned the kitchen while Max decided he was Jacksons babysitter, meaning he sat next to him and replaced his paci every time he cried out. Once my kitchen was clean I felt so much better. There are SO MANY days when my house looks like it got hit by a tornado and it really leaves me feeling out of control. If I can manage to keep things just a little cleaner I feel better. Relieved I went back to the living room and let the music play. I started singing along and Stella started dancing. I love how kids instinctually raise their hands to music. Max started singing along with me. Holding a content baby, watching another one sleep, dancing along with Stella and hearing Max belt out HOLY HOLY HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTYYYYYYYY. There was some serious worship happening in our house.

It's really easy to get caught up in the moment to moment challenges that come with motherhood. If we can just pause, at least once per day to remember our blessings and create an atmosphere of worship we might all feel just a tiny bit better. I know it worked today in my house!
Always,
Jesi

Pudding Party

2011-08-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Instant Pudding

Random Kitchen Utensils

Permission to Make a Mess

Happy Kids

The joy of teaching kids ANYTHING is that they learn through play!
Always,
Jesi

Chit Chat

2011-08-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

This little lady is starting to repeat a lot more words!

Some of her words at 15 months

Mama
DaDa
Ma for Max
Yum Yum
Mine
Baba for Bottle
Ja JA for Jack Jack
Mmmmm
Uh Oh
Nigh Nigh
Hiiiiiiiiiiii with a distinctive southern twang
GRO for Gross
YUuuuu for Yuck
Sti Sti for Stinky
(are you noticing a pattern?)
Bebe for Baby
Bye Bye

We love you Stella!

Presley and Jackson are 2 months old!!

2011-08-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Presley Jane
11 pounds
21 inches
25th percentile height
50th percentile on head circumfrence
50th percentile on weight

Presley you are 2 months old! You are eating 4-5 ounces every 3 hours and you still wake up 2-3 times per night. You are a drama queen and it makes us laugh. You SCREAM over the smallest stuff. You are just starting to coo and smile at us and we love it. I think you are going to be a Daddys girl just like your big sister. You love to be swaddled tight and we found a paci you actually like. You are a character and cute as a button. You have a reddish hint to your hair and your eyebrows and light eyes...is it possible we are having a ginger?! Genetics are so funny. We love you PJ!

Jackson Gage
13.5 pounds
23 inches
50th percentile height
50th percentile on head circumfrence
90th percentile on weight hehehe

Jackson Gage you are 2 months old! You are a HOSS! You are such a big boy and it makes mommy laugh. You seem like our biggest boy yet but I think its just because you are a little shorter than brother was at this age. You are so calm and peaceful and you love to just hang out and chill. We love that about you since pj is the dramatic one. You rarely cry and you are easily soothed. You eat 6 ounces every 3-4 hours and you only wake up 1x per night. You have gorgeous hazel eyes and olive skin and DARK hair. Mama calls you a little Kardashian baby. Rock on little buddy, we love you!

Never Say Never

2011-08-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

A lesson I REALLY need to learn.

I love looking back and seeing how God can bring things full circle. There are so many times when I have said "never will I" and God has said "oh really?"

When I was young I never understood stay at home moms. My own mom worked full time and did an awesome job being a mom and working. I didn't really understand WHY you would go to college, get your degree and then "just" stay home with kids. It flat out didn't make sense to me.

me as a working mom

After Max was born I understood why there were women that chose to be stay at home moms. But I never wanted to be one. It took a few years of listening, prayer, job changes and pressing into God to desire it for myself. It's not always easy and it's a financial sacrifice to live on 1.5 incomes but I truly feel it's where HE wanted me. I quit my job when we just had Max. Little did we know that just a short 2 years later we would have not 1 more child but 3 more children. God was lining out HIS plan before we ever knew what was gonna hit us! Never say Never.

working as a stay at home mom

Twins, twins, oh my sweet twins. I cannot tell you how many times I made joking but cutting remarks about twins! I would laugh and say "If I ever have twins I am giving one away!" Of course I meant it as a joke! Because I never in a million years imagined we would have twins. Never say Never.

would you give one of these sweet things away? Me either!

School, school, blessed School. I have NEVER wanted to homeschool. I have lots of friends who do an awesome job at it. Not me. I have several friends who are organized and involved and love it and the whole time I am thinking "that is really great for them but never for me"

Funny story...Max is one of the kids who will have to wait until he is practically SIX before kindergarten because of the birthday cutoff in our town. SIX! He is a smart cookie and we did 2 days per week of Mothers Day Out last year and treated it like preschool. This year because we suddenly have four kids they will only be going on Thursdays so I can go work at the dance studio. We don't have the $$$ to put him in a private preschool and most of them are absurd schedules anyways. I have no desire to pack up 4 small children to drop him off for 2 hours and then turn around and do it again. No thank you!

ready for school last year

So I picked up a bunch of pre-k workbooks and some writing tools so that we could start some preschool work at home. So the other morning I asked him if he wanted to do some school? "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOOOOOOOOL" Max is a homebody. He is very social and LOVES playing with other kids but he LOVES being at home. I reminded him we had school stuff at home. "HOMESCHOOL? YAY!" He yells. I busted out laughing. God loves to get me everytime. I would have the one kid who requests to be homeschooled.

can you believe this kid loves home?

No, I am not commiting to being a homeschooler. But we are going to do Preschool at Home this year. I just feel like Max is MORE than ready and needs to start doing SOME structured work in tracing, adding, sight words. My friend over at The Ruby Zebra is a GREAT homeschool mom so I plan to pick her brain a little since she did preschool last year with Ms.B. I stumbled across this preschool set up so that is what we are going to be doing for the year amongst lots of play and lots of babies! Max is pretty convinced he is a Rockstar and I love that it is very scripture focused so I think it will be a good match for some "school" with Mama and Max. If I only do preschool with all four of our kids that is still FOUR kids that can get good use out of some planning and directed activities.

Little stuff, Big Stuff.

I will never...I would never...that's not for me. God can't, God won't, God would never. God CAN, God WILL, God MIGHT! Over time God can change your heart and your mind to new things! Never say Never!

Always,
Jesi~not ready to call myself a homeschooler~haha

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

2011-08-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Yall might look at this picture and SEE cute crying babies.

I look at this picture and I can HEAR cute crying babies, even though they are sleeping peacefully. ~forthenext3minutesatleast~

Always,

Jesi

Ya Gotta Love Beth Moore

2011-08-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to be good at journaling. But I'm not. I start and then I stop and then I lose the journal. And then I find it 2 years later and throw it away. I am drawn to cute notebooks and stationary but then it just takes up space in our already cluttered house.

When we first brought home the twins every day was a challenge. I would wake up in the morning and I felt like I had to mentally plan out my battle plan of surviving 4 small children. I needed a pick me up, a morning OOMPH to get me going and I knew what I really needed was Gods Word. So I started looking for a good morning devotional but nothing really caught my eye.

I stumbled upon this devotional and I instantly thought it would be a good match. It's a devotional and journal in one which is exactly what I was looking for. The devotions are just 2 pages but insightful and thought provoking. They include scripture and point you to areas to read in your own Bible. It was perfect. Lo and behold it was written by the southern queen of bible study Ms. Beth Moore. Ya Gotta Love Beth Moore!

It's been a few weeks and I am really enjoying it. Its based on her book Get Out of That Pit and really focuses on Psalms 40. I love that it really emphasizes how God will provide for us and that our struggles are not in vain.

Most importantly it is biblically sound and its the perfect way to start your day as a busy mama.

Always,
Jesi

Twin Pictures

2011-07-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

Don't you know that twin pics make you go all squishy baby voiced?

My friend Sarah is AMAZINGLY talented. She is starting up her photography business and took these pics of Jackson and Presley when they were just 5 days old. Aren't they gorgeous?

Sarah is seriously the baby whisperer. I have never met someone so calm, collected and easy with newborns. She is just PEACE. She can shush and lay her hand on them and just sit there calmly until they are ready. Photographing newborns is no easy task, its a hard job! But she obviously enjoys it because her work is the proof in the pudding.

Here are our little darlings.

Isn't she amazing?! Thank you Sarah! We are so thankful for your kindness and talent in documenting such a special time in our family!

Check out Sarahs website HERE!

Always, Jesi

Cloth Diapering 3 under 2-Part Four---Cost Savings

2011-07-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Money, Money, Money...Moneyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Let's talk about saving money ladies! Cloth Diapers are where its at!

IF, IF you can control your spending. (there are a LOT of CUTE cloth diapers out there) You aren't an extreme couponer (they probably get their disposables for free) You make smart choices (there are a lot of expensive cloth diapers out there, please for the love of all that is holy remember that this is catching your kids poop, I'm just sayin)

For us, we spent about $500 on everything we needed to cloth diaper all 3 of our little ones. And we bought mostly new. We did get some of our newborn covers used bc they don't last long but all of our prefolds were knew as well as our liners, wetbag, detergent, accessories, thirsties covers, etc. My favorite local cloth diaper store, Green Bambino broke it down like this!

"Babies average 6-12 diaper changes per day. They'll go through more diapers daily as newborns and fewer as they get older. Let's assume the following:
8 changes per day x 30 cents per diaper x 365 days x 2.5 years = $2,190 for disposable diapers
Two and a half years is a fairly conservative estimate for how long toddlers will be in diapers and will vary depending on gender, firstborn child or younger sibling, etc. This number doesn't include the cost of wipes (about $500), rash creams, or the trash bags you'll need to get the diapers to the curb. It's reasonable to estimate a family will spend $1,000 on disposable diapers and other items for each year a child is in diapers.

Cloth diaper start up cost = $200-$500 (many diapers will last for multiple children)

SAVINGS over disposables = approximately $2000-$2500. This number increases if these cloth diapers are used for multiple children or if the cloth diapers are sold and part of the initial investment is recouped."

So if you go with the averages we are saving THOUSANDS of dollars by using cloth diapers. Is it worth dealing with poop? It is for me! But I am one cheap mama :)

Always,

Jesi

Cloth Diapering 3 under 2-Part 3 Laundry

2011-07-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's a poopy job but somebody has to do it.

Here's my take on poop and diapers.

Poop is poop. No matter how you deal with poop, it's still poop and it's still gross. It's POOP.

So how is cloth diapering and dealing with poop?
Well, If you have a tiny baby and they are breastfed it is water soluable and not that much in quanity after the first couple weeks so you just throw the whole diaper or insert or prefold in the diaper pail and wash. No big deal. If they are formula fed like my tinies then they say you need to get most of the poop off before you wash. I don't breastfeed but even if I did, I would want to get most of the poop off anyways!

So when I change a pee diaper I put on a new cover and prefold. I take the dirty prefold still in the cover and toss the prefold into our diaper pail in the laundry room. I hang the cover up and let it air out to use again (so long as its not poopy, obviously!) Now when its poop, I take it into the bathroom and use a wipe (I use disposable wipes although there are cloth wipes and merits to both!) to toss the poop into the toilet and flush. less stink and less poop ya know? Again, take it to the pail and wash when ready. It's REALLY not that big of a deal, like I said Poop is Poop.

Diaper Pail-there are some crazy people out there who spend big bucks on a "special cloth diaper pail" Yeah whatever. Anything that traps air like a diaper genie or a special pail gets STINKY FAST! Gross! I use a flip lid tall trash can ($9) with a Planet Wise Pail Liner ($19) I have two liners. Everytime I wash diapers I wash the liner that was being used. To keep my pail FRESH I mix baking soda and a few drops of Young Living Oils Lavendar Essential Oil and sprinkle it in the bottom of the pail and liner. Thats just optional and smells nice!

Am I a cloth diaper freak and a disposable hater? Heck NO! I used disposables on Max and Stella and still use them on all 4 kids. Because I CD to save money I try really hard not to buy diapers. But we were given tons as gifts so yes, we use them! We don't impose our cloth diapering onto the nursery workers at church or the teachers at Mothers Day Out. We use disposables. If we are out and about a LOT we use disposables. If 4 kids are screaming at me and I grab a disposable, I use a disposable! Can you tell I am laid back about this people?

As for WASHING! This is why cloth diapering made me a laudry freak...I stay on top of my laundry. If you know me, you know thats kind of a big deal. MANY people wash their diapers every few days. I am sort of freakish about it and wash every day or every other day. It take 1 minute to throw a load in and nothing is easier to put away than diapers. Because I am always doing laundry I stay on top of all my other laundry too!

If you are looking into cloth diapers you might see a lot of complicated wash routines. Mine is not. But I use all cotton and hemp so natural fibers that clean easier. Our covers are PUL but they can take a laundry beating too!

I use the dial on my washer (we have a top loader btw) to go to the Cold Rinse/Hot Wash option. This cold rinse gets rid of the residue on the diapers and hot wash is sanitary. Ours does not get SUPER hot so I don't worry about my covers getting damaged. I throw in some original tide powder (this is discontinued so we will switch to original tide liquid) and let the water dissolve it. Then I throw in everything in the pail, being sure to stick down my velcro on my covers really well. That's it. When its done, I hang the covers to dry and toss all the diapers in the dryer. It's really not hard. And like I said, laundry is a poopy job but somebody has to do it.

For the record, I find dealing with your average stomach bug and vomit FAR grosser than dealing with cloth diapers!

Twins 1 Month Stats

2011-07-07T03:50:00.000-07:00

They are both doing great!

Presley is doing better on soy formula, less spitting and more poop, LOL! She is up to 8.8 pounds (8 lbs at 2 weeks) and still just 20 inches long (19.5 at birth/2 weeks)

Now JACK JACK is our chunkybutt! Holy moly, that kid can eat 6 ounces in a sitting! WHAT?! Are you ready for it? He weighed in at NINE.NINE!!! Nine pounds, Nine ounces!! He was only SEVEN pounds 2 weeks ago!! He is also up to 21 3/4 inches (20 at birth)

If you think my hands are full you should see my van!

remember this next time someone says "Wow! I bet you have your hands full!"

Seeing Ms. A our PA

3 Weeks Old, Still so tiny

Cloth Diapering 3 under 2-Part Two

2011-06-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Okie doke...now you know we are closet freaks who cloth diaper. I kid, I kid. Cloth Diapering does not make you a closet freak. It makes you a laundry freak.

Our stash of diapers is for 3 kids. Stella is 15 months old, Presley and Jackson are 2 months old at the time of this post. Max is still in a pullup at night but is otherwise potty trained. As I said in my previous post we use prefolds and covers.

The twins stash is sized for them and includes
OsoCozy Better Fit prefolds-purple edge

photo from osocozy

These are my favorite prefolds for small babies. Because...well they are small prefolds! So they don't cause a huge fluffy butt when you put them on. These are shorter than regular prefolds so they just fit better. Hence the name, better fits.

Imagine green edge prefolds from Nicki's Diapers-Size Small

These are a little bit bigger and bulkier than the OsoCozy's but they still work and the bonus is they work GREAT on Stella as well. I have 48 of these...enough to wash every 3 days or longer. But like I said I am now a laundry freak so I wash daily or every other day, by choice not by neccesity.

Check them out Here!

For Covers we LOVE our Thirsties Covers!

We have several sized Thirsties X-Smalls that worked great when we first started the twins (around 4 weeks) and several Thirsties Duo Wraps Size One. I definitely love them and prefer aplix for small babies!

We also have Bummis Super Whisper Wraps, again in Aplix (otherwise known in normal land as velcro). We like these as well and they fit great, no leaks.

Each twin has a cute newborn size Rump-a-Rooz cover. These would work great for a tiny baby. Jackson already outgrew his but he is a hoss :) Presley can still wear hers!

Now for Stella, we again use our Thirsties Covers and really like them! We have all velcro and YES she has hit the age where she can undo them. After one VERY poopy incident (literally) we realized that she HAS to wear snaps at naptime or bedtime. Both disposables and velcro cloth diapers come off too easy for Ms.Houdini. So we use our Econobums covers a lot and they are by far the best cheap cover out there in my opinion. I love mine. I can already snap them down and use them on the twins as well since they are a one-size cover.

Stella has some nicer prefolds from Thirsties that are the Duo Hemp Prefolds. I sort of splurged on them because they are a little bit more $ but they are SO soft and VERY absorbent. She has 18 of the prefolds and a ton of different covers but the twins will grow into those covers and use them as well!

Again we just fold the prefold into a trifold and lay it in the cover and then velcro on the baby. Shown below is an Osocozy red edge better fit which is one size higher than the purple edges we own!

I think I will make washing a seperate post since this is so long already!

Always,

Jesi

The cloth diaper closet freak

Cloth Diapering 3 under 2-Part One

2011-06-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

One of the weirdest decisions we made when we found out we were having twins was the decision to cloth diaper. In fact people generally think we are bananas for even considering it. But let me tell you WHY we cloth diaper. We cloth diaper about 3/4 of the time because we are cheap. That's right folks, no green eco reasoning here. Let's just say being eco-friendly and "green" is not at the top of my priority list. And that's ok! Everyone makes decisions for different reasons and money was hands down the reason why we decided to cloth diaper Jackson and Presley.

While we were researching it we decided to first take the plunge with Stella. And honestly it's not that big of a deal if you pick out the TYPE of cloth diaper that really works best for you and your family! When Max was around a year old I tried out some cloth diapers with him and was not a fan. I was using pocket diapers, which are basically just like a disposable but there is an insert you stuff inside that is absorbent. Both the diaper and the insert are washable, not disposable. Not a fan of pocket diapers here! They are VERY popular and a great option for many but I hated stuffing them and you have to be fairly aware of HOW you wash them. Many of them have microfiber which is more prone to stink issues so that is why the wash routine is important.

When money was really tight I had a moment where I considered trying cloth diapering again. I knew I didn't want to try pockets again...I wanted something EASY, CHEAP and EASY TO WASH. That was most important to me. I talked to a few friends who cloth diapered their twins and a friend who actually owns a cloth diaper store online. After researching I decided to go with prefolds and covers.

Prefolds are old school diapers. The cotton kind you used to pin on and everything. Don't go buy gerber ones from Babies R Us though, they stink! Now its still a LOT different and easier than back in the day. Most of the time I do a trifold and put it in the cover. Its really that easy, you fold the prefold into 3'rds and lay it in the cover. Then the cover goes on just like a disposable. There are TONS of prefold options out there, sized, standard, bleached, unbleached, blah de blah. Since I am not a fan of a HUGE fluffy butt we went with sized prefolds and a variety of covers. Next up I will talk about the kind we decided to buy, cost savings and washing....yeah washing. I know you are wondering, what do you do about poop?

And on that awesome note, gotta go take care of some babies!
Always,
Jesi

The Twins Arrival

2011-06-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

In my last post I wrote about needing to be a better blogger so this is me playing catch up...

This is the the story of the birth of our twins! Presley Jane and Jackson Gage...

written on 06/08/2011
Yesterday went well for most of the day, just made slow and steady progress throughout the day. I was an 8.5 after I asked for all those good vibes to not stall out and all of sudden I was more than complete and my nurse was telling me not to cough or laugh too hard until we got in the O.R.

They got us set up in the O.R. for delivery just in case a c-section was needed for the 2nd baby out. Three easy pushes and Jackson Gage arrived at 6:40PM and was 6.4 and 20 inches long. He looks like a little old man and just like Max as a newborn! He was a 8 on his 1 min apgar and a 9 on his 5 min apgar.

Presley Jane was doing well, head down and they broke her water. I gave 1-2 pushes with her and suddenly she decided to flip HIGH breech and my dr. could not find her head at all. He was literally reaching up grasping around to find her and her cord prolapsed and started coming all the way out. He reached all the way up and grabbed her feet and pulled her out breech. she was grayish and not responding great right away but our doctor and nurse got her suctioned and rubbed up fast and she recovered fast and is doing great now! She had a 7 on her 1 min apgar but a 9 on her 5 min apgar.

Max and Stella got to meet them and were so sweet! Max LOVES Jackson and Stella was already trying to smack them in the face with her love pats!

Better Blogger

2011-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Man, I suck at blogging this year! I guess as things get busier, you add more kids and you try to be more present in real life instead of spending time in front of the computer you start to run out of time! So I am going to take my time and play catch up!

Things I need to blog about
~~Stella's 1st birthday party~~
~~The Twins Birth-they are here!~~
Family of SIX
Sleep aka the Lack of Sleep
Surving four under four
~~Cloth Diapering 3 kiddos~~

Yeah I think that might be it :) I will be posting more to get all caught up, for my own memories sake!
Happy Wednesday!
Jesi

Stella's First Fiesta~

2011-05-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

Stella is such a bright spot in our family. She is definitely vibrant and full of life. She cracks me up because she is so tiny but has such a BIG personality...I can't wait to see how God uses that is her life. I have a feeling she is going to be MIGHTY for Him.

Stella,

You are 1 now! I can hardly believe it...the first year of your life went by SO fast because you were such a sweet, easy baby! especially compared to your older brother ;) You entered this world with ease and every day you live that out. You eat well, you sleep well and for the most part you act well. You are still a drama queen. It makes us laugh when you throw yourself on the floor because you didn't get your way and scream like we are torturing you. You LOVE your Daddy and your brother Max. I know you love Mama too but you like to give me a run for my money. I think you are so beautiful. Inside and out. You have the sweetest personality and already the character of a little mommy. I hope that I can model being a good mama to you because someday I know God will bless you with a family. Your eyes will slay boys, they already slay your Daddy, with those big blue eyes with navy rims. You still don't have much hair but its definitely getting longer but only on top. I like to say you have Donald Trump style hair, I know someday you will appreciate knowing that. We love you SO much Stella. Always remember that you are a star in Gods eyes and in ours. xoxo our first baby girl!
Love Mama

We love you Stella Katherine!

Sweet Sign

Little Fiesta Cutie

Cupcake Love

Your Big Bash

Your beautiful namesake

Blue Eyed Girl

Love your Dada

Nom Nom Good Eater

Our first baby girl

Always a lover

Max needed to be SURE you knew that they were gonna beat up your pinata

Happy 1st Birthday SK! We love you and thank God for you DAILY!

Stella's Heart, Part Two

2011-05-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well this morning we went to the cardiologist. Yes it took that long to get in, for record her echo was March 16th so it took two months to get in to see this pediatric cardiologist. I think it was worth the wait though because I really liked the doctor a lot.
So we went in and they did her blood pressure, heart beat, weight and height and then we did an EKG with the nurse. Thankfully it was very fast and Stella actually cooperated (which she normally does not ). The cardio came in and listened to her heart and she can definitely hear a large murmur so asked me to explain more about why we were there.
I told her that Stella had a bad bout of allergies/cold and we took her to the pedi where they heard her murmur for the first time and sent us for the echo. The results of the echo seemed to say there was a small opening on the left side of her heart so we were referred to her. The cardio hadn't gotten her echo results which is why she was questioning how we ended up there. They got the echo results sent over super fast and she went over those.
Essentially Stella has been diagnosed with PDA which is Patent Ductus Arteriosus. Here is a good link about it....http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/...eartworks.html

Basically there is a blood vessel in the heart that allows the mothers lungs to function for the baby while the baby is in the womb. It should close after birth or within a few weeks. Stella's has not closed...as she has gotten older it has caused her murmur to become quite noisy and it is also causing the left side of her heart to enlarge. Now the good things are that hers is measuring 4mm, which is not a HUGE emergency size opening and her heart enlargement is still mild to moderate at this point. It isn't causing any other health problems at this point but it does need to be addressed.
The question is a matter of when and how. Because Stella is a lightweight at 19 pounds they would ideally like to wait until she gets a bit bigger. The cardio would prefer to see her around 25 pounds before they proceed with surgery but said if we needed to we could do it at her current size...obviously bigger=safer for going under anesth and any surgery on an infant.

We have 2 options for surgery, traditional surgery through the chest which we want to avoid, OR a much easier option for recovery would be a surgery using catheter. The cardio definitely wants to go that direction which we are thankful for.

Basically they will do a tiny knick in her groin and feed a catheter up to her heart and them put a Amplatzer Duct Occluder into that blood vessel to close it off. Here is the link about the device. http://international.amplatzer.com/I...1/Default.aspx

It's a tiny mushroom shaped pc that goes into that opening and helps close it off as the blood clots there.

Sooooooooo overall we are happy that Stella isn't having any other problems associated with the PDA and that we did catch it and can take care of it. I hate that she has to have ANY kind of surgery but I am glad we have an option besides a traditional chest entry.

At this point we will do another echo in June to monitor her heart enlargement and the opening. If at that point her heart is continuing to enlarge or there are any big changes we may go ahead with the surgery then. If everything is holding steady we will wait til Sept/Oct to try and get some more weight on her before we go in for surgery. Cardio said she avoids any surgeries during the winter so we will be making a decision in the fall (provided everything stays about the same) whether to do it before winter or waiting through the winter and doing it in the spring just to avoid illnesses/germs/etc.

Thanks for everyone for praying and thinking of our girl. We know that she will be fine and we are grateful for modern medicine that makes it possible to take care of it through a minor procedure versus a major surgery! Keep praying that her measurements and enlargements hold steady so we can get her fattened up before surgery.

Spaces

2011-04-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhhhhhhh House Hunting. How I loathe thee. It's so not a 3 house process like they show on House Hunters HGTV version of life. If only we could look at 3 houses and then decide on our favorite, get it on our first offer and be done! Wouldn't that be grand!

We have debated back and forth on whether or not to start looking now or wait a few months after the twins are here. When we came across an amazing old house in a small town north of us we decided to go for it. Well we went for it too slowly because another buyer snatched it up with a quick offer. I was disappointed but considering it needed a lot of work and was a very old house we took it as a sign that maybe we were avoiding a choice that was just not right for our family. We know God has our back, even in the details of life like where to live so we are trusting that the right house will come along.

In the meantime we are getting our house ready for market. It's a big job and I am currently very pregnant with twins :) Rob has been doing the big stuff like repairing our fence panel that was falling and I have been slowly doing the decluttering and cleaning.

As for the new house, we still haven't found one we LOVE that we feel is perfect for our family. We have a few specific things we are looking for and they don't all line up in every house but that's life! It's all about figuring out the compromise and determining what He thinks is best for us!

My list
Big Kitchen with nice cabinets...I admit it, I am a kitchen snob. While my current kitchen isn't perfect it has tons of storage, granite counters, an island with electrical and a walk in pantry. Stainless appliances and neutral colors. I love my kitchen and 70's fabulous kitchens make me run from houses fast! This is a space that I have to be able to see good "bones" because I know we can switch out a counter and paint the cabinets if needed!

Bigger shower. Our rent house before we built our current home had the tiniest shower EVER! We moved into this house and compromised for a slightly bigger version of tiny. We would really like a shower that you can actually move around in! I like a big bathtub too (considering we will soon be washing FOUR kids) but it's not a must have.

4 bedrooms-yep we need it. With a family of SIX we could have a 4 bedroom and still have at least 2 kids sharing a room. Sharing is fine but our 3 bedroom is currently feeling a little cramped!

More square footage-This is a biggie! There are so many 4 bedrooms in our price range that have the same square footage we have now. While it's tempting we need more room. Even if that means me having to look past the ugly kitchen and seeing the possibilities of more room.

Rob's other thing he would like is either a 3 car garage OR some sort of outside storage space to accomodate his tools and yard stuff. I would really like a bonus room or some sort of playroom to corral the kid clutter.

We are taking it house by house and seeing what God throws in our path. There is NOTHING wrong with our current house and it truly feels like our home so we are willing to wait it out and see what is truly best before we move.

Always,
Jesi

In other news, I am currently 29 weeks pregnant with the twins and all is well! Stella's follow up for her heart murmur is May 17th with a pediatric cardiologist.

Our Stella cannot catch a break

2011-03-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

We are home, 12 hours later....we are home.

12 hours later...

Last night I got home from teaching and she woke up after napping most of the evening. Her skin looked gray and her eyes were sunken in and she just didn't look good to me at all. Thank you to my friend Joie for encouraging me to follow my mommy instincts even though she was taking fluids, soaking diapers (mostly with diarrhea versus urine) and her skin was holding a pinch. We went to the ER (Rob stayed here with Max) and at first they acted like I was being overparanoid in triage but still took us back after forever.

Dr. came in and hemmed hawed but decided to do one bag of fluids via IV and cath her to check her urine and check her blood. FOUR IV attempts later, blown vein, she pulled one out herself and the cath and we got a bag of fluids into her. Dr. came back and sure enough her test results showed that she really was dehydrated. After consulting with pedi they decided to keep us over night and keep pumping her full of fluids. So we did 2 more bags of fluids and finally got moved up to a real room. We were there from 5AM-11AM. They came in this morning and took blood again (again missing a vein and ending with a heel stick) and pedi came in pretty quick. Her test results came back that she was rehydrating well so we finally got sent home.
Don't mess around with dehydration. She took 3 bags plus 2 via an IV pump continuously in the real room and that was without showing the major symptoms...Trust your mommy instincts! I am SO glad I took her in instead of waiting. I knew she was getting bad in my gut. Anddddddddd 2ish hours of sleep for me and I am eating and passing out. Thanks for praying for her. Yall are the best.

Always,
Jesi

Stella's Heart

2011-03-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Our Stella girl is 10 months old! Time flies and she is the SWEETEST baby, we are so happy to have her as our girl.

When Stella was in utero she had a tiny bright spot show up on her heart during an ultrasound at the Perinatal Center. Now no one really knows this but her numbers were also slightly elevated for Downs Syndrome and that bright spot CAN be a soft marker for Downs as well. We were reassured by our peri that it was most likely nothing and based on the rest of her ultrasound he was confident she did not have Downs Syndrome. We chose to believe that and never really made a big fuss or told many people about it. Thankfully when Stella was born she was very healthy and beautiful!

A few weeks ago Stella got some BAD allergy symptoms and a cold that was really bothering her. Since she was super snotty and unhappy we took her to the pedi just to be sure it wasn't anything major. He determined that it was just allergies like her big brother and some Zyrtec really helped clear her up. On another note, when listening to her heart he asked if we had been tracking her (insert fancy heart word here) since birth? Huh? I said "No, she did have a bright spot on her heart in utero but nothing of concern" Dr. J told us that he was hearing a faint murmur in her heart but it might have just been because her blood was pumping overtime since she was under the weather. He said he wanted to go ahead and set us up with an echocardiogram at Childrens just be sure it was nothing of concern and have it noted in her medical records. We LOVE Dr. J and trust him wholeheartedly so when he told us not to worry we didn't! I honestly sort of forgot about her appt until the day of and then we just went on our merry way with some much appreciated help from Auntie D.

SOOO that is the backstory on Stella's heart!

Today Rob heard back from Dr. J's physicians assistant Ms. A (who we normally see with our kiddos, only Dr. J if Ms. A is out of the office) and she gave us the rundown. Basically she said she wasn't sent the actual pictures over to her but she just had the written report. She said we shouldn't lose too much sleep over it because Stella is 10 months old, healthy and happy but they are referring us to a cardiologist because she seems to have a small opening somewhere around her left aorta. She said it is often normal in utero but most of the time closes up before they are born. Stella's is still showing up and that is why they heard the murmur when she was sick a few weeks ago.

They are referring us to a cardiologist appt next week so that he/she can take a better look at the pictures and let us know exactly what we are dealing with. She thinks based on the report it is NOT a large hole and also said that the tech noted that the results may be skewed because "patient was uncooperative" (Stella doesn't really DO "lay still and quiet while I use an u/s probe to look at your heart from 10,000 angles" )

So anyways, we are slightly worried because its our Stella girl and we hate that there is ANY cause for concern but we are just waiting it out and hoping that the cardiologist can give us better news that there really is no big issue or solution needed. Thanks for praying for our girl, we ask that you would pray specifically that the size and location of the opening is minor and will not require any surgery or repair!

We should go to the cardiologist sometime next week and will keep everyone updated!

Always,
Jesi

Oh please, Oh please

2011-01-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

Don't let Stella and I get the flu!

My poor Max woke up Sunday morning with a fever and feeling very lethargic. If you know Max at all you know he is pretty much never lethargic unless VERY ill. We stayed home from church and he hung out on the couch for 85% of the day. Alternating tylenol and motrin brought the fever down and we found a great all natural kids cough medicine that helped some with the yucky cough. By late afternoon he was acting a lot better. He went to bed early and took it easy all day.

However at 2 AM he woke up crying that his tummy hurt. He was super hot, wheezing like crazy and complaining of a tummy ache. I briefly contemplated taking him to the ER but we decided to break the fevere and wait it out til morning. So after moving him into our room, feeding Stella, putting her back to bed, a lukewarm bath to break the fever, more meds, clean jams we knew we were in for a long night. Cartoons came on from 2-4:30 AM and I sat here awake because his breathing sounded terrible.

We finally fell back asleep around 5 and slept til 9 before heading into the doc. After describing his symptoms to the nurse she tested him for flu and strep. Sadly he is flu positive : ( which we are not happy about. I am going to be put on preventative tamiflu since I am pregnant and Stella is too little for any flu meds so pray and pray and pray that no one else gets sick in our house.

Thankfully my awesome mama came to get SK so she wouldn't be around sick big brother. Rob is home today so Max and I are holed up in our room watching cartoons and taking meds. Rob is taking good care of us and Nana is taking good care of Stella. Boo to the Flu.
Jesi

Happy Birthday to my love!

2011-01-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

It's my husbands 30th birthday today! Not surprisingly we are not spending today together due to the lovely U.S. Army. Rob has a 3 day drill weekend so while he has been home in the evenings he has spent the last few days at the armory. It's a weird spot for us because we still don't know if Rob will be deploying this spring or not. They are trying to make accomodations for him to switch places with another soldier so that he can be home with us but we just don't know yet. It's all about the budget so we covet your prayers right now! We would love to take a pass on this deployment since the twins are arriving this summer. 4 kids under 4 is a TAD bit overwhelming to me. But the biggest prayer I have prayed is that I would surrender to God's will in this time. It's not an easy prayer for me right now. I am worried about the twins being healthy and full term, worried about Stella getting squished in between crazy Max and two new babies and worried about doing it all alone! Thankfully I haven't gotten too wrapped up in worry and God is granting me peace about it. When I start to feel my human nature question if I am worrying enough I remind myself to pray for an attitude of surrender and I am reminded that He has it all taken care of.

Back to the birthday :)

Despite all the craziness that the world has thrown at us I am beyond thankful and blessed to be married to Rob and get to wish him a Happy Birthday as his wife! He is such a hard worker and always goes above and beyond to provide for us. He has bent over backwards to encourage me, love me, understand me and stand with me through really great times and really bad times. There is nothing more than I can say to him than I love you x 3 and there is no other place and no other person that I would rather be doing life with than you. Happy 30th! I am so proud to call you husband and Daddy to all four of our kiddos.

XoXo
Jesi

Dang that marriage conference!

2011-01-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

Just look what happens when you get away for a kid-free weekend that includes cocktails and a free hotel room?

Umm Yeah! Not only are unexpectedly entering our 3rd pregnancy but there are two babies in there. That's right! It's TWINS! What the heck is my general reaction!

No twins do not run in our family.
Yes we will have 4 kids under 4.
Yes we are freaked out.
No we are not giving them away.
Yes we are going to have to get a minivan.
Yes we are excited and blessed!

I had previously considered changing the verse on our header but its seeming very appropriate right about now!
Love,

Our God is Greater

2010-12-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

This song is SO encouraging to me in hard times, good times and challenging times. When we face things that we just are not sure we can handle. When we are facing mountains that seem insurmountable. When we are completely broken and don't know how to put things back together.

There are so many times that we have sung this song at Life Church or I have blasted it in my car and it reminded me that NOTHING, NOTHING is too hard for our God. Our God is greater, Our God is STRONGER. And if our God is for us then what could ever stop us?

Strong Bonds

2010-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Rob and I got the pleasure of spending the weekend at the Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat in Norman. This is an Army event that is focused on maintaining strong marital bonds, especially through the difficulties that are a part of Army life.

First off we got to stay at the Sooner Legends hotel in Norman for FREE! Woot Woot! It was a really nice hotel. Now if you know me you know I am NOT a Sooner fan, pretty much because Sooner fans drive me crazy. But the hotel was nice, clean and it's locally owned. I would definitely recommend it. It doesn't look very nice from the outside but the rooms are nicely sized and have great fluffy beds, plenty of space, nice bathrooms and it is maintained very well!

Best of all, we were kid-free for the weekend! We are so blessed that Max and Stella have awesome god-parents in their lives. But they got their weekends criss-crossed and Amie ended up with all the kids (our 2+their2) practically for the whole weekend on her own! She is one strong Mama! Thankfully Max and Jacob play together really well, Stella was good and Cailin got picked up by her Grandma.

We spent Saturday in classes and doing activities together. For lunch we passed on the offered M.R.E. for Rob and went to Billy Sims BBQ for lunch. Neither of us had been there before and we were pleasantly surprised. AGAIN it is covered in OU paraphanelia but the food was good. :)

After we finished our classes all I wanted was a nap! We went to our room, shut the curtains and passed out for a 2 hour nap. King Size bed, no children hogging the bed plus a dark cool room=HEAVEN~! It was really nice to relax together. After getting up we headed out to dinner at Cheddars and then went to a movie. We saw this

Super Dumb but funny, as usual for Will right?

Sunday morning we got to sleep in! (Amazing I know!) and then had breakfast and finished our classes. We learned a lot about improving our communication and pinpointing even those small issues that break down so many marriages today. Sadly divorce rates in the Army are HIGH and during/post deployment they are even higher. I am so so thankful that God is blessing our marriage today. Five years ago we didn't know what the future would hold. 10 years ago we had NO clue what life would be like a decade later. Rob and I have endured our share of struggles, both public and private but God has knit us together into something that I truly believe is unbreakable. We have been broken and we chose to come TOGETHER to heal. I thank God EVERY morning and EVERY evening that I get to lay next to my husband in bed...even when the kids end up hogging the space. I am so honored to be his wife and the one he has chosen.

Thanks babe for taking me away for the weekend. I love getting to spend time with you and hear what you are saying without screaming kids in the background. I love holding your hand and I love laughing at things with you. I love spending time with you and I love being an Army wife, even during deployments. ;) I wouldn't change our life for anything in the world. ILYx3

Family Pictures

2010-09-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Trying to figure out our outfits for family pictures...here is what I am thinking for Stella Bella

with some ridiculous accessories of course ;)

For Max

For Mama

and if I had $200 to toss around I would love these

For the Hottie I get to call Husband

Focus

2010-09-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

So many things! So little time!

The summer slipped by before I even posted much about it!

I do want to get back to blogging, I love looking back and reading our blog, from good times and bad. A few things going on...

I have lost 40 pounds! WooT!! Since Stella was about 5 weeks old I have been hitting the Y about 4x per week doing a LOT of Zumba, treadmill, elliptical and different classes to improve my health and lose weight. It hasn't been easy and I am still battling with food urges and cravings but I am proud of myself for where I have gotten. I would like to lose another 10 by Max's birthday in October.

Max is going to be 3 next month! Where does the time go? We are on a big budget kick so we will be looking for ways to throw an awesome Transformers party on a small budget, yeah TRANSFORMERS. That is what he is insisting on for his birthday :)

Stella is doing wonderful. She is such a sweet baby with such a cheerful disposition. We are so happy to have her in our lives and thankful that she is healthy and happy. She makes having a new baby look easy but I still strongly remember the first year of Max's life and its all the birth control I need for the present time.

Budget schmudget...thats how we have been operating lately and it is not working. DUH. We are big proponents of Dave Ramsey and used FP to pay off a lot of debt and then we just sort of stopped. And then we weren't so much paying attention to every penny and instead started SPENDING every penney! Yikes. So we are back on the budget bandwagon and I already feel so much more peace about our finances. It really is INVALUABLE to dedicate time to our budget and finances. We are pretty proud because we only spent $10 for the holiday weekend. We spent time with family, visited Turner Falls and the Zoo and still only spent $10! We pulled our military ID's for discounts, packed snacks and drinks for Max and planned ahead to eat at home for our meals. It feels good to be back on track.

Overall life is whirling along. Rob is back in school and I am helping him with writing and typing up papers. I am back at the dance studio for another year of teaching including 4 Zumba classes per week. Our babies are healthy, our family is happy and God is Good, all the time :)

Jesi

In Between Storms

2010-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes God opens your eyes. Whether He uses a song, a word, a sermon, a comment from a stranger, He teaches us and reminds us of who we are in Him.

This morning I realized He was gently reminding me of what I told Him several years ago. In the midst of our last deployment when I got down on my knees and cried out to Him and lived daily by the sustenance He provided.

It was just a simple song, it's played a million times and I have heard it just as many. But when I sat still this morning and stroked Stella's perfect face and laughed at Max's silly expressions I was reminded that it is worth the pain. We all go through seasons of pain and storms where we aren't sure if we will emerge on the other side unscathed. And maybe we won't. Sometimes the storms leave us a little battered and a lot changed. Our insecurities take advantage of our weak days, our emotions are left a little more fragile for the next time the sky opens up with a storm.

But it's still about His Glory. And when I told him that I would gladly take the rain if it would bring Him glory I wasn't so sure of the future. I certainly didn't know the trials we would face. I was blinded to the things that would come. But it doesn't really matter, because things happen, life happens, it's not fair, it's not always fun, it's not full of love and laughter and sunshine every single day. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes its gray. Sometimes the sky opens up and pours down a flood and you come out on the other side changed, a little broken and a little bruised.

Life isn't fair. Thank you Lord for reminding me to look into the face of my babies and be thankful for where you have brought us. You have sustained us through the storms. You have used our simple story to make an impact on others. You have reminded me that my earthly suffering means little if it means a lot to your Kingdom. My God You are worthy of all of my Praise.

Thank you for bringing us through the storm. Thank you for using our storms for your Glory. How honored we should be to be a part of Your great story.

Fun in the Summer Sun

2010-06-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a BUSY day but one of those summer days that make you appreciate the sunshine. Even though it is roughly 1000 degrees hot right now we managed to avoid the heat by hanging out shadeside at my parents pool.

Max wanted to see "his girls" so we invited along our friends Ms. Sarah with her two bathing beauties, Natalie and Mollie and Ms. Heather with Annika. It was lots of fun and the kids did really well in the pool! Max has a puddle jumper floaty and he does so well with it. He starts swim lessons in July and I hope he loves the water as much as I did as a kiddo.

Nana and Stella

Max and Annika "sharing"

Max the Jetski Master

Love this picture of Annika and Natalie

How many snaps does it take to get three toddlers to look at you? A LOT

After the pool we headed to Chick-Fil-A where all three mommies behaved and ordered salads and diet lemonade. :) Sarah is running a Summer Challenge for us mommies who want to lose a few so we did good and ate healthy! We passed up the nuggets and waffle fries and left those for our kids. The kids even got to paint picture frames for Daddy with the workers AND there was an appearance by the Chick-Fil-A COW! I wish I got a picture of it. Max called him the Fire Cow (because he was dressed up as a firefighter) and Annika called him the Scary Cow. Too funny!

I love these moms and these kids and I am so thankful to have them in our life!

Always,

Catch Up!

2010-06-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

Time to play catch up on the past crazy weeks! So let's dive in, Rob left when Stella was 2 weeks old for a month of training. We were home on our own for the weekend and then my stepmom came up for a week to keep us company. She was a HUGE help and she entertained Max and helped so much. That was also the week of strep/ambulance/head injury in my previous post. Yikes! What a week! Thankfully Max recovered just fine and just talks about the ambulance and firetruck as the lasting memory from the experience. It was also Stella's 2 week appointment where she was essentially the same as birth! She weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces, 20 inches long and was 50th percentile on everything!

The next Monday I started back teaching my tots dance classes because we had a show coming up! Stella did great in my classes and my little girls were quite enamored with her. The week seemed to fly by and I barely remember it. That weekend Rob drove home from his first two weeks of training and was home with use for about 36 hours before leaving again for the next two weeks. Somewhere in there I dropped an entire glass of apple juice on my camera and end table and now it is broken, BOO!

And then it was SHOW WEEK! What a week it was! Monday was Memorial Day so we were off for the day. On Tuesday morning I woke up to find that my boss and his wife were having a baby, that day! Dominic came into the world just before noon and was healthy and handsome! My coworker and I were on our own for the evening of tech rehearsal and tried to get as much as we could done. It was an 11AM-10:30PM kinda day!

Wednesday we had off and it was good to get a break midweek to hang out with Max because it wouldn't last long. We headed to the YMCA and got signed up for a family membership again. It is another bill on an already tight budget but I know our health is invaluable and operation lose the baby weight has to start. Well actually I already lost the 20 pounds I gained during my pregnancy, now I need to lose the rest. Since the Y offers childcare and lots of classes, swimming, lessons, sports and multiple locations it seems to be a smart investment. Then we went and met our friends for a treat before getting home in time for the two kid bedtime shuffle.

Thursday was our longest day of work and rehearsals. We got there at 10AM and didn't leave until 11:15PM! It was craziness. My amazing friend Heather watched Max during the day and then my mom took both kids in the evening. By the time I picked up the kids, drove home, got Max settled, then fed Stella and myself it was 1:30AM. Insanity. Friday we got a break and didn't come in until after noon and were out and done by 10:30PM again. Not too bad in the grand scheme of things. Finally Saturday was SHOW DAY! We are so blessed to have an AMAZING dance studio, teachers, director, students and parents. The quality of the show and the talent was phenomenal and my kids did awesome! I was so proud of them and the progress they made over the year! I teach 3-4 year olds so they mature a lot over the course of a year. And my junior tap student won student of the year! She is the sweetest kid with the best heart and I was so proud of her. I cried when they announced that she won!
Here are some of my sweet kids!

Just one of my many favorites, I love this girl and her sweet parents! She was a Student of the Year nomination as well, way to go Kaitlyn! This is her ready for Songbirds which was my tot ballet class. Isn't she gorgeous?

Kaitlyn and I ready for Lucifer and the Kittys, my tot tap class!

More kitty cats including a handsome stray cat who tends to be a scene stealer.

The show was awesome! Best of all Rob made it home on Friday night so he had both kids alllllllllll day Saturday on his own and did fantastically. I am so thankful that he is such a great dad. But by 11:30PM I was ready to go home and see my husband and my babies.

Sunday I woke up to a heavenly scene. My amazing husband took Max out of our room which he had invaded in the night and into the living room to let me sleep. Stella was being squirmy and squeaky in her sleeper so I picked her up and we laid down together in bed. We fell asleep and it was so sweet and peaceful. I didn't wake up until I started smelling coffee. and bacon. and then max jumped on the bed and screamed "IT's TIME FOR BREAKFAST, COME ON MAMA, IT's TIME TO WAKE UP!" My awesome husband let me sleep in, made breakfast and took kid duty. He rocks and it was an awesome early birthday treat since he will be gone this week. Thanks love!

Finally this afternoon we headed to the pool. Stella and Rob hung out in the shade and it was awesome outside, perfect temps, not too hot and a breeze from the water. Max and I played and played and it was the perfect ending to a VERY full and crazy past few weeks!

Til I get better at posting and don't have to do marathon catch ups!

Always,

Jesi

Scariest Moment as a Mom, ever

2010-05-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well I have had my MOST terrifying moment as a mother now and I don't want to do it again. We were just starting to eat dinner that my stepmom had made (thank god I wasnt home alone). She is here all week with us and Rob is at training for a month.

So Max was not hungry and we had a long day so I was just letting him play. Well he was playing with a balloon and kinda sat/jumped on it and it went right out from under him and he fell backwards and smacked his head on the carpeted floor (with cheap builder quality pad under, our floor is super hard).
He screamed and my stepmom picked him up and he started arching backwards. You know when they do that giant hurt scream and no sound comes out? I thought he was doing that and he arched all the way back and then his body locked up and his eyes rolled back in his head. It looked like a seizure. She brought him to me and handed him to me and his body never unarched. I started frantically trying to wake him and it took a good minute. He started to stir and relax but his eyes were still rolling around and he was limp and pale. I told her to call 911 and she did. His eyes were open and he was sort of coming in and out and I was trying to keep him awake and eyes open. The firemen were there first and he laid him down and Max just laid there still and lethargic. The paramedics came in and we decided to ambulance him to Childrens. He was breathing fine and pulse and everything looked good. They put him on the back brace thing to stabilize him and we went in the ambulance with my stepmom/stella following behind. We were doing ok and then second scariest moment came when he was really trying to fall asleep and getting non responsive. So the paramedic did an iv/blood draw which woke him up screaming and they told me to call my stepmom bc they were turning on the lights and going to fly there to get him there asap. So she got left in the dust and we got there. Max was scared and hysterical after the stick but better than sleeping.
Once we got in they checked him all out and everything seemed ok but we did a ct scan just to be safe. He did awesome in that, I told him it was like Bot from Umizoomi and he had to get a belly screen (I know weird but he bought it) and didn't cry at all. Then the results came back and everything was fine. He just took a really hard hit and his body reacted. TERRIFYING.
I was silently crying and shaking when it happened but handled it ok and was rational until we walked outside and our neighbors were all outside and seeing him tied into a stretcher and I had to hold back sobs. We are just so so thankful that he is ok, God is SO good.

This morning he is acting just fine and totally normal. I on the other hand feel like death and had Stella and Max's pedi check me out because I have a sore throat. Sure enough I tested positive for strep. Ouch. Goodness gracious it has been a bit crazy and I haven't even gotten to post about Stella yet.

Keep us in your prayers!
Jesi

Survival Mode

2010-05-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Back in the saddle againnnnnnnnnnnnnn....

It's Army time. Well the Army called and my amazing husband is spending some time finishing some needed trainings. God willing they will allow him to be promoted which would be a big blessing! Both to him and his dedication to his military service and financially as well.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, we are in survival mode. Well newborn + toddler = new routine, tired mama, postpartum emotional breakdowns survival mode. It's been a crazy two weeks since Stella joined our family and so far she has proven herself to be much easier than her big brother. And the thought of Rob leaving for training didn't really phase me too much. After all he will only be gone for a very short amount of time compared to our previous deployments. And he will be home super soon. And he got to spend more time with us before he left than he did when Max was born. And...it still hit me harder than I thought.

I know LOGICALLY that this is NOT a deployment. I know logically he will be home soon and not gone for a year and we don't have to worry about his safety or foreign countries or readjustment, but dang! It's still hard to be a momma to a VERY VERY energetic 2.5 year old and a 2 week old. It's a bit much to get out of bed 7 times in less than 7 hours. It's just a lot to take in and a lot of it is emotionally trying because I feel myself reliving the experience I had when Max was born and Rob DID deploy.

So survival mode is now in place. Just like when he left when Max was 10 days old and I had to escape the house everyday for my own sanity we are going to be doing the SAME thing, this time with two in tow. Expect a lot more posts in the coming weeks, its my own form of escapism to blog and it's a great way for Rob to stay inside my head when we are seperated by the miles.

Tomorrow's survival plan
~Shopping for craft supplies for a super cool GROUP project I am a part of
(curtailed from todays plans by the wicked hail storm we had here!)
~Stopping by Mardel to pick up the book "Five in a Row" and to let Max play with the train table.
~On the homefront-dishes and putting away the clean laundry in preparation to DO the dirty laundry

Figuring it out!
Jesi

Stella Katherine is Here!

2010-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

And 2 weeks old tomorrow, already! Where does the time go?

Sunday Night, May 2nd we put sweet Max to bed and said goodnight to my dad who had come up to stay with us for a few days while we were going to be in the hospital having Stella. We finished a few last minute things and got our bags completely ready. I called L&D to confirm my 5:30AM induction and they asked me to call in the morning just to be sure they had a room ready.

We took showers and I pre-fixed my hair. Don't want my natural insane frizzy hair showing too much, even when in labor. And then we went to bed. And tried to sleep. And tried to remind myself to take in my last night feeling SK move inside of me. And woke up at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30AM before my alarm went off at 4:30AM.

Called into the hospital and they had a room! YAY! But they didn't have a nurse ready for us yet, BOO! So we were sent back to bed to wait until 7AM to show up. Hard to sleep when you are having a baby in just a few hours. Max ended up waking up right around 5AM anyways so we brought him into our bed to cuddle and he fell back asleep and stayed asleep as we crept out.

We arrived at the hospital at 5AM and met our nurse Madeline. Now Madeline was probably 70+ years old and I LOVED her right off the bat. It was like having the most knowledgeable grandmother as a nurse :)

We started the paperwork, changed into the gown and all that jazz and right past 8AM Dr. S came in and broke my water. Contractions started thanks to Pitocin and the morning was spent moving VERY slowly along. I was a little worried Stella was following in her big brothers footsteps with a longggggggg labor. But by 11AM my contractions were getting darn painful and right on top of each other so I was checked again. Only a TWO! What! But Madeline decided that since I knew I wanted an epidural there was no reason to sit around in pain so she went ahead and called the anesthesiologist for my epidural. He was great and did a perfect job, I could still move my body around but I felt NO pain.

Madeline watched me and baby Stella like a hawk as she started bumping my pitocin up steadily. We moved to a catheter and internal monitor on Stella and things started moving along. By midafternoon I was a good 5 centimeters dialated. And then Madeline moved me on my side and Stella really started boogying. Our girl was ready to come out!

Thankfully my family was all arriving and I even got to visit with Sweet Max for a few minutes before everything really got started. He kept looking under the bed for Stella and was a bit confused as to where she was. Cute cute boy.

Madeline checked me again and I was a 9! Yikes! At that point it was 3:45PM and Rob had to call his mom because she was still at Target. I told them my goal was to not push until 4:20PM because Dr. S still wasn't there. Madeline called him several times and he was on his way over from another hospital. At 4PM I told her I was feeling a LOT of pressure to push. She called him again and he was already at the hospital. Thank goodness because I was ready to push!

4-5 periods of pushing and Stella Katherine was born, 8 pounds 3 ounces and 20.5 inches long. She had dark brown hair, big green eyes and was a beauty. I cried when she was born and Rob took a million pictures and never took his eyes off her. Welcome to the world Stella! We are so blessed and honored to be chosen to be your family. We love you baby girl!

More pictures to come in a slideshow.

Always,
Jesi

Simple Womans Daybook

2010-04-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have seen several of my blog friends post these and I think its a great easy way to keep your blog updated. So thanks to my friend Jess over at No Ordinary Piece of Clay for inspiring my post!

Outside my window... weeds, that need pulled!

I am thinking... that God continues to prove Himself faithful in providing for our needs even when things seem hard or tight.

I am thankful for... grace, forgiveness and mercy. And the next two weeks that I have with Max before Stella arrives.

From the learning room... we spent the morning at Barnes and Noble reading and playing.

From the kitchen...Taco Soup
Ingredients
1 lb Ground beef
I small onion finely diced
I green bell pepper-diced
1 Cup long grain rice-cooked to al dente in chicken stock
1 can beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel
4 cans water

Cook Rice to al dente subbing stock for water. Set aside. Use a small amount of oil to saute onion and bell pepper with Seasoned Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Ground Cumin and Tastefully Simple Fiesta Dip Mix. Add ground beef and cook completely. Drain extra grease. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes. Serve with crushed chips, sour cream or shredded cheese.

I am wearing... clothes to teach in later, black dance pants, VSA t-shirt and sweatshirt.

I am creating...a monogrammed hanging for above Stella's crib

I am going...
Monday-bank, bookstore, mall and to teach at VSA.

Tuesday-

Wednesday- Dr's appointment-37 weeks, out for sushi for my coworker Stephanies birthday, yummmmmmmm!

Thursday-

Friday- out to dinner with my army wife girls! I get to meet my deployment buddy IRL!

Saturday-Bridal Shower, maybe Saturday night church, pasta dinner with Team ArmyStrong

Sunday-Going to watch Team ArmyStrong run the relay marathon (Rob + My Army Wife Friends)

I am reading... So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore

I am hoping...That our tax refund gets here soooooooooon.

I am hearing...Maxs breathing as he falls asleep.

Around the house...Laundry and Dishes!

One of my favorite things...my husbands sweet texts.

Pictures for the week

My Love

My Sweet Boy

My Sweet Reality

My favorite boy

My favorite man

April Showers bring May Flowers

2010-04-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

But I like April Flowers too!

I wanted to post about Stella's showers, one in late March and the second in April. Our flower is due May 7th but I am beyond A-OK if she decides to be an April baby instead. After all diamonds ARE a girls best friend and the birthstone of April. The only tricky part would be WHO she ended up sharing a birthday with! Both Rob and I were incredibly close to our grandmothers who have since passed away and they both had April birthdays. My DAD's birthday is also at the end of April but I don't think he would mind sharing his birthday with a very special little girl.

Back to the "April Showers"

My first shower for Stella was planned for March 20th. Some of my good friends were hosting it together and we all have crazy schedules and this was the one day that worked for everyone. So of course lovely Oklahoma had to have a BLIZZARD. Yes at the end of March. I know that might be the norm for northern states but on Friday of that weekend it was 70 degrees and sunny. Saturday morning we woke up to blowing snow, terrible roads and ice everywhere.

Needless to say it was a BIT stressful when my phone started blowing up with all the people telling me they couldn't make it because of the roads. But alas we decided to keep the shower on because there just wasn't another date that would work for us all. And it ended up going perfectly! My friends and family are so wonderful and we are so blessed to be surrounded by them. Stella Katherine or SK as I like to call her, has so many strong, smart, funny, women of God in her life to look up to as role models and that makes my heart sing.

The gorgeous sign that says Stella Kate over the fireplace. My amazingly talented friend Elizabeth made it, she was one of the hostesses but her and her hubs were out of the country because they are awesome travelers like that!

The beautiful food table. My sweet friend Summer made that cake and it was SO good. Coconut cake! We also had bruschetta, spinach artichoke dip, baguette, fettucini alfredo, mini cupcakes, fruit kabobs and this awesome spinach and fruit salad that my sweet momma makes with balsamic dressing. It's one of my favorites and I ate two plates of it. LOL!

Me and my gorgeous momma. I love her and she is going to be an amazing Nana to Stella. My grandmother and I were very close and sadly she passed away after a fight with cancer when I was in 6th grade. There is an incredible bond and love that exists between my Grandma Marcie, my Mom and me even though she is gone. I cannot wait to share that with Stella.

This is my precious sister in law. Auntie D or D as Max calls her. I am super proud of who she is becoming in Christ and love her like a true sister.

Rob's Mom and Sister. Grammy Pooh and D as the kiddos call them.

My stepmom Julia. She is always a rock of faith and I love her dearly. Grandma JuJu is her given name from Max and I know Stella will love her just as much as he does.

My nearest and dearest, this is my best friend Savanah. We have been blessed to be friends 15 years this year!! Savanah was incredibly instrumental in helping me become the woman I am in God and I STILL to this day call her first when I need advice or I hit crisis mode. No one else shows such care for me and unconditional open love. I adore her!

Again with my crazy talented friend Elizabeth. She made this for SK's room and I LOVE it! Isn't she amazing!

These are my gorgeous friends who hosted the shower for me. Amazingly I met all these lovely ladies in college and we are sorority sisters. But I am so thankful we are more than that and our friendship has continued and developed past those silly college days. Kera Don, Summer (aka Catherine Summer being the confirmation for SK's middle name to be Katherine) and Kalee. I love these gals!

My bestest military mommy friend. We understand eachother in a way that most people will never understand! I am so thrilled that her husband will be home soon but I am dreadfully sad about them moving. Dang Army!

These hilarious ladies are my friend Codie who I refer to as my twin and her momma Kim. They filled the shower with laughter. I love them!

I think it's funny that I am red faced and sweaty at this lovely shower. In the middle of a blizzard! What can I do but blame it on the pregnancy hormones?!

Then just this past weekend we had another shower at the dance studio that I work at/teach at. My boss's wife is having their 3rd and much prayed for child and so the moms at dance threw us a small joint shower. It was super cute and all our dance kiddos and parents blessed us with many gifts, gift cards and clothes for the new babies. We cannot wait to meet baby Dominic and it's been really fun to commiserate with Katrina on the woes of motherhood and pregnancy. She is incredibly wise but also super sweet and I loved getting to celebrate with her.

So those are the April Showers, May flowers are great and all but I'm perfectly open to SK showing up early and claiming a diamond as her birthstone. I'm just sayin!

Always,
Jesi

2nd Child Syndrome

2010-02-23T11:17:00.000-08:00

Let's talk differences between your 1st and 2nd pregnancies!

Baby #1
You freak out when you get a BFP (big fat positive) on the pee stick and take 6 more to confirm that indeed you are pregnant.

Baby #2
You freak out when you get a BFP and you trust you are pregnant because you aren't about to spend $60 dollars on pregnancy tests.

Baby#1
You call the doctor and insist on being seen as soon as possible.

Baby#2
You wait a week, then call the doctor, then nod smartly when they tell you to come in 4-6 weeks later.

Baby#1
You immediately start reading every pregnancy related book, magazine, website and blog in order to prepare.

Baby#2
You forget to publish your BFP on your OWN blog until you are 3 months along.

Baby#1
You immediately purchase just one small smooshy, overpriced, sweet, lovely, cuddly, soft size newborn outfit to cherish.

Baby#2
You refuse to buy a thing until you know the sex of the baby considering you have 47 diaper boxes full of hand me downs saved from Baby#1.

Baby#1
You relentlessly search the interwebz and design two complete nurseries from ceiling to the tiniest monogrammed personalized PBK accessory, one for each sex of course.

Baby#2
You glance at crib sets, remember how you only use a sheet and bumper and balk at the cost of something you could make on your own.

Baby#1
You cry at your ultrasound when you get your first glance on the miracle growing inside of you.

Baby#2
Distracted by your firstborn who is now eating super awesomely unhealthy snacks from the vending machine while your husband tries to keep him from destroying the high tech U/S room you laugh and remark that the baby totally looks like a dinosaur. The U/S tech looks like you like you are a freak.

Baby#1
You find out the gender of baby and immediately text.call.email.facebook everyone you know and announce the name.

Baby#2
3 weeks after you find out the gender you have a hormonal breakdown when your husband has no names he loves and a lot of names he hates. You choose a name via a tight compromise, all the time fervently reminding him that your first born bears the name Maximus. For real.

Baby#1
You ache and groan with the pains of pregnancy while you relax on the couch with your feet propped up, pregnancy books on the coffee table, craving of choice on your belly.

Baby#2
You feel your pelvis being broken within your body and debate on if it's REALLY neccesary to bother the doctor while your first born crawls on top of you and repeatedly asks you if Steyya is here yet?

Baby#1
You work tirelessly on the perfect nursery and it's finished and glorious by 24 weeks gestation.

Baby#2
You shut the door to the nursery because your dog ate through the carpet and the pad, scratched the furniture and broke the blinds when your firstborn left the door open leaving said dog locked in during a blizzard. At 30 weeks you remind yourself you REALLY need to get moving on the nursery. For real.

Baby#1
After 12 weeks you feel like you are "in the clear" and you anticipate the birth of your perfect baby.

Baby#2
Having experienced the pain of watching your friends and family lose babies late in pregnancy, have gorgeous perfect babies with genetic problems and reading too many blogs about babies lost on the internet you pray every single day that yours is healthy. But you know even if yours isn't that everything will be ok because God is God and He is faithful.

Baby#1
You marvel at the wonder that is God taking all of YOU and all of your Husband and combining the two of you into this tiny perfect being that flips and rolls inside of you. You are growing a human, freakishly amazing.

Baby#2
You marvel at the wonder that is God taking all of YOU and all of your Husband and combining the two of you into this tiny perfect being that flips and rolls inside of you. You are growing a human, freakishly amazing.

Holy Pelvic Pain

2010-02-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

I like to think of myself as a low maintenance OB patient. I mean this is my 2nd go round. And heck, even with my pregnancy with Max I prided myself on not being "That Patient". You know the one, the nurses have memorized her number on the caller ID and they SIGHHHHHHHHHHH before they pick up and answer her 477th question. Yeah that one.

I was not that patient! After all, I love to read so I read just about every pregnancy book out there. And these were the days of 2 full time incomes and no children. Heck I sat in B&N and read entire books with all my spare time. SIGHHHHHHHHHH, where did that time go?

ANYWAYS, there were TWO times I called my dr. when I was pregnant with Max.

Situation A) I was spotting in the first trimester and yes it was red and yes I sort of freaked out. After a 4 hour evening spent at the ER we got to see baby and were reassured that all was well.

Situation B) After working approximately 50ish hours at my previous life of torture, ahem, I mean my old job I got sick. Like exhausted, very very achy, feverish and couldn't hold my head up at work. Rob was out of town for pre-deployment training and my parents were out of town somewhere. I came home and felt like death. I called the office, which was closed and by the time the nurse called me back I had vomited and was crying. She told me to wait it out OR I could go to the 5th floor of L&D if I felt it was neccesary. Hello, 3rd trimester vomiting and flu symptoms? Yes I went, thankfully my MIL was able to meet me and hold my hair back as I repeatedly was sick AND got stabbed like 7 times before they got an IV into my hand just under my thumb. I was severely dehydrated and exhausted. My hours at the torture chamber were quickly shut down to 8 hours per shift, no more than 40 hours per week. Oh wait, thats what people work at normal jobs? Ahem, note this was my PREVIOUS as in no longer employed at the torture chamber job. Amen.

SO when I say I am low maintenance I mean it. I only call if I feel like death or have a genuine concern about the health of baby. We have a new doctor this go round, we will call him Dr. Slinky. Well Dr. Slinky loves me. I mean after all I am in and out in 12-14 minutes flat. Heartbeat good, chart good, weight gain is totally under control, urine is cleared, measuring on track, oh your 2 year old is climbing on the rolling stool about to bust his head open, Yep! You are good to go Jessica, see ya in a month! I like Dr. Slinky too.

So a few weeks ago after I FINALLY stopped wretching violently at everything and anything lil Baby Stella decided to bring on the pelvic torture. I don't know if she is laying horizontally doing the breaststroke in there or what but my hips have been in pain since the beginning. No big deal, I am a former dancer, I am sure my hips are jacked up in some way, I mean they hurt on a regular basis. BUT the pelvic pain is way more torturous than ANYTHING I encountered with Max. What I mean to say is that it doesn't hurt when I sit with my feet elevated. Which is awesome. Except for the fact that is hurts VIOLENTLY when I stand, walk, put pants on, teach dance, tap, lay down and the worst is when I attempt to change positions in bed. I found myself biting my pillow last night. And at 30 weeks pregnant I am just saying it was definitely because of pain, ahem, if you know what I mean. I mean if you know what I mean it was not because of. Umm my mom reads this blog.

Yeah so now comes the dilemna. Do I call or not call? I mean this would be my first call to Dr. Slinky's office. Def not enough to make me "that patient". But I am 30 weeks pregnant. So when people ask how I feel and I say, "oh ya know I feel like my pelvis is broken and I would prefer to rip it out of my body at this point" in turn they reply "Oh yeah, well you are at that point, I'm sure it's normal"

AHHhhhhhhh Normal is NOT wanting to singlehandedly rip out your pelvis people. I have a fairly high pain tolerance *I think*. I have had a baby before. I have been at "that point" before and I most certainly could function without this ridiculous penguin waddle I have mastered that semi helps the pain of moving.

Thank the good Lord I am not still working at the torture chamber. I mean sure, I have my own personal backstroke champion rendering my pelvis completely useless. But even though it hurts like crazy, nothing about Stella Katherine is torture, well unless she decides to not sleep for the first 10 months of her life...like some other little adorable child I know, cough cough, maximusowen.

Holy Pelvis Pain.
Jesi

Pregnancy LOVE

2010-02-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

No I don't LOVE being pregnant, I am just not one of those people. I mean I kinda envy those people who are all glowy and beautiful and full of joy when they are growing babies. I just kinda survive pregnancy. I don't hate it because I fully realize the enormous amazingness that is the bodies capability to grow and sustain life. I don't love it because I feel like a house, like someone who walked up and kicked me really super duper hard right between the legs and I just feel blah.

BUT I do LOVE the following....

Gap Whisper Thin Turtleneck. This NON Maternity shirt is super soft, super thin and super comfy. I got mine at the Gap Outlet for $2.99 since it is a Fall 2008 product and no longer in stores. Mine is a plum stripe which I love for some color and it is PLENTY long enough to cover my 29 week belly. Love.

Motherhood Secret Fit BootCut Jeans

Just $25 these jeans are a steal. They are affordable, comfortable and the panel is so tight yet stretchy these stay up without constant tugging. The panel is thin and comfy, no need to fold it down or worry about it showing through your shirts. It also comes in a light tan for your lighter shirts. The length is perfect for my 5'6 frame and the wash is a nice medium color. LOVE.

Motherhood Foldover Briefs
Super soft and just $13 for a 3 pack, theycan go over your bump or you can fold them down, best of both worlds and amazingly comfortable. Totally worth the money for your comfort. Love.

Love!

Funday Monday

2010-02-15T09:04:00.000-08:00

If you need a little fun for your toddler at bathtime I wanted to recommend these

These fun little doodads are the perfect way to spend some time on a Funday Monday. Max really loves picking out 2 and seeing what colors he can create. This morning it was red and blue to make a lovely purple bath. These are a splurge that are definitely not a neccesity but for $3.99 and approximately 15-30 baths full of fun I thought it was a good choice. And Max agrees.

I got mine at Target in the baby aisle! Have a funday monday!

Jesi and purple splashin Max

My Prayer Peeps

2010-02-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

It's late at night and tomorrow Max and I leave for Dallas/Ft Worth so I wanted to post before we are gone. I am attending TS on Tour *which I am SUPER duper excited for* and Max is spending the weekend with my dad, stepmom and little brother Ty. I made the distinct mistake of telling him today that we were going to see Grandpa Lloyd, Grandma JuJu and Uncle Ty and he has been hollering at me ALL day about Ty. Everytime our silly dog barks he screams TY's HERE! Tomorrow is not a concept he is familiar with.

Tonight was the last night of The Temple study that we were doing in my womens bible study. Natalie really went above and beyond to make tonight special and connect all the dots for us ladies. It was a beautiful night of reflection and as I sat and looked around the room I felt a keen sense of connectedness with the ladies around me. It was a true picture of the body of Christ. All different people, personalities, looks, sizes, shapes, colors, struggles, hurts, joys, backgrounds, family situations and perceptions. But we are united in Christ. He joins us together and seeing tear filled eyes around me I knew that as women we often struggle with the SAME things. No matter of our size, background and history, we are bonded by our gender. I love what Natalie said about the devil. 1) We are not stupid and 2) he is not original. That is so so true. he is NOT original and he uses the SAME tools and tricks and lies against all of us women day in and day out. Recognizing his lies and deciphering God's TRUTH for our lives is so important.

I just wanted to say thank you to my prayer peeps. We talked about this tonight too, surrounding yourself with people who you can call/email/text/facebook and say I need prayer! People we can be vulnerable with and let our guards down for true support.

So here are mine.

Rob
My awesome husband. He knows exactly who I am and loves me despite seeing my ugliest truths and most unbecoming inner secrets. I know if I need his love and support, his shoulder or his ear he is ALWAYS there.

My Momma
I love my momma. My mom is strong, helpful, encouraging and faithful. She reminds me that we are on the right track and that we are right to trust in Him. She is my biggest cheerleader and my most honest supporter. I love her and I covet her prayers.

Kera Don
My "lil" is a true blessing to me. Her raw emotions and openness to share her struggles allow me to be the mentor that God desires I be. I can be 100% honest with her and I never ever feel weird, judged or freakish. She is the best.

Summer
My dear dear friend. She shares a name with Stella (her first name is Catherine and Stella's mn will be Katherine) and I couldn't think of a better person to honor. She is smart, kind and seriously seriously a steadfast support to me. She is always understanding, always available and always goes above and beyond for our friendship.

Savanah
My oldest, nearest and dearest. Sweet Savanah is loved around the world but I still feel like I get a special tiny place in her heart that is just for me and mine. I love that about her. We are too busy to spend as much time together as we would like but I adore that it never matters. I can call her bawling my head off and she will stop me right there and pray for me. She is never too busy to pray for me and I don't hesitate to know that she thinks of me and prays for me often. I love knowing I have such a woman of faith in my corner and petitioning God for me.

My Stepmom
Also known as Grandma JuJu, Julia was a big influence on my decision to become a Christ follower and she has never stopped encouraging me. She tells me when God places me on her heart and she follows through when she tells you that she is praying for you. She is filled with His words and His wisdom.

Katrina
My boss' loverly wife Katrina is ah-mazing. She is so intelligent and filled up with Him that I have really loved gleaning from her. She might be surprised to be on this list but she shouldn't be, because if I need prayer I know one ah-mazing prayer mama I am turning to and it's her.

Codie
My twinsie, we aren't sisters but we might as well be. Codie is so amazingly honest that you don't have to feel awkward about your own shortcomings and struggles. She is smart, hilarious and she turns a serious conversation into a laughfest, still always being a loving encouraging openminded faithful friend. She is no doubt one of the first people that I can call on in a time of need and I know she would answer. She just rocks. My socks off.

Jackie
aka my Armymomma! Jackie was my deployment buddy when Rob was gone and I have LOVED LOVED LOVED being able to pray for her through our experiences. She is so graced by faith and determination and I adore that we share a belief system and a strong reliance on our Heavenly Father to carry us through the days that we cannot seem to stand on our own. love. jackie. period.

HeatherS
My sweet momma friend. Heather is so amazing at filling my life with friendship. I told Rob the other day I am going to be such a bawlbag when she packs up and leaves me. (dang military) Heather is everything I could ask for in a friend and I am so thankful that He intersected our paths in this time. We sorta need eachother in a way that only military mommas understand.

So those are my prayer peeps. The ones I love. The ones I know I can call on. Thank you for being the bestest people I could ever surround myself with. I am so grateful for each of you.

Love,
Jesi

Freezer Meals, Tastefully Simple Style!

2010-02-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Just letting yall know that I will be posting quite a few new meals on the Recipe blog if you are interested. All of the upcoming recipes will also have directions to prep for your freezer and then can go straight into the crockpot.

Just click on the tab that says RECIPES at the top of this page to get there!

EAT AND ENJOY!
Jesi

Something FUN

2010-02-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or has it been heavy around these parts? I know it has but God is doing a work in us and I love recording it here. There is something really heart wrenching about writing things out and something really refreshing about being able to go back and read it later. This blog is such a testimony to me of His faithfulness. I love to read back through my own archives and see struggles that have now become celebrations.

BUT in order to not scare off the general population I wanted to share a fun project that I am starting soon!

It's a kitchen remodel!

No not my real kitchen. I did just paint my dining room with the help of my sweet mama and if finances allow we desperately need to put up a backsplash. We left the backsplash blank when we built this house because we didn't like what they wanted to do. This is what we have planned though...

We really need to do the backsplash so that we don't ruin the walls under our cabinets with kitchen wear and tear. But ummm yeah that's not my FUN project.

Back to the FUN!

I plan to turn this

into a Play Kitchen! I know I am crazy right? No really I just thrifty *aka cheap*! I have really wanted to get a wooden play kitchen for our kiddos but they are expensive! Max LOVES to cook and he cooks with me daily. I am sure Stella will follow but I am NOT spending $200+ on a wooden play kitchen. So Fun February Project it is. This was my inspiration.

turned into this

By the Lovely and talented Sutton Grace

Here is my plan

*painting it brick red and leaving the doors on so when it is closed it looks like a piece of furniture

*The tiny shelf up top is being moved down and turned into the microwave.

*The computer cutout in the back is going to be turned into a window with curtains that I am making.

*Side shelves are being cut out.
*Where the computer is sitting we are installing a sink!
*And next to the sink we will do a toaster or coffeepot with a clock above.
*The side wall will have some hooks for holding potholders/etc.
*We are going to move the slide out keyboard holder DOWN so that it clears the bottom of the sink and make that the "stovetop" with fake burners and knobs.
*Where the printer is setting I am going to screw down a silverware drawer divider for utensils.
*The bottom will be left the same but I am going to make a curtain bottom to cover the storage areas.
*We will put some bins/baskets down there for play food and accessories.
*The inside of one door will have a magnet board with alphabet letters and kitschy magnets.
*The inside of the other door is going to have hooks for Max and Stella's aprons and a Menu Board most likely.
*I am also going to use scrapbook paper or wrapping paper all along the back wall to add contrast and look like wallpaper. I will prob modgepodge it down.

I plan to do everything under $50 because I am getting a lot of stuff from the dollar tree or from around the house. The sink will be the most expensive thing and yall know that Rob works for Lowes so we should be able to find one for cheap. I am super excited and I can't wait to show you the finished project! So that's it, my FUN February project!

Jesi

Slamming Doors

2010-01-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

First off after I posted about waiting I heard this song by John Waller and I LOVED it for those who are currently in a season of waiting.

While I'm Waiting

In other news God keeps slamming doors shut and I am figuring out how to accept it and be grateful. There is a LONG backstory but essentially there is something in my life that has been an up and down journey. At one point it even became an idol to me. I hate admitting that but I am sure we all have those things. We talked about it in Bible Study this week and Natalie really encouraged us to be open to asking God to reveal ANYTHING that might be an idol to us. If you don't know what I am talking about I would say you should investigate if something is an idol for you if it causes neglect from your relationship with God and/or you lack neccesary restraint when it comes to that matter.

So it was an interesting study for me. I already pinpointed this thing as an idol for my life several years ago. Thankfully and painfully God pretty much ripped it from my life. It left me shaken and upset and there are fragile threads that remain from that situation. Looking back I am so THANKFUL that He removed it for me because I don't know that I would ever be where I am today in my personal relationship with Him if not for that painful encounter.

BUT there are still some emotionally jagged edges that remain. And try and try as I might I can't help but feel the cuts sometimes. It's a matter of pride really. My human nature feels a great deal of painful rejection and self examination each time He slams shut a door regarding this thing. It's hard. I can sit here and feel two emotions at the same time. Logically I know that when I toe the line it does me NO good. I cannot sit here and say that I could be involved again without letting it become idolatry again. So why would I seek that? Thank you Lord for taking away the opportunity for something to become jammed between us once again.

In the same moments I feel hurt. I feel like I did everything right and by the book and fantastically on paper. There is no logical reason for the rejection. But it still happens over and over and over again. Oh yeah, that's God slamming those doors for me. But it still hurts ~~a little.~~

It's a molding process. He is shaping me and taking away things that are not of Him and not drawing me closer to Him. I am so grateful for that despite the pain.

"This world has nothing for me and this world has everything

All that I could want and nothing that I need
This world has nothing for me and this world has everything

All that I could want and nothing that I need"
This World by Caedmon's Call

waiting and obedience

2010-01-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Man I hate to wait.

I don't have a lot of patience. Well somedays I do! Somedays when Max moves at a snails pace, taking an average of 32 minutes to move towards me to get dressed or changed or whatever I just smile and relax. Other days I grab him and get him moving. My patience level comes and goes with a regular sense of irregularity.

After my last post I started thinking about how I felt when I was in a stage of waiting. I was a working mama for 2 years and I am quite proud that I managed to not pull my hair out while managing a thriving business in a crazy industry, my tastefully simple business, social obligations, family, friends, my husband, max and half of that time was during our deployment. I don't regret going back to work after Max was born. Rob was deployed and quite honestly a neverending 24 hour cycle of me and max and me and max and just me and max was not doing much to improve what I had left of my sanity. The regular and predictable schedule of our days helped pass the time. My friends at work made me laugh and took my mind off of the things I tried hard not to think about. My paychecks amplified our ability to pay off debt and figure out how to be better stewards of all that we are given.

Despite the positives I wasn't happy with my career. I wanted something much greater than a title and a raise. I wanted to enjoy what I did and that was where I struggled. I remember when I figured out the problem. (I) had followed MY path with little consideration as to what God wanted from my life. In college (I) decided that if (I) could pick any job (I) would be a wedding planner. How (I) stumbled into that exact job is comical. (I) was 2nd picks for the position and only through my annoying follow up calls did (I) happen to get hired.(I)ronic that just one year into my career that (I) chose (I) was miserable.

In that time frame I submitted my job to God. I prayed for strength to handle the daily challenges. I prayed for change. I prayed that I would get this job or that job or another job.

He said No.

And I waited.

I never desired to be a stay at home mom. Those women who chose to do so seemed like they were a planet away from my desires. I didn't understand why you would go to college and then decide to not work in your field. I didn't get it.

Once Max was born I understood WHY other mothers chose to stay at home with their kids. It was HARD to leave my 12 week old at daycare. It was HARD to juggle everything. It was hard to put him to bed at 7:30, exhausted from a day surrounded by other kids and noise and know that I missed out on a lot.

BUT I STILL DIDN'T DESIRE TO STAY AT HOME.

I was simply waiting for a DIFFERENT job.

In those last 3 years that I worked God taught me a lot about waiting and obedience. And in that time HE changed my heart. Out of nowhere I started to consider what would be ideal. Ideally I would work part time. I love being around people and accomplishing things. I like checking off a to-do list and helping to achieve something greater than myself. I like spending time with coworkers and getting to know people. I enjoyed those things. Even our pesky deployment reinforced the theme that God was revealing to me day by day. WAIT. And while you wait, OBEY.

Somehow through those years my heart was softened to staying at home. And gradually each tear streaked strand of our life, stained with His No's and strengthened by the Wait were woven together to form a new plan for our family. Somehow He used every challenge and every struggle to paint a picture of what I desired...before I even knew that I desired it.

It is only possible for me to be at home now because of our obedience, the wait, the deployment, our schedules, doors that were closed, other doors that were opened, two part time jobs, circumstances changing and hearts that were open to His plan. All of those worked together for our good even though sometimes they didn't feel good. At all.

There is NOTHING wrong with being a working mom, a stay at home mom or any combination of the two. What is RIGHT is being obedient to what HE desires for your family. It may change in the coming years. It may not. You might live your plan from the get go, or you might have to take 772 detours to get where you need to be. You might be blessed enough to find your place tomorrow, or He might ask you to wait, and wait, and wait some more. What is most important is your willingness to be obedient to what He determines is best for you and yours. What does that mean for you?

Jesi

For His Glory

2010-01-21T22:06:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I LOVE my Womens Bible Study. It has seriously been exactly what I needed. I wish that my thoughts after each week were more cohesive. I know I blabber on and on and you probably don't even understand what I am trying to get at. But that's ok. It's really a work between me and Him and that is why I sit down to write it out. I want to remember and reflect on the things that He is revealing to me. And by golly this blog is where that's gonna happen.

I talked a little bit about it before but I have been really pressed on to focus on the mind games and all the head junk that go along with my struggles with a healthy body. Well when God opened that lovely door to this Bible Study He knew exactly where he was sending me.

I want to talk more about that but I first I want to talk about last week.

Let me be honest. It's been over a week since last weeks study and my brain is a little foggy. And that's ok because what I DO remember is probably one of the most important things that Natalie touched on.

God always ALWAYS always reveals HIS glory before He reveals his character.

What the heck does that mean?

Well in the Bible we read a lot of stories regarding the tabernacle in which He literally would bring down His glory before He would reveal WHO he WAS to those people. We're talking heavy clouds of glory or flames, or fires. Now that is some glory. Only after that would He let the people know who He was. A good God, a kind God, a God deserving of our praise. But first yall, He was sure to let us know exactly how glorious He is. Glory first-character second.

We don't get that these days. We don't see a cloud press down on the sky before God booms out who He is. But nothing has changed. God is in it for His Glory. We as his temple are here to proclaim HIS glory. Not our own. It's really not about us. It's not about our pride, our strengths, our struggles, our successes, our preferences, our comfort or discomfort. It's about bringing Glory to HIM.

I started thinking about how much our life has changed in the past year. We have made some BIG decisions as a family. Probably the biggest is that we decided that I would quit my job to stay at home with Max and return to VSA working part time. We prayed about it and thought about it and analyzed it and we finally decided that was the best thing for us. Well it has been. I love being home with Max. I love that we are being gifted with Stella and that it's welcome and wonderful because we don't have to fear spending two thousand dollars per month on childcare. I love that I get to snuggle with my baby boy in the mornings and that my house is fairing better and that I get to do things for Rob that I might not have done before. I love those things and I am so grateful that we sought God on that decision. That He led us to this place. That essentially He ok'd our plan and we have been blessed and provided for over and over again.

But it's not about US. It's not about any of that.

If God is truly interested in His glory then HE ALLOWED us to be in this situation because it brings more Glory to HIM.

What brings more glory to God? Our family having two working parents, me making a pretty good income with some cushy perks and a cool title but hating the day to day grind. OR me staying at home with our kiddos, pretty dang poor on paper yet ALWAYS provided for, ALWAYS blessed, everything ALWAYS working out in our favor. In which of those situations does the Glory fall to Him? From my opened eyes I feel like THAT is why I am staying at home. Yes I love Max and I love being at home and I love not dreading Monday mornings. But what I really love is people wondering how the heck we can swing it? How does that work? We have everything we need and often more. But if you looked at our income on paper you would probably laugh and think we are crazy. We KNOW that all things are provided for us because of our faithfulness to tithe and our belief in His provisions. So to people who do not understand those things our life NOW is a testimony to His faithfulness. Our life now reflects back to Him. Our life now doesn't always afford us the luxury of extra. But our life now ALWAY affords us the luxury of pointing the glory back to Him. And that's what He is all about. His Glory.

To God Alone be the Glory.
Jesi

Busy Monday

2010-01-11T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today Rob ended up coming home from work because he felt so sick. And he must be sick because he has been sleeping pretty much all day and that is just unlike him.

First off Max and I headed to the mall where we met up with our sweet friends Heather and her daughter Annika. Annika is just one month younger than Max and he LOVES her. He got so excited when I told him we were going to see Ms. Heather and Annika. We had lunch first and Max was SO good. I was so proud of him today. He actually ate his lunch and sat/entertained himself while Heather and I chatted. There for awhile I thought we might never eat out again bc Max was so challenging but today he proved that he really is growing up.

After we finished lunch we headed to the play area. Now I don't know what marketing brain decided to put a toy store RIGHT next to the play area but it's SUPER annoying to us moms. All your kids want to do is run OUT of the play area and into the toy store. I dread the toy store. But today Max was AWESOME. I told him ONE time if he left he would get a timeout and he didn't try again, not one single time. Who is this well behaved child and what did you do with Max?

After our playtime I wanted to walk around a bit so we just window shopped. Max wanted to walk so I let him out and he walked right next to me and listened so well! It was seriously one of his best days ever. He was so so good today and I was so proud to be his mama. I am so thankful that I get to experience these days with him. Even though we have our moments where we are both driving each other nuts I still like to look at him and remember that someday he will grow up and have a wife and kiddos and I won't get to kiss on him and snuggle him like my little boy. So even on the days he drives me bonkers I am trying to relish these moments enjoy each and every slobbery kiss and excited hug.

In Stella news I am really starting to feel pregnant aka heavy, short of breath and getting kicked in the ribs on a regular basis. Today I got two packages for her in the mail that I had ordered and I loved them! My friend owns this shop http://www.sweetprincessbowtique.com/ and makes the cutest bows and accessories. She had an AWESOME sale so I bought Stella 14 bows and 2 headbands. Yes, FOURTEEN! And there were more I wanted, I restrained myself! Then my sweet friend added 2 bows to my order just because she is awesome and they were extra cute! My favorite are stacked bows with all different patterns and colors and one of my extras was a stacked bow with pink, green, brown and candy ribbon. It's adorable and sorta like this other stacked one I ordered.

After spending a wonderful day with Max I got to go teach at VSA tonight. I adore my kiddos in my dance classes. My tots are my favorite age because at 3&4 years old they still LOVE me and are so excited to come to dance class. I feel SO blessed to have the gift and talent from God to teach those babies. I love listening to their sweet prayer requests, rubbing away the hurt of bumped heads and laughing at their stories and comments. They truly bring brightness to my Mondays and I never dread going to work. There is something so special about teaching small kiddos and nothing blesses me more than hearing their parents say how much their kids love dance or how they missed it over the holidays. They are so fun and they make my job easy! Even with their 572 potty breaks in class.

It was a great Monday despite Rob being sick and he is already sleeping again so hopefully he will sleep the sick away!
Jesi

God is cool. a very long post

2010-01-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well you might already know that but I'm just sayin.

Last night I met my sister in law Danielle to attend a womens bible study that is through our newer church. Something that was really important to me in changing churches was that we get more connected and form more relationships within the church. Unfortunately we haven't been able to connect with a life group because our schedule is a little crazy. Since I quit my job I work at VSA on Monday and Tuesday evenings so those nights are out. Then Wednesdays Rob had class. So our only family nights were Thursday and Friday plus the weekends BUT I do have a thriving business with Tastefully Simple and you guessed it...thursdays, fridays and saturdays are my prime days for parties. So needless to say it was difficult to find a day that worked.

So when a new bible study started on Wednesday nights and Robs school schedule changed I decided I *might* try it out. You know the feeling. You think it's exactly what you need but you sorta drag your feet for no good reason and hesitate to commit because your life is overcommitted as it is.

Well last night I had all the reasons not to go. Because Max hadn't napped a wink all day and then I took him to a 2 hour playdate with our friends Heather and her daughter, ahem, I mean Max's girlfriend. He was exhausted and a TOTAL crankpot by the time we made it home.

The temperature was dropping and I had on darn cute flats without socks.

The good news is I had already extended the invitation to Danielle and she wanted to go so God did a neat little job of roping me into it despite my reservations and plain ol laziness.

WOW. I love when He does that. Because He normally does that when there are really good things involved.

When we arrived I recognized Natalie right away. Pretty easy since I have been reading her blog for the past two years. Lonnnnnnnng story short my friend Julie works at our church. Natalie and her husband led a lifegroup that Julie and her husband Trevor were a part of. So I knew of them through the grapevine. Julie recommended that I read Cindy Beall's blog because she rocks so I did and on her link love I found Natalies blog and have been reading both of them for awhile now. The blog bug bit me hard when Rob was deployed so I found a lot of great blogs.

Anywhoo, Cindy was there too along with lots of other women that I recognize from church and a few unfamiliar faces. Last connection of the day is that ANOTHER amazing blogger that I get the privilege of knowing in real life is Andi Hawkins who is also known as the Running Mama and she and Cindy have reconnected through the blogosphere as well. Shewwwwww, I tell you all that just because I think it's pretty cool how God is invested in the details and the connecting points of our lives.

Ok the REAL reason I say that God is cool was because of the subject matter. I had no idea walking in what we were going to be studying. Natalie quickly explained that our first 5 weeks were going to be focused on studying the tabernacle of the Old Testament and the temple of the New Testament. I have read these verses before, I mean it's pretty common subject matter that we are the temple of God in the New Testament and I have looked and read and thought about those verses frequently in the past two years as I have focused on my health.

But NEVER had I studied the tabernacle in the Old Testament. I have probably skipped over the talk of the tabernacle in Exodus many times because let's get real, it's long and it's very detailed. And if you aren't correlating it to the TEMPLE of the New Testament aka US then its a little tedious to read. What Natalie did an awesome job of doing was opening my eyes to was the care, attention, and love that God put into the details of the O.T. tabernacle. Then when you STOP and think that same care, attention and love is exactly what he wants for us as his TEMPLE then it takes on a WHOLE NEW FREAKIN COOL meaning.

Where it really really really hit home though was that the past few weeks God has been working on my heart about my health, ahem, again. It seemed like a weird time for that to be on my heart because um yeah I am pregnant. It's not the time I can go start a new routine or cut my calories or whatever. But I knew that there was a definite calling going on to spend time thinking about my health. I knew it wasn't a call to do something physical but rather emotional and mental. I am TIRED of not feeling healthy. I am TIRED of the condemnation *eh eh Natalie* that I have felt about my weight struggles. But what can I do about it when I have 18 more weeks of baby growing going on?

THIS. This study is EXACTLY what I can do while I grow baby Stella. I can study and read and learn and roll around and relish reading the details of God's care for the tabernacle and then I can sit and let Him smack me in the head while I realize that THIS IS WHY WE ARE THE TEMPLE. AND THIS IS WHY WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO TREAT OURSELVES AS SUCH. AND THIS IS WHY I CANNOT MOVE FORWARD UNTIL I FIGURE IT ALL OUT!

I am too excited to go back and read and edit this gigantically long post. I just had to write it out because although you might be completely confused and see no connection whatsoever I felt like God played connect the dots with me last night. Ding, Ding, Ding, I get it. And I am so thankful that I went last night.

God is cool.
Jesi

heartache

2010-01-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it seems like there are too many hurts.

I am not talking about anything having to do with me or my family.

But sometimes when you look around it's just so easy to see how much we are surrounded by hurting people. Some of those people have a faith that can move mountains. That inspires you to move bolder, with more purpose and with more respect for the things that don't hurt.

Like her.

Sweet Laynie.

My friend Lacey had this sweet baby girl almost 2 years ago now. Laynie's story is a long one but one SO worth telling. Let's just say that she is a miracle of God's faithfulness. Her life and her story have changed others.

Then there my friend H.

Her husband is deployed. She is here with her sweet daughter who is just a month younger than Max. She inspires me everyday. Her honesty, her love, her parenting, her survival instincts. She's a strong one. It pains me to think about her not living near me...but that's the life of a military family.

What about the girl I have never met but I think of as a friend?

Her son is in the hospital right now with a really ugly case of bacterial pneumonia. It's hurting her heart to see him struggling for breath. Despite the doctors thinking he will be ok. She is hurting and it makes me hurt too.

The person struggling to conceive a child.

The pain that I don't have to understand. My heart aches for them.

The lady living in Holland. Her life forever changed by the "special needs" of her little boy. His smile lights up her world and her strength makes me feel weak.

The family who lost a mother just a few weeks ago. 4 kids courageously stepping up to the plate to make sure that things get taken care of. A friend who goes out of her way to help them. A simple pick up that makes all the difference.

Two little boys who lost their dog. Understanding death for the first time. Losing pets, another life experience that squeezes your heart.

The lady on the side of the road. Tonight I drove past her. Sat in my car and wondered what her story was. Is she really homeless? Is she really hurting? To be honest I am not entirely sure.

It's hard to see the people around us hurting. To remember that we live in a lost and fallen world. To find faith and victory, reassurance and hope amongst the pain.

Sometimes it's hard.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid."

Hebrews 13:5-6

Max's Big Boy Room

2010-01-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

I was super duper sad to think about Max moving up to a big kid room. Mostly because I LOVED his nursery and I love my sleep. A big kid room meant adjusting to a new room and goodbye to the crib that contained my child, therefore forcing him to sleep. But when he climbed out we knew it was time. Plus with Stella on the way we needed to get the process over with.

It was roughhhhhhhhhhh. It took about 6 weeks and finally several nights of all out cry it out + an extra tall gate to make progress. Now Max cries for a few minutes refuses his bed and sleeps on a pallet by his gate with a booklight for company. We're making progress.

But why wouldn't he love his new room when it looks like this!

Big Boy Bed

Nightstand with his ano (piano) from Grandpa Claude and Grandma Mary. Max loves music hence the room theme and I think it's really special that he always loves gifts from my grandpa. Storage bin from Target.

Wall Art that I made from stuff around the house and guitar from Uppercase Living. My friend Lacey is my consultant and her sweet daughter Laynie is featured on my sidebar.

Closer look at the wall art I made. It spells out Maximus using a frame I had never used *it used to have a burgundy 6 frame mat* scrapbook paper, my corner punch and stickers.

All bedding from Target. I am so thankful for my moms help in pulling together this room. The only thing I bought in this pic are the jersey sheets *19.99*

My mom bought the bedding and Rockstar decal as a Christmas gift and picked up the throw pillows as a just because. Thanks Nana!

Decal from Hobby Lobby

Throw pillows from Target. The great thing is they are affordable and the covers can be unzipped and easily washed! I spiced up the orange ones with fabric I bought on super clearance at Hobby Lobby. No sew! Just wrap a long peice of fabric like you are wrapping a present and tie the back in a knot.

See! I love this easy cheap touch!

Isn't it cute all together?

Max loves his new bed and guitar wall art!

Our cute rockstar boy

Opposite wall is this bookshelf and stick on chalkboard. Chalkboard is Uppercase Living! Check out Laceys website HERE

Scrapbook Stickers make toy sorting and seperating easy and cute.

All storage from Target.

Despite his awesome new room Max still prefers to sleep here...

Cuddled up at the gate with his booklight and Toy Story Grab n Go pillow and blanket. Great gift for any toddler!

All we have left to do is get a chest of drawers to replace the computer armoire in the room and eventually we will raise the bed with a box spring. I also want to finish the bed with an upholstered headboard.

Goodnight!
Jesi

Decade

2010-01-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

It's officially been over a decade since Rob and I met. Here are some of the highlights from the past ten years...

2000-Junior Year-dating DH, did our first Army seperation-10 weeks long, taught dance

2001-Sr. Year-got lots of scholarships-graduated HS taught dance

2002-in college having fun, taught dance at VSA, worked 3 jobs

2003-DH deployed to Afghanistan served as President of my sorority, taught dance-VSA

2004-DH deployed to Afghanistan served as President of my sorority, DH came home and proposed in November taught dance at VSA

2005-Rob's grandmother passes in January, graduated with BA in Marketing in May, unemployed 3 months, got "dream" job, got married in September, started job day after honeymoon, quit teaching dance

2006-promoted to GM/Lead Event Coordinator-worked myself into exhaustion, Kera Don got married and Savanah got married.

2007-got pg with Max in Jan, found out in March/April that DH would deploy around my due date, had Max, DH deployed to Iraq 10 days later, Julie got married

2008-survived deployment, had spiritual renewal/awakening, started writing my book, DH came home, started TS business

2009-quit job, promoted 3 times with TS, started working PT at VSA, sah with Max got pg with Stella, Max turns 2!

It's been quite the decade! Next post up, hopes and dreams for the next ten years.
Love,
Jesi

Stella's Nursery

2009-12-31T14:59:00.000-08:00

I love when I finally stop waffling around and make a decision!

I would like to do something like this on the opposite wall although I might keep the flowers a light cream so it's not too busy.

Seeing as how NOT having these decisions MADE majorly stressed me out I am not sure I could ever wait to find out the gender of our kids! I am a freak planner and overthinker apparently.

I feel better. Now please only give me nice feedback. Thank you kindly.

Jesi

Ahhhhhhhh love

2009-12-31T12:18:00.000-08:00

The design on my blog combined with my inability to maintain my military mommy blog resulted in this new design and blog consolidation and I LOVE it!

Happy New Year!

Jesi

Christmas Cookies with Max!

2009-12-23T13:22:00.000-08:00

Is this not the CUTEST chef you have ever seen?

The hat and apron came from the dollar spot at Target and were SUPPOSED to be stocking stuffers. But our stockings are pretty small and he has other stuffers so I couldn't resist breaking them out for cookie making and baking day.

The plan was to make sugar cookie reindeers. I found the idea on SouthernLiving.com here and since they are EASY and TODDLER FRIENDLY they were tops on my list.

You need
2 rolls sugar cookie dough, premade baby, it's all about the premade.
1 bag chocolate chips (we used mini but regular would be better)
Red M&M's (walmart has tubs seperated by colors around the holidays)
Pretzel sticks

All you do is cut the cookie dough into rounds and place on your cookie sheet. Gently pinch in the sides so your reindeer has some shape to his head. Exaggerate the pinch because your cookies are gonna fluff out and up a lot. Then you need two chocolate chips for eyes, one m&m for the nose and pretzel sticks for antlers.

Max loved this and our cookies look cute and taste good! Not bad for premade dough and 4 ingredients!

Did you know Chefs hats also double as pilgrims bonnets? Max is still celebrating Thanksgiving apparently.

Finished Cookies!

Finished Max.

Double Day Post!

2009-12-23T13:13:00.001-08:00

Happy Christmas Eve EVE.

To start I am sharing a new recipe that is perfectly AMAZINGLY delicious for the holidays. If you are doing this as a side you can leave out the sausage and do it as a regular au gratin potato dish except this one is anything but regular.

It's a spinoff from the Pioneer Woman's Herbed Creamy Potatoes recipe. Speaking of PW, I got to meet her IRL!!! She came by OKC for a book signing and we braved the crowd to get her autograph and say hi. She loved Max's tie and his rockin hairdo.

Here we go!
Ingredients
4-6 Small Red Potatoes or Yukon Gold Potatoes
2-2.5 Cups Whole Milk
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Stick Butter
1 Packate Polish Sausage
2 Cups Shredded Cheese of your choice
1/2 white onion-finely diced
2 Sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 cup parmesan
salt
pepper

Wash potatoes and cut into halves.
Using a sharp knife or a mandolin slice the potato into VERY thin slices.
Cut polish sausage into thin rounds.
Remove sprigs of rosemary from stems and chop finely.

Butter 9x12 casserole dish and place 1/3rd of potatoes in a flat layer.

For Sauce
Melt 1/2 stick butter over medium high, add onion and saute for several minutes.
Add flour and whisk mixture together, it will be very thick. Let cook for 3-4 minutes. Slowly pour in milk whisking quickly to smooth out your flour/butter mixture (roux) and incorporate it into the sauce.
Add 1 cup cheese and rosemary and whisk into the sauce.
Salt and pepper the sauce to taste.

S&P the potato layer. Cover with 1/3rd sauce. Layer sausage and 1/2 cup cheese.
Layer potatoes, S&P cover with 1/3rd sauce. Layer sausage and 1/2 cup cheese.
Layer potatoes, S&P, cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle top with parmesan.

Bake at 375 COVERED for 50-60 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5-10 minutes to brown cheese on top. I think this would be even better with a seasoned breadcrumb topper. Just melt a little butter and mix into breadcrumbs and sprinkle over the top of the dish.

Mmmmmmmmmm this is umm not the healthiest dish but that is why it is for the Holidays! And I would have taken a pic but it's all gone. Already. Yeah. It's that good.

Next post...cookies!

Spoiling Stella and Mama

2009-12-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Did I mention what we are having...

I know I can hardly believe it myself. I told Rob that I had always been so assured that we would have all boys or at least SEVERAL boys before a girl that I was a little bewildered that we were already getting our sweet girl! After much deliberation we finally settled on a name and I ADORE it. Her name will be Stella Katherine although I do intend on calling her Stella Kate in that oh so southern fashion of using first and middle names together. Katherine is also the first name of one of my dearest friends although we traded her "C" for a K. We certainly hope that she grows up to be as special as Catherine with a C. Several people have been poo pooing our name choice but I just know that once she is here they will realize that it is her perfect name. Stella means Star and Katherine means Pure and Virginal. Our pure star is growing well and we are feeling incredibly lucky and blessed to have another healthy child on the way to meet our mad Max.

So today Daddy already started a tradition of spoiling sweet Stella and this mommy. He cleaned up the house and did all the dishes which are my absolute LEAST favorite thing to do in the world, especially when pregnant. Then he sent me out for a pedicure and it was an hour and a half long and full of all sorts of smell goods and feel goods. After that I got to pick up my favorite lunch ever which is the Trio from Inspirations Tea room. It is SO good and my favorite girly food. I had homemade creamy tomato soup, a chicken salad croissant, a salad with raspberry viniagrette, and their fabulous berry scones with heaps of lemon curd. I even got my very favorite iced vanilla tea to go and it's so stinkin good.

It was a wonderful Saturday and I am so so thankful that I have such an awesome husband who is already spoiling Stella and I. I love to think about how much she is going to have him wrapped around his finger.