An Ode to Jenni

My little girl just turned 8 months old.
I can't believe that it has gone by so quickly!
She is sitting up and playing by herself
She even has two little chompers.
She can scoot backwards on the floor
and even tell me what for in her own little voice.

I can't believe that Jenni is so big
It seems like just yesterday she was just a little peanut.
She is wanting to do things on her own now
Even though she is not quite ready.

Jenni is my special little girl and I will love her forever!  I just can't believe how time flies by, and how much has happened in the last year.  Wow.

I love you my little precious Angel.

New Kitchen

So, being the person that I am, if I want something, I do my best to get it.  The second that Sean and I bought our house I told him that I NEEDED a new sink and countertop.  Well friends...that is exactly what happened this weekend.  WAHOO!!!!!  I am so happy.  It looks AWESOME!!!!  Here are some before and after pics, and I hope that you love it.

New Kitchen

Old Kitchen

Old Sink

New Sink

Jenni loves the new kitchen too!!!  :o)

Rough Start, Great Finish!

Ok, so this morning was a HORRIBLE morning!  I woke up, and I hadn't had enough sleep, I wasn't able to get ready in my own time, and I was just MAD.  Not really mad because of anything, I was just overwhelmingly ANGRY!  I was so mad that I started to cry.  There was no reason for my anger...I mean, Jenni was a little irritable this morning, and Sean was a little difficult, but nothing I haven't handled before. I finally came to the conclusion that I was under attack.  See, when I said, "You just go with Jenni and I'll stay home from Church."  I started to feel even more angry.  And then when I said, "Maybe we should just stay home." I started to feel even MORE angry.  Then I said, "NO.  Because then he has won.  We need to go to chuch."  The anger started to subside.  Then when we were at church the anger started to be just a lingering memory.  Then, by the time the service was over and I was mingling with some of my sisters in Christ, the anger was gone.  The sermon was a great one too.  Huge about how we need to have friends in Christ.  We can't just go along by ourselves, because two are better than one.  We need to reach out and hold peoples' hands through the tough stuff, and through the good stuff too.  Not just rely on God, but to really reach out and have a community, or a support group of people around us who love us too.

So, then we went to Sean's parent's house and had quesadillas for lunch.  Then we came home, and Stephanie and David came over for coffee.  We got to hang out with them.  Chillax, talk, laugh.  It was such a blessing.  Then, we got to go over to Samm and Luke's for dinner.  Samm is such a great cook.  I was so happy to just be hanging out with them.

So, needless to say, my day ended up being pretty awesome!  I even had to take Jenni to the doctor because I thought she might have an earache or ear infection, but she was good to go, and it only took us 15 mins at the hospital...I think it was a world record.  Then Samm came back here and we had a great time just chatting it up, just us girls!

Just goes to show that Satan has no power, and that God will always prevail!!!!

New Surroundings

So you may have noticed that I changed the look of my wonderful blog.  This idea came to me from the motivation of a very good friend.  See, I have been living in an almost constant state of clutter.  There are always "things" just hanging around.  But, today I decided to start on the big "de-clutter".  So far I have thrown out 2 big orange garbage bags worth of junk, and I have put a bunch of stuff into storage.  I started in my bathroom, and got stuff figured out so that my makeup was all in one fancy box, my nail polish in another, and my hair ties and bobbie pins in yet another.  I have all my bath stuff in one area, all my lotions in another.  It was great to get everything sorted out.  I even got Christmas put away (Yes I realize that it is January 29th and I just got Christmas put away, but hey...welcome to my life.)
I still have a few places that are cluttered, but I think, in a good way...and at the end of February, that very same friend who got me to do this in the first place, is going to come over and help me really de-clutter.  I mean...really see what I want to keep and what I need to get rid of, and what really fits with what I am trying to do, and what just makes the space too crowded.  She will help me do wonders in my home.  I am REALLY excited.

I know, It is going to be AWESOME!!!

So this leads me to my blog.  I needed something that was really girly, and really portrayed my personality.  I know that my house does that, but I can't live this way any more....so, I have my one little place of organized chaos, that I can really call all my own.  I don't have to impress on here, I don't have to make sure that everything is perfectly clean so that others won't judge me...I can just be myself...my messy messy self.

Jenni telling me that she thinks I am crazy!

Yeah, that is another thing.  I love it when my house is clean, and everything is in order, and everything has a place...it is like a little snippit of peace.  But, as well as I am able to clean, I am not very good at keeping it that way.  I just get messy...and it doesn't help that my husband is the same way.  So, today I managed to get my kitchen clean, and I am hoping that it will stay that way.  I know that Sean is "trainable" because I have gotten him to start using a laundry basket, and close the shower curtain...but, who knows if this is something that we can do together, or if it will be a battle I will have to fight on my own.  We will see.

On a completely different note...I was just thinking about how perfectly cute my beautiful baby girl is, and how much she looks like both me and Sean.  So, I thought I would get some baby pics of the two of us and show you what I mean.

Sean

Jenni on Sean's 24th Birthday

Jenni at 3 months

Me

Why so mean?

So, I don't really have a lot to report today.  I have had a crazy busy day with my wonderful friend Cynthia.  I have one word that describes that woman...INSANE!  She has 5 beautiful children under the age of 10.  FIVE KIDS!!!??  It is insane.  And, her house is actually rather small, and so it is just a little heart wrenching watching her do the dance that is juggling the children.  But, regardless of her state of mind, she is an amazingly wonderful friend, and I enjoy all the time I get to spend with her.

But, I think the real reason for my blogging today is because my heart is breaking for my big brother.  He is actually a pretty nice guy when you really get to know him, but he is kind of like Shrek.  A bit of an ogre, but he has layers.  His top layer is very hard and jaded and kind of ugly, but if you can break down past that first layer it does get better.  You just have to take the time to get past the green skin with the funny trumpet-like ears.

Anyhoo, I thought that my brother (we'll keep going with the Shrek analogy, because I just watched the 4th one, and it was cute!) had found his Fiona.  She was a wonderfully sweet woman, who was beautiful to boot, and she had two great kids.  They were in love with Jenni.  So cute!!!  Well, big brother was getting too attached, I think, and he decided to break it off with her.  Stupid choice in my opinion, but hey, it's not my life.  Well, I was on FB today to check out stuff, and I saw a post from her.  So, I clicked on her page and read what was on there.  Some of the things that were said about my big brother were really hard to read.  See, I know that he is a bit of a butt head, but I also know that he does NOT deserve to be knocked down like that in public.  I just hope that he is not too scarred by what happened.  I know that once he sees himself getting those wall knocked down he does his best to build them back up.  It is his version of self preservation.  I just wish that he didn't have to hurt people in the process...that way he wouldn't get hurt in return.  See, that is just it.  I know that what was said was right.  He deserved to hear the words, because I know that he broke her heart first.  I just wish it wasn't so public.  I really liked "Fiona" (Just to be clear, the analogy doesn't work out the greatest, because the girl was not an ogre.  She was wonderful...so, it is more from the first movie when she is human...I guess...well...just...yeah.  Take it how you want to I guess....) and I thought that she would one day be a part of my family for real, but I guess not.  I hope that he finds someone to make him happy.  I think he deserves it.

A Mouse in the House

Ok, so I like to think that my house is not dirty, just lived in.  I do have a messy house, 9 times out of 10, but my house is not dirty.

But, on Monday I got the shock of a lifetime.

Hayden and I were baking cookies, and I told him that one of the most important part of baking is cleaning up afterwards.  So, I proceeded to fill the sink with hot water.  It was a lot hotter than I had expected, so I couldn't get the cutlery from the bottom of the sink until the water cooled down a bit.  So, we finished baking the cookies, and made some green playdough, got Teya out of bed, and I went to go finish the dishes.  So, I washed a bowl, and a pot, and I reached down to the bottom of the sink to get out the cutlery, and low and behold...A MOUSE!  When I wasn't looking a gross, disgusting mouse had fallen into my dish water.  YUCK...Well, needless to say, I SCREAMED bloody murder, scared Hayden and Teya half to death with the sound, and proceeded to call my husband.  He was at work, but sometimes when he has to go to the bathroom really bad, he will come home to use our toilet.  So, he picks up the phone and the first thing I say to him is, "Hi Honey, do you have to poop?"  He laughs and tells me no, and asks why.  I tell him the whole frightening story.  He says that I have to get the mouse out of the sink because he doesn't want the grossness to get into the pores of the sink.  So, I have to get this mouse out of my sink.  I can't do it with my hands,  because I just can't touch that thing again, so I find some tongs in my drawer.  I then proceed to fish the mouse out of my sink.  It was so yucky.  And the whole time Hayden is watching me in wonder.  I finally show him the soaking wet mouse as I put it into the garbage.  He thought it was cool, but not me.  I still get the heeby-geebies just thinking about it.  And, normally I am not afraid of mice, but when you reach into your sink expecting dishes and get a mouse, it is pretty traumatizing.  *shudder*

So, that is my mouse in the house story.  In all reality I should have not had to tell this story because I have two cats and a mouse keeper-awayer, but c'est la vie.  I guess it happens.  Apparently when my mom was a kid, my Oma found a mouse in their milk carton...after everyone had already had their cereal!  Yuck!!!!!  So, it happens to the best of us.  And now my kitchen is really clean, because yesterday I cleaned everything with bleach.  Hayden asked me why he could smell the swimming pool.  So cute!

On the much brighter side, I got a short visit from my friend Wendy this morning, and her two beautiful children.  AND...it is only 16 more days until I get my kitchen redone.  YAY!!!  I will post pics on the day of.  I am so stoked!!!!!

Too Liberal VS Too Conservative?

Ok.  So I am having a hard time.  At our Ladies Bible Study we are doing "Lord is it Warfare? Teach me to Stand!"  That is all fine and good, but it just seems to me like a lot of the ladies in our study are soooo conservative.  I am more liberal in my thinking.  I think that we should expose our children to certain things of the world while they are at home so that I can be the one to answer their questions with my knowledge and understanding of what God wants from us.  I think that there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter if you sit down with your children and explain to them that it is just a make believe world, and that Harry Potter and Hogwarts...etc...do NOT exist, but Witchcraft DOES exist and it is bad.  AND...if they start wishing that they had magic powers then that is when Satan gets control.  Yes there is a fine line between good and bad, and children can be swayed so easily, but is it wrong to let you children have childish treats (like Disney princess movies) and explain to them the difference between imagination and reality??  Granted...not all disney princess movies are good.  I will NEVER have "Princess and the Frog" in my home, or support my little girl watching it because it is DOWN RIGHT evil.  Voodoo does exist and it is SO real, and that is not make-believe because it is a cartoon.  Those things really happen...That is REAL!  And scary.  But a fairy god-mother is not going to show up and turn a pumpkin into a horse drawn carriage to take you to the ball...and mermaids don't even exist in real life.  I think that is where discretion comes in as a parent.  Only you know your child and what they are susceptible to.  I am not going to let my friends' kids watch movies that I haven't okayed with them first...and I expect the same courtesy from them.  But, why are little boys allowed to watch Indiana Jones and StarWars, but little girls shouldn't be allowed to watch Cinderella?

I just feel like I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.