I paint now

Thanks to my friend Leah, who partially inspired me to try my hand at painting, I've been doing so(painting, if you didn't read the title) as often as I've felt the urge lately- namely, friday and today. She's started an art journal. I think this is a marvelous idea, and if I can get my hands on a journal with good enough paper, I'd like to do just that.
Right now, however, I'm doing what I like to call freelance painting. No rules, no lessons, just fun and freedom. No one is forcing me to do it, and no one is forcing me not to. I enjoy the feeling of the brush in my hand, the mixing of colors and water, and the calm state of the act of painting itself. It makes me so, so happy.
Here's my first one, which is sort of my first art journal page sans the collage pictures and quote I planned to put on it. It's supposed to resemble a strawberry field.

And my second one I've named after a song. "Blue eyes crying in the rain." It's not finished just yet. Here it is.

The only things I'm not particularly fond of are that I've needed to use just regular paper for it, as I don't have any thicker paper or canvases, and the fact that I have a cheapo set of paintbrushes. However, they fit my goals pretty well anyway, which are to practice and see if this is a hobby I'll be interested in pursuing in the long run, or if it's just a passing whim.

Goals

My Weight Loss Plan and Goals

1. Drink water- lots of it. Drink a glass before every meal, and try to drink it when I'm tempted to snack.
2. Instead of eating a snack after Micah goes to bed, as I usually do, instead drink a mug of hot chocolate or apple cider.
3. No desserts except on Sundays!
4. One soda a week(if any at all!)
5. Cook/eat at home at least monday-friday
6. Eat oatmeal 5 mornings a week at least.
7. Go for walks as much as possible (try for once a day)
8. Instead of eating when bored/upset, try painting or cooking.

Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms (1)

It's funny how quickly things have escalated in my life since I graduated from High School (2008). By March 2009, I was engaged, and by February 2010 I was married. A year and about a week later, I had my first child. Fifteen months later, I had my second child. I am currently a stay-at-home mom exclusively nursing a 5 month old and learning so much each day about raising a toddler.
Here are some things I'm learning about being in my particular situation.

In no particular order....

How To Clean With Small Children in the House
(Before cleaning, be sure to occupy children with favorite show or video, and if possible, place in play pen, bouncy seat, swing, or some other temporary baby containment/entertainment device)
On your mark, get set..... GO!

1. Throw all the toys in a box/bag/storage device you generally use for toy storage.
2. Place all books on the shelf. Just stack them, cause they'll be taken off the shelf again soon enough anyway.
3. Make each trip across the house multipurpose. Example- If you're going to get the dirty clothes from the bedroom, you might as well get the trash from the master bathroom too. If it proves to be too much to carry, just carry as much as you can and feel good about yourself because you're strength training.
4. Take all dirty dishes to one area in the kitchen (typically beside or in the sink. I recommend picking a side, cause you won't have room for rinsing if you pile them all in the sink.). Soak the things that need to soak, if applicable.
5. Gather all dirty laundry to one location, preferably right by the washer, preferably (though not necessarily) in bins. Put a load on. If there are clothes in the dryer, take them out and put them on the bed or in a laundry basket near the bed. Never try to do more than one load a day, but always try to wash and dry one load. 
6. Check on babies. I'll add here that you should definitely at least check what they're doing every few minutes, if you can't see them from the room you're working in.
7. Grab a wal mart bag and briskly walk through the house, picking up trash from every room. Dispose.
8. Wipe kitchen counters( I use clorox wipes), putting away any left out spices, pantry foods, etc.
9. If children are still content, quickly straighten the living room and other main rooms.
10. Sweep kitchen/dining room, if you're lucky enough to still have sufficiently occupied children.
11. Don't mop unless you have a sticky area. Mopping is for those with older children or no children. Or exceedingly high expectations. Just set the swiffer stuff out for toddlers to "clean" with. 
12. Wash dishes. Try to keep toddlers from grabbing things out of dishwasher.
13. If you're not exhausted yet, run a swiffer cloth over the dustiest areas.
14. Save organization for when daddy/grandma/babysitter can watch the kids.
15. Light a candle so your house smells nice.
Done. Later you can fold clothes during their naps, or save them for tomorrow, or lovingly ask your spouse to finish it. Now feel good about yourself!

How To Make Dinner With Small Children in the House
I've found these are most effective...
a) Look up slow cooker recipes. Pick an easy one, put the still frozen meat and mixed up ingredients in the slow cooker (preferably with one of those slow cooker liners- saves LOTS of time), cook on low for several hours, and feel good about your house smelling amazing hours later when everyone is ready to eat. I also will cook rice, noodles, or whatever I would want to serve with the slow cooker meal when my husband gets home.
b)Put together another sort of meal during the baby's naps, or after the spouse comes home if it's fairly quick.
c) Order take out or eat out, preferably with a coupon during a kids eat free night.

A bit of a rant...

I have decided to compile a list of things that are rather annoying to me...

1. Keep Calm Memes. Seriously, they have a Keep Calm meme for everything. I agree that keeping calm is a good way to be, but people have been taking it to new extremes. Keep Calm and...
2. When people have asked, about my children, "who does he look like?" or have stated "right now he looks more like you." Yes, they're my children. They are going to look like me/my husband/possibly each other. Or maybe they just look like themselves! I understand this is a common conversation starter, and I really don't mind talking with people about it once in a while, but if that's the first thing you talk about every time I see you, I'm going to nod my head, smile, and wait to move on to a different conversation topic.
3. Whining- this is never NOT annoying.
4. Political rants on facebook. I understand you have views on things. You are welcome to express your views on facebook as often as you like. However, if I liked your posting and an argument happens to ensue on your posting regarding which candidate should be voted for, I'm un-liking it. Arguing with someone is not going to change their beliefs on who they should vote for, or what side of the bread should be buttered (see The Butter Battle book).
5. People who try to tell you how you should/shouldn't breastfeed that do not breastfeed, and people that tell you how you should/shouldn't formula feed that do not formula feed. I also rather dislike misconceptions about each sort of feeding. If your child is meant to be intelligent, regardless of what you feed them as infants, they are going to be intelligent. If your child is going to be healthy, regardless of what you feed them as infants, they are going to be healthy. Yes, I am a firm believer in breastfeeding, but I think some anti-formula people just go a little bit too far. I was formula fed, and I am JUST FINE.
6. Here's a big one. I hate when people judge each other for the sort of Christian church they go to. People have all sorts of different opinions/views on things. I agree with some and disagree with some. However, I believe if you believe in what I'd call the basics- (those things that happen to be listed in the nicene creed [whether or not you would regularly recite creeds] -Read about the Nicene Creed Here), and you're doing your best to follow God, that is what is most important. Instead of debating and arguing, we should join together in serving others, and take care of widows and orphans in their time of need ( James 1:27 ). I've been going to a church for about a year now that is different in a lot of ways from the church I grew up in. I have nothing against the church I grew up in, I just feel I should be going to this one for many different reasons. And the important thing is, they both believe in the things listed in the creed; basic Christian unarguable beliefs. If you want to talk to me about this, message or e-mail me.
7. Going to the dentist. This is just my opinion, but I really dislike going and getting my mouth prodded and poked around in. I don't like the scraping of my teeth/sensitive spots in my teeth/gums with those little metal sticks they use. I like dentists and dental hygienists just fine, but I do NOT like going to the dentist.
8. When people think they're better than others because they think their sins are more acceptable than that of others.

Note: I do not mean to push anyone's buttons. Like I said in my first post, I'm trying to just make this blog a "window" into my world (thoughts, opinions, etc.).

This is Me

Things you probably don't know about me

I love theater, although I'm not much of an actor or singer. I'm content to help out/volunteer or do technical work. However, I really miss it, and wish I could do some of that again.

I have a terrible weakness for desserts. 

I love to read/write, but hardly have the time anymore. 

I LOVE people. I'm fascinated in them, their stories, and their personalities. 

I like colorful things. 

I really enjoy post-apocolyptic young adult fiction, especially the City of Ember series.

I'm really hard on myself, but only with the things I shouldn't be hard on myself about.

I watch Glee.

I stay out of political conversations, if possible.

I LOVE to dance. 

Out of fear of confrontation, I've left out a pretty big one.

Preston's Birthday

Today is my husband's 27th birthday. He never wants to make a big deal out of his birthdays, so we don't, but I do always try to do something special for him. He did, in fact, propose to me on my 19th birthday. 

I've been looking for a good cake recipe to make him. I'd like to make a homemade one, partially because the car's in the shop and I can't go and buy one/ get a cake mix. Homemade ones are better, anyway. We'll just see how this works with the combination of nursing a teething 4 month old (OUCH! but don't get me wrong, it's still working out very well) and chasing around/ keeping a 19 month old occupied and out of trouble.[ I actually got a thing of bubble juice the other day, and opened it yesterday- and there was no bubble wand. Lame!!! Who wants to buy a bubble wand separately ??  I guess that's the last time I ever buy generic bubble juice (at least until I have a wand already).]

My goal is to be able to make dinner and a cake, even if both have to be simple. I already have a backup plan for the cake (dump cake- 2 -3 cans of fruit filling in a 13x9 dish with dry yellow cake mix sprinkled on the top. It's so very easy, but it's good), but i'd rather do something special today. And for dinner I'm thinking spaghetti (with meat sauce), stir fry steak with vegetables and rice, or steak fajitas with peppers and onions. And I will not feel guilty for not being able to make his birthday celebration look like the cover of a magazine or a bridal shower like they post about on pinterest. I'm creative, but not THAT creative, and I don't have that much skill. (example here : http://pinterest.com/pin/155022412143734393/ )

He works from 10-3 today, and only has his early class this evening, so I'm hoping to make it at least a little special for him. We don't have any candles to make it a "birthday" cake, but I'm hoping to make such a good cake that it won't even matter. 

So far I've only been able to find cakes that take buttermilk or sour cream. I may be able to find a suitable substitute...

Mondays

It's cooler out. Every time summer seems to finally be coming to a close, when I breathe in that first breath of fresher-smelling air, I feel like being outside most of the time. Lately I've started to wonder if seasonal-effective disorder can include feeling more depressed in the summer, and feeling happy and normal for every other season. Or maybe this past summer was harder than most. I guess that makes sense, having had a new baby and a toddler at the same time, going through a move, and feeling stressed about how family and friends might react to our recent church decision(another topic completely). Also, being a stay-at-home mom is HARD (although I LOVE my job.) And for a while there it seemed there was just one difficulty after another. Such is life, I gather.

My two babies are 15 months apart. Everywhere we go, people say, "You must have your hands full!." Which we do. But I still want to have more. Not right now, and not too far in the future. Not five years from now, but maybe 2 or so.

I've been trying to cook more lately. Fast food may be easy, and cheap, but it's really not healthy (obviously). I've been making good use of my crock pot. Somehow it feels easier to cook when I don't have to preheat an oven, or bend to put something in. That sounds really lazy, doesn't it? I made really good pork in the crock pot the other day, and today I made bbq chicken. I'm going to try to do some sort of chicken every monday. It's park of the "flexible weekly schedule" I typed up for myself the other day.

I believe baby #2 is beginning to teethe. Poor thing. I hate teething. It really ruins babyhood, doesn't it? Just when they're getting more aware of their surroundings, there it comes. But it'll all be worth it when they're chewing on steak in a few years. So now we have two teething babies in our house. I feel like teething doesn't stop until they have all their baby teeth. I think most people define teething as a tooth being in the active process of actually coming in.