Autumn days

Well, the fall weather seems to have finally arrived, and I must admit, I love it! I started decorating late September, and I am definitely enjoying how cozy our home feels. In addition to the fall decor, I have several of the "Pumpkin Spice"  wallfowers from Bath and Body Works, so it even smells like fall in here. mmhhmmm

I used some old, outdated urns and spray painted them black. I purchased some Cinderella pumpkins and little white gourds from Trader Joe's. I also added some fall leaves from the Dollar Tree around the urns. My chalkboard was a framed picture that I no longer needed. I spray painted the glass with chalkboard paint and used a white paint and black paint to give the frame a distressed look. On the chalkboard, I used several different colors of chalk to write out my favorite things about fall. Though I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination, I do enjoy doodling, and this was a lot of fun to do.

 

In the entryway, I used a garland of fall leaves, as well as a banner I made last year that spells out "Harvest." I used pears that I purchased from Target a few years ago. The white lantern is also from Target, filled with pumpkin skewer things from Safeway and some fall flowers from the Dollar Tree.

My mantle is decorated with fall leaves and orange lights, as well as a cute little owl from the Target dollar section. The little blocks spell out Happy Harvest, and I think they are also from Target.

 

Lastly, I have some more lanterns on my piano from the Target dollar section with fall flowers again from the Dollar Tree. I used a white pumpkin on a candlestick I purchased years ago, probably also from Target that I spray painted black.

Well, in addition to decorating for fall, I apparently also enjoy shopping at Target, as almost all of my decorations appear to be from there. I guess that really shouldn't surprise me, after all, who doesn't like to shop at Target?

A Letter to my Youngest

To my Youngest Child,
 After attending two weddings now in the last year, you are completely obsessed with the idea of getting married. You constantly plan it similarly to how other children plan their birthday parties. When you taste something that you like, you declare it as the kind of food you want at your wedding. Recently at Walmart, you found some silk flowers that you also stated would be perfect for your wedding. Perhaps I should be taking note of all the preparations you are currently making. :) Or maybe your preferences will change a bit in the next 20 years or so.

Last Saturday at lunch, you were troubled because you didn't know who you were going to marry when you grew up. In order to put your mind at ease, I asked if you just wanted Mommy and Daddy to pick out your husband for you. To this, you readily agreed. Daddy said we needed to get this in writing. I am inclined to agree.

You recently heard your older brother singing, "Here comes the bride, all fat and wide. Here comes the groom as skinny as a broom. Here comes the usher, the old toilet flusher." You love this rendition of the wedding march and sing it often. You think it is hilarious- every. single. time.

Oh Baby, you are such a little drama queen, and we completely adore you! Please stay a four year old forever!

Love,
Mommy






This is you in the Halloween aisle at Target. I was looking for a Rapunzel costume, and you were in the next aisle. You called out, "Mo-om, look at me!" I may or may not have screamed when I saw you.

This is you being your sweet self, which you are most of the time. ;)

This is you last Christmas getting ready to go ice skating. After we waited for 30 minutes and paid about $70, we got in to go ice skating. After once around the rink, you had to go the bathroom, and then we weren't allowed back in. At least you looked cute! ;)

Thoughts on 30...

In just a few days, I will be leaving behind my youth- forever! While that may sound overly dramatic, that is exactly how I feel about turning 30. The other day while doing some very deep thinking on this subject, I made some decisions.  One of them being that I am going to make time to do things that I have been wanting to do. I always have projects floating around in my little mind, but I rarely get to them because I am too busy. However, I decided if I want to make bows for my little girls, instead of complaining about my lack of time to do it, I will find the time, even if it is at 5:00 in the morning.

bow making

I also realized during my introspection, that I enjoy writing. For some reason though, I have never done very well at keeping a journal or diary. Yet, many times I have been tempted to write a blog post. After my last blog post sometime last year, I felt kind of dumb that I had started a blog at all. After all, who would want to read what I write? But in my turning 30 self evaluation, I decided, "Who cares?". If I want to write a blog post about turning thirty, then by george, I will. Maybe one day my children will find it and be interested in reading it.

I remember my mom telling me once about a lady, who always brought a cake to work on her birthday. She chose to celebrate being given another year of life, instead of bemoaning the fact that she was getting older. As a young teenager, I remember liking her outlook, but as a thirty year old twenty-nine year old (well, I still am for a few more days) I appreciate it so much more. So, I have decided to embrace my thirties, and on my birthday, I am going to enjoy every bit of turning thirty. While I may be just a few short years away from tons of wrinkles and gray hair, I will still get to eat cake and get presents. I would even bet that my husband will get me a slurpee, and really what could be better than that?

"Pray about Everything"

The other day, I decided I needed to get a bin down from the rafters in our garage. The hubby wasn't home, so I was balancing on the "this is not a step" of our swimming pool ladder. My five year old took one look at me trying to get down the large bin, and said, "Mommy, I'm going to pray for you." I could hear her mumble a quick prayer, and literally within seconds, I saw that the item I needed was hanging out of the bin. I was able to grab it without dragging down the entire bin, which could have been hazardous to my safety.
A few moments later, I was working on a project and misplaced the very thing needed to complete my project. I started to get frustrated, stood up, moved around, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Once again, my little girl said, "Well, Mommy, let's pray about it." I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't feel like praying about it, I was frustrated. Her sweet little voice started in a prayer, "Please help my Mommy find what she is looking for." She looked up and said, "I think God said, 'Just a minute.' " At that, I chuckled to myself. Bless her little heart. I continued on fiddling with my project, and then I saw it- the very item I had been looking for. I think perhaps, God did tell her, "Just a minute." In that moment, I realized my little girl had just taught me a very valuable lesson- "We really should pray about everything." Thank you, Lord, for this precious little girl, who seems to have a direct line with Heaven. I'm so thankful to be called her Mama.

Our Adventurous Outing

I had several things I wanted to accomplish today. First of all, I wanted to get my hair trimmed. Secondly, I wanted to get some fabric to make my oldest daughter a purse/bag. Thirdly, I needed to get some prizes for our treasure box for our Wednesday night class we teach. Fourthly, I needed to get some birthday presents and return an item at Target. Of course, those were just the places I wanted to go, not to mention the things I hoped to accomplish at home. Well, I did make it to all those places today, but not without incident.

I've decided that hair stylists are like children (or maybe it's children are like hair stylists.) You tell them an inch, and they take a mile. Well, obviously she didn't take a mile off my hair, but it was definitely several inches more than an inch. I had my girls with me, and you might wonder what does one do with her 5 year old and 2 year old while getting her hair cut. Well, I will admit, yes, I was one of those parents today. (hangs head in shame) I put a movie on my phone for them to watch. They behaved rather well, that is until above all talking, all music being played in the establishment, I could hear the theme song from "Strawberry Shortcake." The two gentlemen waiting to get their hair cut seemed only mildly disturbed, but when the scissors were lifted, I did rush to turn the volume down. Who knew that the iPhone had such loud speakers?

There was only mild chaos between Walmart and the Dollar Store, but then I had to make a quick trip to Target. Well, it was supposed to be quick. The two year old is quite obsessed with princess dresses, night gowns, etc. She happened to see this big, beautiful, puffy pink dress and decided she must have it...in the newborn size. She is small for her age, but not nearly that small. I turned for a moment to find a match for this adorable skirt I found. Only to turn around and find my two year old only in her under clothing, which did not include a t-shirt or slip. She was almost completely "au natural." Oh bother, she was trying to put on that itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow- I mean, pink "princess" dress. After a few moments of tears, quick re-dressing, and promises of the beautiful, pink, princess dress in her size, our drama was over- or so I thought. I picked up a V-tech toy for a birthday present for my cute little nephew, and let the two year old play with it while I continued my "quick Target run." Apparently, the toy was a bit too distracting for her, because all of a sudden she cried, "Mama, I need to go potty." Then the five year old said, "She's going right now." You will never guess what she relieved herself on. Yes, you are correct. It was the beautiful, pink, princess dress. At that, I decided it was time to leave, whether I was finished or not. I did the cashier a favor by ripping off the tag of the princess dress and just handing it to her, instead of making her touch the "you know what" dress. Well, I guess you can say my life is far from boring, as long as they call me mama.

They call me mama

"MAMA, I need to go potty!" "MAMA, I'm so hungry!" "MAMA, do we have church today?" Admittedly, I am not a morning person, and even worse when I am not awake by my own choosing. Yet, this Saturday, much earlier than I would have chosen to be awake, I was forced into consciousness, so that I could reply, "Well, then go ahead and go.I'll be right there to get your breakfast, and no, church is tomorrow, not today." I was recently thinking that I have now been on both sides of the equation, I have been the"Why can't those parents control their kids?" type of critical young adult, and I have also been the "Quit staring at me" embarrassed parent. But I digress, there are few things more wonderful than cuddling with your 5 year old, or bursting with pride, as you watch your 6 year old sing in the Christmas play or pass his belt testing in Tae Kwon Do, or getting a big fat kiss from your little munchkin of a 2 year old. Truth be told, I wouldn't trade my life with chaotic wake up calls to a life without the kids that come with them. I am blessed indeed that they call me mama.