C25K - the Revivial!

Let's cut to the chase.  It's summer and I'm tired of being chubby.  Sugar will be 6wks old (already! sniff, sniff) on Tuesday and I need to fit into my REAL clothes.  Pronto.  Here's a pic of me with the whole family last night at Sissy's kindergarten graduation (which was such a super special night, btw... filled with all the memories of these kiddos - and their parents - that I've come to know and love in the last 3 years!)

I'm tired of hearing... oh, you'll breastfeed those pounds right off. Or ... you'll lose 'em when your body is ready. I don't buy into either! When I had Sissy, I was horrified to learn that it was possible to exclusively breastfeed your baby (for 9 months!) and STILL not be able to lose the weight. I didn't lose the last 10 lbs until after she turned 1. With Gman, it was easier. I can already tell this time is going to be alot like it was in round 1. In my (not.so.professional) opinion, it's because with both girls, I gained weight in places other than my belly. With Gman, it was almost all belly weight.


So... I start C25K for the 4th time. Or 5th... I've lost track. I'm going to walk for a couple wks, until I feel ready to jog. And I'm deciding which program I'm going to do to firm up and tone up - something must be done about these arms!  Until then... you'll catch me in knit dresses, maternity pants, and the one pair of capris I'm gonna buy in whatever-this-size-is.
Have a super fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!
xoxo,

My own little piece of heaven

Sigh.  :)

More amazing work by Kristie.   So thankful to have her to capture all these precious memories. 

2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate? TEACHERS!

Well, this momma has been a little busy (I had forgotten how all encompassing nursing a newborn is!  Add in 2 big kids and it's a miracle I'm showering these days!)... so these Teacher Appreciation gifts were a week late!  But school is still in session... the teachers are still there... so I figure we're all good (esp since they all have met the baby so they're aware of my new pasttime!)

I love all the Thanks aLATTE gifts out there, but I'm unsure if my kiddos' teachers are Starbucks people (gasp, right?)  ;)  But who doesn't love some Sonic Happy Hour?  This is a super quick gift idea, but still fun and summery, and the teachers loved them!

For each gift, you need:

a plastic cup

candy (I used a Hershey's bar and a bag of MnM's)

shredded paper or something to put in the bottom of the cups (I had some leftover from Easter!)

giftcard to somewhere fun & summery

tulle (duh!)

cardstock

Just add the filler to the bottom of the cup... throw in some candy and a gift card... and tie some tulle around the top of the cup.  I whipped up the tags in photoshop and taped them to the cups.

Here are the tags!

Much thanks to all you teachers out there!  Time to get back to the couch with a certain newborn and a burpie... ;)

April 19, 2011

It was a beautiful day in Texas.... the 16th anniversary of the OKC Bombing (both me and mr. fix-it are from OK and April 19th is one of those "I know where I was" days)...  2 weeks before she was due... the day we met the Tiebreaker.   (Yea for making a comeback to blogging - I promise I have lots to talk about besides the newest addition, but... while I sit with her on the couch - she's sleeping and smiling those newborn smiles in her sleep! - I just want to catch y'all up and share some pics!)

mr. fix-it snapped this picture of me right before we left for the hospital for my 3rd csection. 

We did so many things differently this time.  We didn't find out the gender (we had with the big kids). 

And we picked a name before the birth day.  That was huge for us!  I still haven't decided what we'll call her on the blog (I'm throwing around a few ideas... like Punkin, which is sooo cute when her brother calls her that... or Sugar, which is what I call her.  TBD!) 

But I will share with you what the Tiebreaker's name would have been... if she would have been a he.  Max Edmund.  We went with family names (another first!) for both the boy and girl middle name choices. 

Here I am, with the hats I had made (from Etsy seller Brownies N Butterflies) for either occasion!

When my dear doctor called out, "It's a GIRL!" I just couldn't believe it!  I hadn't been able to feel one way or another the entire pregnancy... but even on the day she was born, her heartrate was around 110... and both Sissy and Gman had gone by the unofficial rule that girls had higher heartrates (Sissy's was usually in the 170s), boys lower (Gman's was usually around 120-140).

An even bigger shock... her size! She was significantly my SMALLEST baby, weighing in at only 6lbs, 10 oz. And at 18 1/2 inches, she was a good 2 inches shorter than her (consistently 90-100%tile) siblings.

As soon as Daddy shaded her eyes in the OR... she opened them!

It's amazing how all 3 trips to the OR were so special in their own ways - and completely different!  Waiting to find out the gender was SO INTENSE.  I was a complete bundle of nerves that morning, more than ever!  Waiting to hear.... is the most special surprise, like every Christmas rolled into one.  Amazing!

My first chance to hold her....

And the big kids come to meet her!  (That's mr. fix-it's mom, holding Gman.  What a lifesaver she was!)

You can see just how excited Sissy was.  No one had told her if it was a brother or sister until she walked in that room.  She was in love, instantly!

And she's so good with her... holds her so carefully.  This was the first time...

And then... on Good Friday... we got to come home.  And we tried - for the first time - to get a picture of all 5 of us.  Note that there's only FOUR people in this picture.  Someone wasn't cooperating.

So daddy tried to hold him.  Still not working.

He wanted mommy.  So he's holding my hand.  But only time (lotsa time!) will erase the look on a child's face after they've had a complete meltdown.  So.. this is what we got.  It's not the perfect picture I was hoping for... but it's real. ;)

And these days... look fairly similar to this first full day home.  Two sisters... relaxing and enjoying life.  And each other.  :)

Sugar

Sugar.  At least that's what I call her.  :)  G-man calls her Punkin.  And Sissy holds her every chance she gets.

I am sooo excited to say that I'm on the mend from my 3rd c-section (I STILL can't believe I'm momma to 3 sometimes!), and I'm ready to decorate!  So stay tuned as I tackle all 3 kiddos' bedrooms (Finally, right?) as well as take on the rest of the house.  I'll also fill you in on what's keeping me up at night (and it's not the newborn!)

WOO HOO to decorating and blogging!

xoxo,

And the tie goes to........

So sorry to keep y'all waiting!  (Thanks for the comments and emails, checking on me!)  It's just chaos when you have a baby (and family in town to help, and 2 big kids!)  :)  So, last Tues, our little Tiebreaker was born.  And the tie goes to.......

PINK!!

Here she is yesterday, 1 week old, showing off her dimple!... in a cute outfit from her most frequent visitor (my brother's girlfriend!) and on a blanket that one of my dearest friends made.  So sweet!

I'll be back soon with TONS of info about her birth day, how Sissy and Gman are coping, (how I am coping!), what we should call her on the blog, etc.  I promise!  But right now, I have THE best mom.in.law in town to help and I'm spending my time sleeping and visiting with her - more computer time next wk!

xoxo,

Texas Bluebonnets

Wow.... by this time tomorrow, my belly won't be *quite* this big - I'll have traded it in for some sweet, squishy newborn goodness.  By this time tomorrow.  WOW.

My amazing mom.in.law is about an hour away, as we speak.  (She even called to see if she could pick me up a little Sonic happy hour - she's the best!)  And all that's left to do is some laundry and repack that hospital bag.  (We had a rough night last Thurs, in which a chaotic hospital bag was assembled - time to make sure I don't - gasp! - get to the hospital without my favorite mascara or something!)

So in the meantime, a peek into Spring in Texas with my fav... Bluebonnets!

Big Sis and the Big.brother.to.be!!

Can you tell that she loves the camera? ;)

My friend Tracy, mom of MULTIPLE boys, noticed the truck in G-man's hand right away.  See, after 2 years of 'bluebonnets & boo hoos!' we finally learned.  Entertainment is key. 

In fact, take a quick trip down memory lane with me... Here's 2010.  Sissy did pretty well, G-man wanted to be held.

And in 2009?  Yeah... we got lots of pics that looked like this.  NOT funny at the time, but hilarious now!  (And I can't believe how much they've both grown up!  Sniff, sniff!)

Hope that wherever YOU are, Spring has found you!  Wishing you lots of sunshine and a blessed holy week!

xoxo,

Life's a Beach

I'm about to head to my last dr. appt before we meet our last new baby... but just wanted to share this totally cool giveaway with y'all first.  You win the entire.party.  Everything you see here (talk about the ultimate in semi-homemade entertaining)!  It's unbelievable!  Go here to enter (and if you win, I want to be invited to your fab beachy party!)

More from me later today before I'm off to the hospital tomorrow!
xoxo,

3 days and counting!

So much has happened that I don't know where to start!  So, I'll start with an update on #3.  We'll be meeting him or her on Tues, April 19.  While I'm excited that we've gotten to move the date up (I've been miserable, I've had contractions like nothing else, and I'm READY!), it's a tough day for Oklahomans like me and mr. fix-it.  Tuesday will be the 16th anniversary of the OKC Bombing, a date that we both rememeber with more clarity than yesterday. 

But we're anxious to add happiness to that day and meet the newest member of our family!  More to come, as I fill you in on how my world has turned upside down in the last 3 wks. 

xoxo,

Sneak Peek: Semi-Homemade Black & White Nursery

Because I want to prove to y'all that I really AM still here... because you haven't seen peeks of ANYTHING fun and semi-homemade out of me in forever..... because it's spring and nothing says spring like LIME GREEN!.... and because, if you're like me, it's been one of those weeks where you could definitely use a pick-me-up.....

Here's a sneak peek of Baby #3's nursery! 
There will likely be a decal in the space above the crib... Just waiting to see if it needs to be boyish or if we're gonna go girly!

I just LOVE the bedding!  I sent some fabric ideas to Mellissa at Mellissa's Boutique on Etsy and she made it happen!  She let me mix & match my own set, based on what I wanted or didn't want... and that helped me keep my costs low. 

I also got some great stuff for #3's room at my shower last weekend! 
My sister ordered a custom mobile - elephants in black, white and chartreuse! - from Lollipop Moon on Etsy.  Looks like Sarah is trying to catch up on orders, so she's taken her listings down... but as soon as mine comes in, I'll be excited to share it!

And my brother and his girlfriend (okay, let's not kid ourselves,  my brother probably STILL doesn't know what they got the baby!) bought us this cute hamper!  Now GT can have his blue one back, and the nursery is set for all the onesie laundry this kiddo can bring!

Whew!  After an evening of Braxton Hicks, lower back pain, and spending the entire evening on the couch... this momma is off to bed.  Happy weekend, y'all!