roly poly Penelope!

Im not exactly sure why time flies so much faster as we get older, but alas I truly feel like it was the blink of an eye ago that I was holding Penelope for the first time. I cannot believe she is FIVE MONTHS. That is one month shy of 6 months- which is half of a whole year old!

My little girl is growing so fast. She is the master of rolling over. She has been doing this for the last month or so, and without fail, every time I lay her down, she defaults to her position of choice- the belly. I can already see her starting to do these swim-like motions in place- so rapidly in fact that I swear her knees are going to catch the floor in mid stroke and she is going to be up and off on her first crawl.

Penelope is about the smiliest little thing I have ever seen! I mean to tell you, all you have to do is blink in her direction and she is one big gummy grin. Now there were a few weeks there where we had some separation anxiety, but she seems to be a happy camper as long as mommy, daddy or her big brother are around. She has quite the sense of humor already- she just laughs and laughs any time you have a silly face or some peek-a-boos for her.

Preson is also learning to really love and play with his baby sister. I will catch him sneaking her a kiss or laying on her playmat with her showing her all of his stuffed animals.
Penelope is following in her brothers footsteps in so many ways. One of them being that she is a lightweight. She has been exclusively breastfed and at our last visit to the pediatrician, she was recommended to supplement a bottle of formula to ensure she was getting enough calories. Well of course she decides to be stubborn about it and refuses any kind of formula (can you blame her? gross.). So we just try to supplement a bottle of breast milk instead. Note- she has taken many a bottle on the occasion that mama is not around...until now. She decides that she will NOT take a bottle of any kind. Its like she KNOWS. So after much prayer and fear of having a repeat of what we went through with Preson, we have decided to simply continue to exclusively breastfeed since we at least have that down. I am just increasing the frequency of her feedings. I have learned to be ok with my little ones being little.

We are waiting to present solids to her until she is sitting up like a champ (still working on those back muscles!) and very interested in food. I am very prayerful of this first feeding- which I am guessing will happen sometime within this month or next. I am giving my fears of any feeding adversions to the Lord daily. She has followed in Preson's patterns of feedings almost to the T, so of course the thought of it being a possiblility is there. Please pray for Penelope to be interested in eating- and to eat well. Please pray that she will thrive. And please pray that her mommy would give her fears to her Lord and trust him to take care of her baby.

All in all, Penelope has been a dream baby- Happy except for when she is tired or hungry. Sleeps through the night- from 730pm-8am! I love how she will just curl up and snuggle with me or lay on my shoulder and fall asleep. There is something so special about having a baby girl. She is perfect in my eyes and I cant wait to make new memories each day with her.

My Little Prince

I have a 2-year old. It is completely mind blowing how fast time flies when you look at it from certain perspective. And how in other ways I can't believe there was ever life before Preson. It really makes me question why we waited so long to have children. He is our best buddy and a total blast!

While there have been ups- some of my favorites have been teaching him his letters and numbers, watching him do his first somersault (in his words, "SUPERsault"), hearing him whisper "I yuh yoo" for the first time, going to see "Missy Mouse" at Disney World, getting his first haircut, bouncing Penelope air born in her bouncer, feeding her her bottle and giving her eskimos...
And then there have been some heartbreakers too- hearing him cry watching someone get hurt on America's Funniest Home Video's, watching him do that somersault off the sofa onto his little noggin :(, his struggle with learning to eat...

The list goes on for both of these categories. We are at a crossroads with so many areas with Preson. He is finally starting to eat. He still eats like a bird and is in the 3rd % for his weight, but by golly the child is eating and that is "WINNING!" in my book :)

We finally made the switch to Preson's big boy room. He loves tromping up and down those stairs (scares me to death!) and counting each one as we go.

We aren't rushing to get him switched over to his toddler bed quite yet, so I have peace of mind that he wont go wandering up and down in the middle of the night. Now both he and Penelope are upstairs in their rooms. (stay posted on that!)

The other night the "paci-fairy" came. Preson is not one to always have a pacifier in his mouth, but somewhere along the way, we incorporated it into his night-time routine and he has just always soothed himself to sleep with it. So I prepared him every night for about a week before his 2nd birthday. I explained to him that now that he was turning 2, he was a big boy and the paci fairy would be coming to take his paci's to heaven for all the new babies to use. We had a couple of nights where he cried for it a little bit, but he quickly got the hang of it and is doing much better. Let's just hope we don't have any relapses along the way.

And finally, last Sunday, was Preson's second birthday party. With his first birthday, we were in the process of moving and let me just tell you, the kid got the shaft on the big ONE. So, I was thinking through all the hundreds of Preson fetishes and finally narrowed it down to his most long lived love- fire engines. I am obsessed with all things handmade and insisted on killing myself with DIY-ing everything. The day before, my friend Jess called me telling me that I was not going to be making the red velvet cupcakes I had just purchased all the ingredients for. But rather that I had 30 of them waiting for pickup at Tampa's finest bakery- Wrights.

Besides being a bit overstimulated (both of us :), It was an awesome day. All his little toddler buddies and about 20 of our closest friends and family made it out. I am pretty sure my children draw a bigger crowd than their parents do! The party was a blast to put together, but the best part was when the big red fire truck pulled to our yard. Our good friend "Dustin the fireman" pulled some strings and was able to surprise the party! The day was filled with some wonderful memories.

Preson Peek, I YUH YOU!! You are my sunshine and I am so very blessed to have you as my little boy. I treasure you each and every day.

Love, Mommy

sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Well, I have officially been a vegetarian for 2 months now. Honestly it has not been hard at all! It was my goal to go vegetarian for 1 month- mainly to cleanse my body and just refocus my health. Not too long ago, our dear friend, Mama Jane came over and told my husband and myself that she wanted to give us new immune systems. Basically that would entail no meat and as few boxes in my pantry as possible. So about 2 months ago, we nixed the meat. I also want to lose about 30 lbs, so I started being strict with my calorie intake and doing hi intensity workouts. When I told my OB about it, she told me that because I was nursing, it was a no go. Since then, I have been simply aiming to be healthier while doing some walking and continuing to refrain from eating meat. I am loving all this energy I have been having! In addition, it has been significantly lower on our grocery bill, I have dropped 13 lbs., and my food choices naturally point in a healthier direction without my having to think too hard about it. I have discovered a healthier lifestyle has me being so much more effective as a wife, as a mother and with my productivity with my day. I would love to gradually eliminate dairy and gluten as well. This vegetarian pesto pizza recipe was something I whipped up the other night. It is ridiculously easy and so healthy! I think I may just keep going with this vegetarian thing.



Vegetarian Pesto Pizza

1 (12 inch) pre-baked whole wheat pizza crust
1/2 cup pesto
1 ripe tomato, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (2 ounce) can chopped black olives, drained
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced
4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, throw in all the veggies and mix in the pesto to evenly coat all the veggies. Evenly spread mixture on pizza crust. Top with feta cheese.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned.

This pretty much sums up my life on a consistent basis.

wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities

Photo by Jen Smith

I am completely enamored with my new baby girl, Penelope Wren. I know this is long overdue, but I have been thinking a lot about how quickly time flies and I dont ever want to forget my beloved memories of my labor and deliveries of any of my children. So here is Penelope's birth story...

As many know by now, my labor with Penelope was so much easier than my labor was with Preson. With him, I was in labor for 56 hours- with no drugs-at birthing center, only to end in a c section at St Pete General. It was a very humbling, growing time in my life, needless to say. A natural labor and delivery was my goal with Preson, whereas with Penelope, it was to have a VBAC. With my pregnancy with Penelope, I went to a midwife group again, but this time they encouraged me to use the epidural once the pain got to be too much. They explained that now that I know my body cant relax enough to push the baby through on its own, it would help me relax enough so that I could have my baby vaginally if that is what I wanted.

On November 12 at 3am I went into labor. My labor progressed very quickly- when I got to the hospital I was 3 cm- and by the time I was given relief for my pain, I was at 5 cm. I was definitely feeling those contractions. I was focusing on my breathing and meditation techniques to get through each contraction. Once I was given the epidural, I was able to relax. Because I was trying to have a VBAC, I was monitored the entire time. There were a couple of times her heart rate slowed down and when I changed positions, went back to where it was supposed to be. I sat at 10 cm for a very long time but had no urge to push, because she hadn't dropped down enough yet. Finally the nurse told me to give it a push just to see what would happen. As I did, she gasped and exclaimed that she could see Penelope's little head! She got so excited and ran and got my midwife to deliver my baby.

Right as she went to get my midwife, my mother arrived from out of town (just in the nick of time!). There were so many women in labor that afternoon, that my midwife was tied up with delivering another baby, so she was not able to be there. Right as I was about to give my final push, she came running into the room and tag teamed it with the other doctor who had been assisting me. My mom, my sister and of course my amazing husband was holding my hand as I gave the final push and that baby went flying out into my midwife's hands. She almost didnt catch her- Praise God she did! Turns out the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck 2 times, which is why the heart rate had continued dropping. That evening as the sun setting out side my room at Tampa General, I was able to deliver my sweet angel with no complications. She weighed in at 7lbs 4oz. and was 20" long. I felt it was an amazing labor and delivery.

I was such a control freak with the natural labor with Preson- and with Penelope, I just let go. I did whatever I was advised to do and decided to be "ok" with whatever happened. Lo and behold I had a beautiful experience.



She is so beautiful. She took us by surprise with her head full of soft light brown hair. Wren is an appropriate name as she has a cowlick that makes her hair stand up into this little faux hawk. It has been getting lighter and lighter, and when the sun hits it, has this beautiful reddish sheen to it. She has big, dark, blue-grey eyes and a little round face Her cry is a sweet cry- her mouth tightens into this little "o" shape and she furrows her brow. It is the cutest, most pitiful little cry I ever did hear! At her 2 month well visit, she weighed in at 10lb. 4 oz and was in the 90th percentile for her height! Long and lean- She is mommy's little super model! haha

One thing that I was not expecting is how much the girl sleeps! I knew she would sleep a lot in the first few weeks, but she is literally just now starting to come alive during the day. She is still sleeping great at night-only wakes up once or twice to eat and then she is out until about 9am! She is a kicker-when I stop to play with her, she just kicks and kicks and smiles and laughs. It is the funniest thing! It reminds me of how I first felt when Tommy and I started dating- except she doesn't hide it. SO sweet!



Even from the beginning when she first came home with us from the hospital- just 2 months and 2 weeks ago-she has always had this very gentle essence. I have the fondest memory of laying in bed with her in my arms, while my husband prayed over us thanking God for her. He spoke as if she was already daddy's little girl, talking about what a sweet spirit we can already sense from her. It is in these moments of reflection that I find meaning and peace.

I've really been trying to reevaluate my blog. I have been totally too busy to do it, which is a problem in the blogging world. Because if you want to have followers, you kind of have to post. I am always thinking about blogging, however, I really have just way too many interests! It's like I can't focus!

Interior Design. I went to school for it and I do something in the way of design to my house literally every day. I used to work in the interior design world and let me tell you- slaving endless hours over a design for picky, cheap, rich women only to have them pick it apart and reject it is totally not my forte. I wish I was one of those designers that could yell at their clients and tell them, "you WILL like my design!" But that simply is not me.

I have been renovating a dilapidated shack of a house that I now call "home" for the last year, but I am way too detail oriented to actually post pics of where it is now- it just isnt quite there yet. It will happen soon though!


Crafting. I- like so many I know and love- love to craft. I get very easily inspired by other blogs and quaint little shops. I could simply dream about crafts all day every day.


Makeup Artistry. I am a makeup artist. I worked for Chanel a while back and went to their makeup artistry school. I actually do makeup for weddings on the side for a little extra income every now and then. To me makeup is so much fun and I just love giving a woman an extra boost of confidence and gaining a new friend in the process.

Jesus. He changed my life to the extent that I want nothing more than to share him with the world. My heart is ministry and just ministering to other women mainly. I could sit in coffee shops all week long chatting it up with the dear women in my life- and I actually used to do just that before I had kiddos. I miss it so much. Now I can occasionally escape, while Preson is napping, to a local cafe for lunch with friends or those in need of some lovin' and encouragement. I am a blessed woman that my husband can work from home to enable me to do that.


Cooking. I love to cook. I am presently not enjoying these many extra pounds I have added from my last pregnancy. I am in the process of purging our entire house of all things bad and replacing my fridge with only whole foods. As I cook these new vegetarian recipes, I am so tempted to take photographs of the process. All the wholesome whole grains and vegetables- paired with a beat up rustic cutting board and a nice sharp knife- there is something that is just so beautiful about cooking healthy! This is a cookbook a friend recently lent me that I am so excited about!


Preson n Penelope. My children have become my everything- I eat, drink, breathe my children. Not really, but you get the point- they are my life. I think about things to write about them all day- I dont ever want to forget a single thing as they grow up.
I feel like a blog is a journal, yet it is a diary to share with friends, family and cyber-friends (I have a lot of those)



I have thought a lot about it and dont really know which way to go with my blog. Do I do a little bit of everything? Throw out my design how to's, makeup artist tips or attempts at crafts? Cooking new recipes, my adventures in being a mom or life lessons learned in ministry? You see what I mean- I have way too many interests. So tomorrow I suppose I will write about whatever strikes my fancy. In the meantime, I think I am feeling a bit crafty tonight...

resolution, shmesolution

Is it me or is it the kiss of death to a new year's resolution to post in a blog your goals for the new year? I realized this year that a new year's resolution is just something no one really talks about in conversation the older you get. I can understand, because as one gets older, it can tend to be quite a personal topic for some. I know that I always have it in the back of my head that as I am sharing a goal for the new year with someone, I cant help but think that the person with whom I am speaking is going to remember every bit of what I said and hold onto and then will be laughing at me behind my back when I fall on my face. I know this is an absolutely absurd way to think- as if that person really cares that much right?? How narcissistic of me.

I don't ever look at a new year's resolution as something that will be actually followed through to the end of the year- sad I know. As much as I would love to be the pioneer woman of blogging, mothering, wife-ing (is that a word?), knitting, exercising, dieting and housekeeping ( I could keep going with this list), I simply know that if I attempt to master all or any of these things at once, I will fall on my face and just be too discouraged to pick myself back up to even try again- at least until the next year. The fact is, I have so many things I want to do better. I want to be improving myself throughout my life and becoming better.

Nonetheless, I do think the beginning of each new year is a great time to refocus and reevaluate one's life and just make some attempts to get back on track or try a new "something".

This year I am going to try to do it a little differently. I am not going to be simply making new goals for the whole year, but rather plan to make a couple of small, achievable goals each new month. At the beginning of each month, I will then sit down and evaluate, modify and refocus my resolutions. I will be posting a couple of things on my pantry chalkboard door each month, so I am seeing it every day. That way I am forcing myself to be faced with my goals on a daily basis. I know myself and one thing is for sure: out of sight, out of mind. I may fail miserably, but maybe that will be my first goal for January- to follow through for ONE measly month. I will keep you posted...

So here is to 2011- to a better and more balanced body (exercise and diet), mind (me time/ balance in general) and spirit (God)...and following through.