Every once in a while, I have to get tough

Yesterday was the epitome of motherhood. Right after I bathed the baby, he pooped on the floor before I could get his diaper on.  We ran out of milk.  We ran out of dog food.  I lost my headphones and spent most of the morning looking for them, only to find them stuffed underneath Mayer’s pillow.  I left on my morning run frustrated about how unorganized my home is.  Contention has grown wings around here, I think in part because we are staying up way too late at night.  No one is getting enough sleep, except the baby who decided to nap from 5:00pm to 7:30pm and had no plans of falling asleep for the night. 

Mr. Bubs

This type of scenario plays itself out every few weeks in our home.  Things build up.  We get lazy.  The house gets messy, until something sparks, momma-madness strikes and things get done, whether the kids like it or not.

It had to happen.  No Christian song could cure this fever.  I was in that mood, that mood all us mom’s get in when we say, “Something’s got to change.”  I needed rock.  I needed roll.  I needed PINK and thanks to youtube, I found her edited.

There’s something about Pink that toughens me up.  

When she’s in my corner, I find my inner-punk and spunk.  

I kick dysfunction to the curb. I recognize that hard work is the answer.  I feel the passion of pushing one’s self to the brink, believing in dreams and fighting for rock-hard abs. 

Ok, I’m not too sure about my abs, but seriously, watch this video and tell me this is not the toughest thing you’ve seen an artist do.

This video makes me cry every time.  I listened to her interview on Oprah about how she felt during this performance.  It's incredible.  

About a month ago, I went out on a run and had the fever that I needed to toughen up again.  I was overwhelmed.  I was losing my voice.  I was lost in tasks and mess.  I couldn’t keep up.  I had unfinished ideas I wasn’t sure I could fix.  I faced difficult goals and had life-changing dreams breathing down my neck. Was I going for it or not?  Did I believe in myself or not?  I needed to rise above the negative self-talk.  I turned on Pink and literally ran the best run of my life.  I just didn’t want to stop.  I listened to interviews about her life and how she never stops trying.  I was inspired by her love of motherhood and her spunky little daughter, Willow. 

Somedays, it’s K-love, other days, it has to be Pink! 

It was my birthday this weekend.  Thank you to everyone for all the love.

I had a goal on this day.  Did I reach it?  Did I get my manuscript published? 

No.  My editor and I had a long meeting and after some exciting suggestions on her part, I’ve decided to take one more week and get this thing right.  Her changes are so good and I will be working the next few days to get things updated. 

Today, today I turn on Pink and get to work.

Handmade Trash

My father-in-law, Leon is a darling man. His grandfathering skills are top-rate and the boys just adore him. On each of the boys first birthdays, their grandpa makes them a handmade wood rocking horse. The horse is an exact replica of a rocking horse from his own childhood.

With four boys, we now have 4 rocking horses in our home. Each is labeled with their own name. You can guarantee these beauties will be passed down to another generation.

I found this handmade wood chest at Goodwill on $1.00 day. I dropped it off at Kelly's and her daughter Emily kindly offered to carry it in. Kelly will turn this trash to treasure for sure.

The handmade touches Kelly has put in baby girl’s room remind me of cotton candy and pink lollipops. I can't believe I finally get a pink room!

From refinished furniture (click here, here and here to see what I'm talking about) to handmade décor, the nursery is sure to impress. Her and her Mr. Right have been painting all weekend. Kelly’s certain we can finish before the baby comes, but by the way these contractions keep feeling, I’m not to sure about that (wishful thinking).

Together, they primed and painted the brick wall in no time. By the way, notice the plate of cookies on the dresser. Cooking is where I make up for my lack of craftiness. I make a wicked homemade oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookie and we munched on them all day.

Reef and Mayer loved having them over.

These little boys played a day-long game of hide-n-seek in the closet.

I couldn't believe how long they stayed in there. Mayer didn't like it when I suggested he come out.

Sometimes the suspense of hide-n-seek is enough to keep it fun.

I’ve been pulling out goodies from the baby shower and wanted to showcase some of the homemade goodies.

I can’t wait to enjoy these gifts with baby Eden. Thank you to my sweet friends. I’m scheduled to be induced next Monday. It’s almost time.

Shopping Trash for Baby Girl, plus My Top EBay Sales of the Week

With 4 boys, I never thought I’d have one of these:

This Work-Out Rainbow Care Bear from Goodwill (in perfect condition, I might add) sings “Let’s get physical.”

I paid $1.99 and bought it for baby girl, but it appears my little men can’t get enough of it.

While Rainbow Care Bear sings, she moves and shakes, bends and rolls and so do the boys.

Last night I went to bed singing “Let’s get physical” over and over again in my mind. I’ve never liked that song.

Every week or so, I go onto www.craigslist.com and search under the label Pottery Barn. If you love Pottery Barn, you’d be amazed at some of the great stuff selling. For obvious reasons, I’m attracted to the little girl items. I found a listing for a Pottery Barn Crib Set that I fell in love with. I called the woman selling it asked if she’d take $25.00. Like most occasions when buying other peoples trash, she just wanted to get rid of it. So, for $25.00, the counselor went and picked it up for me. It comes with the bumper, bed skirt, sheet and quilt. This set sells new for around $200.00.

I already have rows of dresses. These are all Laura Ashely I found at Desert Industries. I paid $2.00 - $4.00 a piece. They start at size 9 months and go up to 2T.

These others are Ralph Lauren, Baby Gap, Tommy Hilfiger and Gymboree.

And friends have already started with gifts, like this beauty from my darling girlfriend Amanda.

I can't wait to gift wrap baby girl up in this sweet thing.

I haven't started decorating baby girls room yet, but a few ideas I have brewing include this pottery angel sculpture I found at a yard sale for $3.00. She needs to be cleaned up and is broken at her arm, but I'm looking for some greenery or silk flowers to glue over that. I'm no Kelly, but I can plug in a glue gun (even though I usually burn myself).

I found this gorgeous print at D.I. and a frame to fit it. I'll take the old picture out of the frame and replace it with the new print.

And this vintage toy wood baby crib I found at Goodwill on half-off day for $3.00! I want to paint it pink and antique it. This may involve a trip over to Kelly's house. She does have that professional sander, you know.

EBay sales are hot, hot, hot! Here are my top sales of the week.

This classic Ralph Lauren Size 14 Denim Full Skirt sold for $14.37.

Another Ralph Lauren Classic? This Crisp White Size 16 Ralph Lauren Career Shirt sold for $15.50.

American Eagle is always in demand. These American Eagle Size 12 Lowrise Trouser Jeans sold for $21.25.

And finally, Harley Davidson pulls out the winner. These Size 6 Long jeans sold for $25.45.

People are always looking for cute name-brand clothing. More and more people are buying used because they know they can get a bargain. I know I love a bargain too, but that's probably obvious by now!

I wanted a baby

I have a baby; a beautiful baby with dark brown eyes, an adoring smile and the sweetest personality.

So why did I want another baby when I already had a baby?

I’d just returned from New York City, had a publicist who wanted to sign with me and an agent reviewing my manuscript.

I was finally back in my low-rise jeans, feeling just a wink away from cute; something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I’d nursed an entire year. Surely, I deserved a break.

I’d had 4 babies in 8 years.

Did any of this matter?

No. I didn’t care. I wanted another baby.

Seriously, what was going on?

I went to the counselor, somewhat desperate, hoping he’d talk me out of it.

Surely he’d say, as he tripped over the huge pile of laundry in the living room, “Honey, we’re in way over our heads already. What a ridiculous idea!”

Or “How can we possibly afford another baby right now, with the economy and all the budget cuts!”

I would have agreed with this one. “We already have four boys. You know we’d have another boy.”

But, the counselor didn’t say any of this.

Instead, he took me in his arms and confirmed he felt the same way too.

He wanted another baby.

The counselor and I; so in love with the babies. Really, we just love the whole thing.

So, within a month I was pregnant. I knew it would happen like this. This is how it happened all the other times.

No time to rethink this idea.

It was a done deal.

Now I had to handle the morning sickness.

It came on stronger then ever. The counselor said, “Maybe this time it’s a girl.”

But no, I knew it was a boy. I was thrilled to be having a baby, even a 5^th boy. His name would be Canyon. I already had a few new outfits, baby blue and chocolate brown. Such a cute trend and he would be so loved, so wanted.

I literally read my way through the first 4 months of pregnancy. I layed in bed, Reef and Mayer at my side, and read book after book, novel after novel, the whole time thinking, “This is great training for when I start writing my next YA novel or children’s book.” It was worth it.

I don’t like wasting time and I try to look at the bright side—even when I’m throwing up and getting fat.

The time flew and I was up again; working around the house, cooking dinner once more and chasing my babies.

And wouldn’t you know it, at 22 weeks, during a routine ultra-sound, the word GIRL appeared on the computer screen.

GIRL!

That moment was like my A-ha moment. I said to myself, “I knew it. I knew this baby had to come and she had to be mine.”

It took weeks to sink in. I wondered if maybe the ultrasound tech had made a mistake. Not like I cared, I just wanted a baby. But a girl! A girl for the counselor and me.

I went and purchased my first little outfit, all pink and soft and designer.

I’ve collected ribbons and bows, pink booties and cherry-patterned sleepers. It’s just all so wonderful.

During this pregnancy, I’ve had friends miscarry or suffer with infertility. I worry and wonder why and it makes me sad. I pray for their loss and desire. The older I get, the more I realize what a miracle the whole thing is. Having a baby is such a miracle. Loving a baby is such a blessing.

Pink is the color for me; the color of my flushed puffy cheeks, my swollen ankles and feet and my heart bursting with love. I can’t wait to meet her.