SNELSON'S WORLD

2010-05-19T20:30:00.003-04:00

wow. it's been a while. i don't even think i'm the same person i was when i posted last! so much has happened to me and so much about who i am has changed.

i have so much going on in my head and heart so much of the time now that it's hard to sort through. and nothing bad, really. it's all mostly good stuff! just life stuff that i'm learning and living through.

such as wanting to go get certified in breastfeeding counseling, childbirth education, and being a doula. such as being a mom of two beautiful children and what that means - to them and me. such as learning what the lord wants of me as a wife, mom, daughter, friend. learning how to live without some people and how to accept new ones.

i think about writing a lot but never have the time. or when i do have the time, i get a brain block and can't think of where to start!

but i guess this is a start!

2009-11-15T17:23:00.002-05:00

and the words, for those who can't follow her!

"If any man come after me, let him deny himself
pick up his cross and follow me
into life eternally.
Deny himself pick up his cross and follow Jesus,
He is the Way, Truth, and Life."

2009-10-26T13:14:00.001-04:00

a few videos for Mina (grandma)

2009-10-25T22:10:00.002-04:00

me. 20 weeks. i'm not that big but i feel like i can't possibly expand any more. i've officially gained more weight than i did the whole time with abby and i feel it. and i've officially lost my feet as well.

2009-10-22T19:06:00.002-04:00

i've been properly chastised for not posting. and i'll admit that i don't like being "showed up" by my sister-in-law. so to redeem myself and start back with posting pictures and videos of abby, here she is playing with the balloon she got today at the Kia dealership when i went to test drive a car so i could get free Wiggles tickets.

2009-08-11T19:37:00.000-04:00

not that anyone reads this but heres a video of abby tonight

2009-08-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

quite possibly the funniest thing i've read in a LOOOOONG time!!! no idea who wrote it, but man, i bet she's fun to live with!

All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of easy, painless removal - The Epilady, scissors, razors, Nair and now...the wax. Read on.........

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours: 'Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet.'

So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom. It was one of those 'cold wax' kits. No melting a clump of hot wax, you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else) and you pull the hair right off.

No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out. (YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees. ('Cold wax,' yeah...right!) I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and pull. It works!

OK, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this! Hair removal no longer eludes me!

I am She-rah, fighter of all wayward body hair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and place one foot on the toilet.

Using the same procedure, I apply the wax strip across the right side of my bikini line, covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down to the inside of my butt cheek (it was a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself....RRRRIIIPPP!!!!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted.

I think I may pass out...must stay conscious...must stay conscious. Do I hear crashing drums??? Breathe, breathe...OK, back to normal.

I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!

There's no hair on it.

Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???

Slowly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip...it's not! I touch. I am touching wax.

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body, which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG mistake...remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet? I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.

Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do and think to myself 'Please don't let me get the urge to poop.

My head may pop off!' What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand, into the bathtub, get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???

*WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together, is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub....in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented myself to the porcelain!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some secret of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter. 'So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!'

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me.

She wants to know exactly where the wax is located,'Are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?'

She's laughing out loud by now...I can hear her. I give her the rundown and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!!! Right!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.

While we go through various solutions. I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor .. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!! By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving
grace....the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax.

What do I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on and OH MY GOD!!!!!!! The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend. It's sooo painful, but I really don't care. 'IT WORKS!!

It works !!' I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up. I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to my grief and despair....THE HAIR IS STILL THERE.......ALL OF IT! So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts. I could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I'm going to try hair color...

2009-07-01T20:26:00.000-04:00

after last month's miscarriage, we are back in the game!

2009-06-13T21:15:00.004-04:00

here are some pics of abby from the past few days. we have been having a good time out and about atlanta!!

2009-06-09T23:01:00.002-04:00

okay, so the past month i've been a horrible, non-existent blogger. i profusely apologize to my few but loyal readers. i'm sure you gave up on me a while back!

i'm writing now but i'm not sure why. there's so much going on in my head but none of it makes any sense and therefore really has no reason being typed out. a lot has happened in this past month and the month ahead is sure to hold even more.

where to begin? i don't even know. not even sure that any of it is worth being put into words. my heart is heavy and broken. i have so many questions that are going to go unanswered for a while. if ever answered at all. my body is failing me/us and i don't know why. i don't understand why or how i could have such a strong desire for something but the means for that fulfillment are not available. again, my heart is heavy.

on the upside, only a few more weeks until my mom gets married!! i can NOT wait for that. i'm speaking during the retirement portion of the service and holy crap, i'm nervous! i'm not a public speaker. maybe i can sing it??? oh no, i'm singing her processional!! people won't want to hear me sing twice!!! okay, so back to speaking. how do you come up with what to say at your mom's retirement/wedding?! how do you decide which stories to use and which to not? here's my challenge for the next few weeks!

another good thing is some good friends of our moved to town this month. both robert and i are VERY excited about this.

abby is growing up too fast. she is starting to sing along with CDs in the car. okay, seriously, when did she get old enough for that?! she's walking/running EVERYWHERE and is just generally into everything. she's beautiful and fabulous and i wouldn't have life without her.

okay, there's a small recap of life since my last post. until next time....

2009-05-07T14:57:00.001-04:00

any YPLers from '98 - '00 out there? i came across this today and, after seeing david and his beautiful new hazel, i HAD to bring this back out. although i think david's performance is MUCH better!

Andy Kaufman performs Mighty Mouse - watch more funny videos

2009-04-28T18:41:00.001-04:00

okay jojo - here it is!!!!! since she fell and busted her face on her last attempt to walk, which was a little over a month ago, she has REFUSED to even try to walk again --- until today! and here she is, VERY proud of herself!

2009-04-23T19:07:00.003-04:00

abby had her first ice cream cone tonight! she LOVED it! i don't think i've had so much fun in a while --- just watching her dive into this baby-sized ice cream cone! it's funny - she's never had one before, but knew exactly how to hold it and eat from it! DANG i have a smart kid!! :-) she's just growing up too fast. not my baby anymore.

2009-04-16T22:53:00.001-04:00

here are the newest additions to the snelson household. no names yet. not really sure if they are boy(s) or girl(s). but i guess if we get little tadpoles we'll know, right?!

anyway, they are fire belly toads and i LOVE them!!

2009-04-12T21:50:00.000-04:00

some easter pics

2009-04-08T17:58:00.002-04:00

this is just to prove that we teach and encourage good personal hygiene in the snelson household.

2009-04-07T23:15:00.002-04:00

robert and i went to a concert tonight that Atlanta Temple Band and the Georgia Brass Band put on at at the corps. we were planning on taking abby but our good friends, jonathan and amanda, volunteered to keep her at our house instead. i thought that was a better idea than taking her because a) there was no nursery and b) the concert didn't start until 8. (whoever came up with that brilliant idea obviously has no children!)

anyway, jonathan and amanda stayed here with their 2 and abby. they not only bathed abby and put her to bed, when we walked in, our house was IMMACULATE! amanda had spent the evening CLEANING MY HOUSE!! i was blown away!! i have to say that it's so nice coming home to a really clean house. i mean, i keep my house as clean as i can, but with 3 kids all day, it's hard to be clean like this! half the time i go to bed with some dishes in the sink and a floor that needs to be swept. but NOT TONIGHT!!!!

THANK YOU JONATHAN AND AMANDA! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

2009-04-03T18:01:00.012-04:00

it occured to me last night that abby is talking so much and i need to put a list of words that she says. she understand quite a bit and she's VERY conversational in her "babbling". she is doing really well at trying out new words. so here's her vocabulary at the moment (i'll keep adding to this as i remember new ones):

mama
daddy
jojo
abeeail (abigail)
babby (abby)
go
moo
quack
woof woof
oooh-oooh-ah-ah-ah (monkey sound)
more
baff (bath)
doggie
yeah
no
okay
hot
peesss (please)
ka koo (thank you)
raarrr (roar)
apple
nana (banana)
poon (spoon)
nigh-nigh (night-night)
bye bye
uh oh skeeooooh (uh oh spaghettio)
hi
book
ball
sock

2009-03-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

no guilt in life; no fear in death
this is the power of christ in me
from life's first cry to final breath
jesus commands my destiny
no pow'r of hell, no scheme of man
can ever pluck me from his hand
til he returns, or calls me home
here in the power of christ i'll stand

2009-03-24T18:37:00.000-04:00

well she did it! abby officially took her first steps today! 8 to be exact!

robert and i were talking on the couch and abby was playing at her toybox when all of a sudden i saw movement. i looked up and she was walking across the room! she made it about 8 steps then fell on her butt! i couldn't believe it! and no video or pictures because we were not expecting it! but SHE DID IT!!!!!

2009-03-22T19:38:00.003-04:00

while robert and i were going through some music getting ready for the recording studio tomorrow, abby decided she wanted to sing along (excuse the mess of toys EVERYWHERE!):

2009-03-20T22:34:00.002-04:00

some pics from dallas. i didn't take NEARLY as many as i should have....but here are the highlights:

abby's learning to walk!!!!!

in her first shorties that mommy made!

this was the ONLY smile we got on the swings. she HATED the swings!!!

having some good jojo time!!

2009-03-11T23:02:00.002-04:00

saw this. HAD to post it! too good!!!! click on it to get a bigger version so you can read it!

2009-03-10T18:59:00.003-04:00

it's been SO PRETTY out lately that we decided today we'd take dinner to the park. here are "a few" pics from our time outside!

2009-03-09T11:56:00.003-04:00

anyone want to explain to me why my child is all of a sudden not wanting to sleep at night? or at naps? she used to go down right away, no fights. but the past couple of weeks or so she fights me. last night she didn't go to sleep until 10:30. the night before that it was 1! seriously, what happened to my great-sleeper?!!?!?

i'm going to dallas on thursday to spend some time with mom for a week. maybe i can catch up on sleep then. well, maybe not - we'll be wedding planning all week (woo hoo!!!!!) so sleep might not be an option. i can't wait to go be "girly" with mom and do some real planning for her big day! it's really cool being on this side of things - usually it's the mom helping the daughter...but it's the ole switcharoo this time and i'm excited about it! i need to buy a matron-of-honor dress while i'm out there too...

2009-03-08T22:54:00.002-04:00

i've posted this song before. i have always loved it. but right now the words are especially meaningful in my life. whether it seems that way or not to people, the Lord knows my heart and knows that He IS my Hiding Place.

You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You

I will trust in You
Let the weak say
I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
You are my hiding place
You always fill my heart
With songs of deliverance
Whenever I am afraid
I will trust in You

I will trust in You
Let the weak say I am strong
In the strength of the Lord
I will trust in You

2009-03-02T22:27:00.002-05:00

almost missed it....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DR SEUSS!!!!!

2009-03-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

abby's first time actually playing in snow! last year we made a snowman and ran out, took pics, and came right back in. but this year she got to sit in it!!!! she didn't really like it that much. it lasted all of 3 minutes! but that's enough for mommy and daddy to get pictures!!!

2009-02-24T10:42:00.004-05:00

Before...

After...(the trim isn't painted yet. so don't look at that!)

And admiring our beautiful corner cut!

Using a circular saw

"what's gonna work? TEAMWORK!!"

2009-02-23T19:42:00.001-05:00

It's Official!!!

2009-02-09T17:23:00.002-05:00

i got my first dishcloths in the mail!!! they are SO pretty! i can't wait to use them!

from saclements

top row is from kitkat20
bottom row is from kaostling

2009-02-05T23:15:00.002-05:00

i just got home from a night at the symphony with dr holz and the needhams. i expected that i would like the symphony. tonight featured a really great soprano - christine brewer. she was good --- but she had some technical stuff that drove me nuts. breathed from her upper chest....tensed up her shoulders when singing high notes. but i guess she's allowed to do that kind of stuff since she famous.

anyway, i didn't expect to have such a good time with dr holz! not that i thought it would be boring, but i had a really REALLY good time!!! i am so making him take me to the symphony again! HAHA

2009-01-24T12:40:00.000-05:00

i don't know who this guy is, but i love him.

2009-01-22T18:41:00.000-05:00

she finally did it!!!! at 14 months old, we officially have a crawler!! sorry for the jiggly-ness of the video -- i was trying to get her to go farther!

2009-01-04T11:34:00.003-05:00

okay, i've had a few people ask about my store since my last post (if you people are reading, why don't you all comment?!?!) ANYWAY! the store is called SOFT ENDINGS and the website is www.hyenacart.com/softendings. i am set to have a grand opening on feb 11 so there's not much in there right now. most of my work is shown at my update blog which is www.softendingsknits.blogspot.com and my waiting list is posted there too!

mainly what i do is knit up yarn people send to me. i can't afford the absolutely GORGEOUS yarn that's is "hyena cart" yarn -- or local yarn shop yarns either. but at least i get to play with it!! so that's what i mainly do. but i am working on instock items for my grand opening.

2009-01-03T16:53:00.004-05:00

i just realized i havent' updated about our vacation. well, vacation is relative. i don't think moms really get a vacation.

abby was wonderful, as usual. but bless her heart, there were so many faces that she didn't know and i think she just got over-stimulated. but she did well!

we spent almost 2 weeks at robert's parents house. john and trish came with the boys. that was fabulous! jonah's getting so big and peter is a butterball. i love it!

i was most excited to give robert his christmas present...which i was sure i was going to get in trouble for. but doesn't every 30-something guy NEED an xbox360? especially when their 30-something friends who live in other states have one? i mean, come on. really. i had to do it. i'm sure i'll regret that decision one day. probably soon. or so my sister-in-law tells me!

i spent my days (when not playing mama) knitting. i got quite a bit accomplished, too! finished a couple custom slots AND managed to get a top done for abby. but now my customs list is even bigger and i'm not sure when i'm going to get it all done! my store is having its grand opening on feb 11 so i gotta kick my tail into high gear to get it all done.

in other news, or not so other news, i've become totally obsessed with wool yarn. so if anyone is ever needing to buy me anything, wool yarn is a good thing. especially yarn from hyena cart. just thought i'd throw that out there.

well, that just about wraps things up for now. i'll post pics later, but abby is calling for me. see? moms don't get vacation!

2008-12-25T21:56:00.003-05:00

this is my very first ever custom hand-dyed yarn for abby!!! a friend of mine dyed it up for me and i LOVE it! i can't wait to get it and knit it up!!! thank you katie!!!

2008-12-25T15:44:00.002-05:00

2008-12-12T08:47:00.001-05:00

one year ago today abigail came home from the hospital!!! take a little walk down memory lane with me!

2008-12-09T12:09:00.001-05:00

so abby just getting over being sick and now robert and i are sick. it SUCKS. my head is pounding. my nose feels like it's going to explode from pressure. my throat hurts. GAH!

i love parenthood!

2008-11-24T22:43:00.002-05:00

i've started knitting for sale. i've started some "testers" to make sure that other people like what i'm doing as well as i do, then i'll open my store. here's my first order -- a custom pair for a really sweet mama. i can't wait to see these on her daughter. i love the way these turned out --- i want to keep them!!! they took me 3 days to do....not bad!

2008-11-15T22:14:00.002-05:00

i'm not one to post political stuff, but this stuck out at me. read it if you have a minute.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/11/obamas-interview-with-cathleen.html

2008-11-14T23:49:00.001-05:00

I HAVE A NEW DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!! installed and ready to go! thanks to my best friend's fabulous handy man husband of hers! he came over and installed our free dishwasher! you seriously can't beat that: free equipment and free labor! thanks luke!!!!

2008-11-13T14:59:00.001-05:00

abby's 1 year pics!!! they are all copyrighted by heather horton

2008-11-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ABIGAIL GRACE!!!

2008-11-08T10:27:00.004-05:00

i've been tagged by becky. here goes:

I am -- quite content where i am right now
I want -- more children
I have -- a beautiful family who i love
I wish -- i had more money so my husband wouldn't be so stressed and i could buy as many diapers and wool as i want!
I dislike -- politics
I fear -- throwing up. but i'm getting better!
I hear -- my aunt getting ready for our family pictures
I search -- my heart frequently these days
I wonder -- how abigail will turn out as a teenager
I always -- check the mail
I usually -- get up with abigail
I am not -- a cook. sometimes i wish i cooked for my family, but i'm just not good at it! and robert likes doing it.
I dance -- only when playing with abby by myself. trust me. you do NOT want to see!
I sing -- constantly.
I never -- go grocery shopping. it's not a good thing to send me to any grocery store.
I rarely -- stay in bed past 7:30
I cry -- when i am angry.
I am not always -- the most forgiving person
I lose -- my keys in my diaper bag everyday
I'm confused -- about a lot of things. but that goes back to me searching my heart fairly frequently these days!
I need -- christ
I should -- be cleaning since abby's party is tomorrow
I dream -- in color.
I love -- my family. i couldn't ask for a better husband and my daughter is my life

i tag erin, sarah, kristina, and kat.

2008-10-29T15:51:00.001-04:00

i finished abby's longies!!!! they took me 4 days to make. i started out on size 16'' 8 circulars then changed to size 8 DPNs for the legs. i must say that DPNs are a PAIN IN THE BUTT!!! i used universal yarn deluxe worsted LP 100% wool. colorway is apple orchid.

i LOVE the way these turned out. they are by no means perfect -- if you look hard you'll see a lone purled row on the right leg! but i am so excited with these and that they fit!!!

2008-10-29T08:59:00.001-04:00

i love our mailman! he has to be the world's BEST mailman ever!!

just wanted to throw that out there!

2008-10-25T20:20:00.002-04:00

a few pictures from our vacation in connecticut! i'll add more later!

2008-10-23T22:44:00.000-04:00

abby has learned how to feed herself. i LOVE this video! she has great smiles in it!!!

From Oct 08

2008-10-18T20:23:00.002-04:00

today we went to abby's first pumpkin patch!!! pumpkins are one of my favorite parts of this time of the year and i ALWAYS carve a pumpkin!!! so this year, being abby's first "pumpkin season", we HAD to go get our own pumpkin from a real patch!!! here are some pics from our day!

2008-10-15T14:15:00.002-04:00

so the snelson household is a very sick household right now. abby had a stomach virus. then mommy got the virus yesterday. my stomach isn't as bad today but i am very weak and dizzy. now daddy has the virus on top of a sinus thing. it's not a pretty sight in our house right now. but at least abby isn't sick anymore!

2008-10-14T09:28:00.002-04:00

thank you to BECKY for the fabulous banner!!!

2008-10-13T13:06:00.002-04:00

so after our adventures with grilled cheese yesterday, abby decided that it would be fun to have a new adventure: keep mommy and daddy up all night by throwing up! yep. my child was up until 4:30 throwing up. this has been the one thing that i have dreaded since i found out i was pregnant. those of you who know me know my phobia of throwing up. and here i am, with an 11 month old baby who ONLY WANTS MAMA - won't stay with daddy - and is throwing up. i was scared out of my mind. but she seems fine today. hasn't thrown up since the middle of the night so hopefully we are past it.

(((shiver)))

2008-10-12T17:04:00.003-04:00

abby is 11 months old. (where did the time go?!) i have been wondered the past week or so if it's time for her to have real table food for her meals instead of just boring old pureed chicken, vegetables, and fruits. so today i decided to give it a go and gave abby her first grilled cheese sandwich. she did so well!! i was so proud!!! my little baby is growing up!

2008-10-05T18:16:00.001-04:00

just want to say how awesome it is to sit and do nothing with your best friend. if you haven't done it in a while, DO IT! it's the best.

that is all.

2008-09-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

seriously, is there anything cuter than a baby in some really nice woolies?!

2008-09-26T10:21:00.002-04:00

sick babies are no fun. abigail has been sick for 3 days now so we are finally going to the dr today. she's not sleeping at night at all unless we hold her. she's not taking good naps unless we hold her. it's miserable. poor baby....

2008-09-24T07:48:00.000-04:00

Happy 3 Yr Anniversary, Robert!!!

2008-09-22T13:11:00.002-04:00

we went to abby's first braves game over the weekend. we had a great time!! here are a few pictures from our outing!

abby and pete van wieren
the whole family!

jojo and abby

hanging out in the stands

abby conked out in the first inning....she was a tired baby girl!

2008-09-20T15:41:00.003-04:00

so like my previous entry said, i'm TRYING to learn to knit. at this point in time i'm very discouraged with it. i have no idea how to read patterns or do any of the "techniques" that you have to do. i'm not good at learning anything from just reading about it - i'm a visual learner. i need someone to SHOW me how to do it! erin has graciously offered her services as expert knitter (!!!!) but getting together to do actually do it is hard! we live forever away and with gas prices the way they are, neither of us can afford to go anywhere! (stupid gas!)

but i guess in reality i'm not really discouraged about the knitting per se. i'm really discouraged with a lot of things right now. knitting is just getting the brunt of it. but the biggest thing is that i am about to take my mom to the airport to move to dallas for real this time and i'm having a really rough go with that. when she left for europe earlier this summer it wasn't that bad b/c she wasn't "moving" then. but today when she leaves, she isn't coming back. i know there are those out there that would say (and have said, thank you very much for your insensitivity) "get your own life, jill" but what you don't understand is the closeness that my mother and i share and how we have NEVER lived more than 4 hours apart from each other. throw abigail into the mix and it makes for an even harder move. we all lived together for the first 6 months of abigail's life and now her grandmother is moving 12 hours away and won't be around on a daily basis. that's hard for me to swallow.

i guess i'm just wallowing in my own self-pity right now. arent' we all allowed that from time to time? even if we aren't, i'm taking license anyway.

2008-09-18T20:54:00.002-04:00

i've decided to recycle a sweater that i absolutely LOVED...until it shrank when it "accidentally" got dried in the dryer. it's 40% merino wool, 30% viscose, 20% angora rabbit hair, and 10% cashmere. i'm going to try to make some longies and/or soakers with this wool -- i've got QUITE A BIT! the pictures make it look smaller than what i actually have.

here's to a new project!!! (and ps. my vacuum cleaner is broken.)

the original sweater...

...cut up in pieces...

...then the unraveled yarn put into balls.

2008-09-16T10:52:00.004-04:00

we're back from sweden and norway and can i just say that i am SO happy to be home!!! we had a good time, but i was ready to be home. we did 13 concerts in 10 days. it was insane!!! scandinavia is cold and rainy...but beautiful!!! here are a few pictures of our travels. some sillier than others!!!

check out my picasa album for all of our pictures.

2008-08-31T19:49:00.005-04:00

alright. i've found a new love in my cloth diapering world. FLATS!!! and what am i using for this new-found love? MY RECEIVING BLANKETS!!! that's right, folks, i'm using abby's receiving blankets!!! and it's great!!! AND i get to use my wool as actual soakers now too!!! (too bad i just sold off a ton of it!) anyway, for those interested, here's how it works:

Step 1: lay receiving blanket flat on floor.

Step 2: Fold blanket in half.

Step 3: Fold blanket in half again.

Step 4: Take top corner and pull so you have a triangle shape on top of your blanket.

Step 5: Flip entire thing over so that the triangle point is on the right.

Step 6: Take the left sides and start folding them in little sections a little at a time...

Step 7: ...keep folding in sections...

Step 8: ...and one last fold. You have now created the absorbent part of your diaper. You could add a hemp insert in between the folds if you like. I have to do that with Abigail because she's such a heavy pee-er!

Step 9. Fold the bottom up about 2/3 of the way up. This creates your "pocket" for poop and stuff!

Step 10. Take the right wing and fold in.

Step 11: Take the left wing and fold in.

Step 12. There's your diaper! I've knotted it here but when it's on a baby, you'd pin it.

and here it is (with a different blanket) on Abigail!!!!

2008-08-24T22:41:00.003-04:00

just a few pics from our week this past week in augusta and at bible conference!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

abby trying her first french fry!!!

playing with grandma snelson

cheering grandpa snelson up in the hospital

having fun playing

playing with mommy at the dr's office

abby loves her aunt laura!

she spent entirely too much time in her carseat this week!

spending quality time with greatgrandma

2008-08-14T18:18:00.002-04:00

we went to the beach today!! now, it's not one of the "tourist beaches" but it's still a caribbean beach none-the-less!!! the water was SO warm! like swimming in bath water! it was great!!!! i, of course, got burnt to a crisp. even after putting 50 SPF sunblock on. grrr! anyway, here are some pics from today!!!

these are some children who live at the school for the blind. some are children of the officers who are the administrators there. some are the children of the cooks there. but they were too cute and fun to not be recognized!!!!

2008-08-12T09:08:00.002-04:00

WHEN IN ROME....

i've always wanted to get my hair braided. it just always looked like fun! well, being in jamaica i thought this would be the PERFECT place and time to do it! so here it is! it took almost 5 hrs (4 hrs and 45 mins) to finish and it HURT!!! seriously, i was almost in tears! they pull TIGHT!!!! it's longer than i thought it would go, but i'm lovin' it! robert --- not so much!!!

2008-08-02T23:19:00.001-04:00

abby's first TMI!!! we've had horrible internet/phone connections this week so things have been rough with trying to stay connected to the outside world! but when you're in the middle of "nowhere, oklahoma" that tends to happen! abby has had a great time here at TMI!!! here are a few pictures of her adventures!!!

waiting with daddy at the airport

still waiting...

both mommy and abby are TIRED!!!

she is having the time of her life!!!

abby's first time swimming!

snelson family fun time

she enjoyed the pool!!

2008-07-20T22:45:00.000-04:00

so it turns out abby is allergic to peas.

2008-07-18T19:01:00.000-04:00

welcome to the family, peter joel!!

born 7-18-08
8lbs8oz
21.5 in

2008-07-18T12:59:00.001-04:00

abby had her follow up CT Scan this morning and we have been totally cleared from the neurologist!!! she has healed 100% and looks great!!! she is also developing on target!!! YAY ABBY!!!!

2008-07-16T22:54:00.000-04:00

i just need to let everyone know that i am NOT cut out to be a work-out-of-the-home mom. i have been working at THQ this week (my summer gig, don't ya know!) and MAN! it's really REALLY hard to do that and still be a mom! and what's worse is that this week i am a single mom b/c robert is out at camp! so it's a double whammie!!!! but man, kudos to all your work-out-of-the-home moms out there. it's really really hard!!!

2008-07-15T17:51:00.000-04:00

abby was playing on the floor with some of her toys that she loves playing with this afternoon. i looked over and this is what i found! poor girl still doesn't feel good. she's NEVER fallen asleep like this!

2008-07-15T16:03:00.001-04:00

i didn't need this tell to tell you this!!!

As a 1930s wife, I am
Poor

Take the test!

2008-07-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

any requests?!?

2008-07-13T16:53:00.000-04:00

SHE SAID "MAMA"!!!!

i've been saying it to her ALL THE TIME for the past...oh....2 months! but today, on skype with sarah, she said it!!!! and sarah can attest to it!!!!! YAY!!!!!

2008-07-11T14:06:00.003-04:00

i woke up this morning at 5.15 with a migraine. i can't remember the last time i had a migraine!! it's crazy how they just hit without warning! i have no idea what brought it on...but i still feel like crap 9 hrs later. it's not as strong as it was, but DANG! migraines really knock the life out of you...especially when you have an 8 month old around as well!!!

here's hoping tomorrow will be better!

2008-07-07T22:16:00.001-04:00

i had a dr appt today and while everything is great, i left completely brokenhearted. i'll spare you the details, but just know that just because a dr tells you something doesn't mean you have to follow it. if your instincts say to do otherwise, do it! or at the very least, get a 2nd opinion. you have a right as a patient, mother, whatever to do what you feel is best. if you don't agree with the dr, get a 2nd opinion. trust your instincts.

i certainly wish i had.

2008-07-05T20:46:00.004-04:00

as a part of my cloth diapering addiction, i have delved into the world of wool (much to my husband's dismay). i got abby's first wool shorts and pants today and i am TOTALLY in love!!! i mean, tell me these aren't the cutest things in the world!!! technically they are supposed to be used as covers for prefolds and/or fitteds (those diapers are not waterproof - they need a cover to keep from leaking) but i think i will just use them as pants and shorts. they fit over her regular waterproof diapers and really, they are just too freakin' cute to mess up!!! i LOVE them!!!

2008-07-03T16:56:00.003-04:00

WE'RE HOME!! we had a great time in dallas. saw mom's new house (it's beautiful!) and saw some friends! abby got her 2nd tooth and learned how to sit up all by herself!! she's growing up too fast!!!

while we were in dallas, we met lori and brenam for the first time face to face! that was the highlight of the trip for me! lori and i have been friends online since our girls were born. they were both premature -- due 1 day apart but born 8 days apart. so lori and i went through the NICU stuff together. it was awesome to be able to meet her in person finally!!! here are pictures from our time together!

2008-06-20T13:00:00.001-04:00

well, abby is doing just fine!! the dr said she looks "remarkably well" for sustaining an injury like she had!!! however, she can't fly until tuesday. they don't want them to fly within 2 weeks of head injuries. so abby and i will be flying to dallas on wednesday instead of tomorrow. which gives me a bit more time to do the laundry! ha!!! then we have to take her back in 4 weeks to get one more CT Scan just to make sure that all the fluid (blood, etc) in her head is draining/absorbing properly and that she doesn't end up with hydrocyphalis (sp??). he is not concerned about it -- but it's precautionary. which i appreciate.

so all in all she's doing well!!! thank you, lord!!!

2008-06-19T21:30:00.005-04:00

abby is doing much better!!! you can't tell she was hurt at all!!!! she has an appt with the pediatric neurosurgeon tomorrow morning (i'll update you!) for a follow-up. i'm hoping it will be in and out!!!

for your viewing pleasure, here are some recent pictures from the snelson household!!

2008-06-12T21:39:00.002-04:00

i have debated posting about this but we've had so many phone calls from people who don't know the end of the story that i thought it would be a good idea. so here we go:

i went to north carolina to help a jaime and wendy with their 2 month twins for 2 weeks. (yes, crazy in itself, i know!) it's about 5 hrs from my house. when we got there, i went to get abby out of her carseat and into the ergo. i put her on my left side to get her in and was putting my right strap onto my right shoulder and she kicked/stretched and when she did, my left arm slipped and she fell backwards, flipped in mid-air and landed on the gravel face first. i (freaking out!) immeadiately picked her up. she was bleeding pretty badly from her mouth and her face was bleeding on her forehead, nose, cheek and chin. i ran to find my friend and she drove me to the closest ER which happened to be a po-dunk little place but had adequate equipment for a CT Scan. so the dr did the CT Scan and said she had bleeding on the brain (subdural hematoma) with old and new blood. that meant that there was this injury and a previous injury that looked like it was from 4-6 days ago. this of course baffled me completely b/c i had no idea where she would have gotten an injury like that! the dr there said that she would need to be transported to the closest children's hospital to be looked at there, with possible surgery. so we were transported by ambulance to Brenner's Children's Hospital inside Wake Forest Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. they put us in the ER there and had 2 neurosurgeons look at her CT Scan. they both confirmed that there was, in fact, 2 seperate injuries in her head, and so CPS and the Child Abuse Drs had to be brought in. abby was admitted and observed, all the while, they were trying to get the pediatric neurological radiologist to look at the Scan. also they were doing full skeletal x-rays and head/neck x-rays looking for other signs of abuse: fractures, breaks, etc. they did a complete physical exam looking for abuse, including sexual. (that was the hardest for me --- they did all this in front of me.) we had interviews with the hospital social worker and 2 Child Abuse Drs. finally the pediatric neurological radiologist read the scan and said that it was misread: children's heads/brains are very different in sustaining injuries than adult's and there was only 1 injury present and that was the fall on tuesday. this cleared us of all abuse allegations and we were sent home.

abby is doing well. she is and has been acting normally. she is very tired, as you would expect, but is doing well. she did vomit yesterday morning all over me (and i didn't freak out!!!!!) which was a concern for a minute, but it was a one time thing so they weren't too concerned. it will take approximately 2 weeks for the subdural hematoma to absorb back into her system. there is no treatment or medications that she needs. she does need to be re-evalutated by a pediatric neurosurgeon and opthamologist here within a week or so just to make sure everything is healing properly.

honestly this was the absolute scariest thing i've ever been through. robert was not with me until 11pm on tuesday. he and my mom drove up from atlanta as soon as i called them to tell them that she had bleeding on the brain. the drs were all fabulous - no one ever accused me of abuse, but they had check into it by law. now i am very nervous when i hold her and walk but i HAVE to do it. i am making myself. i'm not beating myself up about it - there was nothing i could do. but i do relive her falling over and over. i watched it happen -- it was very quick but felt like slow motion. so i see it all the time. abby has only wanted me to hold her for the majority of the time. but she has stayed my happy little girl, playing and loving on everyone around her. in fact, during one of her x-ray sessions, she was strapped down completely to a board and flipped on her side (not very comfortable) and she was laughing with the technicians who were doing the x-rays!

so that's basically it. i'm glad it's over and i'm VERY glad that she is okay. we had so many people praying for us - literally within 2 hrs the whole salvation army world knew about it. i honestly believe that the Lord kept my daughter safe and i give Him all the praise for doing just that. i believe that this happened for a reason and that through this He will be glorified.here are pictures of her for your viewing...pleasure?? again, thank you all for your thoughts/prayers! and to top all this off, in the middle of all this, she got her first tooth!!! wow....

2008-06-09T21:04:00.004-04:00

well, our crazy weekend is finally over! i am completely exhausted and am glad to have done nothing today!! but tomorrow i hit the road running again --- i'm going to CWJ to keep jaime and wendy hood's twins. which means that i will have 3 infants under 7 months old. i know, i'm crazy. but i'm actually excited!!!

right now i'm completely wasted so i don't have the energy to make a full post - but i'll leave you with abigail's 6 month pictures, even though tomorrow she's 7 months. wow....

2008-06-03T18:20:00.001-04:00

wow. just wow.

http://motherhooduncensored.typepad.com/motherhood_uncensored/2008/05/youll-always-re.html

2008-06-01T21:54:00.003-04:00

i've had a lot of questions or curiosity about why and how i use cloth diapers with abigail. i'm going to explain a bit, but before i do i want to make it clear that i'm not doing this to step on anyone's toes or say disposables are bad or anything like that. i've just been asked a lot and i'm answering those who have asked. plus i just like talking about them. if you have an issue with whatever my reasons are, sorry. so here goes:

the first time i thought about cloth was when i was pregnant and katie showed me how to use them with brett. i thought the idea was kinda wierd but hey, it was cool! when abby was born, we had so many people give us diapers that i couldn't buy any cloth ones because we had SO MANY diapers as it was. well, about a month and a half ago or so, i decided that i really wanted to make the move to cloth. i borrowed some of katie's to find brands and types that i liked and jumped in with both feet.

why? you ask. well a bunch of reasons.

1. going with cloth was going to be a lot cheaper in the long run. sure it would be a lot to start with, but considering that abigail will be in diapers for at least 2 years, buying once and washing saves a TON as opposed to buying once a week and throwing away. yes it's more work, but i stay at home with her anyway so i've got the time. and honestly, i LOVE doing my diaper laundry. there's just something about it that's fun.

2. it's better for abigail. there are chemicals and such in disposable diapers that are not good for her. don't misread me: i'm not trying to step on anyone's toes or say that disposable diapers are horrible, but for me, i choose cloth.

3. they are better for the environment. i've never considered myself a "green" person. believe me! but since i started cloth diapering, i've realized just how wasteful things can be! it takes 500+ years for 1 disposable diaper to "decompose" (or whatever they do) in a landfill. that's quite a long time!!! with cloth, i don't have to worry about that! i just wash and the water gets treated as it should. so it really helps the environment quite a bit.

4. they are just so darn cute!! honestly, diaper changes are now so much more fun just because i can pick a diaper to match an outfit, or one that matches her (or my) mood. it's just fun! different patterns, different colors, different brands. you don't get that with disposables.

i have NEVER bought a new cloth diaper. i buy all of them used at http://www.diaperswappers.com/ which is basically a forum where you can buy/sell/trade cloth diapers and everything you ever need to cloth diapers. that has helped keep my costs down A LOT! up to this point i've used Fuzzi Bunz almost exclusively. i love FBs. they are great. easy as disposables to change but oh so cute! however, i've recently decided to change my entire stash to Blueberry's OneSize so that i really can go all the way to her potty training days with the same diapers. and i just LOVE blueberry's. seriously. WAAAAAY more than FBs.

so that's my story. if you're interested, visit http://www.fuzzibunz.com/ or http://www.blueberrydiapers.com/ or http://www.diaperswappers.com/ for more information about cloth diapers.

2008-05-25T19:58:00.002-04:00

today we had the memorial service at westview. i went because robert had to be there and i didn't feel like being home alone all day. so i took the opportunity to introduce abigail to her uncle brock.

2008-05-21T13:11:00.001-04:00

well, we've got 3 more nights until we are back in our own house. it's both exciting and stressful. i'm stressing about a lot of things right now and i can definitely tell. last night i fell asleep at 8:30 with all my day clothes on in a bed that had no sheets (they were in the dryer) and slept until 8 this morning. the last time i did that i was in my first trimester! i'm just completely wasted. abigail has 4 teeth coming in at once. i am having medical procedures to figure out what the heck is wrong with me. and on top of that stuff we are packing and moving and dealing with my mom moving 12 hours away. it's a lot for me. and i think i'm internalizing a lot of it. i didn't really realize that until this very second that i sat down to start writing. and i'm sure all this is coming out as one big BLAH that makes no sense, but that's how it is in my head. i feel kinda lost at this point. i want to be settled in our house. hopefully once we get in there, things will settle down for me. we'll see....

2008-05-12T07:48:00.002-04:00

it's been a crap weekend. huge HUGE changes going on that are happening all at once. mom's moving to dallas, we are having to move back into our house, abigail is 6 months old and is rolling over, we have to buy things for the house that will make it "baby safe" for abby, and about a bazillion other things.

i'm sure i could say a bunch of other stuff but for now i'll leave it all at that.

2008-05-02T19:20:00.001-04:00

YAY FOR MANDA!!!!

2008-05-01T19:47:00.002-04:00

GREEN BEANS!!
i made abigail green beans tonight and SHE LOVED THEM!! i don't cook - EVER! - so i am very excited that i made her food that she liked!! granted, it's pureed green beans. but still, this is a BIG deal for me!!! i think i'm gonna like making her babyfood!!!

2008-04-29T11:43:00.002-04:00

okay - explain how she can look more like him in one pic but more like me in another pic!!! either way, at least SOMEONE (thing) thinks she looks like me!!! :-)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

2008-04-27T22:46:00.003-04:00

here are some pictures from grandma and grandpa snelson's visit this weekend!! also, we started!!! i made abby's first rice cereal tonight. (yes, made it. i'm not buying it from the store. i'm making ALL her food.) so i introduced it tonight. overall, i think it went fairly well. i didn't realize she was quite as hungry as she was....she was doing fine until i put her in her chair to feed her. then she started crying and got really impatient. i probably should have just stopped at that point, but i decided to keep trying. there's one point where she calmed down enough to actually eat off the spoon but the rest of the time she was too worked up to pay attention.

2008-04-24T11:26:00.000-04:00

DANG IT!!! i missed yesterday. well, i made it farther than i thought i would!!

2008-04-22T20:47:00.001-04:00

okay, april lancaster baker, if you want me to email you something, you gotta give me your email address!!!!

2008-04-21T20:44:00.000-04:00

"S"

S is for SPRING

springtime is definitely here! i can feel it in my nose. i thought that i've had a cold for the past few days but i'm beginning to think it's really my allergies acting up. i took abby to a park today to join a playgroup for the first time. i had been feeling fine today until i came home from the park. i was there for 2 hrs! so i'm thinking that it's the curse of the springtime allergies!!!

S is for SPRINGTIME

2008-04-20T22:32:00.002-04:00

thank you to erin who reminded me to post tonight!!!

"R"

R is for RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS

my daughter gave me a cold. and it's not nice. my nose has been full of pressure all day, as has my whole head, really. i don't feel baldy, per se, just kinda like my head is going to explode. abigail is doing much better, thankfully, so hopefully that means that my new round of respiratory issues will be over quickly...

...one can only hope, right?!

R is for RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS

2008-04-19T22:39:00.002-04:00

ooooh! i almost missed today! i don't have much creative energy right now...not that my blog up to this point has been creative. but i'm really tired!

today i started a new business selling arbonne products. i'm scared out of my mind but i think it'll be a really good thing for me to do on a number of levels. i'm excited about it. apprehensive. nervous. excited. :-) we'll see how it goes!!! if anyone wants to get any products, let me know. arbonne is FABULOUS and has great products that are 100% natural. their baby line is phenomenal! i use it on abby everyday.

alright. i'm going to bed. i'm tired!!

2008-04-18T20:49:00.000-04:00

"Q"

Q is for QUIET NIGHT

this past week has been crazy with abigail being sick. our nights have not been that great -- she's been somewhat fussy or wanting to be held. but tonight she is quiet. she's been sleeping a lot the past 2 days and right now she's sleeping on daddy's chest. but i'm glad for a quiet night!!!

Q is for QUIET NIGHT

2008-04-17T18:02:00.002-04:00

"P"

P is for PINK

i've never been a girly girl. ever. in fact, growing up i played more with baseball cards and hot wheels than barbies and stuff like that. i'm just not a girly girl. so having a girl is kinda scary. right now i own more pink crap than i care to, really. pink is the obligatory gift color for girls. don't get me wrong -- i'll NEVER turn down gifts! but it seriously looks like our room (which is also abigail's room) has thrown up pink!

but here's the kicker: i find myself buying pink things for her! not because i like pink - cause i don't! but more b/c that's all there is, really! my favorite color (GREEN!!!) is always in boy stuff! unless, of course, it's paired with pink! so i find myself buying a lot of pink things for her. does that make me a hypocrite??!

P is for Pink!