Let Me Introduce You to GaGa

Gaga.  That sounds like a strange word when said alone.  But when you say, "Where's my gaga?"  or "I love my gaga."  Or, "I can't sleep without my gaga" it takes on more significance in our house!!  When Madeline was just learning to speak she named her blanket "gaga".  That was the babbling sound that she spoke when she was trying to tell us about or to identify her security blanket.  And it stuck.  Susanna has a "gaga".  Philip has a "gaga".  And I'm sure Violet will too.  Madeline said to me last night as I was putting her to bed, "Momma, do you know why I hold my gaga so close when I'm going to sleep?"  And of course I asked why.  She said, "It's because if there is a fire in my house I can grab him (gaga is a "he" gender.)  and get out of the house quickly!  That girl LOVES her gaga!  They all do.  They incorporate their gaga into their play.  They nervously chew or pick or twirl their gaga.  They must have gaga to go to sleep.  If they have misplaced the gaga while playing during the day I can usually convince them to just go ahead and go to sleep and cuddle with a stuffed animal with the promise that we'd find the gaga in the morning.  Fortunately, we've always been able to find the gaga.  It has taken up to a day or two b/c those kids will stuff their gaga's into tiny places sometimes!  We love our gaga's.  I have told them that I will always keep their gaga's for them...even when they day comes that they say they "don't need it anymore."
 I think I will be more sad on that day than they will....

Madeline and her sweet gaga....

Susanna and her sweet gaga...

Philip and his sweet gaga....

Violet and her sweet gaga (this is subject to change since she is so young :)

 

House Update - February

Thought I would update the blog for those of you following the progress of our home construction.  We now have a driveway, front patio, back patio and the concrete is stained!!!  It's starting to look more and more like a home you could live in!!  We decided to stain the concrete instead of getting tile.  We really like the look of the stained concrete, it's cheaper AND we know that if we change our minds in a few years...well...it's super easy to add anything you want to the top of it!  We are having the stained concrete in the kitchen, laundry room, hallway, both bathrooms and the entry.  Another plus is that it will be easy to wipe of spills and messes from the kiddos.  I have posted a picture of the kitchen floor.  I am really happy with this. Our builder stained the floors himself and did a GREAT job!  I love the large diamond pattern!  He kind of played around and mixed the colors.  The two that were used are called "Cola" and "Walnut".  This week we spoke with the trim carpenter and he said that he would be done by the end of the week.  So, this means by the weekend we should have cabinets, molding, closet shelves and a fireplace mantle.  I can't wait to see it!  I've decided to paint the cabinets in the kitchen...still trying to decide what to do with the bathroom cabinets and the trim.  We'll see....

What I Learned from Dave Ramsey...

So...my husband and I went to see Dave Ramsey Live yesterday.  There were 10,000 other people there to learn about getting out of debt.  To get motivated about getting out of debt.  To get RE-motivated about getting out of debt.  It was awesome.  I'm not going to go into all kinds of personal details on here but let's just say...I've been re-reminded that the key to getting out of debt is a change of  BEHAVIOR!!  We know how to get out of debt. We need to learn to tell ourselve "no" more.  (well, I do) We need to be more disciplined with our money.  I have never felt more motivated about our debt snowball than I do right now!!

I think we just got a dose of "gazelle intensity" as Dave would say!!

Oh Happy Day!

Well...yesterday's post was a tad melancholy.  I am much better today and am sooooo excited!!  I started a diet right after Christmas in an attempt to lose all the weight that having 4 babies can bring!   So, basically, I have just altered my diet. Nothing formal. Nothing that has an enrollment fee or monthly dues.  I just cut my calories in a major way.  Drastically cut out how much soda I drink.  Eliminated ranch dressing except at a restaurant if I order a salad.  That's the only restaurant dressing I can eat! :)  Anyway...it's been almost 2 months so far and I've lost 16 pounds!! I'm super excited.  I haven't incorporated exercise into my weight loss just yet.  I did attempt a zumba workout at home the other day.  Boy, was THAT an experience.  I discovered two things.  One - I have absolutely no groove for that stuff.  Actually, I already KNEW that I had no groove.  And Two - I don't want to hear that music unless I'm sitting inside a mexican restaurant!! Maybe I should start walking.  Baby steps, Renee.... 

February Seventeenth

Today would have been my mom's 57th birthday.  Wow.  It's crazy to think about that.  I was only 22 when she died.  She was 43. She had only been 43 for one month before she died.  Yikes that sounds so much younger to me now than it did when I was 22.  Don't get me wrong...I KNEW 43 was way too young to die but now that I'm closer to 40 than I am to 30 I think about this a lot.  Anyway...I'm not going to write a big long depressing post.  Maybe just a "little" depressing post. I feel so envious of all my girlfriends that still have their momma's. I'm happy for them but sad for me. I have missed my mother for every major adult milestone that I've grown through.  College graduation.  Graduate School graduation.  My first nursing job. Marriage.  Pregnancy.  Baby #1. Baby #2. Baby #3. Baby #4.  She always wanted to have grandkids.  My mom LOVED children.  So sometimes when I allow myself to, I get angry at God for taking her away from me so young.  I feel like it's completely unfair.  But then, God will whisper into my ear that HE is all powerful.  HIS timing is perfect.  And that HE has a reason for everything and knows exactly what is going on.  Not me.  But still, on days like today I totally feel sorry for myself and miss the heck out of her.  And think about what a super awesome loving giving grandma she would've been and then I cry because again I feel like it's so unfair.  So, I just want to say to all of you girls out there that have your momma's....just LOVE them and be THANKFUL for them. 

This was Christmas Eve 1983. 

This was about a year and a half before she died.  Glamour Shots. Pardon the sailor jackets.  And crazy hair!! :)

A Long Lost Hobby...

I once had a hobby of jewelry making.  I made bracelets and earrings.  Long ago.  Before children were involved.  Well...maybe before the last three children were involved.  Today, unexpectedly, I had the thought to get my beads out.  I thought...I should make myself a new bracelet!!  Well, I made a bracelet and then some earrings.  What I really like to do is "repurpose" vintage jewelry.  About 8 years ago when I started making bracelets I aquired some old jewelry.  Some was my grandmother's and some was from estate sales.  Well, today I used these gold/rhinestone beads from a vintage necklace I bought 8 years ago.  For the earrings I used an old necklace that belonged to my grandmother.  The baby blue "pearls" were from her costume jewelry necklace and the little blue beads are just some bicone swarovski crystals.  Back when I started making bracelets the materials were much more expensive b/c you couldn't buy swarovski crystals at Hobby Lobby....you had to go to specialty bead stores.  I honestly prefer those stores b/c you get such a variety of beautiful beads.  But not if you are just going to use basic beads - get those when they have a 50% off sale at Hobby Lobby!!  I've also bought sterling silver spacers from Ebay in the past.  After making these today I realized how much I miss my hobby and remembered how much I enjoyed it!  I am going to have to take a trip to Hobby Lobby and get some new materials to work with!  Oh...and make it to some estate sales to find some cute vintage costume jewelry!! 

I just threw this pic in here because this boy is cute.  My sweet, cute dirty little boy! Oh, how he's missed being able to go outside and play!! :)  Thank you Jesus for the beautiful weather we've been having!!

An Affair of the Heart

Well, last friday was my trip to Affair of the Heart - a local craft/antique/jewelry show.  It is at the fairgrounds and they have several buildings just FULL of treasures!  They don't allow cameras so I wasn't able to take any pictures.  Anyway...I LOVE to go.  I'm always looking for something to decorate the house or for the girls.  I prefer unique handmade items.  Seems like those are really mixed among LOTS of things that aren't so unique or handmade.  You have to walk past many many booths of the same types of things - it seems that the vendors always know what the current trend is and they come full force with it.  For example, last fall there were TONS of vendors with those little crochet-type beanies and headbands for babies.  I searched and searched and couldn't find one single handmade crocheted baby hat.  I'm learning that Etsy is probably going to be a better place to search for that kind of stuff.  But anyway...I did manage to find a few unique things while I was there.  I took a few photos of what I found to share.  My F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E thing is my little farmhouse!!  I recently saw a very similar farmhouse in a catalog I get that has many cute primitive items.  This catalog had a farmhouse and oh, I really wanted it.  BUT the price tag was $140 and I could NOT justify a purchase like that.  So, as I was walking through AAOTH I saw a booth with many items that were very similar to the ones I had seen in the catalog.  I started talking to a very sweet couple from Missouri and he makes all of the items they were selling himself.  And then while I was browsing their booth I found my farmhouse!! I HAD to buy it and when I saw the price tag I was SO happy!!  It was MUCH MUCH cheaper than I had seen it in the catalog and I loved that it was handmade.  So, here is my new little farmhouse :)  Can't wait to find a place for it in our new house.  And you can't tell from the picture but it lights up on the inside :)

This is a cute set of milk bottles I found.  I plan to fill them with salt and put them in my kitchen. 

I thought this little front door was really cute too!

I found another booth of handmade items and LOVED this chicken.  She's going to live in my new kitchen as well.  :) The owner of this booth has a website: http://www.polkadotpigprimitives.com/

I also found this handmade pink bird.  She is sitting on one of those glass things that used to go on phone polls??  I cant' remember what they are called.  But I thought this would look cute in Violet's room.  They had a yellow one too and I regret not buying that one as well. 

Finally, I bought this because I just love how it looks. I would love to live in this house someday, weeping willow included! :)

Snow "Break"

Well, it seems we've had a second break from school - a "Snow Break".  Madeline's school has been cancelled 6 days out of the last 9 school days!! She was sick all last week during the break so she's been happy to get to enjoy this week's break from school.  Matt has been home from work as well.  So, we've all been hanging out at home!  Unfortunately for us, the flu bug has made it's way through our home.  It started with Madeline.  She wasn't able to take Tamiflu, though, b/c we weren't able to take her to the Dr. until after last week's blizzard so it was too late to start.  The second victim was Susanna.  She fortunately, had the shortest duration of sickness.  The third victim was/is Philip.  He keeps saying, "I'm sick!".  Fortunately he seems to be getting better.  He and Susanna both were able to take Tamiflu so they won't be as sick as long as Madeline was.  The baby was put on a prophylactic dose of Tamiflu last week to try to keep her from catching it.  So far, so good.  She does have a stuffy nose, now, though.  But no fever so I'm thankful for that!   I'm praying that neither Matt nor I catch this.  He is almost out of PTO for work bc of all the snow days he's had to take.
Anyway...enough of all that sick talk.  We have all managed to relax and just hang out and enjoy being home.  Daddy went out and made a snow hill for the kids to sled on!! It is so cool and they love it!!  They have played restaurant, house, Wii, and watched lots of movies!!  I'm pretty sure that today is our last snow day for a while.  The weatherman is predicting temps in the high 60s next week!! Thank You Lord!!  I think it's safe to say that the majority of people around here are ready for a warm up!!  Here are some of the pics i've taken around here the past two weeks!! Oh, and we've been staying in our jammies most of the time! 

An Adventure to Meet the Pioneer Woman!

This is a very "picture heavy" post.  Consider yourself warned!! ;)

My best friend Stefanie and I had been planning for weeks to meet Ree Drummond (aka, THE Pioneer Woman!!)  We had a blizzard this week in our little section of the world and we wondered all week whether or not the event would be cancelled.  We almost talked ourselves out of even going!! GASP!  Fortunately, however, we had a beautiful day and we set out on our adventure!!

This was what my street looked like when I left at 0830 in the morning.  Most of the roads were still pretty icy! 

First stop of my morning...Target.  I had already been to "my" Target to buy the book but they were sold out.  When I went to this Target their shelf was empty as well.  Fortunately for everyone involved the nice Target salesguy with the biggest spiked mohawk you've ever seen opened a new shipment box. And. There. It. Was!!  I got my book.  I warned him that he would sell out of the rest of his stock soon!

This is where my photographic documentation was a little poor.  I will say, though, that in my defense, I was worried about my little SuSu.  She too succumbed to the flu and I was trying to make sure that I was the good absentee momma and got the Dr. called and that her Tamiflu was called in to the pharmacy.  Now, no one would be available to pick it up until about 6 hours later (b/c I had the primary family vehicle and I was on my way to meet PW).  She would still fit into the "24-48 hour window" of the Tamiflu, though.  Right?  Maybe so, but the "mommy guilt" started then.  I was too preoccupied to take photos and document.  Anywho...I met up with Stef (my BFF) and we went to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.  They were closed, however, b/c their pipes had frozen!!  Another GASP!  So we settled on IHOP.  It was yummy!  This was my "breakfast dessert".  After breakfast we went to the mall to kill some more time and I found several outfits for the kids for next school year (YES, I buy one season ahead!) I found a GREAT 70% off sale at Dillards!! 

So...now we are heading to the event...to check things out.  We got our "line ticket".  We were Group 5. 



This greeted us as we walked through the door.  If we had pre-ordered the book we might have rec'd a closer place in line. 

At around 12:30 everyone gathered to hear PW have some Q&A time. Here's one of many pics of Stef and I.  We wore matching shirts! 

Ane here is Ree.  PW. The Pioneer Woman.  She received a huge applause as she walked in.  There were hundreds of people crammed in to hear her speak.  She took several questions from the audience.  Some were relevant and some were self serving.  She handled each one gracefully.  She gets nervous speaking in public.  I like that about her.  If you look to the side of the podium, you'll see Marlboro Man and their 4 children.  (He's rather hidden by that tall plant, though.)  It must have been nice for her to have her whole family with her since she's been stuck away from home all week b/c of the blizzard!

Well, her husband, "Marlboro Man" was swarmed after the event so that he could sign books also.  I watched for about 30 minutes and then decided that I should probably have him sign my book too.  I mean, the new book is about him too. Right?  That's a good reason.  Stef just kept laughing at me.  I did draw the line, though aat having my picture taken with him (a "posed" pic).  That just didn't feel right.  At least not for me. 

So we are in line at this point.  It took us approximately 2 hours of acutally standing in line with our group before we were able to meet her.  A nice lady in line behind us took this photo.  Thank you nice lady. Oh, and if I felt like whining about being tired of standing in line so long, well... I didn't do that.  There was a lady in front of my (a much older lady) standing in line WITH A WALKER!!  That lady stood there for 2 HOURS and never sat down!! And her walker was equipped with a seat.  She inspired me not to complain ;)

Here we are in line.  We had about an hour and a half from this point.  NOTICE!!  The lady in front of me with the walker and the free chair next to her.  No.  She didn't sit in it. I sure did, though.  For only about 60 seconds, though!! 

So, the line was long and Stef got silly, as evidenced by this photo.  She is a great person to stand in line with.  She breaks up the monotony.  AND, I got to explain to her the difference between extroversion and introversion and how Stef = extrovert and Renee = introvert! ;)

We're next!!  The lady in the white was a bookstore employee and she was there to take pictures with our cameras if we wanted. 

The nice bookstore lady sure did take a blurry picture of me.  I guess I shouldn't complain.  Stef and I walked up to the table together and we had a conversation about our cute "Real Housewives of Oklahoma" t-shirt and Stef and Ree talked about the movie "Elf" ;)  She was very friendly.  I seriously feel like I know her personally.  Which I don't. It's an odd feeling.

The bookstore lady took a much better picture this time. Thank you bookstore lady.  This pic is going in a frame in my kitchen, next to my Pioneer Woman cookbook!

One last picture of Stef and I.  This bookstore was AWESOME.  And it was cozy.  And not a place I would ever feel comfortable taking my 4 children.  Even though they have a "childrens" section.  I would be panicked the whole time! :)

We put in a full 8 hour "shift" for these!  It was totally fun.  Aside from feeling a little like a bad momma for being away from my sweet little sick SuSu I had a great time!!  (I did get home and get the Tamiflu for her and she's doing much better!) 

Both of my books with their autographs.