The beginning of the beginning....I thought I might start blogging again as I embark on an adventure of renovations in our house. I wouldn't say they are necessarily necessary renovations but lets be honest we all get bored with our houses and for me I always see a space as a blank canvas for awesomeness.  For me the first part of renovation is color. I think it's the one thing most people are scared of, but it's so important.  From your pallet you can define every surface.  I stumbled across this site (www.design-seeds.com) a few weeks ago that finds beautiful and inspiring color pallets from photographs.  So I took two pallets "Temple Doors" & "Spiced Neutrals" and made my own custom color pallet.  Stay tuned as you watch how I pull each color into a multitude of different pieces and surfaces!  Here's to a time or renovation fun!

A VERY HAPPY EARLY MOTHER'S DAY : Today at Dealey's school they had a mom appreciation brunch and part of something they did for us was to interview the kids and have them answer questions about Mommy...Dealey's teacher Mrs. Shannon said it was like interviewing someone on Saturday Night Live as Dealey thought he and every answer was hysterical....

Q. How old is your mommy?
A. 30 (he was by far the most accurate of any kid although I think I'd like it better if he thought I was somewhere in the range of 4-14 like all the other moms)

Q. Mommy's favorite food is?
A: Chocolate Cherry Cookies
(I'm not sure where he got this from, but we did make cherry chocolate chip cookies together last week so I guess that's fresh in his mind)

Q. My mommy always says...
A. I don't know (seriously he told Mrs. Shannon I am always saying I don't know and he's so right! It's got to be better than pretending I know anything.)

Q. My mommies favorite thing to do with me is...
A. Take me to church (He likes to make me sound good I guess, although we have been spending a lot of time with our new Life in Deep Ellum family lately.)

Q. I love my mommy because...
A. You're silly Mrs. Shannon, I Just Do!!!

My sweet boy just warms my heart and drives me crazy all in one breath.  After wondering for years if I'd ever get to celebrate Mother's Day it's now a necessary reminder that despite the frustrations of parenting and the sometimes bipolar attitudes that are being flung around the room, I am blessed beyond measure to have two beautiful and healthy boys!

eleven months and I'm 6 days behind on posting it, that should tell you what kind of crazy month this has been!  Cohen is doing everything he should be doing and more, he's such a joy, eats like a mad man and smiles so much. I didn't realize how much he'd grown this month until I saw the picture. It matches up with food consumption for sure!

10 months old!  So I see a pattern of only one post a month.  I wonder what will happen after Cohen turns one and I stop doing the monthly pics?! Well, my little man is awesome he's 10 months old today a chatter box when he wants to be and a human garbage disposal doesn't even seem to quite describe his food consumption.  Glad to have a good eater but man.  I think a Sam's or Cosco membership is in the near future for sure. Cohen is coasting around furniture with confidence and we're all taking bets on when he'll walk, my parents think Thanksgiving, but I'm think Christmas.  I'm sure he'll do something in between just to spite us all.  I didn't realize until I put the picture in how much his hair had grown and though it doesn't look it he has grown he just won't sit up straight.  Enjoy!  only 2 months until the big 1 year old, I can't wait for the party!

NINE MONTHS! And oh so cute.  My Mr. Smiley is still smiling and we love it!  It's been a rough month of teething.  You can see he's got two bottom ones in fully, but he has at least 4 other breaking through (that I can see).  He's jabbering away and crawling like a man with a mission. Pulling up and coasting on furniture I think we'll be taking steps before we know it!  Here's he's nine month bumbo and few other sweet pics.

What's Cooking? In anticipation of the end of this diet session I am feeling excited about going grocery shopping this week and picking up so yummy stuff to start cooking Monday!  However in my meal planning and through out the diet process one thing has been bothering me.  Side dishes.  I think one of my biggest downfalls is bad side dishes so many of them involve carbs, loads of them.  While I am excited for what I figured out for the coming week or so in the long run I need to build up some yummy side dish recipes.  So please share your ideas!