Popi and the Choo-Choos

(What? What's this?? A new post from me... amazing.)

Bug's Popi has a basement full of trains and really cool train displays—a 3-year-old's dream grandpa. But Popi had a recent infestation of bugs in his basement, which required poison treatments, so the trains are currently off-limits.

Tonight, Bug and I were talking about Popi’s choo-choos, and he was lamenting this current predicament. Here’s our conversation:

Bug (crestfallen): I want to see Popi’s choo-choos.

Mommy: I know, but why can’t we see them right now?

Bug: Because of all the bugs.

Mommy: Yes, Popi had to spray poison to kill the bugs, and we have to wait until the poison goes away.

Bug (impressed...with mounting enthusiasm): Popi did kill ALL those bugs! He did hit them and kick them. He did say NO! and NO FAIR! to those bugs.

I can just see, in his little mind, Popi whoopin’ up on those bugs like the Karate Kid, giving them the what for with his mean right hook.

I *heart* the mind of a 3-year-old.

A laugh :)

I bet these dinos had a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old at home. This would sooo be me:

:-)

Tiny Tables I Adore

We have an incredible shrinking house. I swear, when we moved in, it was MUCH bigger. The cabinets held more things, the drawers were more spacious, the cupboards plenty big enough. But now? Not so much.

So, we have two options: sell and buy a house with double the square footage (haha) or be smarter with our space.

There's a little spot next to our back door, for example, that just struck me as a great place for a tiny table or mini desk to hold some of the things that clutter up our kitchen counters-- invitations, cell phones, outgoing mail. A clutter catcher! We'd have to rig the door with one of those little stopy thingies on the hinge so it wouldn't bash into whatever it is. But I think it's doable. See what you think...

Here's the space:

Here are the options:

Anne Secretary by Ballard Designs
(I'd probably get this in black, since we have a lot of
distressed black in our family and dining room.)

Pottery Barn Charlotte Bedside Table

Ballard Designs Piccola Cabinet

Ballard Designs London Low Console
(This comes in black, too.
And I bet that drawer would be perfect for little Bug shoes!)

So....now to decide! I'm always GREAT at the virtual window shopping, but not so great when it comes to pulling the trigger. Any input you'd like to provide would be greatly appreciated!

Everything I ever wanted.

The other day, I time traveled. Here's what happened: I was just driving along with Bug and Bean in the backseat of the SUV when all of a sudden, a song came on the radio. You know those songs that have such strong links to the past that they immediately transport you back in time? The songs that remind you of eighth-grade dances, old boyfriends and summers at the beach? Well, this was one of those songs.

It came on the radio and BAM! I was 16 again, driving down the road with the tape blaring from the tape deck of my black Chevrolet Cavalier, windows cranked down, unglued red ceiling upholstery rippling in the breeze.

I can remember this scene clear as day. I remember feeling free, unfettered-- the world was mine for the taking.

I snapped back to the present and glanced in the rear-view mirror at my two children, both of whom had fallen asleep in the backseat. "I'm definitely not unfettered, now," I thought, looking at my sleeping fetters. And that's when I had a rare moment of clarity.

At 16, when the world was mine for the taking, do you want to know what I wanted to take? Everything I now have: loving husband, son, daughter, cozy home, energizing career, car with upholstery intact.

In other words, I have everything I always dreamed of. Which was quite a moment of clarity, considering I tend to keep a constant tally of what I'd like to have but don't (new couch, granite countertops, trip to Italy). Looking in that rear-view mirror, I was honestly overwhelmed with the reality that I am absolutely, unequivocally, without a doubt BLESSED.

And I realized that if, at age 16, I had been able to time travel forward, into that exact moment of time, and seen myself, driving down the road in my big ol' SUV with my two precious fetters, I would have been blown away by how incredible my future was going to be. (Not to mention the complete awe I would have felt at my six-disk CD changer.)

The truth of my life--and I bet it's the same for yours--is that we are WAY more blessed than we generally take time to acknowledge. So, go ahead. Acknowledge it.

first smiles

Mia celebrated her two-month birthday this week by doing this:










SMILING!!



















I know. That's worthy of a big ol' awwwwwww.

Be anxious about nothing

Swine flu, a crapped-out economy, uncertain legislation, decline of the dollar...Sheesh, a girl can kinda get down these days (in a very non-Soul Train way). Especially a girl who is living in a postpartum, sleep deprived, hormonal haze. (That'd be me.)

So, today I was having a little chat with God about it. In the shower. Which is where God and I have most of our chats. I finally cut to the chase and told God that I am sick of worrying. Sick of fretting about all of the what-ifs and why-me's. Sick of walking around like Charlie Brown, wondering if someone's gonna yank away my football right when I gear up to kick.

And you know what God was kind enough to point out? That worry is a choice, and I can opt out. "Be anxious about NOTHING," He says.

"How?" I say, thinking of swiney germs and my newborn. Thinking of plummeting investments. Thinking of health care legislation that makes my skin crawl.

"Here's how," He says. And then He gives me three ways to do so.

1. "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4) Okay, so I haven't been much into rejoicing these days. And I'm really not sure why because I have a LOT to rejoice over, starting with the aforementioned newborn.

2. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil. 4:6) I also have to admit that while I've been working on my Ph.D. in Worry and Stress, I'm barely passing when it comes to asking God for help. And let's not even talk about the "with thanksgiving" part...

3. "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil 4:8) Yes, there are real concerns and devastation and frustration in the world. And it's not like we can go around oblivious to it all. But we can choose to balance our thoughts with all of the admirable and noble things out there, too. So, for every worry I ponder, I'm going to try to think of something grand and lovely, too.

Starting now. I'm off to enjoy a grand and lovely evening with Hunk.

He's not a boy. He's a dog.

Tonight Bug helped Mommy give our dog Munson a bath. When Munson's normally white, fluffy fur was all wet, Bug gave Munson's tummy a quizzical look.

Bug (bending over and looking at Munson's belly): Oh, look! A poop coming out!

Me: Oh, no, Buddy. That's not a poop. That's Munson's wee-wee.

Bug (sounding delighted): Oh! His ee-wee!

Me: Yes, Munson has a wee-wee because Munson is a boy.

Bug (condescending): No, Mommy, Munson is not a boy. He's a dog.

Guess the birds-and-the-bees chat can wait for a few more years.

Mia's First Modeling Debut

Thank you, Summer, for these BEAUTIFUL, artful photos!!!

Our Best Issue Yet!!

The fall issue of LBD/LRW hit mailboxes this week! While I'm not the most objective person on the subject, I think it rocks. Here's a little sneaky peek at our covers:

Read it here.

The cover beauty is Angela Richardson. Who is a mom of two. Who is the wife of Paul Richardson, Pastor of Outreach at West Ridge Church in Dallas. Who proves that you can be a mom of two AND a pastor's wife and still be hot. Nice to know, eh?

Wanna know who does our rockin' design? That'd be Tiffany Westbrook of Gala Design.
And what about our photographic talent? That'd be Summer Adams of Captures by Summer (covers and interior stories) and Jennifer Harris of Photographic Creations by Jennifer Harris (interior stories).

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Brotherly Love

This is Bug love:

just in case Mia wanted to build anything

Tagged

I've been tagged by a fellow beloved blogger to play this one-word game below. Now, if this was an e-mail forward, I might have deleted it, but some bizarre blogger loyalty is compelling me to play along.

So here are the rules:You Can Only Use One Word! Pass this along to 5 of your favorite bloggers. Alert them that you have given them this award. Have Fun!

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? up
3. Your mother? Ph.D.!
4. Your father? Popi
5. Your favorite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night? interrupted
7. Your favorite drink? mojito
8. Your dream/goal? family
9. What room are you in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? cancer
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? happy
13. Where were you last night? newborn....
14. Something that you aren’t? grudge-holder
15. Muffins? please!!
16. Wish list item? SLR
17. Where did you grow up? Marietta
18. Last thing you did? e-mail
19. What are you wearing? jeans
20. Your TV? GilmoreGirls
21. Your pets? fluffy
22. Friends? awesome
23. Your life? all-i-ever-wanted
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? my-not-tired-self
26. Vehicle? shrinking
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? jcrew
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Mia-birth
32. Your best friend? many
33. One place that I go to over and over? fridge
34. One person who emails me regularly? dad
35. Favorite place to eat? Asian

I tag: Blooming in the South, Kessler Kido, The Kitchens Family, Kessler Family, and Crumbs in my Butter. :-)

A Little Girl's Room!

Here's the story of our nursery transformation, from Bug's blue-and-brown template to little Mia's pink infusion.

BEFORE:
(there's a 12-week-old Bug on the changing table... :-)

AFTER:

BEFORE:AFTER:

In place of the wooden "B's" (for "Bug," of course), I made French message boards by covering cardboard with quilting fabric, ribbons and pearl-head straight pins. Voila! Form and function!

This IKEA pillow-- a gift from Mia and Bug's uncle-- was the inspiration for the theme, which Hunk dubbed as "chirpy."

A chirpy little mural above the crib...

Another chirpy detail...

Her name:

Welcome, Mia!

Mia was born October 5 at 3:00 a.m. So far, she has mastered sleeping, eating, staring, pooping, peeing, crying, cooing...and stealing her mommy and daddy's hearts.

Big Boy Room

I have completely fallen off the blogger wagon. This is partly because we're running around like headless chickens getting our house ready for Baby Mia's arrival in six weeks. It's also partly because I'm running around chasing our two-year-old while also preparing for the arrival of Baby Mia. And partly because we've been working on our magazine's fun new Web site (check it out here) and putting out our summer issue (here), while chasing our two-year-old and preparing for the arrival of Baby Mia...all completely headless, mind you.

The irony is that our life is CHOCK FULL of awesome blog material these days! From creating Bug's Big Boy Room to working on decorating the nursery to getting hardwood floors and searching high and low for area rugs--my nesting craziness has been blogger's wonderland. But alas, the life of a pregnant nester leaves little time for recording or reveling in the results. I can't tell you how many blog posts I've written in my head (when it's attached) in the shower only to have them swirl down the drain with the suds.

Here's a little peek at our nest these days. Let's start with the big boy room, shall we?

Here's Hunk with a little helper, putting up the moldings in Bug's room. Bug is obsessed with any power tool that could potentially inflict a mortal wound.

Moldings going up:

And the finished room:

Bug approved!