Find Your Happiness

Here are my top five favorite photos of Nathaniel in no particular order: " Big Boy " I woke up one morning and realized I'm no longer a mommy to a baby :( Nathaniel is growing up so fast! (We are also trying to grow out his hair.) "Jumping with Mr. Potato" Someone obviously needs to visit and stay with us so I'll have a reason to decorate the guest bedroom :) However, it is now painted light green! (Side note: we bought a house last November)  "Peek-a-boo!"  We have been blessed with plenty of days with warm weather down here in Georgia. (This photo was taken in early February!) We have been spending lots of time outdoors and have since become 5 shades darker compared to this picture. I spend most of the day doing yard work/gardening while Nathaniel plays and chases our dog. (See the weeds in the picture? Arrgh...) And right where Nathaniel is standing has now become my raised vegetable garden, too. " Tea Collection ...

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. We didn't have a big party or a fancy cake. We didn't go to an elegant restaurant or gave him a big gift. Instead, after getting off work early, Dean requested if he could take a nap with Nathaniel. We went to a local Italian restaurant for dinner with a very few of our closest friends and then ate a slice of this cake that he always request on his birthday: the family recipe South St. Louis Deep Gooey Butter Cake. Why? Because that's what the birthday boy wanted. Because if it was up to me, we would have a nice big cook out at our backyard with all of our friends here in GA and I'll bake him a huge cake enough to feed an army. Because he deserves to be celebrated. He deserves that and so much more. Happy birthday, Dean. Linking up to: The Paper Mama: Wordless{ish} Wednesday and then, she {snapped}: Wordless Wednesday Project Alicia: Wordless Wednesday live and love...out loud: Wordful Wednesday NapTime MomTog:...

More than a week ago, we started the process of removing our hideous popcorn ceiling. Well, we have professional people doing it. But even with that, our place is still quite a mess. They have to make a make-shift containment area to keep the dust/mess in the room they are currently working in, wet the ceilings, scrape the popcorn, mud it, then scrape it smooth. After that, they have to prime it then two coats of the ceiling paint. Whew! I am quickly losing enthusiasm and patience and cannot wait until our house is back to normal. It doesn't help that I have to entertain a toddler while in a contained space and I can only do that so much. Last week, we spent the majority of the days outside (him playing, me doing yard work). But lately, he's been asking to stay inside. (I know! My son begging to go inside? Never happened before). Anyway, I am exhausted! In the photo: living room. If you don't know what popcorn ceiling looks like, then check out the photo below (i...

Is it just me or did you find yourself, too, waking up one day and realizing you are a mother to a little boy (girl)? Your baby nor longer a baby but actually a little person. The last couple of weeks have felt like that to me. And just when I thought he is already a big boy, he does something more "grown-up." I have conversations with my son and he answers back in complete sentences. He tells stories, memories from as far as weeks ago and sings songs he hears on the radio. He talks so well that other people/strangers have no problem understanding him, too. Definitely no more baby talk or special secret language going on here. It is such a blessing and joy to witness firsthand this beautiful soul grow but my mommy-heart cannot help but ache. He is growing up too fast. Way too fast. Nathaniel: Mommy? Me: Yes, babe? Nathaniel: I love you. Me: I love you, too... *sniff* Some day soon she'll be a teenager and at times he'll think she hates him Th...

Yesterday, I started the process of building my raised vegetable garden at our backyard. I thought it was going to take me the entire week to dig a 4x10 4x12 feet of land but I actually finished it all in one day! We Hubby should install the wood side barrier sometime this week/weekend and hopefully, I can transfer my little plants soon after that! And surprisingly, my right arm didn't hurt at all except the very few times I over "twist" my wrist from shoveling. (Top-Bottom, Left-Right) 1  Halfway done with digging my raised bed! It actually ended up being 2 feet longer. Oops. 2  Bag of dirt obstacle 3  Nathaniel stepped on a fire ant hill :( Dada missed this ONE hill last weekend when he treated the yard and of course, Nathaniel found it. 4  More digging 5  Taking a break from digging and riding the horsey swing together instead. 6  In the Philippines, whenever little children do this, they say it's because they are asking for a sibling :) 7...

My right wrist and elbow have been hurting a lot lately that it has forced me to take a break from blogging, picture taking and photo editing. For years, I have suspected I have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) but it has always been manageable up to this point. I saw my doctor last week and I have an appointment with occupational therapy next week. However, when I initially saw my doctor, I was convinced that it was only CTS. But for the past few days, the pain has moved into my elbow and pinky finger. Median nerve (the nerve that is pinched with CTS) shouldn't affect the little pinky. So now I'm thinking another nerve (ulnar) is now also affected :( The best way for me to describe what I'm feeling is having your blood pressure checked then leaving the cuff inflated. So I probably won't be blogging very much until hopefully this is resolved. However, you can keep up with us by checking out my Instagram (@dianastlouis) page where I post several photos a day. It...

Last month, we went to the EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, SC and Nathaniel had a fantastic time! He loved climbing through things and exploring everything. Do we have a future dentist in our hands? Ah... it's never too early to get a job :) You can explore and climb inside Eddie , the 40-foot child exhibit. Here they are, three stories up, inside his head. Inside Eddie's lung Dancing: Inside the green room: I never thought I would ever tell Nathaniel to write on the wall! Driving a ship: There was a tube system and Hubby sent me this message :) It was a great family day! There's also the Body Worlds Vital exhibit next door that Hubby and I are planning to go to sometime this month. Linking up to: The Paper Mama: Wordless{ish} Wednesday and then, she {snapped}: Wordless Wednesday Project Alicia: Wordless Wednesday live and love...out loud: Wordful Wednesday NapTime MomTog:...

We love Dr. Seuss! And to celebrate his 108th birthday today, we had a Dr. Seuss themed breakfast. (Last year, we made Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes !). I forgot to buy ham yesterday so as you can see, I had to substitute it with hotdogs. And remember, to make green eggs, you have to use blue food coloring. Yellow (yolks) + blue = green. I almost used green food coloring until Hubby pointed it out. For the Cat in the Hat skewers, they are sliced strawberries and cubed pound cake. You can go the easy route and buy the already made frozen pound cake but I could only find sliced ones at the store (I couldn't find the loaf). I couldn't justify paying $4 for six slices so I baked some last night. You can also make these really fancy and more appropriate for dessert/adults by drizzling them with melted chocolate. Yum! And please note that I used Popsicle sticks instead of the sharp wooden skewers since my little toddler will be eating these. This is very important if you have li...

 I am so happy to announce the winner of the Tea Collection $100 Gift Certificate Giveaway ! According to Random.org, the winner is commenter #9! Congratulations, April! April, I have sent you an email and you have 24-hours to respond. Hope to hear from you soon!