Party Time!

This weekend we had a co-birthday party for Eli and Norah since their birthdays fall only 10 days apart from each other. We had planned to have the whole thing outside so the kids could run around and burn off energy and the adults could christen the new deck with the first party, but unfortunately incessant rain kept us all cooped up indoors. We had 20 adults and 14 children here and that is only counting immediate family members, my friends.  We are more than blessed to have such a large, loving family to dote on our children and make them feel special always, and extra special on their big days. I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from the party. Thank you Chris and Rebecca for snapping these photos while I ran around in a blur of hosting activity.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Today Eli is 3 years old. Its the weirdest thing because last night when I kissed him goodnight he was only 2, and today he woke-up a whole year older. He asked me this morning, "mom are you sad that I'm not your baby anymore? Cause' Jesus can make you happy." Am I that transparent?

I keep a baby book for each of the kids. Eli's is a scrapbook that I lovingly and painstakingly spent hours creating; cutting up dozens of cutesy papers with fancy scissors and working hard to coordinate each page with a theme. As you can probably guess, I got a little smarter when Norah came along and purchased a ready made baby book that just has fill-in-the-blank questions and "place photo here" spots. I'm really not a big fan of either option because I forgot to write down most of Eli's baby milestones in his book and Norah's skips around and has a way-too-unorganized layout for this organizationally obsessive mind.  And neither of them have a place for me to write down the Birth Day story. So, I thought I would take a few minutes on each of their birthdays this year to write down those moments that I don't want to forget, just in case in 10 years when one of them asks me "what time was I born mom?" I wont have to say something like "uh, mid morning honey."
  So please feel free to stop reading here.... heck I probably would if I weren't the star of this story.
 Just kidding, I was only the co-star.

Eli's Birth Story

I was induced at 39 weeks due to low amniotic fluid. We had to be at the hospital at 5am on April 21st , 2008 to get the induction process going. I was so nervous but more than excited to find out if we were having a girl or a boy because we were going to be surprised. If we had a girl her name was going to be Faith and our boy name was Elijah. We had a really peaceful day in our hospital room reading and napping and visiting with the occasional visitor who stopped in. Things just went really smoothly. I got my epidural early and felt nothing except for the rare pressure of a hard contraction, which was painless. My L&D nurse was actually a friend I graduated from nursing school with and she was 8 months pregnant also and just amazing to us. I was sneaking bites of Cheez-its throughout the day because I was starving and forbidden from eating anything except popsicles until after the birth. Please people, is that really necessary?John was paranoid about me breaking the rules and was getting on me that we were going to get caught, but after I shot him a look with the evil eye he backed right off and let me to enjoy my crackers.  At 4:45pm I was ready to start pushing and things went quickly from there. At 5:06pm I was holding my son in my arms. I'll never forget the moment when John looked at the baby and announced to me "Its a boy!" You just couldn't beat the sound of pride in his voice and I cherish that moment so. I'll never forget that the song When We All Get To Heaven by Carmen happened to be playing on our ipod as I was pushing, and our doctor walked in the room and said "Hey, what a great tune" as he began to hum along. I'll never forget that the first thing I begged for and promptly scarfed down not an hour after birth was a #1 combo from Wendys with a large Diet Coke, and then immediately regretted it. I'll never forget that moment at 3am in the hospital trying to figure out how to feed my baby, when the reality of exhaustion, overwhelming responsibility, and fear crashed into me like a 10 ton truck and I began to weep. The sweet night nurse sat with me for a while and reassured me that yes, these feelings were normal, and yes, I was going to be a great mom.  She was such a Godsend that woman. And the rest is history...

Dear Eli,

Happy 3rd birthday my little man! Although its so hard to choose just one, I think my favorite quality about you is your tender heart. Even at 3, you are compassionate and care so much for others and I am very proud of that in you. I know that God has something really special planned for a gentle heart like yours, and I pray that we can continue to foster and grow this within you. Your laugh is infectious and your joy brings smiles to all those who know you. More than anything, I pray that you will grow to love Jesus and live your life unashamed for Him. Our God is a big God, so keep on dreaming big. Anything is possible for your life.
Kisses,
 Mommy

Hop Hop Hop

This weekend, while John and I enjoyed a lovely adult get-away to Indianapolis for a friend's wedding, my sister and brother-in-law graciously kept our children for us. Thank you Kim and Kevin! While there, Eli apparently became fascinated by the fact that his cousin Callie, who is 4, knows how to hop on one foot. And he's been trying to hop around the house ever since we got home. His heart is definitely in it, but unfortunately those major muscle motor skills just haven't fully developed yet. We have just been laughing our heads off around here watching his attempts.

Is it possible?

Dare we get our hopes up? Could spring finally here?

 I hear birds chirping at my window every morning...

 I smell fresh cut grass as lawn mowers fire up all over the neighborhood...

 I see kids playing outside with flip-flops on and no winter coats...

 I feel dirt on my fingers as I plant (and re-plant) my vegetable seeds in their tiny pots....

And I pray that I have tucked my bulky winter boots to the far corner of the closet for the Very. Last. Time.

Mix Master

If I ever come across a genie in a bottle I already know that one of my wishes will be for a soundtrack to accompany my life. That there will always be music playing in perfect tune with the highs and lows of my day. I'd wish for that, and a personal hair and make-up stylist to be waiting for me in my bathroom every morning so I can drink coffee and catch up on the latest US Weekly current events. Ahh, it would be grand.

A few weeks ago when I was knee-deep in repainting the office, I found my collection of CD's stashed away underneath our desk. When I put the room back together, instead of replacing them there, I stuck them in my car so I could listen to all of my old favorites. And ever since, every drive I take has become a trip down memory lane. Before Ipods and MP3 players were all the rage, I used to pride myself on making a mean mixed CD. I made them for myself, for my friends, and for my sisters. Music is totally therapy for me so I have mixes made to cover every emotion and for every occasion. For example, the short list of CD titles includes...

The Feel Better Mix (aka the break-up mix)

Songs to Cry With

Ride to Work Mix

The Long Drive Home Mix

Party Mix

Morning Mix

Morning Mix Vol 2

Pure Country Lovin' Mix

Alum Creek Mix

Praise and Worship Vol 1, 2, 3, and 4 mix

Songs that Make me Happy Mix

Cool-down Mix

Date Night Mix

I love Celine Mix

God Bless America Mix

Random Mix

Love Songs 

Love Songs Vol 2

Love Songs Vol 3

Ultimate Love Songs mix

Angry Mix

Running Mix

Rachel Mix

Rachel's Awesome Pop Mix

Oldies But Goodies Mix

And the list goes on and on and on. I love how you can not hear a favorite song for 10 years and yet when you hear it again you remember every single word to perfection, even the extra
"yeah's" and "uh-huhs". And it takes you right back to the time when that song really meant something to you and you can remember all those emotions again like it was yesterday.  I cannot listen to the Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces CD without remembering how much I loved driving to high school with my sisters, blasting our music and stopping at McDonald's to get Cappuccinos and breakfast burritos on the way. Or when Aerosmith croons I don't Want To Miss A Thing I am 18 again watching Armageddon with John and he's telling me he loves me for the first time so unexpectedly. And even with those first few beats of Lose Yourself, (the one and only Eminem song that I have ever liked) I can see myself pounding the pavement, running the mile loop around the UC campus again and again while I trained for my first marathon and played this song on repeat so I wouldn't quit. I don't think I would have completed it without that song. And I still get goosebumps when I play the mix of our wedding music and I remember how it felt to stand there with my dad and see John so overcome with emotion waiting for me at the end of the isle and the beginning of our new life. Music is powerful, at least it is to me. I used to tell John when we were dating,"If you want to know what kind of mood I'm in, just pay attention to the mix I'm listening to." And I think that still holds true today. 

Happy 11 Months Norah!

I cannot believe we are only one month away from Norah's birthday.Wasn't I just praying that I would go into labor like 5 minutes ago?

As we suspected, Norah is starting to walk now and venture out on her feet. She's really been gaining confidence in the past few days and is just as pleased as punch with herself when she manages to maneuver a short distance. She spends her days cruising around the walls of the house saying "mama mama mama" and cracks herself up with every new noise she figures out how to make. She is a great sleeper, a fantastic eater, and is looking more like John every day. She cries every time I run upstairs to get something, so even though she may look nothing like me, I certainly know she loves her mama. What a joyful baby girl, we are so blessed!

A few walking tidbits...

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Have you ever read this book? It used to be one of my favorites. I have vivid memories of sitting cross-legged on the floor at our Carousel Ct. house in front of the built-in oak bookshelves reading this book over and over to myself. Now there are lots of other versions about giving a pig a pancake, a moose a muffin, ect, but, like all things original... this one is the best.

Whenever I start a home project, I usually end up thinking about this book because I find myself being the mouse, who starts with one objective (getting a cookie), which leads to another and another and another and another until that poor little boy is exhausted by this mouse. Not to imply that John is the little boy, because this mouse is perfectly happy to tackle those projects all by herself (with the exception of a little heavy lifting here and there).

My latest project started with one objective, to purchase curtains for our office. This part was easy. I found these curtains at World Market, loved them, and proudly brought them home to hang them up.

Problem: the curtains were too short by 9 inches. Easy fix, I will just return them for the longer length. Negative. These curtains only come in one size. Which leads me to project #2: To lengthen the drapes. I went in search of an exact match of the color and lucked out with a $10 tablecloth from Target that matched perfectly. On to the sewing.

In less than an hour I had drapes that I loved that were also now the right length.

Now I am finished right? Not so much. As I stepped back to admire my lovely new drapes, I couldn't help but notice how they sort of clashed with the paint color in the office. I didn't realize it until the sun was in full-force shining in through the windows, but it was definitely not a very good match. But oh how I loved these drapes. There was really only one solution: To repaint the office. Onto project #3: Paint

I loaded up the kids and headed to Home Depot to pick out some paint samples. I knew I wanted to keep within the green family, but needed something that was less blue-green and more green-green. When we got home I started holding up colors on the walls, on the curtains, and in the hallway just to make sure that everything looked well together. While standing in the hallway, I couldn't help but notice our make-shift coat rack that was overflowing with too many coats on 4 tiny hooks. And I had been wanting to tackle that project sooner or later. I quickly abandoned my painting for the moment and skipped to project #4: To make a larger coat rack for the entryway. I went in search of something in our house already that I could just add hooks to and thus save money with "freecycling". I found the perfect decorative piece hanging in the kitchen and it was just the right size that I needed. I again loaded up the kids and headed to Hobby Lobby to find some cheap hooks that were *Bonus* 50% off that day. Sold! I chose a few different kinds because I like things that look a bit eclectic. I hurried home to complete project #4, which turned out like this.

The only problem with using an existing piece of kitchen art for this project was that I now had 2 holes and a big empty space above our sliding glass door. It just looked way too bare like that. And you guessed it...on to project #5. While at Hobby Lobby I also happened to pick up a replacement decorative item that was also on clearance and just super cheap. I got out my ladder and went about hanging it up. (Not my strong suit, and there may be a few extra holes hiding behind that new picture, maybe.) Now that once bare spot looks like this.

The problem with switching up wall decor is that you're usually left with a few holes that aren't covered up anymore from that old item. Onto project # 6: Patching and repainting those spots. 

Once that tediousness was taken care of I went back to tackle project #3 and start painting. I decided on a lovely, fresh shade of green from the Martha Stewart line of paint and got to work. *side note: I would not recommend using this brand of paint, it may be low in VOCs, but it is high in extra hours of labor and took me 3 coats for even coverage.* And that Martha, is NOT "a good thing"

It took me 3 days of painting during naps to finish up this spontaneous little project but I am really happy with the way it turned out. No longer will those clashing colors keep me awake at night. Here is the new office color.

And that is what always happens when you give this mouse a cookie. And the moral of the story is:  You can take the girl out of the Johnson family but you can never take the Johnson out of the girl.