made

now that the news is out that i am not having a girl but instead another awesome little boy i am kind of sad that i won't be able to make that tutu that i've been dreaming about.  so what do i do with these built up thoughts and dreams on my little girl running around in an adorable tutu......you make one instead for your front door :-)  no joke.  i really made one last night and i am in love with it.  it turned out 100% better then what i ever imagined.  

i came across this idea for this wreath here.  as i was putting my wreath together i was a little disappointed that my tulle wasn't coming out as straight as hers but I kept plugging away and the end result was fantastic!  unfortunately, the one i made last night is a gift for someone else however i already have the supplies ready to make my own.

here are the supplies needed and a small  lesson i learned along the way...

1. a $1.00 christmas wreath from the dollar tree store.

  (on a side note...if you are a crafter and you haven't ventured in there yet then go now!  don't walk-run!  they have so many great cheap items to craft with.  i feel like this store is a gift to all crafters.  especially ones like me who don't have a lot of extra money for hobbies like this)

2. tulle--any color or colors you want.  and here is the lesson i learned.  i picked up my tulle at walmart because their fabric is considerable less than JoAnn's or Hancocks.  i also thought i would be smart and buy the tulle by the yard off of a bolt because i figured it would cheaper then buying the rolls of tulle--WRONG!  at walmart i paid a $1.27 per yard and I purchased four yards and went through all four yards.  at JoAnn's today i purchased the tulle on a roll for 25 yards at $2.99

3.  back at the dollar tree pick up two spools of ribbon.  i picked up halloween themed spools because this season is upon us.

4.  also at the dollar tree i picked up a random themed halloween decoration to glue in the middle of my completed wreath as added decoration.

AND here is how I put my wreath together....

1.  I took my christmas wreath and with wire cutters cut off all the garland so that i was left with a metal ring.

2.   I then took my tulle on a roll that  is 6" wide and cut the 6" wide roll into three equal sections so you are left with 3-2" wide strips and then I cut those strips into 13" length sections.

4.  i then started tying the ribbon on using the cow hitch style knot.  now i am numbers person so after i tied on 20 sections of tulle i then tied on a 13" (in length) ribbon.

5.  i continued with this same pattern until i reached the top of the wreath and then i cut a longer section of my halloween ribbon to hang the wreath on the door. 

my end product was this....

you see...i literally made a tutu for my front door!  isn't it adorable?! 

all total this little project cost:

$1-one wreath

$2-two spools of ribbon

$5-four yards of tulle

$1-one halloween decoration

TOTAL:  9 bucks!

I caved....

I want it to be known that I was the one who caved and not Daddy.  As much as I would have like to of waited until the birth of this little baby to see if it was a girl or a boy I just couldn't do it.  I am hundred percent sure I am having a girl and I really, really wanted to make a little tutu and baby blanket but I was afraid to make them now and have a little boy pop out.  I also knew that if I waited until after the baby was born to verify it was a girl I would never make the tutu and blanket because there just wouldn't be anytime to after caring for a new baby and chasing a toddler around. 

So the verdict is in....

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

Needless to say I was a bit shocked because I was really expecting to find out that I was caring our little Savannah around.  I would have loved our little girl with the same passion that I love our little LB with but in my heart I always felt like I was a mom to boys and it seems someone above agreed.  

Daddy and I have gone back and forth on the names for a boy should we of been blessed with another one and the latest name is....

Carsen

We feel like LB's name is such a strong name that we wanted to have another strong name to follow suit and of course we are continuing with the "L" themed middle name.

The "L" middle names started as far back as Daddy's great-grandparents on his dad's side of the family and we think it's important to carry on as much tradition as possible. 

Congratulations to our current little man who is going to be a big brother to a new little man!  I feel so completely blessed as a person, as a women, as a wife and as a mother.  Life couldn't get any better!

A new ritual...

{this moment} - A new Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
via. soulemama

What a Grammy is....

I've been working on this blog posting in my head for some time now.  I've come to realize that my heart feels so much more then what my brain can ever spit out into words. 

Since I was having some troubles coming up with a good place to start this entry I decided to look up in the dictionary "Grandmother".  I was curious to see how the word is defined.  I guess I was a little shocked to see just how plain the definition of this word is. 

I changed my search direction and googled "what it means to be a grandmother".  I was hoping to come across something that would jump start the heart-to-brain-to-fingers motion but again....no luck!

So here I go--doing my best to break down the feelings in my heart to words on this screen for you all to read.

Grammy is LB's grandmother who is my mother.  I am the baby in the family and I'd like to think that because of that I have a slightly different and better bond with my mother then what my older sisters might have with her.

It's amazing the feelings that come over me when I see just how much my child, that little squirming boy that I carried for 9 months, lights up my mom's eyes and places that big smile on her face every time she sees him- OR-to see that same light in my child's eyes and big grin beam across his face when he sees her.  

I take no greater joy then seeing the love and affection those two have for each other.  Again, that little guy came from me!  Something I did, something so small, can make my mom so completely happy.  How cool is that?

My mom watches LB every Tuesday and Thursday when I go into the office for work and occasionally my mom and dad will stop by just to visit with him for a few minutes or take him some place fun and special for an hour.  It amazing to see how excited LB gets when we make that turn onto my mom's street or he sees them pull up into the drive way for that surprise visit.  It makes my heart light up.

So, in the 19 months I've been watching my mom and LB build this inseparable bond, this is what I have learned the definition of what this Grammy is to my son:

1.  A Grammy is someone who might quite possible love my son more then me. 

2.  A Grammy will spend every minute of her day playing whatever silly game it is you want to play.

3.  A Grammy, so exhausted, won't ever let you know that.

4. A Grammy, who will give you more kisses then you can count.

5.  A Grammy will look and act so silly just to make you giggle that we all sometimes wonder about her mental health.

6.  A Grammy will never slap you to discipline you but will only apply her love more sternly.

7.   A Grammy, when sick, won't cut her time short with you.

8.  A Grammy, is someone who will stomp around in the back of the jeep just so you can "take" a ride. 

9.  A Grammy, is someone who will tease and pester you so much that you think it's just a game.

10.  A Grammy, is someone with such a great sense of humor, will paint your toes to play a joke on me.

11.  A Grammy, is someone who provides such a wonderful fun loving home that sometimes you just prefer to stay there.

So I know I haven't even come close to describing just how wonderful of a Grammy my mom is to LB but I hope that one day I can find just all the right words but until then here is a little quote I came across on the Internet...

Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting. ~Author Unknown

Grammy:  LB and I love you very much and we are oh so thankful for all that you do for us!

XOXO,

Mommy and LB



my own little monet turned ansel adams

mister LB has been a very busy little boy.  he recently turned from a monet to an ansel adams.  i think my little guy is going to be a little jack of everything.

here he is hard at work on his latest piece...

and here are some shots from his second love...photography!

i just know that one day my boys "work" will be featured in the guggenheim or the metropolitan museum of art in new york or the smithsonian in washington and just remember that you saw his "work" here first! :-)

with christmas around the corner i'll be putting in a request with santa that he bring LB his own toddler camera to explore the world with so i can have my back.

it's amazing how much you can love your child and yet never be able to fully explain the feelings you have the moment they are laid on your chest. 

i love you so much mister LB!

xoxo-mommy

Family Vacation Part 2

I have so many new and exciting things to share here with you all however I must finish what I started by sharing the 2nd half of our family vacation with you.

The second half of this update will start with our long, but short, trip to the San Diego Zoo.  I don't want to sound like Debbie Downer but the truth is Daddy and I were not at all impressed with this "world renowned zoo".  We only lasted two hours there.  Perhaps our first mistake was starting on the Africa side of the zoo.  This section of any zoo including ours here is town never really impresses me. 

Plus, with the SD zoo once you get in you feel trapped when you want to leave.  In order for us to take the "short way" out of the zoo Daddy and I had to carry LB and his stroller up so many flights of stairs that I soon lost count of them. 

So...here are the pictures we took while we were there...

Once we left the zoo we headed towards Temecula.  This was the city closest to Grandpa.  Grandpa was actually staying in Warner Springs which was roughly a 30-45 minute car drive. 

This vacation was about the 4th time LB has stayed in hotel rooms and the Kleenex compartment that's always on the face of the bathroom vanity has never let LB down as a form of entertainment that can last hours.

Part of me should feel bad for letting LB waste all those good tissues but the other part of me says I wasn't the bozo who put the box at kid height.  So enjoy my Little Man!

Saturday the 21st we awoke pretty early in the morning so we could pick up Grandpa by 8am.  Traffic was pretty decent on this two lane highway and the scenery was really nice to look at. 

Once we picked up Grandpa we headed to another small town called Santa Ysabel for the best breakfast buffet I've ever had.  This little tiny town was so adorable and everyone was so friendly. 

On our way out of town we stopped at an antique store across the street from the restaurant and boy did that turn out to be the best idea EVER because I found my child's chamber pot for 10 bucks!  WOOT!  WOOT!  I haven't taken a picture of it yet so I don't have one to share--sorry. 

After we left Santa Ysabel we headed back to Temecula where we spent sometime in downtown Temecula.

Again, we ventured into another antique store but my wallet was dry and I had to leave some really great fabric and children's aprons behind.  My heart is still broken to this day. 

After the walk down Old Temecula we headed back to hotel so Grandpa, Daddy and LB could go swimming.

I don't think I have ever seen LB have so much fun swimming before.  I swear he is a natural.  He gets in the water and kicks and kicks.  It amazes me every time because that isn't something we've shown him how to do. 

After swimming, napping and a great dinner we had to take Grandpa back home. 

It was a sad moment but we knew Grandpa would be back home soon.

We stayed one more night in Temecula and then we packed up and headed back to San Diego for one more day and night there.  We had hoped to spend the day at Silver Strand Beach again but it was too cold this time around.  We probably stayed for about 30 minutes before we packed up and headed to our hotel.

Our last hotel was the Sheraton off the bay.  HOLY SMOKES was this a nice room.  The in room coffee was Starbucks so the first thing I did was brew up a cup of decaf--yummy!

That afternoon we had a visitor flew right up to our balcony. LB thought it was pretty cool to have his own seagull.  I on the other hand was a little afraid of it.  I knew those birds have no fear of humans.  After all we did see a seagull in Seaport Village take some women's food right off her plate as she sat there trying to eat. 

Our last night of vacation we had a really nice dinner to finalize our trip.  Here are my two handsome boys before we left for dinner.

Here is Mommy and LB at dinner.

And here are our last shots of San Diego---the moon over the bay and our view from our hotel room.

Now...as we put this vacation behind us I start to wonder where our next vacation will be because by then we will be a family of four!

Lots of Love!