3 going on 16

So we survived.  Yes it was birthday weekend this past weekend.  Miss Emily turned 3.  My goodness.

And in all honesty she is everything I would want her to be.  Cute, and cute enough to have her dad worried about the little boys that soon shall be knocking at our door.  Sassy like her mom, enough to drive her daddy nuts but make him laugh at the same time.  Lovable even through her sass, so that her dad and any other lucky person who meets her, knows that they are in fact lucky to meet her.  Smart as a whip,  I will take credit for that as well... but I think it might be a shared quality of both Bryan and I.  And she has a great sense of style.

I love her, I do.

So for her birthday we continued the tradition of streamers and balloons outside of the birthday girl's door (something that my mom did for my sister and I till we finally moved out of the house- and if we are lucky, and she is visiting during a birthday we still get decorations to this day).

I may have gotten a little crazy with the balloons, but I felt like this was going to be the first real birthday she was going to remember, and I had to make a good memory for her.

So I told her, that she had to sleep in her big girl bed all night or the birthday girl surprises weren't going to come.  So at 7 am I hear a knock at her door. And then ....

"MOM...Open Door!  It's WAKE UP TIME!"

And then out she came to a sea of pink, bright pink, white and purple.  She loved it.  Ran up and down the hall exclaiming that it was "Gorgeous!"

I was super proud.  And in that moment Bryan didn't totally hate me for making him blow up at least 75 balloons... How could you when you daughter feels that special because of what you did.

So then after a few episodes of Wonder Pets (sigh I just don't understand why they make the duck talk with a lisp- but anywho)  it was bath time and my smart as a whip daughter figured out how to dye her bath water pink.  Turns out if you add pink streamers you water will magically turn pink.  That was a fun surprise.

And then we were off to the family birthday dinner at the local Mexican restaurant (because she is a Vargas ya know!) ... and after mom and dad had a margarita and Emily got her share of attention .... it was time for the sombrero...

And a little whip cream on the nose!  We were so afraid that she wouldn't find it amusing (it didn't go over so well last year) but she absolutely loved it.  I am pretty sure she just loved the attention to be honest.

 So yes, the birthday was a success, she got her first Barbie from her Uncle Ryan and Aunt Andrea (I am pretty sure mostly from Andrea since I don't see Ryan running up and down the Barbie isle picking out a cute but not overly sexy Barbie with clothing and accessories to match... sorry Ryan I just don't think that is in your skill set).  She also got a princess doll house/castle and a Dora the Explorer tent that is now taking up most of the living room...

And on top of that she is getting a Children's Museum pass!  We are going to have some fun there...

However, I may have made a mistake.... Emily is really into stickers and such right now so I bought her boxes and boxes of the foam stickers plus a few sticky rhinestones... and this is what I got:

  Why yes that is a be-dazzled piano.... Bryan is not pleased.... However, it was on his watch that the piano was be-dazzled....so I am not taking full blame on this one.

Now onto the Holidays!!!

Naked Stage Over?

Nope.  Not in the dead of winter either... Bryan is concerned that his daughter is traveling down a dangerous naked road....

And he is coming home again to a naked little girl.  Parenting gold star goes to me tonight!

I am secretly smiling right now.

Was I insane... I believe so.

Yesterday morning was shaping up to be a disaster.

Emily has been in a funk this past month.  Doesn't want to dance at dance class, tired at daycare wanting to be held all the time, and sad. Super sad all the time.  Did I mention the "tummy aches"?

Before I freak and think that there is something medically wrong, I decided a "special" day with mom at work might solve these blues....

We got ready (she perked right up from the morning glums).  We packed her bag with a portable DVD player, movies, Oreos, coloring book etc. And we were off.

In the back of my mind I wondered if this was a good idea... I am in no way shape or form a VP or VIP person at work and this might not have been the best idea I had... but I had already promised, and I dressed her really cute so everyone would instantly love her and so she could get away with a little more.... and maybe I could as well...

Success on the clothing choice, everyone loved her.  She got a bucket full of Candy from my boss's boss.  She called me on speaker phone from my boss's boss's boss... so over all I think it was a success but I still have that - oh crap did I step over my boundaries feeling in the back of my mind.

But I think we may have cured Emily's blues.  She got so much attention and felt super special with everyone loving on her and paying attention to her.  I truly work with some great people who are just awesome.... and it is nice to see the softer side of the boss's boss's boss...

I am thinking that the little brother has encroached upon some of Emily's attention and she may have been slightly jealous and sad.... hopefully so I really don't want anything serious to come out of these blues.

We are also starting up on PediaSure - just in case she needs a little extra pep in her step... and trying for a more strict bedtime.... but as everyone at work is now quite aware... it is very hard to say no to this child.

On the project side of things.... this is what I have been up to:

And this was the inspiration for Eli's room (granted we are going for an industrial feel for his room aka. pipes for curtain rods etc)

I love the string idea... and maybe nails might have been the better way to go, but working with copper wire and steal we thought screws were the better choice sine we actually want it to stay in the wall....

But sadly I have ran out of screws and wire so I must make a quick trip to Mendards and pick some more up to make the letters a little bit more fuller and actually finish his name!!!  The string probably would have given a cleaner line but we really do like the rougher look the wire gives....


So hopefully soon I will have that finished and I can brag about that!  Until then I will be frantically planning a birthday for my birthday girl who turns 3 tomorrow!!! Wish us luck I am not sure what is going to be worse ... the terrible twos or the sass I know I am going to face with a 3 year old!!!

A New Love in My Life

So part of the reason I have fallen a little slow in blogging lately (besides a slow down in projects being done) is that Pinterest has taken over.... my life.

It is such a great place for inspiration, to keep track of all your dreams, and also stumble onto some fabulous sites you would have never found if not for someone else having pinned that something wonderful... tonight for me it is this site:

http://www.schoolhouseelectric.com/

And this is what I want - no let's clarify - what I need in my house.  Umm yes it is an arrow.

And it totally belongs in my hallway in my 1950-60's Rambler of a house... see I have a very long hallway and I believe this is well worth the $20 that I will never see again.

And yes, I could probably find a wood plaque and paint an arrow on it but it wouldn't be the saaaaaaaaaaaaame (said in my 3 year old voice).

I am so in love with this site and also this chair:

I love the stripes, the lines the colors - - - so inspired right now.  Just wish I had the money to go along with that inspiration!

Don't worry I am still brainstorming on how to become famous for nothing so I can afford all the makeovers my house sooo desires!!!

And I am thinking I need these numbers - maybe to hang over B & I's bed - maybe get all sweet on him and do our anniversary date - or maybe all the dates of our birthdays so something likes this:

03 07 11 12

So yeah... I hope you have as much fun on this site as I am having now!!! 

P.S. Life is good, work is good.  I am Emily's new favorite and dad is now second best (I use to pick her up from daycare with her screaming "NOT YOOOOOOOOOOOU.... DADDY PICK ME UP"  so I do know how it feels) but it does feel good every now and then to be on the top!

Eli is good - still spitting up on me every chance he gets - but he is smiling the whole time - so I guess it is okay?

Other than that we are golden!  Hope you are as well!

Turkey, Cowboys and Bunnies

So last week was Thanksgiving/Black Friday...  (I say slash BF because I am known for not cooking so this really isn't my holiday...however, shopping is a different story).

We had Thanksgiving this year at my Aunt's house.  My mom, dad, grandpa and grandma came up and it was lovely...  My dad had a great time teasing Emily which she loved/hated.  But that is my dad....

Grandma Mimis was a huge hit though... she brought gifts... warm gifts!

How cute are these?!?!  Mom scored these snow boots at a sample sale at her work (sometimes it is know people who work in retail esp. Lands End)... Emily also scored a fuzzy pink winter jacket as well with a cute knitted hat...

Eli on the other hand had to share his gift with Bryan:

Yes, my mother found a lovely lady at her work who can knit up a storm and requested a Cowboys helmet be made for Eli* (Disclaimer:  My mother is not and will never be a Cowboys Fan... She is a Vikings Fan - even though they seem to always disappoint... I just choose to root for the team always playing against the two... or the underdog... I am always a fan of the underdog). 

Needless to say, Bryan was super excited and thrilled with the gift... I think it is pretty cute too!

Grandma Mimis also was a super help last weekend too, allowing me to go spy on all the crazy people standing inline for Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy at midnight on Black Friday....

Those people are go-getters I must say... Wal-Mart - yikes... to say the least.  Target at least everyone seemed to be in good spirits and ready to get their shopping on in an orderly and systematic way... same for Best Buy... I was glad to see people enjoying themselves!

Grandma also let us take advantage of her by leaving the kids with her to go pick up/cut down our two Christmas Trees!  Normally we do this with the kids - but both were down with coughs and Grnadma was down with the flu....

 Proof That I in fact DID water the tree... Please note the spilled water over the tree stand...I may have forgotten to do this last year, and Bryan may have come back from TX to a dead tree and a pile of needles... maybe... it is a rumor that Bryan does hang over my head time to time...

And this is my new strategy... instead of buying one huge tree that doesn't fit inside my home, I decided to get two trees that actually do fit...  I am not sure if I would actually do it again ... but I like it as of right now!

And that there is the piano I want to paint yellow again a dark blue wall.... sigh - still working on that!

But I am currently working on a project for Eli's room... I just need a few more screws and I should be good to go... will update when done!

My Opinion on Co-Sleeping (Take it or Leave it)

So I know it has been a while,  I have been managing Black Friday Ads, Black Friday offers... two kids, two cats and a husband....

Now taking a deep breath, I am back to blogging with fabulous parental advice on Co-sleeping.

My advice. Don't do it.  And not for the reasoning you think... I honestly could care less how you choose to raise your kids and how you choose to sleep with them (mind you you take all the precautions on making it safe as possible - and not just a pillow wall).

My caution aka. warning is simple.

KIDS PUKE. 

And when kids share a bed with you and puke in the bed... you are most likely going to wake up in a puddle of puke.  And unless your kid eats rose petals and perfume... it will stink to high heaven.

A perfect example of this was last night in the Vargas household.

I would love it if Emily would remain in her own big girl bed... but she has figured out that if she sneaks in on dad's side of the bed, he will let her up and in for a snuggle... while mom gets kicked in the back and ousted from the bed.

So like any other night... Emily sneaks in around 11 pm. Around 11:58 pm I awake to yucky stuff on my back and promptly wake Bryan up (secretly hoping he would man up and clean the mess by himself while I went back to sleep).  It was a two person job.  Puke in hair. Puke in bed. Puke everywhere.

Poor Em was humiliated - cause what kid really wants to puke - much less be covered in puke.

So we stripped the bed... laid a sheet over the bare mattress and Bryan and Em went back to bed once the mess and Emily were cleaned up.

I went to sleep in Em's room.  Alone.  And slept much better than I have in a long time.

So there is my parenting lesson of the day.

(oh p.s. when you kid tells you that her tummy hurts - not a great idea to feed your kid pizza, Swedish Fish and gum... learned the hard way by Bryan).

Parenting is Awesome.

But today is not.

Hoolllllly Hell.  So I have been MIA since having Eli.... and yes two is more than one and I would like to return one as of right now....

Emily has found a fabulous new strategy on avoiding medicine.  She just spits it up all over her face when I try to give it to her which equals sticky face, sticky hair, sticky hands and sticky mom.

I am impressed with the strategy but not amused as of right now (check back in the morning).

Sigh.

Oh and did I mention if one cries the other cries?  yup that is my night.

But I still love them  go figure.

So back to catching you up on all things fabulous and not so fabulous... I am back to work and back to finding cheap-o projects...

The living room has yet to be painted (mainly because I cannot decide on a dark green or a dark blue) leaning more to dark blue with a yellow piano - but the hubby has completely nixed the piano idea... I can never win with him....

However, the purple desk has been put to good use...  Bryan got a promotion which allows him to work at a bit at home, and since I re-purposed our office desk into a purple desk for Emily's room, Bryan has found himself clocking in hours on the oh so feminine desk.... he is thrilled with me.

My garden in the back is growing strong and has found a few more additions - a few pink bleeding hearts and pink pom pom like flower mounds - love them and the fact that they were on sale.

So life is still trying to find some balance between two kids, a full time job, a husband and a house that begs for a make over daily...

Someday I will have it all together!!!