Kite Festival 2k12

Want to know Amelia's favorite thing to do in the entire world?

Press the buttons on our cable box.

She is amazing at turning it off and on and when she finally gets the cable box to turn back on, our system directly goes to the "YNN" channel (for those Time Warner users in ATX). Needless to say, I have gotten use to watching this channel, which repeats the same stories...over and over again.

Today on YNN they had a really good story {mind you I was also busy cleaning up spilled milk, keeping Amelia off the fire place so I didn't get all the details} about a mom who was determined to find free fun things to do in our amazing city. After two years of doing a NEW activity every day, she is still finding ways to keep her and her chillen's busy...{yes, I said chillens. my grandmother is from Mississippi.}

Tonight while doing my typical 487574 hours of web surfing on the couch, I tried to google her blog. As I mentioned before, I wasn't all that attentive to the TV, but I came across this site and was thrilled with what I found!

This has some awesome FREE mommykiddy friendly things to do in Austin! Granted, I will have to wait a few years before my little tyke can partake but there are some great ideas to keep a stay at home mom from feeling like every day is identical. Not too far down into scrolling, I came across this post!!!

ZILKER KITE FESTIVAL is coming up, y'all! I have always wanted to attend and am always the jealous broad on Facebook admiring everyones photos. The festival is March 4th this Sunday....

You can find all the info for it here and learn some cool history as well!

Have YOU been to the annual kite fest? Is it really all its hyped up to be? 

Act Of Valor: Act of Courage

Last night, Travis convinced me to do two things that I never do....
1. Go see a movie in an actual theatre (other than "The Help" the last 24845 movies i've seen have been thrown into the "waste of time and money" catagory and if I MUST sit in one spot for over an hour it better be my own couch where I can pause and pee as I need.)
2. Go see a movie that is not in my typical genre. I am a "stupid humor", drug related ("Blow"), mob boss kinda movie gal. I can't stand science fiction, chick flicks or war movies (such as "300").

However, I was privileged enough to watch "Act Of Valor" last night. I hadn't seen one preview for this movie yet so when Travis told me he wanted to go see this, I threw it out the window immediately. "This is our only date night for awhile I don't want to waste it seeing a movie I don't want to see, Trav" I pleaded. But then he showed me this trailer (PLEASE WATCH IT) and it spiked my interest enough to go.

There were parts of this movie that made my heart race like no other movie I have seen. You can truly feel the act of courage that the Navy Seals (and any form of the military) are forced to hold and I really appreciated seeing a film of this nature with hardly any computerized special effects (when the heck was the last time that happened??). It also shed some light on the affects the military has on one's family and I could only imagine how much that would change my family dynamic. The best part was that most of the characters in the movie were actual Navy Seals...sure there were times that the acting was a little sketchy but thats because they aren't actors...they are much more than that. TOO many times in the movie my tiny naive brain would look over at Travis and ask "does that really happen?" or "can they really do that??". It really put into perspective how advance our military is, how in sync they are and frankly, how brave they are. Putting all politics aside, this movie definitely goes into the "Must See" category....

Many times we pass a soldier, a fighter, a veteran on the street without even giving them so much as a smile. They are putting their families and lives on the line for our freedom yet never ask for anything in return. We should be putting our military on the highest pedestal but instead our society is throwing award show after award show for celebrity nobodies...

The next time I see ANY form of military on the street, they will not be overlooked. I look forward to many hand shakes and "thank you's." For the first time in a very lonnnnng time, last night I was proud to be an American.

Valor: {Val-or}

strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness : personal bravery

They say when you truly love something...

{If you thought yesterdays post was a debby downer, prepare yourself.}

Last night was a very pivotal point in my life...

I gave away my dogs. To a complete stranger. 

How did this happen? How did we get to this point?

I NEVER EVER thought I would have given away my sweet babies. And then I had an actual child...

I always thought it was a cop out when people would give away their pets when they had children but now I totally get it. I GET IT. Half of this was my fault. Ever since Amelia was born, the dogs were not allowed near her. After all, they were full of germs and I cringed thinking about them {or some kind of fecal particle} getting on my newborn angel. By the time I grew out of that stage {5 months later} they wanted nothing to do with her. And THEN by the time she actually took interest in them, they snapped at her every time she came near.

Last November, Marley bit Amelia. In a matter of milliseconds, I fell out of love with my dog. I know that sounds hateful and borderline Cruella Deville but I am being honest. I was so disappointed in Marley, my sweet baby who I took every where for 4 years straight, just bit my child. I would have put my entire life savings saying he wouldn't ever do such a thing...never, and when he did, it made me reevaluate having dogs with a toddler....a toddler who can now chase the dogs.

Fast forward to the last few months. The dogs have been deliberately pooping and peeing on her toys and ONLY in her room. These dogs have been potty trained for years and I have never had trouble in that department. Amelia is a million times more curious than she was back in November and it has been a job in itself to keep her away from dumping their water bowls over and sticking their choking hazard sized dog food from her mouth. I tried making them "outside dogs" but after 10 minutes they started barking - for 6 hours straight. They have begun jumping onto the table and eating food right off her high chair tray and tonight I witnessed the unthinkable...eating a slice of strawberry right out of her pudgy little fingers right before she was about to inhale it.

The dogs were not getting the love they deserved... the love and cuddles they had been getting for 5 years. We will be out of the country for a month this summer and thinking of having two dogs with a toddler and {hopefully} a newborn in the future makes me exhausted just from the thought. They need someone who wants to devote time to taking them to the park, playing fetch with them and getting them out of the same house and back yard.

 My very {usually} smart husband posted an add on craigslist (claiming that I was pregnant?? have no idea why) and then shared the link to his Facebook page. While at my doctors appointment I was bombarded with "congratulations!!!" and I had no idea why.... We did mention that they  MUST go as a pair and to a home where the children were older. And by the looks of it, we found the perfect home.

Before you paint me as a heartless human, please remember I spent over $300 last June looking for my lost dog and I truly whole heartedly loved love them, heck they have just as many framed pictures hanging in the house as Amelia. They were our "children" and were our first commitments as a couple, long before we were even commitments to each other. They have been through everything with us and have been there as we grew up into adults and into parents but unfortunately {or fortunately??} there is nothing, not even my loving pups, that will trump my daughters needs and safety.

I thought the hardest part of all of this is knowing that Amelia is fascinated with them. I always thought that she would grow up with them....but then I saw Travis crying as we were packing up their things and that was by far the hardest part. We both cried all last night, I personally feel like I am nothing short of a crack head who gave up her children to social services because "they are too much work", however I have peace of mind knowing we did the right thing.

They say when you truly love something, you let it go...And that's exactly what we did. 

We love you Marley and Lucy!! You will be greatly missed.

Cyst > Colon

I am not one to shy away from honesty. I am quick {sometimes too quick} to tell a stranger my problems and I decided I have no filter. I say things, wether it be grotesque or unwelcoming news, typically wether you want to hear it or not.

This blog is suppose to reflect my life and everything in it- from periungual warts to marriage issues and I have made it quite apparent that my body has been completely f*cked up since I gave birth.

A few weeks ago, right around Amelias birthday party, I started having crazy cramps and pains in my lower abdomen, predominately on my left side. After I had my gallbladder removed last August, it has been guessing game with my stomach as to what sets it off into a diarrhea coma, and I thought this was nothing new. The pains never went away and the last two weeks the pressure has been like nothing I have felt before. The pain is not a "life altering, doubled over 'get me to the ER'" kind of pain, it feels like I have a 20 lb. weight sitting between my ovary and colon...in fact I have been comparing this pain to doctors saying it is just like when I was 9 months pregnant and I could feel the baby sitting right on my bladder yet am having "period" cramps at the same time. I am disgustingly bloated, have no appetite and just feel "icky". I convinced myself that since this is in the "reproductive" region, this must be a cyst on my ovary.

I was SO excited to go to the OB/GYN today. I thought they would do an exam, tell me what I thought I already knew, give me the solutions and send me on my way. Unfortunately, none of the above happened. They did an exam, didn't feel a thing, told me that I had all the wrong symptoms for a cyst and said to contact another doctor that could preform...*gasp* colonoscopies and specialize in GI tracts because it looks like I have a swollen or infected colon and all the tender areas were gestational related (mouthful of medical terms, I know.) I was afraid of that answer. I think I almost knew that it was going to be colon related because I just haven't been "functioning" the way I use to...dang, there goes that grotesque, unwanted information talk...

Why me, Lord, why me? I thought this was going to be the year of health? I thought my body would catch a freaking break in 2012....I am on the cusp of paying off all my other medical bills and now this?

Unfortunately, there is no climax to this post. No pictures either, so I am sorry to disappoint.

I am simply just asking for prayers that this all gets figured out. My wonderful mother was goin to head back home tomorrow but is staying to help with the baby until I am "fixed".

Anywho, thought I would just go ahead and blog about all of this since many friends and family knew I had a dr. appointment today and thought I could save myself from writing 2034820348 text messages :)

Again, keep this mama in your prayers....after googling my symptoms {biggest mistake EVER}, I am convinced I have cancer, crohns disease, IBS and a bacterial eating flesh disease....


Looking forward to blogging about my fun trip to MS later today and revamping my blog later this week :)

D.I.Y Jewelry Drawer

Ahhhh, there is NO place like home. I am finally back in the ATX after a three week stay with my mom in Ocean Springs, MS. I will be the first to admit that I am a horrible blogger, especially lately. There is nothing more irritating that reading a blog that never updates and I put so much pressure to not be "that blogger" and then being a photographer, I put extra pressure on myself to take good photos. About a week into my trip I deleted my Facebook and vowed I would stay off the computer the rest of my trip....and I did. It is SOOOO liberating to not have to use technology to communicate {try it sometime.} and pretend its circa 2001 where the only websites that existed were google and google. 

With that being said, I don't know how I freaking missed posting this DIY, especially because I was so proud of my creation!  Totally made it up myself in my tiny little brain, so I think it turned out pretty cute!

A neighbor down the street had a dresser on the side of the road with all the drawers pulled out ready for mr. trash man to pick up the following morning. Like the tooth fairy, I swept in and took all the drawers in the night knowing I can use them for a craft project {I was thinking shelves..}. Ironically, that same night I had the last straw with my jewelry organization...or lack there of. Apparently a standing jewelry box, a hanging jewelry rack and a few other "catch-alls" weren't enough:

The next day, I fixed this mess of a jewelry fuster cluck I had created...

D.I.Y: JEWELRY DRAWER ORGANIZER

I cleaned and spray painted the drawer. I spent over an hour cutting out felt decorations for the back of the drawer that honestly... was a total waste of time. 

I added 6 hooks to each side and bottom for necklaces and bracelets and the mini closed hooks on the inside for dangling earrings. The black bands you see are nailed to the drawer and are headbands cut in half (hey, I improvised at 11pm). I added some extra long screws on the bottom to stack rings on as well. 

and this has saved my life {okay, it saved my wardrobe}. No joke...its so easy to find all my favorite earrings and I actually WEAR my necklaces because the headache of having to untangle them is eliminated :) 

I still have all my "stud" earrings in the jewelry box but am completely fine with  that. If you have a solution for those bad boys, let me know!

Or if you have any suggestions for my sick scarf obsession that is taking over my closet....holla at me. {I have 38 of them. Travis is calling intervention if this doesn't get resolved.}

Oh, and P.S...I only stayed off Facebook for a week hah! How else am I suppose to make people read this?? I came up with the solution to take FB off of my phone {where I spent almost all my stalking time} and have only been on it twice in 4 days. Feels good to be disconnected sometimes...

Hope you're having a fun and safe weekend!

1988

There is nothing better to me than whipping out one of the many photo albums sitting on my parents book shelf and looking at old photos. I have always LOVED, even as a child, looking at photographs {speaking of- I wonder if that has anything to do with my passion for photography?}. I always wanted to take all of my favorite pictures and scan/print them but never even got past the idea when I would think of the time and effort that took. 

When I got to Mississippi, once again, I pulled out the good ol' photo albums....and then I got the bright idea to take pictures of the pictures :) 

In the past, the best part of looking through photo albums was the nostalgia of it all; remembering "that outfit" or "that wallpaper".  Now looking through photo albums, the best part is seeing how much Amelia looks like me. I see certain facial expressions that she makes and in milliseconds, my brain is bouncing back to some of these old photos where I am making that same cheese. If only baby A had a head full of hair....

1988 was the year I was born, hard to believe I have a child of my own and making our own memories. 

Most of these are of my brother and I. I remember him being OBSESSED with me, always checking on me and making sure I was safe at all times. Every time a commercial would come on the TV, I remember him asking EVERY SINLGE TIME "Nina do you want that? I can tell santa to bring it to you for Christmas alwite?" Without a doubt it is the relationship I have with my brother, my very best friend, that convinces me to have just one more child so Amelia can experience that same friendship. 

Taking a trip down memory lane:

My dad is the little tyke on the right...this is his ONLY childhood photo. 

My great grandmother that raised my dad...who happens to be the lady sweet Amelia was named after.

coloring books and patent leather shoes=love.

Nuno's first birthday but most importantly, the day mom found out I was gestating hahah. 

Amelia is sooooo my child! Team Icing. 

my beautiful mama. 

me and my baja :)

Ahhh, back to reality. 

Today was the most relaxing and beautiful day here yet. We took Amelia to the park, grocery store, played outside....and surprisingly my mom figured out how to use the camera and took some decent shots of us...

Tomorrow I will be sharing our Mardi Gras experience and all the crazies that come out for the purple, green and yellow!