still going...

My motivation hasn't slacked yet. I have been completing more projects these past two weeks than I did these last two years (and I've been doing it all with an extremely angry baby)!
I started off by making some wicked-cute fabric flowers. I use these for my hair, but with a safety pin, they can be fastened to clothing or purses (the latter of which is another project I hope to undertake relatively soon). So easy. So adorable. I think I'll make about a bazillion more...

I then jumped into a project that I hadn't been planning on doing for a while. But while crafting with a friend, I found ALL the materials I needed for a ridiculously good price. Can't beat that. I wish I could say this was as easy as the last, but that would be a lie. It turns out that there is a cement disk embedded into fake fruit. Who knew? Not so gentle on my kitchen knives. Finished result: perfect.

My newest project is one that I will be working on for several days (if not more). I have wanted to do this since before Joel was born; since we put the nursery together, to be exact. I inherited a wooden rocking chair. Only problem, it does not match the rest of the furniture in the room (just a bit of my OCD shining through). I (being ever so practical) would rather sand it down and re-stain it than buy a new one. Robert has turned down this idea many-a-time, saying it is pointless. Guess what. Too bad. Time for a make over.

BEFORE:

(AFTER shot coming soon...)

Tomorrow, I get to work on a project, too. Unfortunately, I don't look forward to this project as much as I do to spending hours sanding a rocking chair. What will I be doing tomorrow? Drinking this without vomiting (I feel so lucky...):

Now, if you are wondering about the cranky baby comment, my 9 month old son has decided to throw tantrums like a two year old (which terrifies me for what they will develop into when he actually is two years old). Needless to say, my child has a powerful pair of lungs. Luckily, nearly all of his said tantrums occur at home (so I can still bring him out in public without being humiliated).

inspired and MOTIVATED

Over the last week or so, I have discovered more and more projects that I would like to undertake. I am proud to say that I have gotten off my butt and completed several projects (with many more new ideas continuously piling up)!
The first project I started (and possibly the most boring of the projects) was cleaning ALL closets and storage areas (including the pantry, fridge, & freezer which store food). I rearranged and condensed. More room (imagine that)! This project was mainly undertaken to make room for the contents of my next project: food storage.
The second project I started (and will be working on for a few more weeks/months) is obtaining, organizing, and using a three-month supply. I am even taking it so far as to create a food storage chart that monitors item amounts and need for replacements. I LOVE these three websites: Food Storage Made Easy, The Food Storage Shopper, & Everyday Food Storage Recipes. Amazing. We have a three-month supply of juice. Maybe even a year supply of juice(thank you, WIC). This is what we have so far in terms of food:
Yeah, still a ways to go...

I had to take a break from my projects to celebrate Father's Day. I could have taken pictures of Robert with Joel, but I didn't. Just look at this picture from a few months ago and pretend I did:

I did, however, take pictures of the nifty cards I crafted for Father's Day. The first card was for Robert and included some "love coupons" (I recycled an idea I saw for Valentines Day). The other cards were for our fathers. Easy. Cute. Perfect.

The third project I started (yesterday) and finished (today) was making a stroller quilt. A stroller quilt is better than an ordinary quilt (for strollin') because it ties onto the stroller (seriously, genius). It can also be made to fold and button up to create a "pocket" for baby's feet (even more genius). Granted, it is JUNE and it doesn't get cold here until November... but I couldn't wait.

(All of these pictures were taken with the quilt folded. It gets larger... The entire back is the plush blue.)I made fabric-covered buttons. AND button holes. AND corded binding. Wow.

But life hasn't been solely projects. We have done some fun things. Robert and I took Joel with us to make our "traditional" bear for the new baby. He didn't think it was neat; he screamed in fear when the bear was stuffed. Here is our bear family:

Lucas bear, Joel bear, Mama bear, Daddy bear(I am not a big bear person. At all. Robert proposed with the wedding bear, so it just works.)

But I must go and eat pizza now. Until I accomplish more projects....

As I was doing my weekly clean this morning (yes, I clean my house weekly. Spot-free clean. To an OCD degree. Friends told me that would end once I had a baby. Obviously, they don't know me well enough), while my baby was doing this:
I was listening to this:
Dave Matthews Band. Mmmmm. with this new toy:
Awesome speakers. 'Nough said. while eating this:
The most amazing candy bar, hands down. reminiscing about this:Hawaii. Two summers ago. One of the greatest moments from this trip occurred unexpectedly. Robert and I were running late for our catamaran sail. We ran down the Waikiki strip in a light rain, laughing the entire way. When we arrived, we found out that the catamaran didn't sail that day; there was some confusion in the booking. On our way back to our hotel, we decided to eat at Cheesecake Factory. Due to being an open-air restaurant, we were continuously shooing pigeons from underneath our table. We laughed so much that day.

and even missing this a little:

Africa. Three summers ago. One of the greatest moments from this trip occurred while I was walking along a foot path in the middle of the jungle. It just hit me, "we are a tiny speck in this world. Why do we focus so much on ourselves when so much can be accomplished when we focus outside ourselves?"
Then I had an semi-epiphany: My life is no longer about my dreams. My life is dedicated to my children making and reaching their own goals. While I could have days of just this: I love how this looks and feels:
Besides, this makes me more happy than anything else out there:

inspired

I have been inspired, both by others and my own imagination. The funny thing is, I am still sitting on my couch and blog-hopping. Allowing the ideas to accumulate. Soon I will have too many project ideas and not enough time, money, or... motivation. To be continued... (when projects are underway or completed)

er

I was going to post Joel's 8 month old stats and pictures on Monday, but I guess that will wait until 9 months; we had bigger things going on.

*WARNING*The following story may be too disgusting for queasy readers.
Joel was acting a little "off" Sunday morning, but I thought nothing of it. Then he started spitting up at church. My child does not spit up. Ever. Period. I wasn't too concerned, though. And I totally missed the next clue that something was wrong. When Robert was feeding him "lunch", Joel had little interest in his baby food. My child LOVES to eat. I just figured he was distracted by me. But when he had projectile vomit all over Robert's mom twice (and by all over, I mean to the extent where she had to change. She has had 9 children; she is no stranger to baby puke. But for her to change is saying something...), it was obvious something was wrong. Within the next hour, Joel threw up on me twice more. Hoping the worst of it was over, we went to my parents' house for dinner. We modified Joel's "dinner" to a watered down bottle of juice. An hour after eating, he puked all over my dad four times. Repeatedly. Sprayed him (I think my father may have gotten more drenched than my mother-in-law). Time to go home. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. Joel erupted after his nightly bottle.
Monday morning he seemed to be doing better. It didn't register that his diaper was completely dry after 8 hours. I fed him his normal morning bottle. Fine. I gave him sips of water often for the remainder of the morning. Fine. After his "lunch" bottle, he began vomiting again. Robert's two youngest sisters were kind enough to run to the store and purchase Pedialyte, bananas, baby applesauce, and baby apple juice for me. I gave Joel small bottles of Pedialyte the rest of the day. Fine. When I fed him his nightly bottle, he erupted again.
Tuesday was puke-free. After vomiting forcefully 12 times over the last 36 hours, his little body NEEDED sustenance. He kept everything down all day(though it was very small amounts each hour).
When I woke him up this morning (an hour and a half later than usual), he was awake but completely unresponsive. He did not move his arms or legs. He did not make a peep. His body went limp when I tried to stand him up. My child is usually all over the place in the morning, clicking and babbling. Nothing. It was like he was lifeless. After discussing the situation with my mom (a nurse) and the pediatrician's nurse, I was immediately on my way to the ER. Luckily, he checked out fine. I felt somewhat stupid for bringing him to the ER, but it is what the pediatrician told us to do. I am not the type of parent who worries endlessly over my child's health. Having been raised by two nurses, I know what warrants a visit to the doctor and what doesn't. It is just nerve-racking to have your baby make no attempt at moving when he is normally extremely active.

getaway

Just because I am not sentimental does not mean that I cannot celebrate! Robert and I went on a weekend getaway for our anniversary; just the two of us. We left Joel with Robert's sister, Sarah, before heading to Scottsdale for our "mini-vacay". Peaceful. Relaxing. We stayed at the the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. Very 70's chic. The accommodations were fabulous. My favorite: the stand-alone tub in the center of the room. Big enough for two (and I'm pregnant). For dinner, Robert treated me to a Brasilian churrasco restaurant, Fogo de Chao. All you can eat fine meats, meats that are brought to you on swords. Endless supply of rice, beans, farofa, polenta, and queijo de pao (cheese bread that I actually could eat and of which I consumed half a dozen rolls). Mouth watering. It was the most incredible meal I have ever eaten (and probably ever will eat). For breakfast, we feasted at one of the hotel's fab restaurants, Cafe Zuzu. Smoothies. Egg dishes. Berries galore. This weekend was nearly perfect (minus the neighboring guests who decided to throw a party at 2 am). Sure, the money could have been better spent. But we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, getting to taste a sample of the posh life we will most likely never live (which I am totally okay with. I can only keep my nose in the air so long...). It was serendipitous.
After picking Joel up from Sarah's house, this is what he did on the entire car ride home. Quite entertaining. Ps. Yes, that is spit flying in the 2nd to last second of the video

two years

I am not one to get overly sentimental. I do have sentimental moments, but they are spontaneous and often few & far in-between. So when Robert repeatedly asked me over the last few days "Can you believe that we have been married for two years, Babes?!" my reply is a simple yes. It's not an unfathomable notion to me. Five years? Maybe. Ten years? Probably. Two years? Meh. But I appreciate his adoration at both our anniversary and towards me. He must love me; he bought me beautiful flowers from Trader Joe's and no the oh-so-popular roses (which I detest).

We took a stroll to Jamba Juice. Just us. No tv. No phone. No laptop. No distractions. It was nice. My child enjoyed the treat as much as I enjoyed it (I wish I had taken my camera to Jamba Juice; his first few reactions were priceless. Not a fan of the smoothie at the beginning. He made an awful, sour face. It was great). Pomegranate Paradise. Delectable.
On a sadder note: fare thee well, peanut products. I should have known that despite your tantalizing taste, you would cause me distress. I had resisted you for two years but was unable to do so any longer. Though I cannot blame you for my weakness, I can (and will) blame you for the severe pain and bloating you have caused me. Maybe one day we can rekindle our friendship...