I made a little layout. It's hardly more than a premade page, but I got nothing else to share in this blog, so why not?

Feel free to use these for personal use, and make sure to full size link to get the full size(duh) graphics. Right click and save as.

Background Preview:


Background full size link.

Ornament Frames Preview:

Ornaments frames full size link.

1. You know you aren't getting enough sleep when you start breakfast by cracking eggs over the trash can, and throwing the shells in the frying pan.


2. Wiggles TV (thats right-TV) grocery carts KICK ASS!! $1 to keep my kids occupied the entire time we are grocery shopping? Oh.Fuck.Yes.

Our NOTI challenge this week is to do an entry on what would be in our own Holiday Wish List!

I still miss my Skecher mules, and I hate the shoes I bought to replace them so in order of most favorite to least favorite, here is my shoe list:

Mules:







Cake Stand.



That's it! Thanks for looking!

This was actually what I was going to title an entry a couple of days ago, but my day got longer than I thought, and I can't remember why I thought that day was going be a long one in the first place.

My DD fell out of her crib. She's fine, but has a nice bruise on her back, and a new toddler bed to make her feel better.

I spent the rest of that day cleaning out her room, which doubled as storage since all she used it for was sleeping. Daddy switched her bed from the crib to the toddler bed, and anchored her dresser to the wall.

Now she has a Little People play set on her clean floor, and plenty of stuffed toys to keep her company. Surprisingly, she adjusted well to the change, and is sleeping like a champ in there.

But she looks so tiny in her "new" room and "new" bed....

My ideal, 24 hours alone, would happen something like this:

I wake up in a strange queen sized bed. I pop up groggily, and realize I'm in the middle of a wheat field. The bed is on a raised platform. There is a small round table with a wooden chair sitting next to the bed. A TV is facing me from the foot of the bed, where it is sitting on top of a small chest of drawers. I see that there is a roof above my head, and that every inch of this raised platform is made out of deep dark wood planks, including the chair, table, and bedframe.

It is warm. 80 degrees, with a soft breeze. I decide I'm dreaming, and curl up inside the soft covers to fall asleep.

I wake up to a yummy smell. On the table beside me I notice a plate of eggs over easy, a garlic bagel, and glass of orange juice. I eat. It is good. I can hear myself think.

I notice that there are two paths in the wheat. One larger one that looks unappealing to me, and a smaller private one. I decide to investigate. It's a short walk. At the end of the smaller path is a small hot tub, and a lap pool. I jump in the pool to do some laps, but after about 3-4 of them I abandon the exercise in favor of doing somersaults and handstands in the water. When I'm done playing I check out the hot tub. I notice a basket of shower goodies sitting beside it. Now I'm squeaky clean, and smell like the currant and thyme scent I love so much. How do they (and who are they?) know?

Coming out of the tub I notice clean clothes. Soft, light lounge pants, with a tank top with a shelf bra (naturally) built in. I slip my feet into soft leather flip-flops that are also provided. Time to go back to the bedroom platform to see what I can find.

My dirty dishes are gone, and on the table now are a collection of short stories, and the remote control for the TV. I turn the TV on to discover that the only channels available are HGTV and the Discovery Channel. I turn the volume up, but barely goes up to half of what I normally have it. I'm actually pretty thrilled! I despise noise!

I search the cabinets in the chest of drawers to discover very little. A couple of Sunday crossword puzzles, cryptiquotes, and my diary with a pen. Heaven! But wait! In the drawer below is a Lisa Frank coloring book featuring kittens and puppies, and a 100 count box of crayons! Perfect!

I start to describe everything in my diary, and go back to the private walk to pick some stalks of wheat, and a little dirt. I hope that if I put them in my diary they will still be there when I get back...If I get back. Upon returning "home" I find a large salad, and small plate of pasta with pesto on the table. A couple bottles of water. So, SO good.

I watch TV. I read. I color. I figure out my cryptiquotes, but only about 60% of one crossword. Doing nothing really wears me out. So I nap. Because I can do that in Never Gonna Happen Land.

When I wake, dinner has arrived. Beans and rice, fresh uncooked green beans as a side, and two small lemon bars on a platter for dessert. Ice cold raspberry ice tea to wash it down with.

I start in on my diary again, figure out a little more in the crossword, and when that starts to make my eyes cross, I flip on the TV. First I watch the Discovery channel. Babies being born, awwwww!

What's that I hear in the distance? Thunder! And now lightning is filling up the sky, but the thunder never gets close. It's just a pussy cat growl.

I flip over to HGTV. Something I can watch, and not have to pay too much attention to, since I'm watching the beautiful light show mother nature is putting on.

Rain starts to come down, but its hot rain, and only a few stray drops bother to hit me since the gentle wind has ceased. I snuggle under the covers and watch the night, and listen to the rain, and again I am soothed to sleep.

6-8 hours later I wake, in my own home again, to two toddlers eagerly awaiting their goodmorning hugs.

Here's the thing...I don't have any. Seems the last time I used the camera, and put it up for safe keeping, I forgot I wasn't hiding it from myself.

I've been looking around for it haphazardly for a couple of weeks, and looked like a madwoman on her birthday, but I just don't know what I did with it.

And I thought, "no biggie. I'll just get the camcorder out." Turns out it was out of batteries. GAH!

My DD turns two tomorrow so I thought I would reminisce. Let me set the table for you,

It was at least 2 weeks before my due date. My mom had come over to eat dinner, and see her grandson. We decided on Chinese food, and I decided to go for the Kung Po chicken. I figured it would be my last spicy meal, because even though spicy food = labors, is mostly a old wives tale, there is some truth to it once the baby is properly ready to be born.

DD was.

My mom left, and not more than 15 minutes later, I had a contraction. Not a big one. In fact, I thought it was a braxton-hicks. My Dr. told me I would DEFINITELY know when I was in labor, so I knew I was not. But the contractions kept coming. DH and I laughed about the timing. 15 minutes after our nearest babysitter (mom-who lived an hour away) had left. I spent the next 3-4 hours saying things like "This doesn't hurt. It can't possibly be real labor." and "Why are they so close together?"

We tried to call my mom, but after assuring us during dinner she would keep her cellphone close from now on, she turned it off to watch a movie with her BF. And who could blame her. I was weeks away from my DD, and she was just at my house, and I was fine!

Around midnight, DH and a call to the labor and delivery floor nurses, finally convinced me to go in to get checked. We woke up DS, and off to the hospital we went. I was embarrassed just being in the car, on the way to the hospital, because I was positive I was not in labor. Remember, my OB told me I would DEFINITELY know. (Side note-Yes, I had already had another child, but I was induced. Hooked up to pitocin, and yes, when the pitocin took, I could tell I was in labor, but Not having gone into labor on my own I had no idea what early labor was like)

We get to the hospital, and they make me sit in the wheelchair (grumble), and up to the labor floor we go so they can check me. At this point I'm happy to get it over with so I can go home, and go to bed.

5-6 cm. Turns out I wouldn't know when I was really in labor. I was admitted.

We got a hold of my mom, and DH's parents. Mom picked up DS, and later DH's parents took over for her, and she came to the hospital to be with us.

Now, I really should have toured the hospital before becoming a patient. I thought all hospitals operated on the concept that laboring women have the right to labor however they wished (with some limits, of course). MY hospital, which is not the same one I delivered DS at, forces their women into bed. I was not allowed to get up and labor. Not allowed to walk around, rock in the rocking chair....Hell, They wouldn't even let me lay on my sides, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the baby. It was horrible.

Surprise, surprise my labor stalled out. Here comes the pitocin, "and while you are that an epidural please"! I had planned to go natural seeing as my first labor was 6 hours start to finish, but after hours of laying on my back (did they not get the memo that that is uncomfy for pregnant women??), I needed some relief.

About 8 o'clock in the morning the pitocin was finally starting to kick the labor into gear again, and they broke my water. Still, DD was very stubborn and uncooperative. She refused to come down, and wanted little to do with the shoddy hospital as I did.

Finally, around noon, things started happening. Things like my epidural wearing off, and DD finally deciding it was time. The next 3 hours were some of the most fulfilling of my life. I went from 6cm-10cm, pushed for about 15 minutes, and welcomed a beautiful little girl into our family.

Honestly, even though the hospital experience was pretty crappy, I think my mom was the most traumatized. She had 3 kids, and not one of them lasted over 4.5 hours. She was very impressed by ability to not kill any of the staff for 17 hours. LOL!

She was 7lbs even. With a head full of short blonde hair, blue eyes, and already pale complexion. Here is a pic from when she was 0-2 months old.



I need to UL ones from the day we brought her home, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I have to go bake a cake for someone special.

I've been inspired by MommaBot:

1. I hold my breathe when we pass dead animals on the road. I cannot stand the thought of smelling death. Many a times I have gotten to a destination a bit oxygen deprived. I used to do it for cemeteries too, but then I got over that because you know, that would be weird.
   
2. My hair is fine and thin. Except one side is finer and thinner than the other. Seriously. I used to curl my hair in highschool, and the slightly coarser thicker side would stay uber curly, and the other side would fall flat.
3. I don't drive, and have never had a Drivers License. Don't care to.
4. I hate kissing. I'm not talking sweet chaste kisses. I hate deep, passionate, make love to me kisses. Blech.
5. My favorite color is orange. I don't own anything that is orange, clothing or otherwise.
6. I love to dig out a good ingrown toenail.
7. I'm still watching Sex and the City reruns even though I've seen every one at least 3x. Friends too-except I've seen every episode about 10x.
   
8. I don't wear sock, shoes, or a bra unless I absolutely have to. And if I can throw on a coat over my shirt.....
9. I have a tacklebox of make-up I don't use.
10. I dyed my hair for almost 10 years straight. Then I quit dyeing it, and it turns out it was the color I've been trying to dye it all those years.