1.31.2008

morning snack goofiness



1.30.2008

in the 'making' mood

the last few days i have been nudged into the making mood. maybe it's because i have done virtually all of the organizing and household projects that are possible, and i have nothing else to put my time into. or maybe it's because it's winter time, and i can't play outside. i don't know... but here is my list of things i want to make.

1. fudge. i have never made fudge before, and it just sounds good.

2. pound cake. we had some pals bring us lemon pound cake awhile back, and it also 'just sounds good.'

3. quilt. when we move, finn will be getting himself into a regular bed, so i thought it would be fun to make him a special blanket, that hopefully, he will appreciate more later on in life. although, i tried to get a few fabrics he will like now, but will also transcend the age thingy (no thomas the train fabrics here....)

4. scarf. justin requested a special one to go with his new coat.

5. zip pouches. i saw some really, super cute zippy pouches on this one website (the black apple - there is a link on the left side of this blog somewhere) and they look so easy, and would probably make fun gifts.

anyway, i am borrowing this super amazing sewing machine, and i figured i best get my rear in gear to get this stuff done, since i have to return it before we move :(

1.24.2008

justin's first haircut

tomorrow morning will be the first time justin has gotten his hair cut by the hands of an actual barber since we have been married. i have been the barber.

i don't particularly enjoy cutting his hair... we are just really, cheap, i mean, thrifty. my roommate from college, regina, bought us a hair trimmer thingy for our wedding (she was always really good at cutting hair, did mine all through college, and is now attending cosmotology school in NYC...) so we really haven't paid to have justin's hair cut for the last five and a half years.

but now there are too many factors resulting in my negativity towards the cut.
1. i am pregnant, which automatically exempts me from doing any extracurricular thing that i don't want to do.
2. our house is for sale, and haircuts are generally a very messy ordeal, and i just don't feel like cleaning up hair specks for the next three weeks.
3. justin is starting a new job next week, so he should be able to feel and appear his best.
4. i need my haircut too, so we may as well go in together.

so here is to the end of a haircutting era... at least for now.

change number one.

today is justin's last day working at his current job. he has been a 'staffing specialist' (one who finds employees for companies who need jobs filled) for two years now. it has been a good place for us, but in the past few months, we have both felt the need for change.

justin will be starting his new job at samaritian ministries international next monday (or tuesday, not sure exactly!) this wouldn't be a huge deal, except that SMI is located in peoria, illinois. and we are still located six hours west of said location. so while justin is adjusting to his new job, finn and i will be working our rear ends off in O trying to get our house sold, packed, and ready for the transition to illinois.

i am very excited for justin... sometimes a job change is just what you need, and i think it is just what justin needs. i am sad that i have no idea when our family will all live in the same building again, but i also know that we are strong, and will persevere through this season of change. i just can't wait for the change to be complete! all in God's time, i suppose.

1.22.2008

fun with playdough

about to kiss the playdough puppy that i made. finn loves puppies!


















finn upset because i am taking photos... and then being cute again




play play play... finn was really upset when we put the playdough away. he didn't really 'get' how to play with it yet, but being as it is something new to him, he just like looking at the jars and squishing the dough. he liked seeing the things i made, like the puppy (whose head and tail kept falling off...)

1.21.2008

losing it. and by 'it', i mean the phone.

i would debate that pregnancy doesn't tend to make me all emotional. nor does it make more clumsy than usual, or even more forgetful really. some might argue this, but i think i am pretty much my normal self, with the exception of being extra tired, sometimes sick, and usually achy.

but if i had a dollar for every time i lost, misplaced, or just forgot where i put my cell phone in the last two months, i would be one wealthy mama. lucky we have the internet, so i usually just IM justin at work so he can call my phone so i can locate it by the ringer. (the only time this did not work, was when the phone was outside for an entire night, in zero degree weather, sitting on the ice. it miraculously survived and was found.)

today i couldn't find my phone. the disturbing thing was that not two hours earlier, i was sitting at the breakfast table, my phone next to me, and i picked it up to check it's battery life, which it had four "nuggets" left. i put it back down, and that was the last time i remembered seeing it.
i looked everywhere. justin wasn't answering the IM and so my last attempt was to email all my family members, hoping someone would look at their email soon. and then it rang. it was on the kitchen table. underneath my purse. thanks caron. for not only helping me find my phone, but also making me feel like a complete dodo.

1.18.2008

my etsy wishlist.

these are some of my very favorite, affordable things on etsy.com. although, i am sure this list could be 100 items long, i will limit my wishes!

this birdie pendant it too fun.













there are a lot of really fun wall graphics on etsy. i really like this one, but there are about ten others that i could live with too...













i am addicted to winter hats, and this one reminded me of an elvish hat, which would be fun to wear about.














this apple fabric is great. and i have a project in mind for it!










and this apple tree fabric, this would make a sweet apron, or fun magazine bag.

1.15.2008

my yellow blanket

i am not a very sentimental person. i don't like to keep things just because someone i love gave them to me, or because they represent a memory.

i was laying underneath my yellow blanket the other day. and i thought to myself, "my grandma made this blanket for me about twenty years ago. twenty years seems like a long time to have a blanket." my grandma made one of these blankets for each of her grandchildren. zack had a brown one. lauren had a purple one. brandon had a blue one. i can remember all of these blankets that were made so long ago.

my grandma makes a lot of interesting things. she sends us handmade goods each year. and i'll be honest, most of these goods hold zero use to me. but this blanket, made so long ago, is one i will keep forever, and probably pass on to my children someday. it's not that i particularly like this blanket... yellow is not my favorite color (even though i am certain grandma thinks it is) nor does it match a single thing in my house. but it keeps me warm, and it reminds me of her, and all of the hard work she puts in to making things for her loved ones.

as much as i don't like my yellow blanket, i really do.

happy/sad


finn was bipolar yesterday.

1.14.2008

a new niece!!!

no pictures yet, but as of around noon today, finn has a new cousin, a GIRL!!

stella jane easley was 8 pounds 14 ounces, which is a new easley family record if i am not mistaken. 20 inches, and looks like caroline as a baby, only less hair (so they tell me...) congrats cam and erin!! we are so excited to meet her!!

1.13.2008

choo choo brings change


i know i have mentioned it before, but this is finn's very favorite book, a christmas gift from his cousin caroline. it's not just that it is his favorite book... if we ONLY read this book, finn would be just as happy as if we read every book he owned. and it's not like we have to read the book... afterall, it is a look and find... we just have to ask where this and that is, over and over and over. but receiving this book has really made me realize finn's potential. i never would have thought he was old enough to learn how to search for an object on a page, much less learn new objects and people, like "the porter," who is just a random guy toting along a suitcase.
finn's desire for a challenge has challenged ME to challenge HIM! i guess i have always had that block in the back of my mind, "oh, he's too little to understand, why even try..." but in reality i have been holding him back from his potential with that way of thinking. finn understands a lot, and i am excited to see the growth in him, when i am actually helping to push him forward with new opportunities.

1.11.2008

and the baby is a...


secret. sorry folks!
we had our 20 week ultrasound (technically 21 weeks, but who's counting...) yesterday, and the "may baby," so called because it is due in may, looks great. it has all fingers, toes, kidneys, heart chambers, etc. it was hard to get a good look at the face, as it liked to keep it's arms and hands covering it. the technician and doctor said the baby already weighs a whole pound even, putting it plenty far ahead of where it needs to be at this point (please no, not another ginormo baby!!).

1.08.2008

just hanging around at home.



1.05.2008

An Encounter

one of the hitchhiker crabs we pulled out:




1.04.2008

i heart cinnamon melts...


several weeks ago justin got a mcdonalds cinnamon melt. that night i felt only like ingesting sodium and grease drenched foods, so i declined a bite.
today, after noting that target no longer sells my favorite vitamin-enhanced-pomegranite-blueberry-flavored water at the check out lane, (and being very disappointed about this) i opted to pick up a chocolate shake at mcdonalds on my way home... this of course was a gamble, as the shake machine seems to only work 15% of the time i stop at mcdonalds. so i ordered my shake, after checking that the machine was working, and saw a little picture of the cinnamon melt, and thought that would go well with the shake.
it was so good. it is just about AS GOOD AS a cinnabon. and that is saying a lot, because i love cinnabons. and it was the perfect amount of food. all in all, the cinnamon melt is perfect and you should go out and try one immediately.

1.02.2008

holidays,over. back to normal. kind of.

well, the holidays have passed, again. i have spent all morning putting away christmas decorations, our fake trees, and organizing. the house is looking kind of bare. which is what january through march are like - bare, with no holidays or visitors or happenings of excitement. so i suppose it is only right that the house matches the time of year. i just can't wait for summer!

right now, finn has thomas the train on, and is spinning in circles. he has been really funny the last couple of days. talking in his little toddler talk, seriously trying to have conversations with us. dancing and trying to sing tunes. and he is addicted to this dvd called "praise baby." anytime i ask him if he wants to watch a show he goes to the movie drawer and pulls out "babies" as he refers to it, and will not stop asking until i agree to let him watch it. he got a lot of fun toys for christmas from various people. among his favorites are his buzz lightyear cell phone, farm animal fridge thingy, a keyboard, matchbox cars, a pretend welding torch, and from cousin caroline, his "choochoo" look and find book (which i am glad he likes it and all, but i am so sick of that book!). finn got lots of other goodies too, too many to mention.

after several years of having our xm radio and a handheld compaq ipaq sit in a box in a closet, justin has finally managed to get rid of both of them, in a trade. he got several large pieces of coral for his reef in exchange, which we both think he got the better end of the deal as these pieces of coral range anywhere from $50-$100+ each!! it worked well for us, as those electronics had just been sitting around forever. maybe justin will post a pic soon of his re-worked tank.

i am busy, scurrying around the house, cleaning this, organizing that... organizing is my obsession. it always seems that there is a better place for each and every item in our house... i know it drives justin crazy, but to me, a household is like a puzzle that can never be finished, there is always a new piece, or a new spot, so all of the pieces get jostled around, in a never ending cycle. i love it. OH! and my brother got us a years subscription to netflix for christmas!! what a great gift. it's great, because not only do I LOVE movies, but i also love not getting stuff for christmas, so this is something that won't just sit around! if you want to be netflix friends, our email is easleyjustin@hotmail.com. befriend me, it would be fun.

and there is your little update. time for lunch.