Hearts

This past weekend I set aside a very small amount of time for a Valentine craft. I LOVE CRAFTS! I first found the idea here. And the original tutorial here.



I cut out hearts from a copy of Real Simple magazine...5 or 6 pages thick; its faster.

Sewd em' together, one after the other.

And hung them over my kitchen sink.

I asked Stephen Grande what he thought about the hearts. He laughed. And then he said they made him "PROUD"....followed by "What do you want me to say?"

He loves me....and deep down I know he loves my crafts too :)

I love the weekends!

Stephen Small enjoys his new book {First 100 Machines} after breakfast.

Daddy and a sweet Laurie snuggle on the couch after naps :)

A real nice little Saturday.

Us Girls

Today, I'm participating in EMBRACE the CAMERA and linking up with Emily's blog. The goal is to get IN the picture with your kiddos and/or loved ones instead of always being the one behind the camera.





This picture was taken {with the timer} during our hospital stay. With most of our family and friends in Arizona for the big Auburn game, things were really quiet and restful during our two days at the hospital. Our stay was lovely....I recall telling Stephen Grande at one point that I was having a "blast." THE day, her birthday, so long awaited for had come, and I was thrilled and thankful for how smoothly her delivery went. She is a precious, precious girl!!!

Since being home, our house has slowly but surely started filling up with PINK. I'm not gonna lie....I LOVE IT! Girl stuff is FUN!

My mom picked up these flowers at Winn Dixie while she was here helping us last week. 

Never underestimate the joy of fresh flowers...especially in January.

{photo taken 1/19/11 - nine days old} 

Hope you all are having the best Thursday you could possibly have!

First Day on the New Job

Yesterday marked my first day on the new job as full time mother of two small, can't-do-one-thing-for-themselves, children. I survived. In fact, I'd say it was good. Not knowing what to do exactly, I played things safe and literally watched them. During naps I showered and napped myself. I folded one small basket of clothes and defrosted some sloppy joe's for dinner. Keep it simple. Keep it safe.

Friends have asked me what Stephen Small thinks of our new family member. To tell you the truth...he's not so crazy about her. I know that he will come around and love her so much, but for now he's adjusting and learning what the word 'gentle' means.

{sleepy Laurie on her two week birthday}

I love my first boy baby so much and its hard watching him go through "hard times." But Stephen Grande assures me its the best thing for him, that it will make him more self sufficient. And Grande is right. Our new family dynamic has already made Stephen Small's world a little stricter and more structured, both of which are ultimately good for him.

And because I couldn't get an open - eyed photo of the sister yesterday, here's one from this morning. She's the sweetest.

 Hope you all are having a fantastic week. I hope to be back soon....but can't make any promises.

Very Present 'In Your Face' Bundle of JOY!!!

Hi Everyone! THANK YOU again for all your congratulatory comments and e-mails. We are putting life back together piece by piece and settling into our 'new normal'. Stephen Small re-joined us at home this past Monday. He was gone for an entire week at my parents house in Mississippi. Oh how we missed him!

We were so glad to see him, and since he's been home you'd hardly even know that we have a new baby in the house. And that's because he is, as Stephen Grande described him....a very present 'in your face' bundle of JOY! 21 months is a challenging age. He's so busy. And so opinionated. And extremely sweet and hilarious at the same time. We're thrilled that all 4 of us are under one roof. The times they are a' changin'.  

All photos were taken by my mom during his visit to Mississippi. If you can't tell, I assure you that he was livin' the good life.

He had visitors {my mom's friends} most every afternoon....

I might be back soon. Or I might just take a nap.

2 Ways That I am a Hypocrite...

Skip #1 if you are not a blogger who uses BLOGGER.

#1. Dear bloggers who use BLOGGER, not long after I posted this post about the wonderful use of and my loyalty to the template Minima Stretch, I changed mine to the Simple Template. Minima Stretch is still a great template, but once I started experimenting with the Simple Template, I opted for a change. This allows for a few more customizations than the Minima Stretch. A thing to note, changing to the Simple Template required me changing the size of my blog header to 925 pixels {this is done when exporting a photo from Picasa to a folder on my computer}. Woah...did I just type that?! NERD ALERT. I always use a 'test blog' {a private blog created for the sole purpose of experimentation} when making major changes to my blog.  If you are interested in changing things up on yours, I highly recommend a test blog.
E-mails and questions on this topic are welcomed.
I'm feel like Mark Zuckerberg.

Circled in red is the version of Simple Template that I used. I just feel that I needed to confess my template change after being such an advocate of Minima Stretch.

#2. I am also a hypocrite because I broke my all-time rule of 'no children sleeping in our bed.' Yep, I broke it. Little Laurie has slept by my side in this nifty foam divider ever since coming home from the hospital. It was not planned. The first night at home, Stephen Grande and I were dysfunctionally exhausted. We were too weary to even place her back in the bassinet after a feeding, and the next thing ya know she stayed in the bed with us. Sleeping beautifully, I might add. Every night since, she's slept with just me. Grande opts for the couch. Hopefully, she's going back to the bassinet ASAP {when my torso starts working again}. This has been the best sleeping arrangement in my post - op state. It really saves my abs and allows for the busy, working husband to get some sleep. I'm not trying to stir up a debate on co-sleeping vs. not co-sleeping. I just wanted to air some dirty laundry.

 

{Laurie, one week old today}
 

Now that I got the weight of my hypocrisies off my shoulders, I sign off on a lighter note....a few photos of Me,the Grande, and the Laurie Bird on Sunday afternoon...

Lazy Saturday

I Love Spoons

It's Friday night and I'm thrilled to have a long, cozy weekend ahead. We are settling in at home quite nicely with our newest addition :)  Laurie is the most precious little person and we are loving every single minute of her, including those moments at 4am. My mom and Stephen Grande's mom have made these past few days so enjoyable and memorable. They have helped in every way by jumping in and taking care of our everyday life needs as we transition into a family of 4. We couldn't do it without them.

Just for fun...and before I bombard you with another post full of newborn baby pics, I thought I'd share what my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. This print is by Shelli at Studio Mela, found on Etsy ....its titled I Love Spoons {written on packaging} or I Love Your Spoons {as seen on website}.

LOVE-IT.  Originally I thought I would hang it in the kitchen, but then settled on the wall in our entrance way. Its the first thing you see when you walk in the house. I think its perfectly appropriate given our last name... and our love of spoons.

Have a great weekend! 

Sister's Birth

Monday January 10th, in between a "severe" winter storm and Auburn's national championship win, our little Laurie was born. We are still in shock that she's a SISTER. I wish you could have seen the look of surprise on Stephen Grande's face when the doctor said...."it's a GIRL."

This birth was a scheduled, repeat C-section. And I'm not gonna lie....I was super anxious about going under the knife again. My first Cesarean {with Stephen Small} was done in desperation after a long labor, lots of pain, and an epidural that had worn off resulting in the need for general anesthesia. This time I had time to think about what was going to happen - time, too much time, to anticipate my insides being opened and exposed to the outside world.

Thankfully, the spinal took beautifully and I felt an overwhelming sense of calmness on the OR table. Thank you to those praying for us. I know those prayers were at work helping my nerves. Stephen Grande joined me in the operating room as soon as I was good and numb, and I was so impressed at what at what sense of comfort he provided for me. I thought he was going to be a wreck, but he did awesome! He even watched the surgery - stood up and watched it. Woah! I could not believe it.

Michelle, one of the Labor and Delivery nurses, took all these wonderful pictures! Thanks Michelle for capturing such a special event for us. And since a picture paints a thousand words...I'll let the photos do the talking.

FYI: there are a few gory C-section pictures, all of which are edited to black and white, nothing overly graphic.

Happy, healthy, safe, sound. We praise God that everything went so well! He has blessed us with such a precious gift and we look forward to settling into life with a little girl. Thanks for all your sweet comments on my last post. I'm grateful for each of you joining in and celebrating with us!

And one last and very important note...

We most definitely watched the game in the hospital room. I was so nervous {and I was on drugs}! I can only imagine how those of you not sufficiently dosed with Demoral felt. Yeah for the big win!

What a year 2011 has already been....and its only mid January.