Article #3

"How to Clean Your Washing Machine (DIY)"
http://www.amomknows.com/2012/01/how-to-clean-your-washing-machine-diy/

Article #2

My next article was published on amomknows.com

Questions to Ask a Potential Pediatrician

Do you have any ideas on what I could write? Leave a comment!

[Pink & Black] Fairy Princess

She loves to dress up.

She loves this "pose" : standing on one foot, leaning forward, arms up!

Fairy wings.

If this picture doesn't sum up Lexi's personality, I don't know what does.

A Mom Knows

Recently, I submitted a post to a new mom website A Mom Knows hoping to be published on the site and become one of their mom-writers. I noticed they didn't have any moms who had experience dealing with disabilities of any sort, and I thought it'd be fun to try and put in my two cents.

And guess what?

They posted it! :-) I am proud of myself! I love the blog-scene and it'll hopefully be a great way to get people information that I've learned, etc!

If you want to check it out, here is the link to my article Becoming Your Child's Advocate!

TKL

Terrell
Terrell's motorcycle is STILL in the shop. Stinkin' dishonest people who hit his bike and don't fess up!!!  You cost us a lot of monies, you meany-heads! He has been riding his bike to and from work in Spanish Fork but has developed some pretty awful asthma (he had minor already) and sounds like he's dying! So, he takes the van most days! Poor guy! Hopefully his motorcycle will be all fixed up soon! He heads up to Boise in a few weeks to check out another location for the racing series in his company, which is a bonus because that's where his family lives! I recently talked him into getting a haircut because it was getting SO long, and he looks even more handsome!

Kellie
I'm still enjoying my job at Planet Fitness, and have also been trying to workout there at least 3x week. I recently applied to go to school to become a Fitness/Personal Trainer, was accepted, and now I just have to decide if I actually am going to do it! I applied to be a writer for a new mom-based blog/website and turned in my first post (entitled Becoming Your Child's Advocate) so I hope that I get approved! I stay busy doing fun crafts, cleaning the house, taking care of Lexi, etc. I'm also trying to become a "self proclaimed" occupational therapist to better help Lexi here in our home. I've been reading books, articles, websites, etc trying to figure out and learn all I can. I hope it helps.


Lexi
Lexi is probably the biggest diva ever. She only wears dresses, fairy wings, crowns, sparkles...(sound like her cousin Jessica, anyone?!) and wants to sing, dance and twirl all the day long. Unfortunately she's developing quite the attitude, which isn't the most fun, especially because some of her meltdowns are extreme due to her little brain damage. All in all, she's a crack up. A goofball. A flirt. A silly-head. A stinker. A cutie. You name it! She will be TWO YEARS OLD in just a few short weeks and we are amazed at how grown up she is getting. Lexi hasn't been progressing that well with her right side, and that's really frustrating for me as a mom, and for Lexi! She receives her next round of botox in just a few weeks, and we're going to up her therapy so hopefully that helps. She re-starts gymnastics tomorrow and I couldn't be more happy! Her therapists all say that it is the best thing for her to do! Lexi loves all things Dora, all things Princess, and anything girly related. And she loves football. Booya!

Family
We're working hard to get super-control over our finances. We are signed up to attend Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey, starting in the middle of February and we're excited! We really like living in Orem and are grateful for such a great place and great location! We are officially in our ward after 3 months - our membership records finally transferred! :) Terrell and I started playing cards a ton, just like we used to do and it has been a lot of fun to get back into something that we both love doing together!

hehehe!

Bacon Wrapped Cheeseburgers

I decided to make bacon wrapped cheeseburgers. Yummy.

Before cooked. Hamburger patties, seasoned with salt/pepper/onion salt, set on top of 3-5 strips bacon, colby jack cheese on top, then wrapped the bacon over the top. Baked in the oven on a foil wrapped cookie sheet. 375, around 30 minutes.

After: Sara Lee Thinwich bread, ketchup, greens, bacon wrapper 'burger

Nom, nom, nom!

I paired it with seasoned fries.

Critique (from me and Terrell, collectively!)

- make bacon crispier by using a skillet, until slightly crispy, then wrapping the burger

- Toast buns to make them a little sturdier

- Add 2-3 slices of cheese, instead of just one

Overall it was fairly tasty! Nom, nom, nom!

Project Fabric Lexi's Walls

In order to absorb some sound in Lexi's room, and make it look more "room-like", I've been trying to decide what I wanted to do. I've made yarn pom-poms, flag banners, whatever and didn't like any of them. Finally, I decided to try and fabric a border onto her walls using thin fabric and spray adhesive. It doesn't look perfect because I'm the worst person at cutting things ever, but I like it! 

Please excuse the darker spots - it was still drying a bit when I took the picture!

Stay blessed not stressed.

I am a part of a Hemi-Kids email discussion forum (hemi-kids is a group for parents/families/kids that have hemiparesis,etc) and I caught a glimpse of the bottom of one of the emails. What a great reminder - stay blessed meaning remember that you are blessed. Love it.

"My Texture Board"

To help Lexi become more aware of her right hand, I made her this texture board:

My Texture Board

Supplies:

Craft Bond Spray Adhesive

Scrapbook paper

Carpet square sample

Beads

Styrofoam

Wax paper, crinkled

Sandpaper

Satin fabric

Velvet Fabric

Paint Square sample

Paint pen

Wood board

Steps:

1. Gather supplies

2. Spray wood board with craft bond

3. Lay paper on wood board

4. Cut out desired size/shape of the texture materials

5. Glue on with craft bond

6. Label textures

Texture Sections

Velvet: cheap velvet fabric scrap

Silk: satin fabric scrap

Scratchy: sandpaper

Smooth: Paint square sample

Soft: Carpet square sample

Sticky: sprayed craft bond on a piece of paper

Bumpy: Glued beads on a scrap of paper

Rough: cut the end off of a piece of styrofoam

Crinkly: wrinkled wax paper

BONUS: I used textured scrapbook paper as the background to give it more textures.

It didn't turn out quite how I wanted it to, but what craft project ever does?

created by .kf

Lexi's Posse

Have I ever mentioned how much Lexi loves Dora? Cuz she does. She has all the beanie baby characters for Dora (that they make anyways) and carries them EVERYWHERE. She does EVERYTHING with them, and  has to have them ALL: Dee-dee, Eh-go, Boots, Kitty, Wipah...

The other day, she got a few of her Dora books, lined them up on the couch and read them stories...

Stickerhead

For some reaon, Lexi likes to put stickers on her head. In the same spot on her head. Serious silliness.

She looks so old in this picture!!!!

One of my very favorite pictures of Lexi. Ever.

Mom with a capital M

This morning, Lexi was a major stinker - she was SO tired, but wouldn't take a nap and was screaming screaming screaming. I wanted to give her away! In fact, I tried! (Just kidding! I only posted it on facebook! hehe). Anyways, finally after about an hour and a half, she went down for a nap. Me, being exhausted went down for a nap, too! About 2 hours later, I woke up to more Lexi-screaming. Seriously? I would've thought a 2 hour nap woulda made her happier! As the day commenced, we went outside to enjoy this 50-60 degree weather. All she wanted to do was play on the swings! After awhile, she was cold, so we went inside to grab jackets and hats and then headed back outside to swing! My silly little girl was so excited about swinging. She was laughing, giggling, asking for more, and was just plain cute! I was looking at her as I pushed her higher and higher, in her cute little beanie, and pink jacket, and pink clothes, with a little red nose, and hands gripping tightly on the swing, and thought to myself,

This is why I love being a Mom.

It's those little moments when you look at your beautiful child and wonder how you got so lucky to have such a special Child of God.

I love my little LexiBean, even though at times I just want to give her away! :-)

Earring Holder

I finally got around to making an earring holder! I used a wooden box, painted it, scrapbooked the back, and strung see thru ribbon. I think it turned out fairly cute!

My little reader

The other day, I was snuggled up on the couch re-reading Mockingjay. From the corner of my eye, I saw Lexi crawl up on our chair wit her blanket, doggy, and a book, and read there, all by herself. It made me so happy that I have a little reader! Books are the best! I'm so glad I got pictures!

A few more pix from Christmas Day

Working on a model motorcycle from Santa

I decided to give away my adorable triplet baby dolls I've had since I was little because Lexi had so many dolls. SO SAD.

Silly kid!

Singing on her high chair

DONE! Now he wants to paint it.

Wuddup?

Bahahahaha!