"Did you bring this?", tales about baby shower bags...

When you receive an invitation this cute you know you need to attend the shower just to check it out. What wonderful food will they serve? What cute pink baby decor will they don? Will they have games? What will the blessed mom wear?

I went for other reasons too- I have known Jennifer since I was born, our families were friends before we came along, I just plain like her, and she and Cody are 2nd cousins, I'm in a baby craze right now, and I wouldn't have children in toe-




I made a cute card , (it's a sticker don't get to excited)



And put together a bathtime/bedtime kit with sleepers and blankies, bath robes, bath clothes and a pink thermometer...

Got the kids fed and Charis napping....

made the 30 min trip, eating and making calls on the way....

made a horrible realization and fought going home but I really wanted to check out the shower and see Jenn and eat and talk....

So I walk in find a seat next to Aunt Mary, as Cody calls her. We catch up and I meet more of her wonderful family. She and her husband used to be music ministers at Velma years ago. They are legends 'round here. And have left a legacy of music and faith for their large family. I love em, they are a lot of fun- and I am the "otter" personality ya know...




I took my camera to take a picture of her opening my well-thought-out gift and when she opened her diaper bag I whipped it out for a shot. Just for this blog and you my wonderful readers- all 8 of you! And my sister, she missed it, she lives a million miles away.



except my camera is a joke , maybe this'll work...



no..agh... forget it...it was an awesome bag- with matching wipe container and changing pad and it was that plastic kid friendly material.

Meanwhile woman around me are sniffing the diapers, for ol times sake I guess? I forgot Cody's grandparents names and Aunt Mary couldn't smell or get anyone to get her a fork-

Jenn was cute, cute. Glowing and smiling. Her sister in law was cute too- she was the one who did the invites and is sitting on the right there.

Jenn got some M&M's and looked at me and said, "Did you bring this?"





My eyes got big, ummmm, well no actually I didn't. And then I had to confess- I brought no gift- I made sure I brought my tomatoe/pesto pizza to eat in the car but I forgot your gift. That cute bag was still sitting by my door.

I will begin taking memory therapy treatments in the morning- do they have an app for that? Not that I have a phone like that. Camera's first on the list...

A Visit with a close friend...who has new and trendy diaper bags

Well I am happy to write about Becky's diaper bag because I am no longer in need of a diaper bag! Yes due to wonderful visual training via the Loving Family dolls, I am happy to report the sweet 2 year old is potty trained (day time only). Yea! Calicema, we did it, (Dora reference there)

We are no longer tote around half our house, not that I am still doing that with the third child- that would be unheard of. I just leave it all in the car.

So Becky and her cool bag....She got it in Cali, where all the cool people live...she got it for Christmas and I must say it's very chic.



Perfect combination of boy mom coolness, don't you think? Becky rocks in the blingbling dept. Always has. Becky and I go way back. I mean way back. I found this photo a couple of months ago at my parents...



We are front and center and apparently this was 1982's version of Laurie Berkner and we are entranced in guitar fun, or about to be. She seems to be pointing us in the right direction.



Here we are again having a party of some sort a little later in life, when charm necklaces were demanding our attention and weighing us down. My goodness. I loved that necklace, wished I still had it. Glad a have this photo of it, I'd forgotten the details of it. Anyway I needed to post these photos for Becky- I forgot to show her when we were together. I have many more featuring bling in the late 80's early 90's but I will save her...



On with the diaper bag- this thing was too cool, check out the mini bag attached on the side for the paci's . The paci bag- I love it. I never knew about those 2 years ago, not that she took a paci for very long but wouldn't that make the cutest gift. A paci tote :)



Here's his monogrammed bag- very cute too. They were heading home to Cali the day we saw them in NW Arkansas. We saw them a year before but this cute little baldy was with them and since I am in a terrible baby-missing mood I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hold him.




"You want me?"

I love him, still little enough to hold- he was perfect. Becky's a wonderful mom, we've already raised 4 older kids between us. We are both on to the bonus children.



Speaking of bonuses- here ours is holding hands with Levi. She loved him too.




And later in the day we saw what else this cool bag does, unzips in the front to make a changing pad. Way cool I tell ya. Sorry I have no other info than that.

I could tell you about how we managed to find our way to shopping during the day (even with all those children), ate fast food twice in one day, drove 4.5 hours home that night, or how blessed I feel to have Becky in my life as a confidant and friend. And all that would be true but I choose to leave you with visions of sugar plums and eye candy from Becky's sis-in-law's home. And I have been dreaming all day about how to put more color into my home....

My Week

Let's start with with last Sat. Oct 25-

wake up to Charis coughing like a seal

5 calls to the three of our closest family for a get together for Charis' birthday

Burn CD for friends having to work the weekend

ice Charis cake and cupcakes

drive to Duncan, trick or treat on main street

take Cd to friends

birthday party with cousins

Walmart run with 3 kids- yikes

Oct. 26

Charis' 1st birthday! we made it! yea!!! still coughing

make a bow for the cute birthday dress

sunday school, coffee, nursery duty- cupcakes with toddlers????what was I thinking???

gifts from our church family, they are so precious to us

the first cake devouring with dad
nap for Charis, mom reads her new Kingsbury( I actually finished 2 books this week)

ga's, ra's women's bible study- I love my traveling buddies (week 5 stepping up, beth moore)

Oct. 27

Shyann here by 7:30,

kids out the door by 8

piano lesson by 9

on our way to norman for dr. apt. by 10:30

Dr. Fox affirms my diagnosis - Charis has croupe, gets on steriods - yeah

check on Cody's Christmas present, it's not going to work- argh!

head home , girls sleep, I council a friend about a family situation and a different friend about her daughters interest in heaven's actual place in the universe

3:30 kids home, lessons start preparing for a recital- calling all kids/parents/etc.

4:00 Shyann gone home

6:00 chips and cheese for dinner, dad's away at a conference

7:00 we are practicing guitar and reading books , no tv!!

8:30 time for some kingsbury- fame I think was the book

Oct. 28

with Shyann and Charis we hit duncan for a car load- envelopes for my dad, 30 pumpkins for Wed. night, walmart trip (of Course), all the while talking on the phone!

one lesson at 5, Cody comes home, not too happy to see a house full of neighborhood kids

make 6 dozen cookies for church the next night

I have visions of cleaning my house but my feet can't seem to move once I put the kids to bed

Oct. 29

meet other moms at 8:30 to unload pumpkins and set up for that night

work on info sheets for family night at church, we are sending packages to orphans in India, wrap a shoebox, find newspapers, knives, all the while on the phone (Kathy -sorry if the minutes go over this month, people are in need)

3:30- 6 students, 3 kids, 1 shyann, 1 husband at one time- what to come over???

5:00 last student, cook dinner (fish sticks and mac and cheese) while listening to the looney tunes theme song- she nailed it!

6:00 head to church for a family night and pumpkin carving

8:30 wow, what just happened? 25 families came and had an awesome time- parents and kids are getting saved- everything went smoothly

we go over it with the fam while watching the pumpkins shine

Oct. 30

Recital day, shyann's back (the almost 2 year old I keep)she sleeps from 7:30-noon, working all day on recital programs, putting youtube videos with the kids songs for a multimedia theme song recital

11am boy Charis is quiet- omg, the worst mess of all 3 kids- purple food coloring paste all over her and the kitchen floor! I'll laugh one day

at 2pm I walk with my favorite neighbor and we catch up over our lives (much to talk about)

3:30 kids are back for lessons

5:30 make shift dinner and parent teacher conference

6:30 hit the church for the recital to find many already there, so much for practicing before

check the technology agh, we had all the videos preset and had to refresh theme....5 guitars to tune, pre performance jitters, the people kept pouring in.....had a great recital! I love my students, thank you Cody for watching the kids

8:30 time for more kingsbury- on forgiven by now

Oct. 31

sleep in , day off? really ?

7:30 dad calls, when ya'll leaving? did you the envelopes? where are we going to meet

8:30 on the road to Cody's mom's surgery in Edmond ( north of OKC) reading kingsbury , it's getting good!

10:30 visit with nana pawpaw and their friends (ours too) kids get tired of the hospitol

11- lunch with my parents for mom's birthday (monday) dad finally gets those envelopes

12:30 hit lifeway, wow Charis is doing great, she's such a go with the flow kid

1- back at hospitol, chase Charis around the waiting room, get word nana's good head to Lowes, check prices on wood for a project we are sponsoring in the morning

then we check at a smaller store....

4:30 are home and Cody wants t o go to duncan and trick or treat at the churches- get kids dressed up, I guess we'll have candy for dinner....( boy did the hotdog at Bethel hit the spot)

fyi walmart on halloween is empty- great time to shop

8pm home boys go the the home football game, girls in bed, mom takes a bubble bath and finishes another book , I think I'm addicted

and then Saturday Nov. 1st

how did we make it though this week? only by the grace of God- I spend some time telling him how much I love him, he tells me about himself as well

cereal, cartoons, clean house? nah, we'll put it off another day

9 am head to a local widow's home to put in a porch- I organized it for our ladies Bible study mission project, we got the guys there and they did most of it , we painted, moved lumber, got drinks, food, supplies and put in an shower wall.....God bless Sylvia and all those cats...

2pm wow Charis is a good baby, done more mission work in her first year of life than most of our church members- oh our car wouldn't start, just an inconvience....

3-4 try to relax a bit

4- trick or treat party at friends house

5:30 trick or treating in our town- a big deal, hundreds of kids

7:30 the party moves to our house for some football, go sooners!

9 pm who would believe this kind of week? I must write it or I'll forget it all! I love my life, don't get me wrong but I need some r & r.....see ya

I apologize for the space but after this week and spending the last hour trying to upload the same pictures, I am fed up with blogger.com and publishing no matter what it looks like - argh!