Look What I Found!!!

Okay, just so you know, I am a thrift store junkie. I can never leave empty handed and I think the ladies at the shop down the street have realized my love for fun quirky household items.

 This is my latest find, a beautifully old brass bowl. Isn't the bird so cute? It's not new and its not "antique" quality either but I just love things that have a story to them, a personality. I find that they give my new home a little more warmth and history. I originally picked it up thinking it would be great for a table display on my coffee table, but it found it's resting place on the desk in my office as my "inbox". It will be my inspiration for my mom cave project. I could paint the room a nice Robins egg blue or maybe Canary yellow, it will be a surprise. I will have to keep my eyes open at the zoo Friday :).

Maybe since it is so beautiful I will keep it cleared out a little better. Who says function can't also be beautiful? Now if only I can stay away from the store for a few weeks... Matt is sending me out in search of an entertainment center, this could be trouble!

My Mom Cave in the Works

Over at Centsational Girl they are doing a give away for a gift card to Home Goods to make-over your "mom cave." You all know how much I LOVE Home Goods so I couldn't turn down the chance to enter.

This is my mom cave/home office and it's a work in progress. It is were I go to pay bills, organize the family calendar and do my quiet time. This is also where I do many of my projects and where I will be doing my classes for school whenever the kids start preschool. It may not be grand but it is so special to me. With Matt working nights and sleeping during the day, my bedroom is pretty much off-limits, so this is were I go for peace and quiet.

This is command central, but after this week the book shelf will be in Brooke's room, anyone want to help install built-ins?

The only one I have to share my space with is Ms. Jessie, our dog, but I don't mind at all.

Do you have a space all your own? Do you feel like you need one? What would be your dream space?

Kiss my... Polenta???

So the menu is set through next week and all the shopping has been done. We are venturing out and trying foods we have never had before. We are attempting cook things we normally don't like in new ways (specifically veggies). Although our parents offered veggies at every meal neither one of us ate many of them, and the ones we do like are opposite from each other. The things he likes, I don't care for and the things I like, he doesn't. So tonight I made a new recipe from one of my Martha Stewart cook books, Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Polenta. Matt doesn't normally eat mushrooms and I had never tried polenta before (or so I thought), so we decided it would be a great starter for us. It was incredibly easy and oh so yummy.

 

Last night, I learned that when cooked the right way my husband will eat mushrooms (in fact not leave any on his plate) and polenta is just a fancy word for what us southern girls call grits. Savory or sweet I love grits and it was a perfect balance to this light and tasty meal. Just wait until you see whats for dinner the rest of the week. And since I still had my camera in the kitchen this morning I took a few pictures of my little beauty (bubby was still asleep).

I think she is enjoying her bagel and cream cheese :)

Smiling pretty for the camera!

Pouring Out My Heart

Last night I had a major breakdown, I had been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders and it finally all came crashing down. Many tears were shed as I turned to my best friend for a lot of venting and encouragement. After talking to her, still more emotions were released as I tried to explain what I had been going through to Matt (it was a little hard to do through text messaging). I went to bed still unsettled but knowing the kids would be up in a few short hours, I said a short prayer for peace long enough for me to sleep. Little did I know what the Lord had in store for me this morning.

Joshua 1:9- Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go.

In my quiet time I was led to a passage in 1 Kings. Elijah is in the desert running from Jezebel who is out to kill him. He feels like he is the only one left who loves God. He is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained, he cries out to God "I can't take it anymore, I give up!" It is at that moment when God feeds him, gives him rest, rescues him. My God saves, He is the knight in shining armor who sweeps us off our feet when we can not go on any longer. There may not be much that has changed between last night and this morning but one thing I know is true, I don't have to do it alone.

Long Lost Pictures

I promised picture of the kids this post and here they are. These pictures were taken this past summer and I am just now getting them off my camera, the kids have grown a lot even since then.

This one is after Maddux had a good cry after I told him he could not play with my camera.

My little drool bucket!

Baby blue, was the color of her eyes.

Miss Priss playing dress-up!

What a week...

Well the media change was not the only change made in my household. Last Tuesday I cleaned out my closet and dresser. I got rid of everything that was stained and/or ill fitting. I had gotten used to laying around my house in my "grunge" clothes all day everyday. One day not too long ago I got dressed ( not even super fancy or anything) and Matt said "where are you going today?". It was at that time I realized that I never get "dressed up" for my husband anymore. The one person I should try my hardest to impress everyday I let myself go for. So I left myself no choice, even when it comes to PJs... if its not something I would wear in front of my "room mates" at the women's retreat then I don't need to wear it at all. In continuing with keeping myself attractive for my husband I broke down and colored my grey hair and got a membership to the gym. I have to admit these things were also for me. I get a nice hour and a half break from the kiddos everyday while I work out, which is something I loved to do before I became a mommy. Also my hair is getting to that point where it drives me nuts and I usually cut it to change it up, so dying it has somewhat fixed that. We are still spending lots of time outside playing at the park or in the yard, but the less TV thing has been hard. Even when I gave it up I didn't realize how much it consumed my day, so the last week I have had many feelings of loneliness. Since before Brooke was born I have been struggling with separation anxiety when it comes to my family, especially my parents and Brianne. In high school my mom was my one constant friend who I told everything to and Brianne and I shared a room for almost our entire lives. Even when Matt and I got married she was always hanging out with us. Meagan of course has always been one of my best friends but she abandoned me as soon as she could get out on her own so I was used to being away from her :), j/k! Anyway, you would think after 3 years I would be over it but it's still pretty rough, even more so when we miss a family event or impromptu Sunday supper. I got off on a tangent there, point is that I am realizing my need to form a group of friends near me. My friend Tammy and I are going to try to get together more often since we only live 5 minutes apart (if you hit every red light), but we both need to get out and make some more friends. I have been going to a church since we moved to Rosenberg but I have yet to really connect with any other moms, many of them are working mothers and all are quite a bit older than me. I am praying about whether I should look for a new church or seek other ways of making new friends. I tried a play group last spring but it was so large that there were never the same people at each play date I attended. I also looked online for a MOPS group but didn't see any in my area. So the brainstorming will continue. I am hoping to meet some new people at the gym and I am trying to find a volunteer group to get involved with. So that's what has been going on. I promise the next post will have pics of the kids.