The Table.

Hold on to your seats! This is a story about triumph, completing the ol' 180 degree turn, and arising out of the rubble. Imagine yourself feeling hopeless....all is lost. You need to be saved. You are beaten down and feeling like life is worthless. You are practically trash waiting to be picked up and thrown into a pile of life's sad, worn down rejections. Now...if you can even come close to imagining this dark place with no hope for light at the end of the tunnel...then you can get a mere glimpse of how it felt.

Meet.....

The Table.

Yes, friends...I, Emily Wood, went dumpster diving. Actually, it wasn't really dumpster diving per se....it was more trash tip-toeing, pile picking, or even better -- curb consigning. And you should have seen me doing it. You probably would have laughed. Here's the dramatic low-down.

I have been on the hunt for a new table/desk for my new little impromptu craft area that is nestled cozily in our guest bedroom. Up until the birth of my new table, I have had a huge, heavy, monster of a table. You know, the ones that have the fold down legs. You usually see them displaying garage sale items on someone's driveway. Well, I made it work. I covered it with fabric and dressed it up a bit. Blah blah blah. It was still ugly. But, getting a new table for that space was on our priority list...okay, my priority list...right above organizing the garage, which falls at #216. It just wasn't something that was going to happen very soon. So, one early evening, it was a Tuesday to be exact. The sun was setting into a horizon that was filled with shades of lavender and mauve, the temperature sat at a pleasant 62 degrees (I don't know, I just made that up), and the house was filled with a screaming hungry 18 month old sassy pants -- that's why I decided to take her out in her stroller for a walk. And it was the walk that changed the fate of The Table. I'm walking, walking, walking, and as I near the end of the street, there is was. It was lifeless and hidden among the rest of the trash. It was one of those moments when you see someone you think you might know and you want to stare until you can figure it out but you don't want to get caught staring. Yeah. I stared at that table and looked away. Stared, looked away. I didn't want anyone to see that I was checking out this person's pile of rubbish. So, I did a U-ey and checked it out again. It was covered in dust, stains, it was missing a leg...it was gonna to be a project. I didn't get a close look at it but I saw enough that I walked a little bit faster to get home so I could tell Keith about my life changing event.


Long story longer. I slept on it. I would wake up frequently in a panicked night sweat imagining my table out in the cold night air. It was all alone. Should I go get it now? It's 2am..hm....but please, I didn't want to seem obsessive! So I laid back down and continued to imagine what things would be like with The Table in my life.

The next morning, Ava and I went on another leisurely walk. I suddenly felt the urge to get in touch with nature, visit with the birds, soak in the early morning sun if you will. And I managed to find myself back in front of the same pile of trash. I don't know how I got there, seriously. I just followed Ava as she rode in the stroller. The table was still there. It was like it had been untouched. It had made it though the night only looked upon by the angels. But, ladies and gentlemen, I had no time to contemplate any further. Not only could I hear the faint rumble of our garbage truck friends, I saw in the distance a white pick up truck coming in my direction. I turned away pretending to enjoy the breeze on my face but it didn't help the truck disappear. He pulled up right behind me! If I were Hercules-woman, I would have thrown The Table over my shoulder and ran. But I couldn't. Somehow, I had to get back to my car and back down the the curb before my white pickup corner consigner stole my treasure. I had no time to think. I turned that stroller around and ran like my pants were on fire. I ran in my flip flops with a jogging stroller as Ava screamed out "yee-haw!" It was a sight. I threw Ava in the carseat (that is an exaggeration, people), started the car, and drove without looking back. I may have peeled out in the middle of the street, I don't know. Maybe there are tire marks. I popped the back gate up on my SUV, ran over to the table, picked it up, and slid it in. This all happened in about 45 seconds. That man in the white pickup didn't know what hit him! That was because he was also not in his truck. I think he lived next door. But that is beside the point now! He could have been telling all of his friends about this awesome table on his next door neighbor's curb.

So, as I am driving 2.7 mph down the street with a highly confused toddler, I see it....was I dreaming? In another person's trash pile, probably 6 more houses down the street was the FOURTH LEG. The FOURTH LEG TO MY TABLE. The choirs were singing, I'm telling you. So, I pull up my driveway, turn off the car, and ran like the fire in my pants was still raging. I grabbed the leg and made it back to base. I pulled the table out and put it in the garage where I could protect it from the rummaging world. And then I logged in all of my running time on our Wii Fit so I wouldn't get in trouble for missing a day to re-construct my table. Now, take a breath. And if you have a Wii Fit, you can now log in your time for reading this blog. Good work!


So...it is done. Thanks to my wonderful hubby, a few sheets of sand paper, a couple of blocks of wood, 2 coats of paint that nearly stained my hands black, and a layer of clear coat glaze, I have me a dandy craft table. You wanna know what it cost me? $3.50. The cost of my clear coat that was on clearance. Yeah. I'm psyched.

The moral of the story? Don't wear flip flops while your running with a 23lb. toddler. AND, don't ever pass up an opportunity like this one! You'll wish you hadn't!

Now...I wish I was crafty, then I could actually use this table. KIDDING! I have already hot glued egg shakers on this thing! And it didn't collapse. Now that's impressive.

Thanks for reading. Now go to your own local curb consignment sale. It may even be right next door.

I'm such a Mommy...

"You know you are a Mommy when...."

By Emily K. Wood, Inspired by Ava Claire Wood

You know you are a Mommy when...

- you put your coffee mug in the microwave at 8am. At 5pm, your husband comes home and says to the beeping microwave "Honey, your coffee is ready."

- after the dog barks you say "Baby, you're okay."

- you contemplate not putting your sweet tumbling toddler in the church nursery because you know they will call CPS when they see her little bruised legs.

- you go to the store by yourself and tell the empty shopping cart to "hold on, Mommy just needs to grab something off of the shelf."

- you get back home from the store and just realize that you enjoyed an entire episode of Elmo in the car all by yourself.

- you get up at 7:00am to leave the house to go somewhere by 9:00am only to pull down the driveway at 10:00am.

- you want to declare April 8th a national holiday because the Costco down the road finally opened.

- you take your shirt off at the end of the day and find 3 goldfish crackers in your bra.

- you open the Goldfish cracker bag and find in it a strategically placed pink bracelet, plastic sheep, and a broken crayon.

- you determine how good your day was based on the number of temper tantrums your spirited child had (or how many you had...).

You know you are a Mommy when...

- you feel like you might need to go to the ER after laughing so hard.

- you stop in the middle of the mall and cry because for no reason known to you, your sweet baby gave you a hug.

- you melt because your little lamb said her first "Amen" after a nightly prayer.

- you stare at the baby monitor about to go to sleep and wait until you see a foot twitch, a belly move, or a finger budge...when you see something...anything...then you can go to bed.

- you can't stop staring at God's amazing creation and wonder "How on earth did He do that?"

------------------------------------------

"Come on, Bubba..."

"I SAID come ON, Bubba!"

"Fine. I will take my other puppy for a walk then."

"Okaaaaay...let's go!"

So Ava has started to break dance. Yes, friends. Break dance. She will start out my doing her signature tap routine as she says "Duz, duz, duz" (that is Ava-nese for "Dance"). Then she will proceed to sit down on the floor and spin in circles. She will roll, she will flail her arms, she will belly flop. She does it all. And she thinks she is just the greatest at it, too.

Taking a break.

Thanks for reading.

Emmy K and her 5K...

So when I was in Jr. High School, I joined the track team. I have no idea why. Maybe it was because all of my friends did it. Or, maybe it was because I wanted the privilege of wearing shorts and a tank top at school. Or, maybe it was because on meet days, we got out of school early. It certainly wasn't because I enjoyed any aspect of getting the exercise. You see, I played soccer, and to me, that was enough physical exertion for one week. I remember being a nervous wreck before each meet. I would get sick to my stomach and nearly have a panic attack. It had gotten so bad once that I had to call my dad to come pick me up -- I never ran that race. I never "placed" in any of my races. And mind you, I ran the 800m. That's twice around the track, friends. Twice. 1-2-done. Then something happened to me in college. I had an epiphany. What? Exercise is good for you? Now, at times I did take it a little too far. But little by little, I actually began to enjoy getting my pulse up. I always did it on my own time though. The "Bear Trail" at Baylor became my best friend. And low and behold, Jillian from The Biggest Loser did make daily appearances on my TV in my living room after Ava was born. So although fitness began to play a bigger part in my life, as well as Keith's, I never had any interest in running a "race." Flashback again to Jr. High -- I had no interest in losing my lunch over a couple of laps.

This weekend, I overcame that. And now I want more. I rarely brag on myself (on purpose). But for the first time in a long time, I am truly proud of what I accomplished. Yes, I'm proud of running my first 5K, yes I am proud of myself for working up to the point of being able to run it at a good time, and yes I am proud that I am digging out "garage sale" clothes because I never thought I would wear them again. But I am mostly proud because I did something that always made me scared, I did it well, and I want to do it again and again and again. And instead of calling my Dad beforehand because I just couldn't bear to run it, I called him afterwards, to tell him I finished. So, stay tuned. There will be more.

Before the race: So remember when I mentioned in my last blog that I wanted to bet a bubble for Ava? Well -- here it is! No more stomach bugs! There are slots in it for food and water. J/K! Like I had to say that! Of all mornings, the Lord in Heaven above decided to make this one a cold one. I actually think the wind at times helped me out. That's what He was up too. Tryin' to help his girl OUT!

The finish line. Not gonna lie...I was not wishing I had taken the 10K route. Maybe next time.

Next time I run, I'm gonna get me a hat like my friend in the green jacket here. I would be the coolest. Did I just say "coolest?" Aye, aye, aye.

Now here's some of my sweet pumpkin pie...

Ava has started to laugh at almost everything (and she has also gotten really good at throwing temper tantrums...Momma's making a time out chair. It will then be in stand-by mode.) But even if Keith or I just laugh, Ava will laugh, too. She doesn't want to be left out! Sometimes it is literally a "HA!" and then she's done. She's pretty hysterical. I can't wait to hear all of the funny things that come out of her mouth. She does call Elmo "Elbow." Yeah...that's pretty cute.

Daddy would be so proud. Look at how she has her cars all lined up so perfectly! I know! I did that!

Sassy LOVES her "joo joo." She has completely emptied out my jewelry box. If our closet door is open, she is in there, putting on her jewelry and high heels.

I showed Ava that she could put her "Super Friends" (as we call them) on the window sill. Now she is ALWAYS in her little corner playing with them. As soon as her feet touch the ground after breakfast, she goes over there and says "Hey!" and plays and plays and plays.

"What?"

Thanks for reading.

The Bug

Hold on. Give me a second to listen to this silence. *sigh* I just have to soak that in. Breeeeathe in the peace and quiet and allow it to become a part of me. Ooooooooooooom.

Now, why did I need to do that? Three words: Ava, stomach, and virus. Yeah. She got it. You know, I've gotten pretty good at blowing bubbles. I wonder if I could blow one big enough for Ava to live in. She would be just like a little hamster, running around in her ball protected from everything. I don't know where she got The Bug from. But it was almost a week ago and we are just starting to get over it. Yes, I said we. You mommas know, when baby is sick, Momma is sick. Let's recap! Okay!

So, last Tuesday, Adrian and I were on our way to a play date. We were already frustrated because we got lost. Much like us, my sweet baby was just not happy. I don't blame her. But not 30 seconds after I turned around to her in the back seat and gave her a very stern "Ava, that is enough" -- it started. My poor pumpkin's virus introduced itself into our lives. And it went on, and on, and on. From Tuesday to Saturday. And although her body is doing better, she is just not herself. I miss my sweet Sassy. So, now she is sleeping. But we spent the morning screaming (I screamed in my head only...don't worry). Poor thing even screamed as she ate her waffle. It is absolutely pitiful.

On the plus side, and through the tears, Ava now says, "Apple," "sticker," "ouchie," and "poopoo." Yes, friends, The Bug taught us many things.

So I say while a shake my head and smile, while we were uh, "cleaning up", my mom was cruising in her new BMW and my in-laws were in Italy. How is that for pay back? : )

Oh well....through it all we continue to be so blessed.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to wallow in my self pity.

Playing Catch-up

Suddenly I have Neil Diamond's voice in my head..."Hello, My Friend, Hellooooooo." Keith will be so excited! He is secretly his #1 fan. Not so much a secret anymore. Sorry, Honey. But all that to say, "Hello, again!" This message is being brought to you from my warm bed. I am snuggled in nice and cozy. It's rainy, it's cold, it's gloomy and dark (even though the sun is technically up). It's also garbage pick-up morning, which means I am constantly looking at the baby monitor screen waiting for the noise to disrupt my sleeping angel's sweet dreams. So far, so good.

So let's just give an overall update. Let's see...

Last week, I took Ava to the Children's Museum (why do I always have to spell check that word!?!) Our dear friends Adrian and Jenna joined us and I am SO glad they did. I lost my mind in that place and wouldn't have had them to help me find it! It was an absolute mad house. It didn't help that the event was free. Nor did it help that my little Sassy is so, shall we say, adventurous. If you put her down, she is off. She is an explorer. She is a natural born little Miss Independent. And when there are hundreds of other screaming children and their parents (sometimes screaming, too), it is hard to keep up! I got a work out. But as always, after it's all said and done, these experiences are so worth it. After all, when Ava gets out and does these things it wears her out! (translation in Em-glish: Sassy takes a long nap. Mommy gets an afternoon of peace). We missed Daddy and wished he could have joined us.

How about an update on Daddy? He deserves the spot light! He has just been working so hard for us. I tell you, when he comes home, Ava squeals like a little piggy and just charges at him. That is the best! She loves her Daddy so much. When I am finishing cooking dinner, the two of them cuddle and watch "Max and Ruby" together on Noggin. He is such a good Daddy. And a devoted Wii-er nonetheless! This guy is on something like day #71 on the Wii Fit. He has only taken a handful days off on that thing. I am on day....well let's just say my little "Mii" is sleeping when you pull up the main menu (which I do get a little offended by since I am in the treadmill when Keith is on the Wii. Why doesn't my Mii know that?!) Anyway, go Wii-Fitty Keith! There....if Keith ever becomes a rap star, that'll be his name. "Wii-Fitty."

So, I sent in Ava's picture into Regis and Kelly for the beautiful baby search. Would you know that they didn't choose my baby as a finalist? What?!?!? Yeah. I'm okay. Each day gets better and better and I continue to get stronger.That's why I am really in bed. I am depressed. Kidding! But I am watching waiting for them to flash her picture on the screen among the 300,000 others that were sent in. Next year, friends. It's ours! Confession. I did actually answer most of the "unavailable" or solicitor-ish phone calls just in case it was my friend Regis telling me that she had been chosen. I had a few less Sonic Happy Hour trips just in case they called while I was gone. I had all of my outfits planned out for NY. Bummer. Bubble busted.

Speaking of NY. You may have noticed that I have had a timeline counting us all down to my debut on The Price is Right. That trip for now, has been unfortunately postponed. Date to be determined. You know, honest truth, we have had to do a lot of prioritizing around here. And yes (*grumble*grumble*) my Butterfly Boogie has not been effected by this act of prioritizing. It's still on. But anyway, I digress. A dear dear friend of mine is getting married in October in New York City. So, bet your bottom dollar we are planning on going. Sooooooo, LA will have to wait. Please please please pray that California is still there later on down the road. And although I do prefer my Bob Barker, please please please pray that Drew and The Price is Right are still on the air. So hopefully we will be able to stay in NY for a few extra days and enjoy our time in the city. We were there for our first anniversary (*clearing throat and coughing* When I sang at Carnegie Hall with my college choir....*cough* featured as a soloist *cough* cough*...phew! excuse me!). So, I am pretty pumped about going again. And Keith, boy is he excited! I told him we could drive up to visit our friends at Orange County Choppers. We met Mikey when we went last time and saw Paul and Paul Jr. driving away (with a camera man in the front seat). Yeah, we were such groupies. But now they have a huge new shop/factory that you can walk through and watch the bikes get fabricated. So, he's all about going.

Well, my little turkey is starting to move around so I am anticipating that she might be ready to take on the day pretty soon. I mean, it's 9:30am! Something about the rain...I need to get a rain CD for her room and get her off of that lullaby music! The CD is starting to do funky things from going so much. But, then again, I suppose I do the same thing.

Enjoy the pictures!

Thanks for reading.

Ava LOVES to read! Here she was telling Daddy all about Moses.

She was actually quite comfortable apparently.

Ava and Jenna taking a refreshment break at the Children's Museum.

The Children's Museum is on the Texas State Fair grounds. I've actually been on that thing twice.

There must have been something good down there.

Partners in crime.

This afternoon I took Ava to the Galleria to play. She's started to say "Whoa" a lot. Sure enough, as soon as she grunted her way up onto this zebra, she was saying "Whoa!"

This is a fine example of Ava's signature response to "Ava, smile for the camera!" She always closes her eyes. I guess she anticipates the flash. Silly girl!

Although it's blurry, Ava is signing "All done." So, at that point I had to do as my boss told me and was all done taking pictures.

Is it Friday yet?

Life in the Woods has been a little, well, uh, overcome with weeds shall we say. But we are mowin'. We are mowin' our little troubles away! When I say troubles -- plural, I really mean trouble -- singular. The culprit? It starts with the letter "C" and ends with an "roup." Last week, Ava had a run in with the icky croup bug. And although she is still hacking away, we have almost sent it on its way. I knew the time would come when my perfect Sassy would get really sick, but come on...why mess with the breathing, too? There were some rough nights that I snuggled up next to my little snotty nosed baby girl in our guest room just so I could make sure she was breathing. She was working at it so hard. But I did find out some valuable information during my nights with my little roommate. This girl doesn't stay still! I woke up with her nose practically in my mouth, then her entire body was curled up on her pillow, then she was on her back laying on my belly, and then by the time Pak Pak our next door neighbor/donut shop owner started to turn on his lights around 4:00am, I had a foot jammed up into my chin. But I loved every second! Really!

So, after a weekend spent indoors (I am so sorry Granna and Granddaddy!) a brief sabbatical from Sunday School, 3 cancelled playdates, 2 no shows to story time, 5 rounds on the Vicks vaborizor, 1 trip to the doctor, 1 complete body rash, and 3 days of taking 4+ hours of nap (Ava, not me...)..I think we are just about done. Ava doesn't let me forget though. Every single time she coughs she pats her chest and says "Goh Cof?" in the most pathetically sweet voice ever. She's milkin' it folks and I tell you what -- She can have anything she wants right now.

So right before all of this started, I once again got antsy with our paint color in our living room. No big deal right? Well, in our house (and I once liked this, but I don't think I do anymore), when you walk into the front door you can basically see the back door. It is one long straight line. So, when you change one paint color, you have to change the entire foyer, the accent wall in the kitchen, and then our living room. So once you're committed, you're really committed. Our paint before was supposed to be this beautiful shade of beigey gold..."Pebbled Path" was the name. Has a nice ring to it huh, huh? Well, you know you are in trouble when you paint one giant wall and you think to yourself one of two things. 1) "Hm...maybe it'll look better when it's dry." How many of you have thought that one? or, 2) "Wow...maybe when I waste 4 more days and paint the entire room, it'll look better because I'll get the full effect." Yeah. Here's a tip: If you have a thought like 1 or 2 or anything that relates to it in any way, stop. Put your brush down. Go back to Home Depot. So, 1 and 2 went through my mind multiple times, but the end product was still a house filled with way too much sunshine. I am not a sunshiney person. I like dark, and warm, and inviting colors. Not a house full of yellow. It wasn't really "Pebbled Path"....it was more like "Yellow Brick Road."

So before all of the croup chaos, I painted. I painted like no one has ever painted before. This month's choice? mmmm...."Smokey Blue" accented with "Shale Grey." Kinda sounds depressing doesn't it....ooo but, no, it's really nice! This time I was thinking things like "Oh! I can't wait to finish all of this because it looks so AWEsome!" and "Wow! This makes all of my whites POP instead of making them look dirty like Yellow Brick Road did, and "Why didn't my husband tell me he hated the yellow as much as I did?" You know, things like that. Well, now all that's left is the trim in the foyer. Now that my color is so different, we get to redo the rest of our decor. YES!

I have also begun my very first annual Spring Cleaning. Today was day #2. I mentioned to Keith that I needed to come up with a realistic schedule. So I have decided to take on one room a day starting at the front of the house. Yesterday was the piano room/office. We aren't just talking wiping things down, friends. We are talking EVERYTHING. No inch shall go untouched, no drawer shall remain unorganized, (cue patriotic music) no piece of trash shall go unnoticed. Today was the laundry room. The laundry room, you say? Have you ever looked inside the crevices in your washing machine? Go on...I'll give you a second. I am taking the weekend off so the piano room/office and the laundry room can get trashed again, then Monday I start all over. You see? Who says stay at home mommies have nothing to do during nap times?

Well, I'm beat. It has been a week. But life is good. Enjoy the pics and thanks for reading.

Wouldn't YOU give her a pony?

Feelin' better today!

I just pray that if she goes to Baylor, she gets a full ride.

I am deeply ashamed of my mess. Why is it that when we a)paint or b)get ready to spring clean, our house gets really really messy?

Here's the "Smokey Blue." ...in our animal-filled farm house, apparently.

Adventures of a SAHM...

Once upon a time my refrigerator had nothing on it. I mean on the side I had photos, birth announcements from friends, important phone numbers, etc. etc. but I rarely had anything on the front. That was by choice. My fridge just looked cleaner that way (you like how I said "my" fridge...I suppose I can let Keith have some of it, too.) But now....now my friends, I have added a beautiful Monet-quality finger painting and a monthly calendar that has something marked on it pretty much everyday of the week. I have gone from being a stay-at home-what-am-I-going-to-do-today-while-keeping-my-sanity kind of mom (for ease let's abbreviate that SAHWAIGTDTWKMSM) to an SPMOTYBIHTKACOMFTKMS -- Oh! That would stand for a Self-proclaimed-mom-of-the-year-because-I-have-to-keep-a-calendar-on-my-fridge-to-keep-my-sanity...Mom. I tell ya...I am in a new league! I have joined a moms group here in town and there is stuff going on multiple times a week, I have my MOPS group at my church and I am excitedly jumping onto the leadership team for that, Ava and I go to story time every Thursday, the Galleria play area on most Fridays...you guys, I knew I couldn't sit still for long. This is what happens when you go to school straight from Kindergarten through a Masters, jump into a full-time job, and uuuuuurk (those are breaks...) you are at home full-time. I-Love-it (I am all about hyphens today...it makes it dramatic though, doesn't it?).

Today Ava and I went to a Pre-Valentine's Day playdate. Oh, my precious baby. She is just the sweetest thing ever. Who needs toys when you have stairs, dogs, tape, Tupperware, or chocolate. Through Ava's eyes, this house had it all! Ava must have a smell for Tupperware 'cause she found the cabinet within minutes. It was quite amazing to say the least.

This morning, I got up way before Ava did so that I could get everything ready for the playdate we were attending. I was trying to be SuperMom by making her breakfast so it would be on her tray waiting for her when she got up. I had the baby monitor on in the kitchen so I could hear her when she woke up. So I was quietly cooking and all of the sudden I dropped a spoon on the floor. My heart was pounding! I closed my eyes and clenched my fists in anticipation for the screaming that was about to come flying from the monitor speaker. But no. I heard the softest, sweetest, most sleepiest "uh ohhhhhh." After I wiped my melted heart up off the floor I went into her room and smothered her in smooches.

I know, I am ridiculous. Enjoy the pics!

Ava and Corbin...sorta looks like they're on a date, doesn't it? Don't tell Daddy.

"Um Corbin....you said it was just going to be the two of us...."

I think this was after she stole someone else's cookie. Can't you see the guilt?

My clean fridge.

Thanks for reading.