Musical moments

My AH-MAZE-ING sister recently burnt me a new cd introduced me to some new music. Since I'm always the last person to hear about the newest hottest band/artist/song, I love that I know a bunch of songs that no one else has ever heard of. Makes me feel cultured or something.
Lame. I know.
ANYWHO...
Ever hear a song and feel like it has put music to exactly whats going through your head/heart? This song has been on repeat in the shaggin wagon for, oh, 2 weeks now. Love it. Lots. Listen. You might like it too. PS the music video is kinda lame, but the music is great.
*In case you don't really know how to use a computer, click the underlined words -->*Dancin in the Minefield by Andrew Peterson- Music Video
PS I'm not sure if posting this video is legal. If not, please don't turn me in. I can't afford to get sued. Or go to jail. K? Thanks :)

Benton's Owie :(

I used to think the worst feeling ever was being gossiped about. Or being stuck at home alone on a Friday night. Wrong and wrong again. I now know that the true WORST feeling ever is seeing your little one hurting, and knowing there is NOTHING you can do to make it feel better.

My mom came to town this week while I had some medical tests run, and on Tuesday we decided to hit up the Legends. We were so excited to take Benton to eat at T-Rex (think Rainforest Cafe, but with dinosaurs) for the first time. You know how restaurants really love to install big fancy, very heavy glass doors? Well it just so happens that T-Rex had such doors. Benton was holding onto the hinge as it was closing and, lo and behold, his ring finger on his right hand was caught. I noticed JUST BEFORE the door closed all the way. I pushed open the door, took one look at his hand, and went into PANIC mode. Literally, I screamed "MOM, WHAT DO I DO?" Yeah, me, the girl who can handle a patient coding without breaking a sweat. Smashed finger when its my own kid and I'm hysterical, as was he. And who could blame him, the  poor thing!

After about 15 minutes, he stopped bawling, and we thought for a few minutes maybe he would be fine. But I decided I would feel better if we took him to Children's Mercy Hospital, just in case it was broken. They took an x-ray and decided his finger is really too tiny to tell, but most likely based on the damage to the finger nail it was. Ugh. My stomach churns EVERY time I think about it, and I keep re-playing the image of him standing there looking at me with his finger caught in the door in my head.

I'm looking forward to receiving the "worst mom of the year" award for this incident. I've already begun preparing my speech:
 "Well you see, I decided that since he's left handed, he really didn't need that finger. And I wanted the door propped so that I could feel a slight breeze while I waited to be seated. And he's just 2, so it's not like he'll remember it when he's older..."
Okay, I know it was just an accident and these things happen. But my heart still hurts thinking about it. Ahhh, the first of (I'm sure many) injuries I'll get to experience while being the mother of a boy.

All fixed up, with all his stickers from the various nurses, whom he wooed with is love for bubbles and fish :)

Arts and Crafts

So lately, I'm been trying to do more arts and crafts projects with Benton. For the most part, he loves them. Especially if they involve stickers or painting.
Here are a few of Benton's recent works of art. I know, future VanGough on my hands :)

(A picture for nana and papa)

"alien costume" we made out of a paper bag. Benton painted most of it, I put on a few finishing touches. (Please ignore that he is in his underwear, ha)



Shhhh, artist at work :)

The littlest Jeska

In case you haven't stopped by the house recently, or noticed the pics I posted on facebook, as of May the Jeska household has a new family member!
Meet Roscoe, a four year old, four pound little bundle of Yorkie cuddles. He is the sweetest little guy and has made a great addtion to our family.

Roscoe is the biggest little cuddle bug you could ever meet! Every night (that I'm not working) he jumps (way up) into bed with me, burrows under the covers, and curls up right next to me. He's gotten me throughy many a lonely night this summer. Stop by soon and meet him, you'll be in love!

Minor, err, major kitchen makeover

Well, as promised, I'm finally getting around to posting the results of the kitchen makeover I we (but mostly I :) ) did. Granted, we only changed one thing really. Hence, a minor makevoer. However, I think the new backspash makes such a statement that for me it feels like a MAJOR transformation. I went from feeling BLAH about this space to LOVING it. Loving. I actually WANT to clean it becuase I love it so much. It's still small, but I love it. It makes me happy. Okay, enough said. Here we go:

First, a reminder of what my kitchen looked like before:

Okay, I'll be honest, this isn't MY kitchen, its a pic from another townhome down the street thats for sale. But, I promise, colors and everything are exactly the same. I just forgot to take a "before" picture. The only one I had didn't really show much at all.

It took me about 17 trips to Home Depot (not literally, but close), a total of somewhere around 10-15 hours (I'm guessing, I didn't really keep track), and around $150 (TOTAL! Including the tools I didn't have!).

And this is what I ended up with:


As usual, I apologize for the crappy pictures. Ever since I lost my camera, I'm stuck with relying on my phone anytime I wanna snap a pic. As a result, these pics REALLY don't do the final space justice.
The acutal paint color is:

Saffron by Martha Stewart Living in semi-gloss. (I was SO nervous about buying anything but Sherwin Williams, but the sheen and cover was actually excellent!)

My inspiration came from Thrifty Decor Chick's blog

She also has a great tutorial on caulk and spackle (which I used TONS of for this project) here.
I've been SO obsessed with beadboard lately, I'm already searching for other places to put it. (Hint: the downstairs bathroom cabinets got a smidge of a wainscot facelift too :) )
I can't say enough how pleased I am with this project. Now, if I could just get those awful faucets changed out, I think I'll be in *tiny* kitchen heaven :)

Another little update

Once again I find myself feeling the need to apologize for my lack of fun, quirky, or unique posts for my blog, time and inspiration have both been my enemy over the last two months. I do promise, however, a blog soon with pics of my kitchen revamp that is *oh so close* to completed! (And looking amazing, I might add) Also, once I'm a little farther in (and hopefully not as stiff as a board) an unbiased review of the "Insanity" workout program will be posted. For today, another quick update on the goings-on in the Jeska household.

My two year old (well 2 and 1 month) is potty trained!!!! *BIG SIGH OF RELIEF* Okay, so we are still using pull-ups because he has occasional accidents but, for the most part, he's been staying dry all day and night over the last several days. The best part? He practically trained himself! Seriously, other than remind him throughout the day to use the potty (and reward him when he did) I have had very little to do with his success. I am SO proud of my BIG BOY! Ahh, little successes like these make being a mom totally worth it.

And speaking of being a mom, there is finally some news on the baby making front. Good? Well...ehhh....depends on how you look at it. Not in the sense that I'm pregnant, but yes in the sense that we are finally on our way to answers. I saw my doctor today who has scheduled Chris and I for several tests over the next few weeks, and referred us to an infertility specialist. Not all these tests seem like they will be very fun, and seeing the diagnoses "infertility" written down on paper was definitely a punch in the gut, but it still feels so good to not just be sitting around playing the waiting game.

Chris is still doing well in Oklahoma, he had his first test in his non-radar module and got a 100%! He showed me what his test was going to be over and all I can say is, wow! There were so many numbers to memorize, I don't see how he did it, but I'm so proud of him that he did! We got to see him this last weekend while we were in Minnesota for a couple days. It was a short (and very busy) visit but of course I'll take what I can get.

Speaking of Minnesota, Benton and I had a great visit. It's always wonderful to be around family and friends. Chris's cousin Erin got married and the wedding was beautiful, she was a stunning bride. I can't believe how fast all our cousins on that side are growing up! The only downside was the 8 hour drive with gas around $3.75 per gallon, yuck! But, overall, worth every penny.

Welp, that's my update for tonight. I'll post more when I know more. Maybe. :)