Friday, May 16, 2014

I just want to be used

Hey guys!!

I just wanted to drop in real quick.  Today is Friday so that means tonight is Youth Service! I blogged a couple weeks ago about my brother giving his awesome testimony in spite of his speech impediment and the chance of total humiliation.  I promised you and myself that from that moment forward I was not going to let anything stop me from being used in any way, shape or form.

Well, tonight we are continuing a series titled 'The Relation Ship' and I'm teaching tonights lesson! I'M SO PUMPED.  Maybe I should be nervous..?  But I'm not.  I haven't been this excited about something along these lines in...ever!

I'll be sure to come back and let you know how it goes!  Until next time!

XOXO

Brooke

Friday, May 9, 2014

I'm dreaming of plates

I've been wanting a plate wall for awhile now.  I would have never dreamed I would be collecting plates to put on display, lol.  All I  knew of a plate wall was what my Aunt had when I was younger.  She had Victorian style plates (those were really "in" late 80's, early 90's) hung side by side, completely lining her ceiling.  They were hung as high as possible and lined her entire house pretty much.  Yikes.  Not exactly my vision but I'm pretty pumped about my pending project.  All I lack is plate hangers.  You've got to see my plates.  They're a mix between plates that I've purchased on a whim, plates that hold a special place in my heart and plates that were gifted to me.  I'm sooo excited.



These white milk plates were given to me by my best Mommy friend.  I mentioned during one of our convos that I was thinking about starting a plate wall.  The next thing I knew she gave me these beauties to give me a jump start. I LOVE these.  These are what started my milk glass obsession.


These colorful plates were a birthday gift from my sister!!!  I put these in my Amazon Wish List FOREVER ago.  While looking for ideas on what to get me she searched to see if I had a wish list, we both love Amazon so she thought it was worth a shot.  I was floored when I opened these babies up.  Ahhh. Totally in love.


These dainty plates were given to me by my Mother in law.  I was eyeing the entire set at TJ Maxx on one of our shopping escapades and she got them for my birthday 4 years ago.  The coloring in this photo is off.  They're more of a robins egg blue and I'm completely obsessed with them.


These plates, also white milk glass, look a lot like the ones my friend Lindsay gave me.  The only difference is the scalloped edges are slightly different.  I scored these for a ridiculous steal on Ebay.


This one. I LOVE it.  Also milk glass.  I found this one on Ebay as well and plan to make it my center plate.  Everything about it is gorgeous.  I know, I know.  It's just a plate.  But, still....*swoon*


Anyone else might be embarrassed to say where they got these plates.  You don't know me well enough.  I got these babes at Kroger's! On sale, too.  These reminded me of wedding anniversary plates.  I had to have them.  I can just see myself passing these 'antiques' (haha) down to my daughter in law.  I'll save the other ones for my daughter. LOL. I'm bad.


This one my friend Lindsay, (Lindsay to the rescue, again!) found at a shop in Oxford, Mississippi while her and her husband were there for a wedding.  Homegirl is pretty quick on the trigger and had a picture + price + circumference texted to me lickety split.  I'm pretty quick, too.  She had the money in her PayPal account before I even responded to her text. 


My plan is to hang these in my dining room.  I have one wall painted a fabulous blue color, kiiinda like the background in these pictures but a tad more turquoisey (?), I will definitely post pictures once it's finished!  My baby will be 2 in July and we're having his party at our house so they will definitely need to be hung before then.  

Do you have a pending project you are completely excited about?  I would love to hear about it!!  

Thanks for stopping by!



Thursday, May 8, 2014

A Mother's Love

This Sunday is Mother's Day.  At the risk of sounding incredibly selfish, Mother's Day has never meant more to me than it has in these past two years.  What?  That's ok, right? What I mean is I have never fully comprehended the capacity of love, the love a parent (a Mother in particular) has for their child until July 16, 2012 @ 10:06pm.  Everything that has made me a Mother is so beautiful and so worth it.

That includes my miscarriage.  Tragedies happen for a reason, God knows what He is doing.  It's in my opinion that having suffered that loss has made me a better Mother than I would have been and appreciate Carter even more than I already would have.  He's my blessing. My gift. My promise fulfilled.  I feel like I know what it feels like to lose a child so I think about "what if I lost him".... and that makes me hold on tighter.  That can sometimes not be so good...I will need to let go eventually.  Let him stay at grandma and grandpas house for a night, a couple of nights, eventually a week.  Oh my goodness, ok, I need to move on.

I can now really celebrate my own Mother and really mean it, you know?  If she loves me even half as much as I love Carter I don't see how her heart hasn't burst open by now.  To love your child is almost painful.  My heart sometimes feels so full it hurts, literally hurts.  I worry.  I cry.  I pray.  I worry some more.  I cry some more.  I laugh.  I worry again...it's quite the emotional roller coaster.

My Mom did all the same things with me.  She had to watch me make mistakes. She had to watch me get my heart broken.  Knowing it would happen but letting me see for myself and learn from it.  Then she watched me cry and cried with me.  She watched me conquer my fears.  She watched me struggle.  She watched me and was right there beside me through everything.  Eventually she watched me walk down the aisle and watched me drive off to start my new life without her.  She's still apart of my life but it's because of her that I was ready to face the challenges of my new life.  A Wife and a Mother.

Abraham Lincoln once said, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."

Truer words were never spoken.  Where would any of us be without our Mother's?  Well, still in the womb for one.  That would be weird.  I think of her constant reminders, advice, tips, stories, words of encouragement, and everything she has instilled in me and I can't help but be grateful.  I'm blessed to still have my Mother in my life.  I celebrate her.  I celebrate what she has given me over the years and continues to give me.

At home I will celebrate the little boy that made me a Momma.  The same little boy that's got his Momma's spunky personality and eyes & his Daddy's curls and dimples.  Justin and I talk all the time about how unbelievable Carter is.  Neither of us could have ever imagined or dreamed him.  That just goes to show you God's love.  It's so unbelievable, incomprehensible and unconditional.  Much like a Mother's Love.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo!! I hope everyone enjoys this day to the fullest, eat fajitas and tamales until you're sick and enjoy each other's company. I recently read what today is really all about and I gotta say, it made me appreciate today even more! Until next time! (I'm about to go eat my Mexican lunch my husband made sure to provide today) 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

My unlikely hero

Most of you may not realize, but the month of May is 'Better Hearing and Speech' month.  This particular "awareness" has for as long as I can remember, held a special place in my heart.  I have 1 brother and 1 sister and all have us have struggled and still struggle with our speech.  The term that would be used is that we have a 'stutter'.

According to the NIDCD (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) roughly 3 million Americans stutter & approximately 5% of children will stutter at some point in their lives, lasting from a few weeks to several years.  It most often occurs in children from ages 2-5, while they are developing their language skills.  Boys are twice as likely to stutter than girls; as they get older, however, the number of boys who continue to stutter is three to four times larger than the number of girls.  Most children outgrow stuttering.  About 1 percent or less of adults stutter.  Yep. That's me.  I'm one of the adults that help make up that smaaallll percentage.  Well, me and my two siblings.

Growing up I avoided confrontation like the plague.  I did not like talking on the phone, for some reason that made my stutter the absolute worst.  To this day I don't like calling in a pizza.  Lol! I reserve that job for my awesomely understanding husband.  Which, I HAVE to add, that having Justin in my life, I could not be more blessed.  He has stood by me so many times, and waited what seemed like forever, for me to get out what I was trying to say.  He's such a good sport. Hehehe.

I went to speech therapy for years and even went through a few therapists.  I learned techniques that I still use today that help me in moments where I panic and I can feel my stutter rising. The last therapist I went to announced that I was "cured" bc I did not stutter one time the entire session.  Long story short, I wasn't cured.  I did learn something about myself and my speech though.  My stutter was more or less 'non-existent' when around people that didn't know about my stutter.  Weird, right? Once I eventually slipped up around that person and my secret was out, it was down hill from there.  So, I've spent years and years....and years of my life, hiding this 'shameful secret'.  I can't let anyone know or that will send me into a downward spiral!!! The videos I used to watch would tell me that the best way to get rid of my stutter is to let people know, announce it, own it.  No way.

I applied for a job at 19 years old that would put me on the phone for 8 hours a day.  It was a telephone banker position with Chase and I applied to get my foot in the door with Chase.  A telephone banker is kind of the bottom of the totem pole position but you're able to work yourself up. I literally cried every day for the first 3 months.  I begged my Mom to let me quit the job and told her that I promised I would find another better, higher paying job.  Anything but a telephone banking job.  My Stepdad pleaded with her for me, lol. She wouldn't hear of it.  My Mom had worked for Chase several years and had a huge hand in getting me the job.  Besides that, she believed in me.  She believed it would eventually get better and that it was good for me, sort of a therapy in a weird way.  I was a telephone banker for almost 2 years and while I would love to tell you that the "therapy" cured me, I can't.  I hated that job off and on for 2 years.  I would stutter so bad at times with customers that I would disconnect the call.  I even had customers ask me point blank, "Do you have a stutter?" or, "Are you ok?".  I was mortified.  But for every rude customer I would have 2 incredibly and surprisingly supportive customers that would tell me how amazed they were that I would actually put myself out there like that.  Some of them stuttered in the past and knew how difficult phone conversations were.  I even had some customers give me tips!! All in all that job was the best therapy for me and I wouldn't trade those 2 years for anything.  I learned so much about myself and I was even proud of myself!

Like the NIDCD states, my brothers stutter has always been far worse than me and my sisters.  Me and my sister are both 29 years old and most of the time have it under control with only a few bad spells every once in awhile.  My brother just turned 20 and he still struggles with his stutter.  It completely and utterly breaks my heart at times watching him try to get a word out.  I think more so because I know how he feels!  I have asked God before to take his stutter away and give it to me.  I'm married and I am able to stay home with our son so I'm not faced with the day to day struggles that he faces with working and going to school.  But I know that like me, he's going to be a better person because of it.  I just trust that God knows best, and He does!

What makes this month special besides it being National speech month is that my brothers birthday is May 1st!  That's just like God, He has such a good sense of humor. No, not everyone that has a speech impediment also has a birthday in May, but my brother is special.  He's special because unlike me and my sister, he has NEVER let his stutter hold him back.  I mean, this kid has got guts.  He will walk up to a perfect (pretty) stranger and start dropping pick up lines like nobody's business, stutter and all.  He has always amazed me.   He owns his stutter, he doesn't let it own him.  I wish wish I could be like that.

We had our monthly youth service last night and my husband, who happens to be the youth pastor, announced that we had a special speaker.  I quickly scanned the room looking for anyone that looked to be over 25 or at least had some gray hairs.  Nope.  My brother walks to the pulpit.  My heart sinks. Not because I'm not happy he's our special speaker, but because I'm soo worried that he's going to stutter!! How humiliating.  I could and would NEVER do that in fear that I might slip up.  I immediately start praying.  My prayer is halted when I hear his voice.  I listen in awe as he says in broken, chopped up words, "I just wanted to warn or let any of you know that don't know this about me already, I stutter.  I'm going to get through this, but if I stop talking for a second or even a minute, I'm ok. Hahahaha.  I promise.  I'm just trying to get it out."  Y'all.  Tears filled my eyes.  He continues to give a testimony about how he received the Holy Ghost at our Holiday Youth Convention trip on Easter weekend.  How God changed his life and freed him from his addictions. He went on to talk about the importance of God and how nothing, absolutely nothing should come before God.  Not work, school, girls, boys...nothing.  What might have taken me our you 3-4 minutes to say, took him around 10 minutes.  But he didn't care.  He had a testimony that he felt God wanted him to share so he did.  He laughed at himself through out the 10 minutes and joked saying, "give me a minute, I'll get it", and "I'm ok, promise".

Watching him struggle and push through, refusing to give up, inspired me so much.  How much have I missed out on by being afraid of what others might think about me or worrying they will discover my 'shameful secret'.  Why is it shameful?  God has allowed this struggle for a reason.  I will admit that I don't know completely what that reason is yet but I do know that it has helped shape me and mold me into the person I am today.  I'm a stronger person because of my stutter.  How am I going to use that strength?  I haven't used it thus far, but that stops today.  I will never know my full potential in life and with God if I don't just accept it, quit hiding it, use it and own it.  I never would have imagined that my brother, my little baby brother, would inspire me like he has.  He is my unlikely hero.


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Sweet Tooth

OK.  So it's been awhile since I blogged.  Oops! But, I'm back, and with another recipe (I'm sure you're shocked) that'll make you wanna slap ya momma and wrastle ya hubby.  It's seriously that good.  Here, let me share.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Layered Cake

*I made a chocolate oreo version of this cake and it was simply scrumptious. I made this for a birthday party and wasn't sure they loved chocolate so I switched out the main ingredients*

1 box of moist Strawberry cake.  Baked as directed in two 9in. round pans, let cool.

12oz of cream cheese (1 1/2 bars), softened.  Mixed with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar.

Once the cream cheese and sugar is mixed and smooth, chop up 5 to 6 strawberries  and throw in the cream cheese mixture.  Add 2 1/2 cups of cool whip.  Mix well.

Cut each cake horizontally, you will end up with 4 thin, round cakes.  Once the cakes are completely cooled, spread the cream cheese/strawberry mixture on to the first layer and start stacking the cakes, "icing" each layer and adding the next cake.

You will end up with a 4-layer strawberry cake with the mixture in the middle if each layer.  I reserve most of the mixture for the top layer, just a personal preference.

Next, take 2 tablespoons of butter and 4oz of white chocolate (I used Ghirardelli) and place in a bowl.  Microwave for 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir.

I chopped up 3 additional strawberries and placed on top of the cake, followed by 3 whole strawberries, for looks.  Then pour the white chocolate all over the top, allowing it to run down the sides.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Thank me later.


Friday, February 21, 2014

Friends. The cream in my coffee.

I've been thinking about friendships here lately.  Real, honest, 'you gotta booger in your nose' type friendships. Let me dig a little deeper.

A good friend is something no gal should take for granted.  She understands how bad you're cramping you when your hubby can't.  If you're both Mommy's, she totally gets how emotional it can be to witness your baby's first tooth, step, haircut, etc.  She lifts you up when you're down.  Encourages you when you feel courage-less. Seriously.  A good friend is priceless.

I saw this recently and had to share.  I had already been thinking about a friendship topic and this just confirmed it for me.


Can I just say how incredibly blessed I feel to have the friendships I have?  New and old.  

I can count on one hand who I consider to be my closest friends right now.  I'm not just talking about women that will listen to me wallow in self pity and tell me I'm prettier than my husbands ex-girlfriends (those types of friends are good to have too!) I'm talking about strong woman that build me up, make me feel like I can conquer the world, help me to believe that I can do anything.  

My sister Brittany is the one I have always turned to and she is always quick to answer a call or text and just let me cry on the other end like a mad woman if I need to.  A sister is a built in best friend.  We talk about things like starting up our own bakery, clothing shop, etc and quitting our real jobs (I've been able to, yay!) to pursue our dreams.  I can tell her anything and not worry that I'm being judged on the other end of the phone.  She's the best secret keeper I know and I can't imagine life without her.  She's the kind of friend & sister every girl needs!

I've known my other friend, Kristen, since I was born. No, really.  She was born on March 27th & me and my sister came right behind her on April 13th.  She has always been there as long as I can remember.  She was the only one that didn't make fun of me when I couldn't get my words out.  She would just stand there patiently waiting for me to finish what was taking me forever to say.  I don't see her as often as I'd like but she's has 3 little boys to my 1 and I keep her on standby to ask ridiculous baby questions.  She helped get me through the first few months of being a new Mom and was always assuring me that I was doing it right and it would be ok.  We all survived. Ha! She's the kind of friend every girl & new Mom needs!

As an adult I look for different things in a friend.  I guess my "criteria" has changed.  I just want someone to give as much as I do. Someone that makes me feel happy, confident, and is as laid back as I try to be.  I love new and even unexpected friendships.  

Lindsay has a baby boy that's 3 weeks older than Carter so we meet as often as possible for playdates (and much needed girl time).  She's recently moved back to Texas from Alabama & has met & exceeded my adult "criteria". She's the one who convinced me to start my applique venture.  I had never owned anything with appliqué and Carter certainly didn't have anything either.  A quick Etsy search let me know that applique was actually quite popular & cute!!  She has the biggest heart and is constantly (without realizing it) challenging me to do things I would have never even attempted.  The sky's the limit with her and it's rubbing off on me!  She's the kind of friend & motivator every girl needs!

I've been blessed with the best.  A good, true friendship is sometimes hard to come by.  When you find it, grab it and don't let it go! Nurture it.  You need it.  









Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tasty Tuesday!!

Ok. So my husband is a huge Mexican food lover. He can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  He found a recipe for Charro beans that is seriously the. bomb. diggity.  I wanted to share!!

Yo quiero Charro beans:

2 lbs pinto beans
2 small white onions
2 fresh jalapenos (optional)
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 small roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
3 ham hocks or 6 slices of bacon (we did bacon. ha!)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
2 table spoons bacon drippings
12 ounces chicken stock
12 ounces dark beer (optional)


Soak your beans. (This very important if you want tender beans). Bring beans to boil in 8-10 cups of water. Remove from heat covered. Let the beans soak for 30-45 minutes until the beans start to swell from the water infusing into them.

Strain the beans. Bring another 8 cups of water to a boil. (The reason for this is to get all the excess dirt and debris out of the beans).

While beans are boiling, trim the ham hocks of fat; leave fat in large pieces. Cut the meat into small bite-size pieces. Put all into pot. Remove fat and bones when your beans are done.

Chop all veggies into small pieces. Combine veggies, meat, fat, and spices into large stock pot or dutch oven and simmer for at least 2 1/2 hours. Remove fat when finished. Taste, add more seasoning if needed.

Seriously soo good. We didn't even need to eat anything else with it, the beans are a meal on their own! Enjoy!


Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Tasty Tuesday

It's a dreary day where I'm at. Freezing cold and rainy. I thought this would be a perfect day to make a big ol pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. I'm not a huge CNS fan myself, but my husband is. I made this pot of soup a week or two ago and I gotta say, I'm now a CNS fan. This is by far the best I've ever had.  I thought I'd share the recipe with you guys!

Ch-Ch-Chiiicken Noodle Soup:

4-6 cups of cooked and shredded chicken. I use boneless skinless chicken breast.
1-2 cups of chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup of butter. (Now we're talkin')
12 oz of uncooked egg noodles
12 cups of water *You can add a little more at the end if you find you need it*
9 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried marjoram. *I always end up adding more bc I love it, 1/2 tsp is a good place to start*
1/2 tsp black pepper

Optional:
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of dried parsley.
1/4 cup of chopped onion.

*I don't use a bay leaf bc I never have it on hand, I like to be able to throw it together and not make a special trip to the store for ONE item. If I have parsley on hand I'll use it, I haven't the last two times. My husband hates onion. I sneak it I when I can.*

In a large stock pot, sauté the celery and butter (also onion if you're using it) until vegetables are soft. Add chicken, carrots, water, bouillon cubes, marjoram and black pepper. Add bay leaf and parsley also if you're using it. Simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, add uncooked noodles and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. You're done! Enjoy!



This, in my opinion (and my husband's!), is the absolute best chicken noodle soup. Ever. I hope you like it too!!! Thanks for stopping by on this cold and rainy Tasty Tuesday!

XoXo,
Brooke


Monday, February 3, 2014

LOVE

February is here!! The month of LOVE. I gotta admit I used to hate Valentine's Day. Of course, I was single...haha.  But really, while your husband should be bringing you home flowers every now and then 'just because', the 14th of February is the one day (and maybe your birthday) that they can't possibly avoid it. I mean, they can't go anywhere and not see the huge obnoxious teddy bear holding a heart, surrounded my cards, chocolates and roses.

But while it's become "tradition" for this to be the day for men to wine and dine their wives/girlfriends, why can't we make the day or even month about them?! Trust me. We get ALL year if we really think about it, there's no day for the men unless they're Daddy's, then they get Father's Day.

This year I've made it my mission to reconnect with my hubs. We're happily married, but if any of you have children, young children especially, you know that it's HARD to keep the spark, the flame, the connection, even conversation going!  We don't have date nights. Ever. On the weekends both of us are so tired from the week we usually cook (just like Mon-Fri) and stay in, maybe rent a movie. All the while our bundle of joy is right in the middle of us. Haha. I wouldn't trade him for anything, don't get me wrong, but we spend ALL of our time playing Mommy and Daddy, and NO time playing husband and wife.

I know we're 3 days into February, but humor me. I'm starting my own 28 day marriage challenge. Every day I am going to do something out of the ordinary, spontaneous, loving, even encouraging for my man. It's gonna be something that I wouldn't do on a regular day to day basis, (even though I know I should) I want him to notice. My hopes are that after this month, these things will happen more naturally for me, it won't take "work" for me to do these things on any given day.  I'm gonna start with "3" since it's the 3rd of February..

3. Let him pick a movie for tonight. Even if I KNOW it's going to be lame (It's my 6th sense) or if it has Will Ferrel in it. Oh Lort.
4. Have a encouraging note waiting for him on his steering wheel.
5. This is Wednesday. Let him pick out my church outfit. May sound crazy, he's gonna flippin freak.
6. Make him a pitcher of Horchata. (Mexican milk, ick) He loves that stuff, y'all.
7. Make him a tamale dinner. Ok, he's not Mexican. Or even Spanish. He was born in Bryan, Tx. But this guy could live, eat and breathe Mexican food for the rest of his life.
8. Clean the baseboards. Y'all, I'm dying. This has been a long running "disagreement" between the two of us. I don't do baseboards. Waste of time in my opinion. He thinks differently.
9. Kiss him first thing in the morning. We don't do that enough. Mornings are down right crazy.
10. Surprise him with lunch at work
11. Be the first to apologize. Admit I'm wrong even if I'm not. In the end, does it really matter who's wrong or who's right?!
12. Tell him how happy I am he chose me, and that marrying him was the best thing I ever did.
13. Buy lingerie. I'm not a lingerie girl. At all. I like the cutesy, comfy, polka dotted tank and shorts set. He doesn't. Lol.
14. Verbalize how thankful I am for all he does for our family.
15. Make him tres leches. Just because.
16. Hug and kiss him as soon as he walks in the door from work.
17. Stay up late with him. He's a night owl. I am not.
18. Ask him if there's anything I can do to make his day easier. Calling a vendor, ordering material, whatever.
19. Give him a massage and a back scratch. He lives for back scratches.
20. Compliment him on how good he looks.
21. Turn off or turn my phone on vibrate when he gets home. Nothing is more important than him.
22. Plan ahead for someone to keep Carter and take him on a date to his favorite restaurant.
23. Tell him how proud I am of him and his accomplishments.
24. Text him randomly throughout the day to tell him how much I love him.
25. Ask him about work. I don't do this enough, unfortunately.
26. Go online and start planning a surprise weekend trip. Somewhere he would enjoy.
27. Bite my tongue. Agree to disagree. Avoid any type of "argument" today, at all costs.
28. Write him a poem. He loves looking through my poetry books, he would be tickled to death if I took them out again and opened the pages to find a poem written for him.

Ok, believe it or not that took some thinking! Yours may have some similar to some of mine, or yours could be completely different! I'd love to hear about it! I hope your husband enjoys the challenge like I know mine will. Thanks for stopping by!

Xoxo,
Brooke

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Stop this train

Why does life have to go by so fast?!  Parts of my life can pass as quickly as they'd like, but some need to sloooow down.  I'm talking about my baby. It literally seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital!  I still have the (vivid) memories of fighting with the car seat straps when we were trying to leave the hospital, which, the straps won that battle, I won't even post a picture of him slightly leaning forward. OMG.  I totally just spilled that secret.

From night time to nap time, to jar food, pacifiers (briefly), bottles...in the blink of an eye he's about to be 19 months old.  He'll be 2 (!!!) this coming July! Stop! Just stop!!! I'm a huge John Mayer fan, for his lyrics mostly (ahem) and his song "Stop this Train" will send me into a slobbery, snotty, blubbery mess.

'Stop this Train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train'

Aahhhh! I've rocked Carter to sleep since he was a baby. He's my first so it's been trial and error for sure. I now know to, and plan to with my next (maybe), to start laying them down in their crib wide awake when they are much younger so they can teach themselves to fall asleep and not depend on Mommy to rock them to sleep and back to sleep...that explains why he took so long mastering his sleep. Ha! But I gotta say, I LOVE rocking my baby. I've recently decided that I need to stop, he's just  not comfortable, he's almost too long now. I've rocked him so long he thinks he needs it, whether he's comfortable or not. We've gotten the naps down, but night time is where it breaks my heart the most. I can't stand leaving him in there crying or fussing. He doesn't fuss or cry long, but just enough to make me a slobbery, snotty, blubbery mess.

No one told me about this part of parenthood. I never even thought about the possibility of Carter hating his car seat, which he does, HATES it. I'm talking screaming fits since he was a few months old.  I didn't know I would be so worked up over it not being super quiet during his nap time.  I didn't think about having to bottle break him.  There's a lot I didn't know and a lot I still don't know.

I DO know this. As fast as that train brought us to this point, Carter being 18 1/2 months old,  I'm going to blink and he will be 3, 4, 5, 6 years old. I'm savoring every second, every minute, every hour, every single day I have with him. I'm making my time with him count! Every day is a new memory.

You know what, I gotta go, I need to go and rock my baby....



Saturday, February 1, 2014

DIY leggings or pants from an old Tshirt

I love love LOVE Saturdays! That might sound a little funny coming from a Stay-at-Home Mommy but Saturdays are my one day that I can drink coffee all day, watch movies while Carter naps, craft to my content...all guilt free! Monday-Friday I'm taking care of the house, chores, meal-planning, cooking, cleaning, etc. Sarurday is my one day that I don't do a thing except for what I want to do.  So again, I love love LOVE Saturdays!

Today, I've been at my sewing machine. I love the embroidery and appliqué side of my machine, but I first loved to sew. I whipped up my baby boy a Ca-yuuuute pair of pants out of one of my hubby's old t-shirts.  It has been in the donation pile forever, it doesn't fit him anymore but was otherwise in perfect condition! Look.


Cute, right?!?! Your silence speaks volumes, don't worry. I'll give you a moment to catch your breath and come back................................you good? Ok. Let's get started.

I'll begin by saying that this tutorial is every I-struggle-with-written-instructions-give-me-pictures persons dream. I'm visual. I need to SEE what you're doing. So let's start with the shirt. Jersey knit is a good material because it stretches and moves with your little one, it's my fave but this particular shirt happens to be 100% cotton, and it worked great!


You'll want to start off by cutting front of the shirt at the seam line where it connects the back, like this: 


Go all the way around the shirt cutting at the seam line only, you'll go past the arms, over the shoulders, up around the neck and down the other side of the shirt. When you're finished, it should look like this:


Take either piece and fold in half, long ways so that the folded part of the shirt is on the left hand side, like this:


I traced a different pair of my sons pants on to a piece of wax paper, first folding them in half long ways, like this: (use a pair of pants or leggings that you want this pair of pants to have the same fit, tight or loose)



Once folded in half like this ^^, trace using a black pen or marker on to a sheet of wax paper. Then cut around the traced pants leaving an inch all around for seam allowance. When through cutting, lay on the shirt with the straight side of the pants up against the fold of your shirt, like this:


You can see where I originally traced, and then the seam allowance I left.

Cut around the wax paper to get your pant form. Like this:


When you're finished, unfold the shirt and it should look like this!



Now take the other half the shirt, the front of the shirt in my case, and follow the previous steps to get the other side of your pants, you should end up at this step with two identical pieces like the one pictured above!

Now take the skinnier end of each piece and fold over the fabric 1/2in-1in, and pin in place, this will be the hem for bottom of your pants. Pin and stitch each piece separately, don't sew them together.


After you've sewn your two leg hems, turn the pieces to get to the top of the pants, where it's wider. Place one piece of the pants, right side up (where you can see the print) and place the other piece directly on top of it, right side down (where you can see the inside of the shirt), the two "right" sides of the shirt should be facing each other. Match them up as best you can, focusing on the  two "points" each piece has, that's the crotch and you want that to line up for sure. Starting from the wider top, pin each piece together going down until you get to the "points" (crotch) and stop. 


Stop at the "point" or "notch". Sew each side together, again, stopping where the fabric is pointed.


Now, take the sewn waist and open it up so you can fold the pants in half the other way. Make sense? Look.


Fold the other way so that the two running seams are in the front and back, and in the middle. Once you do it should look like this:


Eek!!! They're starting to look like pants!! That's a GOOD thing! It's what we want.

Now, pin up along the inside of each leg to get ready to stitch the legs, keep in mind that where you stitch, either close to the unfinished edge or further inside, will determine how loose or tight the pants are.


I didn't want mine tight or baggy so I pinned a little closer in, but not too close.  Don't forget to curve around the crotch, if you have to stop to lift your presser foot and readjust a few times it's ok. I like to stitch, back stitch, stitch, back stitch several times around the crotch, just for reinforcement.  After you've stitched the legs, you're ready for the waist! But first, your pants should look like this:


Next you'll pin all around the waist so you can stitch your waistline.


Stitch around the waist, stopping before your two stitches meet. Keep that opening to insert your elastic.




 Pin a safety pin on the end of your elastic before you run it through the waist, it makes it easier to grab while your pulling it all the way through



Here's a picture of what I'm referring to.

When you're finished pulling it all the way through, take the two ends of the elastic and run a stitch over them to keep them together inside the hem. Again, I do stitch, back stitch, stitch, back stitch over and over for reinforcement. 



Once that is stitched, you can sew up the closing that you left open earlier for the elastic. 

This next step is completely optional. I took my elastic that was already sewn in the pants and stretched the pants to where I could get a straight stitch on TOP if the elastic that was already in the waist line, all this does is prevent the elastic from twisting and turning in the wash, during wear, etc. it also just gives the pants a more "finished" look. 


See? You can see the two stitches and it just looks better in my opinion.



There you have it! Wallah! Your little guy (or gal!) will be super cute in his very own, one of a kind. pair of pants!!! That's all for today, until next time!! 



XoXo.

Brooke




















Friday, January 31, 2014

Opportunity awaits...

Happy Friday!! Yesterday's post got me thinking about the things we want in life. From day to day. I'm talking a prayer you may have been praying about, the last piece of buttermilk pie (true story), a better job, a promotion at your current job, or even wanting to learn to sew!

I am a firm believe in the power of prayer. I'm also a firm believer in getting off your butt and making it happen! Sometimes God will open doors for us (create opportunities) that we don't even see because we're too busy whining and complaining about our job (when we should be thankful we have   a job) or we're waiting on something to just fall in our lap. God sometimes gives us the opportunity, but we have to make it happen.

-Sign up for a sewing class! Better yet, do what I did and watch videos on YouTube. No joke. Everything I have sewn I've either watched a YouTube video on how to make it or I've found a step by step tutorial on another blog.

-Ask for that promotion! I highly recommend dressing your best that day and walking into your boss's office with a list of reasons why you deserve a promotion. What's the worst thing that could happen? They say no. Ok, well you still have a job, you're not making any less and you've planted a seed. Boom.

-And, you'll have to excuse me, this is MY style. Take that last piece of pie! Gobble it up real quick and then, even more quickly, leave the room. Wipe the crumbs off your mouth! Go in the kitchen later saying how much you'd reeaally like another piece of pie. *GASP* it's gone!!!! Oh well, someone must have wanted it more than you. The early bird gets the worm, right? Muahahahahahaha.

My "biggest" sale so far with my appliqué business happened because I reached out to a friend and showed her what I was doing. She has 3 little boys so I showed her pictures of the shirts I had made for Carter. She freaked (obvi) OUT. I offered her free shipping since she lives a bit away, and the rest is history. LOL, I won't start that again. I mean, word of mouth is my best friend right now. I made it happen.

Fear and doubt are the biggest dream killers, for real. Take a deep breath, and jump the fence of opportunity. You never know what is waiting on the other side.




Thursday, January 30, 2014

Waiting on His promise

Being a Mommy can be one of the most rewarding and the most challenging things I have ever experienced. I can't imagine my life without my little bear but sometimes I am scared to death and think to myself  'what am I doing?! I'm responsible for another human being!' Life has it's ups and downs for sure, Mommy-hood has it's mountains and valleys.

Carter is my greatest accomplishment.  I mean that in every sense of the word. My husband and I went through a lot before he finally entered this world and changed our lives forever.

I was pregnant 2 years before Carter's arrival in July of 2012. It was July 2010 when I found out I was pregnant and I was over the moon excited. I honestly couldn't believe it! Up until that point I never could imagine myself actually pregnant...maybe that sounds crazy. But I couldn't wrap my mind around it for the first few weeks. I remember going to my In laws with pee stick (hahaha) in hand to tell them the news. I printed out 'Pregnancy by week' because I couldn't wait to go get the book. I remember being irritated when people would ask me if I had felt the "flurries" yet. What flurries? Typical. If there's anyone that won't feel the flurries, it would be me. Oh well.

My 9 week checkup was nearing and we were to hear the heartbeat. My husband wasn't able to go because of work, I was disappointed but understood. They weren't able to pick up on the heartbeat but said not to worry, it wasn't too uncommon for that to happen this early on so they scheduled me for the next week to try again.  The next week my husband was able to come with me and we were both so excited!! I laid on the bed for what seemed forever while she lubed my stomach and explained what she was about to do and what it would feel like, etc.  The moment was here, and I almost couldn't stand it I was so excited!  I even thought for a moment that maybe they would pick up on two heartbeats!  Being a twin myself, an identical twin, the possibility for twins was there.  There are twins on both sides of our family, and my husband even told me he was praying for twins. Ha!  I can still remember the look on the nurses face while she frantically tried to pick up the heart beat. My husband was sitting across the room and I shot him a look, I must have looked terrified because he jumped out of his seat to stand next to the table. The nurse excused herself and came back with my doctor. He did the same as the nurse before him did, moved around my stomach to try to pick up a heartbeat. It wasn't long before he said, "well, what has happened is what we call an early term miscarriage..." He said several things after that but I honestly couldn't tell you what else he said. I could feel my stomach in my throat. Before I knew it I was sobbing uncontrollably and the nurse kept handing me Kleenex. We walked past the checkout desk and left. I couldn't even grasp what had just happened. I had walked into my appointment a Mommy, and walked out child-less.  I was almost 11 weeks pregnant.

The next several months I walked around in a haze. Excuse me if I sound 'dramatic', if I wouldn't have suffered a miscarriage I'm afraid I would be thinking the same thing. But...I lost my baby. The baby that without even knowing the gender, I had named. My baby had a name. My baby had a future with me and my husband. My baby was due in April, a few days shy of my birthday. My life lost  meaning.

We decided almost 3 or 4 months later to start trying again. Unlike before, I was determined this time. My poor husband. Ha! Also unlike before, it didn't happen immediately. Actually, we tried for 6 months, nothing. Some would say that's normal, and maybe it is. But you also have to understand that we were doing everything possible to get pregnant, and it wasn't happening. I knew my ovulation days and would freak out if Justin had to work late, I mean, FREAK out. See what I mean, my poor poor husband. Finally, after being prompted by my mother, I went back to my doctor to see if he could help. He ran some tests, took some blood, etc. The results came in about a week later and guess what, I wasn't releasing eggs. Whaaaaaatttt!?!? Why?!?!?!? Ugh!! Ok, so now what? He promptly put me on progesterone (which blew me up like a blimp) to help my body release the eggs. We'll see what this does.

It was almost a year later and we still weren't pregnant.  It was then I decided that God was punishing me for something I had done in the past.  It was either that or he was trying to teach me a lesson.  Either way I didn't want to hear any of what He was trying to tell me. I yearned for a baby. That's all I could think about.  I couldn't understand why me, a good Christian woman couldn't get pregnant.  Women and young girls got pregnant all the time, and on accident!  I went to church, I didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't do any type of drug, I paid my tithes, I had a job…so I started bargaining with God.  If I join the choir, You have to let me get pregnant.  I mean, there was obviously something He wanted me to do that I wasn't doing or hadn't done.  If I run around the church tonight during song service, then will You let me get pregnant?  That's completely out of my comfort zone, surely that will work.  Those thoughts really happened.  I didn't know what else to do!  I cried a lot and stayed angry a lot. I was angry with God, my family for, what I thought, not understanding like I thought they should.

Meanwhile, my Sister gets married and 6 months later....yep, she's pregnant. I've since apologized to her but I couldn't even be happy for her. I was so mad at her! She knew, she KNEW all that I had been through! Then she's gonna get pregnant??!! How selfish of her. Right? I get a lump in my throat thinking of all the ways I envied and sometimes hated her during her pregnancy. I hate myself for it. I hate that I never rubbed her belly, I hate that I never wanted to feel Chloe kick. I can't take it back but I am ashamed, so ashamed.

It was nearing the end of October 2011 and I can remember just being fed up with everything. We were having financial struggles, and it just seemed that everything was going wrong. I remember exactly where I was when I pulled my car over and beat, BEAT the steering wheel of my car until my hand was blood red and throbbing. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I shook my fist up at God and demanded he tell me why. Why he chose me to go through this trial, why he was allowing us to go through financial struggles, why he wouldn't just let me get pregnant! I told him that we went to church every Sunday, we paid our tithes, we were involved in areas of the church, and that I had paid my dues. I wanted him to tell my WHY. I demanded that he tell me audibly! I sat there awhile and then finally drove off. I had no idea, but I was already pregnant.

12 weeks!

I didn't want to share the news as quickly as I did the first time but I also didn't want to give in to fear, I believed this was God's promise fulfilled to us. This was what I had sobbed and prayed for the past year and a half. This is what I laid at the alter for until my face was swollen and splotchy. I needed to claim it!

My pregnancy was a dream. I never puked, had minimal morning sickness and didn't put on a lot of weight. My husband wanted a boy so when we found out it WAS a boy we were both ecstatic. We already had a name. The same name we had picked out for his brother. Carter Samuel Gage. July couldn't get here fast enough and I was already planning the night time songs I would sing to him, how I would dress him, how I would fix his hair...I had everything down to his nursery ready for his arrival.

6 months pregnant 

On July 16, 2012 at 10:06pm, Carter Samuel Gage entered this world. And he was perfect.

Love at first sight

I still struggle with 'God's timing' because it's not MY timing, but His timing is perfect. We had Carter at a time when I was able to stay at home with him. I wouldn't have been able to 2 years earlier. Besides that, I can NOT imagine my life without this baby. He completes our family in every way. I think of his brother or sister almost every day and I can't wait to see him or her in Heaven. I truly look forward to it. Until then, I've got a baby to raise down here on Earth. He is God's gift to us and we will forever be grateful.

Newborn pictures

Carter and Chloe

Napping with Daddy

6 month checkup 

1 year pictures

1 year pictures 

1 year pictures 

Do any of you have a story to tell of Gods promise fulfilled in your life?? If you do, I would love to hear it! 






Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Storing up treasures


Another huge part of my life is church. My faith & God are the only reasons I'm here. Because of God, I have the blessed life I live, my husband, our child...I live every day doing what I can to say thank you and to 'pay Him back' so to speak.

My husband and I are the youth leaders at our church and sometimes working for the Kingdom of God feels SO incredibly unrewarding. I'm just being honest. Especially when you are working with kids. They don't know the sacrifices we make, how incredibly hard it is to plan and sometimes even pay for them to have an activity to do EVERY Friday night, and now with a baby, it's gotten even more difficult at times.  I'm in no way complaining, I'm sorry if it sounds like that. God knows my heart. We have grown to love these kids, really LOVE these kids. And if no one else sees what we're doing or even appreciates it, these kids do and God does. My reward isn't here on Earth, it's in Heaven. I'm storing up some treasures, y'all.

This past week, and a little bit of the week before, I've been baking cakes around the clock for a Valentine's fundraiser our youth group is having. We're selling cake balls by the dozen, in 3 different flavors: Red Velvet, Strawberry and Chocolate. The money from the sales will help send them to a Youth Convention at the end of April. We go with them every year and I still get excited  when I know it's getting close.

I'm the type of gal that has a hard time depending on other people to get things done. It's a good thing and a bad thing. I'm a real go-getter when I have my mind set to do something, but if I have any help offered, I wanna make sure they do it the way I would do it or that they do it, period.  Part of this fundraiser (the biggest part!!) is actually making the cake balls! Selling is fun, even somewhat "challenging" I guess, but....these cake balls ain't gonna make themselves! I've got about 14 cakes baked, cling and foil wrapped and put in freezer bags inside my freezer, not including the 13 cakes I've baked so far today....y'all, my feet hurt. Hahaha. Here's a preview of what my day and kitchen look like right now.

                                                                 




^^^^
I've had that bad boy for about 4 years now and totally forgot about it. It will hold 3 cake mixes!!  

I decided a few years ago that I wanted to be more than the wife of the youth pastor, I wanted to be more than a filled seat in church, I wanted to be more and do more for His Kingdom. Even if it's just signing up to be a Nursery worker (which I did, lol) or joining the choir, or baking 100 cakes that will benefit someone else, I want to stay busy in His Kingdom.   I've heard the saying as long as I can remember that an idol mind is the devil's workshop.  1 Corinthians 15:58 says "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of The Lord, knowing that your toil in not in vain in The Lord". 

So get busy!  Start bettering His Kingdom! Start storing up your treasures!!