Ready set go!!!

It seems the past month has been insanely busy and it has yet to ease up.  Next week Spen has an appointment with a neurologist.  I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous.  I am!!!  But we are seeing a very good one that comes with great reviews, so I know he will be in good hands.  I had a client contact me to shoot her wedding in April...this APRIL...I was kinda taken aback on that one...and I have to take some pictures for a friend of the arcade expo that is happening this coming weekend.  Pinewood Derby is around the corner and Spencer's birthday.  Not to mention we have to plan our vacation.  I'm sooooooo excited for Key west and Disney!!!  I can't wait to see the kids reactions!!!

I'm also excited because I was asked to be one of my best  friends matron of honor in her wedding!!!  I'm super happy for her and her hubby to be.  They make the CUTEST couple.   Although, this adds a hiccup to my plans of being their wedding photographer...ha!  I plan on shooting the before (bride getting ready) and the after / reception and pics of them after the wedding.  Eric and another friend will shoot the ceremony.  I'm going to have them set up and tell them what shots to look for and shoot.  Ha!  This will be entertaining!!!  She found a dress that I LOVEEEEEE!!!  Hopefully, it doesn't look horrid on me.



Now to lose some weight and get toned!!!  I need to plan her a shower and bachelorette party as well.  FUN!!!  I LOVE throwing parties : )

We had a girls night out this Friday and we went to our local paint spot to paint pottery.  Most of us ended up not finishing our projects so we will have to go back. I had a blast.

This a pic of Amanda and I being twinkies : )

This is the plate I'm making for Spencer.  I had to trace all my pieces before painting them.

Sarah working on her piece of art.

Angela's platter/tray...can't wait to see how it turns out!!!

Lillie being adorable!

I got some paint on it...no where near being done.

Amanda's very cute plate!

Tracy's sweet switch plate.

It was a fun night and one we will have to do again "fo sure"!  

Yesterday Eric and I drove around downtown and shot different pics with a little robot for the arcade expo.  They turned out cute!!!  Here is the link and pic of the day!!!

https://www.facebook.com/louisvilleArcade

(It was FREEZING down by the river)  But made for a fun shot!!!

Ok, off to finish painting my doors and help spen with his pinewood derby car : )

Here I sit...

I have a mountain of things I should be doing...but here I sit.   There were not enough hours in the day this weekend and so many projects went unfinished.  My main goal for this week is to get the photos taken for my friend.  Tomorrow is Spencer's OT appointment which I'm extremely nervous about.  But I won't get into that until I know more.

A list of current thoughts in random form...

- My two year old son has now entered the ever lovely I refuse to eat phase of toddlerhood.  I loathe this phase.  I know he will eat when he is hungry and he will not starve, but my mommy side hates the fact he won't eat.  Every toddler goes through this to some degree...Cedric's is just driving me nuts!  I keep buying different foods hoping something will spark his interest. Nothing so far has... Shheeshhhh...

- Blue and Gold is this Thursday.  I have to go pick up a helium tank in New Albany at some point.  Funnnnnn (eyes rolling)  I know the boys will have a blast and it will be worth it in the end, but I just wish everything came together on it's own : )  This year there is a committee and it's not super hard...I'm just tired of running around town.

- Speaking of parties I have to kick into high gear and start planning Spencer's birthday party.  Or shall I say Harry Potter extravaganza.

- This Friday my crafting friends and I are going to Paint Spot and dinner.  I'm excited to paint some pottery.  I haven't decided what I should do just yet.  EXCITED!!!

- French doors...one door is completely painted and ready to be hung...the other...needs another coat of paint.  These doors have been a thorn in my side.  I'm EXTREMELY proud of myself on this project.  I did not do any short cuts.  I sanded in between coats of primer and paint and I used foam rollers and brushes...no lines : )  I can't wait until they are done and up : )

- My dining room project has taken a back seat to the doors.  Once they are done I'll finish my dining room.

- I have a very unhealthy addiction to groupon and livingsocial.   Eric laughs at me and teases me about it.  Currently, I have 4 groupons waiting to be used.  I bought a facial and chemical peel yesterday : )))))   I can't wait until I can redeem that one along with my house painting one.  I just need to get organized and set aside dates for everything.

- I'm SUPER excited!!!  Eric and I are going to go with some friends indoor rock climbing soon.  I haven't been in years.  Kinda scared what muscles will be pulled and if I still have the ability to lift my fat a@s up a wall by myself.  I saw this today and found it hysterical!!!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rachel on Pinterest

- Eric and I are making steps into becoming more active.  I can't wait to start hiking and go on  canoe trip this spring.  The boys are getting older and we can start to venture outdoors more.  We have taken Cedric hiking since he was a wee little guy and he loved it!  Spencer loves it as well.

Cedric just came up to me and said he wanted to do homework...aka color or draw in his coloring book...so off I go get him started.

Have a great day guys and sorry for a random pointless update : )

Projects Projects Projects...

I have a LONG to do list sitting in front of me for this weekend.


In no particular order this weekends events...


- Baby shower (I still need to buy a gift..oooppsss)
- Birthday Party (I yet again still need to buy a gift)
- Get in some gym time...I have fallen off the work out wagon : (
- CLEAN, CLEAN and CLEAN some more.
- Repaint my stairway.  I need to schedule a time for the painters to come in and paint my ceiling.
- Finish painting my glass french doors.  I HATEEEEEEEE painting around glass.

There is still have plastic covering the actual glass...hence my lackadaisical approach to fine lines. I primed one door and now I need to sand it and put actual paint on it. Then onto door number 2!  It's a royal pain in the a@s.  But, I know I will be happy when they are done so it's so worth the work.  Hopefully, they will be installed this weekend. Eric has to cut the space out for the hinges. EEEkkkk. Once the doors are installed all the door knobs and hinges will be bronze in the house!!!  A small victory considering this house is huge.  Minus the main entries and basement doors.  I'll figure something out.  It's driving me nuts not having all the handles match.  I know it's such a silly problem...but I have mild OCD tendencies so it's the little details that drive me insane.  I'm not worrying about the basement doors just yet because we are going to reconfigure the basement so I'll have to wait to see what we decide to do.  Eric is DETERMINED to have a hidden door/bookcase.  So who knows what it will look like down there. 

- This weekend I also have to drive around Louisville and take pictures for a friend.  Kinda hard to explain, but a friend is putting on the Louisville Retro Gaming Expo and he has given me an assignment to document two little robots hanging out at different Louisville landmarks.  I think it will be fun and it's a cute idea.


Ok...off to finish painting I go...hopefully, I will be done soon!  I can't wait for our Vacation to Key West and Disney soon!!!  I miss the sun and the beach!!!  I'm so looking forward to seeing Cedric's reaction to Mickey Mouse and to ride a roller coaster with Spen.  Yay for tax returns!!!  


Have a great weekend guys!!!

5 Hidden Costs of Being A Stay At Home Mom...

Ok...I'm guilty of a few of these...




I found this article on pinterest and had to share...

http://imom.com/mom-life/mom-management/home-5-hidden-costs-of-being-a-stay-at-home-mom/

Lots of women choose to forgo or leave a career to be at home with their children full time. We do this realizing that we're giving up potential income. But there are other, sneaky ways that staying at home can eat at the family budget. Take a look at these five areas and see if any are draining dollars from your household bottom line.

1. Target Temptation.
There are around 3 million documented reasons one might need to run into Target (or Costco, or Wal-Mart) for "just a sec."  For moms who see a lot of the inside of the house, it may be just for a change of scenery.  Even if you only buy a couple of items each time, these repeat trips to our favorite shopping destinations add up. With the little ones in tow, the temptation is multiplied by their begging for a new toy or a snack. Make a shopping list and limit repeat trips to these danger zones.

2. Fast Food Addiction.
Moms of little ones are often drawn to kid-friendly restaurants for the food and the playground equipment. Dining out can get pricey, however, if you indulge too often. Instead of meeting other moms at a fast food establishment for a play date, try meeting at the park before or after meal time, or packing a picnic from home.

3. Hobby Insanity.
It's great that you have the time for scrapbooking now, but if you buy every single tool and gadget associated with the pastime, you might as well be dipping those snapshots in 24k gold. The same can go for sewing, your tennis lessons, etc. Take an honest look at what you spend on these diversions and ask yourself if it's really worth it.

4. The Cute Kid Competition.
Lots of time with other moms and their kids can lead to a great deal of comparing and pressure to make sure your little one is just as adorable as the rest. Pretty soon, you can be spending more on your child's wardrobe (and, heaven help us—the matching hair bows) than the national debt. Resist the urge to enter into this "mompetition" and keep it real.

5. The Serial Decorator.
If being in your home all day everyday makes you obsessed with its appearance, you may spend more than you ever thought possible on home décor and related projects. Do yourself a favor: turn off HGTV and realize that no home is perfect—especially one that is teeming with adorably messy children, dogs and hamsters. Learn to love your shabby chic world and treat it like a home rather than a backdrop for a magazine photo shoot.

© 2011 iMOM. All Rights Reserved. Family First, All Pro Dad, iMOM, and Family Minute with Mark Merrill are registered trademarks.

Dyspraxia

I feel kinda numb right now.  You know that moment, when you think you know something already and you tell yourself...I can totally deal with this.  But when a doctor tells you it...it hits you totally differently than you anticipated   Almost foreign and kinda like a ton of bricks.  I don't know why that is.  I have a horrible headache and I keep crying.  I just keep thinking of my sweet little guys face and knowing he's going to have some obstacles in his life.  Today, I took my oldest son to the doctor.  My husband and I spoke with the doctor privately and then the doctor evaluated Spen.  He's pretty sure he has dyspraxia.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk/services/gu_introduction.php

 He scheduled an evaluation from an occupational therapist and a neurologist.  It just sucks.  I know there are so many worse disorders and things that could be wrong, but as a mother you never want anything to be wrong with your baby.  It just sucks.  A week or so ago it hit me Spen was having issues.  Spencer has always been clumsy.  As an infant he had PT and OT due to torticollis.  He also was legally blind in one eye.  Thankfully, we caught it early and his eyesight has improved drastically with patching and wearing glasses.  About two years ago I took Spen to the doctor because he kept falling down while playing soccer.  The doctor said it was his allergies and depth of field issues that caused it.  Spen has fell from the moment he learned to walk and even before then.  He had an MRI as a infant due to his eye issues and had been cleared from other worries.  So Spen informed me he could not jump rope in P. E..  He said he kept falling and he showed me his knees.  They were covered in bruises.  My mommy gut knew something wasn't right.  I googled some things about clumsy 8 year old and the term dyspraxia popped up.  As I read all the symptoms my jaw dropped.  My little guy had almost every single one.  Then my mind did that weird little dance of plugging in EVERYTHING that has occurred in his life and I swear it was like DUH.  This has been his problem all along.  I called my husband and he too looked up all the symptoms and did as much research as we could. We are about  100% sure this is what he has.  His doctor is too.  Now it's just getting him officially diagnosed. I have no idea what this will entail.  What tests will be run and what therapy will be set into action.  I'm just ready to get started.  I swear this whole motherhood/ being a parent thing is stressful and an emotional roller coaster.  I can honestly say I have the best partner by my side.  Screaming, crying going up the hills and coming down them...he's by my side all the way either laughing with me or wiping away my tears.  But nonetheless...he's there holding my hand.  Spencer is a special kid too.  He's smart, imaginative and is my smiling little prince.  He's the sweetest kid with the biggest heart and best smile.  He's strong and has the best attitude about this all.  He'll be just fine : )

Ok...this momma needs some rest and chocolate asap.  I think I'll go rummage through Spen's Valentine loot. 

{Star Wars Valentine Craft}

This weekend has been insane with craft overload.  I'm in charge of my sons Valentine class party and I wanted them to do something a little different this year.  A little different as in not just handing out Valentines. I found an awesome idea on a teaching forum.  Instead of passing out multiple valentines, I had the teacher let the kids come up with a nice sentence about each child in the class.  She sent them home with my son and my friend and I typed them up.  I plan on cutting them out and putting all the sentences about each child in envelopes.  The kids will draw names and be given the envelopes with the sentences then secretly  work on a giant valentine card for the name they drew.  I bought a bunch of stickers and other Valentine decorations for their Valentines. After everyone is done each child will take turns presenting their Valentine to the person they drew. It was funny reading what all the kids had written about each other.

Then.....

Then I fabricated 24 rocket packets. I didn't realize how time consuming this would be.  Everything had to be pre-cut and sorted into24 bags.  Sheeshhhhh.  I plan on having the kids make this rocket.

I took the idea and changed it up from a tutorial I found on pinterest.

Hopefully, the kids have fun and like making them.

Now onto the BIG project.  Spen had to construct a Valentine mailbox.  We searched online and tried to figure out what he wanted.  Then he decided upon R2D2!!!  So we spent most of yesterday painting and waiting for paint to dry.  But here is the finished product!!!  So adorable!!!  

 The back has an opening where valentines can be slipped through.  Tonight my husband and son are going to add music to it.  It's going to play the opening song to Star Wars.

To make this we glued a bowl (dollar tree) and an old coffee tub/canister together.  Primed and spray painted the top and bottoms.  Since it's a coffee tub, the top comes off and makes for MUCH easier painting and he can retrieve his Valentines : )

We cut out and glued foamcore together for his legs.

Here you can really see how it's set up.

Eric taped off the top so I could paint it.  Spencer spray painted it and helped me paint the blue accents.

Eric being silly painting in his pjs.  He was in charge of the metallic spray paint...I have lead fingers and would leave streaks ; )

We then printed out his little control panel on his chest and glued it on. (Thank God for Google Image)

Spen was over the moon with how it turned out.  We added little hearts and springs because it is Valentines day after all ; )

I have a busy week ahead. Parties and meetings.  We have a meeting with our sons pediatrician to discuss some issues and hopefully, find out what is up. I'm really hoping we figure out what is going on and a plan of action can come forth from the meeting.  I'll update more once I figure out what's up.  Fingers crossed we will!!!

Busy busy meeeeee...

This week has been one too many trips to all my local crafts shops trying to come up with a craft idea for Spen's class Valentine Day party.  I settled on making rockets.

...Love rockets....

Source: amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Follow the link to the free print off and tutorial.  I am doing a spin on these and using Valentine themed paper with glitter cones.  But, nonetheless adorable.

I need to contact some parents for donations...it's always at the last minute people donate.

I had a pin up photo shoot tonight.  It turned out awesome!!!   I love fun photo shoots.  I need to have the pics edited asap.

We filed our taxes and plan to go to Disney World with the returns.  Isn't that what everyone does? Heh. Spencer is excited and Cedric loves Mickey mouse...so a win win situation.

I GOT MY FRENCH DOORS!!!  They are waiting patiently for me to come prime and paint them.  So is my dining room...I have too many projects going on.  It was kinda funny.  I had the doors set up to be primed.  Then I discovered I was out of primer.  Duuuhhhhh...oh well...yet another weekend project.

Spencer's birthday is just around the corner along with pinewood derby and blue and gold.  Palm to forehead...I'm tired.  I have a lovely head cold to top it off and loads to do.

Off to edit pictures I go...have a great night guys.