Monday, December 27, 2010

21 days to getting organized!

December 27, only a few more days for everyone to put their New Year’s Resolutions out there only to forget them a few days after that :)  ha ha!  Ok, that’s usually my fate, hopefully not yours!  This year my resolution is to keep my resolutions.  I’ll be posting my full list in a few days.  I have to make I sure everything I want to accomplish this year is on it.  
Of course like most Americans cleaning and organizing is on my list.  In fact I started today and purged my bedroom.  It was pretty bad considering Sawyer lived in here for over a year with us and now the baby is in here so a lot of stuff just kept piling up.  
A Bowl Full of Lemons is hosting a 21 day challenge to clean/organize our homes/lives and I am joining in!  Now, I am not waiting until the 1st to start so I may not be able to join in each days challenge, but I will on all the ones that I still have to do!  My goal was to completely clean, purge and organize room by room so having others to do it with makes it feel more fun.  If you want to join in head over to A Bowl Full of Lemons and let her know you’re joining the party!  

Oh and get those New Year’s Resolutions going!  It’ll be the 1st before you know it!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

So, you wanna be BFF's???

So I am a little behind on reading blogs these days.  I seriously went a month, yes a MONTH without reading them!  HELLO!?!?  That has to be a record for me!  I truly missed it and felt like I didn’t know what was going on with my ‘friends’...yes, as I type that I realize just how lame it sounds.  A few days ago Little Miss Momma posted a few things you should know if you were going to be her bff...love the idea!  
SOOOO if any of you are as equally lame as me and feel like you really are friends with fellow blog people here are a few things you should know about me if we are going to be bff’s!
1.
I never wanted kids.  ever.  Then I got pregnant when I was 16...oops.  Now I have three kids and would love one or two more even though my husband swears we are done.  I still feel defined by teen pregnancy.
2.
I hate all foods in the legume family.  The texture makes me want to hurl.
3.
I also hate most white foods; cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese and mayo.  So maybe I should just say I hate foods made from rotten milk?  Is cream cheese rotten milk?  No, I don’t think so, guess that won’t work!  In all honesty I have never tasted cottage cheese, cream cheese or sour cream (not mixed in something) and have no intentions of tasting them.
4.
Before moving to Texas I worked at a rehab center during the week and was a bartender Friday and Saturday night.  Hello oxymoron.
5.
I love mexican food and could eat it every single day.  mostly salsa really but I’ll take it all.  
6.
I always wanted to work for myself but never knew how or what to do.  One year ago I took a leap of faith and it paid off.  I worry every day with be my last successful day.  I hope this fear goes away some day.  I still find myself insecure telling people what I do, like they’ll laugh at me or won’t believe me.
7.
I have serious social anxieties.  If you know me you would probably never guess it....BUT, I am extremely uncomfortable in new situations...almost crippling at times.  
8.
I have only been seriously hungover twice in the last 3 years (since moving to TX).  I used to be hungover twice a week.  I don’t miss the hangovers but sometimes I do miss the old me.  I think she is buried in here somewhere still. 
9.
I want a boob job and tummy tuck super bad but wonder if I had the money if I’d have the guts to actually go through with it.
10.
I watch an unhealthy amount of television.  I can’t seem to kick the habit.

11.
I wish I could be a more natural and peaceful person and parent.  I get frazzled and yell more than I’d like to admit.  I want to be a better mom and wife.  This is one of my things to work on this year.
12. 
I feed my kids shit food far more than I’ll ever admit.


In fact this is Sawyer's pic...ha ha just kidding 

13.
I have a horrible mouth.  I talk like a sailor and blame it on marrying one...even though my mouth was always bad. --another thing I am working on this year.
14.
I am a terrible housewife.  I hate, no DESPISE cleaning.  My house is always a mess and my laundry is always behind.  My idea of cleaning is starting a load of laundry that may or may not get dried, folded and put away and doing the dishes.  I can sort of cook but I don’t really like to do it.  
15.
I am terrible with money.  My husband pays our bills or we probably wouldn’t have water and electricity on a regular basis.  It’s not that we/I don’t have the money.  I just procrastinate forever.
16.
I am a terrible procrastinator.  In fact as I type this I should be doing about a million other things.  I think if it were a disease or disorder I’d be the perfect person to use as an example.  
17.
Someday I want to go back to school.  
My biggest hang up:  I hate school  
Second hang up:  I have NO clue what I want to be when I grow up. 
18.
I have lost contact with most of my friends.  I am not sure why or how I allowed this to happen.  I feel so sad about it, yet I don’t make the effort to be a friend.  I think it started with being busy with life and letting a few weeks go by, then it was months and now it’s been a year.  Once it’s been so long it’s hard to know where to start to get back on track.
19.
I have felt the huge urge to move lately.  I am not sure why, I am just ‘over’ Tyler and craving a change.  This has always been a cycle for me.  Before, when I was single I could and would pack up and leave.  I blame my mom for this.  When I was a kid and something would happen at school or with a friend I would come home and tell her we needed to move.
20.
My sister Erica is my best friend.  I love my sister Kate just as much but I sometimes wonder if she knows and feels this.  I wish she and I were closer and hope someday we will be.  We love each other but we don’t have the spill your guts relationship.  I am not sure she has it with anyone but I hope she does.  
21.
I don’t like things on odd numbers...volume, birthdays, etc...  If I change the volume I need it to be a 14, 16, etc...it makes me crazy that my kids birthdays don’t flow well.  I try to make all numbers either flow, add, subtract, etc...  my house address is 3456 and I love it.  Karly’s birthday is 11-10-98 (11, 10, 9, 8).  The boys bdays have evens and odds and even worse don’t add up properly.  I love to do this with license plates mostly.  I hate math.  Weird I know.
22.
I have always thought I was and claimed to be an animal person.  I do love animals but after having to take care of them (as opposed to my mom doing the work) I now realize I am not an animal person...at all.


23.
I love red wine.  
24. 
I love my kids more than life.  Too often I sit and worry horrible things will happen to them and start to cry.  I have serious fears that something is wrong or tragedy is just waiting to strike them.  This meltdown typically happens to me in the car. 
25.
I feel like 2011 has great things in store for me.  I feel a little lost and neglected (my own doing) and it is time for me to work on some things to improve myself.


Now that you know a few things about me...can we be bff’s?


Feel free to head over to Little Miss Momma's blog and link up your own bff post or check out others!


Saturday, December 18, 2010

Virtual Cookie Swap!



So next year we will do this early enough that there is some weekend baking time left before Christmas, but since we thought of it late we’ll go ahead and do it late...
something about better late than never...right?

If you would like to participate email me your favorite cookie recipe. This does not have to be a recipe of your own creation. If it is NOT your own recipe please give proper credit. Something like;

Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from the Toll House bag
submitted by Scotti Oxford

or

Sugar Cookies
recipe by Mrs. Claus via AllRecipes.com
submitted by Scotti Oxford

Please email your recipe to innerhooker@hotmail.com with Cookie Swap in the subject line. I will compile all of the recipes and mail them out to everyone in one document Sunday night!

If you have any questions feel free to email me!

Can’t wait to see everyone’s recipes!

Monday, December 13, 2010

It's a Small World!

You know that saying, well it applies to blog world too!  I am not sure if you remember a few months back in this Wanna Make it Wednesday post about this cute purse and...


 .....the Handmade Holiday Challenge that The Boy Trifecta is hosting on her blog 



ANYWAYS.... randomly enough Emily (the woman behind Boy Trifecta) not only followed me, but had purchased patterns from me before!  She had ordered 10 patterns not even knowing how to crochet yet!  Can you believe it!?!?  I had contacted her about some advertising and she told me that she had bought from me before, needless to say the dots all were connected and my little heart was all warm and fuzzy in this small blog world!  We had already encountered each other but didn't have a face to put to a name or any reason to think much about it!  So Emily is officially a bad ass and is now a crochet whiz!  She made this hat for her Sawyer, yeah, she is extra cool in my book because she has an adorable Sawyer too!  Now, I am desperate to make one of these for my Sawyer!  Wouldn't he rock it?!?!


Well, I wish I could sit here and say I have a bunch of handmade gifts whipped up BUT I don't :(  I did finally do one last weekend and it was even for one of my own kids!  Awwe yeah!  Unfortunately it is for the one child that occasionally hops on my blog so I can't share with you quite yet but know that I am working on them!  Next up, a superhero cape for my nephew that doesn't blog ;)  I also hope to get to a few more soon!  I feel like I am finally getting my post baby groove back...today anyways, no promises for tomorrow!  Now to get my hook and black yarn so I can get this hat on my SJ's head!

If you haven't head over to The Boy Trifecta, grab a button, link up your projects/tutorials and check out others!

Karly's 12th birthday

Can you believe she is 12?!?! I seriously have no idea where the last 12 years have gone! She has grown up so much in the last year or two. She is doing great in school as usual! She has the second highest GPA in her team (6th grade is split into 3 or 4 teams), is still playing cello, doing ballet, and is getting into boys! Did anyone else just feel like they may throw up or is it just me? Yuck, for boys! I am so not ready for this phase. Karly is a little bitter that she is the only one that isn't allowed to "date", especially since "dating" really doesn't mean anything other than you say it but o'well. I am not ready for the drama that comes with boys. The boys aren't even my concern...it's the evil girl drama that will no doubt come with it.

I was due with Baby O 9 days after Karly's birthday and she was very concerned that she would have to share her day. I wasn't really up to throwing a full blown party so we just did cake and presents at the house this year and perhaps we'll have a party in the spring or summer as a late birthday/just for fun party.

Happy Birthday Karly! We love you!






Now stop growing up!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Karly's Christmas Cello Performance

December 7 Karly had her 2nd cello performance.  They played a few Christmas carols and got us all in the holiday spirit.  This time they played at the little convention center...yeah, they are big time ;)  Sawyer wanted to go on stage and help Karly thank goodness my mom came along to help wrangle him!  (Chris had to work)

I couldn't be more proud of my little cellist!

Enjoy!



PLEASE let me go play with my sister!

Dexter's first real bath

So I am a little late in posting this...story of my life. 
I guess maybe at this point it’s considered normal or on time and not really late anymore.

Dexter’s first real bath.  I know a lot of people don’t give their babies real baths for the first few weeks, but nothing is better than a fresh smelling baby.  Soooo, when I tell you that Dex didn’t get his first bath until he was SIXTEEN days old, yes 16 I say it with a little shame.  Of course we had to wait for his belly button and man parts to heal before tub time.  His belly button finally fell off but not all of it, so the doctor treated it with a little silver nitrate which caused an oozy gross mess.  I was a little worried about getting it wet so I waited until it looked less nasty.  Once he was completely immersible I was sick and not up to the whole first bath experience.  So a few days later we finally had our first bath!  Let me tell you...he actually didn’t mind it!  Most babies seem to scream through the entire thing but I think I have learned the trick.  WARM WATER, like warmer than most people think.  I think those little babes get cold and upset!  I have always used warmer than normal and my kids are happy bath babies.

Check him out!



Yes, he is getting a bath in a bowl.  Why? 

Well, I thought I saved the baby tub but I guess not.  I have a slingy chair thingy that goes in the big tub but it seemed like too much effort for a 2 minute bath.  Or I could just say he is my 3rd and the tub isn’t that important to me when the bowl does the trick!  Dex loves the bowl!  It’s deep enough that it’s probably womb like (warm and wet) and he doesn’t move around too much.  Yep, he is a happy little bath boy!

Why everyone should hire a photographer for their birth

Seriously. I feel so strongly about this that I am devoting a blog to it. That probably seems a little weird, but what an amazing day and most of us settle for half ass pictures or whatever pictures our family and friends can snap. When I was pregnant with Sawyer I wanted to hire a doula that also did photography. Chris never warmed up to the idea and I will admit while I was disappointed I let it go. Chris and the medical staff were the only ones in the delivery room and while it was exactly what I wanted looking back, I know it was a lot of pressure for Chris. Not only was he experiencing birth for the first time, his first child, being a support person for me and then I hand him a camera and tell him he better not miss out on getting good pictures. Wow, no pressure there. So while he is counting and breathing with me, trying to hold a leg, waiting and watching for a glimpse of his first son he is also wrestling a camera and probably going back and forth between experiencing and being in the moment and trying to get pictures. Fast forward to this pregnancy...I knew there would be a better way. Having become friends with Ciara over the past year or so Chris seemed more ok with the idea. He was sort of like well, it’s your body all out there and if you are ok with it then it’s great. I am not sure if it’s because this was his second go round so he knew what to expect or that there was less pressure on him but he was so much more supportive and much less intense. Perhaps it was a combination of both.





Ciara was amazing! I went into this totally ready and no worries...then as it got closer I will admit I was a little nervous about having a photographer in the room. I mean birth is probably one of, if not the most raw and intimate experiences in our lives. Would I be comfortable in front of her?? What if I yelled and lost control in front of her (which I totally did)??? Would she think I was a super freak?? Then I started to think...she is a professional...this is her job. Not to toss in the fact that she is also a woman and a mom that has delivered 3 babies of her own. When it came down to it I was not only comfortable with her there but I honestly forgot she was there! She sprang to my rescue with some gum I was desperate for. Occasionally I apologized for my crazy outbursts which she assured me I was being totally sane...what a sweet girl she is ;) and other than when I looked for her she just snapped away. She took pictures of things most of us wouldn’t think to shoot, the machines, the environment, stuff us normal people don’t think to take pictures of but I love that she did! The fire alarm went off when I was pushing (I had no idea it was the fire alarm) and for a split second I thought DAMN that girls flash is bright! ha ha, yeah it was the alarm on the wall! She hung out for awhile to be sure to get some pictures of our first moments as a family. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of Ciara or my experience.












We hire photographers once or twice a year for family photos, we pay hundreds and even thousands for wedding photos and we totally forget about our births! What’s the deal?!?! Not that I am having any more babies BUT if I did I would definitely do the same. I will recommend it to all of my friends and families! I even think it would be an amazing gift for a baby shower!

I will not only cherish the photographs forever, but the experience of being able to completely trust someone else to take care of this so that Chris and I could focus on the birth of our 3rd baby was completely priceless.












Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to Ciara.




If you are expecting or know someone that is get in touch with her asap! You don’t want to look back and wish you did this!

You can find Ciara via email CiaraHammonds@yahoo.com
or any of these sites!