Be my Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!

Today is Valentine's Day and my poor hubby's gotta work

but we will celebrate tomorrow night when he's off :)




Print of vintage Loveland map

 

 Boy, Saturday was busy! First my mother "Fairy Godmother" and I  hosted a lovely tea.

She out did herself this year by making everything herself from the teas with little molded hear sugars, to the soup, scones with cream, sandwiches, cookies, various sweets and my personal favorite the her Queen of Heats Tarts (Yummmers!) I love the fact that we used my grandmother's beautiful old china and mixed it vintage pressed glass plates, short and sweet etched glass goblets for water paired with pink pretty heart shaped tea cups. It was a sweet and  intimate tea with just the K family women.

As soon as I get them downloaded I'll post pictures.

Then that night Nick and I had an invitation for dinner and games sister C and her family (yes, the twins too) For dinner and games. C's husband clunked out at the begining of a game of pictionary and C almost won just by the all plays alone lol.  I got to hold A+ again and feed him.

So to sum it up. We laughed, we ate too much (painfully so,never eating meals like that so close together) we had fun!

Hope  your Valentine's Day is A Sweet one!

Wishes from Wonderland

~ Alice

Sunshine 70s wall

 * Real quick TTC update: Finally got a smiley postive Opk on the 7th and I've been walking on Sunshine since!*

"Now back to our regularly scheduled blog program"
    I've been messing around with photos and trying to create something for our "that 70s living room" wall. Since our it's the most awsome shade of orange I'm thinking of framing old family photos and messing with a few newer ones to make them look vintage. We are planning on also adding vintage elements to the wall. We finally got around to scrubbing out an old owl palnter and now he makes such a cute remote caddy. (that's right you heard me OWL. Yes, I know yet another owl but I'm happy to report that we are limiting ourselves on them.)  I'm also toying with the idea of making some art but idk yet.

I'm leaning torward this first one of giggle-belly (my neice)

Vs

                                                Wishes from Wonderland
                                                    ~ Alice

Happiness is a new baby...or Two



It's a brand new year and a year of firsts!



Case in point: The Twins.

After a long awaited arrival (I mean we all seriously thought we were gonna end up at the hospital Christmas Day!) the F twins

which, shall now be known on here as A (girl) and  A+ (boy) have arrived.  My beautiful sis-in-law C and her husband welcomed the pair January 26, 2011 at 12:35 am.  It seems surreal that the little ones are now here. As much as we would have liked to, Nick and I decided against going to the hospital. We figured that C would  be exhausted and needed her rest. She was there since the following morning after all. And since the weather and Nick's hours weren't really cooperating it seemed more logical to just wait till they got home. So, on Saturday we got to meet the pair for the first time! We got to hold them and Nick even got to feed A. It was quite an enjoyable evening. They are just soo small. All their clothes and hats were just too darn big!  A+ started to fuss a bit and I sang him to sleep. Just like I did with Giggle-Belly eight years prior. We were also treated to a tour of the nursery my talented mother-in-law hand painted a jungle featuring a monkey,giraffe,owl in a tree and even had sparkly butterflies and bumble bees fluttering around the wall. I apologise for no pictures of this since we uhh.. I mean I forgot our camera. (I still can't believe I left the Flip at my parents.) The babies were teeny, tiny and sweet as can be. We are looking forward to being a part of their lives as they grow. 

*Update on our TTC Journey: After a vacation nightmare at Disney World (No, I'm not gonna get into that now. Let's just say it was a very Un-Disney experience and will take some coaxing to really go back) I woke up to find that that my missing Aunt had arrived. This is the first time she's visited in over a year now. Must have been that I was distracted and couldn't count the calories not to mention having Hot Chocolate and other foods I haven't eaten in a long, long time. It seems silly to get excited about receiving AF but, considering that this is a sign from my body saying I'm healthier and we can now proceed with *Hope* I finally have a cycle again. I will start charting and might even pick up a BBT (Basal Body thermometer)

We'll be Wishing, Hoping and Praying that 2011 is our year!

Wishes from Wonderland

~ Alice

Monday's Mood : Mocha

  For Monday's Mood I'm choosing Mocha. Pretty much because the only coffee I've been drinking has been decaf. I'm missing the chocolate and oooh caramel or maybe peanut butter and now I'm thinking of ice cream. Figures!

 Warning: Personal Post

The past week has been rough. Travel on the road for answers has been very bumpy since I found out our insurance doesn't cover fertility. I've googled myself out! I've since seen my Dr.  I was dreading the scale. I know I've gained weight and this has been extremely hard for me to watch the scale climb higher. (I started to remove my shoes when I was starting to loose weight. It's become a habit now) But there I was again watching it climb and hit 111 lbs. I squeezed my eyes tight and shook my head. Thankfully, I was quickly interrupted by the nurse who sent me to the last room so she could take my temp etc. Then came in Dr. F  who I explained my plight to. He told me that my left ovary (the one the hurts) is a bit larger then the right. He doubts it's  PCOS since it's usually the case with over weight womenn.  He immediately put a call into the fertility center to find out what we can do. I could hear the message on the speaker. "We are in a lunch meeting" it touted. He left a message for them to call him and even gave his cell number. He promised he'd call me as soon as her heard back. He examined me and attempted to reassure me. When I got home I heated up my cup of decaf, climbed the stairs and sat my phone next to me on the bed. Turned on the monitor and waited for it to boot up. I was nodding off in front of the screen (did I mentioned I haven't been able to sleep either) and BUzzz my phone went off.  It was a number I didn't recognise. "Hello?" I stuttered.  On came a familar friendly voice. It was  Dr. F he had told me " I think I have great news for you!" apparently he had discussed my situation with a nurse at the center. " She mentioned some anorexic patients don't get their period back for years until they achieve their ideal weight." Years! I thought. "I told her great! My  patients will love being told to eat!" "Yeah, I started to joke all except the anorexic ones" meaning me. " I'm gonna say make your goal 125-130. If you get your period before 125 give me a call." I grabbed a pen and my trusty note pad and wrote "125-130- Ideal" down. I took a deep breath. "Hoo boy, here we go" I thought. Then he suggested I meet with his wife who worked with woman on a diet plan. She could tell me what foods to eat and what not to eat. "I would love that." I said. So tomorrow at 10 am sharp I'm meeting with her. I'm hoping this really helps. 

   Cut to:  Sunday Oct 17th. Hubs and I are wrapping  his sister C's baby shower gift. (Oh, did I mention her shower was Sunday and here I am a wreck! Still, I was determined to make an appearance. I wanted C to know that I loved her and was happy for her and her husband.) I was doing fine until I got to the onesies. I must have folded them six times trying to get them just wright and wrapped in the tissue paper. They were so perfectly soft a green one for the boy with "What does the cow say?" written on the front. On the back was the answer "Moo Moo" in a little cloud. The Pink one for the girl "What does the cat say?" " Purr Purr" on the back. I manged to wrap both little monkey suits and the hats but once I got to the onsies I started to shake. I could tell Nick noticed this since he scooted across the floor to take the little clothes from me and hold me. I curled up on his lap and cried into his shoulder. 

 When we arrived at C and T's house. The party was in full swing. Their house is quite cute. We made our way past the monkey face cupcake and  the pink and blue decorations on our way into the living room. It was gift opening time and there was C sitting there with her  bump. I wanted to hand her the gift and give her a hug but I couldn't seem to find a path through all the sea chairs and cameras. I decided it best to stay back and not draw any attention. I handed our bag to be passed up to her and waited for her to get to open it. I leaned my head on Nick's shoulder and he kissed it gently to comfort me. C opened what seemed bag after endless bag of clothes, stuffed animals, baby gear etc.. Then she was handed ours. "Phew" I thought. Somehow, I wanted to see her reaction to our gift esp. those onsies. I don't remember how but when dinner was announced I made my way thrugh the crowd and hugs C. "We have to go I said just wanted to give you a hug and tell you we love you" she thanked me and said she was glad I showed up.   Nick and I left and made our way out past the crowd in the kitchen. As we started to walk away my limbs where feeling heavy and I about collapsed into Nick sobbing. When we got into the car I said " I wanna just go home." But we couldn't go home. We had a ton of junk in mom and dad's garage and it really needed to be relocated to the apartment.  We loaded up the van and headed to our apartment. Nick unloaded most while I cleared out under the stairs. Then we took the last two trips together. After  we got home after dropping off the van I started to cry. Nick looked down and found me having opened a little silver box. In this box was a little winter outfit I picked up years ago. It was old fashioned and had a knitted bonnet and two pairs of socks. " I bbbought this when ..." I started to stutter. Nick softly simply said " I know" He walked me over to the couch and we sat down. I leaned into him and he put his arm around me then stroked my face as the tears streamed down. " I love you" he said then he kissed me on the forehead. 

 I'm starting to shake again. I was relocating our "children's library" to the office today and shelve all those wonderful books. I've had a bowl of cheerios a few apple slices and an individual bag of orveils light kettle corn (my newest addiction).  At first I didn't like it but now I find I actually do. Sometimes with me I've found that I program myself that I won't like something so I don't eat it. Tonight Nick will be "surprising" me with dinner.
(Surprising is when I don't know what it will be so I can't doubt my decision and change my mind umpteen times. I have a hard time with this thanks to the mess I got myself into last year when I started counting calories. I tend to deny what I want or put it off till It's too late to get it)  Nick's wonderful idea of "surprising" me allows me some freedom in away. I can't explain it but for me it's a comforting thing. I can't wait to hug him when he gets home.  So, I'm headed down stairs to put in the final disc of season 1 Ghost Whisper and wait for his call.


                                            Wishes from Wonderland
                                           ~ Alice

Whimisical Wednesday : Featuring Maggie's Mice : Spotlight on Mouseshouses

 Spotlight on MousesHouses


   I love it when I run across cleaver and cute totally imaginative things like this.

I've decided that I needed to shine the spotlight on my most recent blog love.

If you enjoyed the little mouse scenes from Dinner w/ the Schmucks like the Hubs and I did then you should like the following blog as well. MousesHouses is the clever and cute creation of Maggie Rudy who is a very talented feltist and miniaturist. In her blog she has posted mouse scenes that are completely believable everything is made to the form mouse size. Best of all she makes the mice with felt. I constantly amazed what these felters can do.  What a talented lady. Her style reminds me sort of the old Paddington bear stop animation. It's lovely, charming and I even go so far to say has heart. That old fashioned feel that is warm and fuzzy. Know what I mean?  Congratulations to Maggie on her book that will be published March 2011! Well felt and well deserved! (yes, bad pun I know.)

 

Paddington Bear 

Wishes from Wonderland

~Alice

Yabba Dabba Doo!

Yabba.. Dabbba.. Doo...!

  I just went to google something and got majorly sidetracked when I saw this at the top of the search page. Come on, you knew I had to take a closer look. Well….whadya know? Turns out the Flintstones debuted fifty years ago today. Somehow, I almost missed this one? Did you?

Since as far back as I can remember the Flintstones have been one of my all time favorite cartoons.

They hark en back to a simpler time. I loved when we would go to breakfast at Denny’s with my grandparents and there to greet me was that fun paper kids menu with the modern stone- age family. (Boy, it would be nice If Denny’s would bring ‘em back) As an 80s/90s kid who remembers delighting in watching the old Fruity Pebbles commercials and Flintstones Cartoons playing on my Grandparents large 13” TV with the rabbit ears up.. Back then I used to think how cool it was that my grandfather had the same name as Barney Rubble! His name is actually Bernie not Barney but when your five it’s all the same hahaha . Even today, I still check for The Jetsons meet the Flintstones in every pile of VHS tapes I run across.Technically, I believe it’s mom and dad who I have to thank introducing me to the town of Bedrock. Personally, I feel the Flintstones is one of those hand me down classic cartoon characters. They are intergenerational. They are able to be enjoyed on two levels. The first and probably the most obvious is the kid level. The second is the adult level. As, there are various situations and jokes that an adult can pick up on where most likely a child won’t.  So, many great cartoons worked on these levels back in the day and unfortunately, they aren’t found too much in modern children's television anymore. These were characters/shows that had charm! They just put a smile on my face and clearly my mom’s as well (she has the awesomest juice glasses to prove it.) I always found the prehistoric invention critters intriguing.   Pebbles is probably my favorite (I have the t-shirt and pencil to prove it.) Most my favorite episodes where after she was born. Dino is a very close second. I remeber sitting at our kitchen table waiting to see which cheweable bedrock buddy mom would give me out of the flinstones vitamin jar. I tend to get excited when I run across  the older versions of hanna barbera illustrations.  Ahh, retro-Americana nostalgia at it’s best! Since I now and will at least for the rest of the day have the theme song playing in my head. Well, that and the image of Fred and Barney ridding that stone piano down the street singing the “Happy Anniversary” song. So,  I’ll  finish this up with a great big
"Yabba.. Dabba.. Dooo...!"

       

        Wishes from Wonderland

                        ~ Alice

 

Family Fun Friday: Owl Love

 "Legends is lovely"  

 

     So, after a short discussion, the Hubs and I decided to see Legends of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga Hool.  I've had a sort of owl obsession lately. It's funny, I had no intention or even remote interest in them. We have a retro woodland theme going on in the upstairs bath. Prints of woodland creatures washing reside on our walls. It all started when we found a set of the cutest vintage decoupaged family of owls wooden prints. Then I picked up this nice yellow 3/4 sleeve hoodie that just so happened to have an owl print on the inside. The next thing I knew we had these cool Orange and Brown Owl salt and pepper shakers sitting on our coffee table. The latest owl migration is the Legends Of  Guardians poster Nick brought home the other day. It's a really neat looking poster. We have a large wall above our stairway and movie posters fill that space nicely.  Anyways, back to the movie.

    How was it? Well it was reminiscent of  Lord of the Rings and the first Harry Potter and even a bit Robin Hood. In both content and visuals.  However the story wasn't nearly as dark or deep as those. We enjoyed it very much. It's a simple story with lovely animation. It has a charm to it. We honestly went in having no expectations or this movie and I think that's why we enjoyed it. Having sat through the incredibly long butt numbing Avatar movie and Happy Feet. Personally, we were relived that it didn't change into a whole different movie 3/4 the way through. It was nice to have this charming, simple kids movie. So, I'm not gonna say it's incredible or ground breaking. It isn't and please don't expect it to be. Sure the story line is predictable but that doesn't mean it's not good.  I particularly liked  Ezylryb who is voiced by Geoffrey Rush. He reminds me of Archimedes from Sword in the Stone. I also enjoyed Digger who at times reminded me of Gopher and Twilight who seemed to follow Owl from Winnie the Pooh at times

   I'd give it 7 out of ten. Legends is lovely, go see it if your in the mood for a simply enjoyable family friendly film.

                                             Wishes from Wonderland

                                                ~ Alice