So good, but so bad!

So, today is my 30th birthday. Betty B. was nice enough to surprise me with Krispy Kremes this morning. And, mmmmmm, were they ever good. They were so good, in fact, that I ate 6 of them today (luckily, the kids and Betty at the other half of the box for me). I only ran 25 minutes on my elliptical, but probably should have done an hour and a half considering what I've consumed today. Ah, well, I don't have to be good every day, do I?

My sweet husband also surprised me with flowers this morning, the delivery of which caused quite a ruckus. Lucy was in her bouncy in the bathroom with me and Ross was in the play kitchen when the doorbell rang. I was waxing my eyebrows at the time. I had, unfortunately only finished one. Now, when you wax your eyebrows, sometimes some wax and lint from the cloth strips gets left on your skin. I was frantically trying to wash it off (and ignore the fact that I looked like a complete idiot with one eyebrow waxed nicely and the other as bushy as an old mans) when I realized that Ross was opening the door yelling "grandma". Now, I knew it wasn't Betty because she was on her way to pick Reid up from preschool. So, I lit out of the bathroom as fast as I could so that Ross wouldn't either let a complete stranger in or leave the house with a complete stranger. So, I answer the door, collect the flowers and am trying to get back in the house as Ross is trying to get out. I distinctly remember saying to him, "step back, please, so that your toes don't get pinched in the door". He steps back and I shut the screen door -- ON HIS HAND! He moved his feet, but had his hand in the crack of the door. This, of course, led to a massive amount of screaming (on his part) and a little crying (on mine because I felt so bad). I actually thought I might have broken his fingers for a few minutes. So, I got him a baggie of ice, which he absolutely refused to put anywhere near his sore fingers. However, he was fascinated and promptly stopped his screaming to play with the bag of ice. Fine, whatever -- the ice fixed the problem (even if not in the way I expected). I tell you, it is NEVER dull around here.

Ah, yes, and here is a picture of the flowers. I really like the color combo on these and the fact that the vase is funky.

Some pictures of my little girly (and her bows, too).

So, today I thought I'd share a few of the 497 pictures I've taken so far this month (those are the ones that didn't get deleted for obvious defects).


Here is Lucy sporting her first custom M2M (made to match) bow. It is just too cute and is so nicely made. I got it from http://www.fiveblessedbows.com/ , who I highly recommend.



And here is one I made her. It isn't perfect, but it turned out pretty well. The korkers were really easy to make.

And I just LOVE this outfit and have been chomping at the bit to get it on her. It is still a bit big, but I don't care. And I made this bow myself, too.

And just a few from today. She is really pushing up well with her arms. I'm just waiting for her to get up on her knees a bit. She is really close to sitting up, too.

Do you Etsy?

Have you ever heard of Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/)? It is absolutely one of my favorite places to go for crafting ideas. It is essentially an online craft fair.

I've only bought from Etsy a few times, but this week I got a new apron. I had purchased a very similar one from the same seller for Johnna for Christmas. I loved it so much that I had to get myself one. And, if you've ever seen me in my kitchen, you know I am an apron wearer. I probably wear my aprons a good 4 or more hours a day -- I hate getting my shirts wet. So, anyway, here is a picture of it:

And now I want to try and make one myself. I really need several more aprons anyway. Of course, I want to do several things differently (though I do love the one I got), simply because I have to add my own personal flair to any project I do. It is rare that I ever follow a pattern/tutorial exactly as written. That is one of the things I love about crafting...putting my own unique spin on an item (I do the same thing with cooking -- I rarely follow recipes exactly as written, unless I'm baking).

I also want to try making Lucy several pillowcase dresses, which there are an abundance of on Etsy. Really, every time I visit Etsy, I come away with a list of things I want to try and make. Crafters beware!

Feet, sleep and sunny skies!

So, my foot is feeling much better today. Not perfect, but better. I'm trying to keep myself dosed up on ibuprofen still, but things are definitely better. Actually, my calf is bothering me more at this point than my foot is -- I've been walking around on my toes on my left foot and it has fatigued my calf muscles quite a bit. I did manage to run my elliptical for 35 minutes today, though.

And, you won't believe what happened here last night. The kids were all in bed and asleep by 9:00. Guess when I next heard from them?! Hmmm...I think it was about 7:10. I woke up at 6:40 and they were all still asleep. That is AMAZING! I passed out just after 10:00, so I got 8 1/2 hours of sleep IN A ROW!!! Wow -- did that ever feel good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will happen again (though, I know it is not likely for Lucy to go all night without eating). And Ross has gone to bed several times in the last week or two without too much of a ruckus. Things are getting better here on the sleep front, even if progress is slow!

And as far as the weather here...it has been a crazy week. The area was pretty much shut down due to snow for 2 days. And it was in the low 60's and sunny today. It was GORGEOUS outside. I can feel a bad case of spring fever coming on...I am so ready for this nice weather to be here to stay! I just can't wait to be able to get back out into the yard to do some gardening.

Am I committed or stupid?

So, as I've mentioned before, I'm exercising at least 6 days a week right now. And I really prefer to do something everyday. Today while I was feeding the boys lunch, I realized that I couldn't put my left foot down without extreme pain -- it felt like I had a bunch of thumbtacks in my shoe. So, what do I do? I down 800 mg of ibuprofen with the hopes it will kick in before I work out. Did it help? Not really. Did I work out anyway? Yep. Twenty-five minutes on the elliptical and a full round of weight lifting later, I realize it wasn't a very good idea. My foot hurts worse now than it did this morning and I'm hobbling around like an old woman. So, here I sit pondering -- am I just really committed to being fit or just extremely stupid? I started off thinking committed, but the worse my foot hurts, the more my mind starts veering toward the other option.

And I'm not exactly sure what caused this, but I'm thinking my snow boots are to blame. I only had them on for an hour or so yesterday morning, but they had zero support. I distinctly remember stomping snow off my feet at one point and having it really hurt (like, hey, I was expecting the soles to provide a little cushion from the cement, but apparently not).

I'm hoping this goes away by tomorrow...I'd hate to be tempted to do anything stupid again.

Where am I?

It sure as heck doesn't feel like North Carolina around here. We have, what I think to be, about 4 inches of snow right now. The most we've had since we've moved here is a dusting. This is highly unusual for this area. Needless to say, everything is shut down here (which is good, because the locals around here don't know how to drive on snowy roads). The boys had a blast playing outside today.

I think the pool looks so funny. Bright blue and inviting...looks warm, doesn't it?

Oh, and I didn't have any snow boots for Reid (can't find them to fit on his wide feet). So, this is what we rigged up. Great, aren't they?

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Today is Jeremy's 30th birthday! I wish he were to here to celebrate with, but then, we did have a party for him back in November.

Here is a picture of my old man from last weekend (and he's looking pretty good -- I'm a lucky gal).

Editing to add: According to Jeremy, the Crossed Sabers are the most photographed monument in all of Iraq. There are two sets of sabers separated by a parade field (concrete). The hands holding the sabers are a model of Saddam’s right hand.