"Tiles and grout and caulk, oh my"

Yes folks, I am officially crazy. As if I do not have enough going on in my life, I decided that it would be a good time to install a tile backsplash in my kitchen. And as my husband is not a handy-man by nature, it fell on little old me to get the job done...what's that saying? If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. Yeah, that just about sums up my role in this house. But I digress....

So last week, I planned, shopped, and mapped out my design for the backsplash. Then I mortared, cutted (hehe, I know that is not proper, but it goes so well with the other words that I used), layed tile, and grouted until my fingers bled...literally. The floater that I bought did not do the job, so I had to resort to grouting with my fingers. And let me tell you, that grout did a serious number on my poor little digits. As a matter of fact, it is almost a week to the day that I finished and I STILL have scabs on my fingers...at least they are not still sore. Imagine trying to change a diaper with raw, painful sores.

Anyway--I am very proud of my handiwork...enjoy the pics!!

Before:

After:

Wake up call...

Ever looked at a picture of yourself and thought "there's no way that's what I REALLY look like???" I had the unpleasant shock of seeing a recent photo of myself today. Holy cow...do I look like that?? I realize that my 35 year old, 5 weeks postpartum self is NOT the picture of beauty (haha) that I was even seven years ago, but come on--did I really change THAT much??

I have decided that I am going to get my haircut soon...and go on a diet when possible...and start working out once I am cleared by my doctor. Or how about I cut myself some slack and love me for myself and my accomplishments?? In the past seven years, not only have I gotten older (duh!!) and gained a certain amount of weight that I won't share (OK--50 pounds), but I have also given birth to three more beautiful children and have realized a life-long goal (graduated college with a 4.0 AND as a nurse!). So I need to not be so hard on myself...who cares if I am not Miss Texas 2008 beauty queen?? I am Leslie, hear me roar...LOL.

Here's me Christmas 2001--this is the only picture of me from "back then" that I have on my computer:

Here's me last Saturday...that would be almost 7 years later...BTW--this is not the picture that caused me so much distress...that one will not see the light of day if I have any say so:

Do you sense a trend???

Can you tell what the prevailing theme of these pictures are??? Don't let the "poses" fool you...Carly is actually a very good baby. She only cries when she wants to be fed or is wet/dirty. But mean old Momma takes lots of pics when she cries because Momma thinks it is cute (except at 4am)!

Carly Smiles....

Yes, folks, my daughter is advanced!! She started smiling a whole FIVE days sooner than her brothers did...LOL. She started smiling Saturday...and of course it was Steve who first made her smile. Come to think of it, he was the one who got the boys to smile first, too. But now she smiles at her Momma! She smiles so readily, and you can tell it is genuine because her eyes crinkle! This is the best part of having a new baby...the day that he or she begins to smile and acknowledge in his/her own little way that you are more than just a milk bar.

Four weeks with Carly...

Carly turned four weeks old today...it seems like such a short time ago that she was born, yet it also seems like she has been a part of our lives forever. I cannot even remember life without Carly. Funny how one 8 lb person can change your life in ways that you never even dreamed possible. I felt this way with the birth of each of my kids...and yet it still amazes me that it's a new and wonderous journey each time.

She fits in perfectly in our family...the boys love her. Ryan cannot get enough of her, always wanting to "hold baby Cahdy." He smothers her in kisses and hugs evvery chance he gets. If he is this way with her now, I can only imagine how he will react when she can smile and laugh at him. Landon was very excited to have a sister...at first. He still says that she is cute, and tells his classmates all about her. Yet when he is with her, it is as if she doesn't exist. Unless, of course, someone else is paying her any attention. Then he is all about Carly.

Funny how I would have thought that Landon would be the smotherer and Ryan would be the ignorer.