What you've been waiting for...

If you're not interested in all the fluff, just scroll down to see my new look. But, before you do...YOU'VE BEEN WARNED...it is WAY different than I am sure you (or I) imagined.

I am in a sewing group now and I thought I'd post my creation. Believe it or not, but shirring is actually pretty easy. I am just eating this fabric up, I love it! I've also made a couple of pillowcase dresses, but London cries everytime I try to put it on her (which is really odd because she LOVES dresses). After she cries, I give her the frowny face, you hurt my feelings look and she said "Momma, I don't like it" I pretend cry a little and then she states "I LOVE it." However, I still have not been able to get her to wear it. Oh well! Kamryn loves to make me happy and has worn all 3 creations to school and church. Next up is a skirt for the 4th of July...woohoo!


The girls got to be in their first local parade. It was so hot and I felt so bad for my kids, especially Kamryn whom walked the whole time. They loved all of the attention though.



Okay, here ya go...
Before




After

It seriously feels like I have a wig on! I told the beautician to do WHATEVER she wanted and this is what she came up with. We went with a darker color with blonde highlights to make my blue eyes pop. I love everything about my new hair, except for the bangs. Though, my bangs aren't so bad either. I can pretty much have them, or sweep them to the side and they still look okay. I know I said I wouldn't get bangs, but the beautician was pretty convincing. Now I'm thinking of a new reward for the next 10 pounds that I lose.

Can you see it?

Before

After

You can't really get the full affect since the pictures only show from the waist up...but I have lost 20 pounds now. I still can't really believe it since I am still pretty far from my goal. I am only losing about a pound a week. That is WAY slow for how hard I work, but I guess that is what I get for not keeping my weight under control in the first place. I really don't mean to sound like I am bragging, but this is a HUGE accomplishment for me. Thank you Emily, Cherie, and Lauren for always building me up...you guys really motivate me and keep me going with this weightloss adventure.

My birthday

I had a really wonderful birthday this year. Some of my friends took me out to eat for lunch. When I walked in and the waitress asked how many, I stated that I am meeting some friends and she proceeds to say "Jennifer party of 40". I was shocked and not expecting that many. It was nice and made me feel loved.

Jeff took me out to eat Subway for dinner because I wanted to eat healthy. He also bought me a little 100 calorie weight watcher cake for my birthday cake. What a sweetheart! And, my presents were perfect! He got me my Nike Ipod + which is like a glorified pedometer/trainer. I haven't tried it just yet, but soon. I am too busy with aerobics and water aerobics right now and they both wear me out. He also bought me a flash for my camera, but I decided to trade it in for a new lens (haven't got it in the mail just yet). Thanks for a great birthday!


I am 32, just in case you were wondering.

I highly recommend...

Taking your kids to the monthly workshops at Home Depot. We had so much fun! The picture doesn't do it justice(they didn't want pictures taken) and hopefully I will remember my camera the next time we go. It is for kids ages 5-12, however they didn't even question how old London was. Both girls made a catamaran which was the project of the month, however they had leftovers from last month so both girls got to craft a pencil holder that included 3 wooden flowers. I had to help, but they seriously loved it. Also, they get a Home Depot apron and when you finish projects they give you a pin to put on the apron for your accomplishment. Seriously cute! It is on the first Saturday of the month from 9-12pm and it is FREE (best part).

As promised...

The Birthday Girl herself, eating her favorite breakfast. She picked the ever so easy blueberry pancakes. Grandma makes her blueberry pancakes every time we visit, so as I am whipping up the batch Kamryn makes sure to tell me exactly how Grandma does it. Kamryn happily munched on frozen blueberries as I finished making the pancakes. Even after eating so many blueberries, she still downed about 4 pancakes. She loves her breakfast!

My goal for the day is to have as much fun as possible. I don't want one second of her day to be boring. After getting ready, we headed out for lunch at McDonald's. Since she had a huge birthday party the year before, I didn't feel it was appropriate to invite any friends this year. Lucky for us though, we saw several friends at McDonald's play place. This way she had fun with some of her friends, but they didn't even know it was her birthday so they didn't feel obligated to buy her a gift. It worked out great! Both Kamryn and London had a blast!

This cute dress and barrette were a present from Emily and Bryleigh. I knew the second I saw this dress that it would be her birthday outfit for the day. It is adorable (thanks Emily). I probably will be sewing a bunch of them for the girls soon enough.

After McDonald's we went swimming for a bit, but the kids were getting pretty tired at this point. We took off after about 30 minutes. When we got home, she had a package from her Grandparents and her Aunt Ashee waiting for her. She got $25 from one set of Grandparents (of which she bought one of those Barbie heads that you style their hair) and the other set of Grandparents got her a flutterfairy pixie (as she calls it) and a bunch of beginning reader books. Aunt Ashee got her a princess beginner reader book and a mermaid toy to play with in the water. She was soooo happy. And, just a side note...when did my little girl learn how to read! Of course she learned it in kindergarten and from us, but I've always had to help her sound out words etc.,. She turned 6 and all of a sudden she gets it...she can totally read all by herself and she can sound out the craziest of words. Wow!

I was really hoping that they would both take a nap because I am exhausted at this point. Instead, we play outside on her new bike until Jeff came home from work. Then we played outside some more. I think teaching her to ride a bike will take a bit, she seems very apprehensive about it.


Yes, she picked a Kid Cuisine for her birthday dinner (she did this last year too!). I don't know if I am offended that I haven't cooked meals that she loves and would want for her birthday dinner, or if I am proud that she chose a frozen entree because we never buy these things so it would be a "treat" to get one. It didn't matter though, it made my birthday girl happy.

After dinner, we went to T-ball practice and played at the park for a bit. Then we came home and had birthday cake and sang her Happy Birthday cha cha cha.

We also watched the new movie, Kung Fu Panda. We enjoyed it, however I did think that Tai Lung (not sure of his name) was very scary. My kids weren't as entertained by this movie as they have been with others, but it was still a good movie. I enjoyed the message behind it. All in all, Kamryn had a wonderful birthday. She stated that it was the best day of her life. I guess that means it was a success!

Thank you for giving me the BEST day of my life!

Six years ago, I met my little girl for the first time (June 5). We had known for 4 months that she would be joining us and that her birth mom would allow me to watch her being born. This amazed me. We were so excited just to have a new baby that we weren't expecting the opportunity to witness her entrance into the world. I was so grateful that Kamryn's birth mom wanted me to experience the whole pregnancy thing. Honestly, I don't expect this to happen again, but at least I had this one chance.

It was early in the morning when we received a phone call from the hospital letting us know that Kamryn's birth mom was in labor. I knew the second the phone rang that our baby was coming. I jumped out of bed and started jumping up and down. Jeff answered and I think he was still sleepy because it didn't really register until he hung up and then he went into "calm wife down" mode since I was in a panic getting ready to leave. I actually think we were in our car on the road for the 3 1/2 hour drive in 10 minutes. It was the longest drive I have ever taken. To say the least, I was excited.

When we arrived at the hospital we checked on Kamryn's birth mom who was sleeping. She looked peaceful thanks to an epidural and we didn't want to disrupt her rest so we just waited in the waiting room. Again, time is going really slow right now. She wasn't dilated very far yet, so we were in for a long day. Around noon, we got a hotel room and showered as fast as possible and went back to the hospital. Finally around 5 o'clock she dilated to an 8, but after a few minutes she asked for a nurse to check her and she was fully dilated and ready to push. We got into position. Jeff stood behind a curtain with another of the birth mom's guy friends.

I didn't really realize that I'd be that up close and personal while my baby was being born, I just thought I'd be in the room. However, I was there for the birth mom, holding her legs and counting. And, as odd as this sounds to some of you, it was really easy, comfortable and natural. I really saw my little girl enter the world, crying, bright pink with a load of dark hair.

The incredible, overwhelming feeling of love, and gratitude was indescribable as I held her little hand for the first time. She was still wailing and uncomfortable as the nurses checked her over.

Two parts of Kamryn's stay at the hospital are etched in my mind forever. The first was when I was able to feed her for the first time. Jeff was with me now. We were all in the same room. I just remember getting to know Kamryn and peering into her brown eyes and she into mine and getting that feeling that we've known each other forever. Wondering what she would tell me if she could. I felt such a connection with her that I seriously wonder how I lived my life without her in it for so long. Then I looked up to see S (Kamryn's birth mom) and her mother crying and comforting each other. At this moment, I had no idea what to do. My heart broke and I just started to cry. I have no idea why our baby had to come the route she did. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone. So, there we all sat...crying. This young girl who had become my friend gave me the most precious gift ever and all I could do was cry. It was a bittersweet moment.

Part II Day Two

We had a lot of family visiting our newborn and S was recovering, so we were given a separate room. Every once in a while S would ask to see Kamryn. We understood. I am sure she was telling her just how much she loved her, because she did and still does. My family left and Jeff's family arrived this second day and we spent all morning together...bonding. Around noon a nurse came to get Kamryn for a visit with S. We took this opportunity to go out to lunch with Jeff's family. When we returned, we just waited for Kamryn to come back to our room. Five hours later and still no Kamryn. Jeff's family needed to leave, so we went to S's room and asked how she was doing. She stated that Kamryn's birth father had come to see her and that he was trying to talk her out of placing her for adoption. When we heard this, both of our hearts nearly exploded. We asked S how she felt and you could tell she was confused. We took Kamryn back to see family and by this time I couldn't hold it in any longer. I excused myself as everyone started loving on Kamryn again. Eventually, Jeff found me crying in the bathroom, brought me back to the room and handed me Kamryn. Family just stood around watching me hold my sweet little baby. Their was no dry eye in the room. We held a family prayer and it was such an emotional prayer. I've never seen Jeff so emotional before. It was the sweetest prayer I've ever heard and we all felt calm. After family left, Jeff and I had an overwhelming feeling to just go and talk with S. We did and she stated to us again that after much thought, she still knew that Kamryn was meant to be with us.


I apologize for this long post. But, since it is Kamryn's birthday, I feel it necessary to praise Kamryn's birth mom who placed her with us. She is amazing and we love her so much. We will be forever grateful for you!

Birthday Girl pictures coming soon!

Weekend Warriors

We had a fun, but busy weekend. Jeff went to the father/sons campout and left us girls all alone. I think this is the only time of the year that he is sad that he doesn't have a son yet. While he was away, we went to McDonald's with Cherie and her girls. The girls literally wore themselves out playing in the playplace. It was easy to put them to bed...yeah! Jeff did end up coming home that night though and I was so happy because I hate staying by myself.

Saturday was a yard work day. We spent the morning outside pulling weeds that have gotten out of control. Actually, I've had no experience with yard work and I am still learning, but it was enjoyable. I have warned Jeff about our acreage though, he is in charge of the outside and I will be in charge of the inside.

After the yard work, both girls had a dance performance during a local festival. They looked adorable, as usual. I was afraid London wouldn't perform and I was partly right. For the first little while she just laid down on the ground (see picture below). Eventually she got up and did some major leg kicks and just looked like she was having so much fun. Kamryn did perfect. She had all the moves down to a tee and also looked like she had fun. Kamryn also entertained most of the kids while they were waiting to perform by doing leg kicks and jumps. She is quite the little leader.



After the big performance, we stopped for ice cream and to pick up some stuff from Costco. Then we headed home and tried out our new water slide. It was so chilly outside that I didn't think the girls would do it, but nope...wrong again (crazy kids!). We were able to snap several cute pictures and just enjoyed time together as a family.