Stadium Seat

Setting: Homecoming Volleyball Game

Watching: Auntie Bug

Pants: Childrens Place

Shirt: Target

Jacket: Target

Boots: Target {courtesy of Grandma GG}

Ponytails: Courtesy of your's truly

Smile: A signature Baby Bella trait

Stadium Seat =

     Not just for Grandpas
:)

Failed Cooking Tutorial: Edamame

How in the world
     do you mess up Edamame?!
{... you get lazy that's how! }

I was hungry the other night,
& so for a last minute snack
I decided I should try edamame.

Super awesome for you,
natural, good source of lean protein,
& time consuming to eat.
PERFECT.

I hadn't cooked it myself before
so I read the directions on the back.
They told me to put some
in a microwave safe container,
           with a microwave safe lid
& to heat on high
         for approximately 7 minutes.

I was unaware that
       you can eat Edamame
{two} different ways.
         Crispy or Soft.

I was counting on the soft version
           so you know where this is going.

I put about a cup of edamame
       in a microwave safe bowl
                but didn't have a lid,
so I flipped a plate upside down
                    && used that instead.

Seven minutes later
my microwave was smoking,
my kitchen smelled like burnt, bitter food
& I had to throw away my {quick} snack
leaving me stranded for another
{five minutes} at least to try and
not burn another batch.

Okay, Round #2:

half the time...
Three minutes and thirty seconds.

FML.
Burnt again.

From now on I'm sticking to the stove top,
& waiting patiently for my edamame,
so my microwave doesn't stink
three days later,
& half my bag doesn't go in the trash.

To properly cook Edamame:
Heat a small pot of water till boiling,
add Edamame, & return to boil.
Cook for 3-5 mintues.
          drain & rinse with cold water,
    Enjoy your full bag of Edamame
                            :)

A Cardboard Box.

Cardboard boxes are always useful
&& If not, they can be recycled.
            {How nice...Okay continue...}

They're used to
store shoes, hold groceries,
used to mail special packages
& get supplies to soldiers.

Used as bins for toys,
art canvas,
or maybe home for a hurt animal.

A hat, a sign,
a halloween costume,
or a seat.

In this case,
             A box,
           looks just like
                       a box.

But not your ordinary
                                 box.

A play place.
A house.
A rocket ship.
A hiding place.
An imaginary fun box.

Or..

All of the above.

A box is a childs playground
& this Home Depot box
provided a good
twenty minutes of entertainment
 for
       Baby Bella.

Thank the Lord for the little things in life
                                 <3

Finish this sentence, "Cell Phones..."

"... are always threatening their own lives
     when in my possession."

AKA
I'm really hard on cell phones.

I always {accidentally} drop them.

          But after Miss Baby Bella
sogged up the unlock button
      {so my backlight had to always stay on
            therefore forcing me to carry a car charger
                                && wall charger at all times}

& THIS HAPPENED...

I decided I needed a new one.

No. I didn't throw it.
It decided to commit suicide
& literally bounce out of the cup holder
of Baby Bella's stroller.

Dear Phone,

I'm sorry I was so hard on you.You will be missed dearly but replaced by a much nicer twin with a slick otterbox case & heavy duty screen. {I thought that was overkill, apparently I learned another lesson the hard way}. Your battery and memory card will still be of assitance however as a handy back up when this new phone decides to take a dump. Not to mention you still work perfectly, well kinda. Thanks for hanging in there for a whole 4 months.

Sincerely,
    Momma who needs phone insurance.

I Remember When...

Baby Bella,

I remember when
you used to chew on
gum your foam bath
         alphabet letters

I remember when
     you used to cry, a lot
& Grandpa Birgensmith called you a
       teridactyle
             {I did not spell that right}

I remember when
    you only used my
                     pinky
       as a pacifier.

I remember when
   you learned to growl
{thanks to your Aunite}
               at six months old.

I remember when
        you tried
peaches
             for the first time
{I have never seen a baby so discontent over food}

I remember when
you started crawling under
           everthing in sight
You would always bonk your head
         but {keep doing it} all over again.

I remember when
         you ate your
first personal birthday cake
       with your {face} only

I remember when
      you would {pull, rip & shred}
all of the newspapers & magazines
         on the floor

I remember when
you had your first bath
            in the hospital
& {I cried} because you hated it.

I remember when
you'd finally fall asleep on my chest
  after fussing for
what seemed like hours
           & I was terrified to move,
  in {fear of waking you}

I remember when
I put {eye liner} on your nose
         for Halloween,
you made the cutest little kitty.

I remember when
                     {Cousin Kelli}
was taking baby pictures,
& you were being the smilest girl.
 {Later we found out
       you peed all over the couch...}

I remember when
You loved your whale tub
         & I'd let you get a
gallon of water
                 all over the floor
{just because} you loved splashing.

I remember when
you smiled in your sleep
               for the first time,
{I always wondered what you thought of}

I remember when
    we tried to
fit you into a pumpkin,
   you were quite unsure of the
{slimy, orange, goo}

I remember when
we took you to
               Target.
it was the first public place you visited
    I couldn't wait to {show you off}
          && everyone was Oohing & Ahhing.

I remember when
we decorated your room
                for Christmas.
{Mommy even put presents
under your own personal tree}

I remember when
you'd sleep with your
             neck bent
in unsual, pretty painful looking positions
        & liked it.

I remember when
you'd wake {us} up in the morning
         with your soft, baby voice
repeating "Ba ba ba ba ba...."

I remember when
you used to play in this
         activity center
& could barely reach the toys...

Now
      you're far too big,
& can grasp the toys
       {with ease}

But you still love that activity center
          {just} like you did a year ago.

Time doesn't make us love {things} any less,
       we just age. grow up. mature.
We're never too old
   to still do the things we love.

Baby Bella,
You are getting older,
       I cannot change that.
But you are more than welcome
to play with your infant toys,
                 & make me
"Remember when"
any day.
 
Remember when
I held you for the first time,
& said "I love you baby girl"
a tear fell down my face.

Now,
as I hold you
            {while your sleeping}
& say "I love you baby girl" again....
a tear falls down my face.

Because I love you still,
      I always have &
               always will.

Our Lovely Saturday Morning

A Failed Tutorial: Elmers Glue Art

Okay,
So this project looked way cooler on
           pinterest,
than what mine turned out to be.

{I guess that's why I blog right..
so you don't make my same mistakes?!}

I'm kinda sad. Oh well :)

...anyways!
Elmers glue art.
Pretty self explainatory...

MATERIALS:
* Canvas
* Elmers Glue
* Paint {I used spray paint... at first}

To start:
     I drew lightly with pencil
        what I wanted to outline in glue.
{I decided to write
"Do more of what makes you happy"
{I would not advise doing a quote... }
       & also a seperate design}

I messed up a couple times
               &&  lightly erased the lines.
{I didn't worry about them too much
        because I knew I'd paint over them}

After your done drawing
outline everything in glue.

HERE'S WHERE I MESSED UP:
- Keep in mind the amount of glue that you
squeeze matters... I tried to put a consistent amount
out... but when it dried... it was still squiggly :(

Now..
being the problem solver that I am...
I figured I could just put another coat of glue on everything
to even out the lines..
                  Looks good right?
                               WRONG.

      DO NOT DO WHAT I DID.
                    {it did not help...}

So after two coats of glue,
my quote was still hard to read.
       {Boooo... What now?!}

   Well I needed to paint it
so maybe that might help
        my quote stand out more.
&& not look so messy.

Attempted the spray paint.
            ...It was terrible.
Didn't spray right, wasn't even working,
didn't cover my pencil lines...
         {You've gotta be kidding me right?!}

PART 2:
After deciding Elmers glue wasn't going to be the end of me,
&& taking a couple day's break from this horrific project,
                     I was ready to conquer this canvas.

MATERIALS II:
* Paint
* Paint brush or roller {I used a roller}
* Paint thinner {Optional, I used it}
* Small cup for mixing

Okay taking this slow...
      Paint the canvas, Easy enough right?

...Two coats of paint later,
the design looks good...
but my quote is still an
              Epic Fail.

{Maybe hanging it on my wall will make it look better...}
                           AKA: Can this project get any worse?!

Can you even see that...
                 be honest.
{"Barely"
           -Yeah that's what I thought.
                            it's in "high contrast" too... }

      By this time
I'm literally cussing at my wall.
-I guess not every project is as easy as it seems,
&& "Elmers glue on canvas"
                  is terribly decieving.

Awesome.
I have a 24x36'' canvas
           that looks like nothing

SHARPIES!
{Sharpies fix everything}

Armed with a bold tipped sharpie,
           I'm determined to slay this Elmer's art.
{or at least make it stand out for gosh sakes}

An hour later I'm done outlining
          "Do More"
&& my sharpie dies.
I'm uber thrilled to make
another trip to the store
for this f***ing stupid project.
                    ...UGH!

{To be completely honest:
               I even hate blogging about this...
        that's why it's taken me so long to post!}

Okay.
Four. Count em... 4. Four. IV.
sharpies later along with
                  five long hours...

It's donezo...
                Boom.

The project from hell is
      put to the ultimate test

{to be hung on the wall and look decent}

Eh... Meh... Sure... Maybe... Pushing it...

                              ...Nope.

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Maybe there will be a
Part Three
               someday,
where I wash the whole canvas
                abstract style
with a light lime/yellow green
that's accented in my room.

Or maybe
I just paint my whole wall in my room
so the painting finally stands out.

FFF this.

 Elmer's Glue = 1
                              Chelsi = 0