Who He Is- Mason

Mason is the most amazing 3 year old I have ever met, of course he is mine... I wanted to post some stuff about him so I make for sure that I never forget just the way he is now. Life is passing so fast and I often think I am forgetting things...






Mason,

You are getting so inquisitive. You want to know just how everything works. You take things apart, you ask a ton of questions and you study almost everything so you can know all of the details.

You know more about cars than any kid I know. You know a ton of cars down to the make, model and year.

You get a little sad and emotional when you hear a sad song, even if it is a slow tune, you get sad...

You make the most elaborate car races on the kitchen counter and you get ticked if someone touches it...

You like to use "big" words and sometimes you use them wrong- it is cute.

You love to read and wouldn't mind if I read 10 books a night.

You named Miles' paci's "rum gum jumps."

You think a fire in the fire pit means you are "camping out."

You are a sweet brother.

You have a big imagination.

You make a mess in your room and blame it on people who don't even live in our house.

You normally tell at least one person at the grocery store something embarrassing about me... I really appreciate how honest you are to complete strangers.

You worry about lots of stuff... Normally just your cars and toys. You will say, "Mom, I am really worried about my monster truck, I think he has a flat tire."

You love fruit snacks and have a sweet tooth that cannot be cured, just like me.

You will only let me (mom) put you to nap or bed...

You hate to have your teeth brushed, hate it...

You love all animals, sea creatures and bugs. You love to take trips to the aquarium and the zoo... You always learn something new on our fun trips and you are always so proud of yourself.

You recently decided that the Swiffer sweeper was a horse and you named your horse, Callie. I took you to Wal-Mart hoping to buy you a pony on a stick and you said, "Mom, what about Callie?"

You name your army men.

You love to dress up as Iron Man and you ask me every day what I'm going to before Halloween...

You are learning how to climb, well... You have been moving pieces of furniture to climb and get to the candy jar.

You tell the lady at the bank drive thru that she is pretty just so you can get a sucker...

You are very compassionate, you care about others feeling as it bothers you if you hurt them.

You come up-stairs to get in the bed with me every night.

You love to work on stuff and you tell me, "don't bother me, Mom, I am busy working."

You love to play doctor; looking into my ears and listening to my heart, but you hate to go to the doctor.

You are smart.

You are clever and sneaky.

You love to be a helper.

You make the best car, motor cycle and monster truck noises.

You are your Dad's mini shadow.

You love to play with kids that are older than you.

You have great manners, that makes me happy.

You are getting rather tall.

You do not like the dark, strangers or weird textures.

You understand what "rude" is and you do not like people being rude.

You sing to yourself when playing in your room but when you catch me watching, you stop.

You want to be alone while you are using the bathroom.

You close your eyes when you get in trouble, as if I cannot see you with your eyes closed.

You once caught a caterpillar. We made it a home in a jar and you named it "baby". It turned into a moth and we let it go back into the wild.

You randomly tell the people you love that you love them. It is so special when you say it and I can really tell you mean it.

You are very attached to your "brown snugglie." You will not sleep with out it... Good thing it is big and hard to loose. Bad thing that it is the only one we have and it has been a chore finding one like it, just in case.

You are my first son and I am so proud of you. Your Dad and I are always telling each other how lucky we are to have you. I love to spend my days with you, I would not have it any other way. You are a wonderful tester of my patients and sometimes you stretch me to the limits. I always learn from you and I hope that you can always learn from me. You are beautiful, smart and funny. I hope you get to be everything you aspire to be in life, I will do my very best as your Mom to make sure you achieve your goals.

Love Always,

Mom

Ripley's Aquarium

We took a family trip to The Smokies. Since we live in east TN now, we are not too far. We wanted to take Mason to the Ripley's Aquarium, he loves fish and all sorts of sea creatures and we just knew he would love it...

Here are some fun pictures from our trip in no particular order.

Curt & Mason watching the fish.
The big Christmas tree outside of the aquarium, Mason wanted to know where the presents were?? Silly kid!

Mason's favorite crab, he thought he might want to take him home... We have this problem with the lobsters at Kroger too... He gets so sad and wants to take them home...

In the tunnel under the tank... It was pretty cool to see all the aquatic creatures from underneath!

Eating Dip n' Dots by the sting rays...

He thought this was the best. There were sea horses all around.

In the tunnel again.

We love star fish.

And jelly fish are just simply the best.

I hardly ever get a picture because I am normally behind the camera... It is hard to get the hubbs to take a picture that is not blurry.

We had a great time and Mason is already planning our trip back. He loves the aquarium. He also really wants a trip to the zoo as well. When it gets warmer, I am sure we will get a membership to the K-town zoo... Miles was on our trip but slept through the whole thing, that is fine because he is too small to remember and Mason was really fast and needed both of our attention now that he is not in a stroller.

Impossible

With 3 grand kids all 3 years and under, it is pretty hard to get a decent picture... Mason seems to be the one with ants in his pants...

Sad.

**Update: Lydia was released from the hospital last night, late. She has a few broken ribs, a bruised lung and I am sure a broken heart.


There has been a tragedy in my family tonight.



My cousin, Mary, was killed in a car accident and her sister, Lydia, has been sent by life flight to the hospital.

Mary was so young. Lydia is young. There are no words for how I feel right now.

Please pray for:

Lydia, as she processes what has happened.

Anna, the youngest sister to have understanding.

David, their father, to find peace, understanding and strength.

Karen, their mother, to find peace, understanding and strength.

My whole family, as we try and process this tragedy.

I know that God has a purpose and a plan for each and every life on this earth. I know that. But in a time like this it is so hard to see through the tears, to understand that this loss on earth is Heaven's gain. Hard.

Tonight, I held my babies tight as I was reminded that they are only on loan to me by my Heavenly Father. That, no matter what, they are a part of God's plan.

Right now, my plan is to make for sure that they know I love them and give them everything I have...

Silly boy!

Mason just said, "mom, when I grow up I will be too big to eat lots of candy! Mason is happy to be a little boy!"

He gets funnier every single day! It is a good thing I am smart and I don't fall for his little stunts! ; )


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Merry Christmas

From our family to yours...

Merry Christmas

2009

Do Tell....

What makes you feel "Sassy"?

Do you drink coffee with your girlfriends?




Do you wear perfume?





Do you put on your favorite jeans?





Do you carry your favorite purse?

Please do tell... I am giving a way this little beauty.

I have one just like it, and I wear it to remind myself when to Sass-up!

Go HERE and leave me a comment on how you "keep it Sassy", that is all you have to do!

***If you do not have a blogger account, no worries, leave me an anonymous comment with your name and e-mail address so I can contact you if you are the winner!

Christmas Orders, Part I....

The reason for all of this sporadic blogging is all of my Christmas orders... I have been busy, but it has been a blessing.

If you are looking and do not see your jewelry, do not worry, it is done and it all shipped today... YIPPE! I am just behind on posting.


This is just a show off post, I am in the process of combining KIKI & LELE blog and this blog to make things simpler... Also, I am re-naming from KIKI & LELE to
LP Designs. I know it is not super creative, but I wanted something that would cover all of the stuff I like to make.

The ETSY shop will also get re-done as well... Trying to get bids on all of this fun stuff from fellow ETSY-iers. If you know anyone who does logo design, please send them my way...

I had a hard time getting good pictures, it was a nasty rainy day yesterday... Go figure, the sun is out today and everything is already packed and shipped.... Oh well.

I love this one, it has an aged look to it and it is just perfect. I have one that says, "I love you like crazy glue." I always say that to Mason, I am not sure where crazy glue came from, maybe because it rhymes?

I love this one, I wear it on my "sassy" days.... As a SAHM, I need a little reminder sometimes between diapers and bum wiping and nap times that I still have a little Sass!

How do you remember to stay sassy?

* Let me know and you might be the winner of one just like this....

Sweet, Smooshy Boy

No words, just Miles.

The Big O

I got your attention, huh?

Organization

Since we have moved, my life has seemed turned upside down. The one thing that I normally can control is my crafting space. Well, when we moved I pretty much just threw it all in boxes hoping to get it organized after we settled. I am just now getting around to it.

I am a HUGE fan of ribbon. I just love it so much. I am not sure why I love it really, I have no girls, but I do. So, sometimes I splurge, telling myself that it is for this or for that, but normally I make one thing and then it just sits in a box in my crafting space.

I have altered an idea I saw a while ago {on a blog I cannot remember- if I do, I will post it} about how to organize your ribbon. The original idea was to use clothes pins that do not have hinges and tie a know in the ribbon... I am lazy, so I bought the ones with hinges, no knots, just wrap and VIOLA!

Just clip the ribbon and start to wrap and I use a straight pin when done... If you want more kid friendly, you can use tape to fasten it.

And there you have it, no more crazy piles of spools of ribbon.
* of course I have waaay more ribbon than this, so I have to buy another jar...

This Guy....

has....

my.....

heart...

O Christmas Tree....

Our tree 2009

I changed the balls this year to Red, white and apple green- oh and they are plastic....
Mason made me a "ginger man" at school. He told me, " don't lick it Mom, it tastes like ewwww."

Mason's beautiful angel that now sits on his Grans desk at work, he thought she should have it.

We have a lot of police ornaments, they are our favorite.

If you look closely, we store our Christmas cards on the tree... I keep all of them each year, especially the ones with pictures...

2009 Christmas tree, in all of its glory...

Fat

Curt and I went shopping for Christmas.



A store was entered that starts with an "A".



As we entered there was a young lady- maybe 18, maybe-standing at the front of the store greeting people.



We had the stroller loaded down and Miles was in his sling.



The store was narrow.



The ...sweet... young lady told us about the special deals the store was having for today.



I mumbled to Curt something about thinking our stroller would not fit through the store because it was so crowded.



She was eaves dropping and misunderstood me and said, and I quote....



"Oh no Ma'am there are people much larger than you that shop in here...."

I wanted to look at her and speak in her laungage and say, "OMG ur kdng right? LOL!" Then, I wanted to slap her Mamma for not teaching her any better.


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Go Away...

Both of the boys have been sick on and off for about 2 weeks. Ear infections and upper respitory infections have plauged my sweet boys. Mason was back at the doctor this morning with another ear infection. This was his 4th in this year. He was placed on a stronger antibiotic and if it does not clear it up he will be sent to an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist to see about tubes in his ears. Hopefully it will not get to that. He also had his H1N1 flu mist and I must say it was super easy and way better than a shot.

We are just going to focus on getting better....


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Giving. That is what it is all about...

Have you ever been in the line at a store and the cashier asks you, "Would you like to give a dollar to help St. Jude Children's Hospital?" I always say yes. I always have chills. I always give more. I have healthy children, I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful that my days are not spent watching my sick child getting poked and prodded and going through the worst imaginable tests. I hope having to go to a hospital like St. Jude never becomes a reality for my children, I pray that their lives are always blessed with good health.

Because my children are healthy, I have decided that I will "give thanks" for them. My parents always set an amount on what they want to spend on us for Christmas, we have a budget. I will admit, there are so many things I want- as always. But, not one thing I need. I decided after spending half of my Christmas budget that I would give the other half to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

At St. Jude, NO child is ever turned away because of their parents inability to pay for there care. That is so amazing!!!! If you have a bit extra left in your holiday budget this year, give some of it. It does not have to be to St. Jude, it could be to any non-profit organization. It will make you feel so amazing inside. I promise.

My gift is giving 2 platelet count tests. I know it may not seem like a HUGE gift, but to me it is.

Revelation of the Day

And I quote.....
"I need some coke Mom, coke will make me BIG and STRONG, just like Iron Man...". Mason Phillips, 3yrs




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H1N1 Blues

I had my h1n1 shot on Friday and I feel terrible! My muscles ache all over and I baiscally feel like death warmed over.....


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Untitled

No title on this one, just an update.

Both boys have been sick with upper respiratory infections and ear infections. They are starting to come around now and starting to feel better. Miles is taking a bit longer to heal...



I had my H1N1 today. Not too bad, I got the shot. I am not a huge fan of stuff up my nose. My arm itches a bit, but it was no big deal. Getting Mason's will be the bigger deal. I am not a huge fan of this shot because it has only been out for this year, but I would much rather give it to Mason and get it myself than see Mason or Miles get sick with this. When you see where kids in your community close to your own kids ages are dying from H1N1, it makes you really want to get your kids the shot- at least it does me...



Curt has been working his new job for a whole week now. He has mostly been training. I feel like I have hardly seen him. He is gone all day and then studies after we eat dinner. I know this whole training thing will not last too long, so it is totally tolerable. Mason loves seeing his Daddy in his police uniform.



Mason said, "Mason gonna get big and be a hero like my Dad..." Priceless, I say, priceless.



But he also said he wanted to get a new Mommy, so I guess you gotta take the bad with the good.... : )



Mason is constantly helping with Miles and he says they are "best friends" I hope that lasts. He really seems to love him- at least he does when Miles is not crying...



Miles is growing like a weed. He has nice round cheeks and people are constantly telling me he looks way older than 13 weeks. I think he looks like a little snow man... Cute as can be, I give him 10 million kisses a day. He also got a mobile from his Mammie and he loves it a ton. He sat last night under it for 30 minutes talking and cooing and trying to reach and grab it.



I am {hopefully} going to put my tree up tonight- slacker, I know...



I have been working on jewelry Christmas orders that are slamming me. So, that is my excuse for all of my short falls: unfolded laundry, boxes still in my closet, dishes need to be washed, Mason's room is a disaster...



I also got an embroidery machine. I have read the manual like 2 times but I still have not managed to crank anything out yet. Maybe that will happen soon.






What is a post without a picture. Please forget that you can see all the way up my nose.... I just wanted to show off my Hunk-o-ramma husband... You are jealous, I know...

Family Holiday Time 2009

Me and my beautiful sister, Katie. Baby Liam is keeping warm in her tummy for the time being.



This is my Granny Swan, she is my mom's mom. Isn't she beautiful? I cannot remember the last time we had a picture together.



What else can I say- he is adorable and he is all ours.



My brother and Curt went hunting, a Mommy deer was killed, I can't say much more than that it makes me sad.



My Dad and Miles catching a nap... Aren't they lucky?

I managed to get a picture of everyone but my Mom..... Sorry Mom, maybe next time.

We had a great holiday and enjoyed some great food.