Keeping It Simple

And I mean really simple.

When it comes to the makeup scene I am oblivious.

The sophisticated look,

the smokey gray look,

the elegant, dramatic look...

I have yet to pull any of those looks off.

The only look I'm really familiar with is the

I'm-a-Mom-and-I-managed-to-put-on-makeup-this-morning look.

or the

I'm-making-a-quick-run-to-Walmart look

Both of the above looks can be achieved in about 5 minutes.
So what's my super secret makeup tip to help you stand out
as the bomb shell diva you really are at your local Walmart?
Well, let me tell you.

My daily makeup routine consists of two things:
1. Blush
2. Mascara

My absolute favorite mascara is is Cover Girls Lash Blast. I'm a believer.
I've tried lots of different kinds and this one, by far, is the best.

And then, when I really want to spice things up,
(say, like a shopping trip to Target)
I throw on a little bit of this...

That's right,
blush, mascara, lip gloss and I'm good to go.

I just hope this doesn't mean I'm being placed into the,
"It's such a shame, she's really let herself go" category.

It doesn't... does it?

And in the 7 month she hung pictures

Would you believe that in the 7 months we have lived in our house I have not hung one picture?

OK, that's a lie. I have one picture hanging up in my entry way and mirror, but a mirror is not a picture. So technically I only have one picture up in my house.

My poor walls have been sad and neglected.
But not any more. At least not in my bathroom.

I rummaged through our frames and found my cheap Walmart ones. So I decided to give them a little love. After all, it is almost Valentines day and even inanimate objects need love.

The small ones were brown.
The large one was cream.

"I see a brown frame and I want to paint it black..."

Would you like my little rendition of Paint It Black to continue? No? Yes?
I'm sure it could be a hit.

I did an 11x14 of one of my favorite bath time pictures of Macie. I would have loved to go bigger, but I don't have the space for that.



And these pictures were destined to make the bath room.
They are from this series HERE.


Now when I walk by my bathroom there's a little ritual I do.

Lean in the door way.
Stand and adore.
Stand a little bit longer.
Wish I didn't hang the frames crooked.
Tilt my head to the side a little.
Crooked problem fixed.
Walk away.
Then repeat.

I love having pictures in my home, it actually feels like... home.
I'm not finished with the bathroom. Not yet, but I'm making progress.
And progress is good.

Now for my next project: The kitchen wall

I have no idea what I'm going to put up on it. Any ideas?
Please, inspire me.

**If you have some great ideas of things you've done in your home I would love to see. Maybe we can do a little show and tell. If you feel so inclined, you can email me at ginniejphotography[a]gmail.com. Or if you have some great links for me to check out, just leave a comment.

Question

Is it socially acceptable to go out in public looking like this?

What about if I'm just running to Wal-mart?

Lets Talk About Sex

Several years ago I took a highly scientific posterity predicting/gender defining test. The test consisted of my wedding ring tied to a string while it hung an inch or so above my wrist. The idea of it is that the ring would start to sway. The child's sex would be determined by the direction that the ring moved and the amount of children would depend on how many times the swaying movement occurred. Completely scientific.

I'm not sure what causes this test to be so accurate; maybe my future motherly hormones oozing out my veins or maybe it's something similar to that of a ouija board with unexplained satanic forces at hand. Who knows.

My test went a little something like this:
side to side; back & forth; side to side; side to side; back and forth...
(that's code for: girl, boy, girl, girl, boy...)
Then it proceeded to sway back & forth and side to side about 11 more times.
(that's code for I'm having 17 children and I'm going to have my own TV show)

I am now (about) 16 weeks and I have been trying to hone in my motherly revelation skills... but nothing. I know my highly scientific test predicted girl, but highly scientific tests can lie. I'm not feeling strong about either gender. All I know is that the odds are high that it will either be:

A. a boy
or
B. a girl

And I'm pretty confident about that one.

Now I turn to another source of highly scientific gender determining test, the Chinese baby prediction calendar.

According to this calendar, I am going to have boy. Whether or not the child will be Asian (due to the fact that this is a Chinese calendar) is undetermined.

Other tests have been conducted as well.
We have the mother-in-law test, which predicted a boy.
We have Nate's twins test, where he predicted a girl.

I'm thinking we should put some money down on this one.

And do tell, how accurate is this Chinese calendar for the children you birthed?
And did any of them come out Asian by chance?

Bilingual

You might not know this about me, but I am fluent in 2 different languages:

1. English (the Utah version of English).
2. And the language of CLEARANCE.

and if we counted the language of LOVE, I would be trilingual.
I also speak drive-thru fluently, but we won't count that one.

I know that when I see or hear the word SALE that's a good thing.
But I know when I see or hear the word CLEARANCE that's even better.
See what I mean? Totally fluent.

Since I'm pretty cheap a conservative spender, almost everything I buy is on sale or clearance. And It makes my heart sing whenever I find a good deal. It sings and then I get all sorts of emotional. It's pretty spiritual experience for me.

So I've been eyeing all of the baby clearance goodies over at sweetpeababy.com like this, this, and this.

What would make it even better is if I knew that my tiny he/she was really a he or a she, but I don't. Not yet.

4:00 am

My body has started this new ritual.
It's where I wake-up around 4:00 am and then I lay in bed for
around an hour and half wide awake.
WIDE. AWAKE.

My mind wanders about the most annoying things.

Last night it was Tsunami's and how I'm never going to visit a beach.
The night before that it was about earthquakes & emergency preparedness.
And the night before that it was obsessing over gaining weight
and the song, "back fat- back fat" to the tune of Dora's "Back pack- Back pack" kept replaying in my mind along with the chant of,
I must, I must, I must decrease my butt.

And seriously, who wants to be thinking about canning food and the fact that all my pants now look like spandex in the middle of the night? I don't.

I toss and turn and try to make enough movement to wake up Nate so that I can have some company for the next hour and a half.
But that doesn't work.
When that boy is out, he's OUT.
So when all attempts have failed of having him join in my early morning party,
I climb out of bed and walk around the house.
I turn up the heater and make my way to the kitchen.
I sit down in the dark and have myself a big bowl of cheerios.
I like cheerios... especially the multi-grain ones.
When I'm finished with the first bowl, I pour another small bowl.
And when I'm finished with the second bowl I debate on having a third
and then I remember,
"Back fat- Back fat".
I succumb to the guilt and put my bowl in the sink.
I make my way to the bedroom and turn the heat back down.
I climb back in bed and slooooowly start to drift away
and right before I'm feeling comfortable and almost of sleep....

Nate's alarm goes off....

..for the next hour and a half...

..every 5 minutes.

Have I mentioned that I'm really not a morning person?


p.s. I can't take credit for the back fat song. I didn't make that one up and I curse the day I ever heard it. It's just like the song that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends...

Kaleb- flexing his green thumb

Chi-

Chi-

Chi-


Chia!

Tell me, have you ever seen a more impressive Chia Pet?
I think not.

The Best Part of Waking Up

If I were coffee drinker I would sit down comfortably at my kitchen table with my cup of coffee close at hand and soak up this amazing view out of my back windows.

And then, since it's such a picturesque moment, they would probably want to put it in a Folgers Coffee commercial or perhaps a Maxwell's house advertisement.

I would slowly sniff the fresh aroma of the fresh ground coffee with my hair pulled up in a messy, yet fashionable bun and I would have just the right amount of mascara on to pull of the casual morning look.

I would then let out a soft sigh while wrapped up in a warm cozy blanket and carefully sip from my favorite coffee mug- savoring that perfect moment.

Then I would turn to the camera and spontaneously burst out in song. I'm not sure what song, probably something from the Sound of Music or a lively verse of Hallelujah.

The thing is, I'm not a coffee drinker-
I'm a cereal eater.
And the hair is not fashionably pulled up-
it's more like a matted mess.
I do have just the right amount of mascara on-
except for the majority of it is smeared around my eyes.
And there is no such thing as a casual morning look around here.
No. Such. Thing.

But one thing is consistent.

I do wake up every morning to the beautiful view of the sun slowly peaking over the mountain while its rays come flooding down the mountain side. It's a view I find comforting & consistent on my mornings that usual abound with chaos & mayhem until the kids are safely out the door and on their way to school.

Then I'll sit down with my favorite cereal bowl, the Quaker Oatmeal Squares, the skim milk, a handful of Craisins, and I have myself a big bowl of Cereal.

After I've scooped up every last bite and sipped the bowl empty, I turn to the camera and spontaneously burst out in song....

That is, if it were a Quaker Oatmeal Squares commercial.
Totally could happen.

Just Freeze It

In the freezer

by the the Gogurts

above the frozen pancakes

next to the Rocky Road ice cream

is a bag of one of my kids favorite treats.

Frozen grapes are a highly requested must have by my kids.
They eat them like they were candy.

And they eat them by the handfuls.

And I'm happy to report no child has choked yet.

Kid tested. Mother approved.

I give frozen grapes two enthusiastic thumbs up.

It's Official

I'm with child.
Not that it wasn't official before, it's just more official now-
now I have proof...

Check out my little it-ling slash tiny he/she.

It has cute little nubbins for arms and legs.

And I read that its eyes are no longer on the side of its head,

but in the front where they should be.

That's comforting.

It's roughly the size of a lime which is great

because I'm a big fan of limes.

The ultra sound tech thought that maybe it was a girl, but then upon further inspection we saw what could possibly be a 3rd lil' nubbin in the lower extremities. As it turns out, the baby's either a boy or girl.

P.S. Thanks for all the input on the Doctor vs Midwife thing. Really, I did appreciate it. I decided to go with a midwife who practices are similar to an ob. In the words of Hannah Montana, "...get the best of both worlds." I talked to a lot of people and I would say the majority said that they would go with a midwife. Although I was leaning towards that Dr. Thorpe guy after several commenter's suggested him. Maybe for the next one... if there ever happens to be a next one. :)