Month: January 2009

It always feels so weird to come back to Southern California.  It’s homey and nostalgic and familar.  I’m so thankful for the 6 years we spent here, so thankful for the way it shaped me and grew me and challenged me. I love to come back here and see the palm trees and the traffic and the people walking everywhere. I love to eat at In N Out.  I love to see my friends, both old and new, and see my family.

I arrived on Saturday afternoon and got to spend time with these dirtbags.

They live walking distance to the beach in the cutest little neighborhood.  We walked around, watched a beautiful sunset, and then I took Patrick out for a belated birthday dinner.  It was so much fun!

Patrick shuttled me to Anaheim where I met up with Carrie.  Oh, how I love getting to see Carrie every year! I mean, can’t you just tell from this picture that she’s so much fun?!

I also got to see Jess and Corinne, and meet Danielle, who I’ve blog stalked for quite some time.  I’m trying to steal a picture of Carrie, Corinne, Danielle, and I from the Paper Trunk blog, but I can’t figure it out.  Just pretend.

{Insert Cute (Especially of Danielle who is 30 weeks pregnant and looks amazing) Picture Here}

Here’s Jess and I hanging out in the booth.  I won’t even mention how many takes it took to get this one.

So, Sunday-Wednesday, I worked in the Paper Trunk booth at CHA.  It was so much fun!  Even during the slow times, we just laugh and laugh and make it fun.  I want to write about all sorts of things (like Binaca and The Mother of All Quesadillas) but I know, it’s not going to be the same as being there.  Maybe one of these days I’ll try to get it down in words.  I also got to walk around the show and see all the new scrap stuff that is being released, and that’s always cool, too.

Now I’m back at my brother’s.  I’m about to go walk around and explore a bit before I head north to visit with some old friends.  Tomorrow morning I head back home.  And by morning, I mean the actual butt crack of dawn.  I will be heading out at 4:00 a.m.  That’s gonna hurt.

It’s been such a great trip, but I am so ready to get home and see my babies and my hubby!  Poor Logan has been sick the past two days.  Luckily Mamaw is there to take good care of him and feed his sprite and crackers.  I’m sure Camryn has grown since I’ve been gone, and I miss talking to Connor so much!  He’s not much of a phone talker, so I’ve only gotten snippets out of him here and there since I’ve been gone.

Peace out, peeps!

(Does anyoe else feel like they need to add a closing to blogs, but then I can’t think of anything that isn’t totally awkward.  Peace out, peeps, is still awkward, huh.  I need to work on my closings.)

As it was a surprise birthday party!!  I had NO idea.  Seriously.  Once I get the pictures, I’m sure you will be able to see it on my face.  Derek and I walked in to “drop the kids off”, and my closest friends jumped out and yelled SURPRISE!!  It was just like the movies, and so much fun!!  We ate delcious Mexican food, played Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution (which some of them got me for my birthday.)  We visited and laughed, and just had a great time.  This has definitely been one of the best birthdays ever!

Now I’m off to pack for California.  Yeah, it’s 11:15 p.m. and I leave tomorrow morning.  It’s amazing how much my packing perspective has changed since having kids.  Packing only for myself seems easy as pie compared to packing for myself and three small kids.

Be back soon!

Really, I just think this is going to be a great year. My first day of being 29 has been great so far.
–It’s a gorgeous 75 degrees outside right now.
–Camryn and Logan are both napping. That never happens, because, you know, Logan doesn’t really nap anymore. But since I have a hot birthday date with my husband tonight, and the kids are going to have a blast with their cousin’s house, I know it’s going to be a late night, and mean mommy made him lay down for a nap. He’ll thank me tonight. (And so will my sister-in-law.)
–I’ve had lots and lots of birthday wishes, which being the attention loving middle child that I am, I love.
–Connor got ready for school without any hubbub today.
–I met some friends at the gym for a Zumba class, during which I looked like a complete dork, but it was pretty fun and got my heart rate going and my thighs burning.
–I enjoyed some time at the park with playgroup. They brought me cupcakes. I love cupcakes.
And now I’m enjoying the total peace and quiet, except for the soothing sounds of Jack Johnson and the washing machine, and I’m blogging at my new table! Oh, how I love my new table!

And those are some beautiful flowers Derek gave me yesterday.

Now I’m off to scrap with some of Paper Trunk’s newest papers!

Happy Birthday to me!  I hope all of your Friday’s are as great as mine is today.

Oh, and thanks for all the comments on my video!  Another one will be coming soon…

I think every Monday I might post a video blog.  Well, not next Monday since I will be in California.  But every Monday after that.  Here’s this weeks edition.  Enjoy!  (Or don’t, because it’s a little long and rambly.  And a little awkward.  But that’s me…long winded, awkward…a bit spazzy…and proud of it!)

January 19 Blog from Megan Thurman on Vimeo.

July 13, 2008, 12:35 a.m.

I’ve debated this picture time and time again, but I just love it. There is nothing quite like that very first moment. And I know she is goopy (trust me, it’s a little frightening in color!) But I had a partial placenta abruption during labor, so, you know….goop happens.  Hope no one is freaked out by the brand new baby pic.

There. That’s better. All cleaned up.

And here she is now.  Six months old.

She’s grown so much! I love this age.  She is all smiles, all giggles, and has brought our little family so much joy.  She is just starting to sit up, and rolls all over the floor, but is still a ways from crawling (I think…and hope…).  She still has a big, toothless smile.  She eats rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, apples, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  She loves to eat!  Her favorite toy in the world is her jumparoo.  She just bounces and smiles and bounces and smiles.  She loves people, and I mean all people.  She will go to anyone with a smile on her face and a song in her heart.  She is just the sweetest little bundle of sunshine, and I am honored that I have been entrusted with raising her!  Praise God for little bundles of goopy baby who turn into squishy little munchkins! Happy Half Year Birthday, sweet Cami J!

I’m about to toot my own horn. Just so you know. Nothing wrong with a little horn tooting every once in awhile.

Today I…
-went to the gym.
-showered, shaved, got dressed in jeans not sweats, fixed my hair, and put on mascara.
-made 3 ice cube trays of baby food, carrots and apples.
-had dinner ready to pop in the oven by 2:30 p.m.
-took the boys to get their hair cut, with a stop at Sonic along the way for slushes, or “flushies” as Logan calls them.
-played play-doh and Connect 4.
-cleaned up the huge mess from making baby food and cooking dinner. (I’ll will admit that more times than not, I leave the mess for Derek. I married the greatest man ever who never complains when I leave the mess for him.)
-Finished painting the kitchen cabinets. Yes, the same cabinets I started painting last March. There were 4 inside cabinets that never got painted because I was sick and tired of painting by the end of that little huge project. I’m notorious for things like that. For example, in our first apartment, I painted the kitchen cabinets (will I ever learn??), painted the walls, and stenciled sunflowers. Oh yes I did. Sunflowers. But I didn’t finish any of the edges. Two years later when we moved out, Derek spent a day finishing up the kitchen project. And right now, as I sit here, there is a corner in the bathroom that is adorned with painter’s tape, ready to be touched up. It’s been that way for 2.5 years. But I digress. This post is not about how I start projects and don’t finish them.
-Put away laundry
-Gathered the rest of the Christmas stuff and put it in a box. Yes, I realize it’s January 7, and way past time for Christmas to be put away. Whatever.

It’s 7:45, the boys are tucked in, Camryn is here next to me in her exersaucer. It’s been a good day. On the agenda tonight: play guitar hero, read New Moon, scrapbook, catch up on blogs. It will be a good night.

I love brinner. You know, breakfast for dinner. It’s always a winner in this house! We were all a bit on the cranky side tonight. And by all, I definitely mean that Camryn was super fussy all day and barely napped, which means that I was worn out by the end of the day and not so patient with the boys. Add in a cold, rainy afternoon, and a dad who had to end a 17 day vacation today, and you’ve got yourself the perfect night for brinner. The world looked just a little brighter after scrambled eggs, sausage, and chocolate chip pancakes served with whipped cream. I’m telling you, the next time you’ve had a rough day, bust out the brinner!

It actually wasn’t that rough of a day. It started on the early side (5:30….thanks a bunch, Miss C…) But it was so good to get back to our normal routine today. C went back to school, which he was super excited about. I went to the gym, went to lunch with a friend so Logan could play with his bff, and finally packed up the Christmas decorations. It was a good day, minus the fussy baby.

So, I went to the gym today. I’m going all out, hard core. I’m motivated for lots of reasons, but I’ll be honest that the biggest one of all is an upcoming trip to Hawaii! D and I are going to Kauai this summer, and I’m going to be skinny, dang it! I started working out a few months ago, but in the grand tradition of an American during the holidays, I fell off the wagon. So I’m back on. This time I think I’m even going to take measurements, before pictures, etc, and maybe even chronicle it on the blog. Why not, right?

All right, that’s it for now. I’m off to rock out on Guitar Hero. Such a fun game!

2009 is going to be a crafiter, skinnier year than 2008.  More crafts.  Less late night snacks.  More scrapbooking.  More exercising. I don’t really do resolutions (it always feels like I’m just setting myself up for failure), but those are two areas of my life that were really pushed to the back burner this past year, and I’m ready to fire them up again!

In the meantime, until I have some crafitness or skinniness to share, let’s take a look back at 2008.

In January, I turned 28, I got through the first trimester sickness phase, and Connor and Logan started sharing a room.

In February, I took a trip to California to help my friend Carrie with her Paper Trunk booth at CHA, and we found out that we were having a baby girl.

In March, I had a girl’s night in Dallas with Suzanne, Shauna, and Juli Beth and we picked out the fabric for Camryn’s nursery, Connor lost his first tooth, we went to the Houston Rodeo for the first time, Logan turned 3, and I decided it would be a good project to paint all of my kitchen cabinets.

In April, Derek installed a new backsplash, completeing the kitchen project, the longest t-ball season known to mankind was in full swing, and I was in the really good feeling phase of pregnancy.

In May, we purchased a minivan, my nesting was in full swing and no closet was left untouched, it started to get very hot here, the boys finished their year of preschool/mother’s day out, and my friends at church threw me a baby shower.

In June, we settled on the name Camryn Jane, but Logan still called her Baby Madison, we went to the pool a lot, made one final trip to Arlington as a family of 4, tee ball season finally ended, I finished painting Camryn’s room, grew bigger and bigger, and got cankles.

In July, my playgroup friends had a baby shower for the 4 of us that had summer babies, I got more and more impatient to meet Camryn, scheduled an induction, had my water break at Wal-Mart 2 days before my induction, and gave birth to a beautiful little girl.  Family visited, we made a trip to Arlington, and tried to adjust to being a family of 5.

In August, Connor started kindergarten, Derek traveled to Germany, I became obsessed with frozen Junior Mints, Logan started preschool, complete with a princess lunchbox, Camryn started smiling and proved to be the most laid back, happiest baby ever, Logan stopped sharing a room with Connor and began sharing with Camryn.

In September, we evacuated because of hurricane Ike, and lost our favorite tree in the hurricane.  We spent time in Arlington, and in Oklahoma City, and Connor continued to adjust to all day school.

In October, we made another trip to Arlington and went to the State Fair, Derek turned 32, the boys started their soccer season (6 weeks late because of the hurricane), we trick or treated as Batman, a Clone Trooper, and a Princess, and we had to get rid of our dog.

In November, the boys finished their soccer season, I did an entire blog series about a week in my life, and we traveled to Arlington for Thanksgiving.

In December, Camryn started eating solid food, turned 5 months old, Connor turned 6, Derek and I celebrated 9 years of marriage, Camryn tried to scratch my eye out, in snowed in Houston, my dad came for a visit all the way from Australia, Derek traveled to Germany, we had a big birthday party for Connor, we celebrated Christmas, traveled to Arlington, traveled to Oklahoma City, and rang in the new year playing Guitar Hero.

Cheers to 2008, and bring on 2009!  I can’t wait to see what this year holds!