Melody, my cat

I know I blogged about when my beloved Melody vanished shortly after P2 was born, but I can't remember if I posted pics of her or not.  When I was looking through some photos here on my laptop, I ran across what I'm pretty sure are the last pics I ever took of her.  Keep in mind, she had always been an indoor cat and these photos were obviously taken outside.  The second to last time she ran away from home, I was in the back taking pics of P1 and around the corner came Simmy!  Since I had my camera handy, I couldn't resist.  I'm so thankful now that I have these last few pics of her.  I miss you, Sim Cat.

This is Groban, P1's Brat Cat.  You can tell by this pic that he's just rotten!

Just call me Martha

For as long as I can remember, I've always been into crafts and making unique, personalized gifts for people.  When I married and had my first daughter, that crafty gene grew more intense and I found myself living at Michaels and making anything I could get my hands on.

Besides my love of photography & scrapbooking, making custom invitations & holiday/greeting cards, I also make diaper cakes and more!  I have a fan page on FB!  Please become a fan of The Pampered Pea!

I've been asked here recently (shoutout, Kari!) where I get P2's bows/headbands.  Well, I make them.  The bows anyway. I buy the headbands and make the flowers seperately so you can mix & match.  The pics in my previous post show P2 wearing a purple flower and a pink flower.  I made both of them.  I haven't had a chance to get more supplies, but my next collection is going to be something special! Now with Spring approaching, there should be a plethora o' colors at my disposal!

Here are a few of my recent creations (PS, I do take orders!  They are $6 for the flower and the headband together and I ship for FREE!)

Picture Post!

Just because mommy loves her girls!

Busy weekend & Awesome news X 3!!!

The weekend started off GREAT!!!!  I came into work on Friday and found two long stem red roses on my desk!  That made my morning since I LOVE roses!  They were leftover from media kits that the Marketing Dept sent out, but still...free roses are free roses!  :)  Flowers always make me happy. 

Around 2pm that day, I got a call from my wonderful husband who informed me that
HE GOT THE PROMOTION!!!!!!!!!!!
A while back he interviewed for another position and oddly enough, we were hoping he WOULDN'T get that position (which he didn't) but it did set the ball rolling for the promotion that he DID get!!!  After 8yrs of service with this company, I know he feels a sense of recognition & praise for it. He FINALLY made it into management!!!!  Along with it, it comes with a personal use vehicle AND a 16% raise.  It's a blessing, let me tell you.  With the economy like it is and with another child in daycare, it's been pretty tight at our house.  Now I think we will have a little wiggle room.  Here's hoping anyway!  

We're all so proud of him and all that he's accomplished!  I'm going to host a little soiree for him soon!  Can't wait!! 

That was great news #1.  Now great news #2....
AMY and the Twinks (and J too) are COMING TO TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!
I've 'known' Amy online for two years now.  We were trying to conceive at the same time and had our share of disappoint month after month while waiting for our little miracles.  She helped me realize that I wasn't alone through it all and I knew I could always count on her to cheer me up and keep me positive for the next month.  It was only fitting that we found out we were pregnant exactly one month apart from each other. I was due in May '09 and she was due in June '09.  Amy, being the over-achiever that she is, had to out-baby me and get preggers with TWINS!!!   During my struggles with a complicated pregnancy, she also had some complications (requiring bedrest and hospital lockdown) and I think that brought us closer too.  Well last spring, in true Amy fashion, she had her twinkies early in April and I had P2 at the beginning of May.  It's funny that our girls are only 6 days apart.  Coming up next month, we will be able to finally meet and introduce our girls to each other!  I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!  

Yesterday we had my SIL's 30th Bday party.  I ended up making the invites and then here is my wild hair banner that I made for her the night before/day of the party!

Here are some more pics from the party!  It was a beautiful crisp February day!

The kiddos

a P & a J

P2 got to sit in a highchair for the first time at a restaurant!

The 3rd great news is that Pen is FINALLY crawling the RIGHT way now!!!  She's been army crawling for a few weeks now, but today she finally figured out how to get the legs and the arms working at the same time!!  I was fortunate to be able to catch it with my camera!  Yae Pen!!  I can't believe how quickly she is progressing.  Just one night and she's doing something she wasn't able to before.  Right now she's also showing an interest in trying to pull up on the couch.  She REALLY tries, but can't get her balance & confidence in sync!  At this rate I'll probably be publishing a post on her cruising by the end of next week.  EEK! 

Note to Myself

Why do you come up with these hair-brained ideas that only cause you stress?  You didn't commit to anyone to make S a happy birthday banner, or table decorations for her party, OR to make those cute little tissue paper puffs ala Martha Stewart (A, I'm going to blame Brea for this one!).  You only committed to making the invites, which you did already.  Nothing else.  So why, oh why do you insist on A) making stuff when you know darn well you really can't afford the extra expense, B) you don't have the extra time (ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DECIDE TO DO ALL THIS THE DAY BEFORE THE PARTY!!  HELLO McFLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and C) trying to be supermom, superSIL, superwife, supercraftstar etc.....

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

Yes, I will post the pics when I'm done, dang-it.

9 Months (and 1 day)

I know, I know.  Horrible mom....my baby turns 9mo yesterday and I don't even acknowledge it anywhere.  Better late than never, right?

So HAPPY 9 MONTHS Pen-Pen.  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  I know we all say this, but something just happens when it's your second child.  What seemed to take forever with your first child comes in an instant with the second.  I can't believe we're bearing down on her first birthday.  GASP. 1st birthday already?!  In three months?!?  HOW? WHAT?  WHY?!  Uggghhh, someone please slow down the clock.  I don't want my baby to grow up.

Well, here is a list of milestones and stats:

A week ago, she weighed 16lbs and 14oz.  The nurse at the hospital said she was 24in but I know that's not right.  I will have to take her length and get back to you!  Her hair is starting to come in and I keep waiting for it to get long enough to start flipping up like P1's did.  That will let me know if she's going to be a curly-head like her big sister!

She can:
Sit up
Roll
Army crawl/scoot
Get into the crab-crawl position and just stay there for a minute.
Pull up on low objects (she's isn't confident yet to try pulling up on the couch or other tall objects.  I'm sure that could change anyday now!)
Feed herself finger foods such as rice, peas, Mum-Mums and Rice Crispies.
Drink from a sippy cup and a regular cup (with help, of course!)
Say- Mamama, Dadadada, La-La-La-La, Bah bah bah
Give you '5' when you ask her to.
Play Wah-Wah (when you put your hand over her mouth while she's saying Ahhhhhhh)
Wave Bye Bye
Give mommy kisses!

Her faves:
Sweet Potatoes
Peas
Rice Crispies
Mum-Mums
Her Pal Violet (leapfrog puppy)
her stuffed little lamby
her mommy ;)
Groban, the cat

Her Personality:
Pen is quite the fiesty one.  She wants what she wants when she wants it!  More than likely, she wanted it five minutes ago and she will let you know it!!!  I'm not a huge believer in astrological signs, but she's a Taurus if I've ever met one.  She's strong-willed, not easily swayed, and has a little temper.  She's going to be able to hold her own with her big sister, I just know it.  P1 is going to think she can boss her baby sister around, and I have a feeling it's P2 whom I will be telling "leave your sister alone!" to.  She is VERY sweet though and very lovable.  She likes to cuddle and be close and she loves to play.  She's very quick to pick up on facial expressions and she's very animated with her own.  She's very curious and slightly cautious.  She does have fear, but I have yet to find too many things that she shows concern towards.  I hope that doesn't become a problem in the future.  She also likes to sing.  If I say "la la la", she will repeat after me and sometimes if will be actual notes and not just in a monotone!  :)

In a nutshell, she's a lot like me.  I'm in big trouble.  Right mom?!?  :)

Happy 9mo Penny!  We love you SOO much and are so blessed you joined our family.  It's only been 9 months, but I can't remember what life was like without you.  I love you, my sweet baby girl. 

Princess and the ENT

Her surgery was today, tubes in the ears. 
We got there at 6:50am and found where we were supposed to be with the help of a nice nurse who helped us yesterday.  That hospital is so large that I get so lost everytime I go there!  Anyway, so after we check in, they take Pen's vitals and have me put on her gown.  She was so happy, smiling at everyone, just being a little angel.  I snapped a few pics with my phone that I will need to put up here soon.  She looked so darn cute in her hiney hanger (that's what M calls them...P1 has a few gowns in her collection that she likes to sleep in on occasion and since the back is open, daddy calls them her 'hiney hangers' since her hiney is hanging out. LOL)

Once that's done, we're all bracelet-ed up for verification and we head to the other waiting area to be called back.  That's when she started getting fussy.  It was almost 8am and the surgery was scheduled for 7:40 so we were already a little bit behind, but no biggie.  She was just hungry and right when she was starting to have a mini-meltdown, the nurse called us back.

It was her turn.

Heart racing. Tears trying to break out.

No one wants to say goodbye to their baby, only to have them whisked away on a gurney.  Away from you.  Out of your sight.  Needless to say it was hard to send her off.  But with big kisses and hugs and making sure she had her lamby and her Paci, she was on her way to la-la land.  Sniff sniff. 

So then we waited.  Like clockword, 20 min later the doctor came out and said her surgery went beautifully.  He drained her ears which were full of fluid and yucky stuff and said that she should "hear like a dog" now!  He gave us some instructions regarding the antibiotics and eardrops we have to continue to give her and told us we could probably see her in an hour.  She was in recovery and taking a little nap now.

Again, like clockwork, 54 minutes later we were called back to the recovery room.  There was our baby girl, being cradled by a nurse and screaming her little head off.  Once she was in my arms she settled right down, but I think she just wanted food.  She started rooting around and we were instructed the day before that she wouldn't be able to eat until she got home.  That wasn't going to fly with Miss Pen Pen.  They did say she could have Pedialyte, Water or Apple Juice so we took the Pedialyte and the first 2oz were gone in no time.  She chugged it down!  Then she started hollering for more.  I looked over at the nurse's station and someone came running over to give her more.  She sucked almost all of that down, but then I think she realized "HEY, THIS ISN'T MILK"!  And she was pissed!!

After 20 minutes of her just bawling and bawling, she finally settled down.  During that time the nurse told me that she's irrated due to the anethesia and that it happens to a lot of the kids.  Since I've only been under twice in my life for surgeries, I can tell you it's because they are waking you up.  During that time you are knocked out, it's the best sleep of your life and then it's OVER.  Someone, annoying at best, is telling you to open your eyes and wake up.  Over and over again you hear that.  So I don't buy that it's the medicine.  It's the bonehead who is trying to wake you up and you get ticked!!!!!! 

Finally we're discharged and given our post-op instructions.  Breastmilk first, than real food, than formula.  Antiobiotics twice a day and eardrops 3 times a day for 4 days.  No swimming for a week.  Put a cottonball in there during her bath for a week.  Give her Tylenol for the discomfort.  Make sure you're careful about keeping the volume level down in the house. Since she can hear now, some things may startle her that never did before. 

Once we were in the car, she slept the entire way home and didn't make a peep.  She was out cold.  I brought her in and she slept for almost three hours in her carseat!  I was going to put her in the crib, but I didn't want to be that aforementioned annoying person trying to wake her up when she was enjoying her slumber!  Plus, I was sleepy so I layed down on the couch next to her and we both slept for that long! :)

When she woke up, I nursed her and then she fell back asleep.  After a little bit, I woke her back up and she was her normal, smiley, happy little self again!!!!!  SUCCESS!!!  Tonight all she did was play and eat!  She took her meds like a pro and now she's sleeping peacefully!!  Thank you all for the prayers & well-wishes!   It means more than you could ever know!!!!!! *hugs*