nesting motivation

In the last few weeks in the womb
this little darling,
re-vamped the kitchen.

Wells,
she didnt do it-
but mother nature,
in the form of
[nesting]
kicked my butt into gear
which in return kicked Pauls butt into gear
and we tore down the last bit of horrid wall paper in this house.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lard!

-Before-
a pic of the kitchen covered head to toe in wallpaper- before we bought the house.
It sat like this until Bertha kept kicking my ribs telling me to
TAKE IT DOWN!

-During-
What was hiding under the wall paper.
Such loverly detail.

But wait- theres more!
A breath taking teal green wall.
How very 90's.

-After-
All we did was paint and add new decor.
There is still more to do.
There is ALWAYS more to do.
(like get rid of the flourescent lighting, get new flooring, new appliances,
countertops....bla bla bla)

A little face lift never hurt nothin.
'cept Mr. Wallpapers feelings...

We love Scarlet yes we do

We were SO very lucky to have these sweeties out here the past week.
I love my billy goat laugher, butter eating, baby Cole so much.
I cried when they left.
Im still crying.
Imagine that.

One of the best pictures so far...

Julie took the kids to Harry Potter the night before she left.
Gettin their wizardry on.

Scarlet loved Julie too.

We did a lot of hanging out in the car...
mostly because I had to have my food fixes
Pho
Chick fil A
salt
salt
salt

There is a baby in there...
I think.

Feeling good, feeling thankful, feeling blessed.
Lots of changes coming our way....
I cant think of a better way to start it all off
than a sweet little straight from heaven babe.

The Scarlet Story

-Monday-
In a surprise twist of events with my doctor and her change of mind,
I got a phone call around 1 pm telling me to be at the hospital later that evening to get the baby ball rolling.
My swollen feet and I spent the night contracting on and off.
And ready for the events of the next morning.

-Tuesday-
6 am
called Paul to come meet me.
Only to find out he had been up all night with the flu.
FREAKED OUT.
But I had Saving Graces in the form of-
Pauls sister April- who was on the road in 30 minutes from Kansas City.
Ashleigh B- who rushed up to make me laugh all morning.
Kayleigh W.- who came prepared with massagers, tic tacs, diet coke, and girlfriend support.
Melissa M.- who rushed to get my kids, take soup and gatorade to Paul, and sneak me Pepsi.
I decided I could in fact have a babe with out my husband.
And a few hours later, before my epidural could kick in
Little Scarlet Wanda Melessa
made her debut.
I now know what the "ring of fire" feels like...and its a damn good thing Ill never feel it again.

Melissa and Ashleigh- her proud Auburn Aunties

Aunt April- who held my hand while I cried and {screamed}

Sweet little thang...

My sister Julie and her babe Cole got here just in time to say goodnight to Scarlet on her birthday.
This kid is hilarious.

Maya- no longer the babe.
Which Im sure she is just fine with.Paul felt good enough later in the evening to come meet his daughter.
And what a sweet meeting it was.

Happy to be going home.

Feeling ever so blessed.
Life is good.
The Lord loves me.
And I love it all.

My inner sexy

I just couldnt help myself.

I have a weakness
for really ugly
old lady style
super duper
oober comfortable
pjs.
Plus it was 1.00 on clearance.
Im so sexy I know...
Paul is a one lucky man.
(no knocking until you try one...for real yo)

Kinnygartner Leah

Leah G.
a month shy of 6
Kindergarten pictures 2010

I was expecting a
hilarious
goofy
awkward
silly
picture
(since my school portraits were ALL that way)
don't believe me? proof here.

but honestly- how can this little beauty be anything less?

Even toads can be gorgeous

Kindergarten started out rough
like a lot rough
but slowly
things got better.
And now Leah shines.
She loves
school
friends
lunch
picking out her outfits
being a member of the "cheetah club"
where she chases the boys
{cracks me up}
music
swings
coloring
reading
writing
playing teacher

And I couldn't be happier.
The girl can be completely frustrating sometimes {a lot}
but
she is the kindest soul I know
Which is weird- since her parents are such mean spirits :)

Paul loves Mormons ;)

Halloween 2010
Friday- trick or treating at the businesses down town.

We live a block and half away from "downtown"
it was a long walk

Pillsbury dough boy aka Jackson
is Leahs 5th grade love crush.

Maya donning the same costume she wore when she was 6 months
after # 43 costume change

Saturday
we headed to Kansas City
stuffed our faces with Chick-fil-A
then trunk or treated in the biggest ward Ive ever seen.
dem Mormons are crazy yo.
[Paul was in heaven-not]

Sunday
The Hagens neighborhood is awesome
when it comes to little walking/lots of candy
But you have to get by this handsome guy first.
Freak man.

He belongs to this house
among every other creepy thing sure to scare you to death.

It was chilly
But that didnt stop us.
(well, it did for Asher- the party pooper)

Heres how Maya felt about 3 days of candy.
actually it was her socks.
the girl is
psycho
when it comes to socks
(she gets it from her padre)

Leahs favorite?
eyeliner

And thats it folks!

What-once-was

It really is amazing what can be documented unknowingly through photo booth.

March 2008
little Maya in the womb

Nov 2010
little Bertha in the womb

Pregnant bellies just gross me out.
Okay
MY
pregnant belly just grosses me out.
i cant take the stretching any longer!

p.s. got a sneak peek of Bertha today- she looks like her
crazified sisters.
Maya specially.