Tonight was a McDonald night. I was...I mean am suffering from sleep deprivation this week and just couldn't muster up the energy to to an evening alone without Blake. Knowing Blake was meeting me at work with the babies then going to mow I called my dad to meet us at McDonalds. It worked out great. The one in Sand Springs has a great play area. Both Wilder and Gwyn had a great time playing. Gwyn actually climbed up the baby slide for the first time. Dinner was not so great but definitely worth sacrificing the nutrition for the conveinence. I don't know, Wilder loved dipping his apples in ketchup. Fruit and veggie in one right?

• On Saturday I went with my friend Holly to a new group forming in Tulsa for C-Section and VBAC support. I decided to go thinking it would be nice to share my story and offer encouragement to anyone who is considering a VBAC after a C-Section. I know when I was frantically considering this option at the end of my pregnancy I would have LOVED to know about such a resource. The sad truth is there are way too many C-Sections being performed today and secondly not really enough support for VBAC's. (Vaginal Birth after CSection). So, if there is anyone out there that would like more info, please let me know!

• An idea. For a long time now I've been interested in finding or forming a Bible study group with a small group of women. Reminiscent of the groups I participated in my college years and even newly married when Blake and lived in OKC. I came up with this idea after talking with my aunt Janet about Christian fiction. She has read a lot of it, enough to know what's
good and not so good. What if the group was a book club/Bible study group. For me, something less academic sounds appealing to my tired and busy self. Reading a novel seems more appealing than question-answer-fill-in-the-blank type of studying. From what I gather, a lot of the Christian novels are modern day retellings of books in the Bible. The group could read the book in the Bible in accordance with the novel as well. I don't know, I've always wanted to join a book club...this seems like a good way to get combine fellowship with the encouragement and edification I know I'll get from studying the Word. Anyone interested? Thoughts? (Janet :))

I know some are having problems leaving comments. I haven't really had time to figure out why. Feel free to send me an email if you want to! shelly@bloomstudio.net

Wilder is 2!

We had a blast celebrating his birthday last weekend. He is getting smarter every day it seems. He definitely is keeping me on my toes these days.
He likes:
books, rocks, water, big trucks, firetrucks, beans, fruit, elmo, any toy that Gwyn has, outside, dressing himself if he's in the mood, puzzles, repeating anything you say, colors, animals, helping in the kitchen, sweeping or helping with any household chore, coloring, Roy, hugs and kisses, Gwyneth, sitting on the potty, basketball, little girls, nana, pappy, grandma, grandpa

he does not like:
sitting on the potty, getting dressed, sharing, having his hair washed, coming inside, hugs and kisses, the windows down in the car, Gwyneth, when Roy goes outside, water (to drink), brushing his teeth

Sweet Wilder, I adore you in every way! My how we've grown in two years!

For Sarah

Let's move on from such silliness 'eh?

First, why will Wilder use the potty for Blake's mom but not for me?

I've been tagged again by Tasha. 10 things I want to accomplish in life:
1. I want to help my kids get to heaven.
2. Keep my faith active for my entire life, make it stronger, and be more open to sharing it with others.
3. To be my own boss and have an actual art business. I would love to have a studio that has a store front in it. Perhaps in downtown Sand Springs?
4. Plant, Grow, and maintain a garden with vegetables, flowers, and herbs.
5. Learn to sew. I don't want this skill to stop with me. All the women in my family before me have sewn. I love quilts too much not to learn. And I have a brand new sewing machine yet to be used.
6. Drive across country with my family. I've never been West at all so I'd like to start in Oklahoma, see everything along the way, and end up in California.
7. To overcome fear with trust.
8. Learn how to make my grandmother's zuchinni bread and pumpkin bread and a pot of beans like my dad.
9. To be content in all things.
10. For Blake and I to build the house of our dreams. Completely green and "off the grid."

Please Don't Think I'm Crazy

I figured my blog was a good place to write this down. I always think of things I want then when Christmas and Birthday's roll around I forget. So for now:

- I want a birdbath for my yard.

-A kitchen towel calendar for the year 2009. I wasn't aware that they still made these. I've always liked them when I see them in resale shops. I bought one today from 1966 that I thought was pretty. It says Health is Wealth. I learned that I can actually use it in 2011! My first one, could be another unofficial thing to collect. We'll see. Let's start with 2009.

Good Story

There is a great story this week in our paper about Steve Whitaker. He is the director of the John 3:16 Mission here in downtown Tulsa. I thought it was inspiring. Check it out if you have a minute! www.urbantulsa.com.

Today has been super. It started with everyone getting a much needed good night of sleep last night. Gwyn did much better, I don't know if it was out of sheer exhaustion or some new things I tried. Blake's parents took Gwyn and Wilder to an out of town family reunion so we had the whole day to ourselves. I cleaned, worked a little on my mosaic, talked to an old friend, and played with my plants - bought a new one and repotted some old ones. I had intentions of staying home all day and doing things around the house but Blake insisted on taking me on a date...um, ok! I've been complaining about wanting Asian food, particularly curry so we went to Pei Wei then to the movies. We saw Batman, it was so good! We even went for a walk this evening and enjoyed the cool air. We enjoyed our time but I'm glad the babies are home safe in their beds!

I've been tagged by my friend Tasha (mommy notes) so here goes:

10 things you may not known about me:

1. I almost joined the Peace Corps after college. I was convinced I wanted to go to Africa. I did all the steps up to the interview. I drove to Dallas to the PC headquarters, had the interview and watched videos of volunteers onsite and realized it wasn't for me. I cried a lot during that drive home.
2. On the night Blake proposed I got really sick from the food we ate at the restaurant. He ended up proposing about 3 hours later than he had planned at a completely different location. The whole story is better.
3. I was a surfer in another life. Ok, not really but I did watch Blue Crush more times than I'd like to admit and I did try surfing in Florida.
4. I've played softball, been a member of the high school dance team, once had a green belt in Taekwondo, ran cross country and track, and ran a marathon.
5. I unofficially collect fridge magnets, aprons, dishes, and vintage jewelry. These are a few of my favorite things!
6. I guess I went through a somewhat wild streak after college. Did the whole club/party scene. It was short lived. I smoked for about a year.
7. We named Wilder after Blake's grandfather. If Gwyn was a boy we were going to name her Owen. We changed the O to a G and got Gwyn. I said "ok, we can name here Gwyn if her name is Gwyneth.
8. I went to Europe for two weeks after high school with my French teacher and classmates.
9. I've been baptized twice.
10. My dresser drawers and closet are extremely unorganized. There is no order whatsoever.

How random!

Mama Ain't Happy

Every two hours we were up with Gwyn last night. Her sleep routine is getting WORSE not better. I need some suggestions people! How do you teach a baby to be a self-soother and put herself back to sleep without just letting her cry it out? When she wakes up she stands at the end of her crib and cries until we open the door. Blake walked in once and gently put her back down and she went to sleep immediately. With me it usually takes nursing before she'll go back to sleep, sometimes quickly, sometimes not. I really can't take the fact lightly that we are responsible for her emotional health as well as her physical. I don't want her to be stressed out at night. This morning I put her in her crib to play while I took a shower for work and she screamed her face off the entire time. When I picked her up you should have seen the look on her face like "what the hell mamma, why did you abandon me?" (excuse the language, seemed fitting). I want to be compassionate but do realize we've got to start some kind of conditioning because morning like this aren't fun. (very unhappy daddy too) I know this will probably just work itself out, it has in the past. I'm praying for wisdom and patience. So, in the meantime I'm going to try to get my head inside this cup of coffee and figure out how to function efficiently at work for 8 hours today!

Because lists are fun

Some fun things that Gwyn and Wilder are doing right now:

-Wilder is repeating everything I say including things like "oh my"...frequently heard while changing his dirty diapers.
-Gwyn is moving her feet and starting to get brave and let go of things!
-Wilder says no to any question you ask him.
-Gwyn is constantly jabbering and half of what she says she says with her mouth closed. Interesting.
-Wilder walked Roy all the way home from the park today.
-Gwyn's favorite food are strawberries.
-Wilder still prefers juice over milk.
-Gwyn has started doing a fluttering hand wave when she sees someone enter the room.
-Wilder proved today that a cardboard box is really all a kid needs for endless fun.
-Gywn isn't interested in any toy until Wilder is playing with it. She gets firey mad when something is taken away from her.
-Wilder's world is quickly being categorized in to big and little...big this and little that.

Early morning. 5:50. Gwyneth is already taking her first nap and Wilder is still sleeping. I've already had coffee so no nap for me. I should be taking a shower or cleaning up yesterday's messes, but no, I'm here, playing with my blog. Oh well.

• I thought I would take a second to show some love and appreciation to the library! I know, I'm a nerd. Yes, the Tulsa library system. I love you library for your unlimited free resources, for your air conditioned play space for Wilder, for letting me check out books when I still have library books at home. Thank you library, don't go away.

• This is something I've wanted to mention for a while. A few weeks ago when Blake and I were having a conversation about fears. (We were discussing my current concern about the toxicity in plastics...I'm over it now and am again washing my plastics in the dishwasher. I mean, who really has time to handwash all those sippy cups and plastic bowls?) In response to my concerns about things that you can't actually see he told me about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch as an example of something that actually concerns him. I had no idea it existed, which I assume most people don't. It troubles me and motivates me to use less plastic and recycle what I do use. I read this in the monthly newsletter from the Holistic Mom's Network. Read on...Sad huh?

The world’s garbage patch! National News: An Eco Nightmare! “Much of our waste today is made of plastic that does not break down. This waste accumulates in swirling seas of debris, where plastic to sea life ratios are 6:1; where birds and mammals are dying of starvation and dehydration with bellies full of plastics; and fish are ingesting toxins at such a rate that soon they will no longer be safe to eat. The largest of these garbage swills is known as the Pacific Gyre, or: The Great Garbage Patch. It is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco. Amazingly, there is no effort underway to clean the mess.“ {Source: The Great Garbage Patch.org}

This and That

I've started giving Gwyn and Wilder their bath together now that she's big enough. Saves water and time! The bubbles are a fairly new thing, they get excited about them. If I could only keep Gwyn from eating them, can't be healthy.

I started two new pieces of art today! Watch out world!

What is everyone listening to these days? I still have birthday itunes money that I haven't spent and I have no idea what to buy. I did buy one album, Amos Lee, Supply and Demand, good stuff, I highly recommed it. Very easy to listen to and very soulful. Any new ideas?

For any readers that aren't in the family circle, check out my cousin's blog 24/7mom. She tells a good story of almost being robbed while she was home - good to think about what you would do in a current situation.

It's going to be 106 degrees this week. YUCK!