Yes, birthday pics are coming!

Happy First Birthday Gwynnie Bear

Today was your first birthday Gwyneth Ann. I am sad that you are not a little baby anymore but you will always be "baby girl" to me. I'm sorry you don't feel good on your birthday. You're teething and have a terrible fever. Sweet baby, it's just not fair. I've sung Happy Birthday enough times to you today, holding you, trying to get you to rest, that hopefully you understood just for a minute that there was something special about today.

Today, I've enjoyed thinking about the day you were born. About what a miracle and gift your birth was. Thank you for cooperating for your mommma!

You are delicously sweet in every way! I love your curly hair, your soft skin and your precious kisses you love to give. You are much more affectionate than your brother. Thank you for being content just being held, your brother never sat still long enough. Although sweet, we are beginning to see a little firey side in you, where did you get that temper?

Sometimes I am still in awe that I am blessed with such a beautiful baby girl. Do I really have two babies? When did that happen? I am looking forward to doing all the things a mom and daughter should do together. Oh the fun we will have!

Sweet dreams baby girl, momma loves you.

Yes, Lovely Fall Days

What a nice weekend. Well, with the exception of Friday night after we found out our car would be in the shop another week and cost twice as much as we thought. Oh well, the price you pay for buying a foreign car (right dad!). Blake had a track meet in Arkansas Saturday the kids and I went to Tulsa to visit my friend Holly and her baby Isaac in their new apartment. The weather was perfect. After seeing her apartment we walked to the park and had fun playing well, with rocks mostly. Who needs slides and fun things to climb when you can see how many rocks you can sneak in your mouth without you mom seeing? We made it back to the house and the babies were pooped so naptime wasn't too much of a struggle. I took the time to get dinner ready. I like cooking when it's not stressful. So pretty much that means no babies at my feet which doesn't happen often.

Oh man, how's this for real life blogging. I sat down at the computer about an hour ago with my tea to check blogs and update. Now that I'm updating mine all I want to do is go to sleep. Cuttin' it short tonight. So much to say...another day. Here are some pics.

Goodnight!


Wilder with his great grandpa Wilder from our trip to Texas last weekend.


Wilder and Miles! Aren't they cute? They insisted on getting in the truck at the same time.


Baby Isaac, Gwyn, and Wilder, at Holly's apartment.


She's got this walkin' thing down.


Yay for babies in pumpkin hats.

It's been a while since I sat down to blog so here goes. It's naptime so I'm defaulting to a list, it's easy and fast.

1. Gwyn slept from 8pm to 6am last night without waking up in her crib!! Yay! We're getting somewhere people! And her naps are getting longer. I haven't nursed her in 3 nights. Here's to getting my brain back!

2. I love you Wal-Mart. I hate you Wal-Mart. Because I was feeling spunky today because of the sleep we went to Wal-Mart to get some groceries. We had decided to make Wilder a cowboy for Halloween. Space cowboy actually, complete with a rocket backpack. In my mind I was thinking, how am I going to find cowboy boots, western shirt, vest, etc without having to sew or spend a fortune. As we were looking at the Halloween stuff I found a stuffed cowboy costume that has the horse that wraps around so it looks like you're riding it...not a bad idea, it's easy, I can buy it and be done with Wilder's costume. Next to the cowboy costume was an Elmo costume. (you know where it goes from here). To make a long story short the Elmo costume made it into our cart, onto Wilder, into our car and is currently in Wilder's bed taking a nap with him. Oh well, maybe space cowboy will work out next year. Maybe Gwyn will be his horse. Gwyn's costume however, is in the works. I have several colors of tulle, fairy shoes, and a headband that I will be working on myself! Can't wait.

3. Remember how I said I was going to give a review about Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. Well, here's a little life application. The book is good, emphasizes the importance of family relationships and describes boys, their personalities, the challenges they face in today's world, etc. One of the major issues today is the demasculation of boys. (I don't want to try to explain this in detail here, if you're interested, let's talk about it :) Anyway, the other night I was home by myself putting both Wilder and Gwyn to bed (not an easy task). As we were finishing the baths I'm trying to get one dressed and one out of the tub and Wilder asks to put on my robe "mommy robe, mommy robe." It's a little white robe that I've let him put on and wear until bedtime a few times. It wasn't in the bathroom...but my pink, silk, nightgown was. He wants to put it on, I think if Blake were here he'd kill me. Gwyn is getting impatient, I'm tired, so pink nightgown goes on. When I finally put him to bed he does not want to take it off to put on his PJ's so I let him sleep in it. The next morning I left for work before he was up. Blake's parents are there to take him for the day...I get an email from Blake at work asking why his father calls him to ask why his son woke up in a pink dress. You can imagine the confusion and embarrassement Blake is feeling. Especially if you know his dad. It's funny becaue Blake is reading the book right now too and we've talked about this issue of demasculation and here I go dressing him in pink satin. Not that I think that dress up here or there will ruin a boy forever but kinda funny.

4. Bible study at my house! I've been wanting to do something organized like this for a long time and it's finally in the works. I miss the times in my life that I met with friends to study, talk, and pray. We (so far my friend from church, my friend Jen, and my cousin Amy) will be meeting once a week on Wednesday for a couple of hours with our kiddos. We are going to do Beth Moore's Believing God. (I can't find the ital button so sorry for the lack of italics Holly) From what I hear, it's great. I will need grace to find the time and complete the study each week but am determined to try because I personally feel I am suffering the consequences of a weak spiritual life right now. I want to invite any of you, my family and friends to come if you want to. We're planning on daytime but if there are enough that are interested that would need an evening than maybe we can figure something out. Right now we're starting the week on the 20th or 27th. Let me know!

Ok, I'm going to work a little on Gwyn's costume before they wake up!

At least somebody likes my oatmeal.

What is it about Fall that makes you want to get creative and make stuff? To nest? I say fall, I guess it's officially Fall but geez it's still a little hot outside. I am having a hard time concentrating at work today because I can think of about 20 other things I'd rather be doing. A few, for example:

1. Try my grandmother's pumpkin bread recipe on my fridge.

2. Knit and or crochet. (I'm not sure of the exact difference, I know, I have a lot to learn) for a couple of reasons: 1) I think knitting seems less intimidating than my sewing machine. There are TONS of books on knitting at Border's. I just looked at them on my lunch hour. I want to make scarves, hats, socks, toys, blankets, anything. 2) Yesterday at my grandmother's house I found a vintage crocheted bag (soon to be my purse, oh yes, Jenny, Amy, be jealous) with some of my great grandmother Ruby's yarn and started crocheted pieces. It is very precious. I want to make use of the yarn she never used up and keep this skill in our family.

3. I need a bumper sticker that says "I'd rather be garage sale-ing" (you know, for items for potential projects or decorations, you never know what you'll find, it's the element of surprise that's so intoxicating!)

4. Work on Wilder and Gwyn's Halloween costumes. Two words: baby tutu. Can't wait, must find tulle. Currently trying to find inspiration for Wilder.

In other news...Gwyn is walking! She says "baby" and "bye bye"
There isn't much Wilder doesn't say now. He is getting more stubborn every day. He is wonderfully everything a two year old boy should be.

Thursday: The Week in Gratitude

Today I'm thankful for:

1. New days. I am thankful that Tuesday is over and Wednesday happened. I don't know who the evil woman was that possessed my body on Tuesday. I'm glad she's gone. Just a rough day all around. Seems like Wilder and I butted heads all day and I was irritated at EVERYTHING. Sometimes tiredness and hormones catch up I think. I'm ok now ;)

2. Friends. Really, what a joy to have like-minded friends to share this journey with!

3. Sibling Companionship. Wilder and Gwyn have really started entertaining each other. It's so fun to be in a different room and hear them laughing at each other. And to think we created that laughter! Well, God actually did...but you get the sentiment!

SIMPLY SUNDAYS

My friend Tasha had a fun idea for weekly blogging, I liked her ideas...if anyone would like to join in!

1. WHAT it Means to Be a Mom WEDNESDAYS: parenting happenings of the day/week

2. THANKFUL THURSDAYS: the week in gratitude

3. Who SAID it SATURDAYS: thought provoking, funny, or random quotes

4. SIMPLY SUNDAYS: the art of simple living

Today just being outside was a simple pleasure. I love fall days when the sun is warm and the breeze is cool. We sat outside on my parents deck for a long time after lunch today. We just watched the kids play and enjoyed the view. Mom even got her guitar out and played for a minute. This evening at home we went for a family walk in the neighborhood with both kiddos in the strollers. It was just fun being all together and enjoying the conversation with Blake.

I took some pics once we got home. Here is Gwyn standing on her own. Sometimes she'll take one step. No luck on getting a toothy grin. Can you believe she'll be 1 next month?

Follow Up

Thanks for all the info fellow bloggers! I've almost joined a CoOp a couple of times but haven't ever followed through. I don't know what I'm afraid of. Has anyone else (besides Dayna) tried one? Do you save money? Janet, do you take paid orders for your bread? (please)

Well I went to the Pearl Farmer's Market after work on Monday. Next week is the last week of the season. I decided I would spend $10 even though I could have spent a TON more, but that's what I had. I would have liked to have bought a loaf of bread for $5 and a jar of jam for $6. Almost twice as much as the grocery store but twice as good for you right?

For $10 I bought:
-Two tomatoes (little over a pound)
-Three porter peaches (one pound)
-One funny little white space ship-shaped squash
-One pound of fresh purple hull peas (mainly for Gwyn and Wilder). I really don't know what to do with these. I'll have to find some how-to online.
Some really tasty FREE wine samples from a Vineyard at Lake Eufala (can't think of the name right now). Counts right?

Sound reasonable?

It's just food right?

So I've started reading the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. It's about food. It's pretty fascinating to me. I have to refrain myself from talking too much about it to my husband because I think he's annoyed by it, well he just doesn't find the subject matter as interesting. (That's what blogs are for right!) The book is a true story about a family that moves from Tuscon Arizona to a farm somewhere in West Virginia. Tuscon, in the dessert where NOTHING is grown locally. Their plan is for all their food to be grown by themselves or bought from somebody they know - for one year. No processed anything meaning no oranges from California or fish from the coast. Only whole, local food. The first chapter Barbara explains all her motives for the move and gives some history about agriculture in America.

So far what I've found to be though-provoking:
-It's amazing how much fossil fuel the food industry consumes. All the fuel to power the farm equipment (including all the things needed to spray pesticides) and all the fuel needed to ship produce across country.
-I never realized that 70% of farmland is corn or soybeans because they are processed and modified to make many other ingredients in our foods. Obviously things like High Fructose Corn Syrup but also a lot of the words you don't recognize on labels. While reading this I was eating some chocolate and ther it was - soybeans in my chocolate!
-How LITTLE we know about gardening and farming and how much we SHOULD know. Eventually we or our children will have to produce some or all of own food becaues the environment demands it. She gave some examples of city kids that thought potatoes grew on trees, that sort of thing.
-How bizarre it is that when we buy items from the grocery store we have no idea where they've come from.
-Organic is better you but also ALOT better for the environment.
-We should all try to shop at Farmer's Markets more often. Support local farmer's that are competing against commercialized industries.
- I long for a way of life that would allow for abundant gardening.

ANYWAY, the authour goes on about how wonderful local produce is and how extremely different and better it is from what you find in the grocery store. Last weekend while in Edmond I went to the Farmer's Market with my sister-in-law and bought some peaches. They were incredibly yummy, soft, sweet. Wilder practically ate two in a row. We bought some peaches from WalMart recently that didn't even seem real compared to the others. A foamy, grainy texture, really kind of fake in comparison.

How is it possible to really change the way we eat? Who has the time and money to eat local and whole food? I guess we just do the best we can. When I do have the chance to go to the farmer's market I usually am surprised how affordable they are. This week we got the new Kraft magazine in the mail. I have a love/hate relationship with this magazine. I love it because the recipes are easy and affordable but the meals always start to taste the same because there are bout 10 ingredients that are used in different combinations over and over again. Tonight's dinner consisited of canned tomatoes, stovetop, cheese, and chicken. Nothing fresh...well, we did have a little salad from lettuce that may have been in the fridge a little too long. I would have loved to go buy some fresh produce today at a market but we were out of cash really until I get payed again. The point here, it's not always easy to eat the way you want. It's not easy because I'm not organized enough! And I'm not the best at meal planning. Tongiht I also threw out a TON of leftovers from this past week. I usually think in my mind that we can't afford the healthier food I'd like to buy...but I waste so much, why not buy less higher quality food, wouldn't that amount to the same? Then the second thing that gets me is time. Stovetop is easy. I know there are quick ways to make healthy meals, I just need the right cookbook and a little more motivation!

Well this has turned out to be long. Don't really know if I've been very clear but it feels good to share! Read the book!

Next up, my review on "Bringing Up Boys" by James Dobson.

Meet Rib

Up until about a week ago Wilder never really showed too much interest in his many stuffed animals. For some reason, he has selected his green frog as his new buddy. I must admit, it's pretty cute. We've named him ribbit which has been shortened to Rib. Rib now eats with Wilder, sits on the little potty while Wilder sits on the big one, helps Wilder with chores, let's Wilder bury him in blankets then jump on him, rides toys, etc. Rarely have I seen him recently without Rib tucked under his arm. Yesterday when we were leaving Wilder was talking in the backseat and I realized he was asking for Rib. "Sorry honey, Ribs at home." It broke his little heart, luckily the crying didn't last long and he got over it quickly. I hope it doesn't get to the point that we need some extra Ribs around. I do know that Rib desperately needs a bath. Wilder got a haircut tonight - doesn't he look big!

In Gwyneth's world she is standing on her own quite a bit. I'm excited for her to walk soon. She's getting silly! She loves to throw herself around on the bed and bury her head into Wilder's stuffed animals. She has the cutest little grin (picture coming) where she wrinkles her nose and shows off her two partial front teeth. And she loves her momma.

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!