Reflecting...

This week I have been sorting through old pics in efforts to finish begin Jack's first year scrapbook.  Jack turned 2 in January...I am a little behind.  This pic is of him at about 3 months old, which was 2 years ago!  Time flies.  Baby Jude is about to turn a year old, and I haven't even started Jack's scrapbook or even thought about poor Jude's. 

It really bugs me.

It bothers me that I am so behind.  Not scrapbooking major events for over 2 years is just not me.

Neither is...

allowing the floor of my car be coated in cracker crumbs and fruit snacks,

tolerating mixed up colors of play dough and paint,

not noticing the smell of sour milk,

driving with an expired inspection sticker and registration,

enjoying an Imagination Movers concert,

putting on a t-shirt inside out,

preferring Diego over Dora,

getting excited about a sale at Carter's, and not even knowing the dates of Nordstrom's half yearly sale.

Becoming a mother is an incredible adjustment.  I've changed my sleep, personal life, work load...the list goes on and on.  I think I have handled those adjustments fairly well.  I have the occasional, sometimes frequent, meltdown.  But what I never expected, was that I would have to adjust to a new me.  The me that lets things go and is a complete mess at times.  It's hard.  It's not easy to look down at my inside-out t-shirt, covered in sour milk.  It's nearly impossible not to think of the me that would have been wearing a crisply ironed, white shirt, with stain-free khakis, while wearing those cute new heels I picked up at the Nordstrom's sale.  

Just like going to college, moving into my first apartment, getting my first real job, getting married...I changed.  Motherhood is the same.  It brings a change of self much more overwhelming, but with many more benefits.  So, I'll give myself a break and embrace the change.  Except maybe the car inspection and registration.  I probably should take care of those.

Throw Me Something Mister!

"Throw Me Something Mister!"  That is Jack's new favorite phrase to yell throughout the house while throwing leftover beads in the air.  You will be happy to know that I didn't swipe all of them from the kids while they slept.  I just had them past them out to all their friends! hehe
What a fun trip!  My first Mardi Gras as a Mommy was a success, and surprisingly very little drama.  The children were fun, content, and well-behaved.  The food was heavenly.  The weather ended up being enjoyable and the parade was a blast!  A few of the kids (and Roxy, the dog) got pegged in the head with throws, but no permanent damage.  Oh, and no one choked on the baby from the King Cake!
Here are just a few shots of the fun that was had...

Brooke, Delaney, Izzy and Roxy waiting for the parade to begin.

Me and my siblings...Tricia and Troy.  Yes, we are Tracey, Tricia and Troy.  What can I say, it was the 70s?

Iz and D enjoying the scene.

It's fun seeing floats now run through my childhood neighborhood.

Jude catching who knows what from tasting the beads!

Jack wondering how in the world he is going to get untangled.

D weighted down!

Sweet Macey enjoying her first parade.

Jer and being silly with the Bug.

There is nothing better than being surrounded by all the ones that I love most!

Mardi Gras Road Trip

As I type my post title, I am laughing to myself on how much the meaning of a "Mardi Gras Road Trip" has changed for me in the past twenty years...has it really been that long ?!?!  
Twenty years ago a Mardi Gras road trip would have meant a great time in New Orleans with friends, fun, great food, beads, and several hurricanes. If you have ever been to Mardi Gras you know I am not talking about a major weather event went I speak of hurricanes.
Now a Mardi Gras road trip consists of a trip to Shreveport with family, five children under the age of six, fun, great food, beads, and several sippy cups.  Not to mention the diapers, wipes, and "lovies" that need to be packed.  
For my Louisiana readers, I am happy to report when Jack realizes we are heading to Granny and Papa Joe's, he has the over whelming desire to bring every piece of clothing, toy, and book that is purple and gold or has this image...  

He must think that they will send him back if he isn't prepared to prove that even if he is a Texan, he has decided to grow up a Tiger.
Needless to say, getting ready for a trip to Mardi Gras is dramatically different than it was twenty years ago.  I am beyond thrilled to be with my entire family and share this special event with my hubby and kids. 
I look forward to watching all the baby cousins play, spend quality time with my siblings, and enjoy my parents.  I am also looking forward to teaching my kiddos how to catch these...

The appropriate, family-friendly way that is.
I can't  wait to overeat on treats such as these...

After I poke my fingers through it to make sure my kiddos don't choke on this...

Stay tuned for pics and I am sure entertaining stories on my first Mardi Gras as a Mommy.  Since I have no doubt that our car will be fifty pounds heavier with Mardi Gras beads, I am already planning ways to store and organize them...more like plotting ways to get rid of them without the kiddos noticing.

Looking Back

About this time in...
2008...We were engaged to be to married.

2009...Had a brand new baby Jack.

2010...Enjoying that sweet face!  And me in the background with baby Jude about ready for his arrival.

2011...My precious boys playing so nicely together.  I wonder how long that brotherly love will last?!?

I still can't get over how much my life has changed in 3 short years.  I am so incredibly blessed!

A Quick Pantry Door Project

Wow!  It's been over a week since I have posted anything over here at The Teleporting Toddler!  The Roden house has been crazy busy and sick...again, which leaves me with lots to blog about, but little time to actually sit down to blog it.  
Here is a quick project I did with our pantry door...
Our pantry door is the landing place for all the kids' artwork.  I have had a bulletin board on it for the past couple of years, but it always seems to be so cluttered...I hate clutter...shocker...I know!  

I have thought about adding another bulletin board, but I think that will just create more clutter.  So while browsing the aisles of my happy place...Target...I decided to hang up some cork board.
I just purchased a package of the square cork board and some 3M Command adhesive tape.

All of our doors in the house have a decorative inset.  To accommodate that and not cover it up, I traced the outline of it with tracing paper.

For once I was very lucky in a decorating/organizing project and discovered that the cork board squares were the exact size of my inset.  So I just attached them to the door with the adhesive tape, and trimmed the top one to match the curve in the inset.

Tada!  A new cork board pantry door.  We have much more room for artwork now.  I think having just the cork hung and not a whole bulletin board gives it a less cluttered look.

Now if I can just figure out how to reduce the clutter of viruses running through my house at the moment...

Happy Valentine's Day to My Heart's Desire

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desire."  Psalm 37:4
About two weeks before I met you I received this message in a fortune cookie...
"The love of your life will appear in front of you unexpectedly!"
Like everyone else, I enjoy a good fortune cookie, but I rarely save those tiny pieces of paper.  If I do save them, I usually lose them about 5 minutes later.  Ironically at this time in my life I was completely down on love and dating; so this fortune made me chuckle...sarcastically chuckle.  As I put it in my wallet, I thought..."right, we'll see."
Then several days later, I was rushing up the sidewalk of the Dallas Museum of Art to meet a blind date.  A blind date that I really DID NOT want to meet, but thought..."what the heck, surely this one couldn't be any worse than the last."
In that moment, that instant that we said hello...I knew.  Yes, it's true.  I knew.  I never believed in love at first sight.  It always sounded hokey...until it happened to me.  In the briefest moment of time, I realized that this man that stood in front of me was all I ever wanted.  All I never knew I desired, until that moment.  Suddenly God revealed to me those deep desires of my heart, and He plopped them right in front of me on that cold December afternoon.

So I keep that tiny little fortune on my desk not only to remind me of the moment I met you, but also how suddenly everything I ever dreamed of came to be...in one moment...the moment I met you.  Jeremy, you are truly my heart's desire.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Bye-Bye Dining Room

Jer and I have been dreaming of a new house.  
We love our neighborhood, but it is too far out.  For the past several months I have been neglecting some projects, organization, and redecorating.  I have been saying to myself...in our new house...I will do...this or that.  I have been so preoccupied with creating this new perfect house in my imagination that I have fallen a little out of love with my current home.
Well the fact is, we aren't going to move anytime soon, and I need to tackle these projects, and fall back in love with my house.  It is a beautiful home.  No reason for me not to love it.  There actually is a plenty of room for the kids to play and roam.  The space just needs to be used more wisely.
The first item of business is the dining room.  (Big sigh) I {heart} my dining room.

I love the color, my wall art, and my dining table that I got for a STEAL at the Barn years ago.  I especially love and treasure my Granny's mission bookcase.  Its from 1916 and still has the original glass.  How it survived me and my siblings, I will never understand.

I really didn't want to part with any of it, and frankly I wasn't going to.  But Jer and I needed an office.  The dining room is used maybe 3 to 4 times a year for Thanksgiving and birthdays.  It just isn't a wise use of space.  After a little pep talk, I convinced myself it was the right thing to do...say good-bye to my dining room.
So some rearranging commenced.

We moved some shelves and an existing desk from upstairs.

Some items were repurposed.

Granny's bookcase is now used has an actual bookcase.  The dining room table became my desk, and the chairs were put in storage to pull out when we entertain.

Now, Jer and I have an actual office.  

I thought I would hate it, but I kind of love it.  Jer is over the moon to have his own space.  That alone makes the 525 trips up and down the stairs completely worth it.