Grab My Button!!!

I spent a little bit of time on Google and a little more time reading up until I figured out how to make my own button! Awesome! I'm super excited and while it's not as "fancy" as I'd like it to be, it's a great starter button. It took me five or six, maybe seven tries, but I finally got it sized appropriately (175x175 pixels worked for my sidebar!) and I really love the handy-dandy "heart" shape tool on paint. I made this using PAINT. {You know, Paint. The program that comes on your computer. Can you say Old School?}

I used THIS tutorial. It was really helpful!! I couldn't find the original button tutorial I saw months ago but this one worked swell! :)

If you're a "fan" of BlueEyedGirlphotography and/or the unexpected world of mommyhood, then go ahead and grab my button to display with pride on your blog!



<a border="0" href="http://theunexpectedworldofmommyhood.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l604/theunexpectedworldofmommyhood/BlueEyedGirlandMommyhood.png" /></a>

Thanks for sharing and reading!!

Button Tutorials?

Can anyone direct me to a good Button Making Tutorial? I want to make a button for my webpage... but I'm having trouble finding out how to do it ~ I know it's something I can do. I remember seeing a tutorial somwhere before but I can't remember where. Yeah...

So yeah...... can you direct me that way, please? Thanks!!! :)

{totally keeping this signature! i love it!!}

Dear Snowdrop

{wow did this end up to be lengthy!!!}

Dear Snowdrop,

My dear sweet Snowdrop, you are a whole one year old now! You have grown so much since we brought you home one year ago yesterday (? haha, i can't remember!!!!). Right now you are toddling around the house and have finally figured out how to get down that one step into the main area. You are free to roam about these days; we took down the gates that weren't keeping you out anyways of the bathroom/basement door hallway and I don't have to chase you so much anymore. We keep the shoes on the staircase now. Not ideal, but there will be more room up on the landing as soon as we take down the Christmas tree.

We had a fun time on your birthday even though we were all sick. I will also be bummed that your birthday got so screwed this year. Being that you were born five days after Christmas, I was determined (seriously bound and determined) that your birthday would not be neglected because of Christmas and that'd we'd make a certain amazing effort every year to make it awesome!! This was the first year and my plans just did not work out because we got sick. I thought I'd spend the days between Christmas and your birthday shopping the sales for amazing birthday gifts and I'd have time to make an amazing birthday cake that you'd remember for always. I had already planned to leave up our Christmas decorations every year so you have a pretty place to celebrate in. So anyways, I know I was sick and that's a good excuse, but I totally feel like I dropped the ball on your birthday and next year I VOW to have your birthday shopped for and totally ready by Christmas. I do not want a repeat of this year, ever. I promise your birthdays from now on will be special even though you will always be a close-to-Christmas baby.

You & your sisters managed enough appetite to eat Mac & Cheese for lunch, and have Chicken for dinner! You even ate a piece of cake. Mommy wasn't going to make a cake but then I decided I couldn't live with myself if my baby didn't have a cake on her very first birthday (we only get one of 'em!). So, I went out and bought mix {shhh, don't tell a soul ~ it's so embarrasing, I worked at a bakery for 7 years!}, and then I made a cake. {I even used storebought icing ... the horror!!! ;)} I used old chocolate melts to make a plaque for the top of the cake & didn't bat an eye because we weren't gonna eat that part. (And cause it was just us; if anyone else was here I wouldn't have.) We just wrote Happy 1st Birthday Snowdrop on it, and I did some snowflakes around it. It was cute for a last minute cake! Pretty basic; I cooked it in my new blue baking dish (Crate&barrel, I'm a sucker for their sales and outlet... but it must be sold out because I couldn't find a link to share. Sorry!) & that helped make it look nicer. It tasted good!

If only we hadn't been sick, my dear little one, I would have made you a fantastical cake of imaginary proportions with sparkling glitter and snowpeople and snowflakes and all the goods of Winter. But we had the flu girl and it took ALL my energy just to make you the cake that I did. And you loved it. Amen.

I also felt bad because we bought you an Anywhere Chair for your birthday. A red one. Well, I got the Chair part at the PBK store in town ~ hello, 20% off coupon. And then I ordered the slipcover from PBK online so I could get it monogrammed like the ones your sisters have. And the slipcover came in time for your birthday!! I was so excited!! You really love your sisters' chairs so I knew you'd love having your own. So the slipcover comes and the first letter of your name is like an INCH from the rest of it. Daddy said it wasn't that noticeable, but what does he really know anyways about design? It would have bothered me until the end of time, so I had to call PBK and have another sent. It should be here by Jan 5th (two days!). I really hope it's perfect!!! You deserve the best!!! {We did set up the "bad" slipcover the night before your birthday so we could take pictures and you could "see" your present. You really did love it!! That's why I have pictures of you in your chair. Teehee. Well, UPS was scheduled for a pickup and I know my guy happens to come between 4 and 5. So... we had time in the morning to take pictures and get it wrapped back up for re-shipping. And really, if I had been the one monogramming that thing I totally would have not let it go out like that. Really!! I will say this though that the PBK company has been really awesome and helpful every time I've needed a replacement, which I will also say has been like 1/3 of the things I get. Just saying. And at least they replace it, hassle free!}

Aaaaanyways. You got that chair, a book, and a Sesame Street Pop-Up toy from us. And a little red piano from Gram & Papa. Gigi & Papa are still waiting to give you their presents because, as mentioned, we've all been sick. I wonder what they got you and I hope that Gigi spelled your name right if they got a Puzzle Bench for you. Gigi always spells your name incorrectly. It bothers me but I never quite now how to be like "Hey B*tch, you're spelling her name wrong." {hahahaha, just threw that out there to see if you're listening. I would never really address my MIL as a B*tch as I love her to pieces and she is amazing!}

You love our cat and follow her all around when she comes to play. You say "ta", which means "cat", and you are very excited when she comes around. The cat loves you too, and tolerates lots of bothering from you. (We are very lucky our cat is so great with you kids!) You love Elmo and Baby Einstein, although Mommy tries not to put it on too often. You love to dance to music and you really love banging on the little red piano that Gram & Papa got you for your birthday. Sometimes you stand and shake your arms about wildly; that's you dancing. You also sometimes shake your head about, from which you get great laughs. I can tell it's funny to you. You love books and like to open & close them. Your sisters are also very patient with you as they let you tag along almost all day long. You love to do what they are doing and play along with them. Sometimes I'll watch you and then you'll look at me like "What? We're all playing together! I'm one of the group!" You are so cute!!

You love to crawl up the stairs. And man are you FAST! (I wish I had some word art and could add a cloud of dust to the "Fast" part of it. Cause seriously you are very fast!)

Shoes. Girl, do you LOVE shoes!! I think you call them "Das". Das das das. Before we took the gates down, we'd always find you in the shoe basket just picking out shoes and figuring out which one tastes the most delicious. You usually prefer the dirtiest of our shoes. Shoes. If any of my daughters becomes the next Imelda, it'll be you. Mark my words! :)

You also think crayons are delicious. I used to tear them out of your mouth. Now I just let you suck on them, they are non toxic anyways and I trust the Crayola company to not poison my kid. I keep my eye on you to make sure you aren't biting off little pieces, but so far your poop is still brown so I'm sure you haven't snuck anything into your tummy. The other day, you had a purple crayon and tried to draw on the coloring book ~ I think. Seriously, I'm pretty sure you were really trying to color, and I thought that for the first time you really understood what a crayon is supposed to do. You'll get it in time, and I'm sure you will love to color as much as your sisters. While they aren't fantastic about sharing with each other, they do let you handle the crayons they aren't using without giving you trouble for it.

Your big sisters, they love you SOOOOO much! I will often see them bending over to cuddle you or kiss you on your head. They always want to help and will 80% of the time help me out if I say it's something for you. They haven't tried dressing you up, but that's not far off. They always remember you when we're doing something, and on your birthday Junie found a toy and gave it to you saying "Happy Birthday". It was so cute, the way she thought to give you something because it was your birthday. Your sisters always want to play up in your room, which has become a little playroom for us. You all like to play up there by the low window. Sometimes the three of you stand there watching the trees and the birds. I haven't managed to catch a picture yet, but I will. If we are sitting on the couch, they sometimes pet your head and touch your hair. I jest that they are taken by your golden tresses ~ golden, they are, not red. Perhaps a bit of red will come out as your hair grows and you get older but right now it's pretty blonde! And you have so much of it! At least so much more than your sisters ever had when they were babies. And ThanktheLORD, you got my hairline and not Daddy's. I have a high forehead myself but my hairline is much more feminine. {Shhhh don't tell your sisters, poor things. It's much better now than when they were babies but ooh, they looked like Friar Tuck.}

You know that hats belong on your head. But you haven't really figured out how to get the hat to stay.

Tonight you had some mixed vegetables for dinner and I remarked to Daddy how much you LOVE to eat peas. You love peas. I think you call them "Gee", but I'm not sure. Maybe you were saying "Green?" You also like to eat: bananas, yogurt, applesauce (most of the time, you are so-so about it), macaroni & cheese (you had this for the 1st time on your birthday and you LOVED it!), chicken (also for the 1st time on your birthday), mixed vegetables (peas, green beans, corn, lima beans, carrots, etc), CHEESE (you. LOVE. cheese. i mean, who doesn't but you really do), cheese ravioli, pasta of all sorts, artichokes, avocado... Reading that list, it doesn't seem like we feed you a variety of food. We do, I assure you dear readers, but... I can't think of anything at the moment, Haha!

You ate a piece of Floor Hot Dog (you've also eaten Floor Nuts, Floor Fruit, Floor Leftovers of various kinds).... you liked it. That was your first meat. Unintentional of course, and thankfully this happened in the last month or so. It was organic. And turkey. So not the delicous Vienna hot dogs of my youth but still. A hot dog.

My sweet Snowdrop, you really hate it when your sisters take something away from you and you let them know it! You are a determined little girl and have figured out how to climb up on the couches by using your Anywhere Chair. You are a smart cookie. You are also stubborn. We've been trying to switch you from bottle to sippy cup {I love these cups, they are totally worth the price if you use a coupon or find them at a discount store like Marshalls. We also have the bigger ones for Big Kids that have straws.} and it hasn't been easy! We've only been at it a few days but you have only waivered once (this afternoon) and tried to use it. You only get your bottle when you wake up and right before bedtime so.... you should get used to the sippy cup now so you can have mo-mo during the day and because sooner than later we're getting rid of the bottles all together! I know you'll drink eventually, but it's hard to listen to you scream ~ you are a screamer, it makes my ears hurt. Really!!

You respond to your other nicknames as well; Minnie & Zizi. And your real name, too. But mainly your nicknames. And I'm okay with that. I've been researching your family geneology and as it turns out, there are Minnie's on all the sides of the family. I like that we just started calling you that and it's actually a family name! Neat!

You go down for bed very easily; we are lucky. You always love to put your head on my shoulder and I'll rock back & forth for a couple minutes while you settle down and then I'll put you in your crib. You almost always grab Mr. Froggy Oggy and lie down right on top of him; half of the time you just fold your body down, ears to your knees. I usually pull your legs out, it just doesn't seem comfortable to me. You like me to play Pink Giraffy, your music giraffe. She plays Brahm's Lullaby; we had two (we had two because we thought we lost her, and then I found another one at Marshalls, so I bought it. It was Providence intervenings. Then I found the original one like two days later. Haha!!) but the other one came apart {The toy company, Prestige, has been very helpful in returning the broken toy and will be sending a new toy soon!} You have many other Lovies in your bed already: a Mickey Mouse, a Teddy Bear, a different frog, a dolly, a Glowie (with no light), a kitty cat from Daddy... and I think a couple others. I've never seen you cuddled up with them, but I know you play with them after you wake up in the mornings and after naptime. We often find them scattered on the ground around your bed. You enjoy throwing them out and watching them fall. Your sisters have lots of Lovies, too. We love our Lovies!

You've been nibbling on the one side of your crib. Your sisters did this too, and I know there is nothing I can do to stop it. Save, of course, from buying stuff to stick on there.... etc.... I just... I dunno.... so you nibble the crib, whatev. It's probably not going to kill you and I can't worry about everything so I don't worry about this. Anyways, so you nibble on your crib but you still only have two teeth! They're your bottom front ones; and there's just the two of them. You don't seem to be getting any more of them. I think I feel some in there but nothing is like trying to get out. Hopefully you will have more teeth soon. I guess that's probably why we haven't given you many more foods because I frankly am worried you will not be able to eat them without teeth. It makes sense, to me. :) Mommy didn't have teeth until she was a year old and Mommy still hasn't had any cavities {knockonwood} at her age {28!} so we hope you got Mommy's teeth genes. Good Teeth Genes are really awesome to have!!!

I put bows in your hair for a few reasons but mainly because you really look cute in them. And you have enough hair that I can clip those little ones in. And I want to train you not to take them out. At age 3, your sisters are FINALLY letting me put bows in their hair ~ some of the time. And I want you to like bows in your hair. I didn't think I'd want to girly up my daughters because I am not a girly kind of girl ~ but all this girly stuff has rubbed off on me a bit and when I was in Naples with my mom & sisters, I spent $60 {$60!!!!} on hairbows at this Inexpensive Jewelery Store. I cleaned up as far as getting an awesome deal on hairbows {I bought like 35 of them in all sorts of colors; I created a collection for us!}. So I bought all these hairbows and your sisters DO like to wear them sometimes and I DO like the way you all look in bows. So bows it is. Girly girls.

*sigh* Speaking of bedtime, it is that time again. I've spent the better part of an hour reflecting on you and there's so much more I could share!!

For another day, perhaps?

I love you, little Snowdrop! You'll always be my little bunnie.

Love, Mommy

I Heart Faces ~ Best Face of 2010

I took a LOT of pictures last year! And even though my camera is quick to fall out of focus, I managed to get some good shots mid-laughter and some cute looks on the faces of these little ones. I love the picture that I'm submitting for my Best Face of 2010 to I Heart Faces. It reminds me of Aunt Pitty-Pat {just before she faints} in Gone With the Wind, when Scarlett agrees to dance with Mr. Rhett Butler at the charity ball.

Share your Best Face of 2010 picture with the rest of us over at I Heart Faces!

EDITED for a PostScript -> This is a SOOC camera shot and I'm proud of it! :)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

2011 marks an important year for me. It's the Year of Bettering Myself. Well, actually it's the year of a LOT of things for me. But I think the main theme is to better myself.

And I mean that in so many different ways! I want to explore my hobbies and interests and maybe find new ones! I want to get better at the things I already do. I want to kick my PPD hard in the ass and say goodbye. My anxiety will likely never be resolved but I'll just worry about that another day (pun, ha ha ha?). While becoming a mother has gifted me so many wonderful things, I've also felt like I've lost so much of myself. Like when I became a Mom, the person I used to be exploded into a million billion tiny pieces... and I didn't know where to begin to find them and pick them up and put them back where they belong. When I blog, or write, or take pictures, or bake & cook, get out of the house ~ I feel like I find these little pieces of myself. When I am able to take my guitar out of the case and play, I can hear that girl singing (the one who made her friends hide behind a couch while she played because she couldn't bear for anyone to watch her while she did it, LOL... I love my old friends). I haven't painted in years, but I know if I picked up a paintbrush I'd be lost for hours. Hours upon hours.

Other things I'm doing in 2011 to "better myself"? Here are my "resolutions":

BABY CLOTHES. I'm not sure how much I've talked about Baby Clothes online but I know all my friends are aware that we have LOADS and LOADS and LOADS (and more loads) of baby clothes. Loads. Seriously. I'll be dedicating a few posts (and plenty of pictures) next year to the Baby Clothes Catastrophe and what I'm doing to fix it. Sometimes I feel like I am going to be eaten alive by baby clothes. Therefore, my main resolution for 2011 is:

NO BUYING BABY CLOTHES IN 2011. NONE.

Unless someone grows 10 inches or we need new socks (which we generally do need by the time June rolls around). We have a good amount of 3T clothing and enough 4T to get us through next December (that is unless someone grows, which they won't). My 3 year olds are still fitting into some 18 and 24 month clothing, I'm just not super concerned that they're gonna have some crazy growth spurt. :) This is mainly clutter/sanity related but also financially related. I can't bear to throw away much of the girls' old clothing. Part of me would like to make quilts out of them. I don't know if my sewing skills are up to that. Maybe by the end of 2011, I will have become a better seamstress? Anyways, so no more buying baby clothes. I'm saving the few (hahahaha. few, who am I kidding!) bucks and put that money into something else? I really want to paint our main room and the trim on our windows & door. By not spending money on baby clothes (that we probably don't need) I can more easily influence my husband to spend money fixing up the house! I will mention that I AM a little bummed I didn't get out of the house after Christmas (because of the flu) to go last-time shopping for basic stuff at super sales. Oooo well, 2011 started early for baby clothes & me! :)

BLOG. I want to blog. Every week. Haha. No, I want to blog every day. I won't do it every day but I want to do it more than weekly. I had so much fun this year when I participated in Photo Challenges. I really had no idea I enjoyed photography so much ~ I kind of think I need to boost of ideas and support from the whole blog community. I like you guys, you're nice. Anyways, so I want to blog more, get better at blogging, etc. I want to make a watermark (which I've been trying to do for a while) and make a button for myself and figure out my signature (and remember to use it at the end of my posts, lol - of course I started using one and then totally forgot I was gonna do that!) Anyways, I want to keep up on this blog because I do a good job at keeping up on reading other people's blogs that I figure at the very least I really do need to keep up on my own, too. It's only fair. :) And more fun, too. :)

PHOTOSHOP. Photoshop. I want to become good friends with you in 2011. I do. We just haven't had a lot of time to spend together and I know that becoming your good friend will require time alone with you. And I'm okay with that. Maybe I'll do a class this new year and learn a bunch of new stuff!

COUPONS. I actually do a pretty good job at clipping coupons. I really started it in 2010 and enjoyed saving money. I want to do more coupon clipping in 2011 and save more money! Bring it, Sunday Papers!!! :)

GENEOLOGY. I started a few days ago (and was astounded by all the information I happened to find on one line of the family) researching my husband's side of the family. I'm adopted so I never had this information about my own family history. I do count the adoptive family ancestors as MY family ~ but I think it IS important also to know "blood" wise where you "came from". I'm sure people understand what I'm saying. I'm really excited that I'll be able to give my daughters this information and I hope they will want it. Geneology is something that has always fascinated me ~ I don't doubt this has something to do with my being adopted. Which brings me to my next resolution.

MEET MY BIRTHFAMILY. (I do intend to post separately on this topic at some point, but the writer in me went crazy and wrote a lot just now sorry.) Well, my dad's side at least. My mom is not interested. (Well, I shouldn't say that. She loves me more than anything in the whole world and I know that her lack of interest isn't such at all. I know, because I know the type of person that I am, that it's just too hard. And I get it.... blah, I really need to stop letting this make me cry every time I say it. Geez.) Anyways, my dad's side are the ones that found me. His parents were looking for me back in... 2002/3? And I joined this Internet group in hopes of finding information on where/how/etc to look so that when I was ready I'd be prepared to do what needed to get done to find them. So the night I joined the group, I searched the archives for what they called me at birth and birthdate and hospital. Of course, as the Lord would have it, there was one single post. And in that post was plenty of information but it was no doubt to me that it was me in that description. I was that baby they were talking about. Yes, we STILL haven't met yet. We're going to though, this year. I'm really excited. My dad & I are very alike (I look like him!) but we don't talk much. I think he's nervous to call me and I feel the same way. I can't help but think I bring up bad old feelings, right? Anyways, My Nana (my dad's mom) loves me so much; after my adoption she sent letters with pictures to the courthouse and all those were filed away in case I went looking for them. The letters are so special to me. I never ever stopped wondering about "my people" and to know that she cared so much all those years... it's just so very special. She sends packages all the time to us now with things ranging from videos, to decorations, to coupons and post it notes. Sometimes I wonder if she just goes through her house trying to find the most random things to send to me. Everything she sends is a treasure in my eyes. Other than my children, there is nothing more important to me in this house than the things she sent to me. Anyways, here I go crying again. (Sidenote, I took a pregnancy test this morning just to rule out why I figured I've been seriously easy to cry lately ~ like a balloon next to a sharp pin, just bursting into tears left & right lately.) So yeah, Meet the BirthFam.

BUILD THINGS. I want to build things. The previous owners of our house left a bunch of wood in the basement. Since we moved in, I have felt a need to take the wood and make things of it. Then a month or two ago, I found this website. Prayers. Answered. Ideas. Aplenty! I'm starting with a bookcase for the kids. And then I reeeeeeeeally want to build an entryway storage bench coat hanger thing.

COOKBOOK. I'm organizing a Cookbook. It'll involve YOU, too. Curious yet? It's not really what you're thinking. Stick around and I'll give you more information when I have the plans a little more set in pen than in pencil. :)

Hopefully I have not bored you with my resolution list. Hopefully I will be able to complete these tasks, or at least stick to them for the year! Ha! What are your resolutions? Do you make them? I don't usually but I need a change. Or I'm gonna lose my mind. :)

Happy New Year Everyone!

May this be your BEST year yet!