tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172782892024-03-07T17:42:37.393-07:00Conversations With My HairdryerI'm a mom, just like you. Sometimes the only quiet time I get is when I'm drying my hair. Probably because I can't hear the banging, screaming, and crying when the hair dryer is on.Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.comBlogger646125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-39836085040080110452015-04-20T08:39:00.000-06:002015-04-20T09:30:08.054-06:00hello, saturdayWhen you start planning a move from Texas to Colorado, it won't take long for you to dream up a huge, beautiful, river rock fireplace with a gorgeous mantle. And it's not a big leap to see, in your dream, full green garlands lit up with twinkle lights and festive stockings hanging from the gorgeous mantle for Christmas.
But then you move to Colorado and you realize that it's much colder Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-62457490687410233572015-03-16T11:39:00.000-06:002015-03-16T11:39:15.431-06:00Sometimes it happens by accidentFrom the moment we found out I was carrying identical twin girls, it has weighed on my mind to make sure that each girl grew to be strong, independent, and completely herself. No rhyming names. Embrace their differences while acknowledging that being a twin is very cool. Close but not co-dependent.
It was obvious from the get-go that the girls had very different personalities. Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-60307112744874757662015-03-13T07:00:00.000-06:002015-03-13T07:00:03.208-06:00Funny thing happened on the way to the barn wood wallFunny story about the barn wood wall.
Last spring, I gathered the courage to tell Honey what I had planned for the wall in the loft. I had been on the internets and I loved the pallet wood projects floating around. I'd found a couple of blog tutorials, and armed with my websites and leads on where to find discarded pallets, I prepared to actually say the words out loud.
Honey took aJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-63028822455757097092015-03-12T09:20:00.000-06:002015-03-12T09:20:22.938-06:00#widnYou're right Misty, I kinda left you hanging with the whole pile in the sun room thing.
It's gone! This room is my favorite now...it's DONE!, best view, best sun, no boxes, clean, easy to keep, and the place where all the fun stuff happens. Great big giant check on the list.
I'm a list person. I love making lists. I love checking stuff off of lists.
I have a house listJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-53947997417628428612015-03-06T08:00:00.000-07:002015-03-06T10:25:00.462-07:00The LoftThe girls' rooms and bathroom are upstairs. There's also a secondary living area we call the loft.
A couple of pictures from before:
Hello Mr Elk.
The sellers wanted to leave the armoir and the gigantic, heavy, ancient big screen TV. You know the TV I'm talking about...the first generation big screen that is as thick as it is wide...circa 1995-ish? It still works, Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-18452219837529674592015-03-05T09:57:00.002-07:002015-03-05T09:57:41.222-07:00#widnWe started redecorating and moving the beginning of October. We worked straight through Thanksgiving.
And then I said stop.
Let's take a break.
Let's enjoy December and Christmas and snow and the sports break in our new house.
So we did. Work ceased. Unpacking was put on hold. Honey felt free to spend some time cleaning and organizing the shop becauseJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-90859457469963826762015-02-17T13:26:00.001-07:002015-02-17T13:26:39.830-07:00RememberingToday is Brooke's diaversary. Four years ago today we were told that Brooke has Type 1 Diabetes, and that our lives, and especially Brooke's life, would never be the same.
She blows me away with her willingness to deal with it all. She's a rock star. The tantrums and bits of sadness are few and far between. She just rolls with it. She's one of my heroes.
Brooke wasJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-55600882925172155142015-02-03T10:33:00.000-07:002015-02-03T10:33:20.851-07:00I get by with a little help from my friendsY'all, there really wasn't anything wrong with this house when we bought it.
See? The before was really pretty.
A couple of months before we moved in, we started working on our redecorating budget. We had some money to spend on the house up front, so we focused on projects that would make the most impact and would be easiest done before the big move.
Number 1 on our list Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-49317067492260671912015-02-02T13:32:00.003-07:002015-02-02T13:33:23.882-07:00She got her groove backWe've been in Colorado about a year and a half. We're settling into our home where I hope we will live for many years. We aren't the new people anymore. Well, in some ways we are, but we are becoming less so every day.
I think we are feeling adjusted. There are still things that feel different, and some stuff we're not used to, and every once in a while, we get caught Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-5457388491550640622015-01-29T06:00:00.000-07:002015-01-29T07:39:16.277-07:00The big rectangleIt's amazing how much just changing the paint color will change a room.
When we first started talking about our plans for making this house feel like ours, we prioritized by which projects would make the most impact. In my head I knew that paint changed everything, but I didn't really know it in my heart until I actually saw it.
Our entry, dinning, and living area is basically a giant Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-59264720238847027432015-01-27T14:51:00.002-07:002015-01-27T14:52:19.671-07:00Let's start with one of my personal favorites.Hey! It's been a while hasn't it? Bear with me while I find my voice again. I don't know if I remember how to write or not.
In October 2014 we bought a house.
It's our little house in the big woods. I told Honey when we started our home search that if we were going to leave Texas and live in Colorado, I wanted trees, and hills, and to know that I wasn't in Texas Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-1973852253705643172014-03-10T12:13:00.000-06:002014-03-10T12:13:44.031-06:00The InterwebsStuff I'm loving from around the interwebs...
- Meg shared this about the healthy changes she's making in her life.
- They say your taste buds change every 7 years. I just ate a salad, inspired from a Facebook post that I can no longer find, made from spinach, feta cheese crumbles, strawberries, tomatoes, salted almonds, avocado, dried cranberries, and a vinegar and oil dressing.
Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-44229642134424882302014-03-05T08:24:00.003-07:002014-03-05T08:26:34.705-07:00Thinking ThankfulA friend and I are working through Kelly Minter's study Nehemiah, and the last couple of weeks have spoken to me.
Yesterday I read in Deuteronomy...
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this dayJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-1178120926807323632014-02-26T14:06:00.002-07:002014-02-26T14:06:38.939-07:00Chicken Parm is the new SpaghettiA long time ago I started making baked spaghetti. My kids loved it, and it became one of those meals you could make in your sleep. It's entirely possible that I did make it in my sleep a time or two. And it is so fast, I could make it start to table in 25 mins. We ate it about 3 times a month, and for a while, my kids took the leftovers to school in their lunches.
I Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-14095927727825925282014-02-11T08:44:00.002-07:002014-02-11T08:44:28.296-07:00Fourteen
I know it's not Throwback Thursday, but today Bubba turns 14. He still has the same sweet face, dark eyes, and quick smile. He likes to remind me, almost hourly, that he's taller than me, even when I wear heels.
He also likes to remind me that he will be starting high school in a few months. I can't even...
He desperately needs a haircut. He's always singing.Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-37413541896190824472014-02-07T09:18:00.001-07:002014-02-07T09:18:24.276-07:00A few of my favorite thingsWe're getting a bit of winter here in our corner of CO. The only thing I have to say about that is...FINALLY. I was beginning to think someone just transplanted some mountains and pine trees in West Texas, because we've been having a TX winter here in CO. I might feel differently in a few hours when I have to get out and pick the kids up from school.
This TX girl has had to Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-33081957208194835682014-02-06T16:03:00.001-07:002014-02-07T09:18:52.906-07:00In a wordHOPE
It's my word for 2014.
Weeks before I knew anything about how the months of 2013 would play out, God spoke the word "faith" to me. Yes. He spoke it. I remember it like it was yesterday. And, low and behold, God was right. In every possible way, 2013 was a huge leap of faith for our family.
2013 will be one of those life marks for us.
"Oh, yeah! That Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-21991881339007590212013-11-18T18:04:00.000-07:002013-11-18T18:04:27.891-07:00The good, the bad, and the uglyI am so over change and getting settled and new and different.
Over. it.
I want the good ole days back.
...when I could go online and with a few clicks of the mouse order more than enough diabetes supplies for Brooke
...when all the people already had our current contact information
...when I called the doctor's office and they knew who I was by my voice
...when the people at Walmart were Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-33677039098865775862013-11-14T10:20:00.000-07:002014-01-14T09:16:35.614-07:00Just the facts, Ma'amToday is World Diabetes Day. It's Dr. Banting's birthday, and in 1923, he won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of insulin. Every day since February 17, 2011 insulin saves Brooke's life. So we celebrate. Dr. Banting, I'm glad you were born. Thank you for saving my daughter's life.
Diabetes is a complicated thing. I get that. There are lots of different Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-64607434549818016782013-10-10T13:27:00.001-06:002013-10-10T13:28:18.461-06:00You might be a Texan living in Colorado...- If your heavy winter coat really only does you any good between forty and sixty five degrees.
- Related: if you actually wear a jacket when it's sixty five degrees.
- If you find yourself shopping for rain boots.
- If you are surprised that it's not common practice to recite the Pledge to the Colorado flag in conjunction with the Pledge of Allegiance. Is there a pledge to the Colorado flagJenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-87748864562210757182013-08-20T11:09:00.000-06:002013-08-20T11:09:14.614-06:00All the new.
We made it through the summer...honestly, it was touch and go that last week. Mama's nerves are just about shot. Someday when the twins grow up and have quadruplets going in to 4th grade, their Facebook status will say something like "I get it now, Mom. You are my hero for letting us survive the summer we were 9."
And when I read that status, I will feel a deep satisfaction Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-76886894392417434752013-07-24T14:06:00.001-06:002013-07-24T14:10:51.861-06:00Some thoughts......On the royal baby.
Really?! Kensington Palace doesn't have air conditioning? It is still 2013, right? I'm just a humble commoner, but I have been pregnant and given birth in the summer. And I have some advice for the Queen. If you want Baby Prince to hang out at your place, help a new momma out and COOL IT OFF IN THERE! As in 68 American degrees of cold air.
And...I Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-70360403334180290272013-07-17T13:28:00.001-06:002013-08-20T11:09:33.816-06:00My Neurotic Side Comes OutI'm a routine kind of girl. I love to know what is going on and when it's going to happen. And when I find something that works, I like to repeat it over and over and over. Routines help me know what's normal and what's not. Or, what's been taken care of, and what still needs my attention.
Mary Tutu might carry the "love of routine" gene. In the midst of packing up Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-57522193787056762392013-07-15T18:24:00.000-06:002013-08-20T11:09:50.133-06:00AdjustingWhen Honey and I started looking for places to live in our new town, my one requirement was that there be trees. Lots of trees.
For such a small town, there are several different scenery options when looking for a house. I decided that if we were going to pack up and leave West Texas, we were going to move to a place that looked exactly the opposite of West Texas. Which meant Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17278289.post-80324091557010027492013-07-11T09:52:00.000-06:002013-07-11T13:02:34.330-06:00Some numbers...1 boy
1 girl
1 wedding day
3 kids, including...
1 set of twins, a total of...
20.2 lbs of newborns
7 houses
3 towns in...
3 states
9 years of youth ministry
5 jobs (for him)
5 jobs (for me)
4 careers (for him)
14 cars (that I can remember)
16 rooms painted
3 yards landscaped
5 overnight hospital stays
1 diabetes diagnosis
9 A1c results
2 hormonal, moody 9 year olds
3 Kindergarten years (Jenni at talking hairdryerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16565237769341560279noreply@blogger.com2