'Til We Meet Again . . .

{Photo courtesy of the Queen's facebook page}

On Thursday night my remarkable Uncle Kirk finished his brave battle with cancer.

On Monday I will journey West with Ollie, my dad and my siblings to celebrate this man and his exemplary life.

While I am on my "blogcation" next week, please do me two favors: First, pray for my sweet Aunt Julie and cousins Amanda and Liz to have peace. Second, go tell your family how much you love and adore them. And then tell them again. And again. And again.

'Til we meet again, Uncle Kirk. I love you!

Three Word Thursday

Four. Month. Fog.

{Me, with no makeup, no upper lip and allergy eyes.}

A wise and dear friend recently told me that a woman should be allowed one month per child she's birthed to get back to "normal" after having a baby. Let's see, that means I've got one month and three weeks to pull myself together.

I'm halfway through what I like to refer to as the Four Month Fog. I've been here three times before, so I know what to expect. It manifests itself differently each time. Let me illustrate:

After Big C was born, I dyed my hair brown, which turned green, which was fine because I spent an awful lot of time in my townhouse watching way too many M.A.S.H. reruns since it was easier than taking the baby out.

With Hannie B., I convinced the Hubby that we needed to buy a little white T.V. {aesthetics people, always!} for our bedroom so Big C. could sit on the floor and watch Blues Clues while I slept in way too late each day and nursed the baby in bed.

With RedDog, I alternated between being cooped up while house sitting someone else's house with stir crazy kids and rushing over to our current house to remove wallpaper and scrutinize the remodeling process.

And now, I find that it is all I can do to manage the three grown kids school and activity schedules without collapsing in a heap at night. Pretty much nothing else gets done around here.

For me, the Four Month Fog encapsulates many things. It is me feeling like a foreigner in my own body {Whose chest is this? When did my waist get like this? Why is my skin so blotchy? Am I losing my hair?}. It is the shift from independent woman to woman upon whom someone else is solely dependant. It is me trying desperately to deal with sleep deprivation while my family tries desperately to deal with moodiness due to hormonal shifting. It is focusing my attention on a helpless baby at the expense of feeling helplessly behind on housework and homemaking. It is ditching what used to be my schedule and adjusting to the schedule of the new little person, who frankly, is running the show. It is letting go of control in just about every aspect of my life and realizing Who is really in control. It is mourning the loss of my old self and rejoicing in the creation of a new self.

The Four Month Fog has taught me that while having a baby is an amazing, beautiful, God given blessing for a woman, it is also a period of shifting for a woman. It is a PROCESS, and for me at least, it takes time to work my way back to a place where I begin to feel like life is back to "normal" again and the integration period has ended.

Blogging has been therapeutic for me in the past two months. I relish the time I take for myself as I write each day. It is helping me to reflect and gain perspective on the current shifts and changes I am experiencing after having little Ollie.

And just like the last three times, I am beginning to see that the fog will lift and I will be better for having walked through it.

My Little Laundering Hero . . .

Image via Google Images

If you've ever had a newborn in your house, you know that he {or she} comes with a secret mathematical equation:

1 tiny person (1/4 the size of all the other people in the house) + nourishment =3 x the amount of laundry of any other person in the house

And it's not just laundry. It's laundry stained by stuff that magically makes its way out of reliable diapers in tiny amounts or explosively in voluminous amounts and always up the back! I can't even count the number of times Ollie's been dressed, ready to go and looking mighty dapper, I might add, and then there's a rumbling of sorts, a cannon sounds {figuratively speaking} and suddenly we are peeling him out of his clothes and starting all over again.

I have a special bucket I put all the "really bad" laundry in. I let a small pile accumulate, which unfortunately takes about two days, and then don my yellow rubber gloves and grab my secret weapon: The Fels Naptha Bar.

Fels Naptha is a 100 year old laundering product made by the Dial Corporation. It looks like a block of cheese or a dingy yellow bar of soap. It is the one thing I have found that gets baby poop and formula stains out of clothes EVERY SINGLE TIME. I soak my clothes in cold water, wet the bar and scrub till my hands hurt. I rinse everything out and throw it in the washing machine {again with only cold water} and Viola! it comes out stain free.

Unfortunately, I can't find Fels Naptha on the East Coast, so I have to special order it from my peeps in Utah. Must be something about lots of ladies having lots of babies out there . . .

Tell me, what is your greatest laundry weapon?

What Would You Do?

If you were told you only had two weeks left to live, what would you do?

Would you fight less and love more?

Would you mend broken relationships?

Would you watch the sun rise and set?

Would you smile and laugh?

Would you tell people how you feel about them?

Would you apologize for things you'd done wrong?

Would you gather your family tightly around you?

Would you pray for understanding?

Would you show gratitude for your talents?

Would you be a better mom, dad, brother, sister, son or daughter?

Would you see beauty in the smallest details of your life?

Would you acknowledge your many blessings and where they come from?

Would you appreciate just being able to breathe in and out?

Would you accept God's will for you and act upon it?

What would you do? And why aren't you doing it right now? Because time is precious and I propose that these are the things we should be doing every single day of our lives. Now I've got to go and do.

Thank you Uncle for helping me realize.

Handmade Monday (Part 2)

Today's topic: tiny shoes! Aren't they divine? With tone on tone felt, intricately sewn details and little metal grommets for the checked ribbon laces, I like to imagine they were cobbled by small fairy tale elves late at night in a room lit by a candle. In reality, they were made for Oliver by a talented gal in my church congregation and they came with another pair in blue and green. I love them - and so do my kids {remember, obsessed with tiny}!

They are so little that Ollie only wore them once to church, but they looked simply stunning with his tan pinstriped pants and little Baby Gap polo. I can't bear to put them away, so they sit on the table next to his crib for all to see - until I find them on Hannie B's dolls or RedDog's stuffed animals.

Thanks Lisa! A boy needs shoes . . . just ask the Hubby. {note to self: future post about the Hubby's shoe obsession.}

ps. Thanks for all the advice on non-dairy alternatives. I've already nixed Rice Milk because it tasted like water on my Raisin Nut Bran. Next up is the reader's favorite - Silk. Stay tuned.

No More Milk Mustache . . .

Image via Google Images

I'm a dairy girl. It's true. I love cheese and ice cream, yogurt and tall glass of ice cold milk. Don't even get me started on butter. I could write an entire post simply declaring my unabashed love of butter.

Dairy products play a pretty big role in our diet around here. Big C {known as "the selective one" in these parts} practically lives on the stuff. Without cheese, my boy would die. Hungry? Grab a string cheese! Breakfast? Nothing like a nice bowl of cold cereal with milk! Got a hankering for something sweet? Throw some blueberries in a yogurt and call it good! There is absolutely zero calcium deficiency going on here.

Imagine my surprise/dismay/frustration/sadness this week at little Ollie's two month check up when the pediatrician told me that it was time for me to give up my love of dairy for the next four to five months to prove my love for my little boy.

Ya see, Mr. Ollie's been having a little struggle in the bowel department, which in turn is giving him trouble in the sleeping department, which is causing a vicious no sleep/cranky baby/explosive poop situation, which frankly is making me an almost crazed momma.

In honor of my last day of dairy, I made homemade macaroni and cheese last night and ate three deliciously large helpings-full. I paid for it today with the wee one, but I have since sworn off all things milk based and am hoping for relief {and sleep} to come soon.

Oh how tasty the milk and cheese and yogurt looked to me in the fridge today! They were calling to me to sample of their creamy goodness. Why is it that the things we can't have always tempt us the most?

Alas, I ate a bowl of milkless oatmeal and a plum for breakfast, a piece of frostingless carrot cake for lunch {don't judge me} and treated myself to a cheeseless sandwich loaded with veggies from the deli for dinner while my kids ate the left over mac and cheese. It's going to be a long four to five months.

In the mean time, I'm looking for advice on milk replacements for my morning bowl of cereal. Anyone?

Three Word Thursday

Life. Is. Hard.

Last year at about this time I wrote a post about this man, which you can read here.

He is my Uncle Kirk -- a humble and righteous man who has spent the past year fighting bravely against a vicious and unforgiving cancer. He has spent his life building things from wood and building people up with his cheerful disposition and delightful sense of humor. He has given me many gifts, including the beautiful bed I lay in each night with my husband.

But the best gift he has given me is the joy of calling him beloved Uncle. I am in awe of the simple, yet full life he has led. He has an incredible marriage to a wonderful woman, two daughters who are amazing and funny, and an extended family that adores him beyond measure. He is giving, caring, thoughtful and wise. He helps others without expecting a thing in return. He loves God and knows Jesus Christ. These are the things that are important. These are the things that matter. I don't think he has any idea how many lives he has touched or how deep a mark he has left on my spirit.

This week we learned that my Uncle Kirk's cancer has returned with a vengeance, bringing with it only pain, suffering and an hourglass whose sands are slipping through at an alarming rate too quick to understand or comprehend. It is almost too much to bear.

I know we have a loving Father in Heaven. I trust in his will for my Uncle. I know he will meet his Savior and Redeemer and eventually be reuinted with his family to live with them forever. I long for peace, comfort and beautiful final memories for him, my Aunt Julie and my cousins Amanda and Liz. And I want them all to know how very much I love them. I love you Uncle Kirk.

Life. Is. Hard.

Special Delivery

Oliver has not had his Grammy {the Queen} here to dote on him for the past two weeks as she has been traveling to visit some of the other little ones in her queendom. She's had to deal with some pretty emotionally draining things while she's been gone, so Ollie and I took it upon ourselves to send a little cheer her way each night by way of an Ollie-gram. Here, in their entirity, are the two weeks worth of messages:

Fancy Schmancy . . .

Photo by the Dragonfly

This little pewter julep cup was a sweet gift from my friend Susan for Mr. Oliver on his blessing day. His name is delicately engraved on the front.

When I was born some of my dad's military comrades gave him two similar silver baby cups as congratulation. They sit on the bookshelf in my bedroom today. I will add Oliver's cup to that collection and send it with him someday when he embarks to have a family of his own.

I was delighted when I received this gift, so I've done a little legwork for you in case you ever consider doing the same - for a friend or your own children!

This site has a beautiful collection of cups - some very feminine with bow details, others with a nice bead detail.

Here's another site with reasonable prices and pretty inventory like this cup below:

Prices for the pewter cups seem to range from about $35.00 to $50.00, not including the cost of engraving. If you want silver, be prepared to pay a lot more!

Thanks Susan for thinking of Ollie!

Handmade Monday . . .

This, my bloggy world friends, is our Ollie Dolly. A very sweet and talented woman from my church congregation brought this beautiful, handmade gift to Oliver last week. She is an amazing quilter and cookie baker. She is not a doll maker though, and commissioned her daughter, who is a doll maker, to craft a boy for our boy.

I {and the three older kids} became immediately smitten with every intricate detail of this doll. Look at the attention given to the hand embroidery around the eyes and on the other facial features. Awesome!

Oh how I admire the carefully selected fabrics {I love me some sock monkey!} and the tiny lace up denim shoes.

And best of all, a tiny personalized message right on the bum . . . just for Ollie!

This doll sits in Oliver's crib where he talks to it frequently during diapering or clothing changes. It also finds its way into the hands of RedDog and Hannie B. for toting around. Thank you Carol for your thoughtfulness.

For the next few Mondays I am going to showcase some of the truly special HANDMADE gifts that have been given to Oliver. They have really opened my mind to new possibilities in gift giving and I hope you'll enjoy them too. Happy Monday!

Remembering . . .

Photo via Google Images

Yesterday I wrote about my brother Chris and his talent.

Eight years ago he stood beneath these crumbling towers during his morning commute in New York City. For hours we wondered from across the country whether or not he was okay.

It turned out that he was, but 2,976 other individuals were not as lucky. Today I am taking some time to remember. Won't you do the same?

Three Word Thursday . . .

My. Brother. Rocks.

Here are just a few of the pictures my very talented brother Christopher took of little Owlie on his blessing day. There are about one hundred more that haven't been edited, but for the sake of expediency, he only worked on these six for me to choose from for the announcements.

Chris is very generous with his gift of capturing life's moments on film. He's taken my family picture for as long as I can remember {see it over there on the left hand side bar?} and always manages to make me feel pretty darn good about myself. Every year he does an amazing photo shoot of the youth in his church congregation and spends hours editing and retouching every pimpled teen aged face. He always seems to be ready with his camera at all of our family functions. And I am really grateful, because he's slowly teaching me how to be a better faketographer.

Thank you Chris, for capturing my last child in such a beautiful fashion. I will cherish these photographs all my life. I love you.

Birth of a Birth Announcement . . .

After the Hubby nixed my request to buy a certain "high priced" set of baby announcements for Ollie, I knew that for the fourth time I would be hand crafting 100 announcements of my own custom design. I took to the internet looking for ideas {a luxury I didn't really have with Big C's announcements almost 12 years ago} and came across this cute girl announcement here.

Photo via Lucsious Verde

I knew I could make a reasonable knock-off at a fraction of the price, so I set out to put the pieces together, again utilizing the internet for each step. First, I scoured paper suppliers for a heavier than usual, high quality cardstock and envelopes in colors of periwinkle {cardstock} and chocolate brown {envelopes}, which I found for a deal here.

Next, I Googled 'dragonfly craft punch' and to my surprise, found the EXACT punch used on the designer announcement here. I ordered it, and upon it's arrival, spent a good hour punching out 100 delicate chocolate brown beauties on a slightly textured cardstock I purchased at Michael's craft store.

Then I ventured over to my brother's where he designed my concept for the actual announcement using Adobe Illustrator on his Macintosh {remember, I'm a novice who uses Microsoft Publisher and a PC, both huge no-nos in the design world}. Aside: One day I will have a Mac, if it kills me. I took his design over to Kinkos on a flash drive and they whipped out the chocolate brown printing, four-to-a-page, in no time flat and cut the announcements into quarters for me. While this step of the process was a bit pricey at $18.oo, it gave the announcements a professional looking print quality, instead of that "look what I made on my ink-jet printer" quality.

The next step can only be described as a true labor of love. My sister-in-law came over and hand punched all 400 corners off the 100 announcements until her thumb was throbbing and felt like it might fall off. Of course, we sat and chatted the entire time while I was working on another step in the process, so it was fun - but seriously - this girl must love me or be a complete glutton for punishment!

I think having rounded corners on the announcements made it look a little more professional and a little less homemade . . . at the expense of Audrey's thumb {mind you, she volunteered for the torture}.

Hmmm . . . that dotted line needs a little something at the end of it, don't you think?

My own version of torture involved hand-gluing 100 dragonflies on to 100 announcements. It took a long time and was very, very sticky - sticky enough to pull a leg hair off the Hubby one night while he watched me toil and labor with the glue stick and little flying creatures {at this point I might have cursed under my breath about how much easier it would have been to just by the gosh-darned expensive ones . . .}

Finally, after agonizing over which picture from my brother's photo shoot to use, I assembled all the finished components into the delicious brown envelopes and sent them on their merry way with a "celebrate" stamp in the corner. And now they are done and gone and I will never make birth announcements for one of my babies again.

Please forgive me if you did not get an announcement in the mail from me. Consider this virtual announcement as especially handmade just for you from me because I'm tired from making baby announcements and typing this post, but I still love you.

Total cost of announcements {minus postage}: $82.00

Total savings over expensive announcements: $68.00

Do NOT ask me if it was worth it.

ps. Full album of photoshoot pictures tomorrow.

Here We Go Again. . .

I feel like I just wrote this post . . . but that was a year ago!

My RedDog has left me and will be gone the entire day. I will miss him dearly. But boy, he sure looked handsome this morning on his way out the door. Watch out First Grade ladies!

Many of you wondered which outfit Hannie B. would pick for the first day. She took the advice of her Aunt Melissa and chose to be sassy, including a gigantic flower to top it all off. I know she'll have a great year in Fourth Grade!

And then there's this dude. Don't even think I can talk about it. He's obviously too cool for this picture thing. I mean, after all, he is a Middle Schooler. Oh, man, I said it. Now I have to go wet my pillow with the tears of a mother who has had the realization of fleeting childhood.

But before I do that, I think I'll put out one last trick to try to get Mr. Cool to smile.

Yep. Works every time.

Fourth Grade Fashionista . . .

I gave Hannie B. a challenge to go pick out four back-to-school outfits combining some of her new school clothes with pieces already in her closet so we could have a little fashion show on the last day of summer.

I've tried to purchase things this year that will compliment what she already owns that still fits in from last year. The results (smashing, I might add) are chronicled below. And yes, my girl can throw an outfit together like no body's business.

{T-shirt & cardigan, Old Navy. Jeans, Gap}

{Entire Outfit, Target}

{Striped babydoll sweater, Gymboree. Cargo pants, Children's Place. Flats, Target}

{Velour hoodie & rollerskate T, Gymboree. Capri jeans, Gap. Boots, Norstrom Rack.}