Need help coming up with a gift!!!!

Okay so my best friend from beauty school is getting married and her shower is this weekend. I am trying to get her a nice gift on a tight budget and am coming up with nothing. Since she has been working since we got out of school she has everything she needs really. i mean she owns her own home while her fiance is finishing building their new house. She has a registry and everything there are the last bit of kitchen stuff single people don't usually have. I mean if you think of it she has it.

SO---- the one thing on there I thought I might be able to work with are a set of 10 glasses. They are these pictured below---

The only thing is it is boring. I thought I would fill them with something and then give them as a big set. I thought hey I could put them together and it could be really cute... but WHAT DO I PUT IN THEM???? 

So Any ideas are welcome? Bring them on I am in desperate need!

Finding our roots!!!

Today the girls and I decided to go back to our heritage and learn to make tortillas. I have been dying to learn for a while. My parents were great and got me a tortilla press and warming holder for my birthday. So today we put them to good use. I never realized how EASY tortillas are to make. So Easy that i didn't make any... the girls made them ALL!!!! Here are my proud little chefs in training!

P.S. I just want to say My dad is the best!

He loves his granddaughters, even if it means coloring on the floor!

A night full of Marvelous divine gifts

Last night I desided to get out of the house and sneak over to visit my lovely and wonderful friend. As much as I do love spending time with her I was also going over to see and meet the Irish. I loved every minute of it. We had a marvelous time and I learned so much about not only my friend and her family but about Ireland. Just getting to know more people that call the beautiful green rolling hills home makes me want to visit even more.

It seems the whole world is either traveling or having babies. And many are doing both. It seems that I have hit that age and stage in life where I also want to do both. (however not at the same time for sure). The other day I sent off a baby gift for a friend and thought hey I better get a couple more gifts together for my rest of the bunch due. And then I counted them 22. Yes 22 close friends and family are having babies in the next 6 months. I think personally that is crazy. And if you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever have another kid I would have said not me but I might one day adopt.

However not only did I spend last night with great Irish women but a sweet baby too. And my heart melted. After watching and listening to her for almost three hours, I swept in and held that beautiful bundle. And my heart melted oh how I miss little people. My girls are so grown up. They are no longer babies or even toddlers. They are preschoolers that seem to be going through puberty with all the hormones and drama they seem to be dealing with these days.

I miss the sweet little bundles that cry because they never want you to let them go, not because you gave them their sisters cut and "HOW DARE" you mess up like that.... their life is over!!!! I have my work cut out for me in like 6 years when they hit middle school... Pray for me!!!

Thanks Denise for sharing your family with me last night they are simply "divine"!!!! And thanks Ashley for the beautiful baby that for a whole night made me forget how much I hate being pregnant enough to think maybe just maybe "one day!"

New Moon

Anyone else excited????

Just need to find one thing...

You ever think that to yourself when you do into that crap drawer you keep with papers that need to be filed that you just haven't gotten to yet! That was me today trying to find Brian's passport. Then I realized that my one crap spot has been taken over and now there are like four. So today I am cleaning out all the places I shove stuff thinking, When the girls go down I will put that away! It might take a day or even a week but I WILL get it done. Oh the joys of moving... you feel like you are packing for months!

just a note about the signature

And something I didn't know until I did it myself is that the signature only comes to new posts! It will appear in your new post box like the one I am typing in everytime and you just have to hit enter and type above it. At first I was a little disappointed this is how it worked but then I got used to it and figure I love the way it looks on the blog so I can deal with a little enter now and then!

Signature!

The signiture isn't as hard as I thought it would be. You have to have photoshop or something like it! 

1. Open up a new page and make sure that the background is translucent. I down loaded my heart from shabby princess and then just shrunk it to the size i liked. 
2. Then you put in your text and save it as a .png file. This will keep it translucent when you post it.
3.  Next you need to up load it to a server, i use photobucket but you can use google or other places as well. 
4. Once you have uploaded it you will want to go and resize it so it fits into your post how you like.
   
5. Last go and copy the embed code and put it in the following place.... Go to your account and look under settings. Next go to formatting and at the very bottom there is a box. Paste the code in there. 
6. You are one step away! there will now appear a box around your signature so you have to go into the code to remove this.  Go into the edit HTML section and go down almost the whole way until you see this....

.post img { padding:4px; border:1px solid $bordercolor; }

Then you want to change it so the border is O. Or just cut and paste the following over if you are like me and lazy!

.post img { padding:4px; border:0px solid $bordercolor; }

AND IT IS DONE! 

a lifetime ago!

Today when I sat down for my morning check up on life, friends, and family I found a note from a long lost friend. As I read the sweet words spoken of the mission they left just seven years ago I felt old, different, and some what lost. Some days when I wake up to the quiet of the morning and only my thoughts to interrupt I feel alive, young. On this particular morning I am amazed at how just a few short years has changed my life. I am constantly in ah of my lack of understanding in my future. I once merely nine years ago while sitting at a desk on the second floor of an old warn bank, could have described my life perfectly down to the brick steps that would lead to my front door. But today as I sit in the hall of my parents home awaiting the seventh of October when I once again have a place to call mine, seem confused at the change just a discussion or two, mine or others, make. 

What would life be like if my path had not turned just slightly and taken a mere pause. And then I hear the pitter patter of little feet and high pitched voices much to cheerful for the hour and sigh. Only the Lord knows what is best for me and the path I am suppose to take. He guided me however difficult I made it to this point in my life so that I would know he is with me. This path isn't always easy. You have heard me speak of how difficult a struggle I find motherhood at times. And marriage only takes more work and patience than that. But on this half smoggy half sunny morning it all seems so clear and my life seems just right. 

As I watch those around me younger and just as naive as I once was think that they choose their path in life, I chuckle. Our path is all laid out, it is simple, and clear. Only we complicate the life someone who knows more has set out for us. I am thankful that my life wasn't left in my hands and I was able to hear the sweet quiet words of the one who knows more. Life isn't easy, it is hard and at times makes you feel very incapable. But it is these moments of clarity that remind me that I am not alone and don't have to try to do anything all by myself!

Crazy what life brings!

The things I learned today

I am really proud of my ever growing blog talent... jk! Tonight I figured how to change the font by editing the code a little. it took a little trial and error but I now can do it without having to change ten different lines before I get it right! Yeah for me! And I think my blog face lift is complete! P.S. If any one has questions on what to do to change part of their blog don't hesitate to ask! 

Something to think about!

I got an email with the following attachment and thought it was worth mentioning so I put it hear because I hate forwarding emails! If you want to hear what I have to say then you are probably reading this already... 'nogh said!

After reading these 9 crucial tips, forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do :

The elbow is the strongest pointon your body. If you are close enough to use it, do! 

2.. Learned this from a tourist guide. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you.... Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse.

RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy.. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will.  This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their chequebook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR ,

LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.. 

If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, Repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it . As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage:

A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat

B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side... If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out.

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!)

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; and even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably in a zig -zag pattern!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked 'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted  his next victim..

9. Another Safety Point:

Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird.. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door..' The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby.. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night.

10. Water scam!

If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all your taps outside running or what you think is a burst pipe, DO NOT GO OUT TO INVESTIGATE! These people turn on all your outside taps full ball so that you will go out to investigate and then attack.

 

Finishing touches!!

I have been working on our bedroom for what seems like forever and am now done to the last few finishing touches. Today I ventured into the world of sewing and made some extras for our bedroom. We are trying to tie all the parts together and make it our own. So here in our bed now that I have figured out how to make pillows!

Hey I think I actually love my blog now. not that I didn't like it but there is some satisfaction that comes from designing your own layout down to the teeny tiny details! Now I have to get working on goal number two for the day.... get dressed!

One of my new years resolutions was to learn how to design my own blog. I have be struggling for about 48 hours but I think I am finally figuring it out. I still can't design a background and apply it to the whole page for some reason it cuts off the edges but I will worry about that later. For now I am trying to get a signature for the posts. So this is my trial post!

It's just a phase, it's just a phase, it's just a phase!

I think when people talk of terrible two's they are just trying to sum up just one of the many "phases" kids go through. We have hit a new one and like most it is getting at me and making me feel CRAZY. I love Layla and at times think that no little kid could be so sweet. Everyone that watches her loves her because she is a little mom. She is quiet and shy just like me but really cares about others. 

Now this wonderful child has a dark side just like all kids. A side that reminds me why they teach us to have patience and find the moments in life that make this job the greatest job in the world. Every age has come with a phase and four almost five is a crazy one.

Layla feels like, no feels isn't right, Layla has somehow become the boss. I am tired, I am stressed, and all I want is happy children. So when the girls cry because I gave the wrong color cup to them I switch. When I forgot to let them go first then I let each of them take a turn being first even if it takes us ten minutes to walk through a doorway because it keeps the fighting at bay. Somehow in all my attempts to make things run smooth I have given Layla the false impression that she is in charge. So we are attempting to correct this mistake. Attempting in the key word because it is going to take time a patience that i am not sure I have. But it must be done just like the mountain of laundry so like every mother I buckle down for the day and do what i have to do and hope to find at least one sweet moment in the mix of yelling, crying, running, and snottiness. 

After a couple days of attempting to teach Layla that when she takes a nap she does not get to watch a movie and take "a rest" today was a magical day. She napped. Not only did she nap but she woke up happy. Now I am still anticipating the fight at night where just as you are shutting the door she comes up with something i forgot to do. It doesn't matter that it takes an hour and half to get the kids in bed because there is always something i have done to make bedtime fun in the last four years that she will remember and make me feel bad I forgot to do tonight. But like Dorothy who had the power in herself to make it where she really wanted to be i have the power to make this behavior of telling mom what to do pass if I just remember and tell myself it is just a phase. I have gotten to almost five and we are both still live and managed to learn to love each other more than I thought possible so like most things, this too shall pass!